FUNDAMENTALS:
Name: Elias Arderne
Age [Appearance]: Mid-twenties
Age [Actual]: 377
Date of Birth: 6/4/1642
Zodiac: Gemini
Gender: Male
Sexuality: Undisclosed
Species: Vampire
Sire: Unknown (If anyone is interested in stepping into the role of sire for Elias - be it with a new, or preexisting character - shoot me a message!)
Fledge: Eloise Arderne; fraternal twin
APPEARANCE:
Hair: Niveous locks are kept meticulously groomed; shorn above the ear and raked away from his face. At times, an argent coil is met with displeasure as it tumbles toward his opaline brow.
Face Shape: High-boned and angular; with a squared, masculine jawline.
Complexion: In life, Elias’ fair skin was soft as velvet cream, and blessed with palest petal-pink upon cheeks and lips. In death, his complexion is near luminous; bloodless, frigid, and eerily beautiful. Even an ignorant human would find his lack of coloring unsettling.
Eyes: Glacial blue, tinged with enough rosiness to fool some minds into perceiving violet; framed by a thick dusting of snowy lashes as startling as white spiders. His brows are equally frosty, like the pure white feathers of a dove; downy, and almost unseen.
Nose: Strong, proud, and subtly aquiline.
Lips: Were it not set into the invariable stern line, Elias’ mouth would have an almost feminine softness to it. Still, the potential for sumptuousness is there; with an upper lip marginally fuller than its subordinate.
Frame: His is a figure of lean athleticism; achieved through countless hours spent trudging about in the cumbersome uniform of his human profession. He measures in at 5’11” (180 cm), and 170 lbs (77kg).
Hands: Perpetually gloved.
Tattoos/Distinguishing Marks: Elias possesses a rather acute Adam’s apple; it bobs hypnotically with each undulation of his pale throat, acting as accompaniment to the efflux of his sonorous speech.
Clothing: Elias has a preference for dark colors; if only so as not to obsess over every more-easily-detected particle on lighter fabrics. His clothing is kept meticulously pressed; always symmetrical in design; and with an even number of pockets, buttons, and/or embellishments.
SUPPLEMENTARY:
Personality:
Elias is of a rather volatile disposition. While mentally agonizing the presumption of uncleanliness, he often seems outwardly calm. Still, he has been known to detonate when these thoughts become too many. In some ways, he is akin to a petulant child, regressing further with each decade that passes. He relies upon his twin sister, and fledge, as a means to soothe; as well as a flawed source of nourishment. Theirs is a relationship comprised of an unhealthy dose of codependency. He views mortals as carriers of vile disease, and has been unable to surmount this conviction - in spite of the immunity his vampirism affords him.
History:
Before the Turn---
Elias was born in London; the first of two delivered to a wealthy couple by mere minutes. Still, as a young boy, he found no qualms in lording this fact over his doting sister, Eloise. Beyond the womb, the pair shared an abundance; beyond trinkets and toys, friends and fortresses. Their most prominent of sharing was that of wavelengths. They were inseparable even then; both equally capricious in nature, with one always serving to either ignite or extinguish the other’s temperament. For these twins, there rarely was a middle-ground.
At a fairly young age, Elias had already begun to exhibit obsessive compulsive behavior. He was one of those toddlers that couldn’t stand for the various foods on his plate to touch. Once he had learned to count, everything had to be tallied twice over. For a time, his parents viewed the compulsion as an adorable little quirk. “See how well he knows his numbers?” They’d comment affectionately amongst their peers.
As he grew older, his compulsions only became more prominent - albeit still relatively manageable. Odd numbers became difficult to tolerate, and anything discovered in excess was passed onto Eloise in a bid to balance his mental scales. Objects seen as misaligned would often result in heated accusations and spells of bickering.
Adolescence proved itself a productive period for Elias. With the help of his sister, he was able to regulate his symptoms - tailoring them to his benefit. He targeted his obsessive tendencies toward learning, committing to memory every book he could lay his hands on. He found a particular enthusiasm for those pertaining to medicine; misinformed though many of these writings were at the time.
After the death of his parents - his father, murdered and mugged by a desperate vagrant; and his mother, of grief in that same year - he inherited the family’s wealth and estate. Half of his fortune, he provided as dowry to Eloise, who soon married for love rather than out of necessity. It was a gift meant to ensure she would never be impoverished; however, her new spouse took the riches upon himself, using them to fund a clandestine gambling addiction. When her share of the wealth had depleted, Elias provided her with more; and more, and more. Until his own pockets had nearly emptied.
It was then that he realized he would need to make a living. He unburdened himself of the estate’s help, unable to pay their wages, and took on a position beneath the city’s employ; a move made in desperation for both parties involved. The year was 1665, and The Great Plague of London had only just begun to wreak havoc upon its citizens.
In spite of having had no certified medical training, Elias ministered to the ill. He served as a plague doctor, clad replete in foreboding livery; the 17th century equivalent of the hazmat suit. He had subscribed to the miasma theory - the idea that the contagion was spread through foul-smelling air - and believed himself invulnerable, so long as his mask was adequately packed with sweet-scented herbs and blossoms. (Even the task of filling this covering was meticulously enacted; each petal, stem, and leaf itemized beforehand.)
His primary responsibilities were not to cure or treat patients. Rather, his duties were more administrative and laborious; he kept track of casualties, assisted in the occasional autopsy, or witnessed wills for the dead and dying. He saw to everyone, regardless of their economic status. He was swiftly revered and feared - and that clout soon poisoned his ego.
Eventually, he began to mix up false cures and tinctures, auctioning them off to wealthier patients. When the ease at which he was able to exploit the dying became evident, he launched a series of more crooked dealings. He took advantage of his patients’ finances, manipulating their final will and testaments in his favor, and occasionally lifting one or the other outright.
In 1666, he contracted the pneumonic plague from the cough of a patient.
The Turn---
For days, Elias secluded himself from the outside world - attempting to treat and cure his own symptoms. The disease spread fast, and he was soon infirm in both mind and body. Believing his ailment to be one of karmic justice, he stumbled amidst a fever dream to the Old St. Paul’s Cathedral (before its unfortunate fiery demise). There, he besought aloud that God spare his life, vowing to do better. To do good; to be honest.
It was not God, however, who came to deliver him; but The Devil. A figure, clouded by delirium, offered him life. It would be a different life from the one he was used to; a life shrouded in night, and in blood. “Do you consent?” The shadow asked, and he did.
“Yes,” he bade, “Anything, so long as I can live.” And so, the revenant drew him into a cold embrace, drained him of what little life remained, and supplied him with their own, horrifying essence.
After the Turn---
When he awoke to the darkness of his own home - alone, and uncertain as to how much time had passed - he suffered an insurmountable thirst. With instinct as his only guide, he stole into the night to sap the first human he came into contact with.
Finding his wits thereafter was a sensory overload. The fetid scents of 17th century London assaulted his nostrils, and - unable to disassociate putrid smells from disease - he retched, spewing the blood of his victim in a grisly spray. Over and over, he did the same; consuming and ejecting. A sad, repetitive cycle that persisted until he found he no longer desired to live.
In a bid to say farewell, he sought out his sister - whereafter he resolved to step into the sunlight to (he hoped) end his then-cursed life. She had been ignorant to his illness, having associated his absence with an excessive demand for work. From Eloise, he was unable to disguise his transition. They were too connected; try as he did, she pried until he caved. Exercising every ounce of control in his possession, he explained to her the source of his metamorphose, and what he’d intended to do.
Under the guise of making herself a cup of tea, to aid in her rumination, she momentarily excused herself. When she returned, it was with slit wrists and an ultimatum: make her like him, or she would die. If, somehow, he would manage to save her without (unaware of the healing properties his blood would offer), she would do it again. And again, and again - until one of two stipulations was met. Together, she promised, while teetering on the brink of collapse; together, they would overcome; together, as they had since they day they were born.
Left with no other choice, Elias obliged his sister. The notion of imbibing from his twin, alone, was enough to coax forth a succession of gags; and he was further sickened by how tempting he’d deemed the scent of her as she bled out upon the floorboards. Still, he repressed; willing one desire to quell the other. Between pitiful sobs, he echoed apology after apology; through tears, he encouraged she drink from him.
When all was said and done, his self-control snapped. Like a depraved animal, he lapped up the spilt blood from the floor; with Eloise still lain asleep among the crimson overflow. Elias felt shame for the act as it transpired, but had exhausted all restraint. With control regained, he carried his sister back to their family estate for recoup; uncertain of whether or not the transfusion had carried out its intended task. Her husband would come home to find that his wife had vanished.
It took time for the two to accomplish some semblance of routine and a method of conduct they could both agree upon. Everything they knew of their vampirism was deduced; a combination of what little Elias’ sire had deigned to share, folklore, and experimentation. Together, they discovered that his hunger could be sated with her own blood - so long as she, herself, remained well-fed. She took on the role of his personal, vampiric Brita filter; sparing him the need to drink from the mortals he still viewed as filthy and diseased. Doubtless, his lack of proper nourishment over the decades had cost him a great measure of sanity; and he continues to yield that price.
Over seasons, and with the scientific discovery of bacteria, Elias’ mysophobia worsened. His determination to read up and study the repugnant microorganisms only served to further the affliction; as did the invention of various antibacterials and disinfectants. Eventually, he would require that Eloise concede to a scalding shower before each feeding. He even once demanded she douse herself in bleach - or the lemony-fresh scent of Pine-Sol - but she spurned both ideas, drawing the line at a thorough cleansing.
Today, he very scrupulously roams the city at his sister’s behest; bestowed with another gracious ultimatum that he would go where she wished, or she would leave him to suffer his malady in solitude.
Awareness of Supernaturals: Aware of most, but not particularly learned in all.
Occupation/Job: Stockholder.
Domicile: The Capital Building.
Interesting Facts/Quirks: Always carries some form of disinfectant. While maintaining phone conversations, Elias never touches the device to his face or ear; instead, he holds it aloft within gloved hands. Vampiric hearing absolves him of the need to use speakerphone.
Hobbies: Memorizing germ-related statistics, investing finances.
Likes: Disinfectant, sterility, even numbers, reading/studying (often to his own detriment), maintaining some semblance of control.
Dislikes: Mortals, all things unclean, bacteria/disease, disorder, foul smells, odd numbers, the color red.
Strength: Eloise.
Weakness/Flaw: Extremely obsessive compulsive, and massively germophobic.
ROLEPLAY CONSENT:
(Within reason)
Feeding: Yes
Wounding/Cursing: Yes
Killing: Yes
