Alarakh

[Anonymous]

Name: Alarakh Feldan

Gender: Male

Race: Human (mostly)

Age: 44

Hgt/Wgt: 5'11''/165 lbs

Hair/Eye: Brown/Hazel

Appearance:

Alarakh appears, if not particularly remarkable, certainly interesting, if for nothing other than curiousity. His face is weathered, although not extensively so, and he bears several scars, the most noticible running along his right jawline. While not an ugly man, no one would accuse him of being beautiful.
His hair is worn short, and he is cleanshaven, except for the scruffy beard he sports while travelling (he prefers not to shave outside of towns, having developed a liking for warm water). His arms also bear evidence of troubles in his life, with scars all along the exposed flesh. Seared into the inside of his left forearm is the image of a hawk, wings flared and talons extended. It appears to have been burned into his arm his an iron brand, although when asked, Alarakh will generally just smile as to the origins of the hawk.

Equipment:

Alarakh has spent most of his life travelling, so he dresses for comfort. His usual attire consists of a sleeveless linen tunic and light leather doublet, over leather riding breeches and boots. In his saddlebags are long-sleeved arming jackets and armor made of mixed studded leather and chainmail, but he usually doesn't wear them (a bit warm, really). For adverse weather, he has a heavy gray woolen cloak. Moving away from his clothing choices, he keeps his hand-and-a-half broadsword on his back while eating and at his side while riding, and close by at all other time. He generally has a walking stick of some sort, but it changes out regularly as he either finds a better replacement or breaks the old one. He has at least two daggers and three throwing knives on him at all times.

Powers/Abilities:

While he is mostly human, he had a Faerie for a great-grandfather. While he is essentially human in all temperament and weaknesses, the small presence of faerie blood in his veins gives him a slight advantage over pure humans in the use of magic. He's no master, but he does have a basic understanding of useful powers.

Destruction -while not his top choice of magic, throwing fire can be handy in a pinch, although he can't do it at the same time as using other magic, and it's very draining. he's not very skilled with any other aspects of fighting magic.

Illusion -While it requires more focus than simple, brutal destruction, Alarakh can bend the space around him. From appearing invisible to projecting images in front of others, this skill does come in handy. Creating images of living beings, however, requires at least ten seconds of his undivided attention, meaning he has to drop everything else. And all his illusions dissipate as soon as he stops actively focusing on them.

Telekinetics -While no great master in the art of moving things with his mind, he does have the ability to do so, to a degree. He can move most inanimate objects smaller than say, a dog, although it's difficult as the size increases. Mostly used to quickly get weapons that are out of reach and to impress women in bars.

Weather Manipulation -The most difficult magic he has learned. He can control the atmosphere in his immediate vicinity, summoning or banishing storms, snow, lightning, wind, etc. He tries to avoid it, however, as it generally weakens him greatly, as well as screwing up regional weather patterns in an unpredictable fashion.



Personality:

Alarakh is a blunt man. He gets straight to the point, despising small talk as a waste of time, although he realizes its usefulness in getting information. He keeps his thoughts to himself, but when asked will say exactly what he thinks. At the same time, he's shrewd and cynical. He's a very intelligent person, seeing the quickest and most effective way to a solution easily and making abstract connections where others see nothing. His cynicalism, arrogance, intelligence, and bluntness don't really endear him to most others. Combine those with an inherent stubbornness, and you've got a terrible politician. Throw in a couple of idiosyncracies like an extreme hatred of glassware, a habit of talking to horses (comes from his horse being his only companion while travelling, as he also hates both teleportation and flying) and a fondness for flute music (he's an accomplished flutist), and you've got Alarakh Feldan.

Other Strengths:

He has remarkably good reflexes, owing to a lifetime of combat. And he has incredible vision, including night vision--always has, though he doesn't know why. He has a basic healing knowledge from living on horseback and his time in the military.

Weaknesses:

A slight limp prevents him from fighting like he once could, slowing his footwork, even though he's learned to compensate. He has, probably due to his magic use, retained a high metabolism, meaning he requires at least one square meal a day to be in his top form, although he can manage on less. And he's prone to severe headaches both when the weather changes suddenly (another reason he dislikes weather control) and after teleporting (which is why he sticks to his horse, Erofon). He's a little hard of hearing, but he can make do. And he has a certain fondness for both gambling, especially on cards, and alcohol, which has led to trouble in the past.

History:

Alarakh grew up in the east. He learned to ride at a young age, and, at sixteen, decided he would rather see the world than stay at home on the farm. After all, he had four brothers who were perfectly willing to work the fields with their father; why was he needed?
He drifted for several years, travelling mostly by paid teleportation from town to town. Eventually (actually quite quickly), he fell on hard times, having no real trade or way to make a living. At that point, he joined the imperial army, seeing no tough choice between service and starvation.
After his term of service ended, he finally had a sellable skill set and joined a mercenary company. The trade of war, while hazardous, certainly paid and trained well. By the time he was 28, he was an excellent warrior and had begun to study magic. When he hit thirty, he decided to get out of the war business and continue travelling.
During his time as a mercenary, he had begun experiencing headaches immediately after teleportation, so he bought a horse named Erofon with part of his savings (quite sizable by that point) and set out to further his magic studies. He joined an secretive order of mages known as the Brotherhood of the Hawk (hence the brand on his arm) and began his studies in earnest. For years, he studied at the woodland temple of the brothers. But he was a restless soul, and, try as he might, he could not stay long in one place. He took the mission of To-har, or Seeker, a class in the Brotherhood given the responsibility of traveling the world to seek wisdom and convey it back to the brothers. At the same time, the To-har were tasked with seeking out those with the potential to join the order.
For almost eleven years now, Alarakh has traveled the two empires, expanding his knowledge, both of magic and life itself, and periodically returning to the temple. His isn't really an easy life, but he would have it no other way. And, best of all, the order isn't very strict, so he continues his vices without any guilt. But he does adhere to the moral code of the Brotherhood, and fights for those morals and his own defence quite often.