Silvis Norm

Started by Aetheren, 25-03-2013

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Aetheren

Silvis Norm

General Information:

- Name: Silvis Norm
- Age: 23
- Height: 190 cm/ 6'3"
- Race: Human
- Build: Lean

Appearance:

- Black hair, green eyes, pale skin (long hours of practicing magic indoors)
- Wears a black mage's garb (or an armoured variant thereof) ordinarily, as is the custom of Norm's males

Proficiencies:

- Weapons of most kinds (especially magical)
- Battlefield tactics and strategy
- Diplomacy (somewhat)

Character:

- Eloquent in his speech
- Accustomed to life as a well standing noble
- Though he is well mannered to most everyone, he also has a habit of looking down on others
- Overconfident in his own abilities much of the time
- Determinedly seeks out power, especially magical power... he believes that at the very least he is owed the power that was taken from him upon exile, and the power that would have been his had the Norm family continued to flourish

Backstory:

The noble house of Norm, to which Silvis belongs, were a family of battle mages, trained specifically in battle magic, diplomacy, battlefield tactics and the adequate use of most kinds of weapons. At birth, as a Norm, Silvis received an emblem, marked with the seal of house Norm. This emblem identified him both as a member of such a high standing house and, consequently, as a powerful mage. In keeping with the Norm tradition, all emblems of the house of Norm are enchanted to increase the magical potential of their bearers. For Silvis, his emblem is extremely valuable. Apart from its worth as a magical artifact, it represents the sole remaining tie to his family, and his home... apart from his own innate magical power. This tie is especially important since Silvis believes the majority of his family to be dead, and his homeland taken by his family's enemies. It is the will to take what he believes to be rightfully his... his power, taken from his upon exile, the lands of house Norm, and the lives of those who took all of this from him in the first place, that drives him onward... and his emblem is a constant reminder of that.

The Norms, famed for their prowess as battle mages and tacticians, were a great asset to their nation. All members of the family received rigorous training in the use of a variety of weapons, particularly those of the magical kind. They also received training in strategy, battlefield tactics and diplomacy.
Silvis, therefore, is fairly able in all these areas. However, due to the abrupt end to his training and his lack of experience, he is far from being as capable as his elders.
There came a time, when Silvis was 21 years old, that the nation that the house of Norm served was crumbling under the strain of a war against a more powerful neighbour. The enemy took territory after territory, and there came a point where Castle Norm itself was laid siege to. The defenders held for several weeks, until the enemy found a way to corrupt their water source with unholy water.

Cornered and out of time, all of the remaining forces inside the castle, including Silvis, were marched out in a desperate final sally. Though they fought valiantly, their vastly inferior numbers allowed the enemy army to surround them on three sides and crush them. The army was wiped out, and the members of the Norm family were taken prisoner. Silvis and his sister were drained of their mana and constitution before being exiled; the fate of the rest of the family remains unknown. However, Silvis believes that it is likely they were executed soon after, thereby putting the possibility of their survival out of his mind.
Silvis gathered a company of 10 men from the survivors to be his guards in exile, and set sail. After what felt like months of travel, they arrived at last in a strange land; one of the men in his employ recalled that he had heard of such a land – it was called Caphori...

Backstory, Following Silvis' arrival in Caphori

Silvis' desire for revenge has driven him to seek out power wherever it lies, especially magical power, and claim it for his own. This lust for power was the reason for him allying himself with the cult of Cthulhu, and the reason for him spending so much time researching magic in all its forms, and how to control and manipulate it. Silvis gathered magical artifacts and tomes from across the land, and slowly regained the mana stripped from him upon exile. Through the conduction of much research and many experiments (one of which resulted in the destruction of his own remote dwelling), Silvis learned many secrets of magic, some yet officially undiscovered.

However, there was a particular event that allowed Silvis to increase his magical power exponentially. Silvis joined the cult of Cthulhu out of a desire to bring about the imbalance, thus turning the world into a much greater source of power than it had been previously. But, although Silvis had made the decision to join, he was still concerned for his own sanity... after all, few who spent much time in the corruption managed to stay in control of their own mind - Davek himself was a prime example. As a result, Silvis went to his friend, Tseune for help and council. What Tseune gave was understanding, and an offer to fuse an enchanted gem with Silvis soul to keep the madness at bay. Silvis agreed almost immediately, and chose to have the gem be a sapphire, due to its association with pure magical energy, or mana. There was a temporary interruption, during which Tseune accidentally absorbed the gem, but later he was able to draw it out of himself and fuse it with Silvis.

Through research of enchantment, Silvis discovered, just as Tseune had told said, that clear materials like glass or gems were much more compatible with enchantment than opaque materials. Thus, through experimentation based on his own knowledge, he found a way to draw power from magical sources around him into the gem fused with his soul in the form of pure mana. Little did he know that the more power that he absorbed, the less human he became... he was becoming more and more a being formed of mana. As this was beyond his knowledge, it was also beyond his control.

Following the chaos that ensued when Davek, in an impatience born of rage, slew the Wall of Flesh and brought about the Imbalance, many fled the land and started afresh elsewhere in Caphori. Silvis, though he had achieved his goal, fled with them. He realised he did not have nearly enough power to withstand the power of the Imbalance, and so decided to retreat and continue to gather his strength. However, before leaving he managed to salvage much valuable knowledge and several artifacts from his own home and from Cthulhu's cathedral, most notably a number of tomes regarding the theory and practice of necromancy.

Though Davek traveled with Silvis to the new land, he soon departed, leaving what little he still possessed to Silvis. As one of the first residents of the new-founded town of Balai, Silvis was able to meet with many of the other inhabitants of the land, previously unknown to him excepting through rumors. Most significant among these new acquaintances were Tsuki, a girl with cat's blood and a past full of secrets, and Matter, of similar species to Tsuki and the Lord-to-be of Balai. Over the next few months, Silvis came to know them better, especially Tsuki, and upon Matter's ascension to lordship Silvis was appointed as his advisor, alongside the captain of the guard.

Once Silvis had settled into his new home, he continued his research into magic in earnest. As he did so he absorbed more and more mana from gems, torches, candles, spells and any other source of power he could get his hands on. His magic became faster, more fluid and more powerful. In addition to re-attaining the knowledge of several spells, Silvis honed his new-found abilities regarding the manipulation of pure mana, creating more and more complicated magical constructs and improving his control over them. Of course, this sort of mana manipulation is only possible if one is extraordinarily in-tune with the magical energies around and inside them - the source of Silvis' attunement, unbeknownst to him, was the amount that he himself had become composed of mana.

Silvis, bearing in mind his goal to raise an army to march upon his homeland to reclaim it, began studying the books of necromancy that he had salvaged from the dark cathedral. It seemed that, necromancy, in essence, was any magic that involved the souls of the dead. As Silvis had already experimented much with his own soul, or at least the gem fused with it, he had a fair bit of background knowledge to get him started. knowing that his fellows would, at the very least, disapprove of his study of this particular branch of magic, Silvis decided to construct a secret, isolated research facility, enabling him to focus himself entirely on his research without fear of interference.

Aetheren

"Post-arrival in Caphori" backstory fleshed out a little and brought much closer to being up-to-date.