Haze

Name: Haze. (Her real name is Felicia Hazel, but she's always been called Haze. She hates her first name. Whenever she hears it, she can't help but think of the way her father used to shout it at her as if it were a curse.)

Theme:
Losing: Not Ready to Die
Winning: Born to be Wild

Age: 19

Race: She was born into a race of people called the Exsecror. The Exsecror were believed to have previously been human, but were cursed (according to legend) to never pass on into the afterlife. When they die they're said to live on the earth for eternity in another form. This scares the few believers, but most people shrug it off.

Sex: Female

Hair: Her hair's blond and layered, reaching several inches past her shoulder blades. Spiked a bit on the top

Eyes: Ruby red.

Weight: 120 pounds

Height: 5 feet 7 inches

Weapons:

Crescent
Crescent is a curved, scimitar blade with a complex design built to deal maximum damage upon impact. It's made up of a black metal found only in the deserts around the city of Soledad. It's more durable than steel, yet far lighter. The blade is nearly paper thin, very light and razor sharp. Its handle is made of a powerfully strong wood, able to withstand a large amount of trauma and almost as reliable as steel. The hilt is longer than the blade itself, allowing the weapon to be used much the same way a glaive or naginata would be used.

In the middle of the wooden stave is a crease where the bottom of the handle can twist and snap loose, revealing a concealed blade. This blade is used primarily for piercing damage, made out of the same durable metals the crescent blade is formed from. It's narrow design is perfect for piercing armor and getting between joins in chain mail. Haze can fight using both the primary and concealed blades, though usually she sticks to it's normal, stave form.

Smoke Bombs
Around Haze's right leg she wears a belt lined with small, egg-shaped smoke grenades. A mere twist of the two halves and the weapon is armed. Throwing the grenades to the ground creates a brief flash of light that disorients her opponents and quickly releases a thick smoke screen. This allows for quick escapes or useful distractions. If she throws one of the bombs directly into her target's eyes, it has the potential of temporarily blinding them, eyes burning with pain all the while.

Armor: Other than her skull belt buckle, she has no other armored protection. What she lacks in armor she makes up for in speed and agility.

Strengths:
Haze is a master of speed and agility. Her close quarters skills are amazing to say the least. As an Exsecror, she's naturally fast and agile, as is all of her kind. Yet even for an Exsecror, she's faster and more agile. Her quick reflexes save her more than anything. However, her strength is not up to par with the average Exsecror. She's strong because she's practiced and trained hard, but she's had muscle problems ever since her childhood. Although her strength is average, her muscles still give out on rare occasions.

Her hand-to-hand combat skills are better than her skill with a blade, even though she's nearly mastered one-on-one sword duels. She prefers stealth over a direct confrontation, especially when facing more than one opponent. She's not afraid to retreat temporarily to recuperate, but she never quits or surrenders unless she's nearing death. Her life and her pride are the only things that matter.

Weakness:
Haze is an expert on one-on-one combat, but when facing multiple enemies she's not nearly at the top of her game. While she can handle at least two proficiently, any more than that is where it starts to get difficult. She has trouble anticipating attacks from more than one direction. The more foes she faces, the worse she is. She'll tend to want to separate her enemies in order to conduct a proper attack, zeroing in on one person at a time.

Her lack of armor is also an issue. While her reflexes and speed may be enough to get her out of a hot spot, some attacks just can't be dodged. When that happens, she can be injured quite easily. She'll continue to fight until she's worn to tears.

Haze has a fear of death due to the supposed curse placed on her people hundreds of years ago. If her opponent actually intends on killing her she might be more inclined to retreat. While she knows it would hurt her pride, her own life is much more important.

Haze has had muscle problems since her early childhood. On the rare occasion, usually under too much strain, her muscles will give out temporarily. Because of this, she doesn't like to stay locked in with her opponent for long periods of time. Instead, she prefers hit-and-run tactics.

Skills/Magic:
Although the Exsecror are very proficient in magic, Haze never learned any of it. It was recommended to her that she learn the mystic arts to make up for her weak muscles, but she chose to overcome her weaknesses rather than compensate for them.

Kaedo
Kaedo is the traditional style of fighting passed down through the generations of the Exsecror race. It incorporates many different tactics to suit the fighting style of the student, some including weapons and others not. Because the Exsecror are born with strong, claw-like nails, they use them to their advantage in fighting. Haze has mastered a great deal of the Kaedo forms, able to seamlessly alternate between them. The main forms she struggles with are the ones that require focus on more than one or two enemies. The forms she's mastered are as follows:

- Counter: The Counter form focuses on waiting for an enemy to strike first, then using their strength against them. It's one of the more deadly forms when executed correctly. Obviously not everything can be countered successfully, but this is still her most favored technique.

- Aggressive: The aggressive form is the most violent of all the forms, focusing entirely on offense, leaving little to no room for the victim to strike back. It usually results in a relentless string of strikes that can end up killing the person on the receiving end.

- Defensive: The opposite of Aggressive, defensive is a form where the user puts their entire effort into defending themselves. This includes both blocking and avoiding attacks. Haze has been known to transfer from this technique straight into the Counter form.

- Immobilize: (unarmed) Only good on other bipeds, Haze uses the Immobilize form to hit her enemy's pressure points and internal organs. This form causes a great deal of pain and can cause her target to fall unconscious.

- Balanced: The balanced form, simply put, is an equal mixture of all the forms she's learned.

Parkour
Parkour is the practice of taking the fastest route possible to any given location as if in an emergency; the ability to overcome any and all obstacles in your path as you do so. This includes jumping from building to building, running across walls, leaping from extreme heights, and even jumping from tree to tree. It's mostly second nature to Haze and she doesn't even think half the time she does it. It's just another way of getting from one place to another, though highly effective when combined with combat.

Appearance:
Haze is well built because of her athletic nature. Despite the fact she stands a little on the short side, her posture makes her seem taller. Most Exsecror have pale white skin, but Haze is quite tan compared to her people because of her time spent in the desert.

She wears dark clothes that appear to be almost Gothic in nature. Her outfit is designed for free and flexible movements, built to move with her while she's fighting, rather than hamper her progress. She has a black, sleeveless top that's laced up the middle. Beneath it she wears a gray undershirt. Her arms are covered with various cloths and laces, hands guarded by fingerless gloves. Instead of normal nails, she has black claw-like incisors on each finger, the usual trait amongst all Exsecror. Occasionally she wears a pair of red sunglasses, though when she's not wearing them they're usually pushed up on her forehead. She tends to wear jewelry, such as earrings, despite the fact she knows they can get in the way.

Haze's legs are covered with black and white striped tights. She wears a pair of black shorts over them, along with a short side slit skirt. It's fastened to her waist with a black belt, bearing a buckle in the shape of a menacing skull. She wears a pare of black strapped athletic boots, lightweight and built for maneuverability.



Alternate Image: http://fc00.deviantart.com/fs39/f/20...ark_tastic.jpg

Personality:
Haze has a complex personality. She's constantly weighed down with the thought that when she dies she'll never move on into the next world, instead being trapped as an ethereal ghost. She's afraid of being robbed of her freedom, which is also why she fears being locked up. She doesn't like to kill people, but won't hesitate if she has to. In a certain way she feels the need to keep as many people stuck in life with her as her for as long as possible. Her desire for eternal life has become a sort of obsession and she's desperate not to fall into the same fate as her ancestors.

Even with this constant sense of impending doom hanging over her, she doesn't openly display these feelings. She seems very calm and collected when you first meet her, and can actually be a fun person when you get to know her. Even so, she doesn't make friends very easily. If you do manage to get on her good side, you wouldn't regret it. She's a powerful ally to those she likes, though she has a very hard time trusting them. She's always on her guard, even around friends, and always suspects them of something. This borderlines being paranoid as she's never sure what to expect from people.

Haze has a sarcastic sense of humor. Sometimes she appears to be rather harsh with it in certain situations. Many people find her selfish and uncaring, but she's only that way toward people she hasn't gotten to know. When it comes to saving lives, though, she'll rarely do so if it puts her own at risk. She figures she has more to lose than the other person and that they'll be better off than she would if she were to die. This doesn't mean she can watch people die easily. If she really gets close to someone, this might change. Her hatred of death would overpower her hatred for dying and she'd have to intervene.

Haze steers clear of all forms of physical contact (apart from combat). Because of her abusive father, she never gets used to the idea of other people touching her, especially men. Even if it's something completely innocent as a handshake, she'll feel on edge and uncomfortable. She tries not to outburst at such things, but if it reaches a certain length she'll snap.

Most people who know of them, as well as those who judge by appearances, tend to despise the Exsecror for their legendary cursed nature. Unnatural red eyes and black claws are never a good sign. Haze takes offense when people point out these features as negative.

Biography:

Legend has it that a small tribe was cursed by the gods for deeds so foul they weren't kept in the histories. The details of their transgressions were lost over the course of time, but the curse remained adamant in song and myth. The people became known as the Exsecror, hated by the gods, both the good and the evil. They would never pass through to the other side, they'd never enter Heaven or Hell. They'd forever roam the earth as spectators of the life they would never see again.

***

Everyone knew the legend, very few believed it. Felicia Hazel never believed the tales when she was growing up... or rather, she didn't want to believe them. She needed reassurance, hope that whatever came after her horrible little life would be better than what she was stuck with.

Her abusive father would come home every day, drunk and angry. He'd beat her, and jab her, and break her bones. His booming voice, “FELICIA, YOU *****!” Those monster's words. His voice was etched into her head with a burning torch. “Felicia, you killed your MOTHER! Your ****ing MOTHER, FELICIA!” he'd always accuse, then smack her and yank out her hair. Spits, kicks, scratches, bites, and much worse. It was what she'd lived with her entire life.

Her father, Felix, was infamous in the village for his violent nature. He used to be a nice man, kind and good natured, but when his wife died giving birth... he forever hated the child that killed his love. Since then he'd beaten and tortured his daughter, blaming her for everything wrong in his life, but he could never bring it within himself to kill her.

Growing up, she had a muscle condition that was formed as a result of the abuse. Her arms and legs were barely strong enough for her to even keep herself standing. She took physical therapy classes, payed for by sympathetic neighbors, and was able to act normal again. All of this at the age of six. She was angry, always angry. She strove to overcome her weaknesses, even as a child, to grow strong in her areas that were feeble, and she did just that. She was strong, but most certainly not as strong as the others. They had a natural strength of their own, but her father had taken that gift away from her.

It was at school that Haze received her nickname. She was pleased to be called by something other than the name her father spat at her, even though it was a short form of his last name. She took much comfort in the friends she made. She would take refuge in their company, always afraid to go back home. Her friends were her source of power and encouragement, throughout all her troubles. A safe haven.

The Exsecror were a very combat oriented race of people. They used their fighting ability as more of a recreational sport, but it was still one of the most effective forms of battle in the world. Haze would join in as many of the sports as possible, her secret intention being her own defense from her father. Someday she'd leave and start her own home, taking up one of the many village careers. The Exsecror were well known for their assassins, but she never was one for violence.

During training, she wasn't strong enough to wield the larger weapons her people tended to use. Instead she was stuck using the lighter secondary blades. Although her teachers encouraged her to practice magic as many of the other girls would, she was intent on improving where she lacked. She was fast and agile, her flexibility and balance unheard of by most others. Every sport she had time for, she signed up without hesitation. She doubted her father even noticed, as he spent most of his time in the bars. By the time she was fifteen, she was at the top of most of her classes, although still struggling in the strength department.

She got a job with a blacksmith near where she lived and became his apprentice for a short time. She learned the finer things of smithing weaponry and armor, hooks and horseshoes. She smuggled what gold she earned each day and hid it from her father, who was still beating her, but not as harshly. She'd learned how to avoid him a great deal of the time and managed to keep him off of her when he was in a more drunken state. However, when he was sober, he'd be more lucid and capable of more damage. He was truly mad.

When Haze was sixteen, she'd gotten into her first relationship with a boy named Noah. They were close, constantly finding excuses to spend time together. Although Haze refused any physical contact, they were closer than the best of friends. They managed to keep their relationship a secret from her father for a full year.

For about a week, Haze had been sick with a common flue. She would heal up in a few days, but she hadn't been able to warn Noah about it before she hit the bed. It was one of the more scarier moments in her life, afraid that her father would have the opportunity to kill her while she lay defenseless in bed. Fortunately, her father was more afraid of catching the disease than anything, so he left her alone. Noah didn't, however. One night, he had to see why she wasn't meeting him at their scheduled times. He approached her house and did the typical thing for lovers their age: Threw rocks at her window.

Just as Haze was explaining her condition to him from the window, her father burst out the front door, eyes wild and fists clenched. Noah was caught off guard and the hulking monster grabbed him by the throat, “What the HELL are you doing with my daughter?” He shouted, as if he actually cared for her. But he was crazed, furious and in the moment. He flung Noah to the wall, whose skull cracked wide open. He died instantly, all while Haze was watching from her window.

Unable to control herself, Haze jumped from her window by mere reflex. Screaming, she slammed her claws into the side of her father's head. He staggered to the floor, Haze pinning him down. He looked up into her eyes, for once shocked and amazed to realize how strong his daughter had become. But he wasn't proud, his expression was one of coy amusement. She couldn't kill him. His daughter wasn't a killer. “C'mon, Felicia. You can do it.” He smirked, “Go ahead and kill me.”

So she did.

She stared into his eyes as she ripped open his neck. Even as he died he still looked alive. She could still hear his voice, still goading her on. “Go ahead and kill me.” But he was dead. He looked so alive, but he was dead. The blood on her hands, beneath her nails, was evidence of that. He would never hurt her again.

***

Murder was the worst crime to commit in the Exsecror village. While only a handful of people still believed in the ancient curse, that very handful ran the village. There was no excuse for killing another Exsecror. It was the most heinous crime, and because of it killings were rare in the village. Because Haze had killed her father, she'd have to pay for her crime.

There was no death sentence amongst the Exsecror. The most severe punishment available was banishment to the massive expanse of desert that surrounded the city. Everyone knew Haze's motives behind the murder of her father, and most agreed with her, but there was no debating the fact she had to be banished. There was no escaping one's crimes, and Haze knew that. They did, however, give her the rare opportunity to stock up on supplies. They knew she had a rough life, they knew she deserved better, but the law was law: She was a murderer.

The Exsecror village was located underground, beneath a mountain in the middle of an enormous desert. When the gate to the city opened for her, she was truly afraid. She'd only been outside the city several times. She'd rarely ever seen the sun. She was about to leave the only life she'd ever known. All of her friends were here, as were many favorable memories.
“Felicia, you *****!”
Then there were those not-so-favorable memories. She felt sick here, like her father was standing next to her. Part of her wanted nothing else than to leave, but another part was afraid. Regardless, she had no choice in the matter. Now was her time to leave.

The seventeen year old girl took her first step into the desert, her pale white skin already feeling scorched by the sun.

***

She walked for days with nothing but the pack on her back and the clothes on her skin. Her sack was filled only with what little gold she had and large amounts of food and water, along with a few essential tools. She was lucky to get what she got, but she still felt deeply discouraged. How could she possibly live out here by herself? Maybe if she kept walking she'd get lucky, stumble across another village of some kind.

But she had no such luck. Each step away from home hurt more and more. When she should feel like being liberated, she couldn't help but sense her father's eyes on her.

C'mon, Felicia. You can do it.

It was so weird. It couldn't have just been her imagination. She kept hearing her father's voice.

You killed your MOTHER!

She knelt down on the ground and cried. She had nowhere to go and she was as good as dead. She hoped the legends were false. She really didn't want to die, but if she did she wanted to go somewhere safe. But would she go to paradise? She was a killer after all. Would she end up in Hell with her father?

You killed your mother and you killed ME!

She wiped her tears and stood, forcing herself to continue her walk. She couldn't get turned around; she had to keep walking straight. Eventually she'd find civilization. Eventually she would. She just had to. She couldn't die out here alone.

Days passed after her water and food supply went dry. The Exsecror could go up to seven days without water, but Haze was on day five. Her mouth was chap and dry and her mind could no longer think clearly. Was she still walking straight? She was staggering now. It was hard to tell where she was walking. She could have been walking in circles, but she had to keep trying. She had little will left to live, but she had to hold on to that will. She just couldn't die, not after finally being free from her father.

You bastard! You killed my WIFE!

She couldn't go on like this any longer. Her legs gave out and she toppled to the ground, falling into unconsciousness, ready to die.

***

“Wake up, lady, you gotta eat your meat!” An old voice urged.

Haze's eyes opened slowly. Everything was so blurry, it was hard to focus. So bright. The sun shown down in her eyes, scattering through a group of palm trees hanging overhead. She was alive? How?

“Eat, I say!” A bearded head shouted, poking itself in her face.

“Ah!” She screamed, scrambling away from the strange old man. “Who... who are you?”

The old geezer chuckled, sitting down on the floor, legs crossed. “I'm just like you!” He laughed, pulling up his arm to reveal his black claws. “Cursed like the rest of us.” He said, his petrified smile remaining.

Haze felt uncomfortable in this man's presence, considering the only explanation for him being out here is banishment, but regardless he had saved her life. For that, she was grateful.

“Now enough chat, you must eat your camel meat!” He threw a fork in her lap, “Come on, lady, eat up!” Haze scooted back from him a little, but accepted the food without question, practically inhaling it. The old man just sat there and watched. “Now slow down, don't choke. There's fresh water in that pond over there, just don't let the lizards bite.”

Haze scrambled for the water, drinking her fill. Thank the gods, she was alive! Apparently, this strange old man found her out in the desert and brought her to this oasis. The trees, the sun, the grass, the sky; it was all suddenly so beautiful. She took a deep breath of the fresh air and, for once in her life, was glad to be alive.

“It's real, you know.” The old man said grimly from behind her.

She turned to face him, a little confused. “What?”

“The curse is real.” He wasn't smiling anymore. He stroked his long, white beard nervously for a second. “Don't, for a second, think otherwise.”

Haze let out a half-chuckle, “Please, old man, that's just an ancient myth created for sake of song and—“

“Don't you DARE think otherwise, young lady!” The man repeated with a snap, jumping to his feet. Haze leaped to her own feet and took a few steps back, afraid he might attack her or something. The old man stopped in his tracks to take a breath, shaking his head grimly. “I'm sorry I snapped, missy. You youngsters just don't understand anymore.”

“Why are you telling me this?” Haze asked, now sure to have her guard up against the strange man.

He took a deep breath, sitting back down on his rock. He took a bite out of his camel meat before speaking again, “Because you almost died out there. If I didn't know a thing or two about magic, you'd be a ghost like your father.”

There was a long awkward pause as Haze tried to comprehend what exactly he'd just said. “My... my father?”

“That's who it was, wasn't it? That scary looking man who was following you?”

Felicia!

“By the gods.” She was stunned. This man could have been crazy, but somehow she believed him. How could he have known about her father? Surely the village wouldn't have sent him out here just to play a prank on him. Then again, he was proficient in magic. Maybe he could read her mind and make up some sort of—

“No, haha, even if I could read your mind I wouldn't make up such a story.” The old man howled a deep laugh, passively wiping his hands off on his pants. His coy smile lingered a moment longer, frozen in realization. “You said that in your head, didn't you.”

Haze clenched her fist, “How DARE you mock me!” She craned her arm back and heaved a heavy punch into the elderly fellow's face, knocking him back into the dirt.

“Hey hey, cut it out!” he wheezed, gasping for breath. “I admit, I can read minds, but I promise you I didn't make up that story!” He breathed heavily for a few more moments, slowly standing to his feet, “Surely you've felt his presence! From the moment you cut his throat open you knew he wasn't truly dead. The same is true for Noah, for your mother, for every other Exsecror who has died since the curse.”

“Why should I believe you?” Haze hissed.

The old man trembled a moment, thinking his words through carefully. “Why shouldn't you believe me? Must you always assume what's remarkable is false? I can make rocks float, for land's sake!” The man uttered a short incantation, forcing the rock beneath Haze's feet to rise up in the air. She gasped, quickly jumping off of it before it rose above the trees. “You know of our people's magic, you believe in it, yes? Then how is it so hard to believe in the curse?”

“Ok, so let's say for a moment that the curse is real. How could you have seen my father if I didn't see him?”

The man scratched the back of his neck nervously, “Well, as you can tell... I'm not what you'd consider young.”

“Just how old are you?”

“Nearly a thousand years old, give or take a few years.”

Haze had nothing to say. Clearly this man was delusional.

“I know you don't believe me, but it's the truth. Us old ones can see the dead, speak to them, tell them to do things. The first who were cursed, I was one of the first. We lost our old eyesight and instead gained a new sight: The ability to see the souls of this world; how old they are, how much longer they have left here. The Exsecror only live an average of two-hundred years, but us first few live forever.”

“Alright...” Haze said, still thinking this man was crazy. “If you can tell them to do things, tell my father to leave me.”

The old man shrugged, “Whatever.” He looked off somewhere behind Haze. She turned around to see what he was looking at. “Begone, spirit. Go bother someone else.” He waved a dismissive hand.

You'll die, Felicia.

“There, he's gone.” The man smirked.

Haze didn't know what to believe. Maybe she was just being stubborn. She didn't want to believe what he had to say, but he was right about one thing: She'd been hearing her father all this time. Somehow, she'd felt his eyes on her, but now that feeling was gone.

“Now it is time for you to go.” The man spoke up suddenly, standing to his feet, dusting his pants off with his hands.

Haze felt startled. “What!? Go where?” A strong wind suddenly picked up, muffling all other sounds. Sand was blowing heavily. “Go where!?” She shouted again.

“Head north! Just follow the cacti!”

***

Haze awoke with a start, eyes glued to the darkening blue sky. She was in the desert again, no more oasis. Her entire body, save for the top of her head, was buried in sand. What had just happened, she wasn't quite sure, but she could have sworn she'd just died.

Pulling herself from the earth, she stood to get her bearings. Sand. Sand all around, only a couple cacti dotting the ground. Should she do what the old man said? There wasn't any reason for her not to.

After days of following cactus after cactus, she found an oasis. The same one she met the old man at. It was a very surreal experience. Was it all a dream? She couldn't help but feel that the old man was right. Something about that whole encounter felt entirely surreal, but she felt she believed him. She could no longer hear her father's voice, but for some reason she didn't feel any better. If the curse was true, then she was going to meet the same fate as the others. She couldn't do that. How could she live in perpetual solitude like that?

As she walked onward into the oasis, she tried convincing herself it was all a lie. The curse wasn't true, the man was just a dream, and her father was rotting in Hell. No matter how hard she tried to lie to herself, she didn't believe a word of it.

***

A few hours of walking into the oasis, Haze soon realized how large it really was. Walking even further, she found what she'd been searching for: A city. Overjoyed, she ran for the gates. Overwhelmed by excitement, she scrambled through the gates and onto a new life.

She lived the next two years of her life there in the city of Soledad. She found a job as a blacksmith and forged a great many things from the various native and foreign metals. Her job was successful, but her mind was always dwelling on the matter of death.

She couldn't die, she wanted to live forever, but such a thought was impossible. Then again, the whole curse seemed impossible. She was quick to remember the old man's demonstration, lifting the rock up into the air. He was right about something: Just because something was remarkable didn't mean it was false. Exsecrorian magic was proof of that. She didn't know much of it, but that was aside the point. There had to be a way to gain immortality. If that old man truly was immortal, then the idea wasn't an impossible one.

She dwelled on these thoughts for months. The more the ideas festered in her mind, the more she took to believing them. There had to be a way. How was it the gods never died? And that man....

She'd find a way to do it. She couldn't meet the same fate as her father. She wouldn't die and rot as a ghost.

She would live forever.

Adventures:
Infinite Everything (Complete)
Aim For The Head (Dead)
Forgotten Shelves (In Progress)

Approved. Of course!

Also, parkour <3