Name:
Charon Demaris Elvire
Age:
20 years
Gender:
Male
Species:
Mage
Group:
Forsaken
Role:
Scout
Appearance:
Standing at a height of 5'8", Charon seems to have caught the short end of the height spectrum, an annoyance to him sometimes. Yet paired with his slimmer build, it has only provided an advantage in his duties in reconnaissance. Although muscle is visible in his arms and body, it is far more reminiscent of a wildcat rather than a overtly powerful strength, more suited for speed and stealth and precision.
Almost everything about his appearance is darkly shaded. Black hair, as dark and as shiny as a raven's wing, is cut short so as to not get in his eyes, although it is long enough to cover the tips of his pointed ears. His eyes are darker than even his hair, the color of the night sky with no pinpricks of stars nor the presence of the moon, whether merely a deep brown or a true black, he cannot tell. And his skin tone is surprisingly pale, with a cool undertone that makes it strangely stark against his features.
Charon's way of movement is a quiet one, stepping lightly through the underbrush of a forest or slipping along a town's alleyway, the fluidity more feline that than the human he used to resemble. It is easy to see what physical attributes that he favors, especially when he is actively scouting ahead, with quiet motions and unhesitating to slink low with bent legs and hands when seeing the need for true stealth, after all, something standing tall on two legs is often more visible than a creature crouching. That and he used to mimic the local stray cats, patterning his steps and movements after them, when he was a child; it was a trick he learned rather early on.
Personality:
To say that Charon is quiet is an understatement, the male does not make much noise at any given moment, whether verbally or by a product of his movements; if not for the band being as small as it is, it would be easy to forget he exists. Although willing to speak and in certain times, being even chatty, it is not very often when he does anything more than answer what he was been asked. Other than reporting back during his scouting duties, that is. The man is simply an individual that prefers to be quiet than anything else.
It is the observational skill that he possesses that truly placed him as a scout, other than the stealth, and he does not disappoint in the role. Almost nothing gets past him, only when he is the most distracted that he does not, in some manner, notice a disturbance. While he certainly can and definitely has made mistakes, they are not as frequent and they only push him to further his skills; sharpening his eyes and ears and senses to better benefit the others. It is to the point, both naturally and learned, that half of the time, he will not realize that he noticed something until later on, it just was automatically filed under a somewhat non-concerning category mentally.
Neatly connecting with the other parts of his traits, is that he has a decent grasp on tactics. Perhaps it is the thought that he often puts into his movements, planning ahead to the location he wishes to reach, that has helped to develop it, or perhaps not. Either way he does know some strategy, enough to have a loose grasp on what is a good choice and what is not, some of the time at least. It has not been put to much use in a combat, adrenaline-filled situation, though. And he has much to learn about different combat related strategies.
Concentration holds a large part when paired with the rest of his personality, and indeed he is a rather focused person, doing his best to set a goal and meet it before switching to another target. It is his focus that helps him observe, and gain information that could be useful, and that keeps him still when danger is near. It also plays into two of the abilities that he has gained.
The man's quietness that aids in his role, as well as generally flying underneath the radar of other's attentions, holds a negative side to it. And that is that he often has a hard time communicating with others, or even raising his voice above a normal speaking tone, especially when placed under stress. His throat seems to close up when he purposefully tries to call a warning, his response to situations is to go quiet and simply help to resolve the problem, and he has trouble remembering that there are others around that he needs to communicate with. And stress only exacerbates this tendency.
Seeming to work best when placed on his lonesome or with a partner who is not near, he is of a more independent personality than some, and even seems to prefer being on his own as opposed to being in a group sometimes. Indeed, he seems to like to rely on himself for many things, and is all too willing to take action without the approval of a leader, if there arises a situation where he deems it necessary to investigate. This aspect can easily cause problems if he were ever to need to play with a team, with more structure and rigid rules, rather than the scouts that he is used to running with.
While normally fairly patient with many things, he has the tendency to grow irritated at those who do not match his stealth or observant nature, in a way that is different from merely being a bad mood. To see another stumble over uneven terrain, snap a stick underfoot or brush too loudly against leaves, it truly grates at his nerves, as if it were a shot of stress straight into his bloodstream. This holds for details as well, when someone glosses over a feature of the environment that is all too obvious to him, a source of frustration when he has to work closely with another.
Feeling like he has to take majority of the responsibility regarding his role within the group, the man has a tendency of shouldering blame easily, even when a mistake was not one that could truly be pinned on him, or committed by another scout. Perhaps it is the situation that he has found himself in, the importance that keeping the others out of danger's grasp and finding safety holds, that brings this trait to light. Perhaps it would surface no matter what, the feeling of accountability for certain things, even if he is ultimately not responsible for the actions of others, even if it is fully out of his control.
Abilities:
(Reynu's blessing)
-Concealing Radiance-
Blessed with a mild form of light manipulation, he can bend and redirect light away from objects and entities at will, the result being invisibility when properly done. While incredibly simple as an ability, there are difficulties in making sure that he is covering all sides of the subject, and the focus that is required to maintain the illusion is rather high. A slip can spell diaster if sighted by a rival, and while a presence is cloaked physically, sounds and movements can still be heard.
While it can be utilized anywhere, with his current skill and understanding of it, it works best in a forest or cast on things that are in motion, especially when in an emergency, for any imperfections in redirection or slips of attention can be more easily lost in ambient movement.
The larger the object or person, and the longer that he has to hold this ability, the harder it is to maintain it; pushing him past the limit can lead to a strange flickering effect as he struggles to maintain the invisibility. As can sudden sounds, or movements, startle him enough to accidentally drop the concealment, perhaps not fully but enough for something to be seen for a moment.
(Karaq's Blessing)
-Whispers of Nature-
The ability to communicate with plants, from the smallest flower to the ancient trees of the oldest forests, he is able to gain information about the surroundings more easily. There are two avenues that can be taken, a superficial communication and a much deeper one, but both are most effective when he is physically touching the plant in question. And both are, in a sense, forms of telepathy.
The first, and most often used, choice is typically inititated by making contact on a part of the plant in question, such as a flower's petal or a reaching branch of a tree, then asking it a question or otherwise speaking to it in both his language and in their, ancient, unspoken one. With feelings, both straightforward and abstract, and sensations the plant will provide an answer if it is willing. The link, inexplicable and truly magical in many senses, is broken when physical contact is lost.
The second and rarely used, method is initiated in much the same way of the first way of communication. Except that to carry it out, the touch has to be placed on the stem or trunk of the plant, asking permission to delve deeper than the more superficial contact. If it is granted, he will essentially assimilate his mind into the plant's psyche, accessing its memories and feeling what it felt for himself, witnessing happenings as if it were being seen from his own eyes. It requires focus and time and vulnerability, for the connection is never one-sided, and to peer into the memories of a plant, it means that the plant can, in a sense, access his own memories. It is most often used, and most effective, with trees.
The thing about this ability is that is a not often straightforward, the psyche of plants is similiar in some aspects, but ultimately foreign from the minds of animals and other such conventionally intelligent creatures. Plants communicate in feelings and senses, time flows differently for the oldest tree and the blades of grass, it is difficult to parse the meanings of their language, older than time and as deeply woven as roots in the world. They are not often wrong in the things that they bear witness to, but to find the true meaning is difficult, for their way of thinking is both abstract and not.
Even when personally experiencing things in the second method, it can be hard to parse what is threat and what is not, allies and enemies, wanted and unwanted. Not to mention the foreign sensations, bones are roots and skin is bark, feeling a presence extent to the skies in all directions, the breeze and sunlight and warmth and cold; the drifting of emotions that are vastly different, yet similiar, to what he experiences.
Communication with plants is a puzzle, one that is sometimes easily deciphered and sometimes requires time to think over the meanings.
And that is when he find a plant willing to speak, each has a personality of its own and some are less eager to divulge information. They are friendly, hostile, and everything in between, some have an attitute that is more snarky and some prefer to lead a conversation in cryptic circles.
The weaknesses of this ability are inherent to the nature of it, for he cannot connect to a plant unless he is physically touching it, and the strongest path of communication is with skin contacting the plant, anything else is vague and fleeting like a wisp of smoke in the wind. And while the first way can be technically initiated in an emergergency, it can hold a risk of the plant perceiving the connection and his need for information as disrespect, and it will refuse.
The second method has risks that run deeper than the first's, the most apparent is the vulernability to outside attacks when communing with a tree in that manner. Because it is reliving a plant's memory, the mind of a human (a Mage) and the mind of a plant woven together in a temporary connection, he is unable to react to or even notice happenings around his body. With any luck, the tree will likely alert him to something coming, but there is always the possibility that the warning comes too late, or the disturbance too slight for a tree to truly notice.
While there is a low risk that he will forget who he is and be unable to return, for even a willing plant would not be amicable to a foreign presence lingering too long, it still lurks in the corner of the mind. It is more prominent in the oldest, most established of plants, for their memories can range centuries and their presence is immense, both visible and not. It can be difficult to remember, in those cases, what he is looking for, with the altered perception of time and the focus that is needed to parse innocent movements from those of opponents or those that he is searching for. And sometimes, a plant can grow irritated and can esentially eject him from their memory; which is not too horrible of a feeling, but it definitely is painful and can result in a headache if the removal is forceful.
( Xynji's blessing)
-Eroding Touch-
Charon can oxidize and rust any metal with a touch, whether it be a brushing of the fingers against a blade or a solid grip on an object, it will have the same effect. Iron, bronze, copper, or any other type of metal will be ruined by this ability. Emotions do play an important part in the strength of this trait, he can erode things at any time if he so desires, but it is still able to withstand a blow or two, depending on the type of metal. It is when placed in a true life-or-death situation, completely focused on the tumult and emotions, and adrenaline as a result, running high, a touch can completely crumble an opponent's weapon.
Due to the channeling of emotions being involuntary, that in itself can pose a weakness, as he could accidentally erode an ally's sword or otherwise metal weapon if startled. It is also rather limited, the rusting only begins when he touches the object, it does not matter where, per say, only that his skin makes contact; he cannot destroy weaponry and metals remotely.
This is an ability that is more defensive than offensive, meant to give a moment of opportunity for him to run or to properly fight, and so while it technically can be used in a true battle, it is more effective if used discreetly, before an opponent thinks to go for a weapon.
Strengths & Weaknesses:
+Stealth
+Very Observant
+Reconnaisance
+Agility
+Good Memory
-Cannot understand how others overlook details that are so obvious, to him.
-Bad at communication
-Not a team player
-Little too independent
-Physical strength
Affiliations:
Open!
Crush:
Open
Mate:
None
Kin:
Open
Other:
Fall 
Day Weather: 
Heavy Rain
