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Character Name: Cadfael Espeni
Canon: (Old Sabra La Tau)
AU/OC/Previous Game: OC (from an AU of a previous game; but mostly OC)
Age: OLDER THAN YOU WOULD EXPECT
Appearance: Cadfael is young and good-looking, around 18 physically, with brown hair and brown skin. His eyes are gold, and his teeth, particularly his canine teeth, are very white and slightly too sharp. He's tall and well-muscled and basically looks like either someone off a sports team or someone who is a warrior! Notably he has no scars, except for the one associated with his death (which is a lightning scar right down the chest).
Cause of Death: Struck down by gods during an uprising.
Impact of Death: 'THIS IS BALLS' basically. Cadfael always understood that death was a possibility through his whole life, whenever he did anything! However he always sort of thought that dying would be the end, so being brought back - especially brought back by gods in an unfamiliar place when he died rebelling against gods - would make him exceedingly cranky. However! Not cranky enough to try to make an attempt on these Gods - he learned his lesson, man.
References Link: [old SLT Wiki]
Character Info: The 'Old Sabra' subplot of the Sabra La Tau plotline goes like this: Once upon a time there was a world, and then the sun exploded. In a panic, the gods hid everyone under the earth to wait out the sun's wrath in the Sacred City. Obviously the sun's wrath didn't go away - instead, the domed city slowly sunk further and further into the earth. The further it sank, the more likely someone was to wander off and be absorbed by stone themselves - and over time the power the gods had started to weaken and fade out. Eventually, the original group of refugees rose up against the gods in a frantic rebellion, trying to get them to at least pay attention.
This went about as well as frantic rebellions against Gods usually go. The rebellion was quashed, and all the refugees left in the city had their memories removed, made to play in games to provide the gods with power. When enough of them had been killed or eaten by the earth, the gods began to bring other people in to fill their slot - the cycle only ended when the most recent batch of Blanks killed them all and got the hell out.
Cadfael Espeni was one of the original refugees who hid in the Sacred City. He was a very talented shapeshifter due to a core of chaotic wild magic that got lodged in him at birth for whatever reason (maybe his parents offended, or drew the favor of, a god!). He was a citizen of the country of Ursa, living near the border when a war broke out between it and the neighbouring Corvus. Cadfael's particular front of the war was a vicious one. His power manifested early, and he became the leader of a small group who made brutal, but extremely dangerous raids against the opposing country. By the end, the majority of them had died, and Cadfael himself had lost his family - either killed by the enemy or converted by the enemy and killed by Cadfael himself.
Still, because of his efforts - whatever they may actually have been - his battles were a severe blow for the Corvan forces. The war ended in a decisive victory for Ursa.
Following the war he was elevated to General, even though he was very young; while there, he met up with Seren Adastra and became friends with her - friendship that eventually led to him accepting her as a sort of parental authority figure, and in fact his trust in her judgement was almost legendary due to Cadfael's habit of completely disregarding any orders that he thought were poorly made.
And then the sun exploded! Cadfael was one of the major players in moving Ursans into the Sacred City and constructing it, but also in the final rebellion that caused the Gods to rise up and strike them down. In the rebellion, shortly before the mass mindwipe, Cadfael was struck down, either as an example or just because he had been far too irritating to deal with.
A young and charismatic general, Cadfael dealt with the horror of war by pretending he had never witnessed it. While he's often serious, Cadfael won't hestitate to interject a joke in somewhere if he feels the mood is too heavy, or just if he feels like making light of a situation. Often, if he can't defuse a situation with humor, or if he's out of his depth, he'll just remain quiet and listen, waiting for the chance to formulate his own plan based on what he's heard.
Cadfael wouldn't be necessarily described as having a problem with authority, but it is common for him to agree wholeheartedly with a superior's decision, and then when the time comes to carry it out, change his mind and come up with his own plan on the fly. He's extremely determined, sometimes to the point of near-obsession, and when it gets to the point of obsession he usually needs to be forcibly pulled away from whatever task or idea caught his attention.
Because of the latent wild magic that feeds into his shapeshifting, however, Cadfael's nature can shift in odd or sudden ways. Sometimes a pleasant conversation with him could end in him taking offense over a tone of voice or a certain stance and drive the entire thing into a shouting argument, with neither party really knowing why. Sometimes the animalistic nature of his other forms can bleed into his day-to-day behaviour, making him more impulsive and reckless. Usually, these cases can be handled by simply explaining to him what he's doing and giving him time to calm down.
Abilities (after Powercap):
- Cadfael was a shapeshifter! He could take on one form by default and earn others by hunting the animal (or, in theory, human) down and eating their heart. :') Originally that could heal all wounds between shifts to 100%. However, in Thusia that won't be as potent:
He would in theory still be able to gain new forms by hunting things down and eating their hearts, but since that's not exactly the easiest thing to do anyway it kind of works as its own powercap.
- Also! Due to the chaotic nature of his power any magic that attempts to impose order on him (mind control and the like) isss about 50% less effective (with the assumption that 100% is 'what a skilled human could attempt'; god-induced order-magic is probably at like 500% by default).
- On the flip side of that, however, any magic that is chaotic or destabilizing in nature (such as, for example, a spell intended to make the target go berserk or insane) is roughly 150% effective! Since these two balance each other out they don't really get affected by the cap.
Other than that, he'll have slightly above-average physical ability and endurance, and a keen mind for plans and tactics! … But nothing superhuman.
Items Brought In: Nothin'.
Samples:
Introduce yourself in a few sentences.
My name is Cadfael Espeni. I am the youngest ever general appointed in the country of Ursa, and one of the many heroes of the most recent war. It's good to meet you.
Describe yourself physically.
Currently? Human, for one. I'm tall for my age and physically fit. Injuries I recieve do not scar - or they do, but don't make it through the shapeshifting process - so I have no scars. My hair is brown. My eyes are gold. … That's all.
What was your childhood like?
For the most part, it was average. And then I learned I was a shapeshifter and a war started. And then it stopped being average, or even, really, a childhood. It's not like I had time to just wander around and play with things after that.
Who is most important to you, and why?
Seren. Aven. After the war, they were the first people to actually treat me like I was a person, instead of a weapon to be used against people or a trophy to flaunt. It... it was nice. It's nice to have someone who doesn't care about what you've done, but just cares about who you are.
What's your biggest pet peeve?
Pet... peeve... that's difficult. I'd say people who make judgement calls based on faulty information - or no information - or just a gut feeling. It takes a certain kind of talent to be able to work around a faulty judgement call, and most people don't have it... and even if you have it, it's hard. So, yeah. That.
Do you consider yourself an optimist or a pessimist? Why?
I consider myself a realist, although I guess that's not allowed? Pessimist, then. It's way easier to be surprised when you constantly expect the worst than it is to be surprised when you expect the best. It can only be pleasant surprises that way, really.
Where, or how, did you learn your most important skills?
Learn... skills. Well - the most important skills I have weren't learned. I think you can either adapt to things or you can't, and I was born as the kind of guy who adapts to things. That was lucky for me.
Do you think world peace is possible?
No. Humans are just animals, and animals will always fight. Over land or food or resources - anything. At most we could manage an uneasy truce for long enough for all the people who remembered why to die off before we dropped into war again.
I suppose that could be 'yes, if you don't care about anything beyond your lifespan', though.
Do you tend to argue with people, or avoid conflict?
If avoiding conflict means accepting someone else's view on something, even if it's incorrect - why would I want to do that? Obviously I'd argue if it's something important that affects me. Otherwise, I can just ignore it.
What turns you on the most?
What a question. I respectfully refuse to answer.
Anything else you'd like to say?
It's not that I mind answering questions, but what were these ones supposed to prove?
Canon: (Old Sabra La Tau)
AU/OC/Previous Game: OC (from an AU of a previous game; but mostly OC)
Age: OLDER THAN YOU WOULD EXPECT
Appearance: Cadfael is young and good-looking, around 18 physically, with brown hair and brown skin. His eyes are gold, and his teeth, particularly his canine teeth, are very white and slightly too sharp. He's tall and well-muscled and basically looks like either someone off a sports team or someone who is a warrior! Notably he has no scars, except for the one associated with his death (which is a lightning scar right down the chest).
Cause of Death: Struck down by gods during an uprising.
Impact of Death: 'THIS IS BALLS' basically. Cadfael always understood that death was a possibility through his whole life, whenever he did anything! However he always sort of thought that dying would be the end, so being brought back - especially brought back by gods in an unfamiliar place when he died rebelling against gods - would make him exceedingly cranky. However! Not cranky enough to try to make an attempt on these Gods - he learned his lesson, man.
References Link: [old SLT Wiki]
Character Info: The 'Old Sabra' subplot of the Sabra La Tau plotline goes like this: Once upon a time there was a world, and then the sun exploded. In a panic, the gods hid everyone under the earth to wait out the sun's wrath in the Sacred City. Obviously the sun's wrath didn't go away - instead, the domed city slowly sunk further and further into the earth. The further it sank, the more likely someone was to wander off and be absorbed by stone themselves - and over time the power the gods had started to weaken and fade out. Eventually, the original group of refugees rose up against the gods in a frantic rebellion, trying to get them to at least pay attention.
This went about as well as frantic rebellions against Gods usually go. The rebellion was quashed, and all the refugees left in the city had their memories removed, made to play in games to provide the gods with power. When enough of them had been killed or eaten by the earth, the gods began to bring other people in to fill their slot - the cycle only ended when the most recent batch of Blanks killed them all and got the hell out.
Cadfael Espeni was one of the original refugees who hid in the Sacred City. He was a very talented shapeshifter due to a core of chaotic wild magic that got lodged in him at birth for whatever reason (maybe his parents offended, or drew the favor of, a god!). He was a citizen of the country of Ursa, living near the border when a war broke out between it and the neighbouring Corvus. Cadfael's particular front of the war was a vicious one. His power manifested early, and he became the leader of a small group who made brutal, but extremely dangerous raids against the opposing country. By the end, the majority of them had died, and Cadfael himself had lost his family - either killed by the enemy or converted by the enemy and killed by Cadfael himself.
Still, because of his efforts - whatever they may actually have been - his battles were a severe blow for the Corvan forces. The war ended in a decisive victory for Ursa.
Following the war he was elevated to General, even though he was very young; while there, he met up with Seren Adastra and became friends with her - friendship that eventually led to him accepting her as a sort of parental authority figure, and in fact his trust in her judgement was almost legendary due to Cadfael's habit of completely disregarding any orders that he thought were poorly made.
And then the sun exploded! Cadfael was one of the major players in moving Ursans into the Sacred City and constructing it, but also in the final rebellion that caused the Gods to rise up and strike them down. In the rebellion, shortly before the mass mindwipe, Cadfael was struck down, either as an example or just because he had been far too irritating to deal with.
A young and charismatic general, Cadfael dealt with the horror of war by pretending he had never witnessed it. While he's often serious, Cadfael won't hestitate to interject a joke in somewhere if he feels the mood is too heavy, or just if he feels like making light of a situation. Often, if he can't defuse a situation with humor, or if he's out of his depth, he'll just remain quiet and listen, waiting for the chance to formulate his own plan based on what he's heard.
Cadfael wouldn't be necessarily described as having a problem with authority, but it is common for him to agree wholeheartedly with a superior's decision, and then when the time comes to carry it out, change his mind and come up with his own plan on the fly. He's extremely determined, sometimes to the point of near-obsession, and when it gets to the point of obsession he usually needs to be forcibly pulled away from whatever task or idea caught his attention.
Because of the latent wild magic that feeds into his shapeshifting, however, Cadfael's nature can shift in odd or sudden ways. Sometimes a pleasant conversation with him could end in him taking offense over a tone of voice or a certain stance and drive the entire thing into a shouting argument, with neither party really knowing why. Sometimes the animalistic nature of his other forms can bleed into his day-to-day behaviour, making him more impulsive and reckless. Usually, these cases can be handled by simply explaining to him what he's doing and giving him time to calm down.
Abilities (after Powercap):
- Cadfael was a shapeshifter! He could take on one form by default and earn others by hunting the animal (or, in theory, human) down and eating their heart. :') Originally that could heal all wounds between shifts to 100%. However, in Thusia that won't be as potent:
- Healing will not occur 100% between shifts! With the powercap he will heal just to the point where something is non-lifethreatening (or would be non-lifethreatening if he were to immediately sit down and rest). Scars would also remain.
- For example, if he was a tiger and got a limb ripped off, the limb would not regrow when he returns to human. It would, however, seal off the stump and stop bleeding (although it wouldn't heal the stump over completely, and the wound could reopen if agitated).
- Too much shapeshifting is tiring! Non-powercapped he could in theory (assuming the mental strain didn't end him) continue to shapeshift indefinitely off into the sunset. With a powercap that won't be the case, and too many shifts basically result in flopping over and going comatose for a few hours, although with enough focus he could push past it temporarily (in order to finish a fight, for example).
He would in theory still be able to gain new forms by hunting things down and eating their hearts, but since that's not exactly the easiest thing to do anyway it kind of works as its own powercap.
- Also! Due to the chaotic nature of his power any magic that attempts to impose order on him (mind control and the like) isss about 50% less effective (with the assumption that 100% is 'what a skilled human could attempt'; god-induced order-magic is probably at like 500% by default).
- On the flip side of that, however, any magic that is chaotic or destabilizing in nature (such as, for example, a spell intended to make the target go berserk or insane) is roughly 150% effective! Since these two balance each other out they don't really get affected by the cap.
Other than that, he'll have slightly above-average physical ability and endurance, and a keen mind for plans and tactics! … But nothing superhuman.
Items Brought In: Nothin'.
Samples:
Introduce yourself in a few sentences.
My name is Cadfael Espeni. I am the youngest ever general appointed in the country of Ursa, and one of the many heroes of the most recent war. It's good to meet you.
Describe yourself physically.
Currently? Human, for one. I'm tall for my age and physically fit. Injuries I recieve do not scar - or they do, but don't make it through the shapeshifting process - so I have no scars. My hair is brown. My eyes are gold. … That's all.
What was your childhood like?
For the most part, it was average. And then I learned I was a shapeshifter and a war started. And then it stopped being average, or even, really, a childhood. It's not like I had time to just wander around and play with things after that.
Who is most important to you, and why?
Seren. Aven. After the war, they were the first people to actually treat me like I was a person, instead of a weapon to be used against people or a trophy to flaunt. It... it was nice. It's nice to have someone who doesn't care about what you've done, but just cares about who you are.
What's your biggest pet peeve?
Pet... peeve... that's difficult. I'd say people who make judgement calls based on faulty information - or no information - or just a gut feeling. It takes a certain kind of talent to be able to work around a faulty judgement call, and most people don't have it... and even if you have it, it's hard. So, yeah. That.
Do you consider yourself an optimist or a pessimist? Why?
I consider myself a realist, although I guess that's not allowed? Pessimist, then. It's way easier to be surprised when you constantly expect the worst than it is to be surprised when you expect the best. It can only be pleasant surprises that way, really.
Where, or how, did you learn your most important skills?
Learn... skills. Well - the most important skills I have weren't learned. I think you can either adapt to things or you can't, and I was born as the kind of guy who adapts to things. That was lucky for me.
Do you think world peace is possible?
No. Humans are just animals, and animals will always fight. Over land or food or resources - anything. At most we could manage an uneasy truce for long enough for all the people who remembered why to die off before we dropped into war again.
I suppose that could be 'yes, if you don't care about anything beyond your lifespan', though.
Do you tend to argue with people, or avoid conflict?
If avoiding conflict means accepting someone else's view on something, even if it's incorrect - why would I want to do that? Obviously I'd argue if it's something important that affects me. Otherwise, I can just ignore it.
What turns you on the most?
What a question. I respectfully refuse to answer.
Anything else you'd like to say?
It's not that I mind answering questions, but what were these ones supposed to prove?
