kartaikian syriax - [revison 3]

Kartaikian Syriax, alias Stormcloud

Age: Somewhere around 18 years old.

Race: Humanoid.

Gender: Male.

Hair: A messy and bushy gray mop of hair, long enough to cover his ears and forehead, and hang in front of his eyes.

Eyes: Stone cold and ash gray.

Weight: Somewhere around 180 pounds.

Height: Just barely above six feet.

Weapons: The mystic blade of Essence, legendary Psychizo the Soul-Breaker. Psychizo is three feet of adamant greenish-black metal, with an edge honed to razor-sharpness. The blade, instead of being straight, has wavy edges. From tip to hilt, down the center of the blade, runs a thin crack, which often glows bright green. The entire blade occasionally glows or glimmers a wavering emerald green light, a sign of the powerful magicks deep inside. The hilt is formed from a dark gray, almost black metal, and doesn't glow, or even hardly reflect light.

The mysterious unnamed metal that the sword is made of is virtually unbreakable. The metal never chips, dents, scratches, cracks, or melts. It could survive being covered in magma or run over by a train, without taking any marks at all.

He also keeps his composite recurve bow on him at all times, as well as a quiver full of gray wooden arrows, fletched with gray feathers, and tipped with bright silver barbs. Legend has it, the bow is formed from the horns and sinew of a mighty dragon. Whether or not this is true, the bow is quite powerful and has very good range. Like everything else, the bow is gray.

Armor: Kartaikian wears a suit of tough, yet flexible, black leather armor. Over the leather, he wears a black steel maille hauberk. Along with this, he has a round shield, made mostly from wood so as to be light enough to carry around, but plated in black steel for protection. In the middle of the shield is a rhombus of bright silver steel, and protruding from the very center is a sharp metal spike, the very tip of which is broken off, but still deadly. The metal is chipped, dented, and even charred from all its use.

Strengths: Kartaikian's greatest strengths lie in his exceptional and near insurmountable skill in the arts of swordplay and archery, as well as the fact that he can do both nearly just as well from horseback. As an expert adventurer, Kartaikian has mastered the ability to survive in the wild, and can survive a great while without food. His strong arms and legs allow him to run fast and long, jump high and far, scale walls and trees, and other such things. His endurance and stamina are high, as are his willpower and determination. He is strong of mind and afraid of nearly nothing, not even his own death. He has also trained his horse well, and it will follow his every command, and protect and alert him when he is in danger, and even aid him a hoof or four in battle.

Some of his strengths are different depending on his different manifestations. Dark Kartaikian, for instance, has a higher tolerance for pain and is more aggressive; while Light Kartaikian is more diplomatic and logical. Gray Kartaikian is hard to sway, sticking firmly to his opinions.

Weaknesses: Kartaikian isn't real empathetic and doesn't tend to care much about other people, leaving people uninclined to lend him a hand. He prefers to work alone anyway, avoiding teamwork whenever possible. He doesn't like to take advice, valuing first and foremost his own opinion, and he doesn't trust anyone he doesn't know real well (and he doesn't know very many people that well.) He tends to get frustrated if he can't do something, or has trouble solving a problem. Often he rushes into action before taking enough time to think over the situation, drawing his blade first and asking questions later. The plethora of things he carries on his back (his shield, bow, quiver, and countless items in his backpack) tend to weigh him down, limiting his speed and agility. Sometimes he removes some of these items and leaves them with his horse, putting them out of his immediate reach.

Some of his weaknesses are different depending on his different manifestations. Dark Kartaikian tends to act more irrationally and spontaneously, while Light Kartaikian has a low tolerance for pain and tends to give up sooner, and often hesitates too long to make a decision. Gray Kartaikian tends to avoid making decisions altogether, only acting when necessary.

Techniques & Magic: Granted by the two Spirits possessing part of his soul, Kartaikian can perform the following techniques.

/Essence: Essence is hard to describe. It is an ability, it is a weapon, it is a sentient presence. Very few things are known about it, save for its symbolic color; green. Essence is the self-ascribed name of a powerful sentient presence which takes the appearance of a sword. It is three feet long, one inch wide, mere millimeters thin, and bright green. It is also unimaginably powerful. Envious of this power, a Spirit of Dark (perhaps better called a demon) and a Spirit of Light (likewise an angel) both attempted to take and use the sword for their own purposes. The Spirits go by the assumed names, respectively, Tragedy and Requiem. Tragedy takes the appearance of a dark black presence, and Requiem takes the form of a bright white presence. Upon encountering Essence, both Spirits were cursed and bound together, in the form of a sword. This Spirit-sword is bound to Essence, and Essence resides inside the Spirit-sword; collectively, they are known in legends as "Psychizo" which means "Soul-Breaker."

If any mortal being touches the blade, the Spirits possessing it can partially inhabit the mortal's soul. Not bound to each other, the repulsion of the two Spirits causes the mortal's soul to be divided in two; one filled with the Spirit of Light, and the other with the Spirit of Dark.

Kartaikian is able to separate Essence from Psychizo at will, and use the sword as a weapon by itself. He isn't able to use Essence's full power, but what he can do is powerful enough. Essence can attack the immaterial, affecting things such as ghosts and spirits, or people who have become intangible somehow. It also grants a few other abilities, described below.

/Soul Split: Upon touching the legendary Psychizo, Kartaikian's soul was broken in two. Mastering the power of Essence, however, he was able to temporarily overcome the curse, by having Essence hold the two halves of his soul together and maintain his singular form. He can revoke this at any time, splitting back up into parts. With this power under control, a third partition is made; the controlling part, which holds the Essence blade and can restore his whole form at any time. The three entities each have a separate body, identical in almost every way, save for coloration. Kartaikian controls all three entities simultaneously; none of the forms can control themselves autonomously.

The Spirit of Darkness attracts all of Kartaikian's negative aspects (hate, anger, antipathy, et cetera) into one manifestation, and thus Dark Kartaikian is dressed completely in black, including his hair. He is right-handed, and therefore wields the right half of Psychizo, broken down the crack in the center.

The Spirit of Light attracts all the positive aspects of Kartaikian's personality (love, kindness, compassion, et cetera) into one manifestation. Likewise, Light Kartaikian is dressed completely in white, including his hair. He is left-handed, and takes the left half of the blade.

The third entity has all the remaining aspects of Kartaikian's personality; his sadness, loneliness, fear, et cetera. He is dressed completely gray, almost like Kartaikian's full form, minus the black leather and shield. He is ambidextrous, like the full form, and wields Essence.

/Soul Search: Kartaikian can use Essence to sense and detect souls and spirits around him. Using this, he can detect the presence of people that he cannot see, even people who are invisible to the human eye. If he concentrates on a single spirit, he can examine it and determine certain aspects about it; for instance, the presence of magic, their state of mind, their general personality, and strong feelings they may be having.

/Soul Speak: He can also hear the internal dialogue of any spirits he detects, and project his own thoughts to them, allowing for a form of telepathic communication. This mind-reading is limited to direct internal dialogue, and as such, he can't search through their thoughts or memories. He can only hear exactly what their thinking at the time. He can, of course, manipulate them by projecting certain ideas to them, causing them to unintentionally think of anything he wants.

/Energy Drain: Psychizo stores a supply of energy inside of it for the purposes of nearly all its magical abilities, and whenever this supply is less than ample, the blade automatically begins to drain energy from any decent source nearby. It will drain magical energy, photic energy, thermal energy, electric energy, et cetera. This draining effect causes the blade to have a constant air of cold and darkness around it, due to the heat and light it absorbs. The blade seems to exude a mist of darkness, and when the blade is moved throughout the air it leaves behind it a short-lived trail of darkness. Kartaikian can use this draining ability to absorb magical attacks or barriers. While draining energy, the green glow of the sword will undulate from tip to hilt. If the blade is full of energy, the glow is especially bright; if the blade is empty of energy, the blade is dark and dull.

/Energy Expulsion: Exactly the opposite of energy drain, Kartaikian can expel the energy that the blade collects, in several different forms. While expelling energy, the blade glows green.

//Force - The simplest form of magic, converting the magical energy into bright green force. The force can take several shapes, both offensive and defensive. It can act like spears of energy, or protective walls, etc.

//Fire - A form of magic which involves converting magical energy into flames of green heat. This form is closely related to the emotions rage and anger, and thusly Dark Kartaikian is especially skilled in this form.

//Water - A form of magic which involves control over water, including the ability to drain energy from it and turn it to ice. This form, especially when dealing with cold and ice, is closely related to sadness and depression, and thusly Gray Kartaikian is especially skilled in this form.

//Electric - A form of magic which involves converting magical energy directly into electrons, and then passing them through the air as electricity. When used, it looks and acts a lot like green lightning. Gray Kartaikian is also especially skilled in this form.

//Solid - A form of magic which involves control over the solid elements of the Earth. Soil, stone, metal, wood, et cetera. In a sense, it is somewhat similar to telekinesis, as it allows the distant movement of solid objects. Living beings, however, are unaffected by this magic and it differs from telekinesis in other manners as well. Kartaikian is unskilled in this form and is unlikely to use it in battle.

//Healing - A special form of magic which involves using magical energy to cause rapid restoration of living cells, healing wounds. This form is closely related to kindness and love, and thusly Light Kartaikian is especially skilled in this form.

//Light - A specialized form of magic which involves turning magical energy into bright white light. As Light Kartaikian is associated with Light, he is the only one that can use this form.

//Dark - A specialized form of magic which involves destroying light in the surrounding area and creating clouds of darkness. Although similar to absorbing light energy, this form actually involves expelling energy. As Dark Kartaikian is associated with Darkness, he is the only one that can use this form.

/Dominance - Certain circumstances can cause one of the Spirits to take temporary dominance, changing Kartaikian's whole form into either Dark, Light, or Gray Kartaikian. Kartaikian can either cause this dominance willingly (which normally he doesn't; it doesn't provide any advantages, and it gives more power to the Spirits) or it can inadvertently occur when Kartaikian is overwhelmed in a certain emotion. Strong feelings of wrath and hatred can cause him to change form to Dark Kartaikian, strong feelings of euphoria or love can cause him to change form to Light Kartaikian, and strong feelings of sadness or depression can cause him to change form to Gray Kartaikian. To date, Light Kartaikian has never taken forced dominance, Gray occasionally, and Dark several times.

/Saturation - Similar to Dominance, only to a higher degree. Saturation is when one of the Spirits takes full control of Kartaikian's body; Kartaikian loses his will completly until desaturated. This only occurs if one of the Spirits gains a lot of power, usually when Kartaikian is feeling extreme emotions for an extended period of time. Saturation is extremely rare, and doesn't usually last very long (if it lasts too long, Essence forces the Spirit to return to the sword and give control back to Kartaikian.)

//Tragedy - In this Saturated form, Kartaikian appears as a completely black figure with flaming orange eyes. Psychizo also turns completely black, as does Kartaikian's other equipment. This Spirit has long black claws on its hands, a long pointed tail, and large bat-like wings on it's back. It has extensive control over Dark Kartaikian's magic abilities, especially Dark magic. Fire magic appears orange instead of green when Tragedy uses it.

//Requiem - In this Saturated form, Kartaikian appears as a completely bright white figure with piercing violet eyes. Psychizo and all of Kartaikian's other equipment also appear completely white. This Spirit has expansive white feathered wings on its back. It has extensive control over Light Kartaikian's magic abilities, especially Light magic. It is said that its healing magic is powerful enough to raise the dead.

Appearance: The first thing that anyone is bound to notice upon meeting Kartaikian is the fact that he is colored mostly gray. His clothes, hair, and even eyes all comply to this theme color of sorts. Most of the leather he wears is colored black; his boots, gloves, backpack, and belt. His clothes are in good condition; he cleans and patches them up regularly, and occasionally replaces an article when it becomes irreparable. The fabric they are made from is made in layers; the inside layer is soft and warm, and the outside layer is thick and tough. Attached to his belt, on his left side, is a black metal scabbard, in which is his sword, Psychizo. Around his neck is a thick gray scarf, which he can pull tightly over his face during the cold winter season. On his back he has his backpack, attached to which is his quiver and bow, all of which is covered by his shield. His ears are slightly pointed, as his common for his kind, he is somewhat tall, and lean but muscular.

Light and Dark Kartaikian look similar, except that all they gray components are white and black, respectively. Gray Kartaikian is also similar, except that all the black components are gray, except for the scabbard, which does not change. His horse goes by the name Tempest, and is colored gray as well.

Personality: Kartaikian does a good job hiding his emotions, and hence appears to be emotionless, even though he isn't. This makes it hard for people to tell what he's thinking. He isn't empathetic, and can't read the emotions of other people. He tends to act cold and unfriendly, and doesn't trust other people at all; although he is generally good at heart. Although usually he doesn't care much about anything that doesn't immediately effect him, he cannot stand for evil and will put a stop to any sort of mistreatment or unreasonable harm to other people that he encounters. He is a loner, and travels the world with only his horse for a friend. He doesn't like to talk about his past, his feelings, or what he's thinking about; and in fact, doesn't usually talk much at all. He tends to avoid people when he can; he's seen the evil that people are capable of, and feels that no one is completely good at heart. He prefers to be alone, and avoid teamwork unless it is absolutely necessary or unable to be avoided.

Biography: Kartaikian Syriax grew up a lonely child. His father had abandoned him, leaving him with his grandfather, and his mother was dead, though how that came to be he was never told. Kartaikian was always the outsider, the boy with no father, and the boy with gray hair. He grew up in his grandfather's small village with no friends, and with nothing to look forward to in life.

One tragic day, when he was but fifteen years old, his grandfather's old house caught fire, by means unknown. In his fear, he escaped the burning building. It wasn't until he was safely outside that he remembered his grandfather. Before he could go back to get him, the building caved in. The fire quickly spread to the other buildings in the village, and there was nothing Kartaikian could do, or so he believed. In dismay, with the depressing feeling that this was all his fault, he ran from the flaming village and into the great plains outside.

At the nearest town, he bought a horse, one as gray as he felt deep inside. Unable to settle down and stay in town, he traveled the plains with his horse. He trained himself in swordplay, soon becoming a master of bladed combat. He learned how to make a bow, which took several tries, until he'd mastered the craft; and then he trained himself to use the bow, becoming a master archer. He became a wanderer, traveling with little purpose or direction. Sometimes, he would lend his skills to those that needed a warrior, often in exchange for money, but he wandered with no motive.

That is, until one day, when he learned of the legends. The legends of the mystic sword, hidden somewhere in the outer wilderness. The legends said the sword granted its user with great power; the power to strike down terrible creatures, bring down nations, and defeat any foe.

Kartaikian spend many a day and night searching the wilderness, until he finally came across the ancient ruins that held the mystic sword. Upon discovering the blade, he removed it from its pedestal, ready to receive whatever power it held. Instead of granting him power, however, it broke him into two, and from that point on he was forever haunted by the Spirits that lived within the blade.

However, the sword was not completely without power. After many months of practice, Kartaikian was able to master the sword, and use the Spirits' power. The Spirits granted him powerful magicks and skills, and Kartaikian became a warrior beyond comparison.

Good, except the bio lacks. How about you explain how he learned all his abilities, swordplay, archery, magic. Stuff like that. Did the sword and its spirits teach him or did he find a master outside of it?

okay, how is it now?

Good enough.

*approved*

I have to unapprove this character after some apparent overlooked problems. So... here they are.

Essentially, your character has no real weaknesses in the way he fights. Without any kind of weakness that can be exploited in combat, this character has to be unapproved. @_@ Anyway, post here whence this has been remedied. *Has been a really long time since I've approved a character*