Marekk Kolsch
Posted: Wed May 02, 2012 7:04 pm
Player Name: Eirene
Name: Marek Kolsch
Age: 26
Race: Elf
Height: 6’
Weight: 150 lbs.
Physical Description:
Marek is a tall, thin man with delicate, almost feminine, features that do not betray emotion. He is immaculately groomed, and keeps his hair long and styled. His style of dress is stylish, leaning towards conservative and his clothes are as impeccable as the rest of his looks. Even on duty he prefers not to wear armor, but when he does it is always well polished and in good order. In place of a helmet Marek wears a hooded cloak and an armored half-mask to protect his face designed to look like a demonic smile.
Possessions
Battlemage: As a Battlemage Marek has access to a wide arrange of equipment, including weapons and forbidden tomes of magic. When he must go armed, he prefers the mace and crossbow because they are easier to use with his minimal training. He usually carries bolts made of exotic materials such as silver, iron and hawthorn – just in case.
Silver Box: A silver box decorated with long forgotten arcane symbols. It is measures roughly 4”x3”x1.5”. It is the item into which the shadow demon is bound (See Below).
Powers or Strengths
Dark Pacts: By forging dark packs with a creature from the Astral Realm Marek has gained a limited amount of magical power. He has the ability to manipulate and control shadows. This includes the ability to change their intensity, their shape and even form them into completely immaterial three dimensional shapes.
Shadow Demon: Marek has bound to an item of power a shadow demon over which he has limited control. The shadow demon is made of solid, shadow like, material from the Astral Plane and may take any shape it chooses, provided it is between the size of a medium sized dog and an average sized troll. The shadow demon has the strength equivalent to a male human athlete in top form. The shadow demon cannot enter direct sunlight, and can be repelled by a contest of wills by someone brandishing a torch or other light source. If forced into direct sunlight or unable to retreat from a brandished light source its body is destroyed. The shadow demon can also be harmed by magical light sources and fire. If its body is destroyed it must return to its bound vessel and cannot be called on again until the next sunset. To prevent the demon from killing, or engaging in other acts of malevolence which suit its fancy Marek must fight it in a contest of wills.
Enhanced Senses: His Elven heritage grants Marek good night vision and excellent hearing.
Cultured Monster: Marek is always immaculately groomed, polite and absolutely terrifying. This is a combination of his naturally cold personality, reputation and creative uses of his magical abilities.
Book Worm: Marek is well read and educated. In addition to attending the university, he also has a working knowledge of the laws in Marn and has studied many magical texts, including banned texts available only to Battlemages.
Weaknesses
Price of Darkness: Bargaining with dark forces has left its mark on Marek. As a result of the dark pacts he has forged Marek is sensitive to sunlight and lacks a shadow of his own. He tries not to think about the implications of the last one.
Haunted: While he has boxed the shadow demon, it can still communicate with him telepathically. It tries everything within its powers to influence Marek into giving into his less noble notions, including inserting itself into his dreams. Its ultimate goal is not known to Marek, but it worries him.
Sickly: As a child he was prone to illness, which combined with his love of bookish pursuits, has left him with a lack of physical ability and underweight.
Distant: Marek has never gotten along with other people, and has trouble making friends. He has very few close personal connections.
History
Marek was lucky enough to be born into a Synevive family, and grew up in the comfortable style of the Marn middle class. Or at least that was the lie his family lived. His father was a sickly man, constantly in debt from gambling and had a sadistic streak. His mother was distant, a hardworking city bureaucrat. They were masters at keeping up appearances, but in private they spent most of their time avoiding each other or quarrelling. Young Marek threw himself into his studies at school to avoid trouble at home.
He became fascinated by the law. At age sixteen he even attended University. He proved to be an excellent, if not well liked student and became fascinated by the law. With his mother’s connections he was able to get a job as a low-level magistrate working for the city.
That was when things fell apart. His father was found stabbed to death in alleyway. Officially, the city decided it was a robbery gone wrong. There was a cursory inquiry, but no suspect was ever found. The truth was his father was killed over unpaid gambling debts, and everyone knew it. Among his father’s things he found tools, which he suspected of being for magic rituals, and a strange book. Hoping it could bring him closer to his father he could not throw it away, but he would not open the book for that would be a major violation of Marn’s laws.
That was, until, Marek began to be hounded by his father’s creditors. His position protected him from most of his father’s former associates, though a few of them had no qualms about going after a city official. Unable to use his position or contacts to deal with these problems, and unable to find the creditors to confront face to face, he felt trapped.
With no other way out, he began to study the mysterious tomb that belonged to his father. His suspicions were confirmed. It detailed an ancient Elven monk’s dealings with astral beings he referred to only as shadow demons. From it, and with the help of notes his father left, he was able to piece together the ritual for summoning and binding such a creature. The process involved forming a pact with a more powerful astral entity to control shadows, and then sacrificing his shadow as bait for the demon. In the end, it was successful and he bound the shadow demon into a small silver box.
Such magic does not go unnoticed. The Battlemages had become interested in his father before his untimely demise. They did not kill him not for lack of proof, for indeed that was unnecessary, but because they wanted to find the book Marek had used to bind a shadow demon. It was only a matter of time before they knew that the magic had already been invoked and to track down Marek. They couldn’t kill him, they were afraid that it would release the shadow demon. So they offered him a choice: join the Battlemages or spend the rest of his life chained beneath the Justice Hall.
Marek chose the former. He carries out his duties professionally, and despite rumors to the contrary does his best to stay within the law, and do what is just if not always right. The shadow demon whispers dark things into his ear, but so far he has avoided giving into the sadism that characterized his father.
Name: Marek Kolsch
Age: 26
Race: Elf
Height: 6’
Weight: 150 lbs.
Physical Description:
Marek is a tall, thin man with delicate, almost feminine, features that do not betray emotion. He is immaculately groomed, and keeps his hair long and styled. His style of dress is stylish, leaning towards conservative and his clothes are as impeccable as the rest of his looks. Even on duty he prefers not to wear armor, but when he does it is always well polished and in good order. In place of a helmet Marek wears a hooded cloak and an armored half-mask to protect his face designed to look like a demonic smile.
Possessions
Battlemage: As a Battlemage Marek has access to a wide arrange of equipment, including weapons and forbidden tomes of magic. When he must go armed, he prefers the mace and crossbow because they are easier to use with his minimal training. He usually carries bolts made of exotic materials such as silver, iron and hawthorn – just in case.
Silver Box: A silver box decorated with long forgotten arcane symbols. It is measures roughly 4”x3”x1.5”. It is the item into which the shadow demon is bound (See Below).
Powers or Strengths
Dark Pacts: By forging dark packs with a creature from the Astral Realm Marek has gained a limited amount of magical power. He has the ability to manipulate and control shadows. This includes the ability to change their intensity, their shape and even form them into completely immaterial three dimensional shapes.
Shadow Demon: Marek has bound to an item of power a shadow demon over which he has limited control. The shadow demon is made of solid, shadow like, material from the Astral Plane and may take any shape it chooses, provided it is between the size of a medium sized dog and an average sized troll. The shadow demon has the strength equivalent to a male human athlete in top form. The shadow demon cannot enter direct sunlight, and can be repelled by a contest of wills by someone brandishing a torch or other light source. If forced into direct sunlight or unable to retreat from a brandished light source its body is destroyed. The shadow demon can also be harmed by magical light sources and fire. If its body is destroyed it must return to its bound vessel and cannot be called on again until the next sunset. To prevent the demon from killing, or engaging in other acts of malevolence which suit its fancy Marek must fight it in a contest of wills.
Enhanced Senses: His Elven heritage grants Marek good night vision and excellent hearing.
Cultured Monster: Marek is always immaculately groomed, polite and absolutely terrifying. This is a combination of his naturally cold personality, reputation and creative uses of his magical abilities.
Book Worm: Marek is well read and educated. In addition to attending the university, he also has a working knowledge of the laws in Marn and has studied many magical texts, including banned texts available only to Battlemages.
Weaknesses
Price of Darkness: Bargaining with dark forces has left its mark on Marek. As a result of the dark pacts he has forged Marek is sensitive to sunlight and lacks a shadow of his own. He tries not to think about the implications of the last one.
Haunted: While he has boxed the shadow demon, it can still communicate with him telepathically. It tries everything within its powers to influence Marek into giving into his less noble notions, including inserting itself into his dreams. Its ultimate goal is not known to Marek, but it worries him.
Sickly: As a child he was prone to illness, which combined with his love of bookish pursuits, has left him with a lack of physical ability and underweight.
Distant: Marek has never gotten along with other people, and has trouble making friends. He has very few close personal connections.
History
Marek was lucky enough to be born into a Synevive family, and grew up in the comfortable style of the Marn middle class. Or at least that was the lie his family lived. His father was a sickly man, constantly in debt from gambling and had a sadistic streak. His mother was distant, a hardworking city bureaucrat. They were masters at keeping up appearances, but in private they spent most of their time avoiding each other or quarrelling. Young Marek threw himself into his studies at school to avoid trouble at home.
He became fascinated by the law. At age sixteen he even attended University. He proved to be an excellent, if not well liked student and became fascinated by the law. With his mother’s connections he was able to get a job as a low-level magistrate working for the city.
That was when things fell apart. His father was found stabbed to death in alleyway. Officially, the city decided it was a robbery gone wrong. There was a cursory inquiry, but no suspect was ever found. The truth was his father was killed over unpaid gambling debts, and everyone knew it. Among his father’s things he found tools, which he suspected of being for magic rituals, and a strange book. Hoping it could bring him closer to his father he could not throw it away, but he would not open the book for that would be a major violation of Marn’s laws.
That was, until, Marek began to be hounded by his father’s creditors. His position protected him from most of his father’s former associates, though a few of them had no qualms about going after a city official. Unable to use his position or contacts to deal with these problems, and unable to find the creditors to confront face to face, he felt trapped.
With no other way out, he began to study the mysterious tomb that belonged to his father. His suspicions were confirmed. It detailed an ancient Elven monk’s dealings with astral beings he referred to only as shadow demons. From it, and with the help of notes his father left, he was able to piece together the ritual for summoning and binding such a creature. The process involved forming a pact with a more powerful astral entity to control shadows, and then sacrificing his shadow as bait for the demon. In the end, it was successful and he bound the shadow demon into a small silver box.
Such magic does not go unnoticed. The Battlemages had become interested in his father before his untimely demise. They did not kill him not for lack of proof, for indeed that was unnecessary, but because they wanted to find the book Marek had used to bind a shadow demon. It was only a matter of time before they knew that the magic had already been invoked and to track down Marek. They couldn’t kill him, they were afraid that it would release the shadow demon. So they offered him a choice: join the Battlemages or spend the rest of his life chained beneath the Justice Hall.
Marek chose the former. He carries out his duties professionally, and despite rumors to the contrary does his best to stay within the law, and do what is just if not always right. The shadow demon whispers dark things into his ear, but so far he has avoided giving into the sadism that characterized his father.