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Kasper Mirandola
Male | 23 | Doumerc, née Rosaria
Scion of Shadow
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"Wasn't he just the most composed and graceful man, father?"
"Hmmm... but he had some strange ideas. And he was so self-sure in them. A bit more humility would suit someone of his age."
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"It is difficult for me to defend myself against those who say I'm unequal to the task of prying into these subtle mysteries. If I say I am equal to it, I shall appear immodest. But if I say I am unequal to it, while persisting in it, I shall certainly be called reckless and imprudent. You see my difficulty. But I believe, as the poet says, that 'where powers fail, there shall be praise for daring.' "
Holy Sigil Location
The sigil appears on the back of his left hand.
Appearance
Kasper is a young man with a lean build. He has white hair and striking gold-colored eyes. Although he lives a scholarly and more-or-less pious lifestyle, one can still detect the influence of his Rosarian origin. He tends to wear highly fashionable clothing and jewelry, and he is always well-kept; he couldn't be mistaken for anything other than a noble. Kasper has a bright complexion and a youthful face, which contributes to the frequency of him being chided for his age by priests and other scholars.
Personality
Kasper is a polite and remarkably charming young man. He is friendly, well-spoken, and he has a strong idealistic streak. It's also clear that he's a person with a vivid mental life. He is obviously educated in a general sense, and he's aware of the customs of nobility. But there are some subjects where it seems that he knows just about everything. He gets fired up in discussions about history and religion, for example, and he isn't afraid of discussing his personal theories, which are sometimes surprising. Kasper has a genuine and deep-seated piety, though this religious feeling seems to come from a personal relationship with the goddess and the writings about her. He thinks that the teachings are really about purifying the soul and becoming someone that the Mother would be proud of. He performs religious functions for the church without missing a beat, but he isn't an exacting dogmatist, and he rarely refers to the statements of the high cardinal in religious conversations.
The Scion of Shadow has spent most of his life in noble mansions and university halls. And while he is immensely knowledgeable, he isn't always down to earth, or even particularly aware of the more pedestrian dangers that he might encounter. Thankfully his templars are there to help him. He also seems to eschew modern technology in favor of antiquity. He has a phone, but he rarely uses it, and he doesn't understand much about the other technological marvels of his age. This, along with his piety and his literary mode of speaking, makes him seem like a extraordinarily anachronistic personality at times. It can be both a good and a bad thing. He is sometimes impractical, but most people are drawn to his romantic sentiments. His unshakeable composure really helps this perception. Having practiced to perform since an early age, his confidence doesn't waver even in the most awkward moments.
His passion for the ancient goes quite far. He's become a very respectable mage, but he often uses complicated arcane magics, when a more modern, streamlined spell would have sufficed. He claims that it's because he's actually more familiar with these older variants due to his research in recreating them. He knows all the classic works of literature, but he rarely has time to read something new off the shelf.
Biography
The scion of shadow was born to the Mirandolas, a minor noble family of Rosaria. He was provided with a thorough education, and given every advantage to develop his creative potential. Many of his family members had received acclaim in the arts, and it was expected that he too would become an artist or a musician. The young boy excelled in his studies, and he required more and more advanced tutors to continue his learning. He was especially attracted to history and literature. He would often while away his free time playing in the courtyard, acting out stories from legends and myths.
The Mirandola's mansion was a lively place, often host to grand parties for the region's nobility. The young Kasper was brought out during these events, in his finest clothes, to help entertain. Mostly he would just be paraded around and introduced to the other families. His parents would punish him harshly for any missteps of social etiquette, so he quickly developed a perfect politeness. Occasionally his involvement in the celebrations would take a more focused direction. He would be made to play songs on his flute in front of the small audience, or at other times he would recite poetry from an author that was favored by the honored guest. There was a lot to learn at these events, but probably the most important things were the connections he made. He became known to just about every family in Rosaria that was worth their title.
Just as often, however, the party would be held at some other villa, and his parents would travel out to enjoy them, leaving Kasper at home. They lived busy lives between the responsibilities attached to nobility and the extravagant social lives they pursued. Not to mention that his father still wanted to maintain some creative output as a novelist. And so there wasn't a huge amount of time for close, familial relations between them all. When he was a child, Kasper resented their relative absence, and he felt upset at the perceived neglect. But in time he became so used to it that he preferred the company of his tutors and servants for the most part.
As he got into his teens, his father and mother continually pressured him to start making something. He wasn't entirely opposed to the task, and he didn't want to disappoint them, so he started working on a poem. He put tremendous effort into it, struggling even with the finer details. Sometimes it was hard to sleep at night because he could not stop thinking about what to do with the story. But there was a certain satisfaction even in the trials of it. When he was fifteen, he published his first poem, called Elis and Cynthia. It was a few hundred lines long, and it re-imagined an ancient story about a woman, representing the Moon, and her love for a mortal man. The man was famously placed into an unending sleep by the curse of a monster. But Kasper's version had Cynthia using her powers to enter into his dreams, so that they didn't have to remain apart. It sold fairly well, and pleased his family.
The poem ended up being one of the only things that was published under his real name. Because later that year, a miracle came upon him. Kasper was lounging in the courtyard where he'd always played, and he was daydreaming about what next he would write. He became entirely rapt in imagination that day, thinking of a tempestuous sea and a great serpentine monster. So abstracted from reality was he, that he didn't even notice the sky above him darkening, and an actual serpent swirling down from above. A maidservant happened to detect the commotion from the window, and realized the the young master was in terrible danger. A few minutes later a guard burst into the courtyard, with the woman close behind. They called for Kasper to run, but he hardly took notice of them. So the guard brandished his sword and sliced into the monster again and again, until it fell to pieces. But when the body hit the ground, it burst into small, inky clouds - and it quickly dissipated. "That's it!" Kasper suddenly said, finding the end to his scene, and he rose to his feet. And in that moment the low clouds, too, dispersed. Only because of the bewildered expressions of the nearby pair did he realize that anything was wrong at all.
Kasper was amazed to hear the story told, but his family was understandably horrified. They brought in an expert from the church to advise them, and they quickly discovered the holy sigil that had appeared on their son's left hand. They had nothing to fear, the priest said. In fact, this was the greatest possible blessing. The Goddess had chosen Kasper to become the next Scion of Shadow. The serpent and the clouds from before were his own creations. Kasper was able to confirm this account, and he told the others that the things they'd seen were indeed the products of his imagination.
And so his, overnight, his status outstripped the rest of his family combined. He was assigned a templar, and he had many long talks with the members of the clergy, where he had his responsibilities and duties explained to him. It wasn't just work, however, a whole world of opportunity had opened up to him because of the blessing. He could go anywhere in the kingdom that he pleased, and he would be honored by all.
At first he thought to remain in Rosaria as he always had. But with so much power in his hands, things were bound to change. He wasn't particularly close to his family to begin with, but now that he had become a Scion, he naturally became a bit more arrogant and demanding. Their lifestyle quickly began to chafe at him, and he determined to move elsewhere - at least for a time. After some careful thinking, he decided to move to Doumerc to continue pursuing his studies. He still had a keen interest in history and literature, but now he had new interests to pursue in magic and religion.
Doumerc was, of course, happy to accept the Scion of Shadow. He discovered that his element was revered very highly there, because the first Scion of Shadow was a great scholar and philosopher. Kasper used his influence to gain easy access to the famous colleges and institutions in the region. He received the best teaching available, and he was permitted to get in on serious research projects that he could never have dreamed of joining without his new privileged status. He was able to meet with some of the greatest minds in his fields of interest, and academics of all sorts started coming to him. His mailbox began to literally overflow with offers and requests from universities and institutions. His name started being listed in several research papers as a contributor, and, eventually, as co-author. And while he didn't always get along with the seasoned, tenured men around him, he did learn an immense amount from them.
It took him more than a year just to adjust to his new life in Doumerc, and the great change of pace he had experienced. Due to all the study and exposure to research, he was genuinely becoming pretty knowledgeable about certain things. His love of history, religion, and magic had only grown. But there was still a stirring of discontent in his heart. For most of his life, he had been expected to become an artist. And he still remembered the thrill of composing his first poem. He still wanted to create. And so he started writing again in the evenings - stretching his thoughts and fantasies out into hundreds of stylized words. But his pen hand would freeze up every time he thought of the bishops reviewing his work, or of it being read by his contemporaries at the university. It would hurt his image too badly to publish his new work as it was. And yet, the work would be too mangled if he tried to prune all the controversy from it. It just wasn't possible to publish as Kasper Mirandola anymore. And so, if his work was going to see the light of day at all, he would have to use a new name.
Later that year, 'Arthur Redcrosse' entered the literary scene with his first poem. It was a simple little piece about a pious knight escorting a princess through the countryside, fighting off monsters and dealing with the challenges of living in the wilderness. It was simple, but the impact of the language was powerful. And everything about the poem seemed to be symbolically charged in one way or another. It wasn't just about the knight and the princess of some indeterminate time past; it was also about the modern day, about religion and nobility in the abstract. It was challenging at times, but it wasn't impious. The poem turned out to be a huge success. Kasper had sent the piece in secret to a go-between in Rosaria - a childhood friend, and had him publish the piece under the pseudonym. He was rather pleased with the result. He was able to reach the hearts of many in the kingdom with his writing, but he didn't have to carry that reputation to work with him into the university or the church. It seemed like the best he could hope for. And so all of his future writings would be published under the name 'Arthur Redcrosse'. His main focus was still research, but he was able to put out one or two new poems a year. Most every one became a hit, in time. As the fame of this author grew, it was realized that no man named "Arthur" could be found who was responsible for the popular writings. Some people began to speculate about the true identity of the author, using obscure details from the poems and alleged cryptograms therein to propose new candidates. But none of these theories is yet considered particularly likely. It isn't impossible that someone could put the puzzle together, but very few people know that Kasper is the true author. Even his own templars are unaware of that fact.
The years rolled on, and Kasper Mirandola became increasingly accomplished as a historian, and as a mage. He was especially interested in the oldest religious and magical documents that he could get a hold of. He established a small group of like-minded mages that worked to recover ancient spells. The general wisdom was that ancient magics were more powerful. Thus far, he was finding that to be true. They were quite powerful, but also more complex, more mana intensive, and not always very practical. The church generally discouraged the use of magic for scions, but he was afforded some leeway due to his role as the Scion of Shadow. The opportunities for progress that his magical research provided were just too great to ignore. And he was endlessly fascinated by the gift he had received. He couldn't stop himself from trying to find out what it was capable of. The templars who oversaw him wouldn't entirely approve of all of his experiments, so he would give them the slip from time to time. They were vigilant, but it was very hard to keep track of Kasper, simply due to the nature of his element. He could slip into the shadows and escape notice, if he wished -- or he could use the shadows to conjure an image of himself, which the templars would keep watch of while the real him was elsewhere. That was a trick they particularly hated. But after some strongly worded notices from the church, Kasper realized that he was being irresponsible. And not wanting to endanger his position, he has kept his solo escapades to a minimum lately - only really going out on his own to make arrangements to publish his poems.
Weapon of Choice
His preferred weapon is a silver straight sword, with which he is quite skilled. He also carries a small knife for general purpose use; it is easily concealable. He isn't particularly fond of firearms, and he isn't the type to rush headlong into battle, if it can be helped. He is good with magic, though. Especially if he is given license to make use of his blessing.
Misc.
- Some of the poems of 'Arthur Redcrosse' for ease of reference (most are allusions to real works):
- The Faerie Knight - his first poem, about the pious knight and his noble companion.
- Rebecca - A poem about someone having to die in place of the king. A man is selected at random, and he goes about in despair trying to find a way out of this fate. Eventually the woman he loves, Rebecca, agrees to die in his place. A somewhat controversial story.
- The Sonnets - A collection of 12 sonnets, mostly about love or nature.
- The Ancient Mariner - A story about the crew of a ship that becomes lost at sea. They attempt to make it back home by sailing through uncharted, monster-infested waters. This play is the culmination of the story Kasper imagined on the day of the miracle.
- Each in his own Temperament - A comedy about three low-class characters who make use of a nobleman's house while he is away, getting into all kinds of mischief and eventually facing the consequences of it. While most of Redcrosse' plays have to do with virtue, this play focuses on folly to great effect.
- The Oracles - The most recent publication. It is a series of visionary sequences and metaphysical speculations. Its novel religious content has made it the subject of much scrutiny.
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- Kasper's element is Shadow. Shadow has no real property of its own. Its primary strength is in imitation. He can manifest shadowy versions of creatures, objects, and other substances. With enough mana these conjurations can become quite long-lasting. All of them, however, are vulnerable to magical light.
- The Scion of Shadow has focused so heavily on his fields of study that he has almost completely neglected modern technology. While he makes use of some technological marvels in his day-to-day life, in truth he barely understands them.
- Kasper only ever learned to use one instrument. He still keeps the simple white flute from his hometown, and will on rare occasion play it when he's in a good mood.
- Has been a scion for 7.5 years. (Late 15 -> 23.5)
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