Mikhail Haugan

[Kyon]

Player Name: Kyon

Character Name: Mikhail Haugan

Age: 77

Race: Shape-shifter (human, bear)

Height: 6'1'' (7'3'' bear form)

Weight: 203 lbs. (565 lbs. Bear from)

Physical Description: Mikhail is a very lean man. In shape but never considered buff. The wilderness does not favor limited range in movement. He has light brown hair. His facial hair changes depending on his mood. Using his shape-shifting abilities he grooms himself however he pleases. His eyes are a dull blue. Mikhail's defining mark is a large blade shaped scar on his right cheek. He also has a long, jagged scar running up his left leg. Mikhail always dresses simply because his clothes always tear when he transforms.

Possessions: Mikhail isn't a man of many possessions. The only things he carries on him are a small gold locket (a memento) and a long, simple sword. The sword isn't anything special: Well made and sturdy. All Mikhail needs. He also carries a large sac that's always filled with assorted foods.

Powers/Strengths:

Adaptable – Bears, being very adaptable creatures, can live anywhere. This trait is also shared by Mikhail. He is capable of surviving anywhere from the arctic tundra to the forests to scorching deserts.

Keen Senses – Mikhail has great night vision and can see better through mist and fog. He can smell anything from miles away making it easy for him to track prey or adversaries.

Strength of the Bear – Mikhail has all the power and strength of his animal form at his disposal, making him much more physically adept than normal humans.

Quick Healing – Like all shifter, Mikhail is able to manipulate his abilities to heal conventional wounds quickly.

Worldly – Mikhail's instinct is to travel. Because of this he is familiar with many cultures and spoken languages.

Herbalist – Mikhail has had many unfortunate encounters with eating the wrong foods and being injured miles away from any town or city. Because of this he has a great sense of what plants and fruits are medicinal or safe to eat.

Asexual – Because of Mikhail's deep fear of women he is completely unable to be seduced. Or flirted with... Or generally spoken to by women.

Weaknesses:

Hunger of the Bear – Mikhail has to eat a lot and often. This requires him to either stop what he's doing every couple of hours to feast or to eat constantly while doing whatever activity occupies him at the time. If he does not eat regularly enough, his strength diminishes and he becomes very weary.

Gynephobia – Because of great betrayals Mikhail has a horrific fear of women. Even though he tends to remain calm and polite to them he can't help but ponder their motives and will most often avoid dealing with them when possible. This causes problems because if he is in a shop run by a woman he will have to take time to gather his courage before speaking with them. He would also prefer to flee a fight with a woman than face her head-on.

Slow Moving – Mikhail's great strength comes at a price. His movement is somewhat slower than the average human and is easily outran. His movement is further burdened by the injury to his leg. He does not limp, but randomly a pain will surge through his leg causing him to stumble and falter.

Silver Weakness – A weakness Mihail shares with his fellow shifters.

Polite – Because of his extensive knowledge of Eyropan cultures, Mikhail takes it upon himself to follow all ridiculous customs of the area he is in. This can cause him to completely halt what he's doing to make sure he isn't being rude.

Gullible – Even though Mikhail is suspicious of women he often blindly believes what men say. His mentor's wisdom, even though twisted by the years, has taken deep root within Mikhail's mind.

Explorer – Mikhail loves to explore. Often he goes off the map or changes direction because he sees something interesting. This causes him to go sometimes days off track and fall into dangerous situations that he could have avoided.

Sensory Overload – Mikhail's great sense of smell need a lot of mental energy to process. He is prone to headaches and dizziness when there is too much smell to sift through. He particularly hates people with cologne or perfume and large cities.

History:

Mikhail Haugan was born in the mountains north east of Thar Shaddin. He was brought up in a small town with simple people. His parents left their temporary roots in Shim when they started hearing whispers of a shifter purge. Mikhail's father was a human, but his mother's blood passed to Mikhail more potently. Fearing for their family, they decided to move to a place where they could easily keep an eye on the baby without too much fear from those who fear magic. Mikhail grew up knowing of his abilities, but for quite some time had not control of them. The only thing that distinguished him as a shifter was that his body parts would randomly change from time to time. That and his heightened senses.

At the age of nine, Mikhail had his first brush with death. His mother had been ill for some months. No one knew what it was, she just spent her days lying lifelessly in bed or writhing on the floor uncontrollably. One night Mikhail heard a creak coming from his parents' room. This was not too uncommon, but this night it woke him from his sleep. He sat up in his bed and stared curiously at his door. When it opened he saw his mother on the other side. She had a chunk of silver in her hand. It seemed to be melting the skin straight off of her palm but she took no notice if she felt it at all. When she saw her son her calm demeanor turned into rage and she chucked the silver straight toward Mikhail. Mikhail rolled off his bed, barely dodging the rock. He crashed to the floor and sprung up. His mother was already upon him, her arms fully turned into bear claws. She threw Mikhail into the wall and pushed a paw to his neck. As he struggled for air a realization dawned on him. Deep concentration brought his abilities out under his control for the first time. He mimicked his mother's partial transformation, shifting his arm into a furry claw. Without a thought Mikhail dug his claws into his mother's neck. Blood spurted from her neck as she fell to the ground. Then she had a seizure that Mikhail watched blankly. After she stopped moving the gravity hit him. He fell to the ground clutching her corpse and yelling. For years after that Mikhail became emotionally fragile and spent most of his time inside. His father became somewhat fearful of Mikhail and did not go near his son while he was dealing with the loss of his wife himself. Finally, after about three years Mikhail came out of his shock and his father had dealt with his grief. Neither ever told the people of their town what had actually transpired that night, saying that the illness finally got to her which, in truth, it had. Mikhail slowly integrated himself into society and began to use his abilities to help the townsfolk.

At the age of fifteen, Mikhail had full control of his abilities. This also meant that his instincts had also taken a hold on him. His animal instinct told him to travel, so he did. Much to his father and town's dismay he embarked on a journey that would last over 60 years and span countless miles. His first destination was Zhaltev, the land of his people. He'd only heard rumors of the city he imagined as a utopia for shifters. The citizens of the city were extremely secretive and mum to it's location. Because of this Mikhail traveled on only one piece of information that he'd gotten. One of the townsfolk that Mikhail had worked for, a man named Lev, told Mikhail that he'd heard the city was to the west. How far west, and what exact bearing were still a mystery. What Mikhail did know was that there were many shifters traveling through Eyropa and hopefully one of them would help him find the promised land. He set off to scour the Northern Trade Route for information. This journey proved to be extremely hard on Mikhail. On his own for the first time in his life, not even Mikhail's heightened ability to survive in the wilderness could not prepare him for the evils of the outside world. Twice he ran from bandits, three times he ate the wrong berries, and once he passed out from hunger. Once he'd finally made his way to the trade route, though, he had a much easier time. The many people he passed on the road were willing to trade and there was no shortage of food. After weeks of wandering up and down the road he came upon a somewhat shady cat. The man had somehow recognized Mikhail as a shifter and started trying to barter with him. Realizing that this may be his chance Mikhail asked if the man knew the location of Zhaltev. With a large grin the cat-man said for a price he could provide Mikhail with a proper bearing. Mikhail immediately gave the man every Bishan he had. Somewhat unsatisfied with the meager sum, the man relented and drew Mikhail a map. Mikhail finally had a direction and he left the road immediately.


On the next leg of his journey Mikhail was truly tested for the first time. He had made his camp for the night just off the road he was traveling. He was eating a freshly roasted rabbit when he realized he'd been surrounded. He could not yet see his pursuers but he could smell them. In fact, he could smell nothing but the foul stench he'd begun to familiarize as bandits. He stood, dropped his snack and shifted. Before he could fully transform three of the bandits ran in for their first barrage of attacks. Mikhail tried to take them on before getting stabbed and scraped. He scrambled away after throwing one of them to the ground. Then a bolt of electricity shot through his body as a mage began her attack. Mikhail charged toward her before she could rationalize another spell. He crushed her skull under his paw. Swinging around he pounced on his next target. The man squirmed away from him and ran off. Mikhail met the next bandit's gaze as the bandit ran toward him. Mikhail saw the familiar glint of silver. He dodged the first swing of the sword but lost his adversary in the process. The bandit actually slid under Mikhail and dug his silver blade into Mikhail's left hind leg. He roared in pain and desperately tried to run. As he did the blade slid further down his leg, helped by the bandit slicing downward. After a couple feet, Mikhail crumpled to the ground, trying exhaustively to drag himself away. The bandits surrounded him, weapons drawn. Then, as if being called by some greater purpose, all of them turned and ran off. Confused, Mikhail propped himself up to look around. Nothing. If not for the deep wound that had been inflicted he would believe it a dream. Mikhail would have to lie in his half dead state for quite some time before he could move on. All he could do was drag himself back to his camp to sleep for the night. The next day Mikhail hobbled into the woods to forage for edible plants. He dragged himself through the forest and ate everything he could get his hands on whether it be leaves, berries, or bugs. One day a coyote came to sniff at him while he was sleeping. He woke up, and after realizing what had just been bestowed upon him wretched forward and snapped the creatures neck before it could respond. That day was the only day of the week he spent in the forest not haveing to scoot himself along the dirt desperately eating everything in sight. Only by pure luck and will did Mikhail survive long enough to get back on his feet and finally make it to Zhaltev.

Once in the city, Mikhail got proper treatment for his wounds. The Zhaltev natives were not overly friendly or inviting, but they were helpful and knowledgeable in silver and its effects. Mikhail spent months in the city learning the culture and ways of the shifters. Mikhail enjoyed the city and the way it worked, but he never belonged. He would always be an outsider. And he lived as such. Mikhail wished to learn what his fellow shifters had to offer but did not want to be a burden. Therefore he camped outside of the city and only went into town to seek advice and wisdom. He was taught often by a wolf named Harek. Harek was wise and kind. He knew more about the outside world than most of the citizens. Harek said the same thing to Mikhail every day: “Know and appreciate all peoples. Know their culture as you know ours. Know their customs as you know ours. Know them as you know yourself. Be kind, and kill only those who beg.”

One day Harek introduced Mikhail to his niece, Necessa. Necessa was not a shifter. Her parents were killed by raiders when she was still an infant. The only survivors of the raid were Necessa and the young messenger who delivered her to Harek. The messenger had since left the city to become a merchant. You may call it timing or hormones, but Mikhail fell deeply in love with her almost instantly. He fawned over her for weeks, and she knew this. Necessa tortured him daily. Finally after Mikhail had almost lost hope she gave in to him. Adolescent hormones took control from there.

Three years later Mikhail was a married citizen of Zhaltev. One would believe that given Necessa's upbringing she would love and accept shifters, and this was the role she played, but something dark brewed in the young girl's heart. She believed that her father was incapable of caring for her family and that was why she was left alone. She was disgusted by the way the city solved every dispute with combat. One night she made her prejudices very clear. Mikhail woke one night strapped to the very bed in which he slept. He found the situation exiting until he saw the woman he loved standing over him with the now all too familiar silver in her hand. Mikhail had tried to reason with the woman he had spent the last couple of years with before she spat on him and started rambling about how disgusting shifters were. Mikhail did not completely understand what was going on until she leaned over him with the knife and pressed the blade flat to his cheek. He tried to struggle but was unable to move. She held the blade to his face for what felt to Mikhail like an eternity. When she finally lifted it up she cackled evilly. By now it was quite clear to Mikhail that this was going to be a long and painful death if he did not find a way out of it. He tried shifting his arm into bear form. All this achieved was cutting off the circulation in his arm and breaking the skin it was bound to. Necessa was still rambling on and running the silver blade down his body, but he could neither feel nor hear. All he could think of was escaping from his restraints. Then it came to him. He shifted just his finger into a bear claw and started scratching at one of his restraints while pretending to struggle with the other arm. At this point the pain of the blade started searing into his mind. He could feel every inch of pain as Necessa dragged the tip up his chest and toward his neck. Desperation taking hold, Mikhail dug faster and faster at the strap holding down his arm. Finally it was thin enough and snapped when he jerked his arm up. Before he could even think, Mikhail had grabbed his wife's arm and ripped it completely off of the girl's body. She screamed in pain and fell to her knees. Mikhail quickly undid the rest of his restraints and stood to help his bride. In the few seconds it took him to do this Necessa had already picked the knife back up, but now she held it to her neck. She uttered “filthy shifter” before taking her own life and falling to the floor. Mikhail never would get over this and to this very day has never taken another lover and holds a deep fear of women. Only days after the ordeal, Mikhail decided to leave the city he'd just begun to call home. His mentor never blamed Mikhail for his nieces death, but Mikhail could not help but feel terrible guilt as he looked at the man's face. Before Mikhail left Harek gave him a sword. It was plain and nameless, but sturdy. Mikhail promised to cherish it. Mikhail left the city with three things, the only three things he still carries: The sword, a locket he received from his beloved on their wedding day, and the wisdom and advice of Harek. Mikhail never set foot in Zhaltev again.

For the next 34 years Mikhail traveled to where his instinct told him. He did not wish to call any town or city home. Harek's words twisted in his mind during this time. Harek taught him to trust people, and Mikhail tried. His journeys brought him upon many kind people. They also brought him to many cruel villains. Mikhail tried to keep trusting strangers and following the words of Harek. So even when led obviously into a trap, Mikhail decided to trust. He could not use these teachings on women and grew evermore fearful of them as he aged. Many who've battled alongside Mikhail may even call him a coward for his curse. He shrugs off these claims and often laughs at them himself. Any time he traveled to a new town or city Mikhail would take the time to learn all of their customs and cultures. He studied their languages as well. This was the biggest part of his mentor's wisdom that he had taken with him. All of the towns he visited he tried to be polite and follow their customs, even when the local population didn't ask or care.

In a misguided attempt to do good, Mikhail joined a group that told him they were killing bad people and retrieving precious relics. Figuring he could give his lust for exploration a purpose Mikhail joined the group, calling themselves Liberatus. On their first job, Mikhail was made the navigator. The leader, Nikias, had misjudged Mikhail's sense of direction. What was supposed to be a three day journey to a nearby town ended up being a two week trek through Eyropa. After eight days Mikhail finally admitted to following a set of tracks he'd found on the second day. Nikias would have killed Mikhail then and there if he did not still see a use for him. When they did finally make it to the job Mikhail felt something was a little off. They were supposedly retrieving a stolen magical item from an evil man trying to enslave his town. What Mikhail saw was a small cottage with an enormous store of Bishani hidden underneath it. Mikhail killed the owner of the home and helped retrieve the bishani, even though it didn't seem quite right. Nikias told Mikhail that he'd actually used the item to force the townsfolk to give up all of their money. For 24 years Mikhail followed Liberatus. He eventually became one of the most trusted members of the group. Jobs went smoothly under Mikhail's knowledge of Eyropan cultures. Mikhail had started handling letters and contracts, though. Nikias knew Mikhail would not condone of their true intentions so he always coded his letters, but Mikhail began to see through them. He noticed random monetary values listed always on the bottom of the pages that the items or people they were after were located. Mikhail was full aware that he was a bounty hunter, but he had been led to believe that they were paid for by governments in need. Instead it seemed that the contracts were between Nikias and individuals. Mikhail decided to shrug off the discrepancies. The final straw came on Mikhail's last job. They were supposed to retrieve an enchanted bow from an up and coming gang that would use it to pillage the country. When they broke into the small cottage a few miles away from the nearest town all Mikhail saw was an elven family eating dinner. Mikhail could hear Nikias curse under his breath. Mikhail immediately wheeled to face the man he came to respect. Nikias tried to reason with Mikhail but Mikhail had had enough. He shifted into bear form and dug his jaws into the man's shoulder. He threw the man to the side. Before he could engage the rest of the group they scattered. Mikhail changed back and bowed to the family before leaving.

Ever since then Mikhail has made it his mission to kill the final members of Liberatus. The organization was too broken by it's leader's death to continue existing so it was only a matter of hunting down the men he could find. After a year of hunting Mikhail was down to just three men. The same three that had escaped him when he killed Nikias. He'd heard from an old Liberatus contact that they were trying to reform the group with the help of the Marn underground. Mikhail shook at the idea of actually traveling into Thar Shaddin. He'd always avoided the region due to the puradynes and their hatred of all magical things. But Mikhail was on a mission. A mission that he assumed was nearing it's end.

[Kyon]

Totally just realized that I screwed up with account name. My bad for that.

[Saruna]

Hello, and a hearty welcome to Thar! Thanks for the app.

I have to say, your weaknesses for Mikhail gave me a good chuckle. In particular I liked the fear of women.

You say he is able to smell things from miles away. That's a lot of input to be sorted through, and a very good strength as far as detecting enemies. Does he ever suffer from sensory overload?

In the history, you have put that Mikhail killed his mother, but nothing about how his father or the townspeople reacted to it. Did they know he killed her? Was it nothing special to them? Did he lie about what happened? Did other people avoid him and leave him to his hermitude, or did they try to get him to come out?

In the third paragraph you say that Mikhail came upon a very shady cat who gave him directions. Is he able to communicate with animals or was the cat a shifter? Is he capable of knowing other shifters on sight?

In the fourth paragraph Mikhail lies in the forest half dead for a half week. How did he survive that? I assume he'd need a larger quantity of food than normal to heal, and also would think he'd be unable to forage for himself while half dead.

It seems as though Mikhail is capable of killing large groups of skilled individuals in face-to-face combat. Thar is a place filled with characters who are not terribly strong, as it is not a combat oriented rp site. As such we ask that new members start off on the weak side of strong. It's not a problem that Mikhail is capable of killing people; my issue with him is that he is capable of taking on rather highly skilled individuals without sustaining any crippling or fatal injuries. I ask that you reduce his combat ability, and lessen the number of people he can take on at once.

If you have any questions or comments don't hesitate to speak up in this thread or in a pm. If you make any changes in your app please leave a reply in this thread so I know to look at it again.

[Kyon]

I was afraid I overpowered him. I'll retool it a little bit. Thanks for the input.

[Kyon]

Ok, I fixed it up a little bit. Let me know if there are any further changes I should make.

[Saruna]

DA BEAR

Looks good to me. Approved. Just please do remember that NPCs are people too.

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Happy writing!