Liam

Name: Liam

Age: 43

Bloodline: 60% Seraph, 40% Sol

Abilities:

Black market expert: Liam's years as an aide to several merchants in the underworld have given him extensive insight into the workings of the continent's underworld. He knows the ins and outs, those to be trusted, and more importantly how to make profit.

Aion: Trained in Seraphim fighting styles by his mother, Liam holds more knowledge than most when it comes to using his Seraph abilities in combat.

Silver tongue: Liam takes persuasion, coercion, and seduction to a whole other level, considering it a form of art to be mastered. Every word he uses has a purpose, and he will never engage anyone in idle conversation. Liam considers those who lack this gift as inferior and often regards them with disdain or goes out of his way to subtly degrade them for it.

Permanent memory: There is nothing Liam hasn't read, seen or heard that he doesn't remember. This has allowed him to avoid paper records and in turn throw off pursuers attempting to track him down by following paper trails. He is completely able to remember faces, specific sounds, entire books, records among other things.

Intelligence specialist: Liam's recent entry into the world of information broking has allowing him to obtain a great deal of knowledge in this particularly shady business. He is meticulous and extremely thorough when searching for useful information and will go to great lengths to obtain whatever information he desires. In his world, information is King.

Resourceful: Liam's fighting style has evolved well beyond his earlier training with the Aion. It has come to encompass a variety of fighting styles, from conventional weapons such as swords, to spells and even guns. Using black market sources, he has been able to obtain a variable arsenal of fighting styles which he has adapted to his fighting style.

Traits: (Section I added just for more info)

Bloodlust: During his time as a member of the Aion and even afterward, Liam developed a thirst for murder. He finds thrill in the deaths of others, seeing it almost as an art form.

Cruel: If there is one thing Liam enjoys, it is bringing pain to others. Much like killing, he has no issue inflicting emotional or physical pain on others, especially if they have wronged him in some way or another. He also finds it amusing to humiliate people he considers his enemies or somehow inferior to him.

Unhealthy masochist: Liam has an unhealthy tendency to self-harm, particularly as a punishment for failure or as a way to "feel alive" when he doesn't satisfy his "Bloodlust" for too long. His usual methods are self-flagellation and cutting, though he will more often bang his head against surfaces or tear out feathers from his wings. While he is aware of the damage, he considers correcting his own behavior as more important than his own health.

Spells:

Precision Strings: The Precision Strings are a series of wires conjured by Liam which act and move much like the tentacles of an octopus. They are thin, having about the same width as fishing wire and are made of a metal alloy-like material that is almost weightless, yet provides enough strength to sustain the weight of an average adult Descended. The strings themselves have a variety of uses:

• Sharp: The strings are able to cut through flesh like a sharpened knife and if enough force is applied, it has the ability to cut through muscle and bone. It can also cut through most non-composite material such as wood, cloth, and some metals.

• Grapple: The strings can be used to grab objects without harming them. Inanimate objects of low weight (e.g hats, glasses, a wine bottle, a weapon such as a sword, etc) can be pulled toward Liam and held. They can also be used as normal ties and can serve as restraints or even as ordinary rope if necessary.

• Cephalopod-like arms: The strings act almost like the arms of a cephalopod, though they lack the ability to stick to surfaces. However, they have a certain amount of dexterity, allowing Liam to manipulate objects surrounded by the strings such as a door handle, a bottle or even a corpse.

• Traps: Liam can set up traps for unsuspecting enemies with the strings. Their near invisibility and sharp properties allow Liam to set them up as dearly traps for pursuing enemies who are unaware of the strings.

Appearance:

Faction: Aion (Formerly), Merchants Guild

Jobs: Aion agent (Formerly), Information broker

Backstory:

Liam's life is often described by him as a "series of unfortunate events." First, he wasn't exactly supposed to be born and his mother had become pregnant by accident. Worse still, the unprepared parents received Liam into the world as a premature child and was close to death on several occasions. Born in Sunfire, Liam had issues with early development and faced health complications on several occasions, still he persevered into his teenage years where he appeared to stabilize. Still, he continued to suffer greatly from a constant respiratory illness. Despite all this, Liam's weary parents supported him every step of the way, something he is very grateful for to this day. In his teenage years, he began basic training with his mother who taught him how to fly. His Sol father in turn, taught him how to make use of his psychic communication and detection abilities, mainly against animals. His father also began to teach him plant manipulation, which he frequently used to conduct engineering projects and enhance agriculture. During this time, Liam also picked up the violin and began to grow interested in music. At 17, a respiratory illness once again threatened Liam's life. He remained bedridden for several weeks, often struggling to breathe despite the best efforts from healers. Once again, however, Liam managed to survive. It was during this time that he began to develop his Social Darwinist ideas, which were further reinforced by political books he read whilst sick. He believed he had survived all this time due to his Seraph blood and not only that, he survived because he was stronger than all those around him. He also began to properly study music to channel strange urges that constantly pestered him. Reminiscing on his childhood, every event lent credence to the idea that the strong would surpass the weak. While he did not share this belief with anyone, he began to distance himself from his father who was a pure-blooded Sol.

At 18, he joined the Aion at his mother's recommendation and began to truly train and test his abilities as a Seraphim. As a cover-up job, he worked mostly with black market elements, at first as an errand boy and later on as an associate to some of the merchants. Both the Aion and merchants noted his capacity to remember things and his uncanny attention to detail. Liam was increasingly delegated to intelligence gathering, strategic planning and logistics. Despite this, he almost always insisted on going on missions. Confrontations with the Dolofon and the Therosi made him slowly crave murder. The act itself proved his own political ideals, and he believed that taking the life of another was cleansing the world of the weak and making way for the strong. He saw the Therosi and to some extent, the Dolofon as the weakest of the bunch. Slavery, he believed, was not a sign of strength but rather weakness of the mind and body. To enslave another, he believed, one must be compensating for an inherent weakness, whether it be mental or physical. It was during this time that he began to formulate a specific political ideology, which he decided to spread among his fellow Seraphs. In his first written work called, "The Struggles of the Descedant in the Face of Nature" he argues in favor of his Social Darwinist policy, primarily, that "Descendants must pick rightly from their flock. Who is strong and who is weak. The strong must release themselves from those who bring them down through inherent weaknesses. Parents must measure their children and ensure they are fit to continue their bloodline." In the book he openly attacked the Therosi and the Dolofon, calling their members "the weakest of the weak", adding that "this world will breathe a sigh of relief upon hearing the news of their total anhilation." The books, like much of his works were written on the name of "David Crux", an obvious pen name.

Liam continued his work in the Aion, working closely with strategists to liberate Serphim slaves everywhere. However, as he grew older, Liam became more and more extreme. He constantly clashed with other Aion members, particularly when he advocated for active attacks against the families of Therosi members, arguing that terror would bring down the guild. While some undeniably agreed with him, Liam found little support from the top. For the next few years, Liam focused on attempting to convince the Aion leaders to step up their operations. Their constant refusals led to the creation of another book, "The Lowly Nayu", an entire book which advocated for the genocide of the Nayu and the reasoning behind the decision. While he was not able to sell the book publicly, he ensured it became available in the black market. Shortly after, Liam published another book: "A Homeland for the Seraphim: Seraph Emancipation" where he argued for the formation of an independent state for Seraphim, which would be ruled by Seraph alone. His previous ideas were also mixed in, including the removal of "undesirables", Social Darwinism and the creation of a Seraph ethnostate. Before publishing this book, Liam was implicated in a heinous unsanctioned attack against the families of suspected Therosi members. He and a group of Aion followers razed their homes, kidnapped the inhabitants and proceeded to torture them to death. When the news reached the Aion, Liam along with his collaborators were expelled from the Aion.

Liam was devastated by his expulsion, but remained undeterred. He found refuge among the members of the merchants guild and obtained work assisting merchants with agreements, logistics and other matters. It was during this time when he came to the realization that information was perhaps the most valuable commodity of them all. No merchant could sell or move his goods without vital information, such as guard movements, legal systems, among other data. Slowly, Liam began to build a business around this. He began by spying and telling on Vrondi guards, selling this information to merchants to allow them to easily move their merchandise. Throughout the years, his business grew into a much larger enterprise and he gained a reputation as one of the most important sources of information around. He was trustworthy, punctual and his fees were reasonable. Aside from selling information, Liam has also offered his services as someone who can gather information through much more illicit means. With the protection of the Merchants Guild, Liam has traveled the continent, persuading or coercing targets with vital information for his gracious clients. While some have more strict guidelines on how to go about it, often many give him a free hand to gather it however he wants. Liam has no issue employing underhanded tactics such as blackmail, intimidation or even torture to coax information from his marks. If it gets the job done, he will happily do it. Despite this, he has refused to work with any Therosi or Dolofon affiliated clients. In fact, he will often go out of his way to hinder their plans whenever he can, though these opportunities are few and far between. While he tends to keep busy with his work, Liam frequently goes out to satiate his bloodlust. Mainly, he targets criminals, slavers and other thugs who more often than not suffer slow and painful deaths before being displayed in grotesque ways to be found by authorities. Liam's attention to detail, perfectionism and methods have allowed him to remain undetected by both allies and friendlies alike. He employs disguises, subterfuge, bribery, aliases and other tactics to ensure his work isn't hindered by anyone.

Motivation: Liam has big plans for the future, though he is smart enough to realize he isn't ready yet. He wishes to end the oppression of his people by any means necessary. The consumption of Seraph blood by the Nayu and the enslavement of his people by the Therosi utterly disgust him and he is prepared to do whatever it takes to one day rid the world of their presence. For now, he is motivated by greed and a growing desire to bring pain and misery to those he considers as "undesirables."

Experience: As a young man, Liam was taught the basics of his racial abilities, primarily flight, plant manipulation, and psychic communication. When he joined the Aion, he was further trained to use his Seraph abilities in combat and was able to participate in several missions rescuing Seraphim slaves from the Therosi and other slaver groups. When he was older, he was trained further by his parents and other Aion members to expand on previous training and give him the opportunity to further grasp his Seraph and Sol abilities. When he was expelled from the organization, he was forced to rely on hired trainers to learn anything useful on combat techniques. With his growing black market connections, he was able to gain access to firearms, particularly from Fotia, something he incorporated into his arsenal. While he didn't have access to the Fotian military to obtain any training from them, he searched for and hired someone who could teach him how to properly utilize firearms.

Birthplace: Sunfire, Vrondi