Valkyhn

Valkyhn, Revisited

Name: Valkyhn
Age: 23
Race: An Okami-Vampire hybrid. (The Okami are a sub-species of humans that have the ability to transform into wolves at will. In some lore, the Okami are referred to as gods. In Japanese, Okami means both ‘wolf’ and ‘god,’ thus the origin of the name. During a fight with Rain Seraph, Valkyhn was bitten in order for Rain to heal himself, and now harbors some vampiristic traits.)
Hair: Dark brown. Valkyhn takes no initiative to keep his hair neat, and thus is usually a mess. It does tend to lie naturally to the right. His bangs cover his forehead and at times, when allowed to get quite shaggy, covers his eyes. Although he doesn’t try to keep it neat, he does make sure his hair stays clean, and is thus very soft and shiny. The appearance of his hair is directly correspondent to how his fur looks in his ‘wolf form.’ For example, if his hair is shiny and soft, so his coat will be, and vice versa. This is the reason he cares in keeping it clean.
Eyes: A deep, glimmering Emerald Green.
Weight: 135 pounds.
Height: 6ft even
Appearance:
Human: Valkyhn has a variety of different multi-colored tee shirts that fit to his toned, muscular form snugly, but not too tight. The tee shirts also include a variety of ‘novelty’ humorous sayings/pictures and designs. He prefers fitted tees to normal shirts. He also wears somewhat dark blue jeans reminiscent of name-brand types. The pants are tattered with cuts and holes from the battles and adventures that he has partaken in. Acting solely as a holder, he wears a light brown leather belt just loose enough to fit the sheath of his sword into without it wiggling around or falling out. Rounding out his attire is a pair of old, dirty normal Converse. The laces are covered by the bottoms of his pants. Being that he is left-handed, he keeps his sword to his right side. Valkyhn is muscular, but not ‘built.’ As in, he has muscles, but they are lean and toned, not beefy and vein-y. Depending on the how tight his shirt is, it is possible to see his muscles through them at times.
Wolf: Valkyhn retains his emerald-colored eyes. As mentioned in the Hair section, the quality of Valkyhn’s fur is correspondent with the quality of his hair as a human. Therefore, his mane can range greatly from being unruly and wild to neat and shiny. The color of the fur, however, never changes and is a dark, dark gray on the bottom and a dark blue-gray combination on top.

Personality: Valkyhn could be considered to have a dual personality. On the one side, he is an extremely nice, courteous person. If ever there is someone in trouble, he will go out of his way to help them. He is kind to strangers, and often generous. The aforementioned all intensifies greatly if the stranger or acquaintance is a pretty girl. He also has a dry sense of humor, for the most part. While alone, Valkyhn is very passive and calm. At times, he can enter into a state of mild depression, mostly when reminiscing about his past, which he does quite often. However, during a battle, he changes completely. His calm, collected demeanor all but disappears and becomes replaced with an aggressive, sharp-tongued *******. He gets very angry, very quickly and is apt to insult his opponent. If a fight between him and someone ever occurs, it is usually the result of Valkyhn’s instigations He has gotten somewhat better at staying calm, but not greatly. Beyond all of this, Valkyhn is much attuned with nature. He finds himself most at home in a deep forest in which he can lose himself for days, or even weeks. He prefers the serene darkness of night to the daytime, as it is more accustomed to his own personality. The sounds of nature calm and soothe him better than anything else, and as such, on the other end of the spectrum, the destruction of nature enrages him more than anything else.

Strengths: Valkyhn is fast and extremely agile, able to dodge, turn, or perform any other form of defensive or offensive move without ever compromising his stride. His flexibility enhances these abilities, allowing him to dodge a strike from a sword, a throwing dagger, etc. very easily. Valkyhn, despite his lean appearance, is also quite strong, able to raise men that are twice his weight above his head. On the mental side, Valkyhn is very intelligent. Always observing his surroundings, looking for anything out of place, always strategizing what can occur and what he can do under the current circumstances. Valkyhn is often very capable of ‘living off the land’ (i.e. hunting, fishing, and general surviving), and can easily sustain himself on little food for long periods of time.

Weaknesses: Arguably his biggest weakness, Valkyhn is incredibly ill-tempered. He practices in trying to stay calm, but usually have very little success when insulted, or confronted by someone he doesn’t like. If he ever gets angry, he often loses his sense of observation and strategy, and becomes careless, intent only on hurting/killing his opponent. Valkyhn is also very caring of other people. Though this doesn’t necessarily sound like a weakness, it can become one if ever in a battle. He would focus more on making sure somebody else remained unharmed, and thus would be less focused on the battle. This can leave him wide open for opponents to attack him, as well as a means for them to distract him.

Weapons: Valkyhn holds a single weapon—his sword, Radiance, named after the incredible gleam it gives off, no matter the conditions of the lighting. It is a long blade, 42 inches long with a 12 inch hilt. Both the hilt and sheath are jet black. The blade itself is made of a mixture of steel and silver, with traces of diamonds to make the blade extremely hard to break. Along the length of the dull part of the blade are etched, intricate writings that Valkyhn cannot read. No matter how dirty the blade gets, it always looks as if it has never been used, much less opened from its sheath, and always stays bright and shiny. The sword can also never dull. As a wolf, Valkyhn simply has his teeth and claws, which are both extremely sharp and extremely strong.

Skills/Magic:
Transfiguration: Valkyhn can instantaneously switch between his human and wolf forms at will. However, on a night with the full moon out, Valkyhn is forced to stay in his wolf form until daybreak. During this time, Valkyhn loses all intelligence, and can think only how a wolf would think.
Enhanced Senses: Being part wolf, Valkyhn’s senses are finely tuned. He can see clearly in the darkest of places, can hear the faintest of footsteps, and can smell just about anything. However, having these above-average sense is a double-edged sword. While they can help him during battle, they can also be a hindrance to him, as well. For example, a sudden bright light in the dark, an annoying noise, or a smelling salt can easily disorient him.
Vampiristic Enhancements: This really goes hand in hand with his enhanced senses. Although already fine-tuned, being bitten has increased his acuteness twofold. It has also given him a sort of ‘sixth sense’ of what the people around him really are (as in if they’re human or not, etc.). An increased sense of bloodlust also flows through Valkyhn at times, especially during a fight.
Zegor’s Pendant: Given to him by Vasalis after a battle, this magical pendant grants him the power to control the darkness. It can: Create a veil of shadows around himself, produce beams of powerful darkness that can be used to attack his enemy, manipulate the amount of moonlight in a certain area, even through a new moon. This doesn’t change the appearance of the actual moon, but redirects the light towards wherever Valkyhn can choose, and has the power to look into people’s souls to know their emotions. Valkyhn does not wear the pendant, but instead keeps it in his pocket, where he is still able to use its powers.
Apparitions Formed Concrete: A big name for something simple. Simply put, Valkyhn can summon his sword at will, no matter where it is at the time. The sword starts as wisps of black smoke that then slowly materialize into his hand, his belt, or wherever he decides.
Trans-Fusion: This is a powerful technique, but also somewhat draining on Valkyhn. Discovered by accident, if Valkyhn starts his transformation into his wolf state at the same time he impales himself with his sword, a la hara-kiri, the end result is a fusion of his wolf form and his sword. Valkyhn looks mostly the same as his usual wolf form, but with a few key differences. His claws are replaced with sharp dagger-like blades of the same material as his sword. His fur, while maintaining its usual physical appearance and color, become millions of miniscule blades, similar to that of a porcupine. His tail transforms into a ‘spike pit of blades’ of sorts, where it starts at one end and branches out into hundreds of blade slivers. The blades curl as his tail naturally would. These slivers of blades are easily detached and can be flung with a simple flick of the tail. Valkyhn feels no pain during this, even when stabbing himself, but does feel somewhat winded if he remains in the state for long. It can easily be undone by transforming back into his human state. His sword will appear in its usual position.
Rage: A dangerous ‘last-ditch’ sort of effort where Valkyhn becomes extremely angry and violent. Adrenaline pumps hard in his veins, giving him a great boost of strength, agility, and endurance. When in this phase, Valkyhn loses all sense of thought or intelligence. This ‘mode’ only happens under set conditions—when Valkyhn is extremely tired, wounded, and already angry. Rage also has a side-effect though: Because he loses any sense other than to fight, Valkyhn cannot feel pain. While this can be helpful for a short amount of time, it can eventually lead him to overwork his body until he dies from exhaustion, or even die from wounds that he should have tended to, but thought not to.

Biogaphy:

A night illuminated by secondhand light. A mid-summer day containing temperatures usually found later in the year. A city hushed quiet by the serenity of the night. This night was a contradiction brought to life. A gentle wind blew, whispering its untold secrets in the knots of dead trees and corners of abandoned building. A night so full of life. A contradiction.

Death cares not for the setting of its clients.

Upon the outskirts of the town, a man ran as fast as his injured legs would allow. Bloodied and battered, gashes and marks all across his body, he carried on, as if in perfect health. Scraps of torn cloth drifted off his body into the cool breeze with every step he took. He cared not if he was naked. A single goal drove him onward, ignoring the pain of his injuries and the screaming of his muscles.

He could feel the presences of those that pursed him, could hear the slight sounds they made with each step upon the ground. Knowing the option of outrunning was impossible, he dug his heels into the ground, whirling around to face his pursuers. Two shadows came at him from other side. The man bent down, placing his hand onto the ground, and kicking upward. His foot caught the chest of one. As the sound of breaking ribs filled his ears, the shadow flew back, hitting the ground and rolling violently until finally coming to a stop. Without missing a beat, the man then spun around on his hand, arcing his leg to hit the other shadow. Catching it with the heel of his foot, he twisted his body, slamming the shadow into the ground.

Standing upright, the man looked at the two lifeless bodies. His breaths came deep and labored, his senses disoriented from the blood loss. “Well done,” came a voice, drawn out and genuinely impressed. “You never cease to amaze me, Nohva.”

A reaction was impossible as Nohva suddenly found himself flying through the air, immense pain bursting from his right side. He slammed sideways into a tree with a sickening thud and the sound of bones shattering. Ricocheting off, he landed on the ground about a foot away from the tree, attempting to scream, but found a mouthful of blood instead. Everything was darker than they should have been, and got darker with every passing second.

“Oh my…” a figure materialized in front of Nohva, crouching down to him. His face was indiscernible, and his features just as vague. “The situation here looks dire for you, my shape-shifting friend.”

A spluttering cough of blood affirmed the statement.

“Though it should be noted—you played marvelously. But we both knew that you would lose in the end, didn’t we? After all…” the figure stood upright, “a mere participant has no chance in a game against the creator.”

Nohva’s eyes became too heavy to keep open, and he shut them for the last time.

... ... ... ...

Shrieks of pain burst out, filling every inch of the long, empty hallway.

“You’re doing fine, you’re doing fine. Don’t worry.” The voice was calm, laden with a natural, soothing quality. The woman he was talking to took deep, labored breaths. Sweat and tears dripped down her pained face. Her hands clenched tightly the arms of the men to either her sides. Squeaks of pain would sometimes find themselves in between her breaths. “Okay. Everything’s going great. Now, I’m going to need you to start pushing, okay?” The woman nodded quickly, grunting through gritted teeth. “Push! Push!”

She did as was told, and continued to do so. How much time had passed? She had no idea; the pain was too great to think of anything else. Whether it was ten seconds or ten hours, it no longer mattered. The sound of crying filled the room. Upon hearing it, the woman couldn’t help but to smile.

“Congratulations,” said the doctor holding the baby. “It’s a boy.”

The woman laughed weakly, crying now of joy instead of pain. She held her arms out, wanting to hold the baby, and the doctor cheerfully obliged. Cradling him in her arms, she talked softly to him, attempting to quiet his cries. “Hey! Hey there, little guy. Shh, it’s okay now. It’s okay. Shh,” she put her finger to his lips, “it’s all okay now…Valkyhn.”

“That’s a weird name.”

She looked around the room, searching for someone that wasn’t there. A look betwixt worry and disappointment crossed her face. She returned to the baby, smiling again, but with a twinge of sadness this time. “I’m sure your father will...will be here soon enough…”

… … … …

Later that night, the woman lay in her bed, exhausted from the process of giving birth. The room was completely dark, save the lights of the medical machinery surrounding her. Her breaths came long and deep, a drastic change from just hours before.

The door to her room slowly opened, making no sound at all. In walked a man, his face covered by a veil of shadows. Closing the door behind him, he strolled casually to the woman’s bedside. He reached his hand out, and stroked her hair softly, as not to wake her.

“How beautiful you look asleep. It’s a shame, really. He was quite lucky to have you as a wife.” The woman stirred, but nothing more. “Don’t worry, Nohva. She won’t feel a thing.”

Sure the hallway was empty, he left the room, shut the door, and left the woman to suffocate and bleed, assuring she would never again wake up. He passed the nursery, filled with sleeping newborns. He smiled, and continued on his way.

… … … …

The forest looked strikingly beautiful on this particular day. The sun neared the end of its daily rotation, casting a light red film across the colorful fall foliage. The colors blended and contrasted, separating and enhancing, combining and flowing.

“Isn’t it just beautiful, Valkyhn?” The voice was nothing more than an awe-struck whisper, yet so beautiful and soothing; the owner even more so. “It’s like a painting…” The owner shifted, attempting to bury herself deeper into his body.

The two were atop a massive branch of one of the many trees of the forest. Resting against the base, their legs propped out in front of them, they held each other lovingly. Arms intertwined, fingers locked, her head rested upon his as they both looked out into the surrounding forest around them. A soft breeze blew about them, adding more sound to the already busy forest.

The sun sank lower, darkening the red filter. “Kyéva,” said Valkyhn.

“Yeah?” she replied.

“What are you going to do? After we graduate, I mean.”

She pondered for a second. “I don’t know…I never really thought of it.”

“Are you going to stay in the village?”

“I don’t know. What’s with the sudden questions, though?”

“Nothing, it’s just…I’ve been thinking a lot about what’s going to happen. I was thinking actually, of joining the army.”

“What? Why would you wanna do that?”

Valkyhn shrugged. “Both my parents were in it. They were great warriors, until they left. I figured, I don’t know, maybe I’d follow in their footsteps.”

Kyéva gripped his hand tighter. “By the way—don’t think I forgot. Ha—”

Before she was able to finish her sentence, a klaxon wailed in the background, frightening them both.

“What is that?” asked Kyéva, looking towards the direction of the village.

“It’s not good, I know that.” They jumped off the tree, landing softly on the ground. Immediately, they broke into a sprint, shifting into wolves. Dodging trees and roots, they ran as fast as they could, covering a distance of half a mile in just a minute.

They reached the village, which had become nothing short of complete chaos. People rushed about in every direction, fear and tears plastered on their faces, wolves ran between them as well, and the klaxon continued its deafening wailing. Valkyhn and Kyéva were just on the outskirts of town; the middle of town would be much worse. Valkyhn stood upright, human again. Kyéva followed suit. “I’m going to go see what’s going on.”

“Let me go with you.”

Valkyhn shook his head. “No, it could be dangerous. I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“And you think I want you to? I’m going with you!”

“No! I don’t know what I’d do if you were injured or…killed.”

“But—”

Valkyhn didn’t let her finish, as he rushed off, disappearing into the sea of people.

Slowly, he pushed his way through the crowd, doing his best to avoid being trampled. Valkyhn spotted a soldier directing people around, and he inched his way to him. “What’s going on?” he asked upon reaching him.

“Sir, please move along.”

“No! Tell me what’s going on!”

“We’re being attacked. Somehow—”

An explosion sounded nearby, knocking them both, along with the majority of people around them, off their feet. Everything went mute as his ears ringed from the aftershock, and his vision became blurred and fuzzy.

“Where…the one…Valkyhn!?”

Slowly, his senses came back to him. He found himself on his back, looking up towards the darkening sky. The sun had now nearly almost set. Vaguely, he was aware of people running about him, fires burning on the buildings around him. He blinked, and found himself yanked into the air.

“There you are!” Valkyhn was being held by the arm of a man with jet black hair and dark gold eyes, filled with an odd gleam. He wore a dark black trench coat that covered his entire body. “Hello, Valkyhn! Long time no see, eh, boy?” He talked fast, with a sense of anger and bloodlust deep in his voice. His head moved twitchily about as he spoke, as did his hands, a wicked smile painted across his thin pale lips. It was clear his sanity was not completely present.

“Who are you?”

The man laughed for a second or two then replied, “Why, don’t you remember? It’s your Uncle Cadrin! Oh come now, you must remember me…No? Perhaps this will refresh your memory.” Cadrin pulled Valkyhn to him, and spoke softly into his ear, only inches away. “I killed your parents.”

Valkyhn’s heart skipped a beat. Cadrin yanked him back into the air, spun, and threw him into the wall of a building adjacent to where he stood. He hit the wall sideways with his back, tumbling down onto the ground. He struggled to get onto his feet, but the pain was too much.

Cadrin walked slowly to Valkyhn, talking. “You see, many, many, many, many, many, many, many years ago, your parents and I had an…odd relationship. They’d try to kill me, I’d try to kill them, they’d come back at me, et cetera, et cetera. Like a big game of tug of war. It was nothing personal really. We were enemies after all. Them being Okami and I being a vampire and all.

“By the way, this is quite the lovely village. And hidden so well, too, I might add. If it wasn’t for our little friend on the inside, we would’ve never found it. I know you had nothing to do with it, but kudos. Kudos.

“Oh, dear me, you must not be understanding any of this, are you?” Cadrin had reached Valkyhn by now. He crouched down onto his knees, only a foot or so away from him. “You see, many of you Okami don’t know this, but you and us vampires have been duking it out for quite a while. It’s the same as on our side too. The only people who ever find out about this little quarrel are those that join the military. Nobody really knows why, either. But, usually, the Okami and the vampire stay out of each other’s way. But there are a few times where the fighting breaks out again, because someone killed a member of the other side, or invaded one of their towns, or blah blah blah.

“That’s how me and your parents met. I won’t go in to the details or anything, but long story short: We fought a few times, then they quit the military, moved away, and started a family. They thought the whole ‘fighting’ thing was over. Well, I got them, didn’t I!?” He cackled. “You see, your father gave me this scar,” he pulled back his left sleeve to show a scar that ran from the top of his bicep down to the back of his hand. “He had extremely sharp claws as a wolf. And that really pissed me off. So, I wanted revenge. It took me three years, but I finally found out where your parents were.

“And when I found them, I just wanted to kill them right there. It would’ve been easy enough. They were off guard, had no weapons, and I had the element of surprise. But your mother was pregnant at the time. With you. And I thought of something ingenious: On the day that you would be born, I’d get them separated, kill your dad, and then kill your mom after she had you! And it worked great, too. I lost a few men to your dad, sure, but it was nothing major.

“Oh, but you’re wondering ‘Why did you spare me? Why not just kill me with my parents?’ right? Well, it’s simple: I wanted to kill you just like I did to your dad. Maybe I guess I’m just poetic that way. So, that’s what’s going on right now: Me and my friends went rogue, came here, with some help of course, incited a massacre, all in an attempt to get to you. They don’t know that, though. They’re here just to kill some ****ing Okami! Do you know how long I've waited for this day? Do you? Years. Eighteen years!

“But you know…” he sighed, “this isn’t really turning out to be as great as I thought it would be. I mean, come on! Look at you! You’re just lying there, helpless on the ground. You’ve got, what? Two, three broken ribs? Pathetic! Just ****ing pathetic. I’ll tell you what: How about I spare your life? Eh? Sounds good, right? But, there’s a catch: Sometime in the future (I’m not going to tell you when, that’d ruin the fun!), you and me are going to fight. A real fight. Which means that I want you to train! Oh, look at me, being generous today; I’ll even give you a gift to help you start.” From under his trench coat, Cadrin produced a long sword in a pitch black sheath and placed it on the ground in front of Valkyhn. “This beauty is named Radiance. And I want you to have it. I’ve no use for it, anyway; it’s got silver in it. This sword was your father’s. I mean, before I killed him and all. You are going to use this, and you are going to train, and hard, and one day you and I will fight, and I will kill you at your best!”

Cadrin stood up. “By the way…happy birthday. Until we meet again, Valkyhn.” Cadrin disappeared.

Shortly after, the attack had ended. The renegade vampires left just as quickly as they had appeared. None of the villagers knew why, and Valkyhn never told them. Valkyhn stayed in the hospital for a week after the attack to heal from his wounds. Kyéva hardly ever left his side. On the last day of admission, he told Kyéva, “I’m leaving the village.”

She was taken by surprise. “What?”

“I’m leaving!”

“Why?”

He shook his head. “I can’t tell you.”

“Come on, Valkyhn. You can tell me anything.”

“NO!” he shouted in a fit of anger. Kyéva flinched, scared of his sudden outburst. “I—I’m sorry. I can’t tell you. And, I’m going alone…”

Nothing was exchanged between the two the rest of the day. The following day, Valkyhn was checked out of the hospital. Immediately, he headed for his dorm at the high school. Attaining a fresh set of clothes and Radiance, he headed to Kyéva’s dorm, across the campus.

Kyéva answered to a loud knock at her door. Opening it, she found Valkyhn there, his eyes downcast upon the ground. They both stood there, quiet…

Until Valkyhn suddenly lunged at her, grabbing her face with one hand and her waist with the other, he leaned in and kissed her. They held there for…neither knew. Neither cared. At last, they pulled apart, and Valkyhn saw Kyéva’s face red with tears. “I’m sorry,” he said softly. “…I love you. And I’ll be back one day. I promise.”

Sniffling, she replied “I won’t wait up.”

He smiled. Kyéva was left alone at her doorway.

Valkyhn found rain falling from his own face.

Ja, Okay here is the deal. He's super strong, super fast, and super smart and his only weakness if Getting mad, and being nice. Now while rage can be a very large weakness I've noticed very few people actually use it in battle, so I will approve this character only if you promise to actually make his weakness exploitable. Even still its close.

*APPROVED*