Name:
Takahiro "Taka" Kurosawa
Age:
20
Gender:
Male
Country:
Japan
Occupation:
College Student / Magus
Appearance:
Taka stands at around 5'10 and weighs approximately 150 pounds. He is mildly built with distinctively Japanese facial features such as narrow eyes, light skin tone, and prominent nose bridge. His hair is cut into a simple bob and has a distinct shade called "Nuregarasu". Nuregarasu is an idiom literally meaning "wet crow"; it describes a particularly lustrous black hair which seems to shine with tones of blue and green, like the iridescent feathers on a crow's wing. He is often seen wearing formal clothing such as coats, dress shirts, neckties, and leather shoes. He is never without his glasses due to his bad eyesight.
Likes:
travel, tea, shrines, collecting trinkets, reading, photography, his family
Dislikes:
gloomy people, rainy days, The Mage's Association, idiocy, cockroaches
Wish:
To prevent his ancestors' magecraft from dying out.
Personality:
Taka is a driven young man who believes that anything can be achieved through hard work and perseverance. He is a righteous person and will try to avoid dipping into evil unless he's left with no other choice. This righteous nature is a double-edged sword though, making him susceptible to crafty and manipulative characters. Taka has a great sense of pride and honor to his ancestry which is what fuels his desire to win the Holy Grail War.
Taka doesn't particularly enjoy fighting but he will always give his 100%. He tries to avoid killing his opponents and he will even offer the option of surrender if he managed to back them into a corner.
Bio:
Born as Takahiro Ishikawa, Taka is a 13th generation Omnyoji of the Kurosawa clan. The Kurosawa is the only remaining school of Onmyodo in Japan after the magecraft form experienced heavy decline over the centuries. Onmyodo was considered obsolete by modern standards since many of the phenomena created through it can now be realized through modern technology. Taka was taken from his family at an early age due to possessing "Nuregarasu" or hair that looked like a wet crow. Nuregarasu is believed to indicate great potential in an onmyoji and it is said that Abe no Seimei also possessed this physical quality. His memories were wiped clean and he was reeducated to instill a strong sense of duty and devotion to Onmyodo and the Kurosawa clan.
Taka's natural talent for Onmyodo manifested itself early on in his training and pretty soon, he became one of the most prominent onmyoji of modern times. In his 18th birthday, the Kurosawa's clan master tasked him with joining a ritual called The Holy Grail War that was being held by the The Mage's Association. The clan master sees The Holy Grail War as a perfect opportunity to showcase just what Onmyodo can do and hopefully revitalize enthusiasm in its study. Taka was more than happy to oblige to the clan master's orders and resolves himself to restore Onmyodo to its former glory.
Magus rank:
B
Magical background:
-=Onmyōdō=-
Onmyōdō is a form of magecraft that hails from Japan that combines natural science, occultism, and esoteric cosmology to produce miraculous phenomena. This school of magecraft was prominent during the 7th and 8th century but has experienced an extreme decline in modern times. Nowadays, only a handful of magus practice onmyōdō and Taka is considered a prodigy among onmyōjis. This school of magecraft excels in divinations and curses.
[Shikisen]
A form of divination that observes the life cycle of a phenomena. It makes use of the Chinese sexegenary cycle which has six "Ren" or celestial stems. The six Ren indicate an entire movement of the sexagenary cycle, during which an event – object may appear, rise to maturity and then decline and disappear. This is the core of modern onmyodo and their chosen method of reaching Akasha. Traditionally, Shikisen is performed using a divination board but Taka is able to do so mentally, having programmed a divination board in his mind.
In combat, Taka uses Shikisen to predict events that might occur during the battle and formulate a strategy to take advantage of said predicted event.
[Kekkai:
Taijou Shinsen Chintaku Reifu]
One of Onmyodo's most powerful spells. Taka is able to setup a barrier by placing 72 paper talismans in accordance to the principles of Yin and Yang and the Five Elements. It is completely useless against tangible beings like humans and animals but quite potent against spiritual creatures like demons and Servants. A Servant caught inside the barrier would experience significant weakness which seems to get worse as time goes by. Setting up this barrier takes a lot of preparation but once erected, it can only be dispelled by destroying all 72 talismans. The barrier can be damaged through brute force using A rank magecraft or something with similar firepower but it will repair itself in a few minutes.
[Noroi]
A Noroi or curse is a spell that causes debilitating effects to opponents. Onmyodo specializes in casting and breaking curses. Curses range from simple ones such as causing sleeplessness, blurred vision, or fatigue to more sinister ones such as turning people inside out. Simple curses can be cast using incantations but more complex ones requires at least two things to activate; a sacrifice from the caster and an anchor to the victim. Taka is able to amplify curses if he uses his hair as a sacrifice due to its high magic potency.
[Dogū Magecraft]
Taka uses effigies called Dogū as his mystic code. Dogū are not normally used in Onmyodo but Taka has incorporated it into his magecraft due to their effectiveness as prana conduits. He has different types of Dogū each with their own unique way of interacting and utilizing prana.
Gear:
1. Dogū figurines of varying appearance:
a.
Heart-shaped Dogu - Absorbs damage done to his Servant. Shatters upon expending all the prana stored in it.
b.
Horned-owl Dogu - Repels prana from its surroundings. Primarily used for weakening enemy spells.
c.
Goggle-eyed Dogu - Absorbs prana from its surroundings. The prana absorbed by this Dogu can be detonated like a bomb through the use of an incantation.
2. Ofuda - sacred talismans that aid in Taka's spellcasting. Contrary to popular belief, the ofuda itself does not contain a magical spell but rather a part of the spell's incantation. Taka uses these to cut his spellcasting speed which is very useful since curses tend to have long incantations. He activates these by coursing prana through them. An ofuda's durability depends on the quality of material and the amount of time used to prepare it. Simpler ones made with paper can burn up in just one use while those created in hemp can withstand multiple uses before burning up.