Jakub Corvinus
Write a summary paragraph about your character here
Appearance
A tall fellow, broad-shouldered and with a fair complexion. Jakub's eyes are blue, his hair is stygian, making a neat little contrast with his lightly colored orbs. He sports a medium-sized beard and a sharp stare to accompany it. Jakub's head is square, having a well-pronounced jawline, a slightly accented chin, and a Hellenic nose. Jakub keeps his hair trimmed, or at least tied up in a miniature ponytail. His hair and beard grow rapidly, so he has to stylize them on a monthly, if not a weekly basis.
His usual outfit is a blue button-up shirt, black pants, and a vest. Sometimes he is seen wearing a black trench coat and a pair of military-styled boots. Jakub has several tattoos littering his body, most of which represent various magical enchantments and spellbinding circles. Jakub's most pronounced tattoo is located on his chest. It is a huge, half-opened eye staring forward, eternally unblinking.
Jakub has been dealing with supernatural critters for years, meaning that he accumulated a fair few scars from his encounters. These scars haven't healed completely, turning into narrow patches of silver that glow in the sunlight. Some scars interfere with his tattoos, forming bands of connective tissue that cut through and disperse the ink. He's been bitten by a vampire, gutted by a werewolf, and partially immolated by a hellish demon. Suffice to say, Jakub is one tough sunovabitch, but even he is quite lucky to be alive after so many flukes.
Jakub is 202 cm tall, with a mass of 126 kg. He used magic to make himself taller and give his body more muscles than what it'd naturally be capable of achieving.
Skills and Abilities
Unlike some other thaumaturges, Jakub doesn't derive his magical prowess from out-of-body means. It is Jakub who directly produces energy which he then uses to form various spellwork. It is a double-edged sword, allowing Jakub to perform acts of sorcery without deriving arcane vigor from external sources. On the flip side, his specific brand of magic leaves him open to physical harm. Grievous lacerations and mutilations can disrupt the flow of magic throughout Jakub's frame, leaving him unable to defend himself until the gashes have healed.
There are also conditions and clauses that can empower a magical technique if they are met under specific circumstances. His arcane is divided into three separate categories:
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►Enchantment Runes◄
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"That which is broken shall be fixed. That which is dull will be sharp. Thus is the nature of the Enchant runes magick."
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➢These are probably the simplest runes to use and understand. You slap them onto an object/person/creature/etc. and the rune can enchant one specific attribute of the caster's choosing. A single enchantment rune can only enhance one attribute at a time, but that doesn't prevent the user from simultaneously applying multiple of these runes to an object. Enchantment runes get weaker as they move away from their caster, this means that they are most effective at enhancing things in the user's vicinity (melee weapons, artifacts, or even the user themselves).
If used on ranged weapons they have to be charged first. Charging works by applying the Enchantment rune to the weapon and then not using it for a set number of turns. The runes stabilize and become more powerful during this period, their potency directly proportional to the length of charging. So an Enchantment rune that gets charged for two posts is twice as powerful as one that was only charged for one post. Jakub can use 3 enchantment runes before having to wait for 5 posts until they all recharge.
When a single Enchantment rune is being used to enhance an object, it can last up to 5 posts. When two are used to enhance the same object they'll last for 4 posts and when all three are used on the same object/person they can only last for 3 turns. Enchantment Runes cannot be directly applied to an opponent's body (like making someone more susceptible to an x type of damage by slapping the rune on them).
Enchantment runes can be mixed with other rune types to slightly reconfigure their characteristics. Such is the case when mixing enchantment with stun/trap runes. It enables the user to enhance weapons that will deal greater damage through mana combustion.
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►Stun/Trap Runes◄
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────────────────────
"This incantation exerts a force of mystical power within the confines of its runes. Nothing may enter till it is dispelled."
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➢This is where things get fun, to say the least. Stun and Trap runes do exactly what their name implies, they can stn or trap an opponent through three different methods. They can either temporarily slow down a target for one post, damage them by causing the mystical energies in their body to spontaneously combust/explode, or trap them in a force field for one post.
The amount of magical damage done through mana burning depends on the target's arcane proficiency. A warrior with barely any magic at hand may incur nothing more than a few bruises, while a powerful wizard can very well end up with a multitude of ruptured organs and lethal injuries; since the target's reserves of energy get depleted by this attack, they'll have a harder time retaliating with spells of their own.
One of the bigger disadvantages when it comes to these runes is that they can't affect the target that's further than 1.5 meters away from them. They can be activated manually by the caster or if the target gets within their effective range. If the caster gets more than 30 meters away from the rune, it will not fire off. Stun runes can only be seen by the user (unless the opponent can sense magic).
Jakub can use 2 of these runes back to back before a 4 post long cooldown ensues.
◤━━━━━━━━━┓
►Summoning runes◄
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────────────────────
"This rune summons a shambling horror from the Dark Planes, where the damned, and all manner of fell things, dwell. This magic should not be undertaken lightly, for its toll on the psyche of mortalkind is not pleasant."
────────────────────
➢As their name implies, Summoning runes are used to summon entities from different planes of existence. These entities are usually there to do combat on behalf of whoever summoned them. The size and power of a summoned creature are proportional to how many runes have been used to summon it. With one rune you can summon something the size of a large domestic cat. With two a human-sized creature may come forth, and so on. Weaker creatures are easier to control since the caster can create a perfect mental link with them. More powerful entities may work in tandem with their summoner, while not being subservient to them.
They can be activated manually by the caster or if the target gets within their effective range (2 meters). If the caster gets more than 30 meters away from the rune, it will not fire off.
Some creatures are so big that only parts of their bodies can be summoned under normal circumstances. Jakub can use 4 summoning runes, followed by a 6 posts long cooldown. Due to this, he can only control up to 4 cat-sized creatures at once. If a summon is slain in battle, they return to their home realm and reform within 24h.
Non Living constructs, whether energetic or material, require lower quantities of magic to project and keep active. Due to this Jakub can easily create manipulatable decently sized structures. Likewise, these particular constructs have more pronounced special abilities, since they come at an inherently lower cost.
There are also conditions and clauses that can empower a magical technique if they are met under specific circumstances. His arcane is divided into three separate categories:
◤━━━━━━━━━┓
►Enchantment Runes◄
┗━━━━◢
────────────────────
"That which is broken shall be fixed. That which is dull will be sharp. Thus is the nature of the Enchant runes magick."
────────────────────
➢These are probably the simplest runes to use and understand. You slap them onto an object/person/creature/etc. and the rune can enchant one specific attribute of the caster's choosing. A single enchantment rune can only enhance one attribute at a time, but that doesn't prevent the user from simultaneously applying multiple of these runes to an object. Enchantment runes get weaker as they move away from their caster, this means that they are most effective at enhancing things in the user's vicinity (melee weapons, artifacts, or even the user themselves).
If used on ranged weapons they have to be charged first. Charging works by applying the Enchantment rune to the weapon and then not using it for a set number of turns. The runes stabilize and become more powerful during this period, their potency directly proportional to the length of charging. So an Enchantment rune that gets charged for two posts is twice as powerful as one that was only charged for one post. Jakub can use 3 enchantment runes before having to wait for 5 posts until they all recharge.
When a single Enchantment rune is being used to enhance an object, it can last up to 5 posts. When two are used to enhance the same object they'll last for 4 posts and when all three are used on the same object/person they can only last for 3 turns. Enchantment Runes cannot be directly applied to an opponent's body (like making someone more susceptible to an x type of damage by slapping the rune on them).
Enchantment runes can be mixed with other rune types to slightly reconfigure their characteristics. Such is the case when mixing enchantment with stun/trap runes. It enables the user to enhance weapons that will deal greater damage through mana combustion.
◤━━━━━━━━━┓
►Stun/Trap Runes◄
┗━━━━◢
────────────────────
"This incantation exerts a force of mystical power within the confines of its runes. Nothing may enter till it is dispelled."
────────────────────
➢This is where things get fun, to say the least. Stun and Trap runes do exactly what their name implies, they can stn or trap an opponent through three different methods. They can either temporarily slow down a target for one post, damage them by causing the mystical energies in their body to spontaneously combust/explode, or trap them in a force field for one post.
The amount of magical damage done through mana burning depends on the target's arcane proficiency. A warrior with barely any magic at hand may incur nothing more than a few bruises, while a powerful wizard can very well end up with a multitude of ruptured organs and lethal injuries; since the target's reserves of energy get depleted by this attack, they'll have a harder time retaliating with spells of their own.
One of the bigger disadvantages when it comes to these runes is that they can't affect the target that's further than 1.5 meters away from them. They can be activated manually by the caster or if the target gets within their effective range. If the caster gets more than 30 meters away from the rune, it will not fire off. Stun runes can only be seen by the user (unless the opponent can sense magic).
Jakub can use 2 of these runes back to back before a 4 post long cooldown ensues.
◤━━━━━━━━━┓
►Summoning runes◄
┗━━━━◢
────────────────────
"This rune summons a shambling horror from the Dark Planes, where the damned, and all manner of fell things, dwell. This magic should not be undertaken lightly, for its toll on the psyche of mortalkind is not pleasant."
────────────────────
➢As their name implies, Summoning runes are used to summon entities from different planes of existence. These entities are usually there to do combat on behalf of whoever summoned them. The size and power of a summoned creature are proportional to how many runes have been used to summon it. With one rune you can summon something the size of a large domestic cat. With two a human-sized creature may come forth, and so on. Weaker creatures are easier to control since the caster can create a perfect mental link with them. More powerful entities may work in tandem with their summoner, while not being subservient to them.
They can be activated manually by the caster or if the target gets within their effective range (2 meters). If the caster gets more than 30 meters away from the rune, it will not fire off.
Some creatures are so big that only parts of their bodies can be summoned under normal circumstances. Jakub can use 4 summoning runes, followed by a 6 posts long cooldown. Due to this, he can only control up to 4 cat-sized creatures at once. If a summon is slain in battle, they return to their home realm and reform within 24h.
Non Living constructs, whether energetic or material, require lower quantities of magic to project and keep active. Due to this Jakub can easily create manipulatable decently sized structures. Likewise, these particular constructs have more pronounced special abilities, since they come at an inherently lower cost.
Weaknesses
Cooldowns, once the runes run out, Jakub is just an exceptionally large and athletic human.
Personality
An affable man, endowed with a good sense of humor. Someone who isn't indifferent to human suffering. Friendly, both on the outside and on the inside. Jakub is someone who takes his studies and profession very seriously. He's been interested in the world of the unseen since his younger days. The abstract attracts him. At first, he wanted to become a mage, but the scope of their teaching didn't satisfy him. In general, Jakub can be quite greedy when it comes to obtaining knowledge. Knowledge is power, but Jakub doesn't hoard it for power's sake. Think of him as someone who is a little impulsive and slightly eccentric. He'll wake up in the dead of night with an idea in his mind. Instead of waiting for the sunrise to write it down, he'll quickly bolt out of his sheets and put the thought on paper. Only when he feels satisfied with that which he wrote will Jakub return to sleeping. Likewise, he's seldom without a notebook and a pen. For Jakub never knows when an idea might manifest and it'd be a chore to constantly run to a scribe to have it written down.
Other than this he's more than decent. Jakub is fairly open about the nature of his work and doesn't shy away from talking about it nor the other things that interest him. He's a talkative fella, sometimes too talkative; the kind of person people wouldn't take him for based on his superficial appearance. It is not rare for Jakub to have a hard time with putting his thoughts and emotions into words. Not because he is dumb or illiterate, but because his mind is always swirling with various ideas. Some of these ideas are relatively easy to understand, they are material and can be grasped quickly. Others are abstract, undefined, chaotic, contradictory.
Jakub is a man of logic, but he is also very much an artist. An explorer in the farthest reaches of experience. A demon to some, angel to others.
Occupation
His work revolves around the occult, both the magic that is attached to it, as well as other phenomenons. Jakub is curious by nature, hence his attraction towards abstract concepts of the unknown. His curiosity and thirst for knowledge are insatiable, which led him to develop an almost compulsive habit of obtaining arcane tomes. Jakub researches, documents, and archives supernatural occurrences; ranging from simple ghost sightings to demonic incursions. It's a tedious job, but one that he adores to no end, even when it is actively endangering his well-being. Being an occult researcher can prove life-threatening, as they often get targeted by various supernatural monsters.
Danger can also come in the form of your fellow man. Not all authorities take lightly the exploitation of forbidden knowledge. Some punished it harshly and many such scholars met their doom, their bodies burnt to a crisp atop the blazing pyres.
Danger can also come in the form of your fellow man. Not all authorities take lightly the exploitation of forbidden knowledge. Some punished it harshly and many such scholars met their doom, their bodies burnt to a crisp atop the blazing pyres.
Biography & Lore
Born to a surgeon father and a mother who was a commoner. Jakub's mother walked out on them, leaving her husband Andor as a single father. Andor was a successful medic and a field surgeon, working for the Allirian military corps. He was busy 24/7, meaning that he couldn't spend much time with Jakub. Jakub was pawned off to his grandmother, Callista. Callista spoiled the boy out of her silent curiosity. Being the curious child that he was, Jakub could get his hands on any book or manuscript that he wanted, courtesy of Callista's considerable wealth. He was a smart but difficult child. Furthermore, he got bored easily and would wander off. His grandmother found books helped keep him in one place, but he hated to read anything he felt like he'd already read before, meaning most authors could only provide him with one book.
As a teenager, Jakub took interest in the occult, particularly in the arcane arts as well as the study of supernatural creatures. Infatuated by the stories of brave inquisitors, valiant paladins, and cunning mages, he wanted nothing more than to someday emulate their greatness. It wouldn't be long before his interest turned into a full-fledged hobby. He even went as far as to contact some local mages, giving them whatever money he could get his hands on in hopes that they would teach him a thing or two about their craft. Many times he was met with rejection, even outright mockery. He was by no means poor, but the magic users were considered as the nobility of sorts, and it'd be below their Honor to teach their ways to a commoner. Jakub did have a couple of lucky calls though, mostly with rural hedge witches and unsanctioned wizards who needed some extra coin to make ends meet.
Jakub picked up on some basic knowledge about spell casting, protective wards, and supernatural creatures. Despite these breakthroughs, he was incredibly saddened by the discovery that he couldn't cast spells. He was simply unable to harness raw magical energy, it was neither the lack of concentration nor knowledge that held him back, but a physical inability. For the longest time, he felt that his pride was gravely wounded and his childish dreams shattered. However, the male grew envious of those who could wield supernatural powers, jealous of their glory and social recognition while he remained stuck as an ordinary nobody, not excelling in any fields to a degree that would satisfy him. Losing sight of his own unique, supreme, and special gifts and talents, Jakub lost much of his self-confidence, and this low self-esteem caused him to fill himself up with hubris. Following years of his life were filled with distant broodiness, mechanically going about things, moving through the motions without much joy.
Jakub felt discontent with his situation despite having a stable job as a doctor. He still hoarded many tomes of arcane knowledge, although he couldn't use their knowledge. It all changed one eventful day when he was contacted by the local authorities, his grandmother was murdered. Jakub was brought in to identify the body. The city guard presumed it to be Callisto, but it was so badly mutilated and the face was pretty much peeled off. Her body was so badly damaged that four doctors attested that the ferocity of the wounds inflicted on Callista were, and I quote, “beyond the capability of human violence”.
Jakub eventually identified his grandmother based on the family ring she wore on her dominant hand. Still, there were no signs of a break-in or forced entry. The doors were locked when the militia arrived to bust them down. Callista's body was already decomposing by the time they found it, indicating that she was dead for at least a day or two. The case went cold due to a severe lack and evidence and was ruled out as an animal attack. The authorities threw their hands in the air, seemingly disinterested in solving the murder. It was Jakub who kept snooping around the mansion, interrogating the acquaintances of his grandmother and so on. Little did Jakub know that he was in for more than he had bargained for.
What he was met with can only be described as "horrifying" and "mind-bending". It granted him a vision, a mere glimpse, of what lies hidden behind the veil, things that the fragile human mind should not have been handling. And at that moment, he understood the terrible truth of the world or at least had an inkling of understanding what the world was. There he stood, a changed man. His head throbbing with newfound knowledge and voices that he could not recognize, yet, he remained unafraid. After surviving his first foray into the dangerous world of the beyond - a foray that was life-threatening, terrifying, and violent - Jakub felt invigorated for the first time in years. Either by a freak chance of fate, a series of unfortunate events, or by the grand designs of some greater intelligence hidden in the shadows using unseen malicious guiding hand moving its chess pieces across the board.
As a teenager, Jakub took interest in the occult, particularly in the arcane arts as well as the study of supernatural creatures. Infatuated by the stories of brave inquisitors, valiant paladins, and cunning mages, he wanted nothing more than to someday emulate their greatness. It wouldn't be long before his interest turned into a full-fledged hobby. He even went as far as to contact some local mages, giving them whatever money he could get his hands on in hopes that they would teach him a thing or two about their craft. Many times he was met with rejection, even outright mockery. He was by no means poor, but the magic users were considered as the nobility of sorts, and it'd be below their Honor to teach their ways to a commoner. Jakub did have a couple of lucky calls though, mostly with rural hedge witches and unsanctioned wizards who needed some extra coin to make ends meet.
Jakub picked up on some basic knowledge about spell casting, protective wards, and supernatural creatures. Despite these breakthroughs, he was incredibly saddened by the discovery that he couldn't cast spells. He was simply unable to harness raw magical energy, it was neither the lack of concentration nor knowledge that held him back, but a physical inability. For the longest time, he felt that his pride was gravely wounded and his childish dreams shattered. However, the male grew envious of those who could wield supernatural powers, jealous of their glory and social recognition while he remained stuck as an ordinary nobody, not excelling in any fields to a degree that would satisfy him. Losing sight of his own unique, supreme, and special gifts and talents, Jakub lost much of his self-confidence, and this low self-esteem caused him to fill himself up with hubris. Following years of his life were filled with distant broodiness, mechanically going about things, moving through the motions without much joy.
Jakub felt discontent with his situation despite having a stable job as a doctor. He still hoarded many tomes of arcane knowledge, although he couldn't use their knowledge. It all changed one eventful day when he was contacted by the local authorities, his grandmother was murdered. Jakub was brought in to identify the body. The city guard presumed it to be Callisto, but it was so badly mutilated and the face was pretty much peeled off. Her body was so badly damaged that four doctors attested that the ferocity of the wounds inflicted on Callista were, and I quote, “beyond the capability of human violence”.
Jakub eventually identified his grandmother based on the family ring she wore on her dominant hand. Still, there were no signs of a break-in or forced entry. The doors were locked when the militia arrived to bust them down. Callista's body was already decomposing by the time they found it, indicating that she was dead for at least a day or two. The case went cold due to a severe lack and evidence and was ruled out as an animal attack. The authorities threw their hands in the air, seemingly disinterested in solving the murder. It was Jakub who kept snooping around the mansion, interrogating the acquaintances of his grandmother and so on. Little did Jakub know that he was in for more than he had bargained for.
What he was met with can only be described as "horrifying" and "mind-bending". It granted him a vision, a mere glimpse, of what lies hidden behind the veil, things that the fragile human mind should not have been handling. And at that moment, he understood the terrible truth of the world or at least had an inkling of understanding what the world was. There he stood, a changed man. His head throbbing with newfound knowledge and voices that he could not recognize, yet, he remained unafraid. After surviving his first foray into the dangerous world of the beyond - a foray that was life-threatening, terrifying, and violent - Jakub felt invigorated for the first time in years. Either by a freak chance of fate, a series of unfortunate events, or by the grand designs of some greater intelligence hidden in the shadows using unseen malicious guiding hand moving its chess pieces across the board.