December

TDM December

Top-level
-> Mad Sweeney
Coriander Bliss | OC (Ongoing)
Remilia Scarlet | Touhou Project (Ongoing)
Kazuhira Miller | Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker (Ongoing)
Dinah | Queen of Hearts saga (Ongoing)
Morgana Pendragon | BBC Merlin (Ongoing)
Hei | Darker than BLACK (Ongoing)
Ax | Animorphs (Ongoing)

( PLAYER ★ INFORMATION )

NAME: Alex
AGE: Over 18
CONTACT: aleeeeeeex

( CHARACTER ★ INFORMATION )

DOES THIS CHARACTER MEET SKELETAL BASICS? Yes.
NAME & AGE: Most commonly known as Kylar Stern | ~20-21
CANON & CANON POINT: Night Angel trilogy | End of Shadow’s Edge (book 2)
CANON INFORMATION:
Wiki article for Night Angel trilogy



PERSONALITY: “I knew this kid, small kid, nothing to look at. Someone picked on him once, and he flew at the guy like he’d lost his mind.”

“Did the little kid win?”

“He got destroyed. But no one picked on that little kid again, because he approached every harassment as if his life depended on winning. There are no rules in a fight with him. He didn’t care how badly he got hurt. He would win.”

Azoth originally apprenticed under Durzo Blint for the sake of gaining strength and power. He was tired of being weak and incapable of defending himself and those he cared for and saw the fearless wetboy legend Durzo Blint as an idol. Durzo offered Azoth another way, another life that wouldn’t involve murder but Azoth refused to take it. He simply didn’t want to be afraid anymore and becoming a wetboy seemed to be the only way to do so.

Weakness and fear have left Kylar since then. He considers Azoth to be dead; a necessary evil so that the stronger Kylar Stern could live. Despite the strength and power he has gained he is never opposed to attaining more or showing off what he has. Sometimes he will display his capabilities for no greater reason than to prove he can do it. Before being brought to trial for murdering Queen Graesin, a guard hit him. Kylar politely asked the guard not to hit him again, but the guard didn’t listen; so Kylar then disappeared, broke his manacles, stole the Captain’s keys and then appeared outside of his cell, the door locked with the guards still inside. Afterward he allowed the men to put manacles back on him again. He had no intention of escaping he just wanted to prove he could, and maybe avoid being slapped by idiot guards.

When Kylar fights, he fights with abandon, not giving a damn if he loses his life or not which makes a difference in battle and allows him to take risks in timing that can be the difference between life and death. Consistently he pushes his limits and despite broken ribs, or a leg, or even missing limbs he’ll try to keep fighting and win.

As Garuwashi pushed aside the falling tree, Kylar thought. He only had one thing Lantano Garuwashi didn’t. Well, aside from invisibility.

~Oh, don’t use that! It wouldn’t be fair!~

And Kylar is a dirty fighter, too. He knows how to fight fair and sometimes even attempts to fight fairly should the opponent deserve it (such as if he respects his opponent, or in a duel not to the death), but with a kick to the groin and an elbow to the back of the neck things would just be so much easier. He fights to win and often to kill, not to be kind and respectful. The faster the deader is dead, the better. He’s learned the hard way not to hesitate, and if anything he kills before giving matters a second thought. Now, it’s costing him in a different direction: slitting throats when he should be doing interrogations for information.

He’s terribly impulsive but not exactly a quick temper. He’s sarcastic and holds grudges where needed (all that judgment sits somehow) for certain, but it takes a lot to piss him off. Wielding guilt against him, manipulating him, or betrayal are certain ways to get on his bad side (personal bad side, not necessarily occupational). Momma K was the closest thing to a mother figure he’s had and she betrayed him and Durzo once. By honor of a wetboy it was his duty to end her life for the betrayal. So, he poisoned her, questioned her, in the end he left her with an antidote, and the choice to end it all or wallow in her own guilt. That’s Kylar handling an occupational discrepancy. But that’s not even Kylar being angry, that’s just him dealing with business. Angry? Well, good luck. There’s light hearted anger and frustrations, when he’s mocked by friends or dug at, and then there’s the possibility of rage. When he’s in a rage he focuses on his goal and sprints to it without thinking, potentially leaving total destruction in his wake if anything bothered to get in his way.

That sort of situation is almost when he works at his best, though without emotions clouding things. He’s better off on his feet and in the middle of chaos, but that doesn’t always mean he makes good decisions amidst the chaos or outside of it. He has poor judgment more times than not: sometimes it costs him an arm, while other times it costs others’ lives. He learns from his mistakes, but it’s been a terribly slow process for someone trained vigorously to avoid all error. Kylar is awful at thinking outside of the box unless it’s the most obvious and practical method available to him. Even as far as his abilities are concerned, he’s barely tapped onto the surface and he often needs every capability explained to him before he considers it possible. One example is the ka’kari telling him that he can use the ka’kari itself as a way to cut things. Kylar shapes it into a knife but doesn’t consider simply coating his body with it and becoming the knife himself. It cost him the arm. Another time, Durzo explains to Kylar the possibility of reshaping bone structure, but Kylar only applies it for general appearances and doesn’t consider the fact that he could have wings if he honestly wanted to. It cost him some broken ribs, hip, and shoulder alongside a dash of bruised ego.

Garoth was in high spirits. “I could use a bit of a warm-up myself. What do you say, Kylar? Want to fight a ferali?”

“I don’t actually have a choice, do I?”

“No.”

“Well, then, golly. I’d love to fight a ferali, Gare.”

Despite the mistakes though, the Night Angel can be a cocky and arrogant child. Kylar knows his strengths and refuses his weaknesses more often than not. Kylar doesn’t panic like a normal person panics. A lack of breath for a moment and then he’s back to his usual thinking methods: trying to figure out ways to overcome whatever obstacle was thrown at him to cause him to panic in the first place. Even with cards stacked against him and odds incredibly slim, he finds a way to smirk and mock his opponents, as he does with his impending fight against the Godking. He’s perfectly fine with mocking himself as well and is always sarcastic especially in the face of his mistakes or when he knows he’s digging his own grave. His frequent visits with death, both in murder and his own failures, has made him easily laugh about grim situations or death itself. His sense of humor is definitely dark, though oddly he’s capable of turning it into a light joke as if death were something similar to mocking a noble who used the wrong fork at a dinner table. He wouldn’t actually mock a noble at a dinner table though—he can barely grasp the different salad forks himself.

He’s tried though, the nobility and forks thing. Kylar Stern is sort of a baron, though his papers and all his background information is a forgery and a lie worked up to help him make fast friends with a Duke’s son, Logan (who eventually became his best friend and hopeful King). Kylar has a lot of lies, a lot more secrets, and has become a master at deceiving, even himself to a point. He’s Nameless regardless of how much he’s been clinging to his identity as Kylar Stern; it is a fake and he is well aware he cannot remain Kylar forever. The deception shouldn’t be taken as a reason for lack of trust, on the contrary, Kylar is as loyal as it comes when he cares for someone, but he has no trouble lying to their faces if it’s for the best. Ignorance is bliss; he’d never want others to bear the burden of his lies.

The black ka’kari actually chose Kylar because of his loyalty to others, or more specifically his unconditional love for others. Which is disturbingly ironic when considering his occupation. He’s an orphan, grew up in a filthy guild and pretty much on the streets. He’s never had family and has a longing to be loved like a kicked and starving puppy (that murders people). So he values his friendships and allies with a fierce and literally undying nature even when he knows love will be his undoing. Durzo himself has said that if relationships are ropes then love is a noose. Despite being the Judge he doesn’t usually use it against the people he cares for unless asked to, and even then he sometimes holds reservations. Some people are above his judgment, though few and extremely far between.

Even with undying loyalties and love though, he’s not very compassionate and he rarely heeds others’ advice and pleas. He’s just downright stubborn and refuses to give up on nearly anything he puts his mind to, rarely can he be dissuaded and usually he’s dissuaded literally by force rather than with words. He’s not necessarily defiant, defiance isn’t his intention in the least, he just chooses his path and refuses to look any other direction but straight ahead despite other roads being far easier and less costly. When Logan advises Kylar to not kill Terah Graesin (despite its meaning Logan will be King) or else Logan will be forced to take action against him, Kylar still goes ahead with the murder and even tells Logan of his potential plans beforehand. To top that off Kylar takes the blame for the murder when it would have been easy to blame another. Furthermore allows Logan to properly go through with executing him even though he could easily escape and even when Logan himself sends out a contract for a wetboy to save Kylar from his cell, doing all this just to make Logan look like a fair and lawful King. But the point is Kylar still went ahead with it knowing full well how it would end because he considered this murder to be the right choice and justified. Not even the pleas of his friend Logan, or Count Drake who had offered to legitimately adopt Kylar as yet another potential redemption less than an hour before the murder could stop him. His hands are already dirty, a little more grime never hurt and he’s not one to take others’ integrity down with his own.

He’s not a “Consequences be damned” kind of guy, he’s a “Bring on the consequences” kind of guy. While there is a tremendous amount of self-loathing and guilt for what he does and has done, there is also a greater level of appreciation for justice. Azoth, Jarl, and Doll Girl never had justice served to their abusers; they had to make their own. Now, Kylar is doing just that, becoming the necessary evil to take out the greater evil. It is still an act of taking life and therefore, as so many are convinced to remind him, wrong. But even when justice turns to him and against him there is still an amused appreciation for the power it holds and the balance it establishes when before there was none. While Kylar is still trying to find his way and purpose with his new found immortality, he’s finding that playing the role of the Judge is a fitting start.



COURT ALLIANCE & REASONING:
“Kid, every place I’ve turned left, you’ve turned right, and now you want me to tell you your destiny? Would it mean anything to you if I told you?”

Kylar said, “It would tell me where to turn right.”

Kylar is Unseelie. He is impulsive and does what he feels to be right despite consequences or others’ wishes. He is loyal to his beliefs first and foremost, regarding others’ demands, orders, and pleas second, if at all. Even when he practices obedience it is often by his terms, stretching the limits of said obedience to the edge. When Kylar is ordered never to see Doll Girl again, he obeys only to an extent, helping her setup a new life and even providing for her and stalking her for a decade to come but without any intentional face-to-face interactions.

He is also grandly stubborn when it comes to accepting an unwanted fate. He is far more likely to fight against it, questioning and searching for alternatives however outrageous they may be. When told by a prophet that he must kill Durzo or a coup will occur, Kylar refuses to act. It is less for lack of trust against the prophet and more for simply refusing to accept that such a prophecy could be true and such an action should be necessary.

Lastly, Kylar is power-hungry. Even when Azoth was offered another way of life without murder and death, Azoth refused because he wanted to not know fear and he wanted the strength to back it up. He needed control, both of his strength and his own life.



ABILITIES: Kylar is a Night Angel, a ka’karifer, holder of the black ka’kari, the Judge, and immortal.

Kylar is a trained killer, or wetboy which is basically an assassin with magic (A.K.A. Talent). His name Kylar actually means to kill and be killed.

He is most skilled with daggers and swords, but he’s trained with every weapon imaginable (although he’s awful with a crossbow). Even in hand to hand combat he can kill a man quickly without even blinking an eye and never with hesitation. He is knowledgeable with herbs and poisons, understanding dosages that border a cure and death. He’s cautious to a paranoid point, capable of waking up and scanning his surroundings for traps, escape methods, and potential weapons in an instant, as well as how to use his surroundings to his advantage in a fight. He can pick locks and setup and disarm traps. He might be called a master of the shadows, but he’s a bit of a cheater.

Kylar’s Talent or magic ability is immense. He doesn’t even fully understand it and he is far from grasping its full potential. With Talent in mind, he can become completely invisible, alter his face, even his body’s bone structure (though it hurts like hell and takes a lot of time), create illusions, and see in the dark. Punch with the strength of ten men and leap and run ridiculous distances. He can shroud himself or objects with barriers that prevent sound from traveling; silencing his every movement. And he can see and recognize magic from a distance as well as heal at an incredible rate, whether his injuries are from poison or broken bones.

With the black ka’kari, also known as the Devourer or Sustainer, his Talent increases and his potential expands. As a ka’karifer, Kylar needed the black ka’kari to tap his Talent. Although now that he has bonded with the black ka’kari, it having become part of his own physical structure, he can be a great distance from it and still wield it and his Talent. Previously, he had the Talent, a deep glore vyrden (think magical reservoir) but no way to tap into it. The black ka’kari created a bridge, allowing him to use his Talent. Having bonded with the Sustainer, Kylar is immortal. Not invincible. He can still die, but within about two days he comes back to life, though at the cost of another’s life (at this point in his canon, however, he is unaware of its cost). He is also known as the Judge, bringing the ka’kari to his eyes and judging those he sees. He can tell when someone is good or evil to their very core, how many innocents they’ve killed or saved. All their bad deeds and good he can look upon. But once he judges someone, should he find them guilty, he feels compelled to rid the world of them.

The Devourer gets its name for a reason: it devours things when it isn’t Sustaining them (it really just sustains Kylar’s life, you could say). It’s also the ka’kari known for its ability to conceal itself. It holds no particular shape and Kylar can make it cover his entire body like armor, shape it as a sword, a hand, or distort his features into a fearsome creature. Only issue is, it eats away everything but the person its bonded with; clothes, and weapons included, unless they possess a magical quality and are of high make (Retribution being one such weapon). It can also eat and absorb magic, giving Kylar the energy instead. If he coats his body with it, it becomes not only armor but a weapon in and of itself. He can use it as claws and scale slick polished stone walls or simply as a dagger. Perhaps the only set back is the occasional berating sass and sage advice the ka’kari decides to share with Kylar. Yes, it talks, but only in his head, of course.

Despite all of the ka’kari’s capabilities of concealment, however, Kylar himself is not completely undetectable even while invisible. Those with a significant level of Talent can detect and even see his outline without difficulty, sort of like seeing a large concentration of compounded magical energy (naturally this can be applied across other canons and the like).

As far as potential ability nerfs are concerned, while I would like Kylar to remain bonded with the ka’kari since it is part of his own physical form, I wouldn’t be opposed to limiting its capabilities. Often, the ka’kari is doing several things at once, such as creating illusions while keeping Kylar invisible and forming weapons and armor for him all at the same time. Instead, this can be limited to one action at a time rather than an array of multitasking. At his current canon point Kylar is also missing his right arm (his sword arm, no less), so the ka’kari will mostly be utilized for making up the arm he doesn’t have and counteracting a loss of balance.

On top of the usual detection of magic while he is invisible, the ka’kari would also not be able to cloak his shard in any way.

While I would like to keep the mechanics behind his immortality as I believe it would be a potentially fun player plot, I can understand completely if it needs to be nerfed. I am less concerned with the possibility of him losing his shard and more enthused at the usual way the ka’kari would absorb others’ lives to bring back Kylar. The way that the ka’kari works is that it would devour a loved one’s life energy and transfer it to Kylar, killing the loved one in the process. Canonically, the effects aren’t immediate and said loved one can live nearly three months after Kylar’s initial death, but eventually they would die. This would obviously be done only with the agreement of another player, were they interested in such a player plot at all. Naturally, I don’t expect them to lose their shard from this but instead be knocked unconscious or seemingly dead for two days or whatever the player wished (even tying in with hiatus or drops, depending). I was also thinking that since life expectancy triples that Kylar would only need a third of the usual energy he’d zap, which could easily suffice for an explanation of the loved one not dying and keeping their shard. What I was thinking made the most sense would be if Kylar accidentally died from something silly (like jumping out a tower window, or poisoning himself, oops) for him to return to life from the ka’kari’s effects, so long as his shard remains untouched and intact. Were he to be killed in battle or his shard taken, however, then Eachdraidh game mechanics would come into play, he’d lose his shard, the ka’kari’s efforts being void.

Obviously, feel free to let me know if any of that doesn’t work, or needs some adjustments.



INVENTORY:
Wetboy greys
A mistarille earring
Minus one (1) right forearm

( WRITING ★ SAMPLES )

NETWORK SAMPLE: Network post from TLV

LOG SAMPLE:
Wetboys always had a plan B. When plan B failed they would then fall onto a plan C, followed by D. They were never without resources, never without an escape route, and always recalculating their actions to consequences. Kylar, however, had none of that now. His reassurance to himself was simply that he didn’t need it, he could think fine on his feet and at the very last second. But they could all be easily boiled down to mere excuses. One mistake is all it takes. Excuses didn’t help a wetboy avoid death. The grim disappointment Durzo would have held would be etched on his face, it didn’t take any length of imagination to guess that. What a waste, he’d say as he hopped around Kylar’s corpse nimbly and opened the same door Kylar stared at now with great ease while Kylar had failed. As if there were no traps, no locks upon it. Just quick clicks; lock, unlock, lock and he’d be in with little more than a shake of the head in remorse.

Well, Durzo wasn’t here, the door wasn’t open, and Kylar wasn’t dead – yet.

First, he checked for traps. Wires, cleaner than average floor boards, even slightly loosened hinges could be signs for a quick demise. For better or worse, Kylar found nothing out of the ordinary. First attempt cleared then, he took out his lockpicks. It only occurred to him now the difficulty maneuvering a pick would be when one only had one hand. It would be an unnecessary and challenging experience he really didn’t need. Luckily for him, willing the ka’kari into the shape of a hand only took a moment. Truly, what would he have done without it: used his teeth? That could probably work.

Usually when one intended to place a trap they did so in at least three tries. By the fourth, they would have given up, often by the time the door was ajar. Kylar checked for the second round of traps as he placed the lockpicks in place, the black metal hand cooperating just as well as his own flesh. Were this lock rigged with a trap he could easily lose an arm. Not too much of a problem at this point, though one arm lost a lifetime was a good enough quota for him.

Clicks sounded safely from the lock’s chamber. No explosions, or darts thus far was a good sign. When the last satisfying click sounded he checked one last time, examining the knob of the door, the hinges yet again, and removing the picks as slowly and steadily as a metallic hand could.

Nothing.

He sighed relief as he pushed the door open, making as little contact with the knob as possible. Then it sounded. Fwip, fwip fwip – shink. A latch on the inside tipped into place when the door opened and sent darts shooting through the crack in the door. Instinct had him moving to the side and away, a last second consideration. Stopped after the third attempt, huh? Few bothered with a fourth try, but Kylar could think of one. Figures.

Now, his mind stepped back to the door knob even as he took a cautious step into the room before him. That wasn’t covered in contact poison, was it?

Critique

We all know how this works. I hope. Here is where you can let me know how you think I am managing Kylar, or whatever he goes by these days.

This is like when you spot mustard on someone's face but you don't want to embarrass them so you don't tell them. So EVERYONE ends up seeing that damned mustard spot. You could have spared them a lot of trouble if you just let them know about that mustard, you know? Well, think of my HMD like that. So please don't be shy or worry about my feelings when something seems wrong. You're actually doing me a big favor.

Anyways, if you love him, let me know. If you think something is wrong also let me know. But please if you find something amiss; attach a link so I know the specifics and can get a better feel for where I went awry and how I can improve my characterization for him.

As always, thank you!