”Last night as I lay dreaming…”
OOC Name: Skales
How many characters? None – this will be my first
Contact? Easiest way to reach me is by AIM – mrskalez – I’m always mobile so I can be contacted 24/7
”My mind bent on wondering…”
Name: Dubhán Ó Morrígan-Mór
Age: 141 years
Gender: Male
Race: Sidhe
Class: Tiarna
Occupation: Flaith
Sept: Sept of Cathair Ceochán
Court Leanings: Prominently neutral. He outwardly projects an image of being slightly Unseleighe, although he truthfully has some Seleighe-aligned sentiments. Overall, he isn't particularly concerned with party alignments. He has his own ambitions.
Distinguishing Marks: Dubhán sports the emblem of his clan on the left side of his neck just above the collarbone. There is also a burn mark from an unknown source on his back. It is fairly large and somewhat unsightly.
Physical Description: Standing at six feet with an addition of three inches, Dubhán looks over most, but not all. When seen out and about he will commonly be noted wearing dark colors – prominently black, with occasional flairs of color present in his scarves. He is very fond of scarves. Thus, it is difficult to tell what kind of build he possesses, yet beneath the slimming clothes is a largely toned and broad-chested man. Simply put, he is muscled but impressively lean.
Facially, his eyes flash with mixed tints of grey and brown – a typical hazel. His hair is possessed of the deepest obsidian, cascading at medium length (when not slicked back) to his cleanly shaved cheeks. His digits are notably long, almost abnormally so, both on his hands and feet.
As aforementioned, Dubhán sports black clothing of differing variety, usually consisting of sleek, slightly loose tunics (sometimes with white lacing), and similarly-fit trousers. His shoes are always of a leather consistency, and he keeps them shined on a regular basis. When on official business he can be seen wearing a black cape.
Quirks: He tends to strum his fingers on surfaces when he is thinking. He also hums a lot, and enjoys looking up idly at the stars when the sun has fallen.
Flaws:- Generally cares little for others.
- Highly unforgiving and may bear grudges
- Self-indulgent. Pretty much considers himself to be more important than others.
- Often very caught up in his own megalomaniacal delusions
Strengths:- Ambitious. Goes after what he wants.
- Tactical. He has a keen perception of his environment (be it political or personal) and is good at taking the necessary actions to achieve necessary results.
- Having studied magic with much tenacity, he is very adept in its use.
Personality: The most pivotal element of Dubhán’s personality is his natural affinity for deception. You see, Dubhán may commonly be seen with a smile on his face. He will laugh, joke, and all around can be effectively viewed as an amiable fellow with a charming personality. In this way, many consider him to be deviant of his Clann’s typical traits. However, he is more alike to his kin than most would believe.
Those who have had close personal contact with Dubhán, or a long-running history of contact will have noticed that he is as dark a fellow as his name suggests. Dubhán is manipulative, and will not hesitate to use the downfall of others for his own benefit. His true self is devious and nearly sadistic, yet he has a masterful control of his emotions. When angered he does not boil, but once the water has been thrown upon his enemy it will burn them all the same. He operates with a cold and calculating form, and would smile happily in the face of his enemies just before striking them down in the most gruesome manner possible.
Dubhán often sees the world as a “game” of sorts, and his enemies as the other players. He enjoys the art of politics, and when anyone begins to pose a threat he immediately plots to bring them down. However, he is a patient one and operates quietly in the shadows, so one may never know if they are being held within the line of fire until they’ve been shot. Dubhán believes that he was born to rule, and constantly seeks to rise in power and political standing.
Weapons/Equipment - He will always be seen carrying a black cane with a violet jewel embedded in the top. The cane is actually a rapier of about a metre length which he may unsheathe for battle. While he is quite distinguished with its use, he really prefers it as a form of decoration.
- Dubhán does not like cumbersome armor, so he wears nothing save for a leather-plated vest under his tunics for protection. Sometimes he may also wear leather shin and pelvic guards as well, but this usually only happens when he is anticipating an attack or a battle. The reason for his use of light armor is because his style of fighting - that is, utilizing the rapier - relies heavily on speed and agility.
Magic: - Glamour of Solidification: Manipulates Darkness into various forms, though he specializes in creating multiple, bladed bird-like entities for projectile attacks. He also likes creating black, angel-like wings that enable flight/gliding over short distances and have bladed feathers. He cannot manipulate Light.
- Glamour of Change: Can imitate the physical appearance of animals, though his animal forms are always black, limiting the number of animals he can realistically mimic. Has a preference for imitating avians.
- Charm of Incantation: Merging the effects of his darkness solidification and changing abilities, Dubhán creates what he calls a “shadowform”. That is, he changes his very being into an entity of darkness, in which state he can manipulate his own form to that which he pleases. He has often used this magic as a form of escape by way of dispersing his body into a multitude of “shadow” birds for immediate flight. Splitting his body into multiple forms however, is taxing and leaves him quite drained. He also uses this ability for infiltration and spying, being able to travel on the ground as a mere shadow as well as hide in other shadows to reach destinations unnoticed. Attacking in this form is also possible, but he seldom does so since it puts his own body directly in the line of fire.
History: “Aye, he made it, but he’s a weak one.”
These were the first words spoken of the baby Dubhán after he entered the world under the herald of a High Lord. Born with hair of light brown and baby blue eyes, the strength of the Clann’s blood within him was highly doubted. What was more, he was born with a health condition that predicted a lifespan of little more than a few months. With such an ominous foreboding placed upon his life, hope had practically been given up on him. However, after he continued to thrive for six months, and then for an entire year, it seemed that he would fight against those negative expectations. And that he did.
During his first year of life little Dubhán’s hair darkened to a raven’s black, and though his eyes only darkened to a hue of hazel it was far more suitable than the baby blue he had first adorned upon arrival. All may have been well were it not for his still-weakened body. Indeed, though he had survived for an entire year the little Dubhán’s body was still very weak and dependent. This weakness continued on into his childhood as well. Unlike the other boys, Dubhán was unable to practice the arts of the warrior, and so he primarily focused on the scholarly aspect of his studies, training his mind moreso than his body.
Of course, this kind of childhood led to a feeling of being an outcast that constantly festered within him, which in turn led to the manifestation of a very dark heart by the time he reached the age of twelve. You see, before this age his family had also neglected to tutor him in the ways of magic, fearing that it might upset the harmonies of his body, that if his aura were too far disturbed he may simply pass away. Dubhán, however, had grown tired of this overprotective precaution, and began studying magic of his own accord. Specifically, he took a liking to the solidification arts, and practiced while studying in the darkness of his room during the midnight hours.
So it was that Dubhán grew, practicing his art and living in darkness for years until he reached the age of seventeen, by which point he had become a very despondent and solitary young man who rarely spoke to others. His form was frail and delicate and he was constantly on the receiving end of jokes and jabs by his peers. So it was until one day that Dubhán had extended a tendril created of darkness in an attempt to choke the life out of a cousin who had saw fit to jeer at him on a particularly bad day. His cousin survived thanks to Dubhán's father, who relentlessly attacked Dubhán with a fire charm. Dubhán then ran away from both his father and his clan.
However, he did not truly depart from the clan. Rather, he simply left his home for a time, traveling alone for months until he was offered kindness by an elderly lady. She was also of the Ua Morrígan, though she was of the lower class. At first he scoffed at the idea of being taken in by lowly brownie, but having nowhere else to go he accepted her grace. It was amongst the brownies that Dubhán found acceptance, though it was not easy. They did not pamper him, and he was forced to work. During this time Dubhán gained a set of values that would have been unattainable elsewhere. He grew out of his boyish, frail form and after four years had developed the well-rounded physique of a man. Through his enterprising ideas and work ethic, he elevated himself to middle class status by the age of twenty-five, and it was at this age he encountered a wandering Sindhe with knowledge of change glamour who began to teach him the basics of this magic.
With his limited resources, Dubhán was unable to learn as quickly as he would have hoped, but he made steady progress. It was during these years that he also began to network. Often he would travel to other cities and towns not only for trade, but to meet others and find out what was going on amongst the Clanns. Cathair Ceochán was his most frequented visit, as he hoped to catch word of the political occurrences of the many Septs located within the region. Sometimes he would engage in scholarly exchanges, and slowly he spread his name amongst others, until after 30 years he finally presented himself to his family once again. With his newfound knowledge and the dramatic change upon his person, Dubhán was accepted back into the Gentry of his family, though only of the lower tier.
This was, however, only a temporary setback. Dubhán continued his ambitious pursuits, with his restored resources furthering his study of magic and contributing his knowledge to his clan. As he began to learn more about the magic of change and practiced his own interpretation of this glamour, he also began developing his own incantation that would combine these two forms of magic. This was by far the most difficult of magics he had ever attempted.
Dubhán’s years from this point on were fairly general. He became much of an observer, casting his opinions when they were called for but remaining generally quiet and hidden in the shadows. He joined the Sept of Caiseal Fiach Dubh and fulfilled his duties as a Clann member, but there was one thing that had never changed – his grudge. Dubhán had never forgotten his time as an outcast, or the preferential treatment given to his cousins as a child. He remembered what had created that darkness, and in remembering he effectively kept this darkness alive, plotting for the day when he could overthrow the Clann’s leadership and take the helm for himself.
Someone, however, beat him to the punch. The Clann’s civil war was something that Dubhán, even in with his networks, had not predicted. Though he was certain of the dissenting views regarding the female leadership, he had not expected a full call to arms. It was one of the biggest lessons he had learned about expecting the unexpected. Though Dubhán was aware that this may have been a chance to enact his plans, he chose to take a different route. Dubhán chose to support Sorcha, claiming her as the rightful Taoiseach, though within he felt that he was a more deserving Taoiseach than she could ever be.
His plans had been a success, as after the defeat of the rebels Dubhán was given his birth-rank as a high tier Gentry and successfully rallied for the position as Flaith. He, however, rallied not for the Sept of Cathair Ceochán, but instead the Sept of Cathair Ceochán, as he believed the Sept located within a more diverse area would better serve his purposes.
It was such that he became Flaith, and such that he kept a close eye on Clann politics while silently biding his time. Then there was an incident - the King had finally passed, which would undoubtedly result in a jolt to Clann life. With his hand upon the Sept, Dubhán speculated that this may be a time to increase his influence.
