Appearance: A natural shape-shifter, able to move between two forms -in part or in full- at will.
His default appearance is that of a young adult human with bright red dreadlocks that reach his neck, coarsely textured olive-tan skin, and fierce-looking gray eyes, a large nose, square chin, and thin lips. He wears black jeans held up by a black belt with gunmetal grey buckle and studs, on which hang several black polyester pouches for carrying his gear and a plain dark red t-shirt. Over his shirt he wears a black leather jacket with a red band on the left sleeve.
The other form he can assume is his natural form; A humanoid reptilian form slightly larger than his human shape, with grey scales, red eyes, and a tan underbelly. Rather than legs, his torso terminates in a whispy smoke-like tail that is hot as fire to the touch but will not cause ignition of flammable materials. This form possesses four-fingered hands with razor-sharp bone claws protruding from the tips.
Name: Argus Grau (assumed name, real name unknown; believed to be Arabic.)
Code name: Firebrand
Age: 240
Species: Djinn
Powers:
Shapeshifting: can switch between human and djinn forms at will, if given adequate time can alter the appearance of his human form.
Enhanced healing: As A Djinn whose life force and mind are sustained by a magical flame at the core of their being rather than an organic brain and heart, Argus can heal from wounds to both his human shell and Djinn body by consuming combustible materials to strengthen his flame, granting energy to repair his other forms.
Memory magic is a fundamental part of a Djinn’s true nature. They are able to view and extract memories through touch as well as fabricate false memories to replace the ones stolen. Stolen memories are drained of their emotional energy and serve as fuel for a Djinn’s magic, including their memory magic. Though it takes time to find specific memories, the versions viewed are the closest to the true events possible as they are not filtered through layers of other memories which alter a person's perception of the events. Viewing memories directly is also significantly faster than taking the time to interview a witness when details are needed urgently, and more effective than interrogating suspects in custody as they are unable to lie about the events in question or stall for time.
Most importantly, memories still stored in short term memory can be accessed, extracted, and replaced in am atter of seconds as they have not yet been committed to long term storage and still remain on the surface; allowing for the rapid retrieval of information and simultaneous deletion of sensitive knowledge from witnesses when investigating and containing an incident.
Enhanced resilience: As his mortal bodies (both Djinn and Human forms) are effectively hollow shells to protect and animate his Inner Flame, Argus is noticeably difficult to kill. Though he can be injured to slow him down and injuries to his shell will continually weaken his flame, he can continue operating after any injury which does not outright kill or dismember him.
Peak human abilities: Though easily outclassed by most other mystical creatures, Argus’ ability to manipulate his human body allows him to maintain the peak physical condition possible for humans.
Enhanced sense of smell: Due to the reptilian nature of his true Djinn form, Argus has a sense of smell far beyond most creatures natural or magical, and is able to identify the nature of many entities by scent if he has encountered their kind in the past.
Strengths:
Argus is strong willed and though not especially intellegent is a prodigy at memory manipulation.
His own innate ability to alter memories provides him with a small degree of resistance to mind magic, and a strong capacity for determining if memories (his own or those of others)have been tampered with.
His natural resilience and enhanced physical abilities make him an effective fighter, though he has limited martial arts training, with his only notable training being for a technique few have heard of, ‘harq makhlab’ or “Burning Claw”, an art used exclusively by Djinn.
Weaknesses:
Unlike humans vampires or other mythical creatures, Djinn require three core forms of sustenance to survive and remain healthy. They must consume food to maintain the condition of their human form, fuel to strengthen their Internal Flame, and, being unable to generate their own mana, Memories to power their magic. Though his human form provides a shield against the effects, a Djinn’s true form is highly vulnerable to water both natural and magical.
Argus is often hot-headed and easily made confrontational when angered, resorting to physical violence when detaining a suspect rather than using a stun device or knockout spell.
Though his memory manipulation is powerful, it is heavily limited by the time it takes to be utilized properly, the cost of magical energy used to create or alter memories, and the need to consume memories to fuel it. Fake memories created by Djinn magic are also unable to alter a person’s personality, as they are devoid of any of the emotional energy used to fuel Djinn magic, and the spell used chains together real memories through the gap created by removal of the original.
If Argus ever runs out of mana completely, he will permanently lose his ability to use it as he is unable to naturally replenish his mana. This effect could be reversed with the help of another Djinn (using their own magic to replenish his own), but they are incredibly rare outside of the Middle East, their traditional domain; and losing your powers is considered incredibly shameful of Djinn, often resulting in them being ejected from their kingdom.
Bio: Argus is a Djinn and early case for (As well as addition to) the BOSA. Ge claims to have come to America after fleeing from his home -a small kingdom of Djinn somewhere in the Arabian desert- after angering the leader of his people and being sentenced to life in prison.
After spending several months in hiding, he was discovered by the BSA after several cases of unexplained Amnesia were uncovered in Virginia. Though he was originally to be detained, he was released from custody and recruited after revealing the great secret of the Djinn, explaining that he was simply trying to survive, and that his homeland had dispatched a bounty hunter to bring him back for punishment. Now on working parole, Argus serves as an information containment and interrogation specialist for the organization due to his advanced memory manipulation abilities compared to the memory spells used by human mages and the MIB-issue neuralyzers.
While initially he was required to wear a magic suppression device and be accompanied by a handler when on duty he has recently acquired good standing within the bureau and has been given leave to enter the field without being assigned a handler and having his magic suppressed. Though he has earned some freedom to operate, Argus is still technically on probation and required to remain on base unless accompanied by other agents or on field assignment. Has developed friendly relationships with many other agents due to his restrictions on leaving BOSA headquarters.
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Appearance: A tall and well built man, standing roughly 6'4" and fairly muscular with short, unstyled blonde hair and bright blue eyes. Wears an ankle-length dark blue trench coat with two visible hip pockets and a number of concealed internal pockets and loops for storage of small items. Underneath his coat, Rost wears a black vest over a white long-sleeved button down shirt with a red tie, black slacks, and heavy work boots.
Name: Rost Smith
Age: 38
Species: Human
Powers:
Scrivening: Rost has spent most of his life studying ancient magical arts, with a particular fascination for runes and symbols. Through extensive practice and study of a grimoire dedicated to the subject, he has developed the ability to craft magical runes and enchantments by writing, drawing or engraving specific symbols into objects and creatures with specialized tools and incantations; allowing him to bind magic into them in specific forms.
These runes are powerful and highly versatile, but even slight damage will disrupt their power and undo their effects as the required symbols for runic enchantments are extremely precise. Though runic casting is low in mana consumption, the time it takes to create usable enchantments makes it prohibitively difficult to utilize in combat without advanced preparation, limiting the improvisational usage of the art.
Multilingualism: Fluency in the reading and writing of a number of ancient languages such as celtic, egyptian, and sanskrit.
Runic knowledge: Extensive photographic knowledge of runes, emblems, sigils, and seals; able to identify the origin of nearly any magical symbol, and given time devise countermeasures.
Equipment:
Taurus Judge revolver chambered in .454 Casull
Assorted .454 casull rounds engraved with focal runes to imbue them with arcane, divine, and infernal energy, allowing them to harm creatures resistant to mundane weaponry.
Set of engraving tools (themselves marked with runes of invulnerability, to protect them from damage)
Portable tattoo kit consisting of a battery powered machine and inks made from materials often used in more traditional witchcraft.
Several pairs of cheap, store-bought reading glasses. the lenses have symbols etched around their edges so that, when worn, the bearer can see things outside of normal human perceptions; such as incorporeal spirits.
Magic suppressing handcuffs (His own custom made pair, not the agency standard issue form)
Strengths:
Physical conditioning: Rost is in exceptional physical health as a result of a careful diet and training regiment.
Intellect: Highly intelligent and well educated in both mundane and magical fields.
Weaknesses:
Baseline human: No inherent special properties, he is not resistant to, nor especially weak towards, any elements; and has no special abilities beyond his training in runic magic.
Bio: Rost comes from a family scholars on both sides; those who have for generations sought to unearth and understand the lost secrets of the world. His mother’s side of the family is dominated by simple scientists who merely look for relics of ancient civilization and learn about where they came from. His father’s side of the family, however, has much older roots. Rost is the last and youngest member of a secret society of the occult, one which was founded in the 18th century to bring together the wisest magicians from every magical tradition so they could share knowledge and, as a group, further the study of magic while protecting its secrets from those who would abuse them.
The group dwindled over time, and when his father died Rost inherited what remained of their combined knowledge in the form of a grimoire of runic spells, with teachings from the Persian Magi, Nordic runemeisters, and Egyptian magicians.
Rost kept the secrets of his father’s legacy safe while studying them to keep their arts alive, simultaneously pursuing archeology in his mother’s footsteps to acquire further knowledge of the cultures from which the practices began.
He was recruited by the fledgling BOSA when his mastery of scrivening was discovered, and he came to work under their banner as a crafter of tools specially designed for their unique line of work. Rost is currently stationed as the Head of Arcane Research for the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs, and makes occasional outings as a field agent when his magical talents are required outside of headquarters.
Member
