NOTICE: the following are documents of a history alternate to our own, and have no bearing on my personal preferences for religion, politics, traditional values, etc. etc. read on at your own risk of being offended. i take no responsibility

Names: Human: Norman Kellsworth-RuhigeNacht ("quiet night")

Shade: Zkhar Na'Vazhael ("discovered" whilst he lingered in the Spectral plane. more on that later.)
Aliases: Ara'Du'khaal, Shael Vazheral, Jared Rockwell, Bernice "Brandy" Davila, Mittens(Ivory Tower personality only. explained later).
Original Birthplace: Lincoln City, Oregon
race: originally, Human. now he would be best described as a Spectral Energy being.

Personal Background:
Born on Earth Year 2047 to by a Surrogate mother, a close friend to his Fathers, Norman KellsWorth-RuhigeNacht was noted for his quiet, analytical nature. When he was birthed he never cried, not once, when the doctors put him through his first physical or any other such thing. He seemed to be watching the doctors and other people with an alertness not normally attributed to newborns. Even as a child he would take toasters, sewing machines, and even the television a few times apart using improvised tools (i.e. paperclips, other nails, etc.)
His parents were very quick to notice this. Randy KellsWorth, close friend of the surrogate mother, and an employee at an aeronautics Laboratory (mostly maintenence and basic framework design) became quickly irritated by this fact, and often resorted to berating young Norman for his actions... at least at first.
At the age of six young Norman attended school, where he received harsh treatment for both his untraditional family and his habit of removing lightbulbs from the ceiling as a practical joke(he was very sneaky and managed to find and sneak in a ladder before class time to do this. No explanation has yet been given as to how he managed to do so multiple times, and without detection)
At age thirteen he had written complex software and firmware that duly prevented other students from logging into their accounts on a district-wide scale, while at the same time giving him Root access to every one of these accounts. he claimed later that he did it "simply to see whether or not it could be done".
While it was generally believed he meant no harm in his actions the school board, influenced by VERY outraged parents, decided to expel him for the rest of the year. Upon readmission he would be restricted from going near anything electronic, save for under supervision.
This restriction did not set well with Norman. Randy and Geriard RuhigeNacht, whom worked as a school board network administrator, were infuriated. After the compromising code was removed and all firmware restored to its previous settings, he was forced to work in manufacturing with Randy as punishment whilst he was under expulsion (since it was sanctioned by his father and Norman wouldnt be doing anything outside the supervision of his father, and because they had a REALLY good Lawyer, the company agreed to turn a blind eye)

By the age of sixteen his parents had decided to take his newfound talents and attempt to foster them. he was removed from the Public schools and placed prematurely into a technical institute, where he studied and worked until reaching the age of nineteen.

At the age of 19 Norman soon found another avenue to which he found himself enraptured, and that road was Programming. After the Firewall debacle his parents kept him away from any extraneous programming languages, but now that he was living independantly, he was free to pursue these avenues at his leisure.
He soon discovered how hardware, software, firmware and other pieces of the electronics industry all fit and united together. he had always instinctually guessed at it but had never had the chance to fully explore it. he reached very respectable ranks (he wasnt the top of his class, surprisingly, but he was still in the Honor roll, graduating in the top 20)
At the age of 20 Norman saw himself sitting on a fat government paycheck and overseeing several new divisions. After the republican party had redirected a mch larger majority of the money away from their fatass oil companies (something only done after an astonishing discovery) and to their scientific (and military) efforts. this left Norman with a lot of budget to distribute among his division.
Along with about 147 others he was a major effort in discovering the Spectral Plane, a dimension in which space and time operated not only differently from ours, but independantly of one another as well.
After much observation it was discovered that there were other beings living within this realm, nothing more than unified streams of Energy interacting in chaotic and often Cataclysmic ways... and then moving off to another realm. Since time and Space operated seperately of one another the distance traveled was impossible to track or map out. in fact there were no visible markings or Waypoints (at least not to the Human's Perception)

Norman was not the first technician to be Fascinated by the goings-on of this Universe or its residents, nor would he be the last, but he was probably the most daring. along with 17 others he worked tirelessly to learn about the universe and its denizens.
His discoveries, and that of others, coupled by the Rise of Psychic acceptance and the Training of such, led to the first openings of what could conceivably be called "magic(k)"
Norman Sanctioned and assisted in research revolving around how to breach the dimensional barrier, retrieve, and question the being about the workings of this world. What he did not perceive was that Politics had a different plan altogether.
The rise of Psychics (and psionics) in the States and much of the World had led to a great many discoveries, but like all avenues, it could be exploited. As was their wont, humans exploited it for less-than-noble things.
Many psychics/psionics tapped into their power to steal, attack people, and even murder in cold blood. This rapidly become a rampant problem, as regular law enforcement was commonly blown away with ridiculous ease by a disciplined psionic or psychic.
Some time after Norman turned 23 CaldWell Industries, The Company for which Norman Worked, was one of many looking for that "magic lock" attempting to find an equalizer to what President Ron Paul was calling "Psychic terrorism". CaldWell Industries began working, covertly, on developing methods to summon, Restrict, and Direct the impressive beings of the Spectral Plane to maintain order in the world.
Among this Project were several subsets dedicated to locating the strongest forms of Energy Being in this Plane of existance. Norman was put in charge of the Consumer project. A group of seventeen dedicated Scientists found what they believed was an incredibly powerful and aggressive entity, which Dwarfed others by comparison. Though Norman was not aware of this, or even the exact nature of the being in question, nor even the Company's intent regarding this being, he did what he was asked, under the Impression that he was being told how to summon and question these beings on their world. he drew three summoning circles on the ground, which were reinforced by technology in th floor which gave them a link to the Spectral plane. Drawing was not a specialty of Norman's but he performed decently and made what appeared to be perfectly drawn circles.
Decent was not enough. A small nick in the floor, not visible to the Human Eye, was present on one of the areas he was Instructed to inscribe. This was the circle he sat in. The being he was instructed to summon, the Elemental Consumer, was a prodigy at warping the elements of time in its plane. On this realm it manifested these talents by warping the reality of physics, causing anything it was near to rebel against scientific law. how this has been done is currently not explainable, though it is theorized that this being actually takes part of the Spectral Plane with it and actively uses it as a tool of its mind.
Normally the Circles reinforced by the technology build within prevent this by binding the user to a shield of pure Spectral energy, exactly the same as the Consumer's Energies, preventing access to the area inscribed upon. this pure barrier also kept out all other spectral beings, but did not keep the user from using spectral magic(k) against those in the summoning circle (the one the Consumer was present in). No matter how thin, the nanoscopic crack was present enough to be exploited. the Consumer quickly noticed this, targeted it, and used it to open a bridge from its circle to Norman's. A burnt wisp of vapor was all that was seen in the instant the Consumer fell upon Norman.
The odd part of it all was that there were countless men who were inside circles specifically trained to deal with an outbreak. each one of them looked absolutely prepared for a battle to the finish as Norman completed the Summoning, and immediately lashed out when Norman was Consumed (pardon the poorly executed pun)
Norman was Presumed dead and gone. the Men there Banished the Consumer immediately and Doctored Norman's records to make it look like a gas leak had destroyed him and the circles.


Norman had, in fact, survived. the Consumer had actually taken him into the Spectral plane. There he stayed for what he perceived as two passing Years. The indirect result was the warping of perception and as part of this he claims to be 25. hundreds of years actually passed, however, before he would return to his home realm. During the first hundred years Norman experienced nothing short of the utmost pain (for the women out there who have children, assuming some of you have, imagine it being like giving birth through every molecule of your body, without pain medications or any form of relief, and having complications from the birth that resulted in the infant dying and coming out mutilated. that was what Norman experienced, countless times over, for hundreds of years, in terms of pain) as his body was slowly torn apart, compressed, converted into Energy, returned to normal form, and destroyed again, then returned to him, and once more turned into pure Spectral Energy. This everlating ream of pain became the norm for poor Norman, and there he stayed, hapless for the time being.
Over the course of the next century or so he began to merge, in part, with the Spectral plane. the pain at this point had become so commonplace he felt it less and less each minute. his body had been refined into an energy of purest form. his will and conciousness were scattered among every atom, lepton, electron, neutron, and quark. through concentration he can direct this into any form of his choosing. since he was remade into pure energy the impression of a voice is what he directs it to be, so he can speak as easily in a human form as that of a cloud.
The development of his level of concentration built up over a course of centuries before he could mainstay any form in the Spectral Plane. his preference was to mingle chaotically and absolutely with whatever other beings with whom he collided.
While he remembered his whole past with clarity and distinction, he no longer felt any true connection to it. the extended exposure had twisted his mind and almost his whole definition of who he was. He abandoned his birth name therein. In addition to his focus his senses, too, were sharpened, trained to look into planes of physics beyond that which ungifted humans saw. in time he learned that all matter operates on several independantly but inexplicably stacked within one another parallel to each other. it took many decades afterward to learn to direct his will beyond that of the planes he was used to. eventually this formation of knowledge gave him a complete understanding of who he was, and what he was.
Though he cannot explain it there was a single set of syllables that resonated perfectly with his description of self. it was at this time that he chose to abandon his given name for this new resonation of words. Zkhar NA'Vazhael was born.
Only two things remained of Norman. the first was his insatiable curiousity and inquisitive, prankster-type nature. the second was his Fascination and proficiency with technology, the latter being augmented by his enhanced senses and capabilities
After the discovery of his inner nature he chose to dedicate himself to the greater mysteries of existance, life, and energy itself. However he would not get this opportunity for very long. After a while he felt himself being tethered and compressed, pushed into a form of even more concentrated energy. this pain was unlike anything he had ever felt before, and it was terrifying. he was ripped from the fabric of his new home, back into the physical world, for the first time in centuries. Upon entering he realized that unlike in the spectral plane, he HAD to have a physical form of some sort. His Humanly coherent thought was of how he would shorten the life of those who caused this. Upon materializing fully he found himself in a strange, icy wasteland of a planet, within the walls of some large building, well constructed, but beyond anything he had ever seen before.
An empty room with what seemed to be open walls and a clouded storming white sky marked the start of his relationship with his first (and only) master, a young Vaghnaghshi Mage named Kel'Taar.
The young mage explained of a situation which needed close attention and observation. He was instructed to tail a very noisy political leader on this world, a council member known as Scion Rhazmus, whom had been speaking openly against the return of a leader whom had been gone a long while. Rhazmus' arguments boiled down to a simple thought: why make things more complex than they need to be? everything had been fine after their leader had left.
he followed this man for many days and marked his doings for Kel'Taar to read. he did so willingly because he realized he would be released sooner if he would cooperate, or so he thought. eventually his findings led to the conclusion that Rhazmus was planning to splinter off of their nation, known collectively as the Arctic Sanctuary(dedicated to the well being of its travelers, think of it as a large scale red cross, only more efficient at what it does).
Despite Zkhar's findings Rhazmus successfully fractured off, creating his own mercenary group known as blink strike. they departed Sanctuary space to seek their own life, never yet seen again on sanctuary territory

Seeing his value as a scout Kel'Taar instructed Zkhar was instructed to scout various planets to deem whether or not they would be a worthy expansion to the Sanctuary, or a possible ally, or worse yet, a threat. Zkhar has explored at least 39 planets in this manner. some were colonized, others were assimilated and stripped of resources.
over time Kel'Taar and Zkhar had many discussions over issues in his assignments, of his life, and of Kel'Taars interests as well as Zkhar'd past on occasion. in one such discussion zkhar mentioned dimensional binding, a subject of great interest to Kel'Taar. upon discovering the existance of new universes to explore he immediately assigned Zkhar to that assignment, him being the only one capable of doing so. he remains in this assignment today.


Earth History:
The Year is 2070. Americans were finally united under a the banner of the Libertarian party, and things were looking grand.
Funding was directed to Earth's military and scientific sections more than anything else, even oil companies, after the Heralding of a discovery a few years back: a unique and very chaotic plane of being that operated more or less without any recognizable laws of physics. time itself existed, but seemed to execute at its most orderly in a circuitous, Non-Linear Fashion (think of ocean currents during a hurricane)
However there were problems with the Years ahead. over the past few years Psychics had become more involved and accepted in their communities and worldwide. this led to an acceptance and fostering of these people's respective talents.
Eventually there were some whos mind's were so adaptive that they began to develop their own capabilities, such as Manipulating objects from a distance, producing small objects with their mind, and in a few instances, being able to mutate objects to have new properties (alchemy), as well as directing the elements to their will ("Magic(k)")
This newfound talent and release from all inhibitions as part of the training lead to a wide spread, prolifically expanding crime known collectively as "psychic terrorism" (coined by Ron paul, 2067).
The panic that followed lead Governments worldwide to enlist the help of countless private contractors. At first they relied on freelancing psionics bent on making a profit in this new industry, but such men and women were unreliable and at times would at times accept larger sums of cash or material goods from the people they were paid to kill. They would then walk away and live on a private island the rest of their life (figuratively speaking, although four did set up private resorts to live out their days)
Eventually they turned to the Corporations they had been pampering for so long to do their dirty work. Seven companies went to work trying to determine how to enforce them. Richfield Tech had begun development on an inhibitor that would bee distributed worldwide and surgically implanted into the next generation of infants, as well as all adults and teens of the time. Caldwell Industries suggested the use of the Spectral Force to police and govern the Psychic/Psionic population.
SilverShadow Inc, a former Gaming company turned Aeronautics (the Same that Randy KellsWorth Labored in) had designs for a material that restricted psionic energies, absorbing a psychic's mental energies and preventing those energies from escaping, as well as converting these energies into usable energy to power prison facilities. they were in charge of building special prisons to hold Psychic/Psionic criminals (it should be noted that of the two, psionics were more likely to abuse their Talents)
a company known simply as Raxus united began implementing a robotics system which would help track down criminals of the same nature, using a material which, unlike Silvershadow's build, reflected radiated auras of a psychic/Psionic. by following these echo waves the user of such a device, also equipped with a device to fixate upon a particular astral signature, could find a psychic within seconds of his/her crime.

What the other companies contributed is not known.

During a testing incident within Caldwell Industries A young prodigial technician, programmer, and hardware designer, Norman Kellsworth-RuhigeNacht, was destroyed in an event. With him being a keystone in their discoveries and processes Caldwell began to question the safety of their experiments. After they began their cover-up procedure (to avoid negative PR backlash) Caldwell industries perfected the Art of what they called "summoning", and all inhibitions were forgotten.
The Governments worldwide embraced this new plane of existance and used its denizens in an attempt to restore order. Though not completely successful the combined might of these industrial programs, save for those of Richfield Tech, on PR grounds and reasons of practicality of implementation, reduced Psychic/Psionic crime by roughly 85%.
To prevent the Spectral plane from being abused on Earth only psychics/psionics on government payroll were allowed access to the secrets of Summoning. New laws were placed on a worldwide scale, marking the beginning of a unified Earth Government. At first conspiracy theorists believed it to be some secret Bildibergers plan to make a one world government, creating a lot of opposition to the laws on such a global scale. in time the validity of these claims were either ignored or superceded by the simple fact that they needed a vice to control psionics and psychics, simple as that.
The world was now unified in a loose manner, and people soon began to see the value of working in a large, unified force. In time they re-opened space programs that had been closed by way of funding cuts, and started to explore their solar system once more.
It was Silvershadow Incorporated that created the first line of commercial spacecraft, skyrocketing their profit margins twenty-fold. As the earth grew more heavily populated the need to expand grew desperate in many places, particularly in China and Tokyo, japan, but less notably in the US, Austria, certain Middle Eastern countries, the UK, and Russia.
It would be another 50 years before humans began creating livable domiciles outside of their own planet. The most famous of these was the world-wide collaboration on the International Space Station. Resources on earth were still abundant but the population was ever growing, and as such the distribution was slowly thinning. Something had to be done. World representative Ron paul was the first to sanction a purification effort that would take all the collective prodigies, oddities, and otherwise mentally enhanced people, and ship them off to the nearby Red planet, Mars. There they would be instructed to make a living and contact earth to begin establishing the benefit of colonization. Though it is not known how, the trajectory calculations for the craft was erroneously inputted, sending the hapless exiles into a barren void filled only with stars, never to see their home or anyone else again. they are presumed dead.
To avoid negative PR backlash this was done in secrecy. Many of the devout, upon awaking to find that many of the people in their lives somehow up and vanished, believed this to be the beginning of the return of their deity of choice.
This widespread panic was augmented by a set of crazed individuals, powerfully gifted psychics and psionics all of them, whom had been missed amid the Purification attempts, and all of whom had access to Spectral Secrets, whom referred to themselves as "Virtue's Light". this group set out to begin their "holy" path of dominion, first decimating populations they believed to be too "sinful" or "impure" to stand. Often these people were honest, hardworking citizens whom broke some religious taboo commonly associated with faiths of old. among the most prevalent targets to be publically and brutally tortured, often raped, and executed (portrayed on media screens) were Gays, lesbians, anyone of transgender nature, and those who didnt believe in any god.
While they were at first mistaken as saviors by the more paranoidly devout of religious followers, they were in full rejected after a worldwide incident wiped out a Children's Hospital. It was a very public event, soon broadcasted throughout the entire world.
no person of reasonable mind took that as divine will. The men and women of Virtue's Light were persecuted and made into pariahs, madmen and just plain out murderers. Among the men women and children massacred in their continuing onslaught were the parents of Norman's life, as well as many public figures, including World Representative Ron Paul, whom was seen as a "liar and a deceiver of the truth and virtue"
Even today, in the year 2125, Virtue's Light remains a terrible and powerful threat to basic human decency and life. they have murdered millions, singlehandedly escaped both Spectral creatures and trained government psionics/psychics alike. their leaders, Kharazai Ar'Al-Fash, Damian mcNair, and Tori shunigaza, were responsible for more than two thirds of the crimes alone. They have overrun japan, most of the middle east, save for Iran and India, Australia, and mexico. they are currently attempting to access the United States, China, North korea (for whatever reason), the UK, and the middle eastern countries they failed to overwhelm. Spectrals are used heavily in both sides of the fight and some once lush habitable lands are now hostile, Barren HellScapes, no longer fit to live in. most of the earth itself is unharmed, however, and such wastelands are far and few between. in one incident the Sahara desert was transformed into a paradise of sorts (something which Vitue's Light is quick to tout as "their proof of righteousness" this argument nonwithsdanding the fighting is very heavy on Earth.

History of the Arctic Sanctuary:
The Bipedal Denizens of this arctic world, known as the Vagnaghshi, were a hardy, intelligent, generally peaceful race, very welcoming to newcomers and travelers, and fairly advanced in all but space travel. around what was Earth Year 2090 a group of the Vagnaghshi had been tracking local wildlife when they saw a red flash streak across the sky. unsure of the nature of this they contacted one of their leaders. upon agreeing on a course of action they set out to find the location of whatever had crashed there. in the far outskirts of a village they happened upon a colossal, partially burnt, no longer functional vehicle, bearing inscriptions unreadable. the doors opened and, slowly, the inhabitants of the craft began to file out and explore.
This discovery was a big hit with the Vagnaghshi. They had had travelers before but usually they came from distant lands, not from the heavens above. One of their braver council leaders, a young Mage named Kel'Taar, approached and greeted the travelers. Although first regarded with suspicion he was eventually accepted by the strange individuals. He noted that the first thing that most of them had in common was a strong psychic attunement to the world around them. using this to his advantage he spoke to them mentally.
The exiled Earthlings were shocked. They had not thought of an encounter with life that not only was sentient, but was telepathically adept, as a distinct possibility, but then their future prospects were dark already. Ron Paul, along with the world Representatives, had cast them out of their solar system. Originally intended to land on Mars an error in their trajectory calculation sent them plunging into the deepest depths of the blackness that is space. many years had passed before they saw light, or even a planet, again. they seemed surprised at the looks upon the denizens faces (since the majority of the exiles were pychic/psionic they could easily distinguish facial features by reading their respective psychologies.) none of them had seen space travel before, though they certainly werent stuck in the stone age. their buildings were crafted gracefully into the environment itself, with intent so well placed it literally blended into the mountains.
This sparked the beginning of a warm relationship between the Vaghnaghshi and the exiled humans. together they crafted, shared technologies, and rejoiced in a union. over time these beings would realize the pottential of technology and space, and would set out to forge a world to their own liking and hospitality. the world they landed on, named Krasnoyarsk by the Vaghnaghshi (and at first New Earth by the exiles, until they met the Vaghnaghshi). Crafted by the Vagnaghshi council members Araxes, Rhazmus and Kel'Taar, as well as the Human Leader Hajim Rosemary (if necessary personality profiles will be worked on for those four. Though it was never noticed not known a fifth being was there as well, neither human nor vaghnaghshi. This entity kept to itself until a decade and a half later, 2105, when a communal leader needed to be elected. it inserted itself into the election procedure, and won in a landslide. (much like democratic systems in america, but run strictly on who got the most votes, rather than the electoral college). This leader is collectively known only as Maxius. Little else is available on Xir.
Over the course of years the Sanctuary began to enlist the Help of Spectrals as well. the Vaghnaghshi were incredibly adept at bending them to their will and such practice was commonplace.
In time Maxius informed his seconds in command, known as Scions, that he would be leaving for a goodwill trip to a neighboring empire. at this time technological advances thrived, but the advances there paled to what happened after they got ahold of a shade of Prodigious crafting skills. Identified only as Zkhar, this shade helped advance the core technologies of the Arctic Sanctuary to a point beyond recognition. miraculous craft were constructed, able to ferry many people across the world if need be. warships capable of roasting small armies were produced into an effective space defense fleet. Krasnoyarsk thrived.
However great the Sanctuary was at the time, it felt the need to expand itself. A vote was put through to meet and ask their neighbors to join peacefully with their lands, and overtake them if they did not wish to be a part of it. only Kel'Taar called out against it. The inner core of the Sanctuary was made by mid-2120, consiting of roughly 7 planets, two of which were taken by force. The Natives, although resentful, quickly warmed up once they realized that little would change, save for the connection to the Sanctuary, and thus a lifeline if needed in harsh times.
Peace was not to last, however. Maxius announced that he would be returning to the Sanctuary soon and to prepare for his arrival. Though the majority of the Sanctuary had no issues with this and welcomed him one, a disilliusioned Vaghnaghshi Blademaster known as Scion Rhazmus, threatened secession if the Maxius regained control. He touted the argument that their system was actually MORE beneficial with him gone than without, and that adding him in only made another layer of authority with no benefit toward the lower classes. Kel'Taar objected, and a debate was held over the issue. Rhazmus' request was declined. Maxius would return to full leadership as planned.
Good to his word, Rhazmus and those loyal to him rebelled, tearing their members from the Core nexus worlds, as well as stealing a number of objects, including a rare dna sample of an extinct but powerful race known only as Obsecrians(no discoveries have been made herewith on these creatures), and blueprints designed by zkhar for the design of strange dimensional blades, a prototype that was set to become standard armament of the Sanctuary ground soldiers. Calling themselves Blink-Strike, Rhazmus and his men stole a powerful ship designed by none other than Zkhar himself. known as The Annihilus, This ship would serve as Blink-Strike's home for their travels. Blink Strike became a moderately well known mercenary group in their region, and then left for galaxies unknown. their fate is generally unknown, although they clearly aren't dead (this has been established by their intel networks, and by some Mole done by Zkhar prior to an assignment from which he has not yet returned)

Personality: As a child Norman was incredibly curious and mischievous. this is a trait that he would carry throughout his entire adult life, even after being warped by the Consumer and stuck in the spectral plane, broken, and remade. He had a very simple moral code that he lived by: do to others what you want done to you. Having being summoned by Kel'Taar countless times, and being forced to do any number of sordid things, he was stripped of this morality in favor of self preservation. He loathes being bound the way he is and constantly seeks to escape his bonds. His passion in life is technology (bordering on technophilia as a Spectral creature) and, to a lesser extent, the Spectral plane. even as a Spectral Being he keeps this passion, which has benefited the Sanctuary immensely. He generally doesn't like to form close friendships with others, but wont hesitate to pretend to if it is required by his charge. As a result of exposure to many cultures, and his personal childhood, he is generally accepting of most people's cultures. he reviles (read it again. Reviles) summoning magic, a result of his many times being disciplined by such, as well as the terms of his enslavement being wrought by the same. He has a habit of defying his charges and pulling odd, impulsive pranks ranging from silly to cataclysmic. This can be anything from a simply pulling back in the middle of a fight to pushing that one button you shouldnt ever push... or just a classical skating rings around people in terms of logic, leaving the person feeling confused and Resentful. in his human life he was attracted to women, but was not very successful/. he is now asexual as a result from his mental lashing in the Spectral realm, seeing human attraction as nothing more than the ultimate farce in life. Even to this date he has a fascination for internet memes. As a human his worldview was full of optimism and success. his outlook now on life is now that of a get-through-the-day mentality. he never married, on anti-religious grounds, and only had a dates with a few women. Another problem he has is allowing secrecy to progress around him, and has a habit of listening into things he isnt supposed to. He developed a tendancy to take things that do not belong to him, usually on impulse, and is a common form of "prank". He stole the original tube of Obsecrian DNA (again, no research has been done on these species. the only reason we know the name is because he overheard a pair of scientists talking about how it was the only piece of DNA in the known universe, a relic of that ancient and, apparently, advanced species). It was found within an artifact of notable design, as even Zkhar had difficulty understanding its purpose.

Mentality: Zkhar's mind works on a level very different from most beings. he has several conscious thoughts processing simultaneously. in terms of rp this means he is able to think of a rational and/or witty response while thinking of how to break out of his bonds whilst simultaneously calculating the most efficient route to a point... all while counting to a trillion.

interests/hobbies: anything technological, video games (his favorite genre is RTS), the higher planes of being, philosophy, poker (Hold'em or 5 card Stud are his preferences), spectral magic (aside from summoning), living beings in general, wondering why people act as they do, crochet (when showing his boredom he will make a fake hat, rather than doing the classic "imaginary watch" bit).

Appearance: standing 6'3" at the height of his career, he was a suprisingly bold figure for not working out much. His hair was waist length, jet black, and well kept. He shaved regularly to avoid the sight of facial hair, which he ironically detested, despite the length of his hair. A birthmark is present over one eye in such a manner that was often mistaken for scar tissue. He often wore a very clean, also well kept, blue suit, with a matching tie that he puts lazily around his neck in a what he calls "ironic beauty". his shoes are some suede material, polished to the point where being seen in his shoes wasnt an uncommon thing. (at this point i should mention that he was quite vain, and still retains that as a Spectral, refusing to change form if he can)

As a shade his form is whatever he dictates it to be. his basic, preferred form is that of a bipedal creature, with a strange, ethereal appearance, translucent, with eyes as dark as the void from whence he came (Pitch Black, in other words. Although i do remember at one point seeing a tortured Human face, within the depths peering out, begging for release, but it disappeared as soon as i saw it. what an image...) . stands roughly 6'5", and emanates an aura so strong its actually visible when he isnt shifted out of reality (a lighter purple than his actual physical form). Wields a 1.5' long wrist spike(black in color) attached to his right arm, angled triangular for piercing, each side also sharpened for easier thrusting, cutting, and heavy slashing, with a heavier, thicker base for protection and what he calls "weight momentum". he is double-jointed by choice. Below are a collection of images associated with Zkhar and those associated with him in some loose manner during his career in Kel'Taar's possession.




motivation: (normally) Self-preservationist, seeks knowledge and understanding of the workings of "the larger picture"

odd quirks in a barrel: impulsive thief, fascinated with technology and all aspects therein, impulsive extreme prankster, multiple personalities (inquisitive/easily offended and vengeful/ivory-tower/self loathing.), concerned with appearance, uses phrases not always succinct to the culture he is surrounded by, has issues imitating a normal human personality, asexual, religiously devoid (not always a quirk, based on culture, but should be noted), tends to act like he is in control of the situation, somewhat condescending, uses net shorthand in conversations (actually says things like LOL. this has gotten checked into asylum in the past, when in the presence of very suspicious citizens). save for the impulsive thievery, the sadistic nature of his pranks, his trouble imitating a human personality, and the multiple personalities, these traits were affluent in his human life as well as the metaphysical one he leads now.

about his personalities: because the changes in his personality (in regards to his inquisitive and vengeful ones) are those of his reaction to a situation, it is impossible to distinguish the two unless he actually performs something sadistic out of revenge or hurt. while his (normal)inquisitive and (additional) vengeful personalities are male, his self loathing one is female, and his ivory tower/philosophical one is that of a cat. while in his ivory tower he may, out of instinct, shift into the form of a cat, usually that of a bengal cat, regardless of who is present or what the situation is, at which point he will stare poignantly at one section, locked in thoughts unintelligible to most humans (I mean he thinks like a cat, cmon). these personality shifts can occur at any time, but typically do when i feel it will make a point of interest.

Physical Capabilities: As a human he was only strong enough to move things like filing cabinets or what have you. his job required nothing more, and he felt no need to work himself out keeping anything outside of basic appearance and hygiene, aside from clothing, which he fussed over constantly.
As a shade this changes, he can now lift roughly the weight of a small car at his best (some of this rests in his technopathy). also has excellent hand eye coordination and is quite dextrous. he developed his own style of fighting known as krve ruce ("Blood Hand"), which he tailored to the design of his weapon and the optimization therein. long term running is reduced to that of a male with greater than average, but not anywhere near athletic, performance, however, and the only inhuman speeds come from small actions, i.e. dodging a ball thrown at him, then reassuming his position ready to counter. he cannot use this with his blade per-se, and thus swings with the speed of a person well trained to use a weapon of such caliber (i.e. a katar or wrist spike, or possibly hatchet hands).

skills/traits:good liar, great at crochet, a miracle worker with technology (his affinity for technology is such that he can manipulate it nearby with his mind, often using his ability to consciously process multiple tasks to create marvels of technology. such processes still take days at best, if not months or even years on end. the dimensional blades are such an invention. they took 2 years to formulate. the annihilus took nigh upon a decade to formulate, and a year to make. it also took a lot of effort on his part, and it is to him a great achievment, possibly his greatest, as he takes great pride in his designs and takes offense easily if it becomes stolen or downtalked. the only exception was the Annihilus, since he considers it on loan. he was working on a second Annihilus until he was relocated to his newest assignment, the exploration of other dimensions). Spectral magic(k) is also a subject of interest. as a human he had no psychic/psionic potential. however after being broken he was given strong instincts in the Spectral Plane. That, combined with the centuries of learning that took place, he has great potential.
Known Forms of Spectral Magic(k)

Warp Step: being only partially tethered to this Plane allows him, at will, to open a rift to the Spectral plane, but only to create a tunnel to travel through (in other words he cannot transport himself wholly into the spectral plane), this rift closes immediately after he has entered and opens only as he reaches his end destination, closing as he leaves. because time and space do not operate codependant of one another the actual time from within the rift is perceived as the same as on the outside, but he moves almost instantly to the target point. this point can be anywhere he can see, and any place he can remember perfectly. Distance involved does not tax his concentration, but the density of any physical object does. he can take one person of average (5'7", average build) with notable taxation on his concentration. two people would exhaust him (this is including himself in the equation. i.e. two people plus himself). three people is not possible unless he is transporting people shorter or less bulky than normal, such as children. he uses this attack prior to striking often. however he must wait until he is completely out of the rift and it closes (total time: 1 second) before he can begin his strike, or any other action. Because he concentrates passively to make this rift, the casting is immediate. However it does take roughly 20 seconds to have the focus necessary to recast it (in other words it has a 20 second cooldown)

Phase Shift: Zkhar cannot, by the terms of his summoning, remove his presence from this Plane. however he can reduce the visibility by concealing himself somewhat into the Spectral plane, reducing his physical visibility. during these times he is also very hard to hit, since the spell more or less reduces his very being. this spell, as you can imagine, is quite taxing on one's concentration. cannot be used in combination with Warp Step. as it is his tendancy to Warp Step prior to an attack this presents a problem. his most common use for it is to use it to Shift, move to an obscure point nearby. then after phasing back into reality (.5 seconds to shift in or out of reality)

incite rage: not really an ability, more of a quirk of his. having been exposed to many cultures he does not have the same set of values that define "what is or is not acceptable", and as a result he has a notable tendancy to say things that are culturally shocking relative to the place he is in, often drawing almost immediate attention of anyone within earshot

Voice of the Shadows: the projection of vocals is merely the carrying of sound waves from one destination to a target point, and the hearing of these waves is simply the reverbrations off of special sensory organs. that said it is a simple matter of sneding said waves of sound, concentrating to keep them together, projected by sheer force of will to a person. Zkhar can do this with ease and, as a variation of the warp step, he can "whisper" in a matter audible to only those he wishes to hear it. it works like Warp Step, but instead he sends a sound, which is spliced into fragments in the Spectral Plane (the whole altered physics thing), into a small rift, which travels instantly to its target destination, to be received by the intended recipient. such a manner of speaking also eliminates eavesdropping to all but perhaps another Spectral being lingering over that segment of the Spectral Plane.

Technopathy: a skill acquired firsthand in the Spectral realm, Zkhar's Natural affinity for all things electronic was a key part of him, ground into his very core. this triggered a learning streak for all things electronic. in addition to becoming instinctually masterful with the art of design and application, he can also mentally reach out and interact with any technology. this can range from simply resetting a clock to firing a cannon from a distance, to manually interacting with computer software. his skill with the latter is such that he can actually read and on a large scale interact with even binary and assembly code if need be.the mental cost it exhorts on him is negligible. However he will need absolute concentration to perform such tasks (if struck, for example, he loses control over whatever he was doing, or worse causes something bad to happen out of surprise, like making it explode, corrupting a data field entry, etc).

Spectral Link: Anything he built he can find. in the case of his wrist spike he can also cause it to spontaneously emerge from its casing, ready to use in combat.With his Arctic Sight probe, he can will it to move or fire without breaking concentration

Spectral link: Astral Blade:aside from drawing it at will, Zkhar can merge his Wrist Spike with a very powerful (and dangerous) piece of spectral energy, said to be a remnant of the Elemental Consumer's Essence lingering from when he attacked Zkhar. upon being imbued this energy alters the wristblade, causing it to phase through whatever it touches. upon contacting a sentient, living being the contained spectral energy latches onto the essence of that being (think of ones' essence as their soul to get an idea, the very core part of them that makes them.. them ), and as the Spike leaves the physical body of that being the Spectral energy follows, teearing a piece of the victims essence with them, rendering them incomplete and split, often destroying the victim's sense of who they were. causes an intense feeling of loss within the unfortunate target. though unconfirmed it is said that the spectral energy returns to zkhar and dispenses that piece of essence within him, imbibing Zkhar with somee kind of link to that person which allows him to wreak mental havoc on the already shattered being's identity. this is mere theory and has never been confirmed. can only be used at his master's discretion, or in desperate circumstances (i.e. it can be used to turn a story). also causes his blade to turn a deep purple, become translucent, and emit its own aura of energy, visible on the first plane.

Spectral Link: Arctic Sight: the floating sphere known as the Arctic Sight was designed to constantly replenish a certain, limited amount of energy. upon a flick of his thoughts, Zkhar can direct this sphere to dispense forth this energy in a violent manner, causing it to stream toward its target destination rapidly. anything touched by it suffers severe damage. the nature of the attack is akin to plasma and leaves scorch marks anywhere it hits. takes 6 seconds to fully charge energy, and 2 to fully dispense the energy, which is a pure white in the center but bright blue further out

Spectral Ripwave / Hand of the Norns: Zkhar sends a burst of energy traveling fairly deep through the ground. this wave of energy travels forward, loosening and often causing damage to whatever is in the way. can be dodged simply by jumping out of the way or moving out of its path. spans about 1 foot wide, 1.5 feet deep. purple in color, like Zkhar's aura in his preferred form. does not affect anything not touching the ground that it passes under. can disintigrate boulders if charged enough. if it has virtually little charge it imply shifts the ground. range varies with amount of buildup beforehand.

Gugnir's Lance:Zkhar concentrates spectral energy through his wrist spike into an elongated beam of energy, purple/magenta in color, which bursts forth in a rapid (but not undodgeable) manner. the attack causes severe burns and can rend limbs if built up enough. with little charging it merely knocks the recipient back, often causing them to fall

Murasama:Zkhar infuses his Wrist Spike with intense energies, giving his blade a corrosive effect. if charged into the tip of his spike it can burn right through steel. turns his blade a vitriolic orange color

The Eleventh Sphere: being exposed to the spectral plane so long gifted him with the ability to see on the Spectral plane as clearly as the Physical. Over time he learned how to see into the six Physical Planes stacked concurrently and parallel to the first as well. since most cloking only removes things like heat signatures, physical appearance, etc. he can pierce most disguises by simply looking into the higher planes. because of his mental capabilities he does this very regularly while holding conversations or even in the heat of battle. the seventh plane holds the absolute true nature of things. nothing can hide on that plane, save perhaps for the Consumer

Zantetsuken (Iron bladed sword): Zkhar infuses his Wrist Spike with a powerful, suppressive Spectral magic, which causes his blade to phase through its intended recipient, as well as turn his blade a dark grey until the magic is removed. upon successful contact with an intended target, all "magical" properties, positive or negative, will be temporarily weighted down and snuffed out. the duration of this counterweight depends on the amount of energy charged before the strike is made. this can last from 3 seconds to up to a minute. because of the suppressive nature of the magic it is impossible to simply cancel the magic. once it is there, it's there until it has been released onto someone or something.
Notice:i would like to say that the following is more of a piece of joke equipment, but if i get auto hit with an attack of any sort, even if by proxy, this will be used
Anti-Auto-Hit-X5K: a piece of technology inspired by certain... less than pleasent rpers, the exact process of this machinery is unknown. what IS known is that upon receiving an auto hit notification this machine glows a vicious black-and-purple color. any damage dealt via auto-hit or by proxy is absorbed (actually healing Zkhar and any whom he is allied to), than the exact amount of energy used in the attack is gathered, multiplied by 5000 (and then again by the IQ of the player in question who made such a stupid attack), and redirected at the individual who used such an attack in the form of a pure white energy beam, blinding (temporarily) all who are near with its glow. it only damages and/or destroys the individual whom fired the original auto-hit. any excess energy simply dissapates. cannot be destroyed, countered, dodged, phased past, warped away, negated, or otherwise avoided. it is said that the last thing that can be heard is a cry for mercy from the unfortunate victim's very soul. this tech is embedded in the center of Zkhar's Wrist Spike. the attack also causes his blade to glow a very pure white for the rest of the day. takes no effort to control or direct.



A few notes. i am aware that there are issues with his abilities, there being no definitive set rules for the amount of damage done by them. they are still works in progress, and i would love some suggestions. i want good honest analytical evaluation here. please leave out personal preferences (like name changes, age, etc.) i developed the basics for this guy on the starcraft 2 custom game, Cortex roleplay. this will no doubt cause descrepancies between myself and other rpers here, but we did have a set of ethics concerning forced actions, storylines, etc.

now that I've said what i need to say, let there be C, C and C (comments concerns and criticisms)!

i appreciate the advice that has been given and will remember it if i do another character... as well as whatever else i figure out :3

Holy heck....I am at a loss for words....that's cool.

^This
You definitely went beyond the status quo. Hell you blew up the status quo! Good job! I knew I'd like you.

Wow. this is great... I dont know what to say.

Polonius: What do you read my lord?
Hamlet: Words, words, words.
-Hamlet, Act 2, Scene 2

A for effort, C for achievement. Too many useless bracketed fragments in an attempt to be funny. Some grammar errors here and there. Too much "tell" not enough show which ties in with the bracket problem. Also, just run a check on this website: http://www.springhole.net/writing/marysue.htm

I'm interested in what it turns up.

jesus this is one massive bio

much appreciated, all of you.

ss: Could you please elaborate on the statement "too much tell not enough show?" I do look to improve on my fundamental flaws on this character. i am familiar with the website you directed my attention to. good site for determining the "mary-sue ness" of one's attempted bios (i used to casually roleplay on a custom starcraft game engine known as "Cortex". rts-based). unfortunately for whatever reason it freezes my browser when i attempt to open it. could you suggest an alternative site, if you have one?


Also, allow me to explain what's with all the brackets.
This being my first seriously attempted bio i wrote a lot more than what i had intended to, so i felt a need to have some rudimentary form of organization the sections stand out. in a few instances i was attempting to stab at humor i admit, but mostly i was attempting detailing who this person was/is. Grammatical punctuality is a wholly necessary part in roleplay, and i've seen a lot of good characters in the bios. i had, in my personal "rush" chosen to put grammar on a backburner in favor of Backstory.
I'm sure my character could use some rough sanding out, and i am grateful for the advice you have given me. i can, at the very least, use it as a framework to learn about what makes legitimate characters tick.

I am grateful for the learning experience overall. i would happily attend the roleplaying academy.

Overall i am pleased by my accomplishments and determined to make this person better. I'm grateful you didnt rail me for his current list of attack powers and capabilities, and also that you judge me on a high standard. thanks in advance for the elaboration of the concept "too much tell Not enough show" and for the criticism in general.

You're using the bracketed fragments to tell us about your character where as you could have shown in a less jarring manner. I'll get back to you on the alternative to the site I suggested.

you make a good point there. i was attempting to make them stand out. The logical conclusion is that i overshot it quite a bit. perhaps underlining or simple italics would be a better alternative?

I will not pretend that i am particularly skilled in grammatical format, but i should in time be able to pick up on what i typed incorrectly. Are my thoughts simply too vague or do they simply sound awkward? Perhaps it is another thing altogether.

I am still confused on the issue of "too much Tell, not enough Show" when you have the time, and if you feel like it, could you elaborate?

thanks again. this will be helpful in learning

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ShowDontTell

That and rather than highlight them using text formatting, wouldn't it be better if you just wrote it normally and be confident in people picking up on it?

ok that link enlightens me a little more. still this IS a character history. to tell I would have to actually rp with him, but I see what you mean. most of the profile is dedicated to who he is and his history. i do lack extraneous detail of my character's actions. i believe this had to do with the barrier of rt rp. you see since starcraft 2 rp happens in real time and the chat is limited to roughly three average length sentences we didn't have the ability to go into detail there. I am not excusing my lack of action, but i felt an explanation would allow those who read this a chance to understand.

but i get what you mean. bring it to life, make it jump out and growl at people. have it claw the living s*** out of a nearby passerby (figuratively speaking, of course)

As for the highlights... I generally have low expectations of people, so I try to make it noticeably different. That way they don't work too hard and i dont get b**** at for not making a title stand out (either in school or in some forum). it seems to have become a second nature habit of mine. I suppose I needn't worry about you and the other competents, but i would feel better letting it be. Besides it makes for a bit of variation in my humdrum wall of text.

Good site that. humorous too. my only disappointment was their lack of mentioning Deism in its religious section

heyy the mary sue thing no longer freezes my computer (in exchange my computer is now officially retarded, for reasons involving my internet sensitivity disappeari- anyways!). so after running the test and checking it through i found my character to score a.... 21 XD not horrifying, but certainly nothing one could call genious