The Blood of Kings: Mikhail

[mikhail]

Last Name; First Name;Race

Name: Mikhail Shestopper

Nickname: My Lord will do

Age: 16

Gender: Male

Race: Demon Mace

Position: Student

Class: One Star

Partner: No One

A Strong Body

(Image is property of Wizards of the Coast Inc. Artist Craig J Spearing)

Appearance: Mikhail is a rather plain looking boy for the most part. Although he is tall and well-muscled for his age his features are generally ordinary, and if you were trying to describe him you might say “you know, the kid with the face.”

He has straight black hair that hangs to his shoulders and the stubble of a beard coming in on his long face. His eyes are gray like ash and unexpressive, almost like looking at carvings of eyes on a statue. His facial features otherwise are ordinary, there is very little to suggest his royal heritage. He stands tall, and carries himself with poise and excellent posture, often appearing even taller than he already is for his age.

One thing you could say for Mikhail is his idea of fashion is odd. He dresses like it’s the 12th century. Often wearing leather breeches and doublets with the symbol of his house stitched on them. He also owns a set of ancient plate mail that has been handed down his family for dozens of generations, although he only wears it during ceremonies or when battle is likely. It is a set of well-crafted plate mail made to look blood red with polished bronze trim and a lot of decoration, but it is still incredibly functional. He also often wears a shoulder-cape of wolf fur, even in the hot climate of Nevada.

Height: 5’11”

Weight: 195 Lbs

Fighting Style: Mikhail’s fighting style is conservative, methodical and efficient. He never tries to over extend himself (except to provoke enemies) and waits for openings to strikes. He uses the least amount of effort possible in a fight, trying to best conserve his energy and outlast his opponents. His Blood of Kings ability helps him with this as even if he took a wound that might maim another man it instead strengthens him, at least for a while. Mikhail has a good grasp of tactics in personal combat and isn’t afraid to over extend himself if he thinks it will yield a greater reward than the risk he puts forward.

In battle Mikhail is a deadly enemy to face because as a fight drags on he becomes more powerful with every blow landed against him, until he finally cannot go on and loses all his strength in one catastrophic moment. Mikhail can be battered bruised and bloodied and deliver blows of near inhuman strength, move with incredible speed and strike with uncanny precision due to his blood power.

Personality: Mikhail is as cold as the chilly climate he comes from. His childhood was fraught with disappointment so he is slow to trust and slower still to make friends. Even to the few people he calls friend he is still distant and emotionally cold. Yet he isn’t without compassion of his own, he prefers to keep his feelings close to the vest, but he still has them. Mikhail is loyal to those he calls friends, loyal almost to a fault. He is also valorous, trying to live by the ancient warriors’ codes.

Mikhail is also a fatalist. He believes everything is the decree of fate, of some distant gods pulling strings and fighting silent wars with each other through intermediaries. He is quick to accept his fate, dire though it may be, and growing up with the portents that surrounded him does not shy away from his own destiny. Like the Norse gods of old he trains to accept his destiny one day, rather than try and change it to something he knows it cannot be. Fate has decreed him last in the line of his family, but it has also told him he will have the sweet vengeance his family has desired for forty-nine generations.

Mikhail also stands on ceremony and can be a bit insufferable at times. He insists on being referred to by his proper title (usually My Lord or Majesty), as well as referring to people by their proper titles (should they have one) and is often cordial even around people he despises, to a point at least. That said he is not one to say much when others are around to do the talking, unless they are clearly ill suited to the task.

Inside the Soul

Weapon form: A flanged mace with a budding rose set at the top. Long thorn covered vines of steel run down the haft and in between the flanges. The handle is covered in the vines but here the thorns are small and cause no discomfort to the wielder, they are hollow and allow Mikhail to draw blood form his Meister to fuel his Blood of Kings ability. The mace is long enough, about two feet, to be comfortably wielded with either one or two hands depending on the circumstances and meister’s preference.

Partial Form: None

Abilities: The Blood Of Kings: really a suite of powers granted by Mikhail’s unique family history, most of which is usable in weapon form and out. First the Blood of Kings is a sort of pseudo vitomancy, not really magic but it has some features that are similar. Mikhail’s blood imparts power to him as it is spilled; he becomes stronger, tougher, quicker, and more agile as time goes on. This power however takes a toll, as when he finally collapses from blood loss he can be in a bad way needing immediate care if a fight wore on him too much to replace the blood he lost (luckily he is AB).

In weapon form the unique properties of his weapon form allow him to draw blood from his meister and use it to similar effect, however only if the meister is of royal blood. The blood is drawn from tiny little thorns in the handle of the mace that are painless to the meister and pools in the hollow budding rose which sits at the top of the flanges, making the rose appear red, Mikhail has control over how much blood is taken. He can use this blood to fuel his meister in much the same way the blood fuels himself, making him stronger or faster or tougher, though to a lesser extent. This has the unfortunate side effect on the meister, causing him to lose blood and strength without feeling the effects, since few people are used to this peculiar event it can often turn out badly for a meister who isn’t cautious.

The rose on the mace contains exactly 49 petals, partitioned into 7 groupings of 7 petals each, and each group of petals holds about a half a cup of blood (a group of 7 draws from the same pool, so either it is full or empty it cannot be say 3/7 of the way full). So full this can take up to 2 and a half cups of a meister's blood (the average human has about 6 quarts of blood at any given time which is 24 cups). The blood can then be spent to fuel abilities for the meister. So far it can only be used to mimic Mikhail's blood of kings ability on a lesser scale. So if 1 grouping was spent for strength it would make the meister about one a one-sevenths times as strong (1 and 1/7), if all seven were spent it could double the meister's strength, the same goes for toughness agility or speed. The effects are temporary and usually are enough to get through one fight scene, but won't last long enough for very prolonged fights or a series of several smaller fights. This also means that the head of the mace is, most often, filled with liquid which imparts stronger impacts than if it were empty as the liquid will cause a second impact from the mace head immediately after the first (two and a half cups weighs just a bit over a pound and a half).

Resonances:N/A

Out of your Mind

Strengths: Quick Reflexes: Mikhail has quick reflexes, despite his normally ponderous attitude in combat. He is quick with a parry or a dodge or to take advantage of an opening.
Martial Paragon: For his age Mikhail is a superb fighter. He is stronger and more precise in combat than most people due to his extreme training.
Heart of Ice: Mikhail is not easily controlled and lacks for fear. He isn’t brave, but he is fearless. He can also be calculating in combat, and is willing to put a member at risk for the greater benefit of the group.
Weaknesses:Poor Endurance: Mikhail's excessive blood loss during combat, as well as other factors, cause him to have a poor level of endurance. He will often go down sooner, and harder, than most other people.
Ponderous: Mikhail moves ponderously in combat, often slow and reserved. The sheer weight of his weapon form can also cause a meister to make slower attacks than one might expect.
Easily Injured: Mikhail suffers from weak skin and is easily injured. Even a glancing blow can cause a pretty bad bruise or quite a bit of bleeding.

Hobbies:Train for destiny and live, until now he hasn’t had much time for hobbies.

Likes: Swords, Fairy Tales, Snow, Solitude, Horses

Dislikes: Mother, Witches, Heat, Small talk

Aspirations: Avenge his ancestors and kill the witch who cursed his blood.

History: To understand Mikhail one must understand the history of his family. Long ago Mikhail's ancestor Vladimir was the subject of a powerful plot, and even more powerful destiny. Vladimir was king of a minor state, and a great warrior. None were as skilled with the sword as him, or as expert a horseman. His name still lives on in legend in the circles that know of him.

Vladimir was the subject of a witch’s obsession though. Unbeknownst to him she watched him, longed for him, obsessed over him from afar. This was a time when demon weapons were still very rare, and the art of crafting them was not yet fully known. Vladimir however was a happily married man, though still without child. His wife was barren and his family line seemed destined to die.

The young witch approached Vladimir one day, offering her help. She explained she could give him a son, though he would have to offer something in return. A blood pact. His line would forever live on, one man at a time, for 7 generations of 7 generations. They would be stronger than other men, able to wield their very blood as a weapon, but so powerful was the pact, that only one male of the family could live at once. When a man fathered his first son, he was destined to die before the son's birth. In return the witches soul would forever be bound to the family line, immortal as long as one man yet lived. When that final scion of the blood pact was born a terrible price would have to be payed, though the price itself was never given to Vladimir. Reluctantly he accepted, the witch told him to be with his wife tonight and they would conceive a son.

The witches promise rang true. In a month Vladimir's wife showed the first signs of pregnancy. In 5 she was heavy with child. By the sixth month Vladimir grew deathly ill. In another month he died, the victim of some unknown ailment. Two months later the first son of the cursed line was born.

And so it was that with every man he bore his son, and died on the seventh month of pregnancy. The men of the family grew sly, and intentionally put off marriage, or at least conception, until they were very old, usually in their sixties or later. The line has lived on for over seven-hundred years like this. Forty-eight generations have passed since Vladimir's death. Mikhail is the prophesied last son, and will have to pay the terrible price, whatever it may be, of his ancestor's pact.

The pact also had another side effect. Somehow the witch had been able to learn how to make demon weapons. She had not perfected the technique and it would be a good guess Vladimir was her first attempt at making a demon weapon. In a somewhat ironic twist the weapon form he became was that of the family crest; a flanged mace with a budding rose atop it, a long thorny vine winding down the handle. And so has the weapon form remained to this day, passed on down the family line. Due to the imperfections of the creation though the weapon demands a price from its wielder; blood. The thorns on the weapon are not merely decorative but are in fact a series of sharp, hallow tubes, connected to the vine, which lead up to the hollow glass rose. While being held by a meister the thorns pierce the hand of the wielder and the rose fills with crimson red blood, which can be used to fuel the weapon's abilities. Another dilemma is only the blood of a true king, or prince, can unlock the true potential of the weapon.

Mikhail's own history is no less tragic. He grew up in a broken household, his young drunkard of a mother slowly whittling away what remained of the family’s fortune. All he learned he learned from his paternal grandmother. Sixteen years of his life were spent avoiding his mother and her drunken rages. Sixteen years secretly training for his destiny, as his grandmother had instructed him. Sixteen years with no father.

By the time Mikhail turned 14 his grandmother was old, and ill. She was on her deathbed. Mikhail did everything he could for her, but when she died he was left only with his hated mother. By this time she had spent almost all his family’s wealth, sold their traditional manor and estates, and even hired out Mikhail for cheap manual labor to feed her addictions. Mikhail saved what little he could, stole what he needed, and finally came up with enough money to afford a ticket to the U.S.

His grandmother had told him about Shibusen, and how they trained demon weapons and meisters to kill witches and kishin. He thought, perhaps, if he went there he could find this mysterious witch who had placed the curse on his family and end her.

Extra Notes: Mikhail has brought with him a plain steel bastard sword, as well as his set of ancestral armor. The sword is more decorative and sentimental than anything, but it could be used functionally. Mikhail also speaks with a fairly thick Russian accent, though he is perfectly understandable.

sloppy makeouts goes here

Behind the strings

Alias: Archimedes

Other characters: N/A

Face Claim: N/A

RP Sample:Mikhail walked down the streets of Death City, a new arrival, with his overly large backpack hanging off one shoulder, and stuffed to bursting with all he brought with him, he had sent for some of his bulkier belongings to be sent to the dorms of Shibusen once he had settled in. Mikhail had wanted to get a good look at the city, but was sorely regretting it now “could it be any hotter in this forsaken land?” he muttered under his breath to himself. Already he longed for the freezing temperatures of his manor home, but knew he could never go back as his good-for-nothing mother had sold it shortly after his departure, likely to pay off gambling debts.

Mikhail spied a nearby coffee shop, and though he had no taste for the stuff, figured they might have air conditioning and ducked inside. Whispers rose from the patrons as he found a place to put his bag; even for Death City he was sort of an odd sight dressed as he was and with a dirk dangling off his hip in it’s scabbard in plain view. Some of the less reputable looking patrons eyed his luggage bag curiously but he shot them an icy glance and they tore their eyes away. Approaching the barista at the cash register, a plump girl who couldn’t have been older than 20, he said “water, iced.” It was not a request, but a demand, Mikhail was accustomed to being heard and obeyed without question. He watched her without interest as she grabbed a cup and went to fill it up at a sink tap behind the bar counter.

Out of the corner of his eye he spied someone grab his bag and bolt for the door, “Stop! Thief!” He shouted as he ran after the man. The thief led him through winding alleys and across rooftops, but Mikhail kept the chase up, he was wishing he hadn’t set the bag down now as the heat was wearing on him. Finally he cornered him in a dead-end alley, stopping for a breath and saying “Sorry friend, dead end, now hand back the bag.”

A man snuck up behind him before the thief could do anything and grabbed the dirk from its scabbard, a large man, well-muscled and with the look of a hired thug about him. “Sorry friend,” he spat with contempt and sarcasm, “dead end, now hand over your money.” Mikhail could smell his breath behind him, it was like something out of a nightmare, some putrid combination of smoke bad eggs and three day old morning-breath. By now the thief had dropped the bag and scampered up a drain pipe to the roof tops and disappeared.
Mikhail turn around, slowly, his hands raised in submission to look at the much older man “You have a lot of gall sellsword, now give me back my dirk and leave this place, lest you feel like losing a hand today.” The bigger man laughed and slapped him across the face with the back of his hand, sending Mikhail sprawling; he was bleeding from his cheek. An icy grin tugged the edges of Mikhail’s lips as he looked up at the thug. He pressed his palm to his cheek, blood flowing from it at an irregular rate. He jumped to his feet and punched the thug across the face, sending him sprawling some distance away.

The thug dropped the dirk in shock and without another word scrambled to his feet turned tail and fled. Mikhail felt weary; the combination of the heat, the chase, and the blood loss was getting to him. His face was pale now because of the blood he had pulled. He grabbed his dirk back up and sheathed it then went to retrieve his bag. He decided Death City was not the place to walk about with your valuables in plain view and headed toward Shibusen. After a while he remembered why he had stopped in the coffee shop in the first place, he had a powerful thirst in this dry desert heat.

[The Sidhe]

Alright, just a little bit of tweaking.

First off please add how long his Weapon form is. Everything else in the description looks wonderful, just add that tiny bit of information.

Next, his Blood of Kings ability is way too strong for a One Star and is a bit too close to Black Blood. You can keep how the more he is injured, the stronger her gets. However we must ask you to remove the part where he can form his blood into shapes and Weapons. You are welcome to replace these abilities with a partial form instead. Also elaborate on how this ability affects his Meister when he uses it.

The strengths and weaknesses don’t measure up. His combat training and fearlessness are strengths that can be expected in every battle, however his strength in wounds may not as there is no guarantee he will be injured in every battle he is in. Changing it to say he is physically strong may be better. As for weaknesses, they need some more work. Proud is a personality trait, not a weakness. The blood loss is merely a disadvantage as again, there is no guarantee he will be injured during every battle. Fatalist can be read into as being overconfident, which again is more of a personality trait of disadvantage. Maybe he has a slow recovery time after an attack or a slow thought process. Maybe he doesn’t have the best strategy skills.

Lastly, you are missing two important things from your profile. Please read the General Rules and the Character Rules to find them.

[mikhail]

Alright I'll get on that, those weaknesses were always my... weakness. As for the blood forming, can I expect that might be a purchasable upgrade at some point? Also I must argue for the blood loss weakness. I couldn't imagine that there would be many fights he would escape unscathed.

[Rylux]

Almost there~

Weaknesses: None of these really work. Try for things that apply to both human and weapon form. Loner is more of a disadvantage as he will mostly be working with one other person for most missions. Harms meister is only applicable in weapon form. And blood loss only applies if he gets cut which is negated if he enters weapon form.

Lets try for something more concrete like...thin skin, so he is more likely to bleed and make use of his ability. Maybe low endurance so he tires more easily and crashes harder after the blood boost wears off. Perhaps he is slow outside of reflexes as he tends to favor a more conservative fighting style? Or maybe one previously suggested?

As far as the blood forming that is questionable as the ability is rather close to that of black blood and as a weapon forming their own weapon seems to negate their need to be wielded by a meister. Though perhaps you could purchase something akin to a partial form through the ability like thorns (of blood?) forming on part of his body, or the flanges of the mace (made of blood?) forming on his fist.

[mikhail]

Confound these weaknesses the drive me to drink!

As for the blood weapons it was in my mind just a more thematic partial weapon form. It would basically function exactly the same, but be way cooler.

[mikhail]

Okay I did a few things this run. I defined how Blood of Kings works on the meister more, and exactly how much blood is uses (as well as measurement of average blood count and weight, just or convenience). I also changed one of his strengths from quick reflexs to born leader and (hopefully) got the weaknesses down. *crosses fingers*

[Rylux]

There we go! Feel free to begin posting at any time~