Tristan Morganthe

IkarosWing wrote:Name: Tristan Morganthe
~Nickname: N/A

Age: 18

Gender: Male

Breed: Human

Alliance: Sentou Gakuin
Ranking: Blue

Warrior Class: Spellcaster, Alchemist
~Sub-Class: Sage, Destructionist

Elemental Affinity: Earth, Water
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Homeland: Tristan was born in a land tucked high in a northern mountain range, several miles north of another mountain, know as Black Mist Peak. It is known only by a simple name, The Sunderlands. This land is of course cold, and snowy almost all times of the year, with high winds, and frequent storms. The few cities that The Sunderlands do have are tucked away in a valley in the center of the mountain range, where they are more protected from the storms. The valley's environment is somewhat less rocky than the mountains around it, more or less high snowy hillside and and rocky outcroppings near its outer edges. As single subterranean passage through the mountains allows travel outside of The Sunderlands, allowing traders and others into and out of the valley. Few people however actually leave the valley. This is because the cities of The Sunderlands are and always have been inhabited by mages. There are several reasons for this. The solitude allows for peaceful and mostly uninterrupted study of magic. As a result, The Sunderlands have been responsible for some of the strongest mages in history, as many mages from surrounding countries travel here to study and train. In addition, the mountains are heavy with two magical resources. One is lodestone, a stone most commonly used in the creation of runes. And the other is a rare crystal called mana stone. Most commonly, this substance is used in the creation of magical items and weapons for its unmatched ability to channel and store magical energy. These two resources make the Sunderlands an ideal place for mages. However, it also makes them one of the most dangerous places, because people often are injured or even killed trying to mine these resources from the treacherous mountains. The cities are largely independent, but they are all united under the leadership of The Council of Seven, a collaboration of the valley's strongest mages, who work to govern the use of magic within The Sunderlands, and prevent its misuse. There is but one magic strictly forbidden within The Sunderlands, and that is alchemy, and particularly creative alchemy. The reason for this is actually how The Sunderlands got their name, and became what they are today. Long ago, there was rolling hillside and flatland where the mountain range stands today. Before The Council took power, there was a great war over the land, which was neutral territory between two warring nations. In the battle that ensued, the strongest alchemists on both sides of the conflict attempted to partition off the land from each other. The misuse of their creative and conversion-based abilities resulted in the soaring mountains that now surround The Sunderlands. Since then, alchemy has been banned within the valley, and all spell books regarding alchemy have been moved far below the capital of The Sunderlands to The Great Library.

Physical Description:



Tristan stands at a height of about five feet and nine inches, weighing in at around 145 pounds. His body size is smaller, being that he has studied magic for most of his life, rather than focusing on physical exercise. His eyes are large and intelligent, being a dark, almost iron gray, with shorter eyelashes. His eyebrows are thin and longer, naturally angled, such that Tristan most often looks questioning or inquisitive. His nose and mouth are both smaller, though normally proportioned for his face. Rather than a rounded tip, his nose is sharper and somewhat more angled. His ears are somewhat larger than normal, though his hair disguises this fact quite well. Tristan's is fairly long by nature, cut short only at the back. At the sides, his hair is long enough to frame his face to a degree, with bangs at the front which fall to cover much of the left side of his face, often hiding one eye; its color is a darker, chestnut brown. He wears more or less usual mage attire. His robe is high collared, and of various shades of brown as well, the larger part of it is a darker cream color with several blade shaped patterns alternating between a light tan and chocolate brown. The top portion of his robe is light brown, and his held together with thick strips of light brown string. The robe itself is made of a light stitched leather. Underneath that we wears simple attire, consisting of brown cloth pants, held by a leather belt with a silver buckle, a chocolate brown sleeveless shirt, and matching dark leather gloves and boots. He has his staff strapped on his back at all times, and his personal magic tome in a leather bag which he carries on his shoulder.

Personality: At his core, Tristan is a mage, and very much has a mysterious personality. As mages spend most of their lives studying independently, Tristan has developed a very independent personality. He often takes on challenges or begins doing things without notifying others, which can lead him into trouble, and cause his allies and friends to worry about him needlessly. Having grown up in a society where mages are very subservient to authority, Tristan is also very much responsive to authority figures, almost to a fault at times. He is very strongly opinionated about magic, especially alchemy, and will not tolerate the abuse of magic or of magic users themselves. He has a tendency to be illusive and sometimes downright misleading, simply because he has grown up in a society of mages, where manipulation is a big part of gaining power and status. As any mage, he is fiercely protective of his spell book and staff. He is sarcastic often, and has a surprisingly good sense of humor, is very intelligent, and very strategic, both in battle and in life in general. He tends to plan out his actions before he takes them, and when he has decided on a plan of action, he jumps to it and will not stop until his goal has been reached. In battle, he is focused and determined, using his magic with planned precision and a very strategic method. Tristan is generally very cool and collected under stress or during confrontation, unless the situation involves a person abusing magic or a magic user, in which case he can easily lose his temper.

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History/Background: Tristan, like many of the mages found in The Sunderlands, was born inside of the valley. His father, Alain and his mother, Serenia, were both strong mages, born in a country far to the west of The Sunderlands, who traveled to the valley in order to escape the oppression of mages in their home. From a young age, Tristan's parents emphasized to him that magic was not a curse or a bad thing, but rather a gift, to be accepted and used to the full. Like many mages, Tristan's training started early. He was reading tomes on magical theory at the young age of 7, and began practicing his first simple spells at 10. He progressed quickly, developing enviable magic skills in both earth and water magic, and loved to find new and creative ways to use these elements in his own magic. Growing up, Tristan was never very social, instead using his time to practice his magic and learn more about his heritage, resulting in a very intelligent, if somewhat anti-social child. The biggest moment of Tristan's life was when he turned 16, and decided to travel to the capital of the Sunderlands, to study magic at the academy there. His parents gave him his own magic tome to practice his spells, inscribed with a spell of protection, and set with lodestone, which he has treasured down to this day. For a year he studied at the academy, when he made the dangerous journey into the mountains to complete his acceptance as an academy mage. This involved him traveling to a large cave beyond the valley, which was in fact a large deposit of mana stone, where he took some of the material to create the head for his staff. As a full academy mage, Tristan gained access to the Great Library, where he became very interested in the history of The Sunderlands. It was then that he discovered alchemy, the forbidden magic. Although he knew of the law against it, and had even taken an oath never to practice it, his parents' lessons overruled the laws of the academy in his mind. He had always believed that magic was not something to be limited or hidden, but to be embraced and used. He was able to find tomes on alchemy, and began reading up on the magic in secret. Soon however, he found that he had a knack for the magic, particularly the destructive aspect of it. While practicing towards the end of his 17th year however, Tristan lost control of his power, and destroyed a large section of the Great Library. When the Council discovered that it was him who had been studying alchemy, he was banned from the academy, and forbidden to practice magic within the valley. Furious, he took his tome and staff and left the academy. Curious about alchemy and hoping to improve his skill in that area and in his magic in general, he left the valley via the cave passage, and began traveling south. After a short time, he began hearing about the academy, Sentou Gakuin, where mages can receive training in any magic they choose. Happy to hear this and encouraged to continue his studies, Tristan travels to the school to become a student.

RP Sample: It was quiet. The early morning was always like this, just inside of the Akamori Forest, just outside of the academy. It was near silent, red sunlight peaking up over the horizon, the cool morning air causing his breath to steam as it plumed out with each breath. Really, Tristan wasn't supposed to be outside of the academy this early in the day, but he had always preferred the outdoors for training than his room. He said, cross-legged, in a clearing just inside the forest, his eyes closed in concentration, spell tome laid out in front of him. Muttering a few words under his breath, the earth before him rippled, like water, and rose in spikes, raising and lowering, until at last it formed a stalagmite with several spires, about two feet tall. He smiled quietly to himself, pleased with his execution of the spell.

All of a sudden, his body went rigid, and he sat stock still, though he kept his eyes closed, his face calm. He spoke quietly to the person behind him, voice echoing on the still air. "Did you think to sneak up on me?" Behind him, Tristan heard the scrape of steel as a blade was drawn from its sheath. The voice that came from behind him was gruff, and cold. "Not safe within your school's walls I see. Did you know, freak, that there's quite a bounty on mages these days?" Tristan opened his eyes, standing slowly, and grabbing his staff as he rose, letting the head rest against the ground. "Why no, no I didn't. So I would surmise you're here to collect?" A scrape came from behind Tristan as the man let his sword trail on the ground, moving closer.

"You'd be right, mage!" With a yell he let his sword fall, cleaving towards Tristan's supposedly unknowing skull. With a simple movement, Tristan moved to the side, the man's blade crashing into the ground now beside him. Tristan laughed quietly, turned to face the man, stunned by the failure of his intended killing stroke, reaching out his free hand to touch the sword blade. "I'd also be right in calling you incredibly stupid." Tristan closed his eyes and his hand glowed with a wild purple light. With a flash, the place where his hand rested on the sword disintegrated, the blade falling in two places to the ground. The man stumbled backwards, staring at the stump of his blade. "How did....what did..." he whispered in fear.

"It's called alchemy. Or didn't you know, fool?" Tristan smiled a very disturbing smile, opening his eyes. "Ortus Terra!" he barked, and the head of his staff, still resting against the ground, shined with an earthy, dark yellow light. This time, when the ground rippled, stalagmites erupted out at an angle, long and wickedly sharp. As the man's pierced body fell to the ground, Tristan laughed once again, the stalagmites crumbling to dust with the ending of the spell. "And that, was magic. You are a fool to challenge a wielder of it." Tristan shook his head, turning back towards the school. It was no longer safe to train in these woods. The next bounty hunter would not be so foolish. Sighing, he began walking back towards Sentou Gakuin. "The woods used to be so peaceful."