Augran

Absolved Will Be the Saviors

Ludvig felt the coldness of that gaze. Oof, there went his chances. A wry smirk escaped his lips for a bit.

^{『 Ludvig 』} "I wasn't going to ask, but now that you've mentioned it...
That does sound interesting. Rare to see an artifact I've never yet witnessed."

Halfway through getting up from his seat, he was suddenly not there, instead mere inches away diagonally behind Amaris.
Index finger up as if to shush Carmen and/or whoever else dared dissuade him.

^{『 Ludvig 』} "Ah, ah- I'll be fine. Probably."

Steadily moves his hand closer, while asking Amaris.

^{『 Ludvig 』} "May I?"

Before she could really respond, he lightly palms the back of Amaris' neck with his right hand, away from the sight of most others on the table. Just in case blood doesn't splatter all over the food.

^{If that has no reaction, Ludvig's palm starts glowing white, activating『 Heavenly Dragon's Inverse Healing Palm 』to see if it reacts to mana instead.}
@13org

Absolved Will Be the Saviors

Ludvig walked around the table, opposite side from where Amaris was positioned, and sat back to his seat. Hearing Carnatia's words, he realized his own insensitivity and flinched a bit. Leaning forward with the Djinni's wide-brimmed hat blocking his view.

^{『 Ludvig 』} "urk... I fear I also owe her an apology with my initial reaction.
Sorry. You seem like a good person."

Mana circling around Ludvig's arms, cleaning away spilled wine, as he pushed his cup away and felt some strange need to glance at Mirielle and correct himself.

^{『 Ludvig 』} "I swear I'm not being swayed by her beauty right now. She's-
You seem cordial and well-spoken. Very amicable. You're doing great."

Realizing that he's rambling. Eager to switch the topic. Harking back to the strange veil draping Amaris' head, and the spikes jutting out of it. He's not one to knock others on their fashion sense, but he also felt there was something else about the veil. Sensing hints of mana connecting it and... somewhere in the Archbishop's direction, he couldn't tell from this distance and angle.
It may in fact seem rude, but someone has to bite the bullet at some point. Might as well be him.

^{『 Ludvig 』} "By the way, what's up with the..."

Points above his own head, and shrugs with his hands.

^{『 Ludvig 』} "Interesting headwear."

Absolved Will Be the Saviors

Tan-brown tailcoat with black trims, black vest with golden buttons, burgundy long-sleeved polo innerwear that matched his burgundy slacks, and black boots worn over the slacks.

In no particularly discernible instance, a seat at the Hall's table was empty, and its previous tenant Ludvig was on a corner of the Hall, checking out a painting.
A meadow. Blue sky, clouds, grass fading from golden to lime. Notable animal scratches on the frame of the painting. Tiny cursive watermark at the corner,『 hdg 』. Not ringing any bells.

Walked back towards the table, albeit on the wrong side. He was intending to ask Mirielle something, but it was his luck that Amanita started conversing with an adorably earnest question that he couldn't help himself but butt in.
It might come as a shock to those who assumed he was still in his seat.

^{『 Amanita 』}"Is being slow bad?"

^{『 Ludvig 』} "Not necessarily. Good things take time, like... Like this wine, I suppose."

The cup of mushroom wine in his hand. Still didn't feel the intention to drink it, merely a prop in his hand as if to look cool. A lot more clear-coloured than most wines he's encountered. He was getting a little curious with the taste, having it this close to his presence for this long and getting occasional wafts of that mushroom scent, but there's just something about this wine that's making him stubbornly superstitious.
Just a little sip. Should be fine. Just a tiny little sip.

As he carefully pulled the cup closer to his mouth, the Archbishop comes back in with a tray, and a person whose sight made Ludvig cough and spill a little of the wine on the floor.
He didn't know why, or maybe his memory was too spotty to remember why. His mind just irrationally rang the bells of danger on sight, telling him to quickly distance himself.
Although...
It was being counteracted by another part of his mind that thought, despite the irrational fear and the seeming appearance of a ghost who died by a barrage of impalements, he found her... attractive?

He purses his slightly agape lips, swallows and ekes out a smile as he raises his left hand, waving at the white-haired goth.

Absolved Will Be the Saviors

He shrugged while sipping more of this soup, then replied to Osric.

^{『 Ludvig 』} "It's all good. I aim to forget and be forgotten. It's the key to keep experiencing new things."

If he had a much better memory, he was sure that at some point living this long would become highly repetitive, and he'd sooner wish for death or marriage, whichever came first.
Maybe settling in with a family at this point was a good idea... No, he's definitely had that thought a multitude of times before. It'll always be a good idea. All the more reason to never do it.
Although, if he were to do it...

A glance at Mirielle. A smile if she glances back.
He seems to have made frankly too good of an impression on her. Is a relationship worth pursuing? Wouldn't it distract from her religious duties?

The simultaneous conversation felt like it was between a realist and an optimist. He almost found himself agreeing more with Carmen, were it not for the touting of this 'system' that would nobly share their prosperity with seemingly whoever they deemed 'unfortunate'. He was sure that Carmen meant well, yet it also sounded possibly unintendedly too arrogant or braggadocious. Maybe.
The jab at elves, too... Knowing what he knew, he wondered if Carmen had a specific elf in mind. Would it be a problem if this troupe's chain of command weren't on cordial terms?
Maybe Ludvig was just overthinking it.
It would feel so confrontational if he said his thoughts now... He held it in.

It shouldn't dock a lot of points from Carmen's scale of attractiveness, especially with pure-hearted desires like those. Assuming they're not just lip service.
A side-eye while sipping his third and last spoonful of soup.

Absolved Will Be the Saviors

That mask has to be cursed.

Ludvig stared at the damn tall knight named Rezello, as he bit into this baguette sandwich no one seemed to notice him make. Sliced longward, fitted in with long strips of turkey meat, greens and peas. He ate so daintly but he was downing it really quick, while he thought about how the black-haired knight towered several inches above him.
Not just him, but his greatsword, too. How does he even swing that around?

Baguette sandwich gone, and so was Ludvig's train of thought. Was he craving for, what, a fight? With that hulk of a man?
Just imagining the notion came with the images of several people who'd be disappointed in him if they knew he'd been fighting again.

Carnatia's talk of exotic coffee beans introduced a different craving, and yet all he had in front of him was the cup of mushroom wine.
Need some distraction. They talk about the destination, the lands east of here. Ludvig may have been there, but it's been decades upon decades of nomadic behaviour, might be highly irrelevant. Specific locations are as much of a blur as their names, he'd be no help in navigation either.

There's a little bit of disappointment budding in him, how much he's unable to relate to these nobles and church people, with their talks of theocracy and bureaucracy and the processes of making wines. He found himself staring at Mirielle, this carefree petite amassment of sunshine, eating the soup-doused salmon. Better take inspiration from her level of nonchalant.
Ludvig took off his red-tinted glasses, vanishing them away into gods know where and revealing his blue eyes, as he reaches towards the mushroom wine. He might as well drink it now...

Carmen thumped the table, staying Ludvig's hand.

^{『 Carmen 』} "And worse, most of our cardinals bow down to their so-called wise recommendation!

Lightly clenched his hand, moved it away from the cup of mushroom wine. That had to be a sign.
There's something about this mushroom wine he just felt abject to. At least it looked like the Djinni that brewed this didn't care enough to be offended by his refusal to drink.

There was the hot soup, at least. Close enough, just imagine it's a new blend of decaf.
Ludvig sipped from a spoon as he turned to Osric. Aside from remembering his name in association to a most unique firearm, and the mercenary marksman work it enables him to do...

^{『 Ludvig 』} "Did I ever work as your apprentice at some point?"

Maybe not. Then again, he worked some days for a lot of blacksmiths.

Post deletion request

roleplayerguild.com/posts/5558529 confused the new reply for an edit field coz it still had my draft in it

Absolved Will Be the Saviors

One could safely surmise that the man with his arms crossed, wearing burgundy-tinted sunglasses, had been dozing off for a while until the Archbishop and his feathered-tricorn-hat-wearing liaison entered the room.

Ludvig complained in his mind. He arrived way too early. There were no coffee shops open within a mile, and even if he found any, he forgot to bring cash with him as he skipped town in somewhat of a hurry.
He hasn't gotten enough sleep. He mouthed the word 'amen', cautious to draw attention on account of his souring mood; and abstained from drinking the mushroom-smelling wine, wary of feeling any drowsier than he already does.

Relax, he thought. He was about to let small trifles like lack of coffee and sleep ruin his first impressions with these people. A deep breath, and a li'l head shake to stave off negative thoughts.

Aside from Osric whose name didn't elude Ludvig from the start due to his sufficient popularity, that's been five names mentioned so far, and as none of the others seemed eager to introduce themselves, he figured it was his turn. He stood, albeit not as abruptly as the last.
Lightly scratching the right cheek of his face, a little nervous.

^{『 Ludvig 』} "Hello. Name's Ludvig with a V, used to be a circus carny, recently been doing some odd... jobs-- Yeah, I'm equally surprised as to why I've been selected for this mission, but that person believes in me, so I'll make sure to live up to their expectations."

Worth the lack of sleep, finding out that he'd been sent for by a most gorgeous elf. Not to say it's his only motivation but it definitely rose to being a major one.

A nonchalant thumbs-up, while happening to look at Mirielle.

^{『 Ludvig 』} "Let's save these people."

A little ahead of himself, given the non-rescue nature of the mission.

Absolved Will Be the Saviors

Name:『 Ludvig Morsanqvist 』^{think of the V's as more of a W}

Hider

Species:
Human

Age:
One would estimate late-twenties, early-thirties.

Gender:
Male

Appearance:
Tall.
Mildly curly brown-orange hair with streaks of platinum blonde, especially near the tips. Abandoned dye work?
Upturned eyes with blue irises. Natural eyebrows. A skin tone between warm ivory and sand.
Clean-shaven. Not so much as a stubble, either well-maintained or unable to grow.
Decently ripped frame, visible through tight shirts.
A horizontal scar under his chin from stumbling as a child.
Every other detail changes too much to be documented, but he seems to have a preference for a pink long-sleeved polo shirt.

Bio:
Excerpts taken from『 An admiring stalker's diary. 』

Hider

¹ ... Something oddly nice and strange happened. The barmaid hands me a coffee, I didn't order it. She said it's been paid for by this guy at a far table. I don't even know why- did he think I just needed a pick-me-up? At eight in the evening, three hours removed from work? He notices me staring at him and he just, smiles and then- I don't even know how to explain this. I blinked my eyes once, and suddenly he's gone! I thought I was hallucinating him! But that can't be, right!? This bitter cup of coffee on my table is proof, isn't it!? ...

² ... Did mister Breadmaker hire a new help? My, he's a looker. He looked kinda familiar, I can't place it entirely... I went to buy some bread, and he looked at me and smiled, and that's when it hit me. The disappearing coffee guy, that's him! I wanted to ask him why the coffee the other night, but I, I chickened out. I managed to stick around long enough to hear his name. Ludwig. What a mundane name. ...

³ ... I came back to the bread shop but Ludwig wasn't there. Mister Breadmaker said he only needed some help that day because his assistant got sick. He didn't even ask for pay, Ludwig told him to just give it to the assistant when he returns. That's unbelievable. ...

⁴ ... I tracked his location down to the pier. There he was! Helping the cargo people unload imports! I wished I could move in closer, even from here I could see the muscles on his arms. Not bad. Even on the crew I could see better arms. ...

⁵ ... I asked around and it seems like nearly everyone on this side of the city has been helped by him at some point in the mere three weeks he showed up in town. Similar to mister Breadmaker where he takes the shift of someone otherwise indisposed, and refuses to take the pay for it. Others, hmm. They were mum about the ways they were helped, but assured there was nothing violent. A few ones about saving the same cat from a tree. Saved maybe two kids from a house fire. ...

⁶ ... It's been a long while since I bought a theatre ticket. Tracked Ludwig rehearsing with the actors in his free time. ...When he came out, I could spot at least twenty other people who recognized him. ... Ludvig Morsanqvist, it says on the casting list. V but it's read like a W? I'm so ashamed, I misspelt his name so many times. ...

⁷ ... surname of an extinct noble family of sorcerers. Looks like six or seven decades ago, the eccentric Young Master Ludvig sold away the estate. That can't be right, he looks so young... Right? And then, HE showed up. He was smiling, I couldn't tell whether he was angry that I looked up his name. He looked so dreamy yet terrifying. For a second there he was a lot farther away, and suddenly he was right in front of me, holding my cheek while whispering "don't tell anyone" and then he ...
we ...

⁸ ... saw him again, probably for the last time. I couldn't get myself to approach him, but I found out why my mother's ring went missing since then. He was wearing it... on his left ring finger... But, he was holding this letter that had a papal seal. It looked serious. He looked serious. It was rare seeing him not smile. After reading the letter, he just... walked out of town, left us without so much as preparation. Word quickly spread among the people in town, and it felt like the papalcy's approval rating just shot down immensely. ...

Passives:

『 Pretense of Analgesia 』
Doesn't seem able to feel pain... or at least it shouldn't be humanly possible for anyone to just persist through any pain. What, with just sheer willpower?
_{There has to be a trick to this.}

『 Chauvinist's Plight 』
A strong psychological urge not to attack any woman (or sufficiently female-looking person) Ludvig considers attractive.
Attempts to resist it are only met with symptoms of high fever.
Reflective of that, the opponent is also immensely compelled to spare Ludvig's life, and then some...
_{Believed to be a curse for two-timing two powerful Djinn at the same time.}

Spells:

『 Groom 』
A highly complicated spell that Ludvig can only use on himself.
A wave of magic energy climbs across Ludvig's body, instantly cleaning him. While doing so, it can also change his entire clothing set. It even adds from a selection of nice scents like lavender, rose, citrus, etc.
_{Ready to betroth at any moment.}

『 Jumpscare 』
^{2-turn cooldown, 3% mana cost}
Instantaneously travel across any visible space.
Ludvig has mastered this spell to a level that it leaves no trace. No light, no sound, no mana trace, nothing. Hence the name.
Can bring along up to one person in direct physical contact with him, forcibly sharing the burden of the mana cost.
_Boo.

『 Prismatic Barrier 』
^{<10% mana cost depending on power of attack taken}
Typically takes the form of a sphere comprised of every colour in the rainbow and more. Barely visible to regular people unless struck.
Its consistency feels like trying to cut through quicksand. It feels unpleasant.
Usually surrounds Ludvig at all times, blocking attacks and entities with harmful intent.
Can be conjured onto a visible target, passing onto them the burden of the mana cost.
Can be expanded to envelop several targets, sharing the burden of the mana cost across all of them.
_{Eugh, why does it feel all gooey?}

『 Heavenly Dragon's Inverse Healing Palm 』
Rather than a spell, this is more of a martial art.
White-hot energy envelops Ludvig's palms, rapidly healing wounds at the cost of both the target's mana and inducing excruciating amounts of pain. Some say the pain lingers for up to several hours, but that may be merely psychosomatic.
_{Salvation, but at what cost?}

Mundane Skills:

Meditation, qi breathing. Enough martial arts and reflexes to avoid attacks from regular people, and then some. Can lowkey detect bloodlust.

Cardistry, sleight of hand, parlor tricks. Forgery of handwriting and signatures. Pickpocketing.

Basic sorcerer's cantrips like making a small rock float, forming a shape with visible mana, engraving small mana marks on things, etc.

Ventriloquism. Voice acting. Regular acting. Darts. Lifting crates. Bread-baking. Filing taxes. etc. Mostly niche jobs.

Empath, no matter how much he pretends not to be.

Adept at making an omelette specifically. Oh, and coffee.

Highly resistant to the caffeine that's in coffee.

Equipment:

『 Vetia Card 』^{L. Morsanqvist}
Platinum card with unique glyphs. Grants access to its owner's vault at the『 Helvetia National Bank 』.

『 Annalise's ring. 』
Generic silver ring. Worn on left ring finger.

『 Quest letter. 』
Time to be a Pontificial and observe, possibly even pontificate.

『 Iron spike. 』× 3
Sourced from Amaris Mallory's『 Robes of Penitence 』.

『 Memoir to Areston Lydus. 』
A book that details the life and times of the Great Hero.
Obtained from Hall of Glory's library.

『 Steel dagger. 』

『 Stainless steel harmonica. 』

Other:
A blatant pacifist, to a fault... yet, also a realist.

『 Taboo 』× 2

『 Risk Rating 』D
Potential to infiltrate any facility, otherwise harmless.

The forum version of a teenager's sketchpad?

『 Heartstopper 』
^{one-use ultimate, unlocked at minimum morale}
A heat blast that pierces through the heart (or any such source of vitality or existence) of a single weakened target.
Undeniably fatal.
Ignores any self-restrictions Ludvig has on himself like『 Chauvinist's Plight 』or general pacifism, as well as any defensive or evasive measures employed by the target.
_{Chekov's spell.}