PHYSICALITY

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Physical Description
I don’t take credit for this image, all rights go to borissov of Deviantart.com

Appearance
Hair: Light grey with dark wisps of steel.
Facial Hair: A relatively well kempt goatee.
Eyes: Light brown
Build:[/b ]Stocky and muscular
[b]Skin Tone: Tanned
Height: 5’ 10”
Weight: 216 lbs
Voice: Low and husky.
Handed: Right
Body Markings: None.
Scar Tissue: Numerous scars around his knuckles and along his forearms, and an elliptical scar adjacent his heart.
Unique Body Features: None.

Name
Marcus Lionel Ballester

Nickname
Marcus, Lee

Alias
N/A

Race
Grim

Nationality
Canadian

Visual Age
Over sixty

Factual Age
115

Gender
Male

Sexual Orientation
Heterosexual

Class
Reaper

Level
0

MENTALITY

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Personality
Respect for your elders used to be important, hell respsect in and of itself was a general aspect of every good willed person when Marcus grew up. Those with no respect turned into criminals and sat in jails instead of having families and spending their lives together with loved ones. Gladly the former option that held respect close to his heart Marcus is also very disciplined in everything he does. During his service to Canada, and Britain, in The Great War he learned that like many other men discipline and respect went hand in hand in the battlefield. He came back a bit rattled and cookie, but a very kind, respectful and diligent man.

Now though, with the arrival of idiot kids who think badmouthing their elders makes them strong Marcus has developed a solemn attitude towards the turn societies taken. He dislikes a lot of people, commonly beats someone down with words in an attempt to teach them some kind of respect, but generally fails to do anymore than incite yet more disrespect. Nothing pisses him off more than teenagers and since there are so many of the damned bastards around Marcus is commonly annoyed or angry, yelling, shouting, and swearing to add flavor to a battery of insults.

Virtue/Creed
Wayward Visionary

Quirks
Has died twice; once when he was shot and his heart briefly stopped beating and again of a heart attack when he was in his 50’s.

Fears
No longer being able to breathe.
Never passing or serving eternally.

Goal
He’s uncertain of his goals, other than to pursue his occupation, that being the collection of souls and regulation of the dead.

Likes
Fast food.
Reading about the past.
Paintings.
Boating.

Dislikes
Graveyards
Souls that aren’t aware they’ve passed.
War movies.
Teenagers in general.[/list]

Strengths
Marcus has a fair amount of strengths, most of them dealing with his physical abilities. Though he’s died twice he still retains much of his strength from when he was in his early thirties. He is hence a strong fighter, agile despite his appearance and effective in close quarters combat. Other than his fighting prowess he was gifted with a decent ability to drive and is relatively fare when it comes to any labor intensive job.

Weaknesses
As all good men do Marcus has a weakness for his strengths. He’s a very poor drinker and can barely write and read, only knowing enough to get through basic texts. Despite his physical prowess his body isn’t unaffected by age. Arthritis has set into his knees and running is somewhat difficult for him, at least over distances.

ARMAMENT

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Head
Nothing.

Neck
Nothing.

Chest
A button up blue and white pinstriped shirt.

Back
Nothing.

Arm/Shoulder
Nothing.

Right Hand
Nothing.

Left Hand
His wedding ring.

Right Accessory
Nothing.

Left Accessory
Nothing.

Waist
A black leather belt with a bandolier about the right of his waist.

Legs
Straight black work pants.

Feet
Black steel toed shoes with white laces.

COMBAT PROWESS

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Combativeness
Unarmed Combat: Above Average
Armed Combat: Excellent
Short Ranged Combat: Excellent (Less than 25 feet.)
Medium Ranged Combat: Below Average (More than 25 feet, less than 100.)
Long Ranged Combat: Nonexistent (More than 100 feet.)
Magical Combat: Below Average

Natural Talents
Constitution: A strong resilience towards sickness and fatigue.
Nimble Hands: Agile hands and fast fingers.
Persuasive: A naturally persuasive person can convince others to do many things.

Skills
Awareness: Trained throughout his military career as well as an impressive hunting career there isn't much that goes unnoticed or unaccounted for by Marcus in any situation, even when things are hectic.
Sure Shot: Trained by Canadian and then British riflemen Marcus can make a fine shot with any basic rifle, shotgun and pistol.
Lying: As adept at lying as he is persuasive most people believe everything Marcus says.

Powers
Grim Transformation: An ability attained by all Grims this permits the race to transform themselves, altering their appearance but more importantly granting them extra abilities. In this state Marcus appears as a shade of his younger self with silver veins running where blood used to.

• Tier 1 – Warcry: A monstrous below that sends sonic waves through matter. Fluids amplify the effect.
• Tier 2 - Ethereal Armour: Plates of ethereal magic form on Marcus' body increasing resilience against both physical and magical damage.
  Tier 3 - Luminary Contortion: Light warps around the body making it difficult to perceive where the caster is.
  Tier 4 - Berserk: A state in which speed and strength are greatly increased and reaction time decreased.
  Tier 5 - Abjucation: The ability to abjucate, negate, magical abilities who's tiers are no greater than the sum of 4.

Ethereal Channeling: A pact made with a deity of death this was one of the two powers granted to Marcus. This power permits him the ability to channel ethereal powers through his body to inflict damage to a creatures soul rather than their physical body.

• Tier 1 - Basic Channeling: The ability to send forth ethereal projectiles and mold it's energy into destructive attacks.
• Tier 2 - Projection: Ethereal magic can now be cast from anywhere within 30 feet of Marcus.
  Tier 3 - Soul Veil: A defensive shield in which the soul and body are protected from magic.
  Tier 4 - Advanced Channeling: An increase in the channeling capabilities allows Marcus to use much more destructive spells and spells are more easily sustainable.
  Tier 5 - Doppelganger: An apparition of the target appears. Though physically weaker than the target the double can still enact physical as well as magical damage. A maximum of two doppelgangers can be summoned at a time.

Combat Experience: Through combat Marcus has gained experience, and this in turn has made him a powerful fighter.

• Tier 1 - Unarmed training: Increase on rank in unarmed combat.
  Tier 2 - Twitch Reflex: Reaction time decreases from 0.135 seconds to 0.85 seconds.
  Tier 3 - Arms Training: Increase one rank in armed combat.
  Tier 4 - Physical Growth: High increase in strength and endurance.
  Tier 5 - Combat Prowess: Increase one rank in unarmed and armed combat.

Death’s Door: A power attained by all reapers this permits Marcus to create a red gate beneath the feet of any deceased soul which will send them to judgement where their fate is decided. It is possible to escape the vortex, though difficult.

Weapon
Weapon Name: Reaper's Scythe
Weapon Type: Magical Scythe
Material: Ethereal metals
Ammo: N/A
Length: 6'8"
Weight: No weight as the ethereal metals are not corporeal.
Weapon Description/Info: A scythe crafted from metals of the ethereal planes that has no weight and has the ability to inflict physical damage upon corporeal creatures. The weapon carries powers that grow along in relation to the user and can be pulled from a dimensional pocket in an instant. In its final state the weapon amplifies ethereal magic and strengthens the vortex of Death's Door.

EQUIPMENT

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Special Items
None.

Regular Items
Things Marcus had before he met Asher included his 97 red Chevy pickup, his shotgun as well as a fair amount of ammunition and a wallet with some cash to get him through day to day life. Other things would include his wedding ring and a suitcase of clothes.

BACKGROUND

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Group Affiliation
Asher Faust

Religious Affiliation
Death Diety

Marital Status
Widowed

Relatives
Deceased

Origin
Fort Garry(Winnipeg), Manitoba, Canada.

Occupation
Reaper

The First Time
"I will get straight to the point, I know who, what you are-"

The raspy voice held an air of nobility; that faint hint of an educated man wafted off his breath like the smell of tobacco. The shaded figure held the muzzle of a gun to the driver’s side, pushing it slightly into his ribs when other people passed by on the street.

"-don't worry, your secret is safe with me. I too, am not at all who you expect me to be."

The driver didn't expect him to be normal; any man that could find a way into a truck with locked doors at thirty miles an hour had something special about them, but the shades words intrigued the driver.

"Then who are you?"

A much deeper voice, strife with grief that hinted towards a world weary man.

"You may have seen me wander past you in the streets, sit nearby you in a restaurant, run from you in the dead of the night, seemingly in a drunken stupor. I will assure you now, those chance meetings were hardly coincidences. Everything happens for a reason."

Again the figure intrigued the driver.

"And for what reason are you here Mr.-"

"Asher Faust, Devil Hunter. Malevolent spirits are my game. Silver, iron and salt is the extent of the ammunition I own, my body the weapon with which I fire it... You may call me crazy, many have and many will. But, this is the simple truth - the world is in danger."

The world had always been in danger. The dead ran amok behind curtains draped over the foolish eyes of mankind. Those blind to the supernatural would fall by its hand, and those who knew of it even more so.

"Until now, you probably thought you were the only one. But, deep down, you knew you couldn't be the only one. I am living proof that you were not wrong in these assumptions. Although, for obvious reasons, we are not easy to find. Until we can find more hunters, we are going to struggle in this war and may die as a result of it."

War. What a stupid waste of life. Every soldier that died in war, though perhaps valiant and honourable, would at their last moments pray that they do not die; it's human nature. The driver was no exception. He'd felt the grip fo death twice and both times prayed to any deity that listened to his words if only to cast them away as though insincere.

"I've no desire to struggle, let alone partake in your war."

"I am not asking you to give your life to the cause, nor am I asking you to waste what little bouts of happiness you may already have found for it. I'm just asking for you to give me a chance to find those tiny experiences that make such a dismal, lonely life worth living."

The truck came to a stop.

"Your words are changing. You speak of war, but claim I need not sacrifice my life; you're a fool to believe that true."

"I need your help."

Turning to face his unwanted passenger the driver nearly shouted:

"You won't have my damned help!"

His words met deaf ears. He sat alone in the seat of his truck, the driver aside him at the road looking over puzzled. The lights changed and the engine revved as rain pitter pattered against the metal of the truck. Pausing his breath the driver leaned forward, the springs of the chair groaning under the weight, placed a fisted hand to his forehead and renewed his search for a night’s sleep.

Bio/History
Born the twenty third day of February in 1879 Marcus Lee Ballester grew up in a home of 3 children, 2 older sisters and he the lone son. His father was a farmer in the developing Prairies of Canada in the still new Postage Stamp Province Manitoba. His mother worked hard to keep the family fed, but often fell ill and left the bulk of the work to the two eldest daughters. Prior to his birth a rebellion had crafted Manitoba, and during the capture of Fort Garry Marcus’ father was among the men imprisoned. The family worked even harder in his absence and prayed for his safe return, which luckily either God or a kind hearted man had obliged.

There weren’t any other exciting moment in the years after, at least in comparison and soon Marcus was a good old fashioned farm boy. His hair was constantly dirty and the grime under his fingernails was nearly permanent, much to his mother’s displeasure. He had a good relationship with his family and had begun seeing a nice girl before The Great War rolled around. His father couldn’t go overseas, the farm was too important to leave unattended. It may seem odd that a farm be unattended when a perfectly healthy 18 year old boy was there, but when his father tried to talk him out of service Marcus betrayed his father trust and left to enlist anyway. He was of legal age and had no reason to lie. He bid his girl farewell and was shipped to training.
He prefers not to speak of his time spent in the Great War; his accomplishments were minor. In 1917 he was shot in the vicinity of the heart and while in a field tent his heart briefly stopped beating. He bragged that he’d died and come back because he was still needed in the war, but by the time he was fit to serve the war had ended.

Returning home to Manitoba Marcus faced the wrath of his family who’d heard of his wounds, and still fumed over his betrayal. Luckily they overlooked the fact when he promised never again to serve. Settling down with his nice girl and following his and her father in the profession of farming Marcus made a decent life for himself. He had two children, both girls. He passed away when they were 34 and 28 from a heart attack; he was 55 at the time and his wife had already passed away.

Believing that he had served his country in the war well on the surface, Marcus thought deeply of the young men he shared blows with and wished his sins to be forgiven. Until his death he felt that he’d yet to have atoned for any of the men he’d killed, and when opportunity presented itself he created a pact with a deity of death. This, in a turn of fate, also turned him into the reaper is today.

His death in 1952 at the age of 56 was overshadowed by his revival in 1983, 28 years ago. For those near three decades there hasn’t been much noteworthy that’s happened to Marcus, save perhaps for his meeting with Faust on a rainy night.