Asteridax Morzän
The Puppetmaster
25 | Grave-touched Human | Heterosexual
If one was lucky to steal a glimpse of his face behind the mask, they would be mostly correct to say that Asteridax could have seen better days. His frame is covered with an ornate mix of armor and cloth, standing roughly at 5'8, on par or shorter than the rest of his fellow mercenaries.
Asteridax mostly wears a golden mask to cover the scarred and ghastly visage that makes up his face. His facial features are not gaunt but slightly sunken, giving his otherwise youthful features a feeling of extreme age. With that said, his eyes are most unusual, having a unique reddish-orange hue rather than any of the other known eye colors common to his kind. While he may have a fair complexion, it still gives off an uncomfortable image to those who see his face without his mask.
He is always wearing the same outfit, oddly enough. The outfit consists of a highly ornate set of (personally) magically enhanced Plate Mail armor, ornate being the descriptive word, the armor forged from a rare metallic glass, and is complemented with a set of crimson and black cloth, reaching down to his ankles and effectively concealing his form.
What makes this particular armor unique is, while it's considered by some as heavy armor due to being related to plate mail, it is surprisingly light. It weighs as much as a set of chainmail, and this is due to the enchantments that Asteridax placed on it. One unique property of the armor is that it seems to "heal" itself of any slight damage over time. Now how this is done, is something that even the necromancer refuses to talk about.
Around the edges, there are various runes and gilt designs etched into the metal that give off a (whitish) aura when he uses magic, effectively making the robes and armor appear exotic. Yet despite the dark coloration of the armor, it is not black. During the time it took to create this armor, it had been so finally polished, that the protective finish had taken on a black coloration.
Equipment
Asteridax is well known for the golden mask and the distinctive armor that he is almost always wearing. Aside from these two obvious items of apparel, he carries a wide assortment of alchemical extracts, mutagens, and reagents, used for the sole purpose of creating potions [of magical nature]. The properties of these substances, when mixed, create effects from healing wounds to negating the effects of sunlight for a limited time.
For those who are more martially inclined, one will notice that he holds no weapons on his person whatsoever. This is due to the belief that he holds true: "Why fight yourself if you can have others do it for you?" Yet, if he is required to enter combat, his effectiveness lies within his spells and magical prowess.
However, the most important item that Asteridax carries is a seemingly harmless crystal orb. One can argue that the orb serves as a focus of his magical abilities, but the necromancer knows better. He is also seen using a staff from time to time, but the staff is nonmagical and is just a simple walking stick in reality.
Abilities
Intelligence Network
The young necromancer (and lord) serves as the Queen's personal eyes and ears in many situations. His network of information is known by nearly everybody and feared by most. If something happens in the Kingdom of Iverien, Asteridax will have heard of it within a week at most.
Magic in the Blood
Unlike the magi that have spent their entire lives studying and mastering a large variety of spells, magic runs strongly through his blood. Because of this, Asteridax is capable of frequently casting a selection of favorable spells. While he lives and breathes what's natural to him, he has limited understanding of how the magic that runs through him works.
Necromancy
This is his specialty of magic and the type he uses almost exclusively. Necromancy is widely regarded as dealing with death and evilness, but this isn't so. Necromancy is really the magic of manipulating life energy, and was one of the most revered and holy of the ancient magicks. Using the power of Necromancy, Asteridax is capable of performing feats that could almost be considered miracles.
Intimidation
If left to his personal machinations, Asteridax will eventually break the wills of those he's interrogating, one way or another. However, this also serves as a double-sided sword. They don't call him the Puppetmaster for nothing.
Spells
Most of the spells that Asteridax cast has two forms, each having one side that benefits and positively reinforces the caster and his allies, while the other is negative and wracks the caster's enemies.
Mage Hand
The caster points at a small object (something that normally weighs no more than ten pounds), becoming capable of lifting and moving it at will from a close distance.
Prestidigitation
A minor spell with a number of relatively various effects, mainly used to pass the time or for practice. 'Nuff said.
Force Bolt
A crystalline missile of pure, dark, magical energy is formed at the caster's fingertips and strikes its target unerringly, dealing a minor amount of pure damage that bypasses most forms of armor and resistance. It's a variation of Magic Missile, customized for the capability of being cast rapidly within short amounts of time.
Blood Link/Barbs
The caster creates a magical bond of positive life energy between himself and another target. Whenever the target should experience pain or injury, the bond lessens the affliction by sharing the pain and damage equally between the target and the caster. When used offensively, the caster curses a target enemy that links itself with nearby enemy beings, and when one of the afflicted successfully attacks, they inflict the damage to themselves instead.
Healing Hands/Life Tap
By using necromantic magic in a positive fashion, the caster may heal the wounds of another living person, though the amount of positive energy to heal is halved when cast on himself. However, he can cast the spell and use the negative aspects of necromancy in a similar manner to absorb the life force of a target to heal his own wounds, dealing damage and weakening the target in the process.
The Pumpkin Song
A unique spell of Asteridax's creation, when cast upon a target (much more helpful of the target is helpless), it fills a sentient target’s mind with unsettling and wracking urges. Part would be fright; part would be agony; part would be anguish. They all affect the victim simultaneously in near equal magnitude, and if one is resisted, the other two are amplified. If two are endured, the third becomes distinctive. Most minds can't last long under the constant bombardment of these three emotions, often breaking down within mere minutes which allows the Puppetmaster to easily retrieve whatever information he was after.
The Puppetmaster
25 | Grave-touched Human | Heterosexual
If one was lucky to steal a glimpse of his face behind the mask, they would be mostly correct to say that Asteridax could have seen better days. His frame is covered with an ornate mix of armor and cloth, standing roughly at 5'8, on par or shorter than the rest of his fellow mercenaries.
Asteridax mostly wears a golden mask to cover the scarred and ghastly visage that makes up his face. His facial features are not gaunt but slightly sunken, giving his otherwise youthful features a feeling of extreme age. With that said, his eyes are most unusual, having a unique reddish-orange hue rather than any of the other known eye colors common to his kind. While he may have a fair complexion, it still gives off an uncomfortable image to those who see his face without his mask.
He is always wearing the same outfit, oddly enough. The outfit consists of a highly ornate set of (personally) magically enhanced Plate Mail armor, ornate being the descriptive word, the armor forged from a rare metallic glass, and is complemented with a set of crimson and black cloth, reaching down to his ankles and effectively concealing his form.
What makes this particular armor unique is, while it's considered by some as heavy armor due to being related to plate mail, it is surprisingly light. It weighs as much as a set of chainmail, and this is due to the enchantments that Asteridax placed on it. One unique property of the armor is that it seems to "heal" itself of any slight damage over time. Now how this is done, is something that even the necromancer refuses to talk about.
Around the edges, there are various runes and gilt designs etched into the metal that give off a (whitish) aura when he uses magic, effectively making the robes and armor appear exotic. Yet despite the dark coloration of the armor, it is not black. During the time it took to create this armor, it had been so finally polished, that the protective finish had taken on a black coloration.
Equipment
Asteridax is well known for the golden mask and the distinctive armor that he is almost always wearing. Aside from these two obvious items of apparel, he carries a wide assortment of alchemical extracts, mutagens, and reagents, used for the sole purpose of creating potions [of magical nature]. The properties of these substances, when mixed, create effects from healing wounds to negating the effects of sunlight for a limited time.
For those who are more martially inclined, one will notice that he holds no weapons on his person whatsoever. This is due to the belief that he holds true: "Why fight yourself if you can have others do it for you?" Yet, if he is required to enter combat, his effectiveness lies within his spells and magical prowess.
However, the most important item that Asteridax carries is a seemingly harmless crystal orb. One can argue that the orb serves as a focus of his magical abilities, but the necromancer knows better. He is also seen using a staff from time to time, but the staff is nonmagical and is just a simple walking stick in reality.
Abilities
Intelligence Network
The young necromancer (and lord) serves as the Queen's personal eyes and ears in many situations. His network of information is known by nearly everybody and feared by most. If something happens in the Kingdom of Iverien, Asteridax will have heard of it within a week at most.
Magic in the Blood
Unlike the magi that have spent their entire lives studying and mastering a large variety of spells, magic runs strongly through his blood. Because of this, Asteridax is capable of frequently casting a selection of favorable spells. While he lives and breathes what's natural to him, he has limited understanding of how the magic that runs through him works.
Necromancy
This is his specialty of magic and the type he uses almost exclusively. Necromancy is widely regarded as dealing with death and evilness, but this isn't so. Necromancy is really the magic of manipulating life energy, and was one of the most revered and holy of the ancient magicks. Using the power of Necromancy, Asteridax is capable of performing feats that could almost be considered miracles.
Intimidation
If left to his personal machinations, Asteridax will eventually break the wills of those he's interrogating, one way or another. However, this also serves as a double-sided sword. They don't call him the Puppetmaster for nothing.
Spells
Most of the spells that Asteridax cast has two forms, each having one side that benefits and positively reinforces the caster and his allies, while the other is negative and wracks the caster's enemies.
Mage Hand
The caster points at a small object (something that normally weighs no more than ten pounds), becoming capable of lifting and moving it at will from a close distance.
Prestidigitation
A minor spell with a number of relatively various effects, mainly used to pass the time or for practice. 'Nuff said.
Force Bolt
A crystalline missile of pure, dark, magical energy is formed at the caster's fingertips and strikes its target unerringly, dealing a minor amount of pure damage that bypasses most forms of armor and resistance. It's a variation of Magic Missile, customized for the capability of being cast rapidly within short amounts of time.
Blood Link/Barbs
The caster creates a magical bond of positive life energy between himself and another target. Whenever the target should experience pain or injury, the bond lessens the affliction by sharing the pain and damage equally between the target and the caster. When used offensively, the caster curses a target enemy that links itself with nearby enemy beings, and when one of the afflicted successfully attacks, they inflict the damage to themselves instead.
Healing Hands/Life Tap
By using necromantic magic in a positive fashion, the caster may heal the wounds of another living person, though the amount of positive energy to heal is halved when cast on himself. However, he can cast the spell and use the negative aspects of necromancy in a similar manner to absorb the life force of a target to heal his own wounds, dealing damage and weakening the target in the process.
The Pumpkin Song
A unique spell of Asteridax's creation, when cast upon a target (much more helpful of the target is helpless), it fills a sentient target’s mind with unsettling and wracking urges. Part would be fright; part would be agony; part would be anguish. They all affect the victim simultaneously in near equal magnitude, and if one is resisted, the other two are amplified. If two are endured, the third becomes distinctive. Most minds can't last long under the constant bombardment of these three emotions, often breaking down within mere minutes which allows the Puppetmaster to easily retrieve whatever information he was after.
Strengths
- He doesn't need to study or prepare his spells or magic, as it naturally comes to him. This gives him a strong advantage over other spellcasters.
- Despite being a known necromancer, Asteridax is employed within the Queen's royal army as a mercenary due to certain ties.
- Even when facing unfavorable conditions, he remains a step or two ahead of his opponent, usually with a plan within a plan.
- He knows how to retrieve information from somebody, and he does a nastily good job about it.
- It sucks when a group's healer happens to be the one who deals in death.
- He has little to no formal training with weapons.
- His imposing nature works against him as well, as he's generally left alone to work behind the scenes. He's generally not a people person.
Personality: Scary is the only term that comes to mind when describing Asteridax. While it’s easy to assume his personality to be sadistic, this is simply a façade to keep his enemies guessing. Face-to-face, he is as grim as he is intimidating, and he won’t rest until he’s hammered this belief into the minds of his enemies, however he is not evil. While Asteridax has a few people he would classify as friends, he would not hesitate to use them for information should he feel it necessary. He is calculating, logical, and incredibly sane. He analyzes every situation, always having some sort of contingency plan in place for every action.
However, to those whom earned special treatment from the Puppetmaster have realized that he is quite friendly, provided that one does not piss him off.
Biography: To most people, the early years of Asteridax is a story most mysterious, as very few people alive still know the truth regarding his origins. Asteridax had served the royal family his entire life: his father was the late King's personal advisor, much to the dismay of the queen. Before the King's death, he had served as his father's apprentice, learning how to master the magic that flowed through him while being taught on how to serve the kingdom of Iverien through the art of intelligence gathering and espionage. He was sharp and caught on quickly, finding himself employment in the service as one of the assistants of the royal family, most specifically a servant of the princess.
Over the next few years following the king's death, Asteridax had taken his father's position as the Queen's personal advisor, despite being younger than most, as it was around that time that his father had suddenly vanished, and he now serves as the head of the Queen's personal intelligence service. If it reaches the her ears, it is through the necromancer's many mouths. It had only been recently that Asteridax had found himself "attached" to a small group of mercenaries, reasons kept private for the time being.
Other
How far will one obtain freedom from the grasp of certain fate?
How far will one obtain freedom from the grasp of certain fate?