“Worry not,” Nika tells Conrad as they ascend the platform, smile sitting easily above her rapidly beating heart. She breathes, calming herself. “Whatever our teachers tell us, you do not win with the advantages you have.”
She unfolds her own stand, planting the base on the stage (adhesive patches sticking to the surface) and adjusting the panel, then looses the drawstring around her pouch. With one hand, she grasps the fabric furthermost from the entrance and tosses the contents upwards with a clatter and glints of light; with the other, she presses a button to begin the opening sequence.
Nika feels the familiar rush of energy as the programmed spell takes effect. Thus do the balls of magnesium halt in mid-air, rapidly heat and burst into flame, the resulting brilliant white light instantly drawing the crowd’s gaze.
Conventional wisdom coming into this event forecasts an Ishtar sweep; the academy has more experienced musicians on its side, even besides Ishtar’s long-standing advantage in Write from its freer philosophy of education. Their rival academy cannot fight on their terms. The counter, then? An immediate upset – doing something unexpected and striking, making the certain uncertain. Experience, after all, has a frame of reference; break that and what remains is doubt.
Nika smiles still, the magic continuing to flow from her – the marbles vibrate under her metal manipulation, issuing forth a deep, constant monotone that echoes in the stadium even as its issuers spread with predetermined direction to form a perfect rectangle, a shining backdrop to the team’s stage. In the instant that they reach their goal they pulse, the monotone rising two octaves and separating to a chord – a chord of the very same notes that will begin the performance.
This song was Ishtar’s. It is now Marduk’s.
Breathing, Nika turns again to Conrad, gaze grey and sharp as flint. “You win with how you use them.” She looks to William, hands moving to their positions on her controls. “Ready.”
“Uhh, thank you again… I should introduce myself, my name is Gloria Sosa Hathaway, so what’s yours fellow Philosophy student?”
The cold is chilling now, suffocating any other thought – correcting the mistake. Alistair reads the curiosity, the hope on Gloria’s face through her nerves, warm and dangerously compelling. You must not accidentally sabotage another. Nor may you dedicate time that must be utilised for understanding. Distance yourself, now!
You’ll hurt her…
Moreso by attachment. “Alistair Parton,” the boy answers, straining for a frigid tone and keeping his eyes firmly anchored forwards as he sets a rapid pace out of the building and onto one of the campus roads, where a slight rise and curve inhibit line of sight. “The building ought to be down there…” Alistair trails off from his attempt to sound authoritative, suddenly self-doubting – and then flinches. Stop undermining yourself! You look vulnerable; vulnerability endears; endearment creates connection and connection without comprehension risks harm to others! He nods in affirmation; “It will be down there,” he declares.
That is all that Alistair says as the two make the short walk down to the entrance of the Mary Wollstonecraft Building and then pass through its bright atrium to arrive at the doors of Lecture Theatre 2. There, he gives Gloria a swift nod, now working to not read her expression and focussing hard on keeping his own blank, before making his way inside to find a seat at the very front while hoping against hope that she doesn’t follow.
‘…the sole end for which mankind are warranted, individually or collectively, in interfering with the liberty of action of any of their number, is self-protection. That the only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilised community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others.’
What’s ‘harm’, though?
Alistair sighs. He swings his legs from atop the metal lattice, planting his solidly-shod feet on the ground and resting his head on the pillar of his hand and arm. Down at the book he gazes. “It’s… It’s like the pleasure machine. What’s to stop someone locking people up to prevent them from getting hurt – in the most specific sense?” He growls. “Or, in the other direction, to convince people to trust no-one in academia because they think they’re part of some nonsensical conspiracy?”
He shakes his head, lying back against the metal post. It’s just too vague. You could use this to justify anything. Then he closes his fist – the one not holding the library’s copy of Mill’s On Liberty, one of a number of texts he’d plundered and absorbed over the last few days (as opposed to engaging with most of Freshers’ Week) – and shakes his head again, leaning down to drop the text into his bag, stand and pick the whole thing up in a single, fluid motion. “Need to keep reading. Probably explains later.” Still…
His thoughts trail to a halt as he looks behind him, confirming the appearance of an elderly couple waiting patiently and a little nervously off to the side. Alistair opens his mouth slightly, then shuts it, hunching over in guilt and walking away to allow them to use the telescope. As he does so, he looks up slightly to take in the view of London, then back to the hole through the hedges to where he knows by now St Paul’s Cathedral is, crowning the City. And it doesn’t solve the main issue, either. No matter how much thought I put into rules, or how much I think I might be protecting people…
He shakes his head, turning away to begin the journey home. I could still just be hurting them.
The Parton Residence, Hounslow Monday Morning
The clanks of spoon against bowl ring out across the Partons’ kitchen diner and into the wider flat beyond as Alistair practically gulps down his cereal and muesli. The young man’s face practically cries out with determination, focus and thought (contortions from eating aside).
“Easy there, tiger!” Steven Parton’s chuckle gives way to a yawn as he makes his way out of Alistair’s parents’ room, dressing gown-clad. “No need to get it all inside at once. You’ll give yourself indigestion if you’re not careful.”
Alistair pauses a moment and bites his upper lip. Then, giving a grudging nod, he slows the pace of his consumption. Fractionally.
“You’re bright-eyed and bushy-tailed today,” Steven continues. He glances out of the window, the sky still cloaked in twilight. “When’s your first lecture?”
Alistair swallows – “Ten. Planning on getting there early – picking up some books, then settling into the lecture hall for a bit –” and then continues as before.
Steven purses his lips. Then he swings round the table, sitting opposite his son to look him in the eyes. “Hey. You’re going to be fine, Alistair. Don’t worry.”
My own being fine isn’t the issue… “You don’t worry either, Dad.” Alistair musters up a smile. “You’re right, I’ll be fine.”
“Good!” Steven raises a huge smile, its infection crossing to Alistair through the hand that clasps and shakes his shoulder. “Seriously, though, you’re going to be great.”
Alistair gives a nod in answer, light in his eyes… Then his mind turns to his purpose again, to the question that paralyses him – to its enormity, to the fact that it has never been solved before. His gaze turns downwards, steely once more. I must be. There isn’t another option.
Not if I am to meet with success.
Thames’ Edge Campus
Striding away from the library – in which he had already spent three hours and from which a new haul of books weighs down his backpack – Alistair glances at his watch. Twenty to. Plenty of time to find a seat, set out belongings and obtain a proper state of mind for absorption and note-taking. He nods to himself, continuing his course through the gleaming corridors of the shining modernist buildings… Bland but efficient, though no doubt it would make life harder for those who hadn’t memorised much of the campus’ layout already.
“Uhh… Hi… How are you two doing? I-I need help finding my first class…”
Ah.
Mind catching on the voice as he passes the open doors to the common area, Alistair stops mid-stride and hesitates, eyes taking in the situation with the precision of intense practice: a blonde-haired girl – one whom he realises he recognises from the preliminary Philosophy lecture – her hunched, shrinking posture implying distinct unease, facing away from him to speak to a pair of others: one another blond, tall even for a man of his age but seemingly also nervous – and leaving – the other a shorter dark-haired girl with a cane accompanied by two dogs (Alistair’s brain takes in this fact only after some difficulty – one dog would make sense, but two?), her face the picture of pleasantness straining as hard as it possibly can to obscure indignance. Clearly, the first of the three (possibly the second too) is out of her depth.
Help.
A tidal wave of cold swamps that thought. No. You could make things worse just as easily as better. You have no way of knowing.
Standing by won’t do anything…
And that is the best that can be guaranteed beyond doubt. Study. Comprehend. Act only then. So does his creed repeat itself – and yet…
BONG.
Alistair starts as the peal of the bell rings through his mind – That’s been there the whole time, he realises, where, when did – and then there is a another BONG and a pulse and suddenly the world is shrouded and still and where the three are standing there are others superimposed, half-real, and the bell rings, and rings again, stronger, and rings again –
Closing his eyes and raising his hand as if to ward against the strain, Alistair opens them to find the world… Normal.
What… He groans softly, bringing the hand to his head. Maybe I did get up too early –
“Next time maybe look for people not in a conversation, or wait until they're finished? We were kinda in the middle of something there.”
The strident tone brings him back to the situation at hand. This time, rationality momentarily blindsided, Alistair drives forward and moves to lightly tap the blonde on the shoulder. Closing his eyes again, momentarily focussing past the quietened yet still powerful wave of cold, he forces a smile and awkwardly extends a directing finger. “First year Philosophy? Wollstonecraft Building? Headed there now, if you want to follow.”
Name: Adrian Towner Age: 17 Gender: Male Height/Weight: 167 cm/70 kg (Former) Occupation: Schoolchild Appearance: Short, gaunt and pale of face, Adrian is most often found dishevelled in both clothing and hair, not out of any recent event but due to a general lack of self-care beyond the mechanical. His eyes frequently bear bags and he rarely meets those of others.
________________________________________
Biography
To say that Adrian has had a poor life would be something of an understatement.
This was not set in stone from the beginning, of course; nobody’s future is. Adrian was born into a loving family in Sussex, consisting of a mother, father and elder brother, with whom he spent the first five years of his life – more than enough time to form numerous happy memories, faded but still warm. That, sadly, is all he now has of his first family, for Adrian’s biological parents and sibling died after being struck by a car while on their way back from a friend’s birthday party.
Adrian was being taken care of by his grandmother, Marjorie Towner, at the time, now his only living relative, and it was with his grandmother whom he would now stay. Ordinarily, this would have still set him up well for life; Marjorie doted on the young boy and had the wisdom to both support him through his confused grief and to allow him to forge his own path in school and life. Adrian, for his part, was hardly unhappy with his new existence; he loved his grandma and the next few five or so years were very enjoyable for him.
This made it even more painful when she was slowly, excruciatingly torn away from him. Marjorie fell ill; it transpired that she had an incurable cancer and, as her condition deteriorated, Adrian took on the role of her caregiver. This was a role that he was more than happy to fulfil, despite it being stressful and time-consuming for someone so young, given the care that she had lavished on him. Indeed, his mental state remained strong and his performance in school stable. Of course, it was at this point that social services involved themselves, deciding that Adrian could not be expected to take care of Marjorie and that both would be best served if she were placed in a home and he with a foster family. Thus, he never properly got to stay with her in her last months or say goodbye to her before she died, a fact which haunts him to this day.
Instead, Adrian was moved from one family to another, grief renewed and warm memories turning searing hot. Those which found themselves unprepared for a new addition to their family only reinforced a burgeoning paradoxical mixture of self-loathing, fear of loss and desperation for connection; those which ordinarily would have been found him alternating between sorrowful coldness and clinging warmth that nonetheless did not extend to sharing the burdens of his past. His grades slipped, badly, and he pushed away what few schoolfriends he had.
Then, of course, came the waves of power, and with them the painfully vivid dreams of what could have been, the families that he could have had, sundered by each dawn. Adrian told no-one, for fear of what they might herald. And then he Awoke.
________________________________________
Skills and Weaknesses
Skills:
Hardened to Sorrow: Adrian has suffered sufficiently and is normally reserved enough that the outside world can’t do much more to hurt him should he choose to not let it.
Wanderer: Adrian has spent the last years of his life drifting from home to home, unwilling and unable to form lasting connections. Adaptability to new or difficult situations is hardly a problem for him.
Magical Anticipant: Despite the deaths of his family, and though he hid it, the advent of bittersweet dreams of his former family in the immediate aftermath of each Wave began to make him suspect that he might be due for Awakening before it happened; he is thus less blindsided now than he might otherwise be.
Weaknesses:
Lost and Alone: At his core, Adrian is still a person in deep conflict with himself – desperate for the affection that he had as a child and simultaneously fearful that gaining it will only mean the pain of losing it again. Should his defensive shell crack under stress, results will tend towards the self-destructive.
Discordance: Adrian’s personal complexes render him difficult to communicate with at the best of times and actively sabotaging of personal relationships at the worst. This is somewhat anti-synergistic with his magic.
Untrained Form: Adrian’s physical abilities are less than stellar, first too focussed elsewhere and then too erratic to leave room for exercise or sport; he possesses below-average strength and stamina.
Spells:
- Circle: Only by harmony may one find strength. Adrian creates a telepathic space in his mind in which surface thoughts and emotion are shared. He may then invite other beings of whom he is aware into this space; such an invitation makes itself known as a feeling of mental resonance in the mind of the receiver, which can then be briefly focussed on by the receiver to bring themselves into the space and, in turn, briefly blocked out to leave the space. The more beings within this space, the greater the mental strain on Adrian, which can cause headaches and migraines. Adrian may use and dismiss any of the Circle variants of his spells on any of those in the space; their effects end for any who leave the space.
- Bond: Only by dedication may one find understanding. Adrian forges an intense empathic bond with one other being of whom he is aware, with whom he has a social connection and who is willing to forge such a bond, which first makes itself known in the same way as Circle, if more powerfully; forging and maintaining this bond is incredibly difficult and mentally taxing, resulting in head pain like Circle even if held for short lengths of time and permanent damage to the nervous system if used too frequently or for too long or especially if the other being forcibly removes themselves from the bond at any point, but becomes somewhat less so if the social connection between Adrian and the other being is particularly strong. This ends Circle, if Circle is active; any of the spells which Adrian is using through Circle end, unless they are directed towards the person to whom Adrian is applying Bond, in which case those spells switch to the Bond variant. Each of the Bond variants of his spells requires more energy than its Circle equivalent. Bond’s empathic link can also cause aspects of Adrian’s personality and the personality of the other being to pass through, manifesting as a permanent influence on either, particularly if used frequently or for long periods of time and particularly for people with weaker senses of their own identity.
- Conduit (Circle): Adrian opens a magical channel to another being within his Circle, allowing them to use him as a focus for their spells. When casting a spell, instead of directing it themselves, this being may transfer the spell through the channel, allowing Adrian to direct it instead. Conduit gives Adrian no knowledge or intuition of how the other being casts this spell or what said spell is, resulting in profound risk of backlash or miscasting, especially if used recklessly or without communication. - Spellweave (Bond): Adrian opens a magical channel to the being with whom he shares a Bond, allowing them to share their spellcasting potential with him. The being may direct any of the colours of magical energy which they are capable of harnessing and, with it, the basic metaphysical patterning of their spells through the channel, allowing him to rework this energy into the singular spells that the being with whom he shares a bond possesses or to combine their properties to form new merged spells. Like Conduit, Spellweave gives Adrian no knowledge of what energy and spell patterning is being transferred before he receives it or how it may be reworked beyond Bond’s normal effects, risking backlash or miscasting if not used carefully.
- Exchange (Circle): Adrian switches places with another being within his Circle. This typically results in some level of disorientation for both, particularly for those unused to magical teleportation. - Synchronicity (Bond): Adrian and the being with whom he shares a Bond enter a state of metaphysical mirroring, causing them both to simultaneously exist in the two places that they were originally in as individuals. Both direct the motion of each of the resulting superimpositions, though neither gains any innate ability to cooperate in doing so beyond their Bond’s mental closeness. Upon the spell’s end, the beings separate into the positions of the superimpositions whose space the other originally occupied; this, the spell’s acivation and the process as a whole are all normally disorientating and, for many, profoundly unsettling, especially if they are unused to it.
- Lifelink (Circle): Adrian anchors his physical wellbeing and endurance to that of another being within his Circle. Any wounds that either takes are rendered half as grievous as they otherwise would be but also appear on the other, while their reserves of physical energy become shared. These effects may be extended to other beings within Adrian’s Circle, mitigating and sharing wounds equally and pooling stamina among the larger group, by casting the spell upon them as well. - Lifeblaze (Bond): Adrian anchors his physical wellbeing and endurance to that of the being with whom he shares a Bond. Any wounds that either takes are rendered half as grievous as they otherwise would be but also appear on the other, while their reserves of physical energy become shared. Moreover, the red magical energies of both continuously restore their stamina and vitality, allowing them to perform greater feats and shrug off wounds more easily than they would otherwise be able to; this does not, however, amount to healing or last beyond the duration of Lifeblaze’s effect.
- Manalink (Circle): Adrian links his magical energies to those of another being within his Circle such that either casts spells with the energy from both. This effect may be extended to other beings within Adrian’s Circle, pooling magical energy between the larger group, by casting the spell upon them as well. Maintaining the integrity of this central pool of energy is taxing for Adrian; moreover, it loses the efficiencies of each being’s practiced use of their own magical energies, causing the casters’ overall energy to be drained more quickly than it otherwise would be. - Manastorm (Bond): Adrian links his magical energies to those of the being with whom he shares a Bond such that either casts spells with the energy from both. Each spell cast by either may also draw upon the magical potential of both, effectively doubling its power (assuming equal levels of magical potential). Maintaining the integrity of this central pool of energy is taxing for Adrian; moreover, it loses the efficiencies of each being’s practiced use of their own magic and neither being receives any knowledge or intuition for managing the increased power of their spells.
Adrian has been updated in line with OP recommendations and, I believe, is ready for review!
Adrian Towner
Basics
Name: Adrian Towner Age: 17 Gender: Male Height/Weight: 167 cm/70 kg (Former) Occupation: Schoolchild Appearance: Short, gaunt and pale of face, Adrian is most often found dishevelled in both clothing and hair, not out of any recent event but due to a general lack of self-care beyond the mechanical. His eyes frequently bear bags and he rarely meets those of others.
________________________________________
Biography
To say that Adrian has had a poor life would be something of an understatement.
This was not set in stone from the beginning, of course; nobody’s future is. Adrian was born into a loving family in Sussex, consisting of a mother, father and elder brother, with whom he spent the first five years of his life – more than enough time to form numerous happy memories, faded but still warm. That, sadly, is all he now has of his first family, for Adrian’s biological parents and sibling died after being struck by a car while on their way back from a friend’s birthday party.
Adrian was being taken care of by his grandmother, Marjorie Towner, at the time, now his only living relative, and it was with his grandmother whom he would now stay. Ordinarily, this would have still set him up well for life; Marjorie doted on the young boy and had the wisdom to both support him through his confused grief and to allow him to forge his own path in school and life. Adrian, for his part, was hardly unhappy with his new existence; he loved his grandma and the next few five or so years were very enjoyable for him.
This made it even more painful when she was slowly, excruciatingly torn away from him. Marjorie fell ill; it transpired that she had an incurable cancer and, as her condition deteriorated, Adrian took on the role of her caregiver. This was a role that he was more than happy to fulfil, despite it being stressful and time-consuming for someone so young, given the care that she had lavished on him. Indeed, his mental state remained strong and his performance in school stable. Of course, it was at this point that social services involved themselves, deciding that Adrian could not be expected to take care of Marjorie and that both would be best served if she were placed in a home and he with a foster family. Thus, he never properly got to stay with her in her last months or say goodbye to her before she died, a fact which haunts him to this day.
Instead, Adrian was moved from one family to another, grief renewed and warm memories turning searing hot. Those which found themselves unprepared for a new addition to their family only reinforced a burgeoning paradoxical mixture of self-loathing, fear of loss and desperation for connection; those which ordinarily would have been found him alternating between sorrowful coldness and clinging warmth that nonetheless did not extend to sharing the burdens of his past. His grades slipped, badly, and he pushed away what few schoolfriends he had.
Then, of course, came the waves of power, and with them the painfully vivid dreams of what could have been, the families that he could have had, sundered by each dawn. Adrian told no-one, for fear of what they might herald. And then he Awoke.
________________________________________
Skills and Weaknesses
Skills:
Hardened to Sorrow: Adrian has suffered sufficiently and is normally reserved enough that the outside world can’t do much more to hurt him should he choose to not let it.
Wanderer: Adrian has spent the last years of his life drifting from home to home, unwilling and unable to form lasting connections. Adaptability to new or difficult situations is hardly a problem for him.
Magical Anticipant: Despite the deaths of his family, and though he hid it, the advent of bittersweet dreams of his former family in the immediate aftermath of each Wave began to make him suspect that he might be due for Awakening before it happened; he is thus less blindsided now than he might otherwise be.
Weaknesses:
Lost and Alone: At his core, Adrian is still a person in deep conflict with himself – desperate for the affection that he had as a child and simultaneously fearful that gaining it will only mean the pain of losing it again. Should his defensive shell crack under stress, results will tend towards the self-destructive.
Discordance: Adrian’s personal complexes render him difficult to communicate with at the best of times and actively sabotaging of personal relationships at the worst. This is somewhat anti-synergistic with his magic.
Untrained Form: Adrian’s physical abilities are less than stellar, first too focussed elsewhere and then too erratic to leave room for exercise or sport; he possesses below-average strength and stamina.
Spells:
- Circle: Only by harmony may one find strength. Adrian creates a telepathic space in his mind in which surface thoughts and emotion are shared. He may then invite other beings of whom he is aware into this space; such an invitation makes itself known as a feeling of mental resonance in the mind of the receiver, which can then be briefly focussed on by the receiver to bring themselves into the space and, in turn, briefly blocked out to leave the space. The more beings within this space, the greater the mental strain on Adrian, which can cause headaches and migraines. Adrian may use and dismiss any of the Circle variants of his spells on any of those in the space; their effects end for any who leave the space.
- Bond: Only by dedication may one find understanding. Adrian forges an intense empathic bond with one other being of whom he is aware, with whom he has a social connection and who is willing to forge such a bond, which first makes itself known in the same way as Circle, if more powerfully; forging and maintaining this bond is incredibly difficult and mentally taxing, resulting in head pain like Circle even if held for short lengths of time and permanent damage to the nervous system if used too frequently or for too long or especially if the other being forcibly removes themselves from the bond at any point, but becomes somewhat less so if the social connection between Adrian and the other being is particularly strong. This ends Circle, if Circle is active; any of the spells which Adrian is using through Circle end, unless they are directed towards the person to whom Adrian is applying Bond, in which case those spells switch to the Bond variant. Each of the Bond variants of his spells requires more energy than its Circle equivalent. Bond’s empathic link can also cause aspects of Adrian’s personality and the personality of the other being to pass through, manifesting as a permanent influence on either, particularly if used frequently or for long periods of time and particularly for people with weaker senses of their own identity.
- Conduit (Circle): Adrian opens a magical channel to another being within his Circle, allowing them to use him as a focus for their spells. When casting a spell, instead of directing it themselves, this being may transfer the spell through the channel, allowing Adrian to direct it instead. Conduit gives Adrian no knowledge or intuition of how the other being casts this spell or what said spell is, resulting in profound risk of backlash or miscasting, especially if used recklessly or without communication. - Spellweave (Bond): Adrian opens a magical channel to the being with whom he shares a Bond, allowing them to share their spellcasting potential with him. The being may direct any of the colours of magical energy which they are capable of harnessing and, with it, the basic metaphysical patterning of their spells through the channel, allowing him to rework this energy into the singular spells that the being with whom he shares a bond possesses or to combine their properties to form new merged spells. Like Conduit, Spellweave gives Adrian no knowledge of what energy and spell patterning is being transferred before he receives it or how it may be reworked beyond Bond’s normal effects, risking backlash or miscasting if not used carefully.
- Exchange (Circle): Adrian switches places with another being within his Circle. This typically results in some level of disorientation for both, particularly for those unused to magical teleportation. - Synchronicity (Bond): Adrian and the being with whom he shares a Bond enter a state of metaphysical mirroring, causing them both to simultaneously exist in the two places that they were originally in as individuals. Both direct the motion of each of the resulting superimpositions, though neither gains any innate ability to cooperate in doing so beyond their Bond’s mental closeness. Upon the spell’s end, the beings separate into the positions of the superimpositions whose space the other originally occupied; this, the spell’s activation and the process as a whole are all normally disorientating and, for many, profoundly unsettling, especially if they are unused to it.
- Lifelink (Circle): Adrian anchors his physical wellbeing and endurance to that of another being within his Circle. Any wounds that either takes are rendered half as grievous as they otherwise would be but also appear on the other, while their reserves of physical energy become shared. These effects may be extended to other beings within Adrian’s Circle, mitigating and sharing wounds equally and pooling stamina among the larger group, by casting the spell upon them as well. - Lifeblaze (Bond): Adrian anchors his physical wellbeing and endurance to that of the being with whom he shares a Bond. Any wounds that either takes are rendered half as grievous as they otherwise would be but also appear on the other, while their reserves of physical energy become shared. Moreover, the red magical energies of both continuously restore their stamina and vitality, allowing them to perform greater feats and shrug off wounds more easily than they would otherwise be able to; this does not, however, amount to healing or last beyond the duration of Lifeblaze’s effect.
- Manalink (Circle): Adrian links his magical energies to those of another being within his Circle such that either casts spells with the energy from both. This effect may be extended to other beings within Adrian’s Circle, pooling magical energy between the larger group, by casting the spell upon them as well. Maintaining the integrity of this central pool of energy is taxing for Adrian; moreover, it loses the efficiencies of each being’s practiced use of their own magical energies, causing the casters’ overall energy to be drained more quickly than it otherwise would be. - Manastorm (Bond): Adrian links his magical energies to those of the being with whom he shares a Bond such that either casts spells with the energy from both. Each spell cast by either may also draw upon the magical potential of both, effectively doubling its power (assuming equal levels of magical potential). Maintaining the integrity of this central pool of energy is taxing for Adrian; moreover, it loses the efficiencies of each being’s practiced use of their own magic and neither being receives any knowledge or intuition for managing the increased power of their spells.
Alistair’s physical form is fairly average; he’s perhaps a touch shorter than medium height, is neither scrawny nor bulky and has a face somewhere between broad and angular. His hair is jet black and his eyes are a dull green. He’s normally at least somewhat well-kept – he washes his face enough to avoid outbreaks of acne but does get the occasional spot; has his hair cut every four or five months or so; and shaves once every two days.
In regards to clothing, Alistair’s wardrobe isn’t extensive or especially varied, since he isn’t exactly fashion-conscious and lets his parents and grandparents buy most of his clothing for him. His school uniform is worn according to Evergreen’s policy; when dressed casually he prefers mostly plain and fairly dark clothes, favouring mostly forest greens, maroons and deep blues, though he’s also a fan of burnt orange. Where he does wear more colour is on his t-shirts – which most people don’t know because he also favours heavier clothing, to the point that he’s been known to wear jumpers during heatwaves. Given that he enjoys walking, he possesses very rugged and practical footwear and sees little need to use anything else beyond his school shoes.
Alistair’s gear in the World of Fog will almost certainly skew towards the pragmatic and practical, favouring his usual rugged clothing and gradually augmented by what armour happens to be available.
Biography
Alistair’s life did not begin favourably. His biological parents died in a car crash when he was about three. Both were only children and, by a stroke of misfortune, all of his biological grandparents had died already; with no family to care for him, Alistair was thus put up for adoption. This, in most cases, would not have set him up well for the future.
Enter Henry Parton and Steven Daniels, a young, kind couple who had just entered into a civil partnership, as soon as the law allowed, and were now looking to adopt. Their application came through and, after warming quickly to Alistair and he only slightly less quickly to them, the two became his new parents and their mid-sized apartment in Manchester his new home.
This would be precursor to the best part of Alistair’s existence thus far. Proving bright, he was placed into private education funded by Steven’s job as a civil rights lawyer, something which he enjoyed thoroughly. At the same time, Henry’s work running a youth club in Manchester’s heart, where he kept watch over Alistair each day after school, kept the young boy from becoming snobbish – in fact, he became something of a little brother figure to several of the teenagers who frequented it. Through them, Alistair learned about many of society’s social ills, an education that was redoubled by his participation with his parents in Manchester’s Pride events and their telling him about their experiences when they were younger and society was less tolerant. Indeed, Alistair only knew two of his parents’ parents; Steven’s were heavily religious and had ostracised him upon his coming out. Nonetheless, that was the past and this was now; now the two of them were happy together and now they had a son who was quickly developing the fire to confront obstacles to his own and others’ happiness head-on.
Several wonderful years passed. Eventually, Steven secured a high-profile job at a law office in London and, Henry assuring him that one of his fellow youth workers was actively eager to take on a leadership role, the family moved southwards. Fortuitously, this was just before Alistair was due to start secondary school; while he did shed some tears over leaving his friends at his old school and at the youth club, some parts of the transition would have been inevitable even without the move, making it somewhat less painful. Performing very well in his SATs, he more than passed the threshold for entrance to the pre-eminent Evergreen Grammar School. Indeed, life could seemingly only get better; Henry and Steven married in 2014 as soon as same-sex couples gained the legal right to do so and Alistair also took the surname ‘Parton’ at his own insistence, binding their family yet more closely.
And then things got complicated.
Alistair never quite learned to love London – the place was unfamiliar, yes, but Alistair also found it more claustrophobic than Manchester; there were noticeably more people and buildings packed into any given space. It all felt rather hostile and, unfortunately, that set a tone. He didn’t really secure a friendship group at Evergreen in the same way that he had at his last school. Nor did he find himself with much social activity outside of school hours; not one to fall into gang activity, he instead started exercising his independence in walking through London’s many parks (one of the few things he preferred about the city). Richmond Park quickly became one of his favourite places to be and he’d often spend hours traversing its pathways.
That gave him time to contemplate, and he needed it, for his beliefs were also under assault. In 2016, when Alistair had just turned 15, the United Kingdom held a referendum on membership of the European Union. He and his parents, like most others, expected a Remain victory. They were proved wrong. For Alistair, this was a shock; Brexit, and especially the surge in racist abuse afterwards, presented a profound challenge to his previous belief that humanity was moving towards a more open future and would continue that way if only there were people to strive for it. He came to question whether fighting for a cause at all could in fact do more harm than good; after all, in Brexit’s case, the backlash against the values that he treasured had actually become more powerful than the case for those values. This wasn’t helped by his increasing predisposition towards philosophy, especially existentialism, and his hardening certainty that there could be no such thing as an objective right or wrong – meaning that all of the beliefs that he considered abhorrent were, in fact, as justifiable as his own. They could still be fought against, of course, but then he was reluctant to do that now.
Alistair thus began a search for answers that continues to this day – or, perhaps more accurately, for the answer, one to the question of society. His investigation fuelled him to near breaking point; what was distance before became active separation in an attempt to limit the perceived threat that any positive effort would entail, even as his conscience cried out that those efforts were needed now more than ever. This internal struggle motivated him, if self-destructively, such that his GCSEs, then A-Levels, were all great successes, or at least deemed as such.
This brings us to the Alistair of today, headed to Thames’ Edge – close and eminent, the obvious choice. His great struggle continues, caught between his desire to provoke change for the better and his fear that attempting to do so has an equal chance to bring about change for the worse. This fight and its self-imposed conditions have closed him off, despair creeping towards his heart for, within it, he still wants the chance to act, to dedicate himself to the justice, truth and harmony that he remains hopeful the world can one day embody.
Perhaps he’ll have that chance.
Personality
Once extroverted and constantly cheerful, Alistair is now a considerably more muted and deeply extrospective young man, questioning everything about the world around him to try and make some sense out of the growing chaos and contradiction. For now, that contradiction has rendered him more than a little mechanical, simply going through the motions of daily life. He rarely attempts to make friends anymore; that said, should one take the effort to crack his shell and get to know him, they would find someone who is still very personable, kind and warm – even fun-loving! What was previously his main drive, the determination to push society to be open and more welcoming, has been stifled; his primary goal now lies in finding the answers to the questions which are stifling it.
That stifling, naturally, is what has generated his Shadow. Alistair’s Shadow is what he has suppressed in his uncompromising search for answers: his desire to act, to strive to make the world a better place rather than trying to avoid making it a worse one. Like most Shadows, it is impulsive and reckless; unlike most, one could hardly call it selfish and, unlike most, Alistair does not reject it out of ignorance or fear alone but out of perceived necessity.
Education
Studying BA Philosophy and Sociology
Affiliations
Henry Parton – adoptive father Steven Parton – adoptive father
Alistair has had a wonderful relationship with his adoptive parents for the vast majority of his life, a bond forged over many years of shared thought, trust, hope and laughter. However, that bond is now under strain; Alistair’s relentless search for a way to enact change without risking its opposite has left him little time for regular interaction. Alistair, of course, knows full well that they worry after him; though he regrets it, he believes it another necessary sacrifice.
Janice Parton – adoptive grandmother Terence Parton – adoptive grandfather
Henry Parton’s parents have always doted on Alistair and that remains true today, something which Alistair appreciates. That said, he doesn’t see them terribly often any longer, given their home in the North of England. He’ll make more time for them at some point soon; such does he tell himself.
Alistair’s first choice of weapon system upon entering the World of Fog will be ranged, supportive and easy to use. The pavise and crossbow, therefore, will suit him well, allowing him to shelter out of others’ way and strike from a distance. He will also carry a basic first aid kit, enabling him to help others from behind cover.
Given the above, Alistair will initially reject his manifested weapon: a montante with a blade of beautiful silvery steel and spiralling script in that same silver running around the grip – an ever-growing list of the names of each of those for whom he has taken on the role of protector. Almost as long as he is tall, upon accepting it Alistair may either grasp the blade and use the crossguard to strike at armour like a pollaxe or, more conventionally, whirl this surprisingly defensive two-handed sword in great slashing arcs to keep multiple Shadows at bay and allow his teammates to work and fight unimpeded.
Once he has abandoned the crossbow and pavise in favour of the montante, Alistair will not carry any true ranged weapons; instead, he’ll keep a bag of caltrops on hand to scatter immediately before a fight and collect afterwards. These small tetrahedral spikes always land with a point up, significantly limiting the mobility of Shadows which move across the ground. This can be used to simply slow them down or to concentrate them into chokepoints – where Alistair will almost certainly be.
‘Horatius alone remained where he had first taken his stand, and directed Herminius and Larcius to tell the consuls, as from him, to cut away the bridge in all haste at the end next the city... the rest, he said, would be his concern. Having given these instructions to the two men, he stood upon the bridge itself, and when the enemy advanced upon him, he struck some of them with his sword and beat down others with his shield, repulsing all who attempted to rush upon the bridge. For the pursuers, looking upon him as a madman who was courting death, dared no longer come to grips with him... Finally, when he was overwhelmed with missiles and had a great number of wounds in many parts of his body... he heard those behind him shouting out that the greater part of the bridge was broken down. Thereupon he leaped with his arms into the river and swimming across the stream with great difficulty (for the current, being divided by the piles, ran swift and formed large eddies), he emerged upon the shore without having lost any of his arms in swimming.
Horatius, who had shown so great valour upon that occasion, occupied as enviable a position as any Roman who ever lived, but he was rendered useless by his lameness for further services to the state; and because of this misfortune he obtained neither the consulship nor any military command either.’
Background and Symbolism
Publius Horatius Cocles (the last part, meaning ‘one-eyed’, coming from the fact that he had previously lost an eye in battle) was a junior officer in the legendary earliest days of the Roman Republic. After the Romans lost a battle against an army of Etruscans seeking to restore Rome’s former king and their own forces fled into the city, Horatius fought first alongside two more senior officers and then alone to hold the Pons Sublicus, the wooden and at the time only bridge across the River Tiber, as it was torn down behind him. Though battered by enemy missiles and wounded in many places, including being run through entirely with a javelin above the hip, he stood steadfast against the entire Etruscan host until the bridge began to collapse; at that point he jumped into the Tiber itself, trusting himself to the god of the river. At this point tradition diverges. According to Polybius Horatius died in the waters, swept away under a hail of spears; according to Livy and Dionysius of Halicarnassus, he reached the bank despite the weight of his wargear but was crippled by his injuries. Whatever happened, Rome survived.
Appearance
As Alistair’s Persona, Horatius takes the form of a man with bronze skin, wearing sandles, a bronze breastplate, greaves and a broad-brimmed, crestless helmet over a deep red woollen tunic; all are battle-worn, marked with innumerable scratches and dents. Highly prominent are two holes that run straight through his body, one above the hip and one through his eye-socket; the latter of these is the only properly visible part of his face, as the helmet casts an unnaturally dark shadow over it. He wields a bronze Italic sword, stained with blood, in his right hand. Most notable, however, is the shield that he wields in his left: of the Republican style (a heavily bowed rectangular shape that bends backwards less than its later evolutions) but absolutely massive, easily as tall as Horatius himself and proportionately wide. Its face is similarly bloodstained, stuck with dozens of broken and half-broken javelins and, like Horatius’ armour and skin, covered in scratches and gashes, as is its rim. The one exception is the entirely untarnished central bronze boss and its plate, formed in the shape of an outward-facing, halting palm, which gleams defiantly against oncoming foes.
Symbolism
Horatius represents Alistair’s ability to dedicate himself to his allies and friends after realising that he need not understand every facet of the causes for which they fight to do so. Horatius also reflects the potential pitfalls of that approach, however, both in his semi-historical origins and his appearance: broken and known only for his martyrdom, leaving nothing of himself to the world.
Alistair’s physical form is fairly average; he’s perhaps a touch shorter than medium height, is neither scrawny nor bulky and has a face somewhere between broad and angular. His hair is jet black and his eyes are a dull green. He’s normally at least somewhat well-kept – he washes his face enough to avoid outbreaks of acne but does get the occasional spot; has his hair cut every four or five months or so; and shaves once every two days.
In regards to clothing, Alistair’s wardrobe isn’t extensive or especially varied, since he isn’t exactly fashion-conscious and lets his parents and grandparents buy most of his clothing for him. His school uniform is worn according to Evergreen’s policy; when dressed casually he prefers mostly plain and fairly dark clothes, favouring mostly forest greens, maroons and deep blues, though he’s also a fan of burnt orange. Where he does wear more colour is on his t-shirts – which most people don’t know because he also favours heavier clothing, to the point that he’s been known to wear jumpers during heatwaves. Given that he enjoys walking, he possesses very rugged and practical footwear and sees little need to use anything else beyond his school shoes.
Alistair’s gear in the World of Fog will almost certainly skew towards the pragmatic and practical, favouring his usual rugged clothing and gradually augmented by what armour happens to be available.
Biography
Alistair’s life did not begin favourably. His biological parents died in a car crash when he was about three. Both were only children and, by a stroke of misfortune, all of his biological grandparents had died already; with no family to care for him, Alistair was thus put up for adoption. This, in most cases, would not have set him up well for the future.
Enter Henry Parton and Steven Daniels, a young, kind couple who had just entered into a civil partnership, as soon as the law allowed, and were now looking to adopt. Their application came through and, after warming quickly to Alistair and he only slightly less quickly to them, the two became his new parents and their mid-sized apartment in Manchester his new home.
This would be precursor to the best part of Alistair’s existence thus far. Proving bright, he was placed into private education funded by Steven’s job as a civil rights lawyer, something which he enjoyed thoroughly. At the same time, Henry’s work running a youth club in Manchester’s heart, where he kept watch over Alistair each day after school, kept the young boy from becoming snobbish – in fact, he became something of a little brother figure to several of the teenagers who frequented it. Through them, Alistair learned about many of society’s social ills, an education that was redoubled by his participation with his parents in Manchester’s Pride events and their telling him about their experiences when they were younger and society was less tolerant. Indeed, Alistair only knew two of his parents’ parents; Steven’s were heavily religious and had ostracised him upon his coming out. Nonetheless, that was the past and this was now; now the two of them were happy together and now they had a son who was quickly developing the fire to confront obstacles to his own and others’ happiness head-on.
Several wonderful years passed. Eventually, Steven secured a high-profile job at a law office in London and, Henry assuring him that one of his fellow youth workers was actively eager to take on a leadership role, the family moved southwards. Fortuitously, this was just before Alistair was due to start secondary school; while he did shed some tears over leaving his friends at his old school and at the youth club, some parts of the transition would have been inevitable even without the move, making it somewhat less painful. Performing very well in his SATs, he more than passed the threshold for entrance to the pre-eminent Evergreen Grammar School. Indeed, life could seemingly only get better; Henry and Steven married in 2014 as soon as same-sex couples gained the legal right to do so and Alistair also took the surname ‘Parton’ at his own insistence, binding their family yet more closely.
And then things got complicated.
Alistair never quite learned to love London – the place was unfamiliar, yes, but Alistair also found it more claustrophobic than Manchester; there were noticeably more people and buildings packed into any given space. It all felt rather hostile and, unfortunately, that set a tone. He didn’t really secure a friendship group at Evergreen in the same way that he had at his last school. Nor did he find himself with much social activity outside of school hours; not one to fall into gang activity, he instead started exercising his independence in walking through London’s many parks (one of the few things he preferred about the city). Richmond Park quickly became one of his favourite places to be and he’d often spend hours traversing its pathways.
That gave him time to contemplate, and he needed it, for his beliefs were also under assault. In 2016, when Alistair had just turned 15, the United Kingdom held a referendum on membership of the European Union. He and his parents, like most others, expected a Remain victory. They were proved wrong. For Alistair, this was a shock; Brexit, and especially the surge in racist abuse afterwards, presented a profound challenge to his previous belief that humanity was moving towards a more open future and would continue that way if only there were people to strive for it. He came to question whether fighting for a cause at all could in fact do more harm than good; after all, in Brexit’s case, the backlash against the values that he treasured had actually become more powerful than the case for those values. This wasn’t helped by his increasing predisposition towards philosophy, especially existentialism, and his hardening certainty that there could be no such thing as an objective right or wrong – meaning that all of the beliefs that he considered abhorrent were, in fact, as justifiable as his own. They could still be fought against, of course, but then he was reluctant to do that now.
Alistair thus began a search for answers that continues to this day – or, perhaps more accurately, for the answer, one to the question of society. His investigation fuelled him to near breaking point; what was distance before became active separation in an attempt to limit the perceived threat that any positive effort would entail, even as his conscience cried out that those efforts were needed now more than ever. This internal struggle motivated him, if self-destructively, such that his GCSEs, then A-Levels, were all great successes, or at least deemed as such.
This brings us to the Alistair of today, headed to Thames’ Edge – close and eminent, the obvious choice. His great struggle continues, caught between his desire to provoke change for the better and his fear that attempting to do so has an equal chance to bring about change for the worse. This fight and its self-imposed conditions have closed him off, despair creeping towards his heart for, within it, he still wants the chance to act, to dedicate himself to the justice, truth and harmony that he remains hopeful the world can one day embody.
Perhaps he’ll have that chance.
Personality
Once extroverted and constantly cheerful, Alistair is now a considerably more muted and deeply extrospective young man, questioning everything about the world around him to try and make some sense out of the growing chaos and contradiction. For now, that contradiction has rendered him more than a little mechanical, simply going through the motions of daily life. He rarely attempts to make friends anymore; that said, should one take the effort to crack his shell and get to know him, they would find someone who is still very personable, kind and warm – even fun-loving! What was previously his main drive, the determination to push society to be open and more welcoming, has been stifled; his primary goal now lies in finding the answers to the questions which are stifling it.
That stifling, naturally, is what has generated his Shadow. Alistair’s Shadow is what he has suppressed in his uncompromising search for answers: his desire to act, to strive to make the world a better place rather than trying to avoid making it a worse one. Like most Shadows, it is impulsive and reckless; unlike most, one could hardly call it selfish and, unlike most, Alistair does not reject it out of ignorance or fear but out of perceived necessity.
Education
Studying BA Philosophy and Sociology
Affiliations
Henry Parton – adoptive father Steven Parton – adoptive father
Alistair has had a wonderful relationship with his adoptive parents for the vast majority of his life, a bond forged over many years of shared thought, trust, hope and laughter. However, that bond is now under strain; Alistair’s relentless search for a way to enact change without risking its opposite has left him little time for regular interaction. Alistair, of course, knows full well that they worry after him; though he regrets it, he believes it another necessary sacrifice.
Janice Parton – adoptive grandmother Terence Parton – adoptive grandfather
Henry Parton’s parents have always doted on Alistair and that remains true today, something which Alistair appreciates. That said, he doesn’t see them terribly often any longer, given their home in the North of England. He’ll make more time for them at some point soon; such does he tell himself.
Alistair’s first choice of weapon system upon entering the World of Fog will be ranged, supportive and easy to use. The pavise and crossbow, therefore, will suit him well, allowing him to shelter out of others’ way and strike from a distance. He will also carry a basic first aid kit, enabling him to help others from behind cover.
Given the above, Alistair will initially reject his manifested weapon: a montante with a blade of beautiful silvery steel and spiralling script in that same silver running around the grip – an ever-growing list of the names of each of those for whom he has taken on the role of protector. Almost as long as he is tall, upon accepting it Alistair may either grasp the blade and use the crossguard to strike at armour like a pollaxe or, more conventionally, whirl this surprisingly defensive two-handed sword in great slashing arcs to keep multiple Shadows at bay and allow his teammates to work and fight unimpeded.
Once he has abandoned the crossbow and pavise in favour of the montante, Alistair will not carry any true ranged weapons; instead, he’ll keep a bag of caltrops on hand to scatters immediately before a fight and collects afterwards. These small tetrahedral spikes always land with a point up, significantly limiting the mobility of Shadows which move across the ground. This can be used to simply slow them down or to concentrate them into chokepoints – where Alistair will almost certainly be.
‘Horatius alone remained where he had first taken his stand, and directed Herminius and Larcius to tell the consuls, as from him, to cut away the bridge in all haste at the end next the city... the rest, he said, would be his concern. Having given these instructions to the two men, he stood upon the bridge itself, and when the enemy advanced upon him, he struck some of them with his sword and beat down others with his shield, repulsing all who attempted to rush upon the bridge. For the pursuers, looking upon him as a madman who was courting death, dared no longer come to grips with him... Finally, when he was overwhelmed with missiles and had a great number of wounds in many parts of his body... he heard those behind him shouting out that the greater part of the bridge was broken down. Thereupon he leaped with his arms into the river and swimming across the stream with great difficulty (for the current, being divided by the piles, ran swift and formed large eddies), he emerged upon the shore without having lost any of his arms in swimming.
Horatius, who had shown so great valour upon that occasion, occupied as enviable a position as any Roman who ever lived, but he was rendered useless by his lameness for further services to the state; and because of this misfortune he obtained neither the consulship nor any military command either.’
Background and Symbolism
Publius Horatius Cocles (the last part, meaning ‘one-eyed’, coming from the fact that he had previously lost an eye in battle) was a junior officer in the legendary earliest days of the Roman Republic. After the Romans lost a battle against an army of Etruscans seeking to restore Rome’s former king and their own forces fled into the city, Horatius fought first alongside two more senior officers and then alone to hold the Pons Sublicus, the wooden and at the time only bridge across the River Tiber, as it was torn down behind him. Though battered by enemy missiles and wounded in many places, including being run through entirely with a javelin above the hip, he stood steadfast against the entire Etruscan host until the bridge began to collapse; at that point he jumped into the Tiber itself, trusting himself to the god of the river. At this point tradition diverges. According to Polybius Horatius died in the waters, swept away under a hail of spears; according to Livy and Dionysius of Halicarnassus, he reached the bank despite the weight of his wargear but was crippled by his injuries. Whatever happened, Rome survived.
Appearance
As Alistair’s Persona, Horatius takes the form of a man with bronze skin, wearing sandles, a bronze breastplate, greaves and a broad-brimmed, crestless helmet over a deep red woollen tunic; all are battle-worn, marked with innumerable scratches and dents. Highly prominent are two holes that run straight through his body, one above the hip and one through his eye-socket; the latter of these is the only properly visible part of his face, as the helmet casts an unnaturally dark shadow over it. He wields a bronze Italic sword, stained with blood, in his right hand. Most notable, however, is the shield that he wields in his left: of the Republican style (a heavily bowed rectangular shape that bends backwards less than its later evolutions) but absolutely massive, easily as tall as Horatius himself and proportionately wide. Its face is similarly bloodstained, stuck with dozens of broken and half-broken javelins and, like Horatius’ armour and skin, covered in scratches and gashes, as is its rim. The one exception is the entirely untarnished central bronze boss and its plate, formed in the shape of an outward-facing, halting palm, which gleams defiantly against oncoming foes.
Symbolism
Horatius represents Alistair’s ability to dedicate himself to his allies and friends after realising that he need not understand every facet of the causes for which they fight to do so. Horatius also reflects the potential pitfalls of that approach, however, both in his semi-historical origins and his appearance: broken and known only for his martyrdom, leaving nothing of himself to the world.
Greetings, one and all! Been in discussions with Bazmund and Stitches and, being intrigued by the world, have come up with this! Hope it's at least somewhat engaging!
Adrian Towner
Basics
Name: Adrian Towner Age: 17 Gender: Male Height/Weight: 167 cm/70 kg (Former) Occupation: Schoolchild Appearance: Short, gaunt and pale of face, Adrian is most often found dishevelled in both clothing and hair, not out of any recent event but due to a general lack of self-care beyond the mechanical. His eyes frequently bear bags and he rarely meets those of others.
________________________________________
Biography
To say that Adrian has had a poor life would be something of an understatement.
This was not set in stone from the beginning, of course; nobody’s future is. Adrian was born into a loving family in Sussex, consisting of a mother, father and elder brother, with whom he spent the first five years of his life – more than enough time to form numerous happy memories, faded but still warm. That, sadly, is all he now has of his first family, for Adrian’s biological parents and sibling died after being struck by a car while on their way back from a friend’s birthday party.
Adrian was being taken care of by his grandmother, Marjorie Towner, at the time, now his only living relative, and it was with his grandmother whom he would now stay. Ordinarily, this would have still set him up well for life; Marjorie doted on the young boy and had the wisdom to both support him through his confused grief and to allow him to forge his own path in school and life. Adrian, for his part, was hardly unhappy with his new life; he loved his grandma and the next few five or so years were very enjoyable for him.
This made it even more painful when she was slowly, excruciatingly torn away from him. Marjorie fell ill; it transpired that she had an incurable cancer and, as her condition deteriorated, Adrian took on the role of her caregiver. This was a role that he was more than happy to fulfil, despite it being stressful and time-consuming for someone so young, given the care that she had lavished on him. Indeed, his mental state remained strong and his performance in school stable. Of course, it was at this point that social services involved themselves, deciding that Adrian could not be expected to take care of Marjorie and that both would be best served if she were placed in a home and he with a foster family. Thus, he never properly got to stay with her in her last months or say goodbye to her before she died, a fact which haunts him to this day.
Instead, Adrian was moved from one family to another, grief renewed and warm memories turning searing hot. Those which found themselves unprepared for a new addition to their family only reinforced a burgeoning paradoxical mixture of self-loathing, fear of loss and desperation for connection; those which ordinarily would have been found him alternating between sorrowfully coldness and clinging warmth that nonetheless did not extend to sharing the burdens of his past. His grades slipped, badly, and he pushed away what few schoolfriends he had.
Then, of course, came the waves of power, and with them the dreams of what could have been, the families that he could have had, sundered by each dawn. Adrian told no-one, for fear of what they might herald. And then he Awoke.
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Skills and Weaknesses
Skills:
Hardened to Sorrow: Adrian has suffered sufficiently and is normally reserved enough that the outside world can’t do much more to hurt him should he choose to not let it.
Wanderer: Adrian has spent the last years of his life drifting from home to home, unwilling and unable to form lasting connections. Adaptability to new or difficult situations is hardly a problem for him.
Magical Anticipant: Despite the deaths of his family, and though he hid it, the advent of bittersweet dreams of his former family in the immediate aftermath of each Wave began to make him suspect that he might be due for Awakening before it happened; he is thus less blindsided now than he might otherwise be.
Weaknesses:
Lost and Alone: At his core, Adrian is still a person in deep conflict with himself – desperate for the affection that he had as a child and simultaneously fearful that gaining it will only mean the pain of losing it again. Should his defensive shell crack under stress, results will tend towards the self-destructive.
Discordance: Adrian’s personal complexes render him difficult to communicate with at the best of times and actively sabotaging of personal relationships at the worst. This is somewhat anti-synergistic with his magic.
Untrained Form: Adrian’s physical abilities are less than stellar, first too focussed and then too erratic to focus on exercise or sport; he possesses below-average strength and stamina.
Spells:
- Circle: Only by harmony may one find strength. Adrian creates a telepathic space in which surface thoughts and emotion are shared. He may then invite other beings of whom he is aware into this space; such an invitation makes itself known first as a feeling of mental resonance in the mind of the receiver, which can then be briefly focussed on by the receiver to bring themselves into the space and, in turn, briefly blocked out to leave the space. Adrian may use and dismiss any of the Circle variants of his spells on any of those in the space; their effects end for any who leave the space.
- Bond: Only by dedication may one find understanding. Adrian forges an empathic bond with one other being of whom he is aware. This ends Circle, if Circle is active; any of his spells which Adrian is using through Circle end, unless they are directed towards the person to whom Adrian is applying Bond, in which case those spells switch to the Bond variant. Each of the Bond variants of his spells requires more energy than its Circle equivalent. Once Bond is active, neither it nor any of his spells which he uses through it may be dismissed until he no longer possesses the energy required to maintain them.
- Conduit (Circle): Adrian opens a magical channel to another being within his Circle, allowing them to use him as a focus for their spells. When casting a spell, instead of directing it themselves, this being may transfer the spell through the channel, allowing Adrian to direct it instead. - Spellweave (Bond): Adrian opens a magical channel to the being with whom he shares a Bond, allowing them to share their spellcasting potential with him. The being may direct any of the colours of magical energy which they are capable of harnessing and, with it, the basic metaphysical patterning of their spells through the channel, allowing him to rework this energy (though not granting him any innate knowledge to do so) into the singular spells that the being with whom he shares a bond with possesses or to combine their properties to form new merged spells.
- Exchange (Circle): Adrian switches places with another being within his Circle. - Synchronicity (Bond): Adrian and the being with whom he shares a Bond enter a state of metaphysical mirroring, causing them both to simultaneously exist in the two places that they were originally in as individuals. Both direct the motion of each of the resulting superimpositions (though neither gains any innate ability to cooperate in doing so beyond their Bond’s mental closeness). Upon the spell’s end, the beings separate into the positions of the superimpositions whose space the other originally occupied.
- Lifelink (Circle): Adrian anchors his physical wellbeing and endurance to that of another being within his Circle. Any wounds that either takes are rendered half as grievous as they otherwise would be but also appear on the other and their reserves of physical energy are shared. These effects may be extended to other beings within Adrian’s Circle, mitigating and sharing wounds equally and pooling stamina among the larger group, by casting the spell upon them as well. - Lifeblaze (Bond): Adrian anchors his physical wellbeing and endurance to that of the being with whom he shares a Bond. Any wounds that either takes are rendered half as grievous as they otherwise would be but also appear on the other and their reserves of physical energy are shared. Moreover, upon tiring or being wounded, the red magical energies of both restore them until those energies are exhausted, allowing them to perform greater feats and shrug off greater harm than they would otherwise be able to.
- Manalink (Circle): Adrian links his reserves of magical energy to those of another being within his Circle, causing them to equalise and allowing either to cast spells with them. These effects may be extended to other beings within Adrian’s Circle, pooling magical energy between the larger group, by casting the spell upon them as well. - Manastorm (Bond): Adrian links his reserves of magical energy to those of the being with whom he shares a Bond, causing them to equalise and allowing either to cast spells with them. Each spell cast by either may draw upon the magical potential of both, effectively doubling its power (assuming equal levels of magical potential).
In one hand, Nika Pešek holds a mid-size pouch that rings with the sound of jangling metal.
In her other, she clasps a stand, the pole tucked underneath her arm and a flat panel covered in dials, sliders and switches marked with symbols raised on one end.
In her mind, she holds just under a fortnight’s worth of research into music theory and composition.
And upon her face, she bears her smile of calm determination.
With these things, she will conquer the obstacle before her.
Nika nods to William. “I can divide my focus. Should hardly be impossible to notice the odd motion and slow it down if we need. Much as it hopefully it won’t come to that, I would hardly be surprised.” After all, we’ll be giving them a shock; their team is skilled, professional – they won’t expect us to match them. She has, of course, put some research into their competitors, too. One responds to shock by instinct – and we all know what Ishtar’s instinct will likely be. Beyond that, little can be known. Impersonal fact-finding can only extend so far, after all.
Despite this, Nika Pešek exudes confidence as the team from Marduk stride out into the light of the arena. This is, after all, but one more obstacle, of which she has faced many and always succeeded. No matter that this is the last, that she is so close as to almost hear her tender, comforting and oh so painfully familiar voice whispering in her ear. She will overcome it, as she has done all the others.
Windstormugly
Fetzen
Iamme
Gerlando
