Kerrick Vandergard
Kerrick Vandergard is a Vampire, one of many thousands roaming the lands of Epressa and Liadain. Some call them a blight, some call them inhuman and unholy, and all will tell you the dangers of being even in the general vicinity of one. After all, they feed on the blood of the living, draining the life force of those around them to sustain their own prolonged and oftentimes sinful existences. The vampires of Arethil are known for their vice, their bloodlust, and their revelry in all things debaucherous.
There was a time, long, long ago when Kerrick too enjoyed that lifestyle: Days of hiding from the sun in hidden underground warrens beneath bustling cities full of nothing but he and his kin. Nights consisting of blood on his skin and tongue, the flesh of another against his as he bathed in sin and pleasure until the next dawn came. For decades he lived with the group who had turned him, seeking victims and either feasting on them or siring them to join their ranks.
But after a few hundred years, the life of a lecherous vampire grew... boring. All of the people he'd drained, all of the lives he'd irrevocably altered with his self-centered actions... they had done nothing but grant him momentary pleasures. After generations of living in sin, Kerrick still woke each dusk feeling hollow inside.
So, one night, he left. To seek something more. To find a meaning to his own existence beyond earthly pleasures. To find the happiness that eluded him among his own kind.
Appearance
Kerrick has the striking attributes common to most Vampires: Pale, ashen skin, sullen grey eyes, and prominent pointed fangs. His long white hair can look quite haunting when it covers his face, but he makes an effort to keep it more presentable now that he'd out of the business of hunting victims in the night. Extremely slow to age due to his vampirism, he has the body of an athletic human in his mid-thirties.
Vandergard abhors the gaudy and overcomplicated outfits worn by some of the more distinguished of his kind, preferring to dress more casually, albeit with noticeable roots to his past. He often wears a long black coat, discolored slightly with age. Underneath, he wears rather ordinary dress wear, preferring the smoother texture of formal attire over the roughspun cloth of cheap clothing.
Kerrick's chest, back, and arms are littered with primitive tattoos, a relic of a habit he's since broken wherein he would ask those he drank blood from how they would like to be remembered, and print a representation of their answer onto his flesh.
Vandergard abhors the gaudy and overcomplicated outfits worn by some of the more distinguished of his kind, preferring to dress more casually, albeit with noticeable roots to his past. He often wears a long black coat, discolored slightly with age. Underneath, he wears rather ordinary dress wear, preferring the smoother texture of formal attire over the roughspun cloth of cheap clothing.
Kerrick's chest, back, and arms are littered with primitive tattoos, a relic of a habit he's since broken wherein he would ask those he drank blood from how they would like to be remembered, and print a representation of their answer onto his flesh.
Skills and Abilities
Being a vampire, Kerrick has the ability to drain the life of other living things by drinking their blood, most often through the neck, though other areas are sometimes viable. This strengthens his body and senses beyond human limits, extends his lifespan, and is the quickest way for him to revitalize himself.
Different strains of vampirism often produce different side effects and downsides. Kerrick has an ability known as "Desire's Eye". This trait allows him to use the victim's desires against them, creating an illusion of their deepest wish in order to manipulate and suggest them. Vandergard rarely uses this, as he finds witnessing the desires of another to be, in his words, 'mawkish'. Kerrick is also extremely stealthy in dark conditions, able to blend into the shadows effortlessly.
With these boons come disadvantages, however. Kerrick can travel in sunlight, but doing so for very long renders him weak and feeble, while also stealing the use of Desire's Eye from him. This can be circumvented with blood consumption, but only briefly. Vandergard also must be wary of bronze, as the metal is particularly damaging against his strain of vampirism.
Different strains of vampirism often produce different side effects and downsides. Kerrick has an ability known as "Desire's Eye". This trait allows him to use the victim's desires against them, creating an illusion of their deepest wish in order to manipulate and suggest them. Vandergard rarely uses this, as he finds witnessing the desires of another to be, in his words, 'mawkish'. Kerrick is also extremely stealthy in dark conditions, able to blend into the shadows effortlessly.
With these boons come disadvantages, however. Kerrick can travel in sunlight, but doing so for very long renders him weak and feeble, while also stealing the use of Desire's Eye from him. This can be circumvented with blood consumption, but only briefly. Vandergard also must be wary of bronze, as the metal is particularly damaging against his strain of vampirism.
Personality
In the past, Kerrick had a reputation as the life of the party, a raucous individual even amongst his own kind famous for his philandering and love of sex and alcohol, even though the effects of the latter were minimal on him. He was the first to begin revelry each night, and the last to cease it.
More recent years have found Vandergard a much more quiet and melancholy man. Now making an attempt to live amongst civilization outside of vampires, he is often isolated due to the fear from those around him. Even those who do find themselves brave enough to interact with him find him oftentimes off-putting and far too blunt; Kerrick is wary of forming friendships or relationships, knowing that he will likely outlive any companions he finds.
Kerrick feels a great deal of remorse for his past lifestyle but does not seek pity. He is not secretive of his time among vampires, what he's done, and what he would do differently looking back. He takes an interest in the conversations and troubles of other races, often listening in with his enhanced hearing and forming his own solutions for their every day dramas in his own mind to pass the time. Unfortunately, this also shows in conversation as he often offers his direct opinion on matters with no regard to feelings or sensitivity.
More recent years have found Vandergard a much more quiet and melancholy man. Now making an attempt to live amongst civilization outside of vampires, he is often isolated due to the fear from those around him. Even those who do find themselves brave enough to interact with him find him oftentimes off-putting and far too blunt; Kerrick is wary of forming friendships or relationships, knowing that he will likely outlive any companions he finds.
Kerrick feels a great deal of remorse for his past lifestyle but does not seek pity. He is not secretive of his time among vampires, what he's done, and what he would do differently looking back. He takes an interest in the conversations and troubles of other races, often listening in with his enhanced hearing and forming his own solutions for their every day dramas in his own mind to pass the time. Unfortunately, this also shows in conversation as he often offers his direct opinion on matters with no regard to feelings or sensitivity.