Hello! Finally finished my character. I'll be using your particular font template, Yoda. Hope that's alright lol. Here he is:
Caption: Xaltair before the void corrupted him entirely.
Name: Xaltair
Title among Odakkai: Exiled One
Title among Sylvuim: Black Raven
Race: Varan (Sylvuim x Odakkai)
Age: 27
Gender: Male
Hometown: Sa'kyrae City in childhood, Halvir Village in Adulthood
Personality in 5 Words: Obsessive, dreamer, lost, struggling, arrogant
Descriptive Personality:
"The expedition of knowledge is a greater moral achievement than any honorable spirit could ever hope to achieve." Xaltair is a constant seeker of a power beyond his, obsessed with the cosmic power that lies all around him, locked behind mystery and the arcane. He is a seeker of adventure to discover what he did not yet know of himself and prove not only to others but to himself his own worth. He often cares not of loyalty or love and tries to stray from letting his Sylvuim or Odakkai side to make decisions for him, instead depending on his own methods. He often conceals his emotions under cleverness, aloofness, and a spirit of strength that he wears like a masquerade mask. He likes to see himself as above people to exceed what he really thinks of himself, a pathetic halfling.
On the very rare occasion that he does grow close to people, he does it very strongly, and puts them before him, but it is usually for his own gain in the end, for he does not want to be betrayed and seem weak to those around him. The hunger for power ironically sets him often at the same level as the nature he tries to avoid, that being the nature of the emotional human. Underneath his cold, sometimes arrogant exterior, is an emotional soul which is always trying to compete with itself and others to meet expectations and of course the expectations of the race that abandoned him.
Occupation: Apprentice (Formerly)
Mage Spirit: Mage of Dark
History (Get your popcorn ready, this is long): Xaltair was born by accident. Years ago, a weak peasant Sylvuim by the name of Azarath who lived in Halvir Village wandered to the gates of the Yvir'Ilae ruins during desperate times of plague, and returned with the blessing of a very powerful celestial magic that saved the village and blessed it. The village praised him immensely and he was even called a god. However, haunting him in his sleep every night, was the whispers of the Tahlom, who told him that this magic was in no means free, for this magic was merely part of a prophecy he was meant to fulfill. He would give birth to a child of light with an Odakkai mother and raise him to the light or he would fall to the powers of the void, and, what scared him even further, lose his power and reputation, for he did not understand the relevance of the "fall to the powers of the void" line and of course he was greedy. In fear of this happening, he ventured on a journey to Sa'kyrae City to give birth to this child of prophecy. Everyday his power faded more and more, hastening him along. Finally, cloaking himself in the night sky and using wings of moonbeams, every night he would "visit" one Moonborn Odakkai woman in particular, Aerune, who fell in love with his mysterious yet charming self, until finally she became impregnated with a child, Xaltair. (I think mixed breeding is a bit harder to achieve, what with differing genes.) However, the night he discovered of the child, he was overcome with true joy and he accidentally stayed beyond dawn, and he was found out as a Sylvuim, forced to flee back to his village where he knew he would have to grow weak, be exposed as a fraud, and die.
When Xaltair was born, he was viewed as a dark omen. Although mixed breeding was generally acceptable between the two races, Aerune felt betrayed and tricked, and so she viewed Xaltair as a reflection of her own weakness. He always felt inferior to the others, not having all the characteristics of a true Odakkai, and was often scorned by all who knew him as a curse. When he turned 10, Aerune began having nightmares of a great darkness resonating from within him and tearing everything she loved apart, until she could no longer bear the sight of him, and turned to the elders for advice. Unable to hurt one of their own but saddened by the maddened state of Aerune, as well as protective of their own civilization, they issued for Xaltair to be exiled from the city and forced to find refuge somewhere else. He felt hurt that he could never live up to what the proud race expected of him, that he could only bring darkness to the race, and vowed to rise above the dark omen he was to be something more extraordinary, and one day be accepted by himself but most importantly by the Odakkai.
The young Xaltair travelled from village to village looking for knowledge to attain, no longer caring for any sort of warm refuge, only wanting more power, for he viewed magic and knowledge as power beyond any kind of moral, a test of his own self worth. This obsession truly began in Vatar, where he met some mysterious cloaked people who told him stories of a man they consorted with, a god-like man who wielded an extraordinary cosmic power unknown to anyone else. He immediately admired this man and somehow knew he was his father, and swore to seek him in order to learn his great power. At 16, he finally reached the village in question, finding that it had fallen to poverty and was overridden by con-men and witch doctors that tried to ruse him off his destination with the temptations of greater magic, but he had an objective in mind. "This god-like man died years ago when he fled, what a coward. Let me teach you a more tasteful set of abilities!" Xaltair believed none of this. Just when hope was almost lost on his search, he found Proteras (mix of Greek word for father and traitor), a weak, dying old Sylvuim man, who was really Azarath (using his surname unbeknowest to those that knew him) overjoyed to have somehow crossed paths with his son again. His power was shamefully almost completely drained, and as it was now the source of his life, he knew this was fate to take the boy under his wing as his mentor for his own gain, and "raise him to the light." He interpreted this line as passing down the teachings of arcane and celestial magic so he could have it for himself, but he had to keep his identity secret from his son for his own safety. He told the boy he was one of his father's disciples and he would meet him once he was ready in his training.
For 7 years Proteras (Azarath) taught Xaltair the ways of the bending of celestial light and encouraged him to accept his Sylvuim side as well, for it gave him his own unique gifts. When he began training, he even gifted him a staff imbued with an arcane crystal that reflects one's magic spirit. It glowed white, much to Xaltair's unfathomable joy. Xaltair even grew to love his mentor as a father, growing very close to him, even though Proteras was only using him to regain his own magic and god-like immortality. However, everything crumbled apart on Xaltair's 21st birthday, where he accidentally awoke in the middle of the night with the whispers of the Tahlom ringing in his head. They guided him to the woods, where he was shocked to find Proteras leeching the light magic out of his staff. Proteras, cornered, was forced to reveal that he was his father and Azarath. Xaltair grabbed his staff, a feeling of betrayal and heartbreak welling inside of him. He was tricked, he saw the weakness in himself that his mother saw as well, and thus began his hatred of Sylvuim and his Sylvuim side. He pondered on the enraging thought that all of his magic was built on a lie, a lie for the sake of fulfilling an evil man's greed, and also saw this greed reflected in his own magic, for he was always so desperate for something above him, a power greater than his, and so his staff's crystal finally reflected the true nature of his magic and turned black. In the disbelief of how similar he truly was to both of his parents, he accepted who he was at last and smashed the staff's crystal, letting out a void that reflected the very depth of his soul. He took control of this void similar to how he assumes control of his pain and darkness, burying it inside him, and ordered it to devour the cowering, pathetic figure of his weak father. The void also represents his constant hunger for something beyond, and in a way is truly what's beyond the powers of cosmic manipulation, a pool of empty reality... He had broken his Odakkai oath but refused to die, for he had at last separated himself completely from who he was before, changed by the void. He vowed to be stronger than his father ever was and be greater than he ever could've been as an Odakkai.
So, he was now a free spirit and would seek adventure in the great wide world, unchained by any sort of moral code, emotion, or relationship and instead free to live the life he chose. However, unknown to him, the void was slowly eating at his own essence and emotion, since it reflects his own darkness, and underneath was still that young boy who strove to meet the expectations of himself and the race that abandoned him, for you can never truly seize control of your darkness, you can only befriend it and hope it doesn't eat you alive. From that point, everything he did to meet expectation, he did to please his own void, his own judgemental side, and therefore was almost a slave to his own power. No matter how much Xaltair covers his own weakness up, it is still there and its form is the very void.
Relationships:
Azarath Proteras- Father
Aerune Willowsong- Mother
What exactly is the "void?"
I feel the need to explain this because it's confusing even to me. Void is technically the absence of light, which is fitting to Xaltair because he always had an absence of light in his life. It also represents all the doubt and pain that Xaltair had cooped up over the years. The so called "celestial magic" he was learning this entire time was a hoax and this desire to reach the light from both Xaltair and his father can be represented by a void constantly eating away at everything but never being satisfied. A void is empty, a void is deep, but the celestial light was but a disguise for what was always there, Xaltair's destiny to fall to the void. His father thought he was raising Xaltair to the light by teaching him magic and draining it from him, but really he was just raising him towards darkness this whole time, thus completing the prophecy. They both fell to void. Xaltair's father fell to the void literally by being engulfed by it. The truth he tried to avoid this entire time, the truth that he was doing, finally devoured him. And Xaltair fell to the void by accepting the truth as well and not running from his pain, instead seizing control of it in its pure form of nothingness. But he unwittingly grew victim to the void himself, as is explained, and while this gave him power, it had consequences.
Strengths:
Hard Trust: Xaltair does not easily trust others, perhaps due to his elven instinct or maybe his past experience of betrayal. He has a set of requirements for who he does trust and these requirements are met gradually over time.
Leadership: Possessing a more independent yet confident personality, Xaltair is able to proudly lead a group through thick and full and know for certain that where he leads his people, it will get them closer to their destination.
Logical Judgement: Xaltair has learned to have control over his emotions and will not let them cloud his judgement unless extremely dire. As a result, most if not all his decisions are made logically and strategically for the gain of himself and his team.
Hope and Purpose: Xaltair is able to always give himself and those around him a purpose to keep going and fighting, although usually it's for his own purpose, whether it's inner peace of transcendence.
Acceptance of Nature: Xaltair understands very well that dark and light should balance eachother out and accepts the fact that he is on the dark side, not opposing of his destiny. He knows things are meant to die, so he doesn't treat death as a threat like his father did. He knows his dark path is bound to bring him loss, so he accepts the loss. "Soon, it will all be the void and nothing else. I'm ready."
Skills:
Arcane Knowledge: Being obsessed and hungry for more power and knowledge, Xaltair has read many books and therefore has an adept understanding of the ancient world of magic, including identification of relics, runes, and artifacts.
Staff Use: Xaltair manipulates the powers of the void with his staff and has grown to be quite an expert on yielding one, being able to pass his magic through even a tree branch to amplify it, although of course it would break after passing magic through, it being a branch.
Dark Communion: His soul having fallen to the depths of darkness by now, Xaltair is widely accepted by dark magic wielders around the world as one of their league and can effectively influence them. Also, he can communicate to the shadow world between the void and light, possessing a deep emotional understanding of shadows and with enough effort, have an influence on them.
Stealth: Xaltair is able to cloak himself in the power of the void to become invisible to all but the best lookers, allowing him to sneak about to his convenience.
Flute: Xaltair's childhood in Sa'kyrae City has granted him the ability to carve and play haunting, mesmerizing songs on the flute, and as his memories of the city are rather sad, his music reflects this, affecting to mood of who hears it. Hours of it playing can drive him and others who hear it to depression, so he stays away from it, as it links to his past life.
Social Experience: This is similar to Hard Trust in a way. Xaltair is experienced with the political statuses of cities he's travelled through and the nature of different people he encounters. He is able to identify the morals and intent of a person relative to their actions and locations, mostly due to his encounters with smugglers and thieves on his journey.
Weaknesses:
Self-Doubt from Past: At times, Xaltair has to try harder to compete with his own fears and expectations because he is reminded his path as a child and how his own weakness brought him to who he is today. He separates himself from his Sylvuim and Odakkai side as a result to stay his individual self and in control. He doesn't want to start thinking the way he used to, hoping to join the Odakkai and all, for he places himself above that by now.
Void's Consumption: Xaltair let the void be a part of him so day by day, the price of Xaltair's magic is weighed more expensive, for it slowly eats away at what makes him him and tries to get inside his mind and instill fear/dark thoughts, also eating away at his very being.
Arrogant and Cold Nature: To hide his weakness and place himself above others for his own consciousness, but also to avoid betrayal, Xaltair often acts rather distant and arrogant to others.
Selfishness: The constant drive to grow more powerful and reach a state of power yet freedom from his own darkness places Xaltair's priorities often onto his own needs. Many of the things he does are for his overall gain.
Nomadic: Xaltair never sees himself staying in one place whether physically or socially, and always wants to move forward onto something greater and interesting. As a result, he would never be the kind to fall in love and start a family. This is largely because of the 6 years that were spent as a lie with Azarath.
(You said you'd post more about soul abilities later so I'm going to avoid that for now)
Perks:
A Face in the Crowd:
Blend in to the population of most areas.
An Ally in Every City:
Always have help available from the Shepherds of the Void when the Varan symbol is found.
Multilingual:
Understanding of every language and great fluency in Sylvuim/Odakkai.
Star Navigation:
Be able to tell the way to go based on the positioning of the stars.
Distastes:
Hypocrites, liars, cowardice, and from irrational bias, Sylvuim
Preferences:
Exploration, reading, having control, strength
Aspirations:
To master control of the void but find inner peace at the same time. Also, he still, deep inside, wants to live up to what the Odakkai expected of him and prove them wrong.
