Enter the Shadowmage

[nascent]

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~Basic Info~


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Username: Nascent

Other Characters: [see Ex Libris Nascent]

Is this character canon?: Yes

Link to Audition: [CLICK HERE]

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~History~


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"If this is to be the way of things, then let me abandon all that was and fade away as well."

"Should a part of me somehow even then remain, then perhaps that will be the birth of something new -- something with greater meaning than all this."

~Magus, after doing battle with the Dream Devourer~

It is said that a heart given over to darkness becomes corrupted from within, cold and malignant in nature. It consumes both the one who bears it and all that it encounters. Once such darkness has grown and taken deep root, to remove oneself from it requires an act akin to amputation - a complete and total severing of the self.

This is the story of a young boy who lived in a bright kingdom in the skies, high above the cold earth. He lived with his older sister, a creature of unremitted light and empathy whom he loved dearly. But all was not well... for the boy's mother, the queen, had begun a steady decline into darkness and lusted after eternal life. Day and night the boy felt the darkness growing, unseen, within this kingdom of light - felt the cold brush of black winds upon his soul and the whispers of disaster's herald-gale echo through his troubled dreams.

Deep beneath the frozen earth, a titan of unfathomable power slept. Even in slumber it fed upon all who lived, growing ever stronger as it quietly tapped the world's lives and hearts. In time this creature would whisper to the queen, leading her down a yet more dark and damnable path. Deep below the seas she would erect a shrine to the monster, and it was there that she determined to summoned it to grant her forbidden desire. She imprisoned her advisers who opposed her and forced her daughter, who was born with great magic, to invoke the creature's power. This demon, known as Lavos, would rise from the depths...

... and lay waste to the world.

So great was the devourer's power that time and space distorted around it. The princess could only watch, terror-struck, as her younger brother was pulled into a dark rift and stolen from her forever.

Struck from the skies, the kingdom fell into the sea. In time the world would thaw and life return, but for ages desolation reigned. It would not be until many thousands of years later that new kingdoms were built... and into this age a dark portal opened, depositing a young boy into the hands of an inhuman warlord.

Under the watchful eye of monsters known as fiends did the boy spend the rest of his fleeting and comfortless childhood. The leader of these fiends, a pompous demagogue named Ozzie, could sense the strong magic that the boy was capable of. Seeing an opportunity, Ozzie reared the kingdom-bereft prince to be one of his warriors in preparation for a genocidal campaign against the human race. In those dark years a boy prince ceased to be... and in his place, a warlock who wielded fierce magic beyond compare rose to power. In his suffering, bitterness, and loss the child opened his heart to darkness and embraced its power and the influence it granted him. In time he rose above all the fiends, commanding the allegiance of even the monster who had reared him, and led them on the warpath so as to further increase his own power. He even went so far as to abandon his own name, embracing a new identity... yet, even in this, he never forgot who he was. Never would he forget the day the world came crashing down around him. All he did, all he undertook, he did with a single purpose in mind.

Revenge.

Manipulating the fiends' trust, he vowed to summon a creature from the world's depths that would utterly annihilate the kingdoms of man. This they believed without question, and so a grand castle was erected upon a fateful island. In its highest, darkest tower the shadowmage worked his spells and rituals, preparing both for the summoning and for the battle that would ensue. Never did he expect that, at the crucial final moment, a small band of time-traveling heroes would fight their way past his forces and intrude upon his sanctuary. Falsely believing the wizard was to blame for Lavos' existence, the heroes set blade and spell against him until the ritual became unstable. In a single fateful moment another rift, this one absolutely immense, tore open the fabric of reality and sent all within the tower falling through time.

When the warlock awoke, he was once more in the epoch of his birth. The floating kingdom had not yet fallen, the queen's shrine was not yet complete... in this he saw a chance to change all that had been and confront the evil that had tormented him all his life. Posing as a mighty oracle of future events, he deceived the queen and gained her trust... and none too soon. Those who had opposed him before returned to meddle once more in his affairs, culminating with their appearance on the scene just as the queen summoned her monstrous "god" up from the planet's inner being.

In that day, though, neither the shadowmage nor the interlopers proved strong enough to overcome the world-eater. Only by the merciful actions of the princess did he and they escape certain death... however, she could not save herself, nor the world.

History was repeated. The magic kingdom burned and crumbled. The princess of light and goodwill was lost to an uncertain fate. And the shadowmage, powerless to do anything, stood and looked out upon the ruin of all he had once again lost.

In time, an uneasy alliance with the heroes who had thwarted him would, at long last, lead to Lavos' demise. The world was saved from oblivion... yet still the dark conjurer's journey was not at an end. For even hearts lost in darkness may cling to a flicker of light, no matter how distant... so it was that he set out to discover the fate of his sister.

What he found, buried in a realm beyond the flow of time... was beyond his worst fears.

"It is no doubt but a matter of time before Lavos consumes the whole of my awareness."

"It was I, after all, who wished it -- wished from the depths of my sadness and despair that all that was would be erased."

"The strength you wield now cannot free me."

"No, perhaps it is better said that no strength can. So long as you lean upon the crutch of power, this world's sorrow can know no true end."

It was this last crippling blow to his fragile hope that divested him of any further will to be. In darkness he let go of all that he was, all the power he had accumulated, all the anger and bitterness he had clung to and used to sustain himself for so very many years. In that moment one story ended... and another story began.

This is the story of an echo in the darkness... a story yet to be written.

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~Character Info~


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Name: Janus Zeal

Alias: Magus

Age: Late thirties (a combination of hard living and dark magic has aged his appearance somewhat)

Birthplace: The Kingdom of Zeal

Birthday: January 7th

Gender: Male

Race: Nobody

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~Appearance~


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Physical appearance:


(image edited to more closely match his in-game sprites)


The stoic shadowmancer, the terror of Guardia Kingdom, the tainted son of Zeal. His towering image is well known by those who have heard of his deeds; retelling can do little to exaggerate the dark mage's persona. Skin, pale as a moonlit night, marks a face of cold narrow lines and bare arms of finely chiseled flesh. A cascade of azure blue trails from his widow's peak and down past his shoulders. A twilight cape wraps round about his neck and falls in long waves of fabric as he walks, like as unto a second shadow. His other apparel is surprisingly simple, yet gives off the look of a man not to be trifled with: a leather breastplate and codpiece, a wide wrap of royal blue fabric just above the waist, pale-hued pants with a metal ring locked around one thigh. Brown leather boots bound in metal soles announce his presence with a steely click against stone floors. Simple leather gloves with long ends adorn the warlock's hands, and the arcane dance and twirl of these garmented digits has been the last living glimpse of many enemies. The only thing more fearsome than his power is his gaze... twin rubies set in sharp, narrow frames, seeming to bear within their piercing visage a mixed measure of pure elemental fury and frigid indifference, like a winter storm locked inside darkly sparkling blood stones. This is the Magus, Prophet of the Black Wind and wanderer of the darkness.


Height: Roughly 6' 8"
Weight: 180 lbs
Hair: Azure blue
Eyes: Scarlet (originally green as a child; change due to darkness or magic?)

Clothing/Accessories:

[Amulet]
This silver talisman, which Magus wears dangling at his side, is a potent magical ward imbued with the fervent prayers of his sister Schala. It was given to him as a child in fear that great dangers would befall him, and it has served him well since. The amulet's primary ability is to negate certain magical effects such as binding, mana poisoning, and also serves to block intrusions into his mind. It is a cherished keepsake that he has vowed never to part with, as it is the only thing he has left to remember his sister by.

[Cloak]
Used primarily when he travels, this long hazy blue cloak (see image) is useful for concealing his identity. The tassels hanging down from the cloak's mantle also suggest to those who look his way that he is a monk or a religious devout of some fashion, allowing him to move in most public settings with minimal suspicion.

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~Personality~


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Alignment: Chaotic Neutral

Behavior:
It is a rare thing that the dark mage opens up about himself to anyone. A frown seems to be perpetually etched onto his face, and there is no sympathy to be found in his eyes. Magus prefers if at all possible to keep to himself, and usually associates with others only out of need or convenience. There is tremendous strength in this man's resolve; all of winter's worst blasts and the terrors of darkness trouble him barely at all, for it was with these things he grew up. His goals and aspirations he prefers to keep to himself... but those who follow him long enough may realize that he is looking for something in the vast multiverse... something he once had and then lost. His personal philosophy is one of caution and power, of balance and counterbalance, of focus and a form of stoic serenity, yet retaining an unrelenting and singular objectivity. He sees himself as a shadow between light and darkness, bound to neither yet drawing on both as needed.

His upbringing, both in Zeal Kingdom and under the tutelage of the crass Fiends, gives Magus a wealth of varied experiences to draw from and a keenly analytic perception of his surroundings. This also applies to how he interacts with and assesses individuals he encounters. He is long since used to people having ulterior motives, secret ambitions, and schemes for power; this long history of exposure to falsehood and intrigue makes him quite apt both at subtly manipulating people and discerning the intentions of others.

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~Weapons~


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[Dream Reaper]
Crafted from Dreamstone, this is Magus' most powerful weapon. Not only is its blade impossibly sharp and his skill with it uncanny, but those who've seen the shadowmage wield this harrowing reaper's blade would swear they could hear the souls of those vanquished by it cry out with every death-dealing swing. Considering the mystical qualities of Dreamstone this may indeed be more than just an unsettling delusion; what is known with certainty is that Magus can channel some of his magic directly into the fearsome weapon, making it even more devastating. Can you hear the black wind begin to blow...?
[Weapon Type: Primary]
[Weapon Quality: Excellent]
[Weapon Element: Darkness]

[Weapon Ability: Spell Drinker]
Taking advantage of Dreamstone's nature as a superb conductor of magical and other-natural energies, Magus focuses his will into the scythe, causing it to shimmer faintly. That shimmer is the only clue that this ability has become active, easily missed or overlooked in the heat of battle. However, it's effect is not so easily ignored.

Once activated, the Spell Drinker enchantment lasts for three turns. During the first two turns, any energy from Weak or Moderate level Abilities that the scythe comes in contact with is absorbed directly into Dream Reaper and stored; in the third turn, this power is released in a wave of chaotic energies that packs the full strength of the absorbed Abilities (though not any status effects.) The wave is ten feet wide and two feet tall, traveling at about 45 MPH in the direction of Magus' next slash for a distance of about 20 feet.

Spell Drinker drastically cuts the power of the Abilities which it absorbs, though it cannot negate them entirely. Moderate level Abilities that are absorbed would have their impact cut down to Weak power; there is, however, no effect on Weak or Strong level Abilities.

Spell Drinker has no effect on Strong Abilities or any Ability that's purely physical (involves no outward manifestation of magic or energy). While using Spell Drinker, Magus is unable to use any of his magic spells (though Equips like Fairy Dust still work normally). The type of damage done by the release wave is non-elemental magic.
Strength: Moderate
Uses: Once per battle

[Scythe]
Magus's standard weapon of choice is a long single-bladed war scythe with spear tips mounted on both ends of the shaft. Its metal is strong and durable, but bears no magical aspects. This weapon usually serves as Magus's fall-back if his magic powers prove of no avail or are ill-advisable for certain situations; instead of carrying it with him all the time, Magus can summon the weapon into being on split-second notice when he needs it.
[Weapon Type: Secondary]

NOTE: Weapons Finesse

As a sorcerer, Magus seldom finds reason to rely on brute physical force. Even when forced into melee combat, this affinity for graceful and efficient use of power is still evident. When he wields his scythe Magus becomes the calm center of a steel hurricane as his reaper's blade flashes out in remarkably swift and tactical strokes and spins.

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~Abilities~


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[Elemental Conjuration: Ice]

Although Magus' magic affiliation is to the dark shadow-element, he also possesses talent and skill enough to generate a few spells from other elements. One of these is ice, which he can manifest in small or moderate quantities either as projectiles or directly onto the battlefield. This may be one of his "lesser" powers, but it's tactical usefulness is still noteworthy.

Strength: Weak

Uses: Once per post.

Duration: One turn (side effects, such areas frosted over, will last as long as is reasonable in the situation)

Radius:
• For projectile spells, 2-3 feet
• For direct-to-field spells, 9-10 feet

Cool Down: 2 turns.

[Elemental Conjuration: Fire]

Much like his ability to cast minor ice-magic spells, Magus can wield the element of fire despite it not being his elemental specialty. This takes the form of direct eruptions of fire appearing suddenly upon the field of battle.

Strength: Weak

Uses: Once per post.

Duration: One turn (side effects, such objects lit on fire, will last as long as is reasonable in the situation)

Radius:
• For direct-to-field spells, 9-10 feet

Cool Down: 2 turns.

[Elemental Conjuration: Lightning]

Much like his ability to cast minor ice and fire spells, Magus has the ability to conjure the the element of lightning to support himself in combat. This manifests as a straight bolt from sky (or ceiling) to ground.

Strength: Weak

Uses: Once per post.

Duration: One turn

Radius:
• For direct-to-field spells, 9-10 feet

Cool Down: 2 turns.

[Magic Barrier]

Magus can cast an aura of defensive energy onto himself or others, giving them a significantly increased ability to resist magic. The effect of magic or energy-based Abilities on those protected by a barrier is decreased by one full measure -- Moderate Abilities become like Weak while Weak Abilities have their impact cut by half. There is no effect on Strong Abilities or purely physical Abilities. While this barrier can only diminish the impact of magical attacks and other spells for a short time, it is still a useful tool... especially when cast upon individuals with an already strong resistance to magic. It can also effectively block any status effects caused by a Weak or Moderate level magic Ability.

Strength: Moderate

Uses: Six times per battle

Duration: Three turns

Radius: Single person / target

[Shadow Magic]

Magus's primary power is the casting of elemental dark energies derived from the very nature of the cosmos itself. There are several major spells in this category on which he relies.
• Dark Bomb
With but a few swift hand motions and the pointing of his finger, Magus can unleash an explosive burst of shadow magic ranging from five feet to ten feet in base diameter. This spell literally appears at the spot he gestures toward, making it difficult to avoid and highly precise.
• Dark Mist
With an arcane gesture, Magus summons a hazy cloud of vaporous dark energies that washes over the battlefield, concealing the mage and his allies while doing gradual damage to any foes within the cloud. The cloud emerges at the position Magus gestures to, pluming outward to its full size of forty feet in diameter and ten feet tall -- or, alternately, completely filling any enclosed space of smaller dimensions. Dark Mist lasts for three turns before fading away and during that time any enemies within the cloud take damage equivalent to a Weak Ability for each turn they spend any time inside the cloud. The cloud also doubles as a heavy fog, obscuring sight and dampening sounds, and the presence of dark energies make it very difficult to sense anyone inside.

Strength: Moderate

Uses:
• Dark Bomb can be used four times per battle.
• Dark Mist can be used twice per battle.

Duration:
• Dark Bomb is an immediate effect, lasting only a single turn.
• Dark Mist is an immediate effect, lasting for three turns.

Cool Down:
• Dark Mist has a three turn cool-down.

[Haste]

Working his will upon the fabric of space-time, the shadowmage generates a spell which allows those effected by it to act out of sync with the normal flow of time. As the spell activates, a glowing rune-scrawled image of a clock with its hands spinning rapidly appears at Magus' feet, effecting himself and any ally standing within it. Those with Haste cast on them are able to move at twice their regular speed -- to the effected, though, the world will seem to move in slow motion as they act normally. This does not effect the recharge, cool-down, or charge-up times of abilities.

Strength: Weak

Uses: Three times per battle.

Duration: Two turns.

Radius: All allies within 5 feet of Magus at spell's activation

[Dark Matter]

"Essence of the blackest night,
Cold and hallowed, void of light,
A teardrop of the great beyond,
Dark Matter flow, and strike anon!"

The shimmering of distant stars... the soul-chilling depths of the void... the power of dark magic drawn from the raw essence of creation itself. This is Magus' signature spell, Dark Matter, in all its terrible glory and power. Chanting the spell-words while carefully weaving arcane energies to his will, Magus temporarily opens up a controlled rift in the very fabric of space, causing dark matter, dark energy, and other hazardous cosmic energies to pour forth. The rift is seen as a spiraling triangle of darkness, a "window" of sorts into the void of space, anchored at it's center by a pure white triangle spinning counter to the dark rift itself.

The rift itself is roughly thirty feet wide when fully expanded, but the area of effect is much larger; when the spell is used, everything within 200 feet is bathed in invisible, destructive cosmic energies. Magus can only keep the rift open for a few moments -- six seconds at the most -- but that's more than enough time to cause heavy damage to any enemies in the area. The effect is similar to a sudden, shocking, and painful dose of high radiation along with the feeling of being pulled and stretched violently; long term, the spell leaves burns on its victims that glow slightly in the dark. Magus' allies and any non-targets are mercifully spared Dark Matter's devastating effects along with the shadowmage himself; the magical fields controlling the spell also go a long way towards directing its punishing influence. When the rift closes the energies it unleashed vanish as well.

Strength: Strong

Uses: Ten turn cool-down between uses

Duration: One turn

Radius: 200 feet


Items

1.

2.


Equips

1. Fairy Dust
The power of flight. You can travel at up to 60 MPH in any direction if you have a straight path to build up speed for a while(You can not go 0-60 in one post or while making a lot of turns) or you can just hover in the air. Stopping and turning are easy at low speed but become less at higher ones, just like they are while running on the ground. Once initiated it lasts up to 5 posts and can not be used for an equal number of your posts as it was used after it ends. Does not technically end until the time limit is up or the user willingly lands on the ground.

2. Charge
Stand in one spot and charge up your next attack. For every post you are Charging in, the attack becomes that much stronger, so obviously Charging for one post won't help. The post that you attack in doesn't count as a Charge post.

3. Earrings of Listening
Effect: When activated, the wearer's hearing will be greatly increased so as to be able to pinpoint even the slightest sound within 100 feet. This effect lasts for 5 turns. However, during this period, loud noises and sonic attacks will incapacitate the wearer, even to the point where talking too loud can cause physical pain. IRREMOVABLE.
[Gained in 'Temple of the Seal']

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~Extra~

Before you embark on your journey, you see three weapons in front of you.
~ A sword
~ A shield
~ A staff
Choose wisely.

The staff is chosen.

[High's .Valentine.]

Mmm...

As noted by previous staffs, the ability to cast fire is one ability. Same goes for ice and lightning. This meant that you have a total of three abilities in one. The same goes for shadow magic, which is two abilities in one.

[nascent]

Ah, I should've caught that. Guess I'll cut it down to ice magic and Dark Bomb for the time being, until I can purchase a few upgrades.

Thanks Northie.

[High's .Valentine.]

...Oh you're so dang polite! >w< [/not sarcasm]

Dun worry about that, it's just something that seems to be kind of exclusive to FM. I never would have thought to change it if I didn't spend some of my spare time reading through mod's comments on characters [I'm not nerdy! D:]

Thanks for the cooperation, and really, I see very little problems with the other abilities. *pats Nascent on the head and giggle* I love polite members. >w<

Accepted!