Starling of the Darknine

Name: Starling of the Darknine
Age: 19
Race: Human/Werewolf
Sex: Male

Hair: Dirty blonde with streaks of dark brownish-red. Starling keeps it tied back in a loose ponytail.
Eyes: Sky blue.

Weight: 236
Height: 6'2"

Weapon: He carries a large, steel-bladed and ash-hafted battle axe. He is capable of wielding it one-handed, even if it is one and a half feet from blade to blade and has a four foot haft– the barbaric weapon has enough weight to cut clean through a tree trunk, if used correctly.

Armor: Starling's family hands down a suit of chain mail armor, and on his eighteenth birthday he inherited it. It's loose enough for Starling to wear clothes underneath it, and since it's chain it's very flexible, allowing Starling free movement in combat. He rarely wears it at night, since he transforms to a wolf at those times.

Strengths: A werewolf through and through, Starling can intimidate and obliterate as easily as he wants– strength enough to go toe-to-toe with a vampire, agility to match, and speed that– in wolf form, mind you– can outrace a dragon. He knows how to handle himself in a combat situation, having been forced to deal with all kinds of powerful creatures before, and is especially dangerous with his axe because of his huge reserves of strength and endurance. Without thinking about it, he can shred and eat a fully grown male deer within seven minutes... think of that against a human and you've got a seriously dangerous opponent.

Weaknesses: Though his werewolf blood makes him superior to most humans, it also makes him fatally allergic to silver and holy magic. In wolf form he loses most of his human thought pattern, leaving only what is foremost on his thoughts before transformation unless he can concentrate. In the first few minutes of his transformation, if he is entangled by his armor and clothing that leaves him terribly vulnerable.

Skills:

Werewolf: Lycanthropy is the shapeshifting of a human into an animal, usually a carnivore, during nights of full moons. Almost every lycanthrope can learn to harness this power on every night by thinking of the moon(the term Starling's family used was moonlighting) or something connected to it, such as tides, until they've shifted into a second form. Starling's second form is a large, russet-red wolf, making him a canis lupis, or werewolf.

Half-Wolf: Some forms of lycanthropy are different than others, especially those that are passed through bloodlines and not through contact with a werewolf(most often, someone actually contracts the disease form of lycanthropy through a bite). Starling was born a werewolf, part of one of the most ancient lines of night creatures, and therefore he has the power to shift into a half-man, half-wolf form onto any night but a full moon night. Only a very petty few can successfully complete this transformation without having been born a werewolf.

Hunting Animal: As a wolf, Starling has learned to hunt and kill. In wolf form, his combat is limited mostly to biting and slashing with his claws, leaving him vulnerable defensively but very terrifying and powerful offensively. With wolf senses, he can smell much better, he can see in the dark, he can discern even the slightest of movements, and he can move about nearly invisibly and completely soundless.

Snarl: Few things are so horrifying as witnessing a two-hundred and thirty-two pound wolf snarl viciously, baring enormous teeth that have but one purpose– to kill and shred– and emitting a ripcord-like burst of savage, pent up aggression. It is enough to make some of the toughest hunters recoil in fear, but it's only a warning and has no real danger.

Magic:

Moonlit: Under the full moon, Starling can draw on his black magic to nearly double all his physical powers, making him stronger, faster, and more agile. This is only on a full moon night, however, and takes intense concentration because he must stay in complete wolf form to use it.

Dark Circle: A black magic protection spell, Dark Circle draws on the powers of shadow and darkness by creating a circle in the ground and depicting the moon cycle. After completing his circle, he needs only howl to raise a protective barrier of startling magnitude. It takes a lot of time to complete it, but it works very well.

Life: Only a true family werewolf, one who is a direct descendant from the very first werewolf, can draw the life and power from another creature of the night. Often this leads to death or extreme pain on the part of the recipient. The downfall of using Life is the truth that lies in it: to steal the life of another being requires that you give yourself to them. As long as Starling is trying to sap another's life, they can just as easily take his.

Appearance: Starling is huge and burly when in human form, and is a very imposing figure when face to face. His hands are huge and calloused from hand to hand fighting. He wears dark green clothing under his chainmail armor, but it's only visible at his neckline. He's handsome despite his scars.

Personality: A barbarian in most senses of the word, Starling has a great amount of pride in what and who he is, he refuses to act differently simply because of vaunted ideas of etiquette, and more than that he will give no respect to those who conform to the rules of other. A lone wolf, in more ways that simply socially, he's never learned to bend his will to those of others, never having met someone that can snap it. When he says something, he means both it and everything the tone in which he says it implies, and he refuses to apologize for something he thinks he was in the right about– that includes murder, if it comes to that.

Werewolf blood runs through his veins and the veins of his family, one of many born into what many take to be some kind of disease, and he is proud of the fact that he comes from a family older that many vampire families. He will not live forever, even if his life span is drastically increased, but he sees himself as an equal to anyone with the vampiric touch. He knows how they tick, so he knows how to stop them from ticking... one of the few things in the world that he truly hates is a vampire, werewolf, or ordinary being that thinks themselves better than others.

He has been on the receiving end on rude comments from hundreds of those who hunt creatures of the night, earned himself a cold-shoulder from those who follow the church for his use of black magic– something that runs in werewolf bloodlines– and has committed more crimes on mankind than most would be able to live with. He stands strong against the darkness in him, refusing to give totally to it as so many wild ones have done, and risen to the taunting of those who sheathe their swords in light. It has made him hardened, a barbarian, but he doesn't care and he doesn't see himself as anything but what he is.

Biography:

"Wake up Starling."

Starling rolled over on his bed, resenting the sun for existing. His mother seemed to think that even though his dad was teaching him to control his wolf form all night he could still wake up at the break of day. Such was his life though, so he rolled right off the bed and onto the floor. For a fifteen year old he was large, mostly because of his werewolf blood.

"Good," his little sister, the semi-official messenger of the family, continued as she walked out of the room, "Now get dressed! You really shouldn't sleep naked when mom's having me wake you up."

"Maybe you should just knock from now on," Starling mumbled angrily at the twelve year old's back.

Pulling himself up on the dresser, Starling nearly tipped the object over but still managed to stand alone and dress. The dark green clothes he pulled on were still bloody from the last night, but he didn't care, though he knew his mom would.

"Those aren't clean," his sister Katie told him when he emerged from his room to find her waiting, "Mom says you can't eat if you don't wear clean clothes."

Starling just grunted and headed to the kitchen, passing right through and ignoring his mom's angry face, telling her, "I'm not eating breakfast today ma, dad has some stuff he wanted me to do."

He headed out the door, immediately heading into the woods to find the weapons his dad hid for him to find.

Three years and two days later.....

Starling was dog tired. He'd taken to blaming it on late nights but he knew that wasn't it, it was his sister. She'd been missing for a month now, having gotten lost on her first practice hunt. Usually the Darknine family proved their worth on a first hunt, most of the time this was the first source of honor a werewolf earned but Katie was missing.

To make matters worse Starling's dad refused to let him go out to search for his sister. Today was his birthday, so Starling was being given the family armor to complement his weapons, but after that he was free to do whatever he wanted. The first thing he'd do would try to find his sister, but he had to wait until the next day first.

The thing that disturbed Starling most was the prey that Katie had been given. Usually female werewolves were given weaker opponents than the men, but she had deliberately asked for a hard target, trying to match her big brother's now famous first hunt. Starling had been given the hardest target in the forest, a wild werewolf. These were the strongest, most bloodthirsty werewolves that ever touched the face of the continent, and Katie had been jealous of the prey Starling had chosen so she took the same.

The only real problem with this was the fact that Starling's father had chosen a much weaker target as Katie's prey, telling Starling that he doubted she could handle a more powerful enemy. Starling was worried the first week she had been away, remembering vividly the insanity that the wild werewolf had displayed.

"Dad can I come in yet?" he yelled at his father, slightly irritated that he'd been forced to wait while they made everything their idea of perfect.

"Yea get in here!" was the response he received from his mom, a smile obvious in her voice.

Starling walked into the room slowly, letting his eyes adjust to the bright light from the lanterns. His parents were seated at the rough oak table, each grinning ear to ear like they'd forgotten Katie was gone, but Starling didn't let on that he was angry at them.

"Ok kid eat some dinner then you can have the armor," his dad told him, enjoying the inheritance as much as he hoped Starling would.

Five days later.....

Starling had been tracking his sister for almost five straight days, and despite the exhaustion he knew he was doing the right thing. His father had told him she was dead, and Starling knew he was right, but he fervently hoped he could at least find her body and bury it. The tracking had been slow since Katie had been in wolf form most of her hunt, but Starling could smell blood nearby. He was worried about how large the back he'd been tracking was.

Wild werewolves were usually loners because of their fiercely competitive nature, only unifying during a mating season. Starling knew what this meant, and he still hoped it wouldn't be as horrifying as he knew it could be. Stripping off his clothes, Starling rolled them up and buried them near a tall ash tree so he'd remember where they were. After shifting into wolf form Starling jogged into the midst of the werewolf pack, nearly looking away in disgust. Wolves and humans were everywhere having sex with each other, sometimes in different forms, but Starling only had eyes for one wolf.

His sister, in human form, was being raped by another wolf, a large black wolf nearly half-again as large as Starling himself. Despite how disgusting this should have been to Starling he was still able to notice something imperative: his sister was enjoying herself. Starling wasn't sure how or why but his sister had joined this pack of wild werewolves.

Growling deep in his throat, Starling gained the attention most of the werewolves. They knew who he was growling at, and so did the black wolf. ‘Only a few of the wild werewolves can use magic, and none of them at our level.' His father's words came to Starling just as the wolf shifted into human form.

The man was now easily a head taller than Starling, his muscles bulging out all over his body and his midnight black hair damp and clinging to his neck and shoulders. The werewolf glared at Starling, angry at the interruption in his orgasm, but Starling was furious at the beast and his bloodlust was called deep from within him. He pierced the man with his sky blue eyes, causing him to falter visibly.

Anger...

Fear...

Terror..., Starling thought to himself. This man was feeling the effects of Starling's training. This man was utterly stunned by this young russet werewolf with the threatening glare. Only a pack leader would act this way. Any other werewolf would probably turn tail and run but this man... this man was rising to the challenge.

‘They don't know our weaknesses... that's theirs.' His dad's advise rang in Starlings head again as he shifted to halfway between man and wolf, his arms and legs vaguely human but still obviously wolflike, his paws phasing into a vicious combination of humanoid hands and claws, his feet regaining a hint of human sensitivity but keeping the form of a wolf's hind legs, allowing superior movement and speed. Starling's head and body halted just before becoming human, his body still covered with russet fur, his ears long and furry, his face still wolflike with a snout and sharp teeth.

The wild werewolf had never witnessed what a generation old werewolf male was capable of, what made Starling and his father so powerful. The transformation took mere seconds, and Starling became what only a few have witnessed; Starling became an incarnation of animal courage and power and human intellect and savagery.

The growl Starling had threatened the man with gave way to a snarl when the beast rushed in for the attack. Under the light of the moon Starling was nearly invincible to all but silver, but this man was only a powerful ‘turned', a man whom a werewolf had drawn blood from, and would die easily. Starling immediately lashed out at the wild werewolf's throat as soon as the beast neared him, opening a gash that slowly began to heal itself.

The wild one circled Starling, snarling and spitting like a hurt dog, but Starling kept his cool, ready to kill this... this, beast that had caused him pain. The wild one leapt at Starling again, but he fell on nothingness, and was leapt on by the half-wolf form of Starling. The man was nearly torn to ribbons by the time Starling was through with him and looked to the rest of the pack with blood and strips of the man's flesh oozing from between his teeth and caking onto his fur.

But one of the werewolves was angry enough to attack him. In his bloodlust, Starling took not the time to see who his attacker was but afterwards, when he looked down on his sister's now-mutilated body, he was hurt beyond measure. He'd come to save her, only to find her not only a wild werewolf, but the pack leader's *****.

Ever since that day Starling has been living alone, eating alone, and has never returned to his family's manor. Despite thoughts that he would never feel better about Katie's death, he finally continued on, and now lives among the humans in Mortogh.

Battles:

Halfmoon's Promise
The Sun and Moon
The Moon Hunt

Roleplays:

None as of yet. Feel free to ask me for one!

Good work, and fairly intuitive as well if I may say. I just have somewhat of a problem with the "endless source of dark energy", endless is way too much energy, it should be limited and run out the more he uses it in battle. If you could also add to his personality in terms of his attitude in battle, not just when he's angry, as well as his attitude towards normal humans, I'd be happy.

Another thing is that you say he's stronger than most vampires and young dragons... I'd put it at a similar strenght, but that's okay, I doubt you'll overuse that fact.

Ok, I changed all the problems, and made the strength thing a bit more... tangible.

Okay then, your character is cleared for battle. Make sure you put him to good use.