Vance Calgrave
Vance's magic manifested early in his life, known by his parents ever since his infantile tantrums triggered static discharges and nearly burned down their thatch cottage. Knowing their child would be taken from them, the Calgrave's kept their son's secret as best they could. It worked until he was three, when he electrocuted a man for trying to rob his mother. He was in the dreadlord academy within 12 hours.
Vance quickly proved himself impulsive, hot-headed, and arrogant. His powers likewise proved difficult to control and prone to dangerous outbursts. When ruthless discipline and beatings did not work, he was outfitted with custom metal dampeners designed to siphon off and discharge stray electricity.
Now 17 and nearing graduation, Vance finds himself frustrated with the uncertainty of his future. He had been looking forward to joining one of the great houses, but with the revolution his future is anything but clear.
Appearance
Vance boasts the physique of most young soldiers: fit, strong, and lean. His skin carries fewer scars than some, but is still marred in places by old burns and gashes from his training. His hair is a deep red and his eyes are a flickering gray. He is handsome and well aware of it, adding to his already insufferable self-indulgence.
When not in thin training clothes Vance wears a deep red, almost black garments with a high collar and adorned with numerous metallic rods, meshes, and wires. Larger rods run parallel to his upper and lower arms and the sides of his legs, with two notable copper grounding rods running down by his heels. His back carries a copper mesh and his chest often has a smaller array of plates and wires. For more intense training, Vance has headgear to protect his brain from high-intensity discharges. An additional rectangular discharge shield is sometimes affixed by his right shoulder.
While most of the dampeners are made of copper and iron, a platinum disk is woven into a central chest piece for its unique properties.
Vance's weapon of choice is a long, thin, curved, single-edged sword. He can use this as a conduit for his electricity when needed.
When not in thin training clothes Vance wears a deep red, almost black garments with a high collar and adorned with numerous metallic rods, meshes, and wires. Larger rods run parallel to his upper and lower arms and the sides of his legs, with two notable copper grounding rods running down by his heels. His back carries a copper mesh and his chest often has a smaller array of plates and wires. For more intense training, Vance has headgear to protect his brain from high-intensity discharges. An additional rectangular discharge shield is sometimes affixed by his right shoulder.
While most of the dampeners are made of copper and iron, a platinum disk is woven into a central chest piece for its unique properties.
Vance's weapon of choice is a long, thin, curved, single-edged sword. He can use this as a conduit for his electricity when needed.
Skills and Abilities
Vance is gifted with elemental lightning magic. He can create powerful electromagnetic fields, manipulate currents, and force discharges at will. Physically, this power manifests most commonly as bolts of lightning from his own body. Vance can also generate an electromagnetic "aura" around himself to subtly redirect metal objects. If charged enough, this aura can grow in size and cause discharges between himself and any metal objects within the field, damaging metal-clad opponents if they are not properly insulated.
If Vance concentrates a tremendous amount of power, he can call down large lightning bolts from the sky, several times more powerful than those that arise from his body. Vance has only done this a handful of times.
Historians will, in time, record Vance's remarkable ability to transmute his physical body into pure energy, transporting himself via lightning bolt near-instantaneously around the battlefield, riding currents to unreachable destinations, and rendering physical attacks obsolete. Vance has not tapped into this power as of yet, and it will be years before he is able to master it.
Vance has also not yet been able to call upon the thunderstorms that will herald his approach in his prime. To do so would require unleashing nearly all of his magical power, and at this time that would be catastrophic.
Vance's power is volatile and profoundly difficult for him to control. When he is in any sort of heightened emotional state his magic becomes even more difficult to control. The metal dampeners he wears discharge excess current and keep his body and surroundings safe. Without them he is just as likely to harm himself and his allies as an enemy.
If Vance concentrates a tremendous amount of power, he can call down large lightning bolts from the sky, several times more powerful than those that arise from his body. Vance has only done this a handful of times.
Historians will, in time, record Vance's remarkable ability to transmute his physical body into pure energy, transporting himself via lightning bolt near-instantaneously around the battlefield, riding currents to unreachable destinations, and rendering physical attacks obsolete. Vance has not tapped into this power as of yet, and it will be years before he is able to master it.
Vance has also not yet been able to call upon the thunderstorms that will herald his approach in his prime. To do so would require unleashing nearly all of his magical power, and at this time that would be catastrophic.
Vance's power is volatile and profoundly difficult for him to control. When he is in any sort of heightened emotional state his magic becomes even more difficult to control. The metal dampeners he wears discharge excess current and keep his body and surroundings safe. Without them he is just as likely to harm himself and his allies as an enemy.
Personality
Vance takes after his lightning in his mannerisms. He is volatile and impulsive, quick to anger and prefers to solve problems with force before reason. He makes decisions quickly and usually speaks and acts before truly thinking. Vance is highly competitive and never stops trying to prove himself.
He is described as arrogant, self-important, and boastful. Of course, like all braggarts, his apparent narcissism is born of deep self doubt and insecurity. He is very self-conscious about his inability to fully control his power and sees it as personal weakness that he needs to rely on his armor to keep himself and his classmates safe. While he hates the need for the dampeners, he is also frightened of what could happen should he lose control and is rarely seen without at least some of the metal pieces on his person.
He is described as arrogant, self-important, and boastful. Of course, like all braggarts, his apparent narcissism is born of deep self doubt and insecurity. He is very self-conscious about his inability to fully control his power and sees it as personal weakness that he needs to rely on his armor to keep himself and his classmates safe. While he hates the need for the dampeners, he is also frightened of what could happen should he lose control and is rarely seen without at least some of the metal pieces on his person.
Biography & Lore
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