Name: Aarik CathmoorAge [appearance]: Mid to late twenties
Age [actual]: 29
Gender: Male
Species: Animal shifter - Grey Wolf
Place of Birth: Portsmouth
House: Eruditio
Title: Apprentice
Occupation/Profession: Assassin
Appearance Hair: Aarik has brown hair that he keeps very closely shaved to his head due to its excessive thickness and willfulness - if allowed to grow, his head would quickly be covered in a wild halo of untamed curls growing in independent directions. It just doesn't look very good, so he keeps it short, the widow's peak in the centre of his forehead adding character to his face. Preferring to look sleek, his face is usually clean-shaven, as are his chest, abdomen and underarms (and he meticulously trims his pubic area). When he changes back from his wolf form he always has a thicker, longer covering of hair than he had beforehand and he fastidiously shaves it all off at the soonest opportunity.
Eyes: Stoney blue with a dark ring around his irises that make them appear lighter than they actually are. The high cheekbones wedged beneath them offer his face a regal and intent aspect.
Eyebrows: Adding intensity to his steely eyes, Aarik has thick brown eyebrows that hover low over the inner parts of his eyes and arch upward in a straight line towards his temples, curving downward just beyond the outer extremities of his eyes. His eyebrows are expressive and often indicate his feelings on matters being discussed, affecting the palette of his face via the most infinitesimal flick or shift.
Mouth: A full, wide lower lip beneath a perfect cupid's bow upper lip allows more than a touch of sensuality to Aarik's countenance. His mouth is generally pulled up at one corner, as if he is ready to smirk and has a secret about whomever he's looking at; he's got into more than one fight over the very deliberate way he holds his luscious lips.
Frame: At 6'1, Aarik is taller than is advisable for a man who needs to go unnoticed, but he always wears supple shoes without much of a heel and tends to keep his head bowed to appear more diminutive. The rest of his frame is average when clothed, lithely muscled, powerful and overtly sinewed when revealed. Not a skeric of fat is to be found anywhere on his rippling frame. He has veins in his forearms that hint at his physical prowess but does his best to keep his body hidden in order to maintain an air of mystery - and so that his opponents will underestimate him. His lean, round ass and legs are his best features; his thighs are broad and thick with muscle, the calves shapely and strong, the knees thick and resilient from training and healed injuries. As a wolf, he is larger than all other males in the area and solidly built; people who encounter him in this form can hardly believe their eyes and recognise instantly that he is a deadly foe.
Tattoos/Distinguishing Marks: His hands are heavily scarred by years of fighting, burns from chemicals and cuts from blades. Most prominently, the back of his left hand has a long and aged scar snaking from the webbing between his two middle fingers to just behind his wrist - opened by a dagger when he was first training at twelve. The palm of both hands each have a few straight, thick scars upon them showing that he is never afraid of catching a blade in order to disarm or throw an opponent offguard. He has a brown birthmark almost the exact size and general shape of an eye just beyond his left elbow, on the back of his upper arm. He has four scars from being whipped across his back, in different directions and thicknesses, indicating that he didn't receive all the marks at the same time, from the same person or from the same whip. The front of his torso has three light scars of varying sizes upon it (chest, ribs and abdomen) and he has a tattoo of a wolf's paw print crossed by a dagger that is barely bigger than his thumbnails put together just below the line of muscle leading from his left hip to his pubic area, above his left thigh.
Alignment: Lawful evil
History: Aarik's father was Chadwic Kyne, a High Apprentice of the Eruditio house. At thirty-five years of age, he was partnered with a trusted Portsmouth contact by the name of Hazel Cathmoor for her unique skill of being able to transform into a wolf. The mission required Hazel to track a mark through many regions and they spent over a month seeking the man that Chad eventually killed. During that time, they became lovers and Aarik was accidentally conceived. When the mission ended, they went their separate ways. A few months later, however, Hazel informed her ex-lover that he was to be a father. Chadwic was apprehensive about the child being a shifter but was predominantly pleased, and he oversaw Aarik's life and education as best he could, contributing financially to his son's upbringing and ensuring he was given the best possible opportunities. Although she was a sympathiser to the Academy, Hazel did her best to protect her only son from the knowledge of what his father did, but the child idolised the swarthy, mysterious man he knew to be his father (even though he visited monthly at best) and wanted to be just like him.
When Aarik was eleven, Chadwic's visits abruptly ceased. To appease her frantic son, Hazel investigated and eventually found out that her lover had been killed by someone in the academy. When she told Aarik, the expression on his face caused her heart to sink and she knew she'd lost him to the hate and revenge so many men she associated with allowed to rule their hearts. Using his mother's surname, Aarik applied for and was accepted into the academy, eager to be trained to avenge his father. Aarik progressed rapidly through the student levels, saddened that his father hadn't been the one to teach him the beauty of potions but loving the art of them anyway. Physically he grew tall and agile, working relentlessly until he was highly skilled with throwing knives at range and a dagger and shortsword up close. When he was nineteen, his patience and persistence paid off and he assassinated the man - a master, as it happened - who'd killed his father eight years beforehand.
The act of vengeance brought a great deal of welcome attention upon Aarik and he blossomed beneath the scrutiny of those above him. The highest compliment paid him to date came when he foiled an assasination attempt at twenty-three; the act confirmed that he was destined for great things in his chosen world. Currently, he is an Apprentice but has his eyes on far greater prizes, determined to be Grand Master of House Eruditio one day (and live out the legacy he was certain his father would have achieved, had he not somehow faltered before the Master mark). He visits his mother in Portsmouth once a month or so and enjoys running with her in his lupine form. She works in a tavern, paid by several sources at the academy to spy and give forth any interesting information she overhears with her excellent hearing but she doesn't do it for the money, she does it for the extra chances of seeing her handsome son.
Family: High Apprentice Chadwic Kyne (father - assassinated 18 years ago) and Hazel Cathmoor (mother, 54 years of age), barmaid at The Black Fyfe in Portsmouth. He has a younger half-brother and half-sister thanks to his father's free-love philosophy (and his desire for more children once he saw how well Aarik turned out) but neither Aarik nor Hazel know this.
Personality: Aarik was born with a sense of entitlement that sprang from being able to transform his human body into that of a powerful and deadly animal at will. His father was always an exotic and awe-inspiring mystery to him and he emulated the way he moved, spoke and acted from his earliest days, noticing the way others regarded the mysterious man in black and wanting that deference for himself. His father's death was a blow that only made him more determined and there was a sense of his destiny being achieved at last when he was accepted into his father's house (the only one he wanted to be a part of, no matter what advances other houses made).
Despite his arrogance, Aarik has always known that nothing quickly gained was worthwhile and he was always keen to work hard, to prove himself, to be shaped by his superiors. His own success came through blood, sweat and even a few tears and he therefore finds it difficult to relate to anyone who hasn't at
least worked as long - or longer - than he has. He sees value in younger students at the academy and can appreciate them, on the whole, for the potential they hold, but he doesn't give any of them the time of day unless forced to. He'd much prefer to use his time perfecting his deadly potion-delivery skills, his knife throwing or his swordplay - if there was absolutely nothing to be gained from being near his superiors.
Aarik treads the fine line between respect and sycophantism on a daily basis, constantly watching the other apprentices, high apprentices and masters he comes into contact with. He carefully selects the favours he will perform for his superiors, knowing that what he refuses is even more important than what he agrees to do; he will do anything to gain favour but he won't do it on his knees or by being anyone's bitch. He spends as much time as he can with an Eruditio Master by the name of Jandah because he has no High Apprentice and that is exactly what Aarik aspires to be by the time he's thirty (and time is running out!). He performs all of Jandah's missions with exquisite care and does his best to ingratiate himself - he'd even break his usual habit of sexual abstinence with the man if he could but, alas, Jandah is only interested in big-busted women.
His relationship with his mother proves that Aarik is capable of love but he has no desire for it - every fibre of his being is pointed towards success, to knocking down all obstacles that dare get in his way or killing them if he can't knock them down, and becoming a Grand Master. His brain never stops thinking and when it churns too much, he takes to the forest on four paws to get it out of his system, rather than seeking the company of others.
Very occasionally he experiences bouts of loneliness and will go to see his mother to cure it or, less frequently, take a younger man to his bed, but the sensation passes as quickly as it came and he's never met anyone or anything that is able to shift him off his path to glory for longer than a few hours. There is always something to be done that will get him closer to his goal and he doesn't allow himself to be distracted for long.
Likes: Being noticed by his peers, successful missions, plotting for future success, intrigue, knowing everybody's business, networking
Dislikes: Being mistaken for a student, inactivity, being overlooked, ignored and undervalued
Character Strengths: Determined, successful, motivated, solid in mind and body, progressive, innovative, insightful, adaptive, enthusiastic, passionate
Character Weaknesses/Flaws: Arrogant, dismissive, overcomplicates and overthinks things, regards others as problems to be solved, fails to value the contributions of those 'beneath' him, lusts for power and will do anything to get it
Interesting Facts / Quirks: - He has heightened senses due to his dual nature - even in human form his hearing and sense of smell are exceptional, assisting him inexplicably (if people don't know about his nature) in locating plants, identifying the ingredients in potions or naming unidentified powders
- Aarik is highly irked by the fact that Apprentices basically wear the same uniform as students (except their sash doesn't show up as obviously) and he goes to great lengths to make himself stand out. To do this, he frequently changes the stylings of his black sash, using thread or wire to alter the look of it around his waist (making it look like a string of pearls one week, a chain of water droplets another, for instance) or knotting the end of it with careful precision (using a string of knots that few would be able to mimic, making it look braided or like a whip handle dangling from his hip, rather than the soft, flowing material it is) - anything to draw attention to his black sash and thereby his station!
- At night, he bites his nails to keep them trimmed and likes gnawing on the stubs of nail until there's basically nothing left in his mouth
- The moon's phases affect his moods and he can behave erratically and emotionally when it is full - he likes to shapeshift and run in the forest on such nights
- He can ride but his lupine nature often disturbs domestic and wild animals alike and it takes a steady mount to bear up under his animalistic and predatory scent
Hobby/Hobbies: - Changing into wolf form and roaming the island, watching what everybody is doing and trying to gain inside information on everyone who ranks above him
- Mixing up unknown potions and tricking first years from Veneficus or Cruori into taking them so that he can judge what his formulae have created
- Creating new codes and leaving messages hidden in books in the library that would lead Eruditio students to him (or any that had the intelligence to able to decipher them)
- Carving wooden forest animals
Sexuality: Naturally homosexual but he has successfully seduced, bedded or pleasured women in his life if it furthered his career or helped his mission succeed.
Relationship Status: Single
Current Financial Status: Very comfortable - he's earned some decent bonuses from missions professionally completed and he saves well. His money is hidden in numerous places in the forest that only he - with his lupine senses - can find, in caches modest enough that if they happened to be discovered (miraculously!), he wouldn't be left wanting.
Carried Weapons: Between five and ten different vials and sachets of potions and poisons strapped into specially-sewn pouches in a narrow leather girdle worn beneath his shirt. Throwing knives strapped to his left thigh (six), a dagger at his left hip and a shortsword on his right. The metals are obviously expensive (adamantium), the weapons well-made and imbued with magic that help them hit their target and do extra damage when they strike. Generally, when walking the halls of the academy, he will only have his potions girdle on, his dagger in its ornate scabbard on his left hip and six knives on his left thigh. On mission, he'll wear another six throwing daggers on his right thigh and five on each of his upper arms (concealing them as necessary), as well as his shortsword at his right hip. On
other missions, of course, he'll be completely naked and rely solely on his fangs and claws.
Known Magick: None
Skills: Balance, bluff, climb, concentration, decipher script, diplomacy, disguise (wolf form!), escape artist, gather information, heal, hide, intimidation, jump, knowledge (maths, science, alchemy), listen (and smell), move silently, ride (horse, donkey), search, sleight of hand, spot, survival, swim, tumble, use magic device, use rope
Roleplays
The Interview (Aarik meets Samuel and interviews him with the outlook of advancing his career)
Island Tour (Two weeks on, Samuel shows up at Aarik's quarters, demanding he get the rewards offered in the codes he's cracked)
Island Tour Part II (Aarik and Samuel find trouble when touring the laboratories)
Cabin Fever (Aarik meets Navan and IstaunVal in the corridors)
