Caliga

Name: Caliga Atra Lecturn

Nickname/Alias/Title: Cali

Occupation: Sword for Hire.

Age: One hundred and thirty one years old.

Apparent Age: Mid thirties.

Race: Erebian Vampire

Gender: Male

Hair: Icy White, ending in rusty orange highlights.

Eyes: Light Purple

Weight: 146 lbs

Height: 5” 10 ft

General Appearance:

Weapon(s): The spinal column from a long dead ancestor, it has been cut down and filed to a razor sharp edge and sleek two feet reach of a short sword. The blade has numerous names written in the native Erebian scripture along its surface, giving it a darker, twisted look. It has been fitted into a steel coloured hilt, and the bone itself has been daubed with a bloody tinge from every life it has taken. Although ancient, it remains sturdy and a powerful weapon in Caliga’s hands.

Armour: A simple suit of thin silver plated body armour, with the exception of a steel pair of matching gauntlets and an Erebian seal integrated into the armour over his heart, and ends just above his legs. This armour was originally designed more for ornamental than practical use before Caliga acquired it, but its light weight has its uses, although it cannot sustain many blows before breaking. Underneath this he wears a simple forest green shirt of sturdy Erebian silk, simply to fill any dead spots such as the one on his back, from blows.

Carried Possessions: Slotted into a chest cavity above his heart is an Erebian Needle, an example of Erebian craftsmanship at its finest, but most desperate. It is about fifteen centimetres in length and constructed of an onyx stone. Dotted along its surface are pinprick sized holes, which when filled from a viable feeding source and reinserted, feed Caliga with blood. It has a basic magic about it, giving it a small mind of its own, sometimes choosing to try and point to a preferable feeding target, or rejecting one altogether. It has a primitive but powerful aura, driving the thought of anyone but Caliga who handles this object to want to insert it into their own flesh. Apart from this, Caliga carries a sovereign coin from back home as a reminder of his past and only a few modernistic items; several matches and usually a pack of thin cigarettes.

Battle Strengths: In his element of darkness, Caliga is a swift and silent foe. When outed into direct combat, he uses lithe movements and quick footing to strike fast and quick. In addition, after directly feeding with his Needle, Cali does move slightly faster and hit harder, but it only lasts for an hour or so.

Battle Weaknesses: Landing a severe gaping wound will immediately cause Caliga to retreat, as it is unhealable without outside aid, and the longer it is left unattended, the larger the chance of death from infection later on. Daylight also prohibits Cali from utilising what basic Erebus memories he can access, and if exposed to direct sunlight for longer than a few minutes, he will start to burn.

Powers/Skills/Magic:

Memories

Calling upon the dark memories of Erebus, Caliga focuses upon one target, and slowly lets a certain memory flow into his mind and drive forward at the enemy.

Love – An overwhelming sensation that encompasses the current feeling of Caliga’s target, causing their current emotional state to be enhanced; lovers become possessive and see everyone as trying to take their ‘soul mate’, men of faith become zealous crusaders, convinced every other being must be purged as sinners, and so on.

Hate – A single minded thought of ‘Why did I let that harpy live?’ repeating itself every so often in the mind of the enemy. Its main purpose serves to heighten the heart rate and blood pressure to dangerous levels. Usually reserved for a target of feeding to speed it up, this memory can also be used to wear down at a targets mental defences and bodily function.

Remorse – A distracting contemplation of long dead races of men, this memory allows Caliga slight insight into a person’s subconscious, giving him the ability to skim the top of their mind for their current or recent thought. It also allows him slight manipulation of his prey, altering their perception and impression of Caliga and following menial tasks for him. A strong willed person however, cannot be manipulated in this fashion, but can still have their minds skimmed.

Hunger – Basic hunger triggers this, Caliga cannot exploit this without having been starved of blood for up to two days. The memory recalls every bite of Erebus’ flesh Caliga has ever taken, and it drives him to feed using his mouth instead of his Needle. In this state, his body clock slows down immensely, causing wounds to have little effect till the state of mind has passed.

Limit: Every memory comes with the price of pain to Caliga, as he must remember the direct memory in order to use the ability in question. This process is slow, ranging from half a minute to several for the full memory to form, cannot be used in conjunction with another memory, and cannot be used over and over lest it drive Caliga to the edge of insanity. In addition, the memories can only effect one person at a time. Also, the mental stamina and state of the target must be taken in account. Weak minded or untrained people are usually easy prey, but people who have some mental capacity or have suffered severely in their psyche usually take considerable time before they concede to even a portion of the effect of the memories.

Cali also possesses above average strength, and also has partial skill in martial arts training, capable of defending himself hand to hand or using his short sword.

Personality: Caliga would be described as a cunning and relentless individual, characterized by his anti-heroism, ambition and fatalism, who has grown from wisely arrogant to arrogantly wise over the years. Frequently regarded as "a petty noble" in his youth, he initially shunned his vampirism and sought to uncover a cure - "reluctant to live the horror of an existence blighted by a need for the blood of others". Over the course of his long depraved life, he has grown to embrace his curse and the ideals of a sinner, and expresses disgust and a "growing disaffection for the mortal races". Describing him in two words would definitely be ‘Chaotic Neutral’, meaning that he feels like he can do what he wants, when he wants, how he wants. He is an individualist first and last. He values his own liberty but doesn't strive to protect others' freedom. He avoids authority, resents restrictions, and challenges traditions. While he may be unpredictable, his behaviour is not totally random. His moral choices are always made upon the basis of whatever will benefit and amuse him the most.

Likes – Booze, drugs, high volume music, women bed partners, men bed partners, dead bed partners, and blood from said bed partners.

Dislikes – Interruptions (especially during Needle feeding), stereotypical views that vampires are afraid of Holy objects and symbols, youth and its waste on the young, chaste women and men.

Fears – Daylight, breaking his Needle, receiving a wound too big to be healed, knowing that eternal damnation waits at the end of his life.

Virtues – The ability to exude confidence in the face of impassable odds, even when he knows he’s betting on the wrong horse, if he has to bluff, he bluffs big. He also believes in the philosophy that anything can be solved by feeding.

Vices – The inability to take anything seriously, inappropriate behaviour at the wrong times, chain smoking when nervous.

History:

“...and on the Seventh day, the Creator rested. He laid his head down, feeling that all was right with the world he had formed. And he slumbered. He did not dream, nor did he move, feel or hear. Ages past, and for a time, the world was unwatched. And that was all that was needed.

The Darkness rose up, its form small and pitiful compared to that of the slumbering god. It gazed upon the Creator, and to the worlds he had fashioned. And out of pure spite, it began its own malevolent creation. Out of the earth it created bodies, mocking copies of the small seeds of life that bloomed on the planets, and it filled them with its own dark power, its will to perverse everything that was and would ever be. And soon enough, the first of the Dark Pantheon was born.

Chaos was the first born son of Darkness, Supreme Ruler and leader of his kin. Soon to follow was Nyx, Mother to All of Night. The last to be fashioned was Erebus, Son of Shadow. After these three were conceived by his hand, The Darkness left them to their own machinations, to pursue an unknown goal. In the millennia that followed, the trio established their hold on many worlds, leaving bloodied trails across the budding races. Their slaughter was endless and eternal, but as time wore on, the Pantheon grew petty and uninterested with the smaller sport. They soon turned on one another, seeking a challenge in combat. The damage itself from their battles was never fully established, but it is said that they tore holes in the fabric of existence, that became visible as the stars in the night sky. The details of the conflict also elude many, but it ended with blood. Erebus was beaten, and his lifeless body was cast down onto one of the many worlds nearby. His body smote the earth with such force and destruction, that the planet itself was overrun with an upheaval of floods, earthquakes and violent storms. This resulted in the planet moving into a lightless day cycle, and was named ‘The Fall’ by our scholars.

Many of the natural lifeforms died as soon as Erebus’ body landed, even more so in the coming natural disasters. The few smarter humanoids that did live were soon to starve without a viable source of food, but some discovered a nutritional substance; Erebus’ body. Even in death, his massive frame dwarfed the landmass in size, and his flesh remained untouched from rot and infection. They consumed his flesh, living on it for generation after generation, evolving into more twisted and sinister beings, different from the meagre few humanoids that had survived on the little food that was available. Forever-more, they would be known as the Erebian’s...”

Caliga was born at the peak of Erebian civilisation, their empire spanning most of the globe. In addition to wealthy parents that could afford anything on a whim, they lived in the capital city, within the bony structure of Erebus’ torso. Like the majority of the Erebian race, birth came with the advantage of being born with previous family member memories, and so right from the start, Caliga was a rebel like his ancestors before him. His younger years were filled with highly priced banquets, alcohol, women, drugs, and other debauchery.

This was unfortunately cut short in his twenty-fifth year, when a widespread rumour of Erebus flesh shortage turned out to be true. Over the course of their evolution from their small tribes to a thriving empire, Erebian’s had become solely dependent on a diet of the gods fallen form, and soon disarray was imminent. The ruling bodies of the nation swiftly came to the only conclusion they could find to replenish their food supply; cannibalism. As most Erebians lived on nothing but the flesh, it was a near ideal match to any other food. Laws were soon instigated, demanding that lower family classes were to breed up to five or six children in order to compensate. Caliga himself fathered several nameless faceless sons and daughters to feed his people, finding no problem with sending his own spawn to death.

At first it seemed to be a passable solution, apart from the morale and humane issues, but over the decades that followed, the populations shrank, the major cities drawing ever closer to decline. The supply of food candidates again began to dwindle, and even with the implementation of every family, lower or higher class, adding sons and daughters to the list, it was apparent that they would soon face starvation. In a last ditch effort, the leaders of the city bent to high demands that the last vestiges of Erebus be used to feed the people of the region, which was the brain. It had been majorly left untouched, due to the fact that it was considered the most sacred of meals, eaten only on religious occasions or when one of the ruling bodies was newly ordained. The final pieces of flesh were soon distributed, enough to feed the populace for months to come. Unfortunately, soon after ingesting the brain matter, another dark problem fell upon the Erebian people. Memories that were not their own, dark and horror filled even by their standards, plagued their minds. Many went mad, killed themselves, or killed others in an attempt to sate these sinister recollections. Caliga himself went through several maddening weeks of torture at the hands of his own psyche, inflicting wounds that would not heal and nearly killing members of his family.

In the end, the inhabitants of the once great capital were all but dead, save the handful that had chosen to continue on a diet of other Erebians. Caliga was saved thanks to the perseverance of his father, who had his son confined to a prison cell for months in order to try and cure him of his mental illness, which ended when Cali was able to slowly but surely regain self control and be in command of how and when Erebus’ thoughts entered his mind, although his body never recovered, being unable to heal itself and making Caliga sterile.

In the aftermath of their people’s loss, a darker faction rose to lead the remnants of civilisation. Unhappy with the wrong response the previous leaders had come up with, they devised the construction of an object they called an Erebian Needle. Due to Cali’s unhealable body and recent return to sanity, he gave himself willingly to use of the device, hoping it would cure him. It was only after his initial use that he learned the true nature of the Needle; it would give him longer life, at the cost of feeding daily from humanoid hosts. He had simply traded one cage for another, and had gained no insight into how to cure his own ailments. Caliga chose self imposed exile in lieu of letting his people walk down an even darker path with him, taking the only working Needle. He travelled for what would be an age in the world of men, slowly sinking back down into his younger habits and forgetting the world he had known, and for a time, his world would be sin and depravity once more.

Looks nice, Angel. Good and dark.

One small thing under his memories section I'd like to see changed before he's approved, though. How exactly do these memories work on his enemies? Does he just focus on the desired memory and everyone around him begins to feel the effects, or does it only affect a specific target? If so, is there a range limit?

Quark of the BA Council now? Things have changed a lot since I was last here.

And, changes made.