Name: Jahar al'Harradin
Aliases: the Black Rose Killer, the Blackvine
Gender: Male
Age: 29
Occupation: Killer for hire
Demeanor: Jahar is somewhat erratic in his behavior, seeming to have multiple sides to his nature. He as often projects an air of charming sophistication as one of a dangerous psychopath with a taste for killing. In combat, and especially when tapping into his strange abilities, he is utterly ruthless and without regard for anything but his current objective. The concepts of mercy and honor in battle are completely foreign to him.
Physical Appearance:
Hair: Dark brown, bordering on black. Generally worn cropped close to the head.
Facial Hair: None, though he often goes days without shaving, leaving noticeable stubble.
Eyes: Right eye is dark brown, left eye appears to have been replaced by an onyx gem
Build: Slender frame but well muscled
Height: 5'10"
Weight: 179 lbs
Distinguishing Features: In addition to his rather noticeable left eye, Jahar also has a rather intricate tattoo taking the form of twisting black vines. The tattoos stem from a central pattern of vines on his back near the spine, and reach out to cover his arms, legs, and torso. One vine stretches up his neck to the side of his face, curling around what appears to be a closed black rosebud inked onto and around the eyelid itself. Another of these closed rosebuds is inked on the back of his left hand, attached to its own tendril of vine.
Gear:
Tokens: Various pieces of Jahar's gear, including his bracers, shin guards, and various weapons, have been taken from fallen foes whom Jahar felt worthy of his respect. He has incorporated these strange items into his fighting style in a sort of ode to these warriors.
--Head: N/A
--Shoulders: Nondescript leather travelling cloak
--Torso: Weapons harness
---Underclothes: Simple black shirt
--Legs: Hardened leather shin guards covering from ankle to knee; each has a metal spike protruding upward from the knee guard.
---Underclothes: Simple black trousers
--Right Arm: Hardened leather bracer covering from wrist to elbow; has a metal spike protruding outward from the elbow guard.
--Left Arm: Twin of right arm.
--Primary Weapon: Varies, see below
Weapons:
Twin Haladie Daggers: If Jahar were to be said to have a primary weapon, it would be this pair of sinuously curved, triple bladed daggers which he was bequeathed early in his training. This particular set have been covered by a series of arcane runes that grant enhanced durability as well as a spell piercing enchantment. Any of the daggers' blades will pierce through most magical defenses as though they were nonexistent. He carries the daggers inside specially made sheathes that resemble triangular leather pouches, open on the long end, that hang at an angle from his hips, attached to the bottom of his weapon harness.
Urumi Sword: This particularly odd weapon appears to be a highly flexible sword, easily able to be coiled tightly without losing its shape when uncoiled. The three foot blade is kept in constant motion while wielded, able to quickly lash out and attack from difficult to predict angles. The Urumi is particularly difficult to block with either a weapon or shield, as its razor sharp blade will simply wrap over the blocking object, still inflicting slashing damage. The Urumi's scabbard serves as Jahar's belt, wrapped around his waist with the unassuming black leather wrapped hilt hanging off the right side when sheathed. Jahar took this particular Urumi from a skilled warrior who nearly killed him early in his career. While its design seems utilitarian, the weapon is heavily enchanted with air magic, allowing it to produce a 'windblade' effect, wherein focused air currents are projected from the end of the blade while in motion. This effectively adds six inches of reach to the weapon, and is particularly deadly due to the fact that this effect appears only as a slight distortion visually.
Tekko-Kagi Claw: This weapon is a set of four claws attached to a brace and handle, all forged from a dusky charcoal grey metal that is always cold to the touch. The brace sits against the back of the hand and wrist while the handle is gripped securely in the hand. The claws extend over the knuckles approximately four inches, and there is a crossbar affixed to the blades just in front of the knuckles, intended to protect against weapons trapped between the claws. Jahar's Tekko-Kagi was taken from an assassin who successfully caught him off guard and nearly slew him in his bed one night long ago. The weapon possesses a particularly insidious enchantment that causes unnatural levels of pain for anyone wounded by it.
Sunsword: This is the only one of Jahar's weapons that has anything resembling a name, though it is not a very clever one. The Sunsword is a large khopesh, made to be wielded in either one or two hands; it was forged from bronze, normally an inferior material, and is etched with a number of pictographic symbols that seem to depict worship of a sun deity. Perhaps because of some magic inherent in the symbols, or perhaps due to an unrelated enchantment, this bronze blade has several interesting properties. Despite the material, the blade is stronger and holds a better edge than steel. It also has the ability to absorb and store sunlight over a period of time, visible as a constant light reflecting from the dull bronze even in darkness, which can be released in a large blinding flash at the will of the wielder. The weapon was taken from the powerful shaman of a desert tribe that Jahar was sent to exterminate as one of his first real assignments.
Other Gear:
Onyx Eye: This gemstone was taken from yet another unsuccessful assassin sent by Jahar's former employer. It is a perfectly spherical black stone, made to be placed into an empty eye socket. The bearer can see through this gem just as though his eye were still intact, though it cannot process color, seeing instead in gradations of black and white. This produces a rather jarring effect to which the bearer must become accustomed, as the other eye still sees normally, causing a strange juxtaposition of vision. The advantage of the Onyx Eye is that it grants the ability to see in near total darkness, as it can process white light far better than any biological eye. This ability has no effect on magical darkness.
Amulet of Iron Skin: This amulet is crafted from silver, with what appears to be a simple small glass triangular pendant hanging from it. Jahar took the item from the corpse of the same man from whom he acquired the Onyx Eye. When worn, the amulet constantly absorbs a fractional amount of kinetic energy from the wearers every movement, storing it until it becomes fully charged. When so charged, the amulet allows the wearer to direct this excess of kinetic energy to particular places on his body in order to counter physical attacks that he is unable to dodge. The wearer must be aware of the attack for the amulet to counter it, and has a limited amount of energy. When fully charged, it can counter three minor attacks, such as the bolt from a hand crossbow or throwing daggers, or up to one fairly strong attack, such as a close range broad head arrow fired from a longbow or a sword thrust, before exhausting its well of energy. Jahar has found that charging the amulet generally requires around one day of normal activity.
Combat Abilities:
Combat Style: Even without the abilities granted by his strange tattoos, Jahar is a model of ruthless efficiency in combat. He eschews flashy tricks in favor of pure economy of motion. Jahar has mastered the various weapons that he carries, seamlessly employing them in various combinations depending on the strengths of his foe. Due to the dangerous nature of his tattoos, Jahar prefers not to employ them unless he is certain he can end a battle quickly or is pressed too hard, relying instead on his natural ability and training.
Abilities:
Weapon Masteries: Jahar employs a variety of exotic weapons with which he has trained extensively. When wielding his twin Haladie Daggers, Jahar is poetry in motion, as though he were born with the weapons in hand. Of his personal arsenal, these are the weapons with which he has trained the longest. However, he is nearly as well trained and deadly with each of the weapons he carries, particularly his Urumi, which is one of the more difficult weapons to wield in existence.
Hand to Hand: While no master, Jahar was trained in several forms of hand to hand combat, including various grappling and other martial techniques. He is able to easily defeat unskilled opponents without weapons if necessary and hold his own against those with more training.
Face in the Crowd: While his particularly distinctive appearance makes the use of this skill somewhat difficult, Jahar was originally trained to be a faceless bodyguard, unnoticed until needed. He still retains his knowledge of how to blend into a crowd and disappear or follow a target unnoticed through a busy street.
Exotic Weaponry: While not actually an ability, the very exotic nature of Jahar's weapons has served him well in combat. Few have ever heard of, much less seen, things such as his Haladie daggers or Urumi, already difficult weapons against which to defend. This often forces his opponents to learn quickly or die equally quickly.
Blackvine Tattoos: The product of decades of research by a very talented, and very corrupt mage, the Blackvine tattoos are truly unique. Viewed closely, the tattoos are inked in a series of gradations of black with stunning detail, forming intricate loops and whirls that stem from a central pattern along Jahar's spine. The vines spread to cover his arms and legs, with one particularly long vine that ends in a closed black rosebud upon the back of his left hand. Tendrils also curl from the central pattern from either side to nearly meet upon his chest and stomach. The uppermost vine is wrapped partially around Jahar's neck, climbing the left side of his face to curl around the eye, ending in another of the black rosebuds inked upon his eyelid and eye socket.
When activated by the bearer, the tattooed vines sprout small thorns which look to be dug into Jahar's skin at intervals, causing him real pain as though he had actually been punctured. The tattoos then begin to consume a small amount of Jahar's life essence in order to activate their true power: they begin to collect the ever present ambient magical energy from the surrounding atmosphere, the same energy that many mages use to fuel their magics. Jahar is then able to send bursts of raw magical power throughout the vines on his body, granting increased abilities far beyond those of a normal human.
The Blackvine tattoos are not without drawbacks, however, as the human body simply was not meant to handle this sort of raw magical power. When the tattoos are activated, along with the thorns, the two closed rosebuds on his eye and hand bloom into large black roses in the same intricate gradations of black as the vines. As Jahar draws upon his powers, the petals of both flowers begin to wilt and die one by one, representing the stress upon his body. The more power he uses, the faster the petals die. Jahar was told explicitly that should the entire flower wilt and die, the amount of raw energy coursing through him will almost certainly kill him. Once deactivated, the excess energy is expelled harmlessly over time, but Jahar is left in a highly fatigued state and cannot draw upon the powers again until fully recovered.
The abilities granted by the Blackvine Tattoos when activated are as follows:
--Strength: Jahar is able to channel energy to increase his strength by up to several factors of his natural ability. Even without aid of the tattoos, Jahar is already fairly strong, able to easily lift objects exceeding his own body weight, but with them his strength is truly prodigious. Jahar is not even certain how much stronger he can become, as both the factor by which he increases his strength and the duration he maintains it affect how quickly the flowers wilt. As a result he has been hesitant to test its limits; however, he regularly utilizes strength exceeding two or three times normal.
--Speed: Jahar is also able to channel energy to increase the speed of his movements, particularly in short bursts. This power is exceedingly difficult to control when used to increase running speed, as the mind's capability to process the environment does not increase in kind. Jahar does, however, often employ this ability for superhumanly fast lunges, strikes, dodges or retreats. Just as with the strength, both the factor by which he increases his speed and the duration he maintains it affect how quickly the flowers wilt.
--Durability: The Blackvine Tattoos also provide Jahar with a limited amount of enhanced durability, though it is not particularly useful as a deterrent to incoming attacks. More so, it is something of a reflexive use of the tattoo's abilities that is closely tied to his increases in strength, wherein the energy coursing through Jahar's body will protect him from damaging himself by overexerting his still very human body.
History:
Jahar al'Harradin was born to a prostitute in Cadishmar, a den of corruption far to the east, perched on the edge of a vast desert. He does not even know his own true name, as his mother abandoned him as soon as she deemed him old enough to fend for himself. This was at the age of seven. Jahar spent the next five years scrounging for survival, trying and not always succeeding at avoiding beatings or worse. At the age of twelve, Jahar's fate was changed for better or worse by the men that all street urchins in Cadishmar feared the most....the Snatchers.
For years, it had been said, the Snatchers had prowled the night streets of Cadishmar, taking urchins whom no one would miss. When they took Jahar, he awoke in a dungeon with a small group of other children who he soon learned had been snatched as well. They were told only that they would have a chance to fight for their lives against a boy their age, and that should they win, they would be set free and given a sum of coin that would feed them for a year or more. Jahar later learned that he had been taken to the home of a master Assassin, and that the children were part of a special training program he had put together for a pupil at the request of that pupil's very powerful father, Machiavelli Salvatore, a visiting dignitary from a powerful kingdom. The promised reward for victory was to ensure that the children fought with everything they had, but the main point was to turn Salvatore's son Nicoli into a merciless killer.
Jahar watched as each of his fellow captives fought bravely but were killed quickly by the terrifyingly calm young man until finally it was his own turn. He fared little better himself, and Nicoli dealt him a savage gut wound. Jahar, however, would not admit he was beaten and, having dropped the weapon he had been given, charged the other boy in a feral rage, clawing, biting and scratching. Somehow in his frenzy, he managed to wound the far better trained Nicoli, incurring the other boy's wrath. Just as he was about to strike Jahar down, however, Machiavelli himself, who happened to be observing at the time, stopped him, deciding that Jahar himself might prove useful.
Machiavelli, who held a powerful position as the adviser to a powerful King, was investing a great deal of time and effort into turning his son into his own personal assassin, and he had decided to use this savage young boy to help protect that investment. He gave the boy clothes, food a place to live, and even his name, Jahar. The boy took the name al'Harradin after the Harradin desert, on the border of which his home city stood. Jahar was to be a hidden bodyguard, unknown even to Nicoli himself, always watching nearby should need arise. He was taught to read and write and given a cursory education, taught how to feign culture so that he could follow his charge wherever he went. He was trained by ruthless masters in various combat arts as well as the art of blending and observing unnoticed, and he took to his training with single minded intent, seeing this as his only opportunity to escape his former life. For over two years he followed his charge, always increasing his own skills, never certain if Nicoli even knew he existed.
This continued until Nicoli was caught spying on the King of his own volition, when Jahar was fifteen, and was banished with no interference from his callous father. Machiavelli, not one to throw away a potentially useful tool, devised another use for Jahar. If Nicoli was not to be his weapon, then he would create a new, utterly loyal one out of Jahar. Machiavelli turned to a powerful magus with whom he often collaborated, offering him a chance to test his new creation, which he called the Blackvine Tattoos, designed to grant supernatural power to their bearer as well as complete control over the bearer by whomever knew the proper Commands.
The experiment at first proved a great success, creating in Jahar a seemingly unstoppable assassin, completely unable to act against the will of Machiavelli, who held the Command words. After the initial success, Machiavelli continued to develop his weapon, furthering his training in various weapon forms and other martial arts, while at the same time using him to eliminate anyone who stood in his way. Jahar was the perfect disposable killer, able to be thrown away should he ever become a liability.
However, Machiavelli failed to account for the changes that the sort of life he had made for Jahar might wreak upon a man's mind. Five years of countless murders and of having his will peeled away had warped the young man's perceptions until concepts of right and wrong were completely alien to him. There was only the killing, and the deep seething hatred of the man who had made him come to love it, Machiavelli Salvatore.
Had Jahar not been the first test subject, perhaps the problems that grew could have been avoided for Machiavelli, but as it was, neither he nor his magus colleague anticipated what happened. The tattoos had been designed specifically to grant control over Jahar, using what Machiavelli had gleaned of his psyche as a basis, but the man he was becoming was resembling less and less the man he had been. As a result, the control that Machiavelli exerted over him began to weaken. It began with something small; Jahar began to leave a sort of calling card with his victims even though he had not been ordered to do so, and later even after he had been ordered not to. The bodies would be found the next day, their left eye carved out and replaced by a rose blossom dipped in black ink. It was not long before the control slipped further and Jahar began to act further outside his orders. He would still carry out his objective, but now he would leave a wake of bodies in his passing. By the time Jahar was twenty, every time he was let off his chain, as Machiavelli came to think of it, the death counts grew.
Reluctantly, Machiavelli decided it was time to end his experiment and destroy his decreasingly useful weapon. He ordered Jahar into a room and discretely ordered his men to execute him. When Jahar discovered their intent only a few minutes later, something inside of him snapped, returning him to the same near feral state he had displayed as a boy against Nicoli. The last threads of control over his mind were completely severed, and he brutally killed his would be executioners with his bare hands. He then stalked through Machiavelli's compound in a blood frenzy, killing anyone with whom he made contact. Machiavelli himself, prepared for nearly any situation, easily escaped Jahar's wrath, but did not have the means at his disposal to kill or capture the young man before he fled into the city, possessed of free will for the first time in half a decade.
It took more than a year for Jahar al'Harradin to regain a part of his sense of self and begin to reconcile himself to the man he had become. It did not take him long to realize that, despite the inner revulsion he had once felt at the things he had been forced to do, killing had become almost a part of him. A hole in his soul that needed to be filled. It was not difficult to make the leap to becoming a killer for hire. In fact, his reputation as the Black Rose Killer actually aided him in finding work. His brutal methods were considered by many the perfect solution for times when a message needed to be sent to an enemy, and his work provided the outlet for his darker nature that he required.
Over the past eight years, however, the thrill of the kill has become less and less satisfying for Jahar in and of itself, leading him to seek out greater and more dangerous challengers. He has had no shortage of these. Bounty hunters who seek the large purse upon his head are common. Less common but always more interesting were the assassins, both those hired by various parties who would be happy to see the Blackvine dead and those who simply find his lack of subtlety repugnant. Even less common are the heroes, those who feel it is their duty to destroy evil in the world; these fights are always a favorite for Jahar. Part of him simply enjoys the level of focus that their conviction brings them; the better the fight, the more alive he feels. A smaller, but insistent part, however, the part of him that was nearly killed by Nicoli in a fighting pit so many years ago, holds out hope that one of these heroes will finally put a sword through his black heart.
Aliases: the Black Rose Killer, the Blackvine
Gender: Male
Age: 29
Occupation: Killer for hire
Demeanor: Jahar is somewhat erratic in his behavior, seeming to have multiple sides to his nature. He as often projects an air of charming sophistication as one of a dangerous psychopath with a taste for killing. In combat, and especially when tapping into his strange abilities, he is utterly ruthless and without regard for anything but his current objective. The concepts of mercy and honor in battle are completely foreign to him.
Physical Appearance:
Hair: Dark brown, bordering on black. Generally worn cropped close to the head.
Facial Hair: None, though he often goes days without shaving, leaving noticeable stubble.
Eyes: Right eye is dark brown, left eye appears to have been replaced by an onyx gem
Build: Slender frame but well muscled
Height: 5'10"
Weight: 179 lbs
Distinguishing Features: In addition to his rather noticeable left eye, Jahar also has a rather intricate tattoo taking the form of twisting black vines. The tattoos stem from a central pattern of vines on his back near the spine, and reach out to cover his arms, legs, and torso. One vine stretches up his neck to the side of his face, curling around what appears to be a closed black rosebud inked onto and around the eyelid itself. Another of these closed rosebuds is inked on the back of his left hand, attached to its own tendril of vine.
Gear:
Tokens: Various pieces of Jahar's gear, including his bracers, shin guards, and various weapons, have been taken from fallen foes whom Jahar felt worthy of his respect. He has incorporated these strange items into his fighting style in a sort of ode to these warriors.
--Head: N/A
--Shoulders: Nondescript leather travelling cloak
--Torso: Weapons harness
---Underclothes: Simple black shirt
--Legs: Hardened leather shin guards covering from ankle to knee; each has a metal spike protruding upward from the knee guard.
---Underclothes: Simple black trousers
--Right Arm: Hardened leather bracer covering from wrist to elbow; has a metal spike protruding outward from the elbow guard.
--Left Arm: Twin of right arm.
--Primary Weapon: Varies, see below
Weapons:
Twin Haladie Daggers: If Jahar were to be said to have a primary weapon, it would be this pair of sinuously curved, triple bladed daggers which he was bequeathed early in his training. This particular set have been covered by a series of arcane runes that grant enhanced durability as well as a spell piercing enchantment. Any of the daggers' blades will pierce through most magical defenses as though they were nonexistent. He carries the daggers inside specially made sheathes that resemble triangular leather pouches, open on the long end, that hang at an angle from his hips, attached to the bottom of his weapon harness.
Urumi Sword: This particularly odd weapon appears to be a highly flexible sword, easily able to be coiled tightly without losing its shape when uncoiled. The three foot blade is kept in constant motion while wielded, able to quickly lash out and attack from difficult to predict angles. The Urumi is particularly difficult to block with either a weapon or shield, as its razor sharp blade will simply wrap over the blocking object, still inflicting slashing damage. The Urumi's scabbard serves as Jahar's belt, wrapped around his waist with the unassuming black leather wrapped hilt hanging off the right side when sheathed. Jahar took this particular Urumi from a skilled warrior who nearly killed him early in his career. While its design seems utilitarian, the weapon is heavily enchanted with air magic, allowing it to produce a 'windblade' effect, wherein focused air currents are projected from the end of the blade while in motion. This effectively adds six inches of reach to the weapon, and is particularly deadly due to the fact that this effect appears only as a slight distortion visually.
Tekko-Kagi Claw: This weapon is a set of four claws attached to a brace and handle, all forged from a dusky charcoal grey metal that is always cold to the touch. The brace sits against the back of the hand and wrist while the handle is gripped securely in the hand. The claws extend over the knuckles approximately four inches, and there is a crossbar affixed to the blades just in front of the knuckles, intended to protect against weapons trapped between the claws. Jahar's Tekko-Kagi was taken from an assassin who successfully caught him off guard and nearly slew him in his bed one night long ago. The weapon possesses a particularly insidious enchantment that causes unnatural levels of pain for anyone wounded by it.
Sunsword: This is the only one of Jahar's weapons that has anything resembling a name, though it is not a very clever one. The Sunsword is a large khopesh, made to be wielded in either one or two hands; it was forged from bronze, normally an inferior material, and is etched with a number of pictographic symbols that seem to depict worship of a sun deity. Perhaps because of some magic inherent in the symbols, or perhaps due to an unrelated enchantment, this bronze blade has several interesting properties. Despite the material, the blade is stronger and holds a better edge than steel. It also has the ability to absorb and store sunlight over a period of time, visible as a constant light reflecting from the dull bronze even in darkness, which can be released in a large blinding flash at the will of the wielder. The weapon was taken from the powerful shaman of a desert tribe that Jahar was sent to exterminate as one of his first real assignments.
Other Gear:
Onyx Eye: This gemstone was taken from yet another unsuccessful assassin sent by Jahar's former employer. It is a perfectly spherical black stone, made to be placed into an empty eye socket. The bearer can see through this gem just as though his eye were still intact, though it cannot process color, seeing instead in gradations of black and white. This produces a rather jarring effect to which the bearer must become accustomed, as the other eye still sees normally, causing a strange juxtaposition of vision. The advantage of the Onyx Eye is that it grants the ability to see in near total darkness, as it can process white light far better than any biological eye. This ability has no effect on magical darkness.
Amulet of Iron Skin: This amulet is crafted from silver, with what appears to be a simple small glass triangular pendant hanging from it. Jahar took the item from the corpse of the same man from whom he acquired the Onyx Eye. When worn, the amulet constantly absorbs a fractional amount of kinetic energy from the wearers every movement, storing it until it becomes fully charged. When so charged, the amulet allows the wearer to direct this excess of kinetic energy to particular places on his body in order to counter physical attacks that he is unable to dodge. The wearer must be aware of the attack for the amulet to counter it, and has a limited amount of energy. When fully charged, it can counter three minor attacks, such as the bolt from a hand crossbow or throwing daggers, or up to one fairly strong attack, such as a close range broad head arrow fired from a longbow or a sword thrust, before exhausting its well of energy. Jahar has found that charging the amulet generally requires around one day of normal activity.
Combat Abilities:
Combat Style: Even without the abilities granted by his strange tattoos, Jahar is a model of ruthless efficiency in combat. He eschews flashy tricks in favor of pure economy of motion. Jahar has mastered the various weapons that he carries, seamlessly employing them in various combinations depending on the strengths of his foe. Due to the dangerous nature of his tattoos, Jahar prefers not to employ them unless he is certain he can end a battle quickly or is pressed too hard, relying instead on his natural ability and training.
Abilities:
Weapon Masteries: Jahar employs a variety of exotic weapons with which he has trained extensively. When wielding his twin Haladie Daggers, Jahar is poetry in motion, as though he were born with the weapons in hand. Of his personal arsenal, these are the weapons with which he has trained the longest. However, he is nearly as well trained and deadly with each of the weapons he carries, particularly his Urumi, which is one of the more difficult weapons to wield in existence.
Hand to Hand: While no master, Jahar was trained in several forms of hand to hand combat, including various grappling and other martial techniques. He is able to easily defeat unskilled opponents without weapons if necessary and hold his own against those with more training.
Face in the Crowd: While his particularly distinctive appearance makes the use of this skill somewhat difficult, Jahar was originally trained to be a faceless bodyguard, unnoticed until needed. He still retains his knowledge of how to blend into a crowd and disappear or follow a target unnoticed through a busy street.
Exotic Weaponry: While not actually an ability, the very exotic nature of Jahar's weapons has served him well in combat. Few have ever heard of, much less seen, things such as his Haladie daggers or Urumi, already difficult weapons against which to defend. This often forces his opponents to learn quickly or die equally quickly.
Blackvine Tattoos: The product of decades of research by a very talented, and very corrupt mage, the Blackvine tattoos are truly unique. Viewed closely, the tattoos are inked in a series of gradations of black with stunning detail, forming intricate loops and whirls that stem from a central pattern along Jahar's spine. The vines spread to cover his arms and legs, with one particularly long vine that ends in a closed black rosebud upon the back of his left hand. Tendrils also curl from the central pattern from either side to nearly meet upon his chest and stomach. The uppermost vine is wrapped partially around Jahar's neck, climbing the left side of his face to curl around the eye, ending in another of the black rosebuds inked upon his eyelid and eye socket.
When activated by the bearer, the tattooed vines sprout small thorns which look to be dug into Jahar's skin at intervals, causing him real pain as though he had actually been punctured. The tattoos then begin to consume a small amount of Jahar's life essence in order to activate their true power: they begin to collect the ever present ambient magical energy from the surrounding atmosphere, the same energy that many mages use to fuel their magics. Jahar is then able to send bursts of raw magical power throughout the vines on his body, granting increased abilities far beyond those of a normal human.
The Blackvine tattoos are not without drawbacks, however, as the human body simply was not meant to handle this sort of raw magical power. When the tattoos are activated, along with the thorns, the two closed rosebuds on his eye and hand bloom into large black roses in the same intricate gradations of black as the vines. As Jahar draws upon his powers, the petals of both flowers begin to wilt and die one by one, representing the stress upon his body. The more power he uses, the faster the petals die. Jahar was told explicitly that should the entire flower wilt and die, the amount of raw energy coursing through him will almost certainly kill him. Once deactivated, the excess energy is expelled harmlessly over time, but Jahar is left in a highly fatigued state and cannot draw upon the powers again until fully recovered.
The abilities granted by the Blackvine Tattoos when activated are as follows:
--Strength: Jahar is able to channel energy to increase his strength by up to several factors of his natural ability. Even without aid of the tattoos, Jahar is already fairly strong, able to easily lift objects exceeding his own body weight, but with them his strength is truly prodigious. Jahar is not even certain how much stronger he can become, as both the factor by which he increases his strength and the duration he maintains it affect how quickly the flowers wilt. As a result he has been hesitant to test its limits; however, he regularly utilizes strength exceeding two or three times normal.
--Speed: Jahar is also able to channel energy to increase the speed of his movements, particularly in short bursts. This power is exceedingly difficult to control when used to increase running speed, as the mind's capability to process the environment does not increase in kind. Jahar does, however, often employ this ability for superhumanly fast lunges, strikes, dodges or retreats. Just as with the strength, both the factor by which he increases his speed and the duration he maintains it affect how quickly the flowers wilt.
--Durability: The Blackvine Tattoos also provide Jahar with a limited amount of enhanced durability, though it is not particularly useful as a deterrent to incoming attacks. More so, it is something of a reflexive use of the tattoo's abilities that is closely tied to his increases in strength, wherein the energy coursing through Jahar's body will protect him from damaging himself by overexerting his still very human body.
History:
Jahar al'Harradin was born to a prostitute in Cadishmar, a den of corruption far to the east, perched on the edge of a vast desert. He does not even know his own true name, as his mother abandoned him as soon as she deemed him old enough to fend for himself. This was at the age of seven. Jahar spent the next five years scrounging for survival, trying and not always succeeding at avoiding beatings or worse. At the age of twelve, Jahar's fate was changed for better or worse by the men that all street urchins in Cadishmar feared the most....the Snatchers.
For years, it had been said, the Snatchers had prowled the night streets of Cadishmar, taking urchins whom no one would miss. When they took Jahar, he awoke in a dungeon with a small group of other children who he soon learned had been snatched as well. They were told only that they would have a chance to fight for their lives against a boy their age, and that should they win, they would be set free and given a sum of coin that would feed them for a year or more. Jahar later learned that he had been taken to the home of a master Assassin, and that the children were part of a special training program he had put together for a pupil at the request of that pupil's very powerful father, Machiavelli Salvatore, a visiting dignitary from a powerful kingdom. The promised reward for victory was to ensure that the children fought with everything they had, but the main point was to turn Salvatore's son Nicoli into a merciless killer.
Jahar watched as each of his fellow captives fought bravely but were killed quickly by the terrifyingly calm young man until finally it was his own turn. He fared little better himself, and Nicoli dealt him a savage gut wound. Jahar, however, would not admit he was beaten and, having dropped the weapon he had been given, charged the other boy in a feral rage, clawing, biting and scratching. Somehow in his frenzy, he managed to wound the far better trained Nicoli, incurring the other boy's wrath. Just as he was about to strike Jahar down, however, Machiavelli himself, who happened to be observing at the time, stopped him, deciding that Jahar himself might prove useful.
Machiavelli, who held a powerful position as the adviser to a powerful King, was investing a great deal of time and effort into turning his son into his own personal assassin, and he had decided to use this savage young boy to help protect that investment. He gave the boy clothes, food a place to live, and even his name, Jahar. The boy took the name al'Harradin after the Harradin desert, on the border of which his home city stood. Jahar was to be a hidden bodyguard, unknown even to Nicoli himself, always watching nearby should need arise. He was taught to read and write and given a cursory education, taught how to feign culture so that he could follow his charge wherever he went. He was trained by ruthless masters in various combat arts as well as the art of blending and observing unnoticed, and he took to his training with single minded intent, seeing this as his only opportunity to escape his former life. For over two years he followed his charge, always increasing his own skills, never certain if Nicoli even knew he existed.
This continued until Nicoli was caught spying on the King of his own volition, when Jahar was fifteen, and was banished with no interference from his callous father. Machiavelli, not one to throw away a potentially useful tool, devised another use for Jahar. If Nicoli was not to be his weapon, then he would create a new, utterly loyal one out of Jahar. Machiavelli turned to a powerful magus with whom he often collaborated, offering him a chance to test his new creation, which he called the Blackvine Tattoos, designed to grant supernatural power to their bearer as well as complete control over the bearer by whomever knew the proper Commands.
The experiment at first proved a great success, creating in Jahar a seemingly unstoppable assassin, completely unable to act against the will of Machiavelli, who held the Command words. After the initial success, Machiavelli continued to develop his weapon, furthering his training in various weapon forms and other martial arts, while at the same time using him to eliminate anyone who stood in his way. Jahar was the perfect disposable killer, able to be thrown away should he ever become a liability.
However, Machiavelli failed to account for the changes that the sort of life he had made for Jahar might wreak upon a man's mind. Five years of countless murders and of having his will peeled away had warped the young man's perceptions until concepts of right and wrong were completely alien to him. There was only the killing, and the deep seething hatred of the man who had made him come to love it, Machiavelli Salvatore.
Had Jahar not been the first test subject, perhaps the problems that grew could have been avoided for Machiavelli, but as it was, neither he nor his magus colleague anticipated what happened. The tattoos had been designed specifically to grant control over Jahar, using what Machiavelli had gleaned of his psyche as a basis, but the man he was becoming was resembling less and less the man he had been. As a result, the control that Machiavelli exerted over him began to weaken. It began with something small; Jahar began to leave a sort of calling card with his victims even though he had not been ordered to do so, and later even after he had been ordered not to. The bodies would be found the next day, their left eye carved out and replaced by a rose blossom dipped in black ink. It was not long before the control slipped further and Jahar began to act further outside his orders. He would still carry out his objective, but now he would leave a wake of bodies in his passing. By the time Jahar was twenty, every time he was let off his chain, as Machiavelli came to think of it, the death counts grew.
Reluctantly, Machiavelli decided it was time to end his experiment and destroy his decreasingly useful weapon. He ordered Jahar into a room and discretely ordered his men to execute him. When Jahar discovered their intent only a few minutes later, something inside of him snapped, returning him to the same near feral state he had displayed as a boy against Nicoli. The last threads of control over his mind were completely severed, and he brutally killed his would be executioners with his bare hands. He then stalked through Machiavelli's compound in a blood frenzy, killing anyone with whom he made contact. Machiavelli himself, prepared for nearly any situation, easily escaped Jahar's wrath, but did not have the means at his disposal to kill or capture the young man before he fled into the city, possessed of free will for the first time in half a decade.
It took more than a year for Jahar al'Harradin to regain a part of his sense of self and begin to reconcile himself to the man he had become. It did not take him long to realize that, despite the inner revulsion he had once felt at the things he had been forced to do, killing had become almost a part of him. A hole in his soul that needed to be filled. It was not difficult to make the leap to becoming a killer for hire. In fact, his reputation as the Black Rose Killer actually aided him in finding work. His brutal methods were considered by many the perfect solution for times when a message needed to be sent to an enemy, and his work provided the outlet for his darker nature that he required.
Over the past eight years, however, the thrill of the kill has become less and less satisfying for Jahar in and of itself, leading him to seek out greater and more dangerous challengers. He has had no shortage of these. Bounty hunters who seek the large purse upon his head are common. Less common but always more interesting were the assassins, both those hired by various parties who would be happy to see the Blackvine dead and those who simply find his lack of subtlety repugnant. Even less common are the heroes, those who feel it is their duty to destroy evil in the world; these fights are always a favorite for Jahar. Part of him simply enjoys the level of focus that their conviction brings them; the better the fight, the more alive he feels. A smaller, but insistent part, however, the part of him that was nearly killed by Nicoli in a fighting pit so many years ago, holds out hope that one of these heroes will finally put a sword through his black heart.
