[CHAR] Blood Act I~ Ghosts of the Past

[13org]

Henri Larue

UserName: 13org

Character name: Henri Larue

Age: 19

Mageblood type: Clima

Favoured Magic Class: Aeromancy

Previous Magic training: Novice, only the necessary to perform on the circus he was born in.

Race: Human Naerse

Appearance:

[+]

Henri has light blonde, almost white short hair, and a face that would make any maiden envious. Due to his job as a performer in the Larue Circus, taking care of his appearance is somewhat important. His delicate face and smooth skin are evidences of this fact.

Standing at 5'8", he has a deceptively slender body. Trained since he was born, he moves almost like a cat thanks to his agility and almost unbelievable flexibility. His body, although not as bulky and tough looking, is very muscular, to the point that he can support his own weight with one hand with ease. Needless to say, a contortionist, acrobat and knife juggler / thrower needs to have complete control over his own muscles.

Henri usually wears almost skintight pants and shirts, a simple, red cowl, some belts and pouches to hold his knives and some other useful things for a performance and some silk bandages around his forearms. He doesn't have a particular taste for clothes per se, for him, as long as its comfortable and flexible enough for him to jump and move freely, he will wear anything.

Maybe that is due to him being raised in an itinerant street circus, but he is almost never seen without his knives. The number of daggers he has hidden on his body is unbelievable, leading to some pretty ridiculous situations when he needs to enter a place where weapons are not permitted.

Equipment:

-Bandages (Made of silk): They have some... Unusual uses. Silk is expensive, but these 'bandages' were given to him because they are part of the materials he uses for his performances. On combat, they have many, many uses, including wrapping around limbs to prevent someone from moving or making them fall, or even being used just like a rope dart, tying it on the end of one of his daggers to throw it and swing it. The silk is the perfect material for these type of things, as it is incredibly light (easily manipulated by wind magic) and incredibly resistant.

Daggers

Bio:

The Larue are a very well known itinerant troupe, having some of the most fantastical artists and performances around. Not having a fixed home, they are constantly traveling, hopping from town to town, doing their shows in trade of a place to stay and some money. Their presence in a town is almost always noted both by noblemen and common folk alike. With almost two centuries of history, there were multiple generations of Larue artists that were born, lived and died using this same name.

The history behind the origin of the Larue troupe is actually pretty interesting. No one knows, or seems to remember the exact reason for the first members to leave behind their old lives completely, rejecting their possessions, names, homes, not mattering if they were rich or poor, and dedicate their entire lives to the nomadic, colorful and happy lifestyle that became the trademark of the Larue troupe. This tradition is not as widely followed as before, and the Larue are extremely rigid about accepting new members on their family, but sometimes, there is a person who really has the heart and soul of a Larue and is willing to give up on their previous life to join them.

One reason why the Larue became more rigid about accepting others is that as the time went on, the Larue became an actual family, with actual blood ties. With the Larue troupe created, many of their members developed romantic interests for one another, due to living together, acting like a family & etc. As a result, many of them married and had kids with members of the own troupe. After nearly two centuries and many generations, the "Larue" name became synonym of those who have almost perfect physiques, due to their incessant training and genetic traits.

Henri Larue, born from two members of the Larue troupe, was raised amongst dancers, acrobats, storytellers, knife throwers and many other artists. Due to this upbringing, is not surprising that he also came to enjoy those arts. Henri grew up to be an incredibly beautiful boy, having a smooth skin and delicate face, enough to make even noblewomen envy him. But beauty wasn't everything that young Henri had... He also was blessed not only with an incredibly flexible and agile body, but he was also blessed with mageblood.
Magebloods are incredibly rare, but there were a small few mageblooded Larues in the troupe. Learning the basics on how to use his power, Henri quickly became one of the main attractions on the shows. Dangerous, exciting, exhilarating, marvelous... these were just some of the adjectives used to describe Henri's performances.
Ones of the most daring acts he performed, included the silk bandages on his arms, a knife and a 'target'. By discreetly tying the bandage in the end of one of his knives, he would throw it in such a way that it was certain to hit his partner. The knife would stop inches away from his partner's face. By use a tiny bit of wind magic, a faint breeze would blow under the bandages, making them stand upright, with the dagger hanging on the other end. Other interesting numbers involved him using his wind magic to make impossible movements by making him faster or creating small breezes to move the bandages, creating beautiful patterns with the silk and obscuring the public's view, deceive and manipulate their perceptions in illusion tricks.

But the streets are not kind to everyone... Having a nomadic lifestyle also means knowing how to defend themselves, and sometimes... how to steal to survive. The only rule amongst the Larue was to never steal out of pure greed and not be caught while stealing, as it would affect the troupe's reputation, and it was incredibly effective. Nobody had never caught a Larue stealing anything. Most often, they thought that it was the work of common pickpocketers that were common to appear anywhere with a lot of people. The Larue weren't just artists. They were only able to live the way they did because they earned it. It took an incredible amount of courage, or foolishness, to mess with a Larue. Both mind and body polished over years and years, made them incredibly cunning and dangerous opponents. Henri was no different, with an incredible prowess with knives, and a strong and agile body, Henri sure knew how to take care of himself, even without using his magic.

After he turned 18, the opportunity arised for him to further train his magic powers on the Twilight College. Henri had no reason not to go, and besides that, he would love to know more about the one thing that surpassed any comon sense, the one thing that was always a mystery to him, magic.
Packing the few things he had, he departed. It would be... lonely to be away from the cheerful and happy day to day and the heartful laughter from the troupe...

Good Attributes:

• Acrobat/Parkour: Henri has an incredibly agile, flexible body and balance. Although he is not as light and weightless as the elves, being able to jump through the trees and walk over thin ice, his body has a good balance between power and speed. Taking out the weight factor, he can keep up even with an elf depending on the location and circumstances.
• Jack of Blades: Henri always had a weird attachment to daggers and knives, and can handle them like no one. Be it throwing or wielding them.
• Trickster's Blessing: Unpredictable movements, attacks and having both tongue and mind as sharp as his daggers make him an incredibly dangerous opponent both in a combat or out. The worse thing one can do when fighting against him is taking its eyes off Henri.
• Disguise Presence: The streets aren't a kind place... Sometimes, its better to be a nobody, a ghost, instead of having a strong presence and be noted.
• Crazy Legs: Although Henri has never trained any martial arts before, his kicks are nothing to scoff at. Fast and powerful, his "martial art" consists of various acrobatic movements, lacking any specific style or form.

Bad Attributes:

• Unfit for Nobility: Henri was raised amongst a troupe of itinerant artists. He is incredibly uncomfortable in 'noble' places, such as in a banquet, in a castle & etc. Needless to say, he doesn't trust nobles that much.
• Rogue's Honor: Henri always pays his debts. Be them good or bad, especially bad. (Help him, and he will 'owe you one'. Deceive or use him, and he will make you pay back for it.)
• Problems with Authority: Its not a good idea to order him to do something... Its almost certain that he will not do it. Ask him instead, and you will have much better chances from him listening to you.
• Not a Soldier: Henri is not a soldier or a mercenary... He wont stay and fight if things get ugly.
• Innocent lives matter: Henri gets extremely uncomfortable on situations where innocent lives might be harmed and will refrain at all costs (without risking his own safety) to hurt seriously any innocent, sentient creatures.
• Not a big fan of closed spaces: Henri gets uncomfortable in closed spaces. He gets agitated and becomes unable to think very well.

Secret Word: Rebirth

[Freeshooter92]

Danica Ruzicka

Age: 31
Mageblood Type: Obligatio
Favored Magic Class: Demonomancy, sort of. She mistakenly believes herself to be a Vitamancer.
Previous Magic Training: Absolutely none, her continued survival is something of a miracle.
Race: Naersan human.
Appearance:

Her coming is heralded by the thud of her boots on the muddy streets, the soft glow of the censers at her hip casting her form in an eerie light, and the gentle scent of thrice-sanctified incense carried on the wind. Sister Danica, the Purifier has arrived. Her appearance is an ill omen, for where she goes death follows.

She oft introduces herself as a beast hunter first and a woman of faith second, but were it not for her near-constant muttering of hymns and verse it would be difficult indeed to mistake her for a woman of the cloth. She's incredibly tall at six and a half feet, yet awfully thin, with limbs seeming just a bit too long. her unnatural appearance is only accentuated by her chosen means of dress, with nearly every ounce of her covered. She wears thick leather boots, with all manner of belts and pouches at her hips. Her garb resembles that of a more mundane beast hunter in general, dark leathers and simple cloth packed to the brim with knives and holsters and tools, though above her withered, tattered cape dangles the ceremonial scarf of a servant of Billant, perhaps one of her only concrete visual links to the church. Much of her face is hidden by a wrap, and combined with the bandages over her right eye and the worn tricorne, only her left eye is really clearly visible. Her worn garb is slightly charred as well, speaking of multiple brushes with fire. What can be seen of her flesh is ghostly pale and her hair almost equally so, tied back in a ponytail. Her eye is... rather terrifying and unnatural to most, a bright, burning amber mostly but partially a deep brown.

Though her face is covered, it's clear enough that she tends to smile. And why wouldn't she? She rather enjoys her work. She revels in her most solemn of duties more than anyone rightly should, always seeking the next twisted creature to rend and tear with a most unholy fervor. Perhaps then, that is why a disciple of the Sun goddess is always sure to cover herself so? Her work is the necessary evil, but it yet still makes her unfit for Her light.

Under the Mask

What is she hiding? Razor-sharp, monstrous teeth, that's what. In the monster-slaying profession, being strange is a given. However, it generally isn't good to have to explain to potential clients that you are not, in fact, a monster yourself. besides, if she didn't wear her mask she'd generally drool all over herself, which is somewhat impolite. The eye she keeps covered is functional, but there's also the fact that it is obviously demonic in appearance, all fiery orange with the dark sclera. It's amazing how she hasn't put two and two together yet.

Bio: Who is this most grim of figures? She isn't so difficult to understand, really. She wanders from village to village, ever seeking stronger and stronger beasts, a never-ending cycle of bloodshed. For she is a beast-hunter, one that wanders into the wilderness between villages and puts to death those unspeakable creatures that would prey on the civilized. At the same time, she is something of a wandering preacher, just as likely to spout verse at the townsfolk as she is to demand what they would have her kill. Despite being of such a violent occupation, she has a relatively sunny disposition. She's always polite and eerily cheerful, rage doesn't come easy to her. Some say that this actually makes her more unnerving, not less. Especially when she gets flirty, which despite her beauty is often one-sided. She often gets into clashes with other followers of Billant, however, who often see her as no better than the monsters she fights. In general she just seems rather care-free, prone to flights of fancy and general forgetfulness. One thing can be sure though: When she shows up, something bad will happen. Though is she a symptom, or the cause?

In a fight, she is even more terrifying. She revels in bloodshed and carnage, and the absolute joy she displays in such situations is often plain to see. Nothing brings her greater pleasure than to maim and kill, and it is somewhat inspiring that she somehow manages to avoid just butchering everyone she sees. No, wanton slaughter of random people doesn't appeal to her, she is spurred on to fight ever greater foes, to tear them open, to... You understand. She is clearly mad, but she is useful. She never, ever breaks an oath and for all her insanity she is not much of a sinner. Sure, she's a killer. But she isn't a murderer. She won't kill someone for no reason. At least, not usually.

Her Past

She wasn't always like this. Years ago she was a simple nun, kind and quiet. She led a simple, humble life at a temple in shimmerstone, mostly doing chores and keeping the temple clean; her perceived lack of mage-blood made her ill-suited for healing or becoming a wandering warrior-priestess, especially as she was lacking in the self-defense department. She had always wanted to see a bit more of the world however, and had convinced a warrior-priestess to allow her to accompany her on a mission. They were to be escorting merchants onto Djarkel, which seemed simple enough.

To make a rather long story short, it wasn't. They were ambushed by unknown assailants, and most of the merchants were slaughtered. Danica, the warrior-priestess, and a pair of merchant women however were instead captured rather than slain. It soon became clear that they had become the captives of some demon worshiping cult. The horrors they experienced were without number, seeming to blend into each other. It's unknown how long they remained captives, but from deep within the cult's lair in the Ravine of Demons the passage of time was impossible to tell.

There was torture of a mundane sort, of course, unspeakable abuses. But the experiments were by far the worst. The cult sought to infuse their captives with shards of a great demon, Fenrir, to create powerful mutant warriors. They... succeeded. It took time to tear away a fragment of this demon's beastly power, but one by one the four women were separated. Danica was last. She cried when they took the warrior-priestess, the woman's last words to her to 'have faith, even in the darkest times.' Those words echoed in her mind as she sat alone in her cell for weeks, until they finally returned for her.

The process of grafting the demon to her soul was repeated, but Danica came out different. For unlike the others, Danica did in fact possess mageblood attuned to Obligatio. The shard of power came to rest inside her more amicably. Instead of forcibly transfiguring her into some wolf-like abomination, she appeared much the same. Believed to be a failure she was nonetheless tossed into the pit. She landed in a pile of flesh and bone, shaking as she rose to regard a trio of creatures, roused by her arrival. They were disgusting, as if an artist set out to paint a human, and gave up halfway to make a hellhound instead. They snarled and snapped at her, and as she regarded the lopsided, multi-eyed creatures she noted a tattered scarf hanging around one's neck, and recognized them.

She snapped. She was overcome with emotion. Grief. Despair. But most of all, rage. A mighty, all-consuming rage. The demon within her responded, and she blacked out. She awoke an unknown time later in the wilderness, feasting on... some variety of flesh, soaked in blood and clothed in naught but a stained church scarf. She ran her hands over her face, tracing her fingers over her jagged teeth... and laughed. A long, loud, manic laugh. She had been a mage all along, hadn't she? Clearly she had slaughtered her captors with her power, and her faith had been rewarded... At least, that's how she rationalized everything. She had escaped and avenged her fellow prisoners, and it was by Billant's blessing that she had discovered the power to do so. Vitamancy could be grim at times but it was an honorable magic, was it not? And the rest is history. Of course, who knows how she actually managed to get out, or even if she ended her captors at all. Her memory of her time in the ravine is beyond fuzzy. Who knows if the memory is just gone, or if she's intentionally suppressing it.

Garmr

The fragment of the great hellhound Fenrir that lives inside Danica, Garmr eventually became a demon of his own after a time. Much like his father, Garmr is a violent, barely intelligent beast. While more intelligent than a common creature, Garmr is basically an animal. Unlike most animals however, Garmr is especially keen on wholesale slaughter for its own sake, not survival. Again, much like his father. Garmr is different, however, in that he only really cares to murder foes that would pose at least something of a challenge, likely due to being influenced by his host's personality. Unlike Danica however, Garmr doesn't want to murder civilians because it's wrong, but because it's boring.

Garmr has power over fire, which can be bestowed on Danica when she becomes more skilled at controlling/channeling him.

As for motivation, his needs are simple. Garmr needs to kill and to be fed. And the longer he's unsatisfied, the more anxious and irritable Danica gets, and if it goes on for too long, she will eventually enter a 'blood rage' and he will be able to forcibly take control of their body. Which is bad, because for as little restraint as Danica seems to have, Garmr has none when he's starving. Occasionally though, she might get so caught up in a fight as to lose herself to a blood rage then and there...

Despite the influence they have over each other, neither one of them are aware of the other. Since Garmr runs on instinct he isn't really able to comprehend Danica's existence yet, only whether his needs are met or not. Danica, however, simply loses consciousness in the event he takes over, with no recollection of what happened.

Finally, Garmr occasionally feels an odd pull from his father, who longs to be whole. he cannot ignore this compulsion, but he cannot understand it either. Thankfully, the 'pull' is fairly weak... usually. But who knows, maybe someday Fenrir will come to forcibly take his essence back. Or perhaps not. Such is the way of things.

Garmr provides a number of benefits to his host. For one, Danica is very strong, very fast, and very tough. She heals extremely fast, and as such can shrug off a number of wounds rather easily. She's immune to mundane disease, and her senses are heightened. All of these effects are 'active' at all times, such is the nature of their shared body. However, sometimes during times of great exhilaration she is capable of partially transforming, for example growing a savage, bestial claw in place of her arm, which may or may not be aflame. When this happens however, it is not Danica's will. She cannot consciously tap into Garmr's power, as she is not even really a novice demonomancer. No, when this happens it is Garmr himself. As such she can't really rely on this. When it happens, great. If not, it just... doesn't. Until she receives actual training in her actual discipline, she will never be able to call on his strength on her own.

Good Attributes:

• Powerful: Despite her thin appearances Danica is unnaturally strong and tough. Comes with being a demon's host.
• It will not die: She also possesses powerful regeneration. Sure, it's typically not fast enough to fully heal a wound mid-fight but it does keep her up longer.
• Beast within: When Garmr deigns to help her, she's a monstrous force to be reckoned with, a whirlwind of flame and rending claws. However, the demon inside rarely acts.
• In Her Name: She is faithful to Billant, and keeps to her teachings despite what she's become. She never breaks a promise, and while she does do her work for coin more often than not she is obligated to help whenever truly needed.
• Sunny Disposition: She's a rather positive sort, in part because she adores her work, and also just in general. She rarely feels hate or anger, and tends to be friendly to a fault.
• Resourceful: She has to repair her clothes and gear a lot, so she's pretty handy with a needle and thread, in addition to being alright at leatherworking. While no craftswoman, she can be counted on for all manner of simple repairs. Additionally, she's a good cook provided you're alright with meat. And you don't ask where it came from.

Bad Attributes:

• Maim and End: Danica loves killing, thoroughly, and tends to take fights way too far.
• Unsettling: Despite her apparent friendliness, she is at best incredibly creepy. And while she won't hurt someone for no reason, most don't know that. As such, friends do not come easy for her, and she tends to rub people the wrong way. As it turns out talking about flaying is frowned upon in polite society.
• Beast Within: Make no mistake, the demon inside of her is still a demon, and it will be fed.
• Together Forever: Garmr and Danica are inextricably bound, and one cannot exist without the other. Meaning, they will both die if they are separated.
• Laughing mad: She is more than a little unhinged, obviously, meaning her perception of reality can be a bit... different. She follows the law and tries to be upstanding and moral, but her senses of those are skewed.
• Strong, but unskilled: Danica relies on brute force to fight, she is no swordmaster. While she is certainly an opponent to be reckoned with, expect nothing fancy.
• 'More, More, More!': In combat, Danica runs the risk of losing herself under certain circumstances, going into a blood rage and leaving Garmr in control. This is very, very bad.