Post by phoenix on Apr 11, 2009 1:55:34 GMT 10
Phoenix James Silverstream
Male, 53 years old, Metamorphi - Varmi, Mercenary, Pellanoir.
PERONALITY,
Phoenix is, like most of his kind, mind-numbing stubborn. When he sets his goal to something – whether it’s the place he’s going to go or the job he’s going to take on, he never backs down or quits. He would rather die than break his word and a promise that he makes is sure to never be broken. Most people take this blind desire to never let anything get in his way to be stupidity – the truth is Phoenix is actually incredibly intelligent, unfortunately that side of him rarely shines through. Also, thanks to the destruction of his past, he is fearfully afraid of flames and can barely have a cooking fire to light the way at night.
Although outwardly he is often grim and unsmiling, Phoenix has got the whole ‘blank face’ thing down to a fine art. The truth is he feels that it is life that makes people uncaring, emotionless monsters and that it’s the decisions that people make which defines who they really are. You could say that Phoenix has a rather blind sense of what is right and what is wrong – and refuses to budge one inch on his beliefs, to the point of appearing obnoxious and really rather rude. The painful truth is that Phoenix never has, and never will, ever kill a child, no matter what race or background. He has a fearsome reputation as a cold-hearted killer, but his tolerance ends when it comes to children.
He believes that children should be allowed to grow in men – or women – before they die and is constantly looking for an opponent to test his strength and skill against. He doesn’t mess around when it comes to fighting and killing – death is not an art for him, more a job, and he tries to keep a professional’s disinterest. He can sometimes let his temper get the better of him, and he is aware that he is quick to anger, and so keeps a tight reign on his emotions, however it isn’t as easy as it sounds and he isn’t the best and remaining emotionally detached.
Unlike most Varmi he has a mind for bargaining and thrives on the thrill of buying and selling. If he had been born to a different, less violent race, perhaps he would have become a merchant. As it was he was raised by a merchant caravan and so can’t quite shake that unnatural side to himself that he had as a boy.
He has quite a dry and dark sense of humor and those who don’t know him would find it hard to know if he’s joking or not, and although he feels greatly attached to younger children, he isn’t the first choice anyone would have to look after them – he often scares them with tales and stories in jest, but forgets the youth of his audience.
Phoenix isn’t much of a talker unless you get him drunk, then he can talk until the dogs come home – or at least until he falls unconscious. He believes that actions most often speak louder than words and doesn’t care for the whole take a receive insults before a fight. Sometimes he can’t help but have the last word, even if it doesn’t matter, because hey, what’s a comeback if you don’t voice it? Never one to exaggerate, if Phoenix tells you a massive torrential wave is going to hit within moments, its usually best to start running if you don’t know if he’s joking. He probably won’t be, and let’s face it – better safe than sorry, right? (Unless you’re hundreds of miles from any known source of water, ‘cause then running away would make you look stupid, right?)
APPEARANCE,Phoenix has long, rusty-brown hair which is long and often tied back. Because he spends long hours on the road it is often matted and unkempt, but he does his best to remain clean-shaven and halfway decent. There is a scar shaped like a cross on his left cheek, received when he and his mercenary band were attacked, and ever since he has strived for perfection in his fighting skills.
Like most of his species his skin is pale – but years and years of fighting during the day in blinding sun have tanned his face more than most. However, his skin is still unnaturally pale and does burn easily.
Long years of training have given him a toned and lithe appearance, along with steely brown eyes which are a curios hazel color. As a mercenary he hires out his services to anyone important enough to pay him enough money for it to be worth his while, and often he gets into situations where you need more than strength and skill to get through. He looks calm and collected and the truth is he has enough experience dealing with the richest aristocrats to the scum-of-the-earth. In his experience action speak loader than words, and the massive twin-bladed claymore strapped across his back says ‘get out of my way or prepare to be OWNED’ unlike anything else.
Forms:
Siberian Tiger As a Siberian Tiger his fur is the same matted rusty-brown as his hair, and the eyes remain the odd, hazel brown but narrowed and in slits like the eyes of the hunter his first and most relied-upon form takes on. Lithe and athletic, this form probably sums up Phoenix very well – handsome and dangerous to look at, deadly in battle with a soft side that is impossible to hide.
Long-winged Harrier His fastest and one of his most surest forms comes in the form of the small but quick long-winged Harrier, not much to look at, his form of this bird might look a little scruffy and worn with brown feathers that often stick out, but it’s damn fast, and let’s face it – would YOU want to mess with that beak? Didn’t think so.
Black-backed Jackal Jackals have a reputation for scavenging and the truth is that’s generally what they’re built to do. A lone jackal is rarely seen as they work better in a pack, but despite with Phoenix uses the jackal as the silent thief – the one he uses if he would rather remain unseen. The truth is, this is his hardest shift and has little or no control over it. It’s luck of the draw whether it will actually work, and so usually he shrinks away from this shift.
Asio (typical) Owl This is the form that Phoenix uses when needing surveillance or terrain-observing missions under the cover of night. Using the advanced senses of this trustworthy form, with light-brown feathers streamed with cream and rusty-brown, he can change into this form almost as easily as his first form, although he still needs to focus and concentrate as with every form he takes.
Marine Otter This form was one of the hardest for Phoenix to accept when he first chose it. To start with, despite being sleek and fast in water, otters are certainly not at all frightening or threatening, in fact they’re playful and good-natured. Alongside the stag, this form is one that he rarely uses and never when anyone could see him. The knock to his pride and reputation would be too great. It’s fur is brown with streaks of rust-brown here and there, the same color as his hair.
Kashmir Stag His final form comes in the graceful and proud Kashmir Stag, larger than the traditional animal, despite it’s awesome size his last transformation is the one he uses the least. It is sleek and powerful – would you want to get in the way of those horns and hooves? – but as a species, deer aren’t well known for their overall ferocity and violence. Despite this, it is his most beloved form and runs anyone to the ground who dares make the mick.
POWERS&SPECIALITIES,Like most Varmi who are over 31, Phoenix has six forms and can’t change into them unless he’s concentrating. The only one which comes to him like clockwork, instantly, is his first and truest form of the Siberian Tiger. Over the years he has sorted out which to use where and has become adept at finding places to close his eyes, focus and concentrate. The hardest forms for him to accept were the practical ones such as the Stag and Otter. They were the ones which came instantly to his mind when the day came, and although he has never regretted the choice he made, it didn’t stop him getting trouble from his fellow Varmi for changing into at least one creature which can’t fight particularly well.
He can barely control the form of the jackal despite it not being in his last group of animals, and despite it being very fast and sneaky he avoids using it because of the lack of control he has over the change. Despite wrestling with the form for years, he has never managed to control this form, and sometimes accidently changes back into a human once transformed, which can be highly embarrassing and unhelpful. Bottom line: like most Varmi he has very little control.
HISTORY,Phoenix grew up in an orphanage, as his parents had both been killed in a rock fall just a few months after he was born. Bring so small, the rocks has just missed him and a travelling merchant caravan found him and took him in. They raised him and were friendly despite the fact that he was clearly a Varmi, and they were all Aradi. He grew up fast and soon his first shift occurred. Despite the pain he was able to control it and avoid harming anyone in the caravan despite his surprise and worry at the strange point of view through which he now saw the world. When he was sixteen years old the caravan was looted and burned by raiders: petty bandits and thieves growing rich out of the sorrow of the world. Too young to achieve the change in time, Phoenix was knocked unconscious and left with the burned remains of the caravan. Most of the other healthy merchants were taken for slavery of ransom, Phoenix has never managed to find a trace of them anywhere.
Since that day he has worked his best to achieving the change as quickly as possible@ any change, it doesn’t matter which animal so long as it has teeth and claws. When it became clear that this wasn’t going to happen overnight, Phoenix did what many young men seeking revenge do: learn how to fight without the change. It soon became clear that with his strength alone Phoenix was a formidable enemy, and soon joined up with a mercenary group, fighting with them for whoever paid the most. He was twenty-eight years old and still had yet to achieve the last changes that would complete him. When he was thirty he because the leader of his own mercenary group and soon gained the reputation for being bloodthirsty and utterly ruthless – Phoenix learned that a big reputation could help just as much as a large sword or change. By the time he had gained enough experience to last on the battlefield, many other rival mercenary groups became jealous of the spirit he inspired in others, whether it was to go out and kill or save the lives of others, his group were utterly loyal to him.
The groups banded together and through shady contacts of their own found out about Phoenix’s utter fear of flames. Upon completing a contract one day, Phoenix and his band were attacked by the superior numbers of the other bands. Phoenix fought like a man possessed until the enemy set fire to their wagons and he was lost in nightmares of his past. Whilst he froze up and shook, he was clubbed on the back of the head and captured by the other mercenaries. His men (and women) were killed. He also received a cross-like scar on his left cheek and although many healers have offered to remove it, he bears it as proof of his shame. He managed to escape his captors and rebuilt his band, although he most often sends them off on easier jobs and prefers to work alone these days, well aware of what happened the last time he became too attacked to his mercenaries.
Life became harder for him after that, as he was too wary of the other mercenaries jealousy to try to rebuilt his band to became as great as they had once been, and so sometimes money became harder to come by. By taking the jobs alone he is often kept on his toes, but he is forever striving for that one thing that no one ever truly achieves: perfection. He wants to be the best fighter, and despite the fact that Malaki and Daemi and the like are faster and stronger than he could ever be, still; he works towards the goal that he has set himself. After all, what is a person without a goal? Without an impossible dream, something they are forever striving for but never achieve, something they are forever reaching for but never grasp? He accepts that this path will get him killed. Early. Probably painfully and slowly. But he believes that if it ends one day – then that is as far as he was ever meant to go. The road will end there and no matter what he did, no matter what choices he makes he would have ended up there anyway. You could say he believes it’s his destiny – but then again, as we all know, nothing is certain, and the future is not set in stone…
FACE CLAIM,Rurouni Kenshin -Himura Kenshin
Mainly because he looks like someone who has a background, a story to tell and many more to tell in the future. I know the skin isn’t pale, but, meh, he spent years living underground until he looked like a vampire…anyways, although the personality is different, I really like the idea of using him as at least a base for Phoenix.
TELL US ABOUT YOURSELF,So this space gives me free reign to brag about myself and tell everyone what a cool, beautiful, dashing, clever and incredibly talented person I am? Coolio. :3 I like this space loads. Whatever. I living in England and am currently studying hard like a good little student (…) for my GCSE’S and AS levels. I have a part-time job working in the vets down the road and use my spare time (of which, you know, I have so much of…) to stay glued to my computer. I’m also in the regional archery team – so don’t cross me or I’ll shoot you ^^ -
WHAT IS PRELUDE?Prelude really is taking the whole ‘unique’ fantasy RPG to a whole new level, seriously. I’m into reading fantasy myself, and although I can see where some of the ideas and place-names and such for this site have come from, it is undoubtedly almost 100% from the creative mind of the writer – congrats to you!
Basically there are the Gods – super-powerful being who created pretty much everything, who were all striving for perfection in their creations. One group of these God’s succeeded for a few thousand years or so until one of their own wanted all the power for himself. Their paradise, their utopia? Gone. Imploded. After a long and bitter war with some really cool side-characters – am loving the battle between Niare and Korvhan – awesomeness! *cough* anyways…after fighting Juudas, Sien was defeated and banished, rather than killed, to a barren, desolate, dead planet. But now he has escaped and although he isn’t counted as much of a threat…yet…he is gathering power and waiting to unleash hell once more. :3 Doesn’t really do justice to the whole thing but I simplified it.
EXTRA INFO,Nope. Nothing
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