Beware da' thunda'!
GENERAL
Name: Ivan Zahariev
Age: 21
Gender: Male
Race: Human
Guild: Silver Crux
Current occupation: Silver Crux Guild Mage
Former occupation: Wanderer
Alias (as given by other wizards/clients): "Lightning's Flash"
Alias (as given to himself by himself): "The Thunder King"
Tier:
AA
Birthday: 28/12
Zodiac Sign: Pisces
PERSONAL/MENTAL
Guild Mark/Location: On his palm
Appearance:
Slightly long, light black hair, scruffy beard and moustache that have seldom, if ever, had a close encounter with a razorblade. I mean, who has the time, while being constantly on the road, right?! Thick, dark eyebrows, and lively blue eyes look at you, usually coming along with either a mischievous half-smile or a "I'm tired of this shit" facial expression. He would usually wear a simple black shirt (don't ask how that smells after a week on the road!) and a traveller's cloak. But what's with the suit, then? Well, you see, after becoming a member of the esteemed Silved Crux, Ivan decided he needed to look the part. After all, an AA class mage from one of the most respectable guilds of Fiore ought to look respectable and professional when meeting his clients. I mean, he is representing both himself and the guild by doing so, right?
Personality:
He's pretty chill.
Unlike most mages of Fiore, Ivan is not out there looking for a fight, or to prove himself, although he is actively looking for new and unknown things or items of lore, which do happen to often carry danger. Many a folk say they never back away from a challenge, but unless absolutely compelled to by circumstances, Ivan is more than happy to walk away from a fight, back down from a challenge or look for some form of reconciliation. This habit of his had left many smaller guild wizards in speechless awe, as a highly ranked member the esteemed Second Pillar would happily concede defeat in the challenge they've extended, without even fighting. "I give up, you would definitely win. Could you please let me just walk away now?" is what he'd often say before strolling off.
Ivan is not one to hold grudges and not one to uphold some fictive personal honour, he can be misjudged as meek or even cowardly by the inexperienced beholder and, as long as that doesn't really affect him seriously, he couldn't care less.
Most people in a guild, let alone a highly esteemed guild as his, would put their heart and soul in that guild, but Ivan's not like that: he would, of course, fight for his guild if needs be, but he doesn't really feel a deep connection to the members of Silver Crux – for him being a member is more of a status thing, something that gives him a chance to explore his passion while making a buck in the same time. It also removes lots of obstacles from his daily life, for which he repays with good work. Nevertheless, it's more of a professional relationship, not even close to a family.
If so far Ivan might have seemed a little stiff and by the book, that is only because he sees those things as unimportant drag in his daily existence. What he's really involved with is exploring the world, meeting strange new people and creatures as well as uncovering secret lore of magic and folk. He's the embodiment of wonderlust and can talk for hours of his travels and future destination plans. After all, why is life worth living if not for exploring the splendour of the world!
Strengths:
High physical endurance, good at both melee and ranged combat, excellent intuition and perception
Weaknesses:
Speed: All of Ivan`s spells, apart from Thunder Strikes Twice, are skillshots that need to be aimed, and therefore can be dodged by a swift and skilled opponent, terrible sense of direction, gross overestimation of his personal power, lack of significant bonds with his guild
Talents:
Climbing, walking vast distances, drinking, negotiating
Fears:
Nothing and no one! No, for real, he's not really "afraid" of this per se, but he strongly prefers not to disappoint his family and not to betray the lessons they taught him and, as such, he is quote on quote afraid of becoming a fighter, as in someone who keeps fighting for the sake of fighting and gets addicted to gathering power and using it on others. Not that he had been in any danger of doing it, just something constantly in the back of his mind.
Inabilities:
He's a talentless piece of shit when it comes to any sort of art, which is part of the reason for his failure as a blacksmith. Not only that, but he also lacks any appreciation for most, if not all forms of art apart from some rare instances of heroic literature. He is more than likely to mock and openly make fun of different forms of art or the people who do appreciate it and call them names for it.
Allies/Enemies: TBD
PHYSICAL/MAGICAL
Ability: Thunder magic (caster/holder type)
Spells:
those types reflect the Static Charges that his other spells can afflict and what can be done with them.
Static charge: Each of Ivan's spells THAT MANAGES TO HIT, applies a Static Charge to the enemy and/or the ground or any other inanimate objects they hit. Static charges can also be accumulated on himself in the same way. When Thunderschild is activated, Ivan's melee attacks also stack a Static charge each, as thunder is flowing through him. Those static charges can stack up to a total of six on an enemy and three on him. Static charges are almost unfelt by the target that has contracted them, until enough are amassed, at which point they may see small yellow sparks around themselves at times. A Static Charge can be dispelled either with a very powerful spell, or by releasing a large amount of magical energy to cleanse one's body.
Static Charge may be dispelled with a powerful thunder-type grounding spell, time-reversing Lost magic, Wish spell or a very high-level cleansing spell. Alternatively, if the person is affected with more than one Static Charge, they can expel raw magical power, in an amount equal to or greater than the amount of static charges they need to dispel. Dispelling a static charge in such a way would cause a mild electrocuting effect. The system for calculating both the energy needed to be spent and the damage taken is as follows:
2-3: low, low power, low damage
3-4: medium power, medium damage
5-6: high power, medium damage
Active charge: Ivan releases a small charge which begins to fly towards the nearest enemy. The speed is not great, approximately similar to a fit person's walking pace, but it ramps up, as it approaches its target. If it hits, it deals little to no damage, depending on the enemy's endurance, but it applies two Static Charges.
Living charge: Ivan can consciously choose to explode the Static Charges from enemy(enemies) around him, dealing AoE damage in a large radius and applying little to no damage, depending on the enemy(enemies)'s endurance, as well as a Static Charge to each enemy hit.
Overcharge: Upon contracting four Static Charges, Ivan can choose to activate them and get the target stunned, or otherwise rendered incoherent for five seconds. While Overcharged, the target cannot move, speak or cast spells.
Hypercharge: Unpon contracting 6 Static Charges, the target has received so much foreign electrical energy as a field around it, that it messes with the normal electrical impulses of the body. The target's movements slow down dramatically and it's feet become unable to move.
Electrical field: Upon placing a total of seven electrical charges on the ground around a certain area, an electric field is created between them, however small it may be. Any target that enters the field instantly destroys it, gaining 1 static charge and receiving low to medium danage in the process.
Casting types: These spells consume most energy, but apart from their energy requirement, they are only limited by how rapid he can make the gestures required for them. Each spell requires a specific motion in order for it to happen and some need channeling.
Lightning whip: Ivan swiftly cracks a long Lightning Whip across the floor, inflicting Static charge to enemies in front of him and dealing moderate damage. This effect can be avoided by avoided by jumping over it. Long range skill.
- Casting motion: opening his hand and making a whipping motion across the floor, the whip is almost literal material things, so it is visible.
Thunderlord's decree: Ivan calls forth the clouds in the sky to assemble at his chosen location, dealing a devastating lightning strike at the chosen location after a short period of time. This applies a Static Charge, unless Thunder Strikes Twice is used to pinpoint it, in which case it consumes a Static Charge instead of giving one, when hitting. Extremely long range skill.
- Casting motion: closing his arm into a fist and bringing the fist from up to down.
Thunder strikes twice: If the target is afflicted with at least one
Static Charge, then Ivan can choose to pinpoint the next
Thunderlord's Decree towards that target, consuming the charge upon the direct hit. After the delay, when this spell lands, its speed is literally the speed of the electrical charge connecting (sub-light speed), so dodging would be insanely difficult. Nevertheless, if the target does manage to somehow move faster than the speed of the connecting charge, it would be possible to dodge. Keep in mind, though, it is literally a lightning falling from the sky, which directly pinpoints towards the target's location, even if the latter is moving, so it should be near impossible to avoid. Even if the target was to stealth, hide or even clone itself, the spell always follows the Static Charge, so it can not be fooled like this. Same would go for a teleport spell, unless the replacement is literally done in the very moment before the thunder hitting. Blocking it off, on the other hand, is far more realistic, although it would require a very, very powerful spell to stop or to absorb such a hit. Think, for example, of Jura's Earth Defender vs Gerrard's Chariot spell in the grand magic tournament.
- Casting motion: Same as Thunderlord's Decree, but after that his hand points towards the chosen enemy.
Burnt Flesh: after taking a direct hit from
Thunderlord's Decree, the target experiences a searing pain from the place the lightning had struck flesh, which can go as far as to incapacitate the more fail characters. The area is burnt-out and, unless healed properly, is more vulnerable to further attacks, while weakening the body around the entire spot.
Deflect lightning: Ivan can absorb any lightning effect and, after retaining it for a portion of a second, shoot it back towards an enemy. As wide a range as the lightning he had received.
- Casting motion: using one hand to receive the lightning and another one to throw it. Also involves rapid inhaling when receiving and exhaling when discharging. Ivan gains a Static Charge in the process.
Lightning bolt: A lightning bolt, dealing low to medium damage, depending on the velocity and the endurance of the target, forms in Ivan's hand, so he can throw it an enemy. Long ranged skill.
- Casting motion: the same motion as with throwing a snowball.
Bouncing thunder: Ivan discharges an array of lightning rays, each weaker than a lightning bolt, but jumping a number of times from enemy to environment and back to an enemy, prioritising targets afflicted with Static Charge.
- Casting motion: Extending a hand forwards for a few seconds.
Purge: After a channelling period, Ivan summons a powrful lightning storm which hits all enemies in his sight and around him, with very powerful lightnings coming from the sky. There is no limit in the number of enemies which can be hit.
- Casting motion: Requires complete concentration and at least fifteen second of channelling, with both hands extended upwards towards the sky.
Lightning ball: Ivan discharges a flying ball of thunder, which shoots out lightning bolts around itself periodically at random directions. Requires channelling for a few seconds. The ball itself can also collide with an enemy, afflicting them with a Static Charge, but dealing little to no damage. It moves at a slow speed and shoots more lightning bolts the bigger it is.
- Casting motion: He places his two hands against each other, channelling and charging the ball, slowly expanding the radius of his hand, thus enlarging the ball. It can be as big as he decided to make it.
Overwhelming power: Ivan consumes all Static Charges from the battlefield, effectively restoring his magical power, for either a small, medium or large amount of energy, depending on the amount of charges scattered.
- Casting motion: A prolongued inhaling motion, with both of his hands open around his chest.
Physical types: While not particularly draining, with the exception of Fury of the Thunder, of course, these spells require, grand or use Static Charges that are applied to himself.
- Thunderchild: Ivan imbues his body with the power of thunder, granding him a large bonus in endurance, strength, dexterity and speed. He also gains a Static Charge when activating this ability. Ivan's melee strikes while Thunderchild apply Static Charges upon hit. While Tunderchild is active, Ivan can wield Thunderbolts and Lightning Whip as weapons, instead of casting or trowing them at an enemy. This means he can use this as an alternative melee spellcasting method. Since he is holding the electric charge as a weapon, it can also be used to parry or block melee weapons. When used for this (to parry or block a melee weapon), the hit is being grounded by the weapon's halt therefore no static charge is gained by the enemy.
- Thunder rider: Ivan needs to consume at least two Static Charges (3 for a slightly longer effect) and already be in the Thunderchild state, in order to activate this ability. Once active, his speed is incredibly enchanted (like, insanely enhanced, think the speed of the lightning falling, even before the thunder is heard) and he gains the ability to fly. His limps literally flow on lightning. That state is extremely taxing on his magical energy pool and can only be maintained for about a minute than a minute.
- Gone with a bang: Ivan transforms himself into a lightning, gaining a Static Charge in the process and can fly for a short amount of time. His speed is the same as the speed of a falling lightning, but he cannot cast other spells while in this state. If Ivan hits an enemy, the enemy instantly gains a Static Charge and is pushed back, but little damage is received, unless especially physically frail or susceptible to lightning spells.
- Electroshock therapy: Ivan can voluntarily electrocute himself, thus effectively cleansing himself from any impairing effects, be they related to movement (snares, slows, etc.) or mind (illusions, fears, charms, linking magic, etc.). He receives a little damage and gains a static charge in the process. If there is a friend or foe in immediate proximity or making physical contact with him while he casts this spell, they acquire the same effects as Ivan, though the damage may be amplified, depending on their own resistances and weaknesses.
- Lightning shield: Ivan calls forth a lightning barrier in a short range around his body, which costs energy to maintain, but it also slows the attack speed and a applies Static Charge to each enemy that enters it. If the enemies stay inside longer, they get another static charge applied and so on. Ivan can choose to empower the shield to deal medium damage to the enemies, at the expense of using more of his magical power, of course.
- Discharge!: Ivan releases a small electrostatic explosion around himself, effectively losing all his Static Charges, but applying one Static Charge to each enemy hit in a medium area around his body. Also applies low to medium amount of damage.
Weapons:
A single, large, hard iron crowbar – it doesn't look like something he's skilled at using, just a slightly rusty iron piece he probably picked up from some junkyard somewhere, strapped in a custom-made leather handle, resting on his back. Some would say that handle has more worth than the object itself.
Charms:
Silver Crux insignia, hanging on a silver thread from his neck
Armor:
For some reason, armoured boots.
OTHER:
I've been told I could add a theme song, therefore:
History:
--------- (5 years ago) ---------
"Mum, dad…" Ivan had paused for dramatic effect, the pause being exacerbated by the long time it took him to swallow the big chunk of meat he had gorged himself on before beginning to speak "…I think you both know what this is about." He finished and looked at them decisively, while demonstratively wiping the rich, brown grease on his pants.
"Mhm." – his mother's silver voice courteously confirmed, as she was chewing on a potato
"Yeees. You want to leave our home, huh?" – his father joined his wife with a deep, husky voice
They both had given those exact same replies as often as Ivan had raised the issue, but this was the first time that the young boy felt his parents were actually taking him seriously. Valchan Chernev was looking at him, judgingly, underneath his large, hairy eyebrows, smiling nefariously, as if he was measuring his offspring. Maria Cherneva had also graced her son with an ominous half-smile.
"But what is going to become of my blacksmith business? Without an heir my workshop will surely perish, is that what you want for my legacy?" – Valchan spoke in a deliberately thin voice that resembled a saddened half-cry, but it was clear to everyone in the table that the father was only jokingly pretending, as opposed to being truly saddened.
"Maya can take care of it! She has more talent than me anyways." Ivan hastily shot out the same rebuttal he had given a thousand times already
"But you are our firstborn son, how are we ever going to live should something happen to you?" Maria also joined her husband's pretend lament
"Nothing is going to happen to me. I'm not going to deliberately run into danger, I will-" but he failed to finish the sentence, as Ivan spoke out:
"Then what are you going to be doing exactly? Why do you want to be a wizard?" – Valchan sounded serious this time, for the first time since the start of the conversation
"I…" Ivan paused, unprepared for what to say
"I don't know yet. But I have this power for a reason, I want to see it grow. I want to see what I can accomplish with it."
"No." his father solemnly said and took a sip out of the now cold chicken soup in front of him "
You don't want to "explore your power". You want to grow your power. In other words: you want to go fight and you want to go out of this town, because there is nobody for you here to fight. What?" he briskly rose his tune of voice
"Do you think I didn't know about how you trashed the neighbourhood kids in your little magical battles?"
"Dad, I… It's not about that…" he said quickly, his voice losing traction the further he went. Or was it really?
"…I think." He added after a brief pause, staring down his knees. His previous enthusiasm was now gone without a trace.
"Oh, you're not sure, are you? It feels good, doesn't it? To overpower someone, to bring him down against his will, to break his force with a force of your own. There is nothing like the surge of a victory, no riches, not even the ecstasy of being with a woman can compare to it. Victory is the best drug ever. And just like any drug, you need to heighten the dosage and the purity." Valchan was adamant and relentless… yet there was no anger or disappointment in his voice
"There no need to feel ashamed, son, I am not mocking you and I'm not yelling at you. I am simply making you aware. And if that's the kind of man you want to be, I wouldn't bother trying to stop you."
"Ivan, I think it's time you heard a story." Maria smiled from across the table, breaking with her pleasant demeanour the somewhat stiff atmosphere. "…Honey?"
"Ahm, yes, yes. It's long overdue, actually." Valchan quickly rasped, clearing his throat and breaking his intensive stare.
"So, son, I think I'd begin by admitting something to ya. You see, what I just told you, I know from experience."
"But how could you? You're not a mage…" – Ivan raised his head to look at his father
"Oooh?" Valchan grinned widely underneath his large moustache and rose up his soup bowl, producing a roaring flames all around it, which completely surrounded the dish and begun rapidly heating it.
"WHAT?!" Ivan yelled, wide-eyed
"WHY WOULDN'T YOU TELL ME?!"
"Well, because it's my business secret!" his father laughed
"And because the time wasn't right."
"Plus, we wouldn't want to upset your sister." Maria added, referring to the younger child sleeping in the next room
"It's inevitable that a child of a magical parents would feel kind of left out, if it is the only one which didn't inherit any magical powers."
"But… still, I could have kept a secret. You could teach me, you could-"
"I could, what?" Valchan spoke out again, smiling kind-heartedly
"I did try to teach you, but you wouldn't pay attention to me work. And that's really about the extent to which I know my magic – the extent of applying it to make all sorts of magical and non-magical objects."
"But… why? I don't understand, if you had magic, why wouldn't you join a guild, why wouldn't you develop it?" Ivan asked fervently
"Oh, I most certainly did." His father smiled and looked at Maria-
"But then I… happened to meet her."
"You see, Ivan, your father was a mage under Twiling Ogre, a small, local mage guild. One day he happened to be called upon to clear some wild animals from my village area where we met and… well, in a few month he was asking my family for permission to marry me."
"Yes, but your grandfather was not that nice as he is now. You see, the old punk had a condition – he wanted me to learn at least one craft or skill, which didn't consist in punching people. I told him it was ridiculous, I pointed out I was living quite a good life being a guild mage and that we wouldn't have anything to worry about, but he was adamant. Of course, it would have felt wrong to just disregard her father's will like that. Plus, I thought, it would be a piece of cake for someone like me to learn something as simple as a craft. I would pick up, uhm..., smiting or smelting, something that I would just naturally excel at, due to my fire magic advantage. I thought I'd go study for a week and be done with it. Heh. I studies for a month, I wanted to be excellent, you see, and then I brought a shovel I had made for the old bastard to see. He had a blacksmith fiend over to judge, though, and that guy said what I had made was absolute garbage. "I'm sorry, you can't have my daughter yet, then" the bastard said "come back when you manage to actually learn a craft" he said." His father paused, leaving the now boiling soup on the table and taking a sip with spoon.
"My father, you see, had been a guild mage himself." Maria benevolently clarified
"He had spent every single coin he ever got on drinking and whoring, so when he and my mother finally got married, it was quite difficult for them. He didn't want the same lifestyle for me."
"I stormed out of his house in what I thought was righteous fury – why would this old, fat fuck impair our happiness with his idiotism, I thought. But you'd never guess who exited that house along with me – it was that same blacksmith friend. He asked me if I knew I had half-assed that shovel. Hah! Of course I knew! I could barely smelt metals at the time! Fuck, I hardly knew what metal was! I just wanted to be done with it, I told him. Then he asked me why I disliked smiting so much and I told him that it had no adventure and no thrill in it. The workshop was no place for a wizard, I insisted. He laughed in my face and asked him if I thought any wizard could easily beat a blacksmith. Of course I did, I was a prick at the time! He then asked me to attack him. I didn't want to hurt him, but the bastard was relentless and finally I agreed. That guy stopped both my fire-engulfed firsts with one hand and extinguished my flames in the same time. He then turned to go home and I couldn't get him to say a word, even though he would never shut up before! He finally agreed to teach me magic, if only I learned blacksmithing with him. I agreed and while I studied your mother benevolently agreed to wait for me."
"Well, I was doing a particularly demanding study of my own, anyway, so I thought "why not?"" Maria smirked nefariously, causing a slight straining in her husband's face and throat
"I studied for four years, before I was allowed to open my own shop." Ivan went on "And even though I was, I still visited the old geezer every week. Hell, if he'd been alive, I'd still pay him a visit every now and then, that guy was amazing! He was a fire mage as well, if it isn't obvious, and he had found a way to use it in blacksmithing to make marvels. Moreover, we both knew how mages thought and they looked for, so we were able to make items specially tailored to their needs and make a huge buck. That's why my business is so popular now, hehe!"
"But didn't you miss the adventure of being a guild mage?" Ivan asked
"At first, yes. At first all I wanted to learn from him was hot to fight better. He insisted I could only understand his way of fighting throughout his work… and he was right. It was there and then that I understood. I didn't want adventures, I wanted power. The injuries and cuts were the small price I paid for the ecstasy of combat. I sought better opponents because the weaker one were no longer enough of a fix. I acquired power in order to fight more and I fought more to acquire more power in a vicious cycle that would only end with my death. I was a fighter, in other words. And as I created things with my fire, I quickly discovered that it was not the man I wanted to be." Valchan finished his speech and look at his son
"You see, son, there is a difference between a warrior and a fighter. The fighter fights for the sake of fighting – he makes it his profession and it consumes everything he is. The warrior know how to fight, but he consciously chooses not to, when that is not necessary. It is not to say he doesn't wield the skills for combat, it is to say he knows when there is no need for combat. It takes much more courage and restraint to be a warrior and it feels much better to give yourself to becoming a fighter. Because only a few possess the courage to sheathe their swords once out." Maria eloquently finished her husband's story and smiled, touching his son's arm
"We are not against you leaving. We just want you to think carefully over what you want to do with your life. Don't rush, you have ample time. "
It took a few months, until Ivan once again spoke out about leaving on the dining table.
"I understand your concerns and I've thought about it as well." He firmly addressed his parents
"Initially, I too thought I only wanted to go into the world, because I craved to increase power and after your lecture I was ready to give up on that wish. But…, you see… I couldn't! Even if I was weaker than anyone else in the world, I would still want to wee it. It's not power that I crave and it's not fighting that I truly enjoy. I thought they were, but they weren't! Mastery over others was never my goal. Only the splendour. Only the lore. Only… the magic!" he spoke quickly and passionately, switching his gaze from either of his parents' faces.
There was a small, awkward silence around the dinner table that night, after which his father's strong, loud laughter poured like a river.
"Damn, ma boy! You really got the brains from your mother! It took me fifty years to figure out who I was and you did it in a few weeks!" - he yelled out
"Ivan…," Maria leaned over and touched his cheek
"We had known you weren't the one for a cozy, calm and comfortable life since the moment you started walking. We just wanted you to be aware of why you're making your choices. It's our duty as parents, you see."
"Mhmm, yes, yes." – Valchan passionately added –
"Fire can be many things, and one of them can be the warm and cozy fire that heats up your meal and warms your house, but thunder - hehe, thunder is something else! Thunder can never be satisfied with sitting still! Go out there and see the world for yourself. And be sure to help out whoever you can!"
"But remember, my son, - you can't help anyone if you can't help yourself. Be careful who you are and what you do." Maria warmly reminded him
In a few days, Ivan had left the small town where he'd spent his entire life up to this point, taking the dirt road to Magnolia. (Of course, with his sense of direction, it would take many more years before he would actually lay eyes upon the city…)
Trivia:
A guild would once bemoan or sings
About how from her sacred veil did spring
Of storm and flash, a monstrous thing!
His name - Ivan, the Thunder King.
His thunder roared across the land,
And none who dared and fought could stand -
Against the wizard's mighty hand.
Lightning in hands being firmly taken
To his voice has always Thunder has awakened.
Gather heroes, sound the drums!
The Thunder King comes!
The Thunder King comes....
