Darkensand
Darkensand has been a Lich since Time immemorial, on the Everlasting Hunt for new Knowledge.
Just recently his Target Group had to be temporarily shifted from Knowledge to his own Soul Fragments, after getting back most of them, and Recovering to a State where he is certain to hold his own against the Common Dangers of the World, he sets out to Continue his Endless Journey for Knowledge and Recover, which he has lost.
Appearance and Equipment
Appearance:
A brightly glowing Skeleton, wrapped almost entirely from Head to Toe in brown colored, at some points shredded, Linen.
Only a few parts of his Body are additionally enjoying better Protection.
This includes his Arms, Legs, Shoulder and Thorax, each, excluding his Legs which only enjoy the company of simple, albeit masterful, crafted Iron Garment, enjoy Protection from golden colored as well as enchanted Garment.
These Enchantments are simple in Nature and mostly only increase the Durability to enhance Protection at vital Points.
Excluding the Protection Gear, one can not help but be drawn towards the Crown sitting upon his Skull, especially it's Crystal emitting a Magical Aura.
Aside from that, the only other notable Observation excluding the obvious Lack of Eye Socket or any Flesh, would be the Scepter hold in his left Hand most of the Time, having as well a Magic emitting Crystal embedded with in it.
Equipment:
Crown:
It may have yet to be named, Darkensand abstained from doing so, so far, considering his mediocre naming Sense, as well as the Lack of Reason to Name it.
Yet it definitely does not pale in terms of Power, in Comparison with more well known Artifacts.
It's use may be strongly limited, but it ultimately allows it's Wearer to use it as Part of paying the Price for created Magic.
In Hope of Replicating the Effect of the Shattered Eye, at least partially, the Crown had been successfully created.
Albeit the Replication was the Reason for it's initial Creation, it has yet to be used for it's Original Purpose.
So far it has Darkensand only ever served two Main Purposes, one being the Ability to enhance it's Users Thought Speed, practically slowing Time down from the Users Standpoint, allowing the Wearer to process Thoughts at a way faster Rate.
The other Purpose being to pose as a Temporary "Phylacterion", should Darkensand's Body ever be fully destroyed, the Crown allows for him to Rebuild his Body at the very Place of where the Crown itself is, therefore allowing himself to be Resurrected usually at the Place where he was slain.
In that Process of the Crown functioning as a Catalyst the Strain put on it would lead to it's imminent Destruction.
The Crown needs to be regularly recharged with Life Force and it's Enchantment needs to be reapplied around every hundred or so years, unless it's Enchantment is actively used, in which Case it should be recharged once a Month to not Damage it irreparably or up to a Year, at Risk of it's complete Destruction.
Scepter:
Although it possesses the same Ability to be used partially as Price for Magic, it is way less potent, only allowing at most a single Use to reduce a Price created by Magic.
It's true Ability lie's in it's extreme Durability allowing for it to be used as a extremely reliable Melee Weapon, adding to that it can be used to cast Magic through it's Tip, making it extremely Dangerous to stand at the other End of it.
Iron Mask:
Sadly the common view of Undead Creatures is mostly Negative, regardless of whether the Undead is Intelligent or but a Pawn in somebody else's Scheme.
Darkensand can usually avoid Problems in Minor Settlements, as soon as it goes to most Major Cities, his Appearance is most often negatively looked upon, leading to the public Guard usually engaging him, despite his Attempts to defuse the Situation. To avoid a Bloodbath, and a possible need of Body Reconstruction, in Major Settlements, he crafted a simple Iron Mask, which hides his Face and more or less his Magical Aura, it is not much more than that, but so far it has proven to be working, although he finds great discomfort in having to wear it, since it almost entirely takes his Ability away to, "magically," See, not necessary inconvenient enough to make him unable to read, but still a severe Liability if a Fight breaks out.
He may still me able to Sense other Beings around him, but with his Sight almost entirely gone, his Reaction Time slows down even more, which could prove Fatal in an even Fight, even if it only lasts for a split Moment before he can take of his Iron Mask.
A brightly glowing Skeleton, wrapped almost entirely from Head to Toe in brown colored, at some points shredded, Linen.
Only a few parts of his Body are additionally enjoying better Protection.
This includes his Arms, Legs, Shoulder and Thorax, each, excluding his Legs which only enjoy the company of simple, albeit masterful, crafted Iron Garment, enjoy Protection from golden colored as well as enchanted Garment.
These Enchantments are simple in Nature and mostly only increase the Durability to enhance Protection at vital Points.
Excluding the Protection Gear, one can not help but be drawn towards the Crown sitting upon his Skull, especially it's Crystal emitting a Magical Aura.
Aside from that, the only other notable Observation excluding the obvious Lack of Eye Socket or any Flesh, would be the Scepter hold in his left Hand most of the Time, having as well a Magic emitting Crystal embedded with in it.
Equipment:
Crown:
It may have yet to be named, Darkensand abstained from doing so, so far, considering his mediocre naming Sense, as well as the Lack of Reason to Name it.
Yet it definitely does not pale in terms of Power, in Comparison with more well known Artifacts.
It's use may be strongly limited, but it ultimately allows it's Wearer to use it as Part of paying the Price for created Magic.
In Hope of Replicating the Effect of the Shattered Eye, at least partially, the Crown had been successfully created.
Albeit the Replication was the Reason for it's initial Creation, it has yet to be used for it's Original Purpose.
So far it has Darkensand only ever served two Main Purposes, one being the Ability to enhance it's Users Thought Speed, practically slowing Time down from the Users Standpoint, allowing the Wearer to process Thoughts at a way faster Rate.
The other Purpose being to pose as a Temporary "Phylacterion", should Darkensand's Body ever be fully destroyed, the Crown allows for him to Rebuild his Body at the very Place of where the Crown itself is, therefore allowing himself to be Resurrected usually at the Place where he was slain.
In that Process of the Crown functioning as a Catalyst the Strain put on it would lead to it's imminent Destruction.
The Crown needs to be regularly recharged with Life Force and it's Enchantment needs to be reapplied around every hundred or so years, unless it's Enchantment is actively used, in which Case it should be recharged once a Month to not Damage it irreparably or up to a Year, at Risk of it's complete Destruction.
Scepter:
Although it possesses the same Ability to be used partially as Price for Magic, it is way less potent, only allowing at most a single Use to reduce a Price created by Magic.
It's true Ability lie's in it's extreme Durability allowing for it to be used as a extremely reliable Melee Weapon, adding to that it can be used to cast Magic through it's Tip, making it extremely Dangerous to stand at the other End of it.
Iron Mask:
Sadly the common view of Undead Creatures is mostly Negative, regardless of whether the Undead is Intelligent or but a Pawn in somebody else's Scheme.
Darkensand can usually avoid Problems in Minor Settlements, as soon as it goes to most Major Cities, his Appearance is most often negatively looked upon, leading to the public Guard usually engaging him, despite his Attempts to defuse the Situation. To avoid a Bloodbath, and a possible need of Body Reconstruction, in Major Settlements, he crafted a simple Iron Mask, which hides his Face and more or less his Magical Aura, it is not much more than that, but so far it has proven to be working, although he finds great discomfort in having to wear it, since it almost entirely takes his Ability away to, "magically," See, not necessary inconvenient enough to make him unable to read, but still a severe Liability if a Fight breaks out.
He may still me able to Sense other Beings around him, but with his Sight almost entirely gone, his Reaction Time slows down even more, which could prove Fatal in an even Fight, even if it only lasts for a split Moment before he can take of his Iron Mask.
Skills, Abilities and Weaknesses
Necromancy:
Darkensand's Highest Level of Expertise, albeit not the First Kind of Magic he learned, and the very Thing that allows him to Exist up till this Date.
He acquired Knowledge and Mastery over this Arcane Art like None other. From Binding Ghosts, over Creating Undead Constructs up to Draining the Life Force of Living Beings, as long as it is Theoretically possible, Darkensand most likely possesses at least the Knowledge on how to do it.
Rune Magic:
One of his two Areas of Expertise in the Magic Disciplines, arising from his need to hold his Skeleton together, Darkensand's Skeleton is covered with dozens of Runes allowing his Bones to "Regenerate", as well as the Ability to move them in Spite of the lack of Tendons, and Hardening them to an extent where Normal Weapons will Break before his Bones do.
Aside fron these Durability and Regenerative Enhancing Runes, Darkensand knows most Body Enhancing Runes, and had them most probably at some Time on his own Body.
Thanks to all these Runes his Bones are glowing brightly, a Side Effect from all the Concentrated Magic Gathered on and within his Bones.
These Life-Sustaining Runes require Weekly or Daily Redrawing and Refueling with Magic, depending on how Strongly they had to be used.
Near-Immunity against Mind Altering Magic:
Thanks to his Lichdom and the immense amount of Memories, Darkensand has developed a near Immunity against any attempts to intrude upon his Psyche.
Even a Being Powerful enough to Breakthrough his Mental Resistance, would be unable to acquire any Information from his Mind, since in Case of a successful Attempt, his Mind would shatter, ultimately making it impossible to Mind-Control him or Extract Information from his Mind.
Simple Elemental Manipulation:
He may not be able to compete with a mage who dedicated his Life towards a specific Elemental Area, but he is able to create simple Elemental Magical Effects like, Freezing Water, Conjuring a Fireball and Manipulations of similar Complexity.
Raw Magic:
Because of his Runes as well as his already existing Great Amounts of Magical Energy within his Vessel, he can use Raw Magic to directly Affect the World around him, be it a practical increase of Gravity around the Places where he redirects his Raw Magic towards or Lifting something up with Raw Magic, almost everything is as possible as it is equally Taxing.
Sluggish Movement:
Resulting from the Need of Using sheer Magical energy to Move his Bones, the Response Time of said Bones is rather Slow and the Lack of Tendons disallows any Rapid or Fast Movement, forcing him to Generally stand still in Combat, having at best the Ability to Block predictable Attacks with his Scepter and Using said Scepter himself only for Simple Thrusts and Swings.
High Mana Consumption:
The Great Amount of , necessary, Runes on his Body as well as his Ability to Use Raw Magic, both require an enormous Magical Input, making Prolonged Fights, without any Source of Magical Replenishment, extremely Taxing and Dangerous for Darkensand.
Missing Soul Fragments:
Darkensand certainly possesses Powers which could Rival that of the Dreadlords or even their Archons, yet his current Powers remain incomplete and are but a Friction of the Power he once wielded, until he reintegrates every single one of his Missing Fragments, his Powers will remain severely Weakened.
He misses currently:
- 12 Minor Soul Fragments and
- a single Major Soul Fragment.
Darkensand's Highest Level of Expertise, albeit not the First Kind of Magic he learned, and the very Thing that allows him to Exist up till this Date.
He acquired Knowledge and Mastery over this Arcane Art like None other. From Binding Ghosts, over Creating Undead Constructs up to Draining the Life Force of Living Beings, as long as it is Theoretically possible, Darkensand most likely possesses at least the Knowledge on how to do it.
Rune Magic:
One of his two Areas of Expertise in the Magic Disciplines, arising from his need to hold his Skeleton together, Darkensand's Skeleton is covered with dozens of Runes allowing his Bones to "Regenerate", as well as the Ability to move them in Spite of the lack of Tendons, and Hardening them to an extent where Normal Weapons will Break before his Bones do.
Aside fron these Durability and Regenerative Enhancing Runes, Darkensand knows most Body Enhancing Runes, and had them most probably at some Time on his own Body.
Thanks to all these Runes his Bones are glowing brightly, a Side Effect from all the Concentrated Magic Gathered on and within his Bones.
These Life-Sustaining Runes require Weekly or Daily Redrawing and Refueling with Magic, depending on how Strongly they had to be used.
Near-Immunity against Mind Altering Magic:
Thanks to his Lichdom and the immense amount of Memories, Darkensand has developed a near Immunity against any attempts to intrude upon his Psyche.
Even a Being Powerful enough to Breakthrough his Mental Resistance, would be unable to acquire any Information from his Mind, since in Case of a successful Attempt, his Mind would shatter, ultimately making it impossible to Mind-Control him or Extract Information from his Mind.
Simple Elemental Manipulation:
He may not be able to compete with a mage who dedicated his Life towards a specific Elemental Area, but he is able to create simple Elemental Magical Effects like, Freezing Water, Conjuring a Fireball and Manipulations of similar Complexity.
Raw Magic:
Because of his Runes as well as his already existing Great Amounts of Magical Energy within his Vessel, he can use Raw Magic to directly Affect the World around him, be it a practical increase of Gravity around the Places where he redirects his Raw Magic towards or Lifting something up with Raw Magic, almost everything is as possible as it is equally Taxing.
Sluggish Movement:
Resulting from the Need of Using sheer Magical energy to Move his Bones, the Response Time of said Bones is rather Slow and the Lack of Tendons disallows any Rapid or Fast Movement, forcing him to Generally stand still in Combat, having at best the Ability to Block predictable Attacks with his Scepter and Using said Scepter himself only for Simple Thrusts and Swings.
High Mana Consumption:
The Great Amount of , necessary, Runes on his Body as well as his Ability to Use Raw Magic, both require an enormous Magical Input, making Prolonged Fights, without any Source of Magical Replenishment, extremely Taxing and Dangerous for Darkensand.
Missing Soul Fragments:
Darkensand certainly possesses Powers which could Rival that of the Dreadlords or even their Archons, yet his current Powers remain incomplete and are but a Friction of the Power he once wielded, until he reintegrates every single one of his Missing Fragments, his Powers will remain severely Weakened.
He misses currently:
- 12 Minor Soul Fragments and
- a single Major Soul Fragment.
Personality
Darkensand possesses three Guiding Principles, by which he abides and acts based upon:
- The Obsession and Passion to acquire Knowledge of any Sort, Be it Magical in Nature or not, Be it a Historical Record or just a Fairy Tale, all Information is Knowledge, he does not differentiate, as long as it is something he does not know he desires to know about it.
- To never Break a Promise or Agreement unless said Agreement conflicts with another one of his Agreements. This Principle is so great that he even would ignore the Possibility to acquire more Knowledge in Favor of fulfilling an Agreement or Promise.
- And The Principle by which he abides regardless of Circumstances:
To protect everyone of his Personal Students with all his Abilities and at any Cost, even if it does Conflict with either his Desire to acquire Knowledge or with a Agreement. He views each and everyone of his Student as important as a Child of his Own and feels Obligated to Protect them at any given Cost.
Aside from these Guidelines, Darkensand's Character cam be described as Friendly and Good-Natured, despite his looks.
Darkensand despises Beings that take another's Life just for the Sake of Pleasure or without a, in his Eyes, Greater Purpose, this does apply to Acts of pure Selflessness as well though, like giving a Beggar a Coin, just for the Sake of it, at the very Least in such Cases one should Strife to Change their Nature sufficiently for them to be able to Act on their Own, if one does not wish to be viewed as Deceitful in Darkensand's Eyes.
He despises few things as much as being lied to in order to be deceived or in order to create Misunderstandings and alike. However, Darkensand is fully aware of the necessity of Trickery sometimes, he finds Great Discomfort in doing so nonetheless.
- The Obsession and Passion to acquire Knowledge of any Sort, Be it Magical in Nature or not, Be it a Historical Record or just a Fairy Tale, all Information is Knowledge, he does not differentiate, as long as it is something he does not know he desires to know about it.
- To never Break a Promise or Agreement unless said Agreement conflicts with another one of his Agreements. This Principle is so great that he even would ignore the Possibility to acquire more Knowledge in Favor of fulfilling an Agreement or Promise.
- And The Principle by which he abides regardless of Circumstances:
To protect everyone of his Personal Students with all his Abilities and at any Cost, even if it does Conflict with either his Desire to acquire Knowledge or with a Agreement. He views each and everyone of his Student as important as a Child of his Own and feels Obligated to Protect them at any given Cost.
Aside from these Guidelines, Darkensand's Character cam be described as Friendly and Good-Natured, despite his looks.
Darkensand despises Beings that take another's Life just for the Sake of Pleasure or without a, in his Eyes, Greater Purpose, this does apply to Acts of pure Selflessness as well though, like giving a Beggar a Coin, just for the Sake of it, at the very Least in such Cases one should Strife to Change their Nature sufficiently for them to be able to Act on their Own, if one does not wish to be viewed as Deceitful in Darkensand's Eyes.
He despises few things as much as being lied to in order to be deceived or in order to create Misunderstandings and alike. However, Darkensand is fully aware of the necessity of Trickery sometimes, he finds Great Discomfort in doing so nonetheless.
Biography & Lore
Fire everywhere, his Sanctum in Ruin, a Dragon Corpse lying before him and his Body and Soul slowly shattering, these are the Last Moments Darkensand remembers before going into a Thousand Year Long Sleep.
Had it been just the Body, then he would haven been able to Reconstruct it fully within a Week, but to defeat the Dragon he truly had to Risk and Sacrifice his entire Being. However he could have never guessed how difficult it would be to Piece Together his own Soul at First.
Just small Pieces and already a few Hundred Years had passed, he slowly started getting the Hang of it, rapidly speeding up the Process nonetheless it took a Gigantic Amount of Time, especially since most of his Soul Fragments were scattered all over his Sanctum, some even scattered into Foreign Lands, still Missing to this Date.
Finally after more or less a Thousand Years, he successfully reintegrated all Fragments that where close by.
After Salvaging from his once sumptuous Sanctum as much as he could, he decide to Departure in order to reacuqire his Missing Soul Fragments.
Several Years Later, his Quest had been almost completed, just a Dozen Minor Fragments and a Single Big One were Missing, so he decided to put his Quest temporarily on Hold in Favor of Finding his Lost and Stolen Knowledge;
His Books, Tomes and Collections of Single Pages, scattered all over the World.
Had it been just the Body, then he would haven been able to Reconstruct it fully within a Week, but to defeat the Dragon he truly had to Risk and Sacrifice his entire Being. However he could have never guessed how difficult it would be to Piece Together his own Soul at First.
Just small Pieces and already a few Hundred Years had passed, he slowly started getting the Hang of it, rapidly speeding up the Process nonetheless it took a Gigantic Amount of Time, especially since most of his Soul Fragments were scattered all over his Sanctum, some even scattered into Foreign Lands, still Missing to this Date.
Finally after more or less a Thousand Years, he successfully reintegrated all Fragments that where close by.
After Salvaging from his once sumptuous Sanctum as much as he could, he decide to Departure in order to reacuqire his Missing Soul Fragments.
Several Years Later, his Quest had been almost completed, just a Dozen Minor Fragments and a Single Big One were Missing, so he decided to put his Quest temporarily on Hold in Favor of Finding his Lost and Stolen Knowledge;
His Books, Tomes and Collections of Single Pages, scattered all over the World.