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Andrei Arlovski
Phsical Appearance
Andrei is tall, unusually tall for most humans after whom his outer shell was modeled. His body is relatively toned and well defined, with long, musclebound limbs and wide shoulders. His skin is pale, having an almost milky complexion with small patches of gray discoloration. His facial features are sharp, molded from granite. Andrei has a wide face, or to be more precise, a square one. His head is squared, with a wide, distinguishable jawline. The upper part of his face is jeweled with two crimson-colored, almond-shaped orbs that make up his eyes. The pupils are slits, much like those of a cat or snake. His lips are almost inhumanely thin and delicate, with a Romanesque nose hanging just above them.
Corded muscles keep that pretty head of his attached to its shoulders, from which a short ponytail hangs. His hair is wild, growing upwards, but Andrei stylizes it to look neat and orderly. That is why he keeps the rear end tied into a ponytail.
On the surface, there aren't many strange features that set Andrei apart from a normal human/elf. His hair is white, but people with that hair color aren't unheard of. His eyes are red, with cat-like pupils, but that too can be written off as albinism or some strange magical mutation. What truly sets him apart from other people are his teeth, his lack of reflection, and his eerily strange shadow. Andrei goes well out of his way to avoid mirrors, to cover his fangs, and to avoid places where his body would cast a shadow for more than a handful of seconds. But no form of disguise is complete, 100% foolproof. If you know what to look for, you can find the truth out. And sometimes, the truth is right behind you. Everything in the light casts a shadow. The more you look at his shadow, the more obvious it becomes that something about it is wrong. The longer his shadow is looked at, the more does it lose its baseline humanoid shape and slowly devolves into an incomprehensible, writhing mass of.... something. People who came into contact with Andrei have also noted that his shadow doesn't act as a normal shadow should. Not only does it look....darker, but it also seems to suck in the ambient light and no small amount of residual heat, making the area in proximity of Andrei feel a little colder than usual.
Corded muscles keep that pretty head of his attached to its shoulders, from which a short ponytail hangs. His hair is wild, growing upwards, but Andrei stylizes it to look neat and orderly. That is why he keeps the rear end tied into a ponytail.
On the surface, there aren't many strange features that set Andrei apart from a normal human/elf. His hair is white, but people with that hair color aren't unheard of. His eyes are red, with cat-like pupils, but that too can be written off as albinism or some strange magical mutation. What truly sets him apart from other people are his teeth, his lack of reflection, and his eerily strange shadow. Andrei goes well out of his way to avoid mirrors, to cover his fangs, and to avoid places where his body would cast a shadow for more than a handful of seconds. But no form of disguise is complete, 100% foolproof. If you know what to look for, you can find the truth out. And sometimes, the truth is right behind you. Everything in the light casts a shadow. The more you look at his shadow, the more obvious it becomes that something about it is wrong. The longer his shadow is looked at, the more does it lose its baseline humanoid shape and slowly devolves into an incomprehensible, writhing mass of.... something. People who came into contact with Andrei have also noted that his shadow doesn't act as a normal shadow should. Not only does it look....darker, but it also seems to suck in the ambient light and no small amount of residual heat, making the area in proximity of Andrei feel a little colder than usual.
Attire
The ribbon that holds his ponytail is sky blue along with his pants. Andrei wears all black clothing otherwise with gold edgings of armor-like portion and the collar of his long cape; a long cape with red lining much like his noble blooded creators. He also wears an aristocratic white scarf around his neck. His clothing pieces are almost as unusual as his alien physiology. Andrei's attire doesn't seem to be made out of normal materials, judging by the fact that he rarely changes it and that it seldom gets dirty even in places that are less-than-sanitary. Likewise, Andrei's clothing seems to stick to his body with supernatural agency and will regenerate with time after being damaged. All this gives credibility to the idea that his clothing is supernatural.
This is his primary garb but not the only one, he has a secondary attire for occasions related to combat or action in general. In these cases, he wears 18th-century style clothing. He wears a black colored jacket consisting of side seams held together by four square brooches that run down vertically and a belt. Around his neck, he wears a large white cravat. Over the jacket, Andrei wears a long overcoat with a decorative pattern. Over his other garments, he also wears a cape that resembles Bela Lugosi's.
This is his primary garb but not the only one, he has a secondary attire for occasions related to combat or action in general. In these cases, he wears 18th-century style clothing. He wears a black colored jacket consisting of side seams held together by four square brooches that run down vertically and a belt. Around his neck, he wears a large white cravat. Over the jacket, Andrei wears a long overcoat with a decorative pattern. Over his other garments, he also wears a cape that resembles Bela Lugosi's.
Species
Andrei is an artificial vampiric organism created by a group of vampire alchemists and mages in order to eliminate the normal weaknesses of their kin. Normal vampires are weak to things such as sunlight and holy objects, atop of that they have to feed on the blood of sapient creatures. All these disadvantages make life harder for them, hence why a group of them came together to figure out how to overcome these primal urges. Andrei was a prototype, created via a combination of alchemy and different forms of magic, including necromancy and biomancy. Multiple souls were stitched together, regurgitated until their original memories and emotions faded. All that was left behind was a blank soul, one without a personality, feelings, or ambitions. This infantile soul was then placed in a fully formed, artificial frame. The new body was completely different from that of a normal vampire, with wildly different physiology which allowed it to overcome basal vampiric weaknesses such as sunlight or holy objects. The experiment itself was partially successful. Andrei doesn't require blood to survive, instead, he feeds on raw energy, which is why he is called an “energy vampire”.
Of course, Andrei Is drawn closer to esoteric sources of energy such as life force or magic. He is capable of completely draining a person of their life force/magic through prolonged physical contact. This process leaves behind a lifeless, withered husk. It can even end with Andrei devouring the person's soul, permanently ending them since there is no afterlife if one's soul is digested by him. The creation of artificial lifeforms is a practice most heavily frowned upon, both because of the shady ethics surrounding it and the fact that such creatures/people are oftentimes produced for no other purpose but to be living weapons. Andrei is lucky that his creators didn't dispose of him, as he is a valuable research subject and a possible link in the vampire evolutionary chain. There is a chance to create a whole new generation of vampires through him, one's more powerful and more capable than their predecessors.
Of course, Andrei Is drawn closer to esoteric sources of energy such as life force or magic. He is capable of completely draining a person of their life force/magic through prolonged physical contact. This process leaves behind a lifeless, withered husk. It can even end with Andrei devouring the person's soul, permanently ending them since there is no afterlife if one's soul is digested by him. The creation of artificial lifeforms is a practice most heavily frowned upon, both because of the shady ethics surrounding it and the fact that such creatures/people are oftentimes produced for no other purpose but to be living weapons. Andrei is lucky that his creators didn't dispose of him, as he is a valuable research subject and a possible link in the vampire evolutionary chain. There is a chance to create a whole new generation of vampires through him, one's more powerful and more capable than their predecessors.
Physiology and Biology
Physiology
Andrei is biologically immortal, and his body does not age past the physical prime. He does not need mortal necessities such as oxygen, water, or solid foods, feeding exclusively on energy due to his non-existent digestive tract. The body undergoes no digestive processes while energy is absorbed through physical contact and directly distributed through the body via a system of vein-like pathways enmeshed throughout Andrei's body. Likewise, Andrei's respiratory system is almost non-existing. It's very primitive and only suffices in allowing him to talk.
(Distinguishable vital organs are pretty much non-existent and the tissues are seemingly moulded together, running on magical instead of purely biological principles.)
Andrei regenerates by transforming raw energy into new tissues, enabling him to regrow entire portions of his body as long as he has power to spare. On the flip side, the more he regenerates, the weaker he gets physically and magically. His regeneration can be slowed down or halted by very high/low temperatures, blessed weapons, having silver introduced into his capillary system, or anti-regenerative magic. He has a harder time regenerating or otherwise using his powers on sanctified grounds.
Physique
Andrei is superhumanly strong, fast, durable, and resilient, the degree of which relies on how much internal energy he has stored. It means that he has to balance between physique and magical attacks to retain combat-oriented viability. Steering too far into the arcane branch leads to the development of anemia-esque symptoms. We are talking nausea, dizziness, weakness, and the inability to coordinate efficiently.
Andrei is biologically immortal, and his body does not age past the physical prime. He does not need mortal necessities such as oxygen, water, or solid foods, feeding exclusively on energy due to his non-existent digestive tract. The body undergoes no digestive processes while energy is absorbed through physical contact and directly distributed through the body via a system of vein-like pathways enmeshed throughout Andrei's body. Likewise, Andrei's respiratory system is almost non-existing. It's very primitive and only suffices in allowing him to talk.
(Distinguishable vital organs are pretty much non-existent and the tissues are seemingly moulded together, running on magical instead of purely biological principles.)
Andrei regenerates by transforming raw energy into new tissues, enabling him to regrow entire portions of his body as long as he has power to spare. On the flip side, the more he regenerates, the weaker he gets physically and magically. His regeneration can be slowed down or halted by very high/low temperatures, blessed weapons, having silver introduced into his capillary system, or anti-regenerative magic. He has a harder time regenerating or otherwise using his powers on sanctified grounds.
Physique
Andrei is superhumanly strong, fast, durable, and resilient, the degree of which relies on how much internal energy he has stored. It means that he has to balance between physique and magical attacks to retain combat-oriented viability. Steering too far into the arcane branch leads to the development of anemia-esque symptoms. We are talking nausea, dizziness, weakness, and the inability to coordinate efficiently.
Magical abilities
Magical abilities
The strange substance flows through Andrei's body, allowing him to absorb energy and redistribute it. It is also the source of most of his supernatural power. It is a strange thing that can change physical properties depending on how the user manipulates it. In solid form, it's almost completely black aside from a very tiny shade of red at its center, like a candle in the dark. When a non-user touches it, it's like getting winded. If hit by a sharp point, it will penetrate and quickly infect. As a liquid it's thick; sticky, and has a pungent smell of ink. It can act like quicksand or just plain coat and suffocate people. As a gas it's strange. It can pass through solid material with ease. Suffocate, and eat away like acid.
In its purest form it acts as highly volatile energy. Hard to control and highly destructive, a detriment to both the caster and their allies. The use of such power is ill-advised, for the consequences may be dire. Alas, if Andrei so chose he may utilize it, assuming there's a hefty distance between him and the intended target. Those afflicted, whether organic or not, will experience damage akin to potent chemical burns.
Aiming is hard, admittingly. Andrei cannot lose focus for a moment when bending the raw energy to his will. Lack of focus may lead to involuntary explosions, backfires and even misdirections.
As a whole, this Darkness is an odd thing. The substance is as much a part of Andrei as he is a part of it, and it permeates most, if not all of the bodily tissues to some degree. When removed from his body, he can freely manipulate its properties such as density, toughness, or state of matter.
It loves to consume energy and seems to have some sort of semi-sentience, allowing it to act as a partially independent entity. The consumed energy is either digested by it or relayed to Andrei's body for nutritional value. It is quite effective when dealing with people who heavily rely on their magical abilities and can be infused into damaged parts of Andrei's body to repair them more quickly. But, it is dangerous to bring it into contact with other creatures or for Andrei to abuse it upon himself. Physical infusion with this substance can manifest with positive effects in which case it is considered a gift or a blessing. But it can also cause visible degeneration to the mind and body of the afflicted. Physical transformation usually ensues, such as changes to an individual's eyes or skin color or heavy genetic mutations such as the growth of horns, tentacles, or additional eyes.
Other possible mutations that may pop up include heightened bone density, increased height, new appendages, growth of claws on hand/feet, etc. Such physical improvements usually come at the cost of the victim's higher brain functions, dumbing them down until they are little more than a bloodthirsty animal.
Shortcomings
The substance is slow to generate, meaning that Andrei can't just use it willy-nilly. Severe damage or mutilations can disrupt its flow, leaving Andrei with limited options until the wounds have healed. The amount of substance he can produce is directly proportional to his focus, how long ago he has fed, and the current state of his body.
The Dark matter is at its most effective when faced with esoteric materials/energies. Otherwise it has lessened scope of ability.
Andrei sports a power limiter in the form of his enchanted clothes that both limit how much of the substance he can produce and prevent him from developing mutations. If the clothes get heavily damaged, then mutations are free to occur upon Andrei.
The strange substance flows through Andrei's body, allowing him to absorb energy and redistribute it. It is also the source of most of his supernatural power. It is a strange thing that can change physical properties depending on how the user manipulates it. In solid form, it's almost completely black aside from a very tiny shade of red at its center, like a candle in the dark. When a non-user touches it, it's like getting winded. If hit by a sharp point, it will penetrate and quickly infect. As a liquid it's thick; sticky, and has a pungent smell of ink. It can act like quicksand or just plain coat and suffocate people. As a gas it's strange. It can pass through solid material with ease. Suffocate, and eat away like acid.
In its purest form it acts as highly volatile energy. Hard to control and highly destructive, a detriment to both the caster and their allies. The use of such power is ill-advised, for the consequences may be dire. Alas, if Andrei so chose he may utilize it, assuming there's a hefty distance between him and the intended target. Those afflicted, whether organic or not, will experience damage akin to potent chemical burns.
Aiming is hard, admittingly. Andrei cannot lose focus for a moment when bending the raw energy to his will. Lack of focus may lead to involuntary explosions, backfires and even misdirections.
As a whole, this Darkness is an odd thing. The substance is as much a part of Andrei as he is a part of it, and it permeates most, if not all of the bodily tissues to some degree. When removed from his body, he can freely manipulate its properties such as density, toughness, or state of matter.
It loves to consume energy and seems to have some sort of semi-sentience, allowing it to act as a partially independent entity. The consumed energy is either digested by it or relayed to Andrei's body for nutritional value. It is quite effective when dealing with people who heavily rely on their magical abilities and can be infused into damaged parts of Andrei's body to repair them more quickly. But, it is dangerous to bring it into contact with other creatures or for Andrei to abuse it upon himself. Physical infusion with this substance can manifest with positive effects in which case it is considered a gift or a blessing. But it can also cause visible degeneration to the mind and body of the afflicted. Physical transformation usually ensues, such as changes to an individual's eyes or skin color or heavy genetic mutations such as the growth of horns, tentacles, or additional eyes.
Other possible mutations that may pop up include heightened bone density, increased height, new appendages, growth of claws on hand/feet, etc. Such physical improvements usually come at the cost of the victim's higher brain functions, dumbing them down until they are little more than a bloodthirsty animal.
Shortcomings
The substance is slow to generate, meaning that Andrei can't just use it willy-nilly. Severe damage or mutilations can disrupt its flow, leaving Andrei with limited options until the wounds have healed. The amount of substance he can produce is directly proportional to his focus, how long ago he has fed, and the current state of his body.
The Dark matter is at its most effective when faced with esoteric materials/energies. Otherwise it has lessened scope of ability.
Andrei sports a power limiter in the form of his enchanted clothes that both limit how much of the substance he can produce and prevent him from developing mutations. If the clothes get heavily damaged, then mutations are free to occur upon Andrei.
Personality
Andrei is an affable individual of good taste and admirable humor. Above all else, he shows politeness to those who deserve it, expecting to be treated well in return. He's a man of expectations. If you treat him correctly, he'll extend the courtesy regardless of liking or disliking you. Vice versa also applies. Andrei won't go out of his way to make someone's life miserable over petty things such as personal conflicts or general dislike of a specific individual.
Andrei rarely shows anger, spite, or resentment towards people due to his thick skin. One would find it hard to irk his ire through words alone, courtesy of his dismissive and easygoing attitude. He's ambivalent towards other vampires, both agreeing and disagreeing with them on certain topics. Andrei fully and well understands the scope of vampirism as a disease and has, on many occasions, expressed his desire to cure it. The need to consume blood is out of the question as it is a necessity for many to maintain their unholy state. Andrei merely scorns them for their inaction and lack of incentive regarding the said state. For one reason or another, long-lived vampires tend to slip into decadence.
Andrei expresses a great deal of curiosity regarding the world surrounding him and the circumstances of his birth. He went far and wide researching his creators while simultaneously testing his body to see what it can and can't do. Andrei relishes in creating things, not so much in destroying them. He'll experiment in and out of combat, taking notes, making alterations, hoping to better understanding himself. His curiosity leads him to pursue increasingly divulging fields. In the past, he reanimated dead bodies. In the future, he might stitch together parts of different creatures and then mutate the amalgamation for an interesting result.
Andrei rarely shows anger, spite, or resentment towards people due to his thick skin. One would find it hard to irk his ire through words alone, courtesy of his dismissive and easygoing attitude. He's ambivalent towards other vampires, both agreeing and disagreeing with them on certain topics. Andrei fully and well understands the scope of vampirism as a disease and has, on many occasions, expressed his desire to cure it. The need to consume blood is out of the question as it is a necessity for many to maintain their unholy state. Andrei merely scorns them for their inaction and lack of incentive regarding the said state. For one reason or another, long-lived vampires tend to slip into decadence.
Andrei expresses a great deal of curiosity regarding the world surrounding him and the circumstances of his birth. He went far and wide researching his creators while simultaneously testing his body to see what it can and can't do. Andrei relishes in creating things, not so much in destroying them. He'll experiment in and out of combat, taking notes, making alterations, hoping to better understanding himself. His curiosity leads him to pursue increasingly divulging fields. In the past, he reanimated dead bodies. In the future, he might stitch together parts of different creatures and then mutate the amalgamation for an interesting result.
