The Ghost

Name – Yggrasillas [eeh-GRAH-sill-ahs] Tanalian [tah-NAIL-ee-uhn] (Always refers to himself as The Ghost)

Gender – Male

Age – 418

Race – Elf

Tribe – Ahrhim

Occupation – Vagabond, wanderer, takes jobs as anything, or just steals.

Title – Blood Child [I would like this new title please, but only if the rest of the CD is approved]

Physical Appearance – The Ghost stands just shy of 2 peds, and weighs 1.6 Pygges. He is believed to be an albino (see Personality), for his skin lacks all pigmentation, as does his long, unkempt hair. His eyes, however, are striking in their oddness. There are a very dark karikrimson (Blood Red). This mixture of looks gives The Ghost an almost otherworldly aura about him, which is where he got his nickname. His face rarely shows emotion. His eyes, however, are always filled with the deepest and darkest of loathing. It is quite an intimidating sight.

Clothes – The only thing The Ghost wears is a tattered nor’sidian (black) robe and hood to shield his sensitive skin to the sun. His robe contains many hidden pouches in it, where he hides his money pouches and his dagger. Although few ever notice it, The Ghost never wears footwear, making it very easy to move silently. After doing this for nearly 3 centuries, The Ghost’s feet are heavily calloused, and small pebbles, sticks, or even shards of glass no longer bother him.

Personality – The Ghost is hate incarnate. He hates all those around him, be they man, woman, or child. He will not hesitate to murder those around him should the opportunity present itself. He lives only to cause pain to others, and he realizes that he cannot do this from a dungeon, so he is careful not to put himself on the bad sad of the law, and thus he has concocted his act.

His act is very simple. He always acts as if his right leg is crippled, and he has the swordcane to make it more realistic. He uses this in two ways. One way is as bait. A crippled beggar is a tempting target to any thief, especially if the crippled elf shows that he has money. He baits thieves into mugging him, and then summarily kills the thieves, and the authorities do not care. He also uses it to thwart the authorities. Nobody suspects a crippled beggar with a cane to be the man who just killed 3 people in the street, all the victims possessing sword wounds. He has perfected this act for nearly a century. It has become second nature and there is no chance that he will “slip up.”

The Ghost was born with his hate, although it became much more defined with the death of his family, but the actual reason for his hate is much more horrific. The Ghost is a blood child, part demon. His mother was possessed by a wraith (the details of the possession are stated in History) before he was born, and a part of the wraith was transferred to The Ghost. This has caused many “symptoms” in The Ghost, the most blatant being the bloodrages he has. His “albinism” is actually caused by the possession, which explains his eye color, and his feelings of hate are also fueled by the demon. In fact, both hate AND love are fueled by the demon, each being more pronounced whenever they are felt, although due to The Ghost’s past experiences, love is a dead emotion to him. He has no knowledge of this possession, and neither did his parents.

The Ghost rarely finds the need to talk, and then it is usually to deliver one last comment to someone he is about to kill. If he is speaking to someone he does NOT intend to kill in the immediate future, it is always with sarcasm and a total lack of respect to whomever he is speaking to.

Strengths
Swordplay – Through over three centuries of practice, and two decades of military training, The Ghost has become exceedingly gifted in the use of his sword and its scabbard. He can use it effectively as both a sword and a club, and can even wield both at the same time (the sword and the empty scabbard, for it has been hardened) with a great amount of skill. Three centuries of constant fights have proven that The Ghost's skill with a sword is something to be feared greatly. He can also use his dagger exceptionally well, either in melee or as a thrown weapon.

His Act – The Ghost always acts as if his right leg is slightly injured, hobbling about as if he is crippled. He uses this to make everyone underestimate him, be it criminals (people he can kill with the excuse that they tried to mug him) or be they authoritive (people rarely suspect that the crippled beggar hobbling down the street was the person who just robbed three people in a crowd blind). He has used this act for over a century, and has it perfected so much that he no longer has to think about it.

His appearance – The Ghost makes use of his frightful appearance to scare and intimidate those who are easily frightened. He also enjoys the fact that the last thing his victims see is his otherworldly visage staring back at them. The looks of horror on their faces as they die please The Ghost very much.

His Strength – Like all Ahrhim elves, The Ghost is stronger than most people, and A LOT stronger than he looks. He uses this strength for devastating blows with his sword and scabbard (club). He is stronger than most humans (but just as strong as your average Ahrhim), and uses that strength to his advantage.

Weaknesses
Animosity – The Ghost’s life has led him to have many, many enemies. He has done many heinous and vile acts, and many people would gladly see him dead. He must wait decades to return to towns in which he has killed, on the off chance that someone recognizes him. Luckily, he is a long-lived elf, and waiting those decades is possible for him, if an extreme hassle.

Bloodrage/flashbacks – The possession of the demon causes The Ghost to go into a “bloodrage” in times of great stress. A bloodrage is like a blackout, he loses all conscious thought, but instead of going unconscious, The Ghost attacks anything and everything he sees. He loses all control over his actions, and all training he has had goes away. Often times, (but not always) he just throws down his sword during these rages and fights like an animal; with tooth and nail. These bloodrages can be caused by anything that causes major amounts of stress, but they are most often caused when The Ghost has flashbacks of his family’s murder. Whenever these flashbacks occur, the stress causes The Ghost to go into a bloodrage, where he attempts to destroy everything around him in a murderous rage. If this occurs while anyone with ANY weapons training at all is around, The Ghost will be in alot of trouble.

His Temper – The Ghost will use any excuse to pick a fight, be it an offhand comment someone near him makes about his appearance, someone bumping into him, or merely someone referring to him as “Ghost” instead of “The Ghost”. One day he may bite off more than he can chew, and attack the wrong person.

His Appearance - While The Ghost enjoys the intimidation and scare factor involved in how he looks, it also causes him quite a few problems as well. When entering a town, the guards are often wary of this strange looking, phantom-like elf.

The Sun – Due to lack of pigmentation caused by the possession, The Ghost’s skin is extremely sensitive to sunlight. He burns very easily and the chances for skin diseases are very high. He must always keep his skin covered, which is why he has the robe and keeps his hair long. Due to two centuries living in the dense Almatrar, The Ghost's eyes are stung bye the light of the sun, something that has yet to completely go away. It is hard for him to see in the sunshine without his eyes causing him pain, but during combat he willingly goes through this torment.

Camaraderie – Because of all the fights The Ghost picks, it is possible that he picks a fight with someone whose friends want to join in on the brawl. This leaves him outnumbered, which is always a bad thing. He must always be careful of the fights he picks, and his urges to pick them.

Weapons – The Ghost carries no obvious weapons on him. He does, however, keep a dagger hidden within the folds of his robes, and he always has his swordcane. His swordcane is a custom made sword a sheath made to look like a cane when sheathed. The wood of the sheath is hardened, so it can be used as a club if need be. It requires little effort to pull the sword from it’s scabbard, and only the most scrutinizing searches of the actual scabbard would show that it is not in fact a cane, but a sword.

Belongings – The Ghost only owns his robe, his swordcane and dagger, and any money he might have looted, stolen, or (doubtfully) earned.

History – The Ghost’s history actually starts 37 years before his birth. His parents were living in the Almatrar forest, as they always had. A wizard lived in the same village, and he was in the employ of the crime boss, Tenechlon. The wizards name was Denuin. Tenechlon had hired him for his knowledge in demonology. Granted he wasn’t an expert, but they’re were no experts. Tenechlon hoped to someday have Denuin summon demons to fight for Tenechlon, but both knew that was a long ways off. They were both elves, however, they had time to be patient.

During one of his experiments, Denuin actually managed to summon a wraith, one of the weaker demons roaming the Netherworlds. Denuin, however, was not strong enough to control it, and it just floated off. It would have possessed the mage then and there, but Denuin was not completely unprepared, and he had certain precautions up.

The wraith did not have to go far to find a host. He soon found an elf maiden, one who would later become Yggrasillas’ mother, and possessed her. Of course the woman never knew of this possession, but it was definitely there. It did not affect her strongly, only making her more prone to mood swings.

Nearly four decades later, Yggrasillas was born. Unbeknownst to the parents, Yggrasillas also “inherited” the demon, which had given part of itself to the child during birth. Yggrasillas became a Blood Child. His skin and hair lacked pigmentation because of this. Albinism, however, is common in the Ahrhim tribe, and his skin and hair color (or lack thereof) was not surprising.

His childhood was a good one. He had many mood swings and he didn’t have very many friends, but he wasn’t necessarily disliked. His home life was good. Life was good.

Yggrasillas met a girl when he was about 80. He soon fell in love with her, and the demon that was passed on to him fueled that love, and made it into an extreme. They were married, and had two children, a boy and a girl. The demon fueled Yggrasillas’ love for his children as well. Yggrasillas became a local authority figure, a sheriff of sorts. He was formally trained as a swordsman and given basic military training. He took to this training quickly, and showed himself to be a very talented and skilled fighter. Life was better than ever.

Then, about 20 years later, Yggrasillas was on a patrol, when he spotted a young woman getting mugged. Yggrasillas rushed to save the young woman, and finally did, but he had to kill the attacker in the process. This did not bother Yggrasillas too much, for the man deserved it. Yggrasillas had done what he had to do.

About a week later, Yggrasillas was returning from patrol very late. All the lights in his house were out, this did not surprise Yggrasillas, considering what time it was. He entered the house slowly, not wanting to wake his children. When he opened the door, however, he saw to his horror that his children won’t be wakened. They were lying in the front room, gruesomely mutilated; their bodies hacked almost beyond recognition. Yggrasillas screamed his wife’s name, and ran to their bedroom. The sight there was even more horrifying than the last.

His wife lay on his bed, in a position that showed she had been ravaged, her torso and head had been slashed and beaten. Blood was splattered all over the walls. On the desk there was a note. It said:

You have killed a family member of mine, and for this travesty, I have taken your family from you. Your parents are also dead, and their house burned. Your life will be spared, so you need not fear that. That is my generosity.

Hate flowed through Yggrasillas, fueled by the demon inside of him. He vowed revenge. He spent a century asking questions, and doing favors, and joining ranks, and all other sorts of actions until finally he was firmly entrenched in the criminal underworld. It was then that he found out who had ordered the killing of his family. It was none other than Tenechlon himself, the crime lord of the area. The mugger Yggrasillas had killed was Tenechlon’s nephew.

Yggrasillas was patient however, he had waited a century, and he could wait awhile longer. He found out where Tenechlon lived, and he found out where Tenechlon’s parents lived. He then made his move.

Yggrasillas first went to the parents’ house. He murdered them both and set fire. He then went to Tenechlon’s house, while Tenechlon was out. As he opened the door, Tenechlon’s wife came in to greet him, thinking Yggrasillas was her husband. When she saw that it wasn’t, a look of horror came across her face, and she was about to scream, but Yggrasillas stopped her with a single sentence.

Scream and watch your children die.

The children were obviously asleep at this time, for they had not made an appearance as of yet. The mother closed her mouth, and a look of resignation came to her face. The Ghost gave her a command:

Come with me.

He took her to the bedroom and proceeded to ravage her. When he was finished, he killed her, and mutilated the body. He then went to the children’s room, and killed them in their sleep. He moved the children’s bodies to the front of the house, and went back to the bedroom, and hid in a closet, to await Tenechlon’s return. He did not have to wait long.

Tenechlon’s reaction to finding his murdered family was remarkably similar to Yggrasillas’ own, with the notable exception of not finding a note on the dresser, instead, in his bedroom, he found Yggrasillas himself. As soon as Yggrasillas made his presence known, Tenechlon attacked him in a murderous rage. Yggrasillas quickly dispatched him, and knocked him unconscious, and tied the crime lord to a chair. He then brought out of his knapsack a dagger, torches, and bandages, and waited for Tenechlon to regain consciousness. While he waited, he heated up the dagger with the torch. He did not have to wait long. When Tenechlon awakened, Yggrasillas said:

Do you know who I am? You took my family, over a century ago, much the same way as I have taken yours. Your parents are dead, and their house will be burned to ashes. Like you, I will show generosity, and spare your life, but my vengeance is still not appeased. For the century it took for me to find you, I will take more. But know, if you ever come for me, I will return and destroy you.

With that, Yggrasillas took the heated blade and proceeded to remove all of Tenechlon’s fingers, his feet, his left ear, his genitalia and his right eye. Had it not been for Yggrasillas’ military medical training, Tenechlon would have died. As it was Tenechlon lived, he had gone unconscious again due to the shock and pain, and Yggrasillas left him at a healing temple, then set fire to his house and his parents’ house. Yggrasillas then left the Almatrar.

He started traveling towards the town of Yorick. On the way, he noticed that he started having flashbacks of walking into his house and finding his family murdered. He would black out during these periods. Being alone in the wilderness, it did not matter much. He did not know it, but these were the first of the bloodrages caused by the demon inside.

Yggrasillas soon entered Yorick, and spent a few weeks there. However, soon after his entry into the city, Yggrasillas was walking down a crowded street, when he had another flashback. He blacked out again. When he came out of it, his sword was in his hand, and people were running away. He looked to the ground and saw multiple dead bodies, including a little girl at his feet, still holding her doll. Yggrasillas ran, and hid.

This became a common occurrence, but all in the town of Yorick, and since Yorick is not an especially large town, Yggrasillas was bound to get caught. He was caught after awhile and sentenced to a public execution. Yggrasillas was happy for this. Perhaps death would be an escape from a life of pain and anger. But Fate decided differently. There was an elven woman named Alinna who was a respected member of the community for her charity work, and one thing she did was talk to the condemned, to try and give them peace before they died. She met with Yggrasillas, before he was sentenced to die. She talked to him for days, and finally decided that he was not to blame, and that he could even be redeemed. She went to the local magistrate and begged that he be released into her care. Because she was a citizen of good standing, the magistrate acquiesced. Yggrasillas was sent to live with Alinna.

They lived together for months, and Yggrasillas fell in love with her. The love was intensified by his possession. She had also fallen in love with him, and they decided that they were to be wed. Yggrasillas was even allowed to carry his sword once more. Yggrasillas had not had a flashback since meeting Alinna, and they were both happy.

Then, 3 weeks before the weeding was scheduled to occur, Yggrasillas and Alinna were shopping at the market, when Yggrasillas saw a young elven boy with his mother. The boy looked remarkably like Yggrasillas’ murdered son. Suddenly, Yggrasillas was not in Yorick. He was back at his house in the Almatrar, walking in and finding his dead family. His vision blurred, and when he came to, he saw that the elven boy a woman had been killed, spitted through with Yggrasillas’ own sword.

As had Alinna.

Again, Yggrasillas ran and hid. He hid and stole for weeks to survive. Then he saw the wanted posters. The witnesses didn’t know his name, but the description they provided gave him a new name. The posters showed a picture of Yggrasillas under the alias under the alias ‘The Ghost.’ Yggrasillas thought it fitting, and decided to never again go by his name, to only be known as The Ghost. For Yggrasillas died that day with Alinna. Now, wrapped in his hate, a hate fueled by the wraith, he was irredeemable. He was lost, forever to be a purge against those who lived. He decided then and there that Alinna’s death was not his fault, but the fault of the world, and decided to cause pain to all those living in it.

The Ghost left Yorick then, and went to the city of Hog, on the borders of the Almatrar. He stayed there for a few weeks, making work as a mercenary. Then, after a few weeks, he was staying at an inn, when an elf walked in. He saw The Ghost, and his eyes went wide as he yelled:

Tenechlon has pay handsomely for your death!

With that, the foolish would-be assassin attacked The Ghost. He was dispatched quite easily. But this angered The Ghost. He had warned Tenechlon about seeking revenge. The Ghost would just have to show Tenechlon what it means to earn The Ghost’s ire….again.

The Ghost returned to the Almatrar, and easily located the crime lord again. After The Ghost’s attack, Tenechlon was always with his two bodyguards, and because of his condition, he was always in a unique chair. It’s legs have been replaced with wheels, to accommodate his lack of feet. The Ghost was patient, and waited for his opportunity, and then struck. He killed both guards quickly, and then knocked Tenechlon unconscious. The Ghost then rolled the crime lord back to his house, and waited for him to awaken. When Tenechlon did, The Ghost lit a torch and said:

You were told not to try and find me. Did you think I would not come back? Did you think I would forget? Did you think you were safe? I am the darkness between the stars. I am the silence between whispers. I am there in your darkest of dreams. I am The Ghost, and you cannot escape.

With that, The Ghost set fire to Tenechlon’s wheelchair, and his house after that. He set fire to three more houses and temple, then started a forest fire, thus destroying every last memory of Yggrasillas Tanalian. He then left the Almatrar, never to return.

He has been wandering the continent ever since, going from town to town. He would have his bloodrages and kill someone, and have to leave that town. It mattered little to him, for he would just move to the next town over. He continued doing this for each town he entered, slowly traveling the entire continent over two centuries. He would return to towns he hadn’t been to in decades, for their memory of him had faded, as had their short lives.

About a century ago he started his act, and had the swordcane made. He has it remade every decade or so to make sure it is in good shape. He has perfected this act to an art over the century he has done it.

The Ghost continues to travel from town to town, causing all sorts of mayhem wherever he can. He lives merely for the sake of causing pain to others, be it merely words, or be it stealing, killing, arson, rape, or anything else that comes to his now dark and twisted mind. He will continue this existence until finally he is killed; for it is unlikely that one of his personality will die of old age.

I am the Darkness between the stars.
I am the Silence between whispers.
I am there in your darkest of dreams.
I am The Ghost, and you cannot escape.

- The Ghost

Edited by: Khiera at: 8/3/05 18:32