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Troian - Bounce - 05-12-2018
![[Image: spoopy5.png]](http://baku-panda.org/images/spoopy5.png)
Art credit E. H. Macmillan & Massimo Carnevale.
Character's Name: Troian
Nicknames: The Dark Child, Deathwalker, Troi (Troy), Ian, Boy
Age: Unknown (~10,000 years)
Gender: Male (formerly female)
Species: Reaper (formerly human)
Abilities: Troian is a stereotypical battle-mage, wielding sword and sorcery in combat. A veteran of many campaigns in the Angel-Demon Wars, his skill as a swordsman is exceptional. Small, lithe, and with an unholy strength to his movements, Troian is a lightning bruiser as a melee combatant. He favors short (arming) or bastard swords, those that are intended for use as one- or hand-and-a-half, as his short stature makes wielding larger swords both awkward and cumbersome. A mimic, rather than a true shapeshifter, Troian adopts the illusion of humanity to avoid attracting unwanted attention in public. As a servant of Darkness, Troian's abilities are strongest at night and weakest in daylight, with significant shifts in potency at dusk and dawn respectively. This potency was also influenced by the phase of the moon, the appearance of a blood moon (lunar eclipse), or during a solar eclipse. As his physical body is merely a manifestation of black magic, Troian does not eat or drink, but subsists by siphoning magic or life energies.
Nature Magic (Necromancy). A being of pure soul energy, however twisted or corrupt, Troian (indeed, all Reapers) is the product of necromancy. An eldritch aura surrounds any use of his power, invoking the baleful light of hellfire and the acrid scent of sulfur whenever he invokes the unholy magic. Summoning the will o' wisp for hellish light, conjuring bolts of hellfire, speaking to the dead, or stepping through shadows are the usual extent of Troian's application of necromancy. At the extreme, animating or raising the dead is within his power, but only during the blood moon (lunar eclipse) or full moon phase. During the new moon phase, Troian finds that he is unable to conjure even a will o' wisp, but is still able to commune with the dead. He exhibits latent corpsevision, able to perceive ghosts and spirits that haunt the living world. The drain on his magical essence when he shadow teleports increases exponentially as distance increases.
Appearance: The last act of defiance by a soul struggling to maintain the fading vestiges of its humanity, Troian appears as a young boy. In his true form, Troian appears as a spectral wraith surrounded by an aura of hellfire. Two small horns poke through a short crop of black hair. His eyes are a brilliant red, gleaming with the light of the blood moon. His human facade maintains a similar likeness, being short in stature, possessed of a round, cherubic face, adorned with a crown of straw-colored hair. In human disguise, his eyes are a vibrant, green, yet still seem to glow with an otherworldly light. His typical attire consists of a short-sleeved tunic that fell to the knees, belted at the waist, and a pair of caligea-style sandals that wrap up the leg to mid-shin. A short cape, or saie, may be worn in colder weather for appearances sake. During the invasion of the lands of Light and Plenty (c. 5395), he wore a baldric that identified him as a soldier in the XIVth Legion, otherwise known as the Dishonored Brigade.
Personality: Troian presents as contemplative and composed, though with the curiosity and energy of youth that his appearance would suggest appropriate. An adherent to the god Norak, Troian worshiped peace in addition to death. In disputes or conflicts, he typically adopted the role of mediator. He is opposed to chaos, preferring order. This distinction could be described as either Lawful Neutral or Lawful Evil in terms of traditional views of alignment. A capable strategist, Troian exhibits a juvenile, restless energy that predisposes him to be on the front lines of combat. As a melee combatant, Troian could be compared to a surgeon for his habit of evaluating his target and quickly dispatching them with methodical precision. Though aptly described as a cold, calculating killer, Troian is remarkably polite. Many who cross paths with him mistake the Reaper for a mere page boy or squire, owing to his practice of chivalry.
Weaknesses: As an entity composed of dark magic, Troian is weakened by light magic. Additionally, as Troian is not alive, healing magic has an opposite effect on him. In daylight, he retains his ability to speak with the dead, but is as weak as an ordinary child. His magic is strongest during night, and its potency is influenced by the phases of the moon. During a new moon, Troian is as vulnerable at night as he is during the day. He is also vulnerable to silver, due to its purity and magic-channeling properties.
Notable Possessions:
- Sword of Mordecai - A short sword (styled in the likeness of a Pompei gladius) taken from the Angel Mordecai during the Famine-Plenty Wars, previously used as a ceremonial and coronation instrument prior to the onset of the Angel-Demon conflict. The blade is coated in silver, and inscribed in runes authored in the language of the original Angels.
- Darkness Stone Pendant - A small pendant carved in the likeness of an icon of the god Norak, used as a magical battery to sustain his human illusion during the day or new moon phase, when his powers are at their weakest.
History: It is difficult to construct the exact origins of Troian, as the creature that exists now is an amalgamation of souls fused together through necromancy on a scale that could only be described as horrific. In dreams, Troian recalls fleeting glimpses of life. Mostly, the life of a young girl. While unable to be certain, Troian has come to believe that the girl he sees in his dreams is likely the child whose soul served as the host for the Reaper that would later emerge. Her body, along with her identity, and those of whatever other poor souls might be wrapped up in Troian's being, ceased to exist long, long ago. How long is a question that Troian doesn't even know, having existed for some time as a mere matrix of dark magic.
His earliest memories are of the invasion of the lands of Light and Plenty, a campaign started by the Famine Demons that escalated into open warfare between the Angels and the Demons. Folklore surrounding the Child of Dark claims that he came to be from the souls of the innocent dead, the villagers and children trampled under the war horses of cavalry, perhaps explaining why he adopted the physical form that he did. In any case, the newborn Reaper served as a footsoldier during the five years conflict, savagely slaughtering his way through the ranks as a member of the XIVth Legion -- which came to be known in the lands of the Angels as the Dishonored Brigade. Prior to the war's end, in Year 5395, Troian was present for the Battle of Seras Duma, where he defeated the Angel Mordecai, consuming his soul and taking his sword as a spoil of war.
After the war, Troian continued to serve the side of the Demons, frequently employed to investigate claims of the supernatural that popped up in their lands. The pursuit of the paranormal exposed him to scholarly research and to the other kingdoms of Katakarthia (aside from the Angel lands he'd familiarized himself with while raiding and pillaging). Over the course of several centuries, the boy now known as Troian had gone from indentured soldier to a free agent. Today, Troian continues to pursue rumors of beasts and forbidden knowledge, for war with the Angels is ever just over the horizon. And when it comes, those who fight with Demons will need weapons and magic that are effective against their enemies.
Sample Roleplay
A low rumble echoed through the underbrush.
The distinctive, grey furred snout cut through the foliage. The powerful frame of the predator emerging into view as the wolf passed through the brush with barely a sound. Through the canopy above, the fading light of dusk cast a haunting silhouette. A shadow among the shadows. The whites of the beast’s fangs resplendent as it opened it’s serrated maw, another low roll of growled thunder echoing through the trees.
Then two more appeared, as though demons of air and darkness. The wolf pack padded around the opening in the brush, before finally the first vanished off into the other side of the clearing. The two others followed quickly behind, the wolf passing into the night as silently as they had first appeared.
A light emerged from beneath a leaf, as though a firefly had taken flight. The soft light blossomed until it was a softly pulsing orb that glowed with an eerie, otherworldly light.
The haunting will o' wisp traveling in a winding spiral up through the branches. As it did, the eldritch light revealed the face of a child. His small form concealed in shadow, as he crouched up in the branches over where the wolf pack had ventured beneath. He’d been aware that he’d been hunted since departing the village, though it wasn’t until now that he could have given name or form to what lurked in the darkness.
At least now he knew.
Strange for a wolf pack to keep so near to human. Stranger still that they would hunt something as inhuman as he was. He could dispatch them, but they might not be the only thing lurking in the shadows. Better to let them pass, and each go their separate ways for now.
The boy dropped down to the path below. He paused there a moment, the dusky twilight reflecting from off a polished metal blade. His other hand was raised up in a boxer’s guard as he waited. He remained like that for awhile, listening to the sounds of the forest, as though questioning whether the wolves would have doubled back in search of their prey.
After awhile, he straightened up, the sword still held at the ready as he used his free hand to gesture to the will o' wisp. Then, like the wolf of earlier, the boy moved into the brush with barely a sound to mark his passage.
They had traveled on without incident, when the boy suddenly stopped again. This time, kneeling near where low-hanging branches extended out toward the road. Some were broken, suggesting that someone had come through him.
The wind-swept, dirt path didn’t seem to bear evidence of anyone come though. At least, not recently. Someone had though, at some point close enough that the broken twigs and rustled branches were still present.
So the road was well-traveled. Frequently traveled, to be certain.
Wild animals usually avoided such areas. So why weren't these?
Sword in hand, the child ventured into the dark of night, certain that he wasn't alone and convinced that something of ill-intent had come to this place. The question remained, what form would that something take?
RE: Troian - Andromeda - 05-13-2018
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