Difference between revisions of "Eldritch"

Eldritch appears to be a human male in his late-20s or early-30s, with auburn hair and hazel eyes. He stands 5'11" tall, with a reasonably athletic build. He speaks with a non-descript American accent. He is always seen wearing an armored artifact of unknown origin on his right arm, which is inscribed with mystic runes and augmented by custom-made technology.

A practitioner of the arcane arts, Eldritch is versed in various schools of magic, including abjuration, conjuration, evocation, and summoning.

• Analysis of his usage and tactics reveals an exceptional proficiency in manipulating extra-dimensional rifts, for a variety of offensive, defensive, and storage purposes. The extent of his control and access of these rifts (in regard to duration and destination) is not presently known.
• Eldritch has been trained in the creation of glyphs and sigils, and he uses these in the field for both protection and summoning, in addition to the ones permanently etched on his armor or built into his Magitech creations. Reports indicate that his place of residence is also covered in protective glyphs — a necessary precaution for someone with a public identity.
• He has extensive knowledge of planar theory, including contact with extraplanar entities. Not surprisingly, he enlists the aid of several such creatures, which assist him both offensively and defensively.
• Eldritch is also a teleporter, though whether the matter transference is accomplished through magical or technological means is not readily apparent.

While his focus is primarily sorcery, his background in engineering and continuing pursuit in the sciences have helped him become an accomplished inventor. As a result, he builds the majority of his own equipment, much of it employing a union of magic and technology. He continually experiments with new ways to meld the two, making it difficult to duplicate his personalized equipment. He has begun developing these Magitech techniques further under his F.O.R.W.A.R.D. initiative. Some of his more commonly-used devices include:

• SuperVisor™ H.U.D. Eyewear: A powerful microcomputer embedded in his eyewear gives him feedback on his surroundings. It gathers data both visually and auditorily, then cross-references it via a wireless connection against various networks. This allows him to scan faces and conversation keywords, as well as access all manner of information that one would expect from a top-of-the-line PDA device. He has licensed the software portions of this technology to various corporations, though none benefit from the magical enhancements he uses.
• Cerebrally Activated Repulsor-Particle Elevated Transport™: A thought-activated hover platform of his own design, it has mid-level maneuverability but remarkable speed. It is stored in an extra-dimensional pocket when not in use.
• Portable Toolkit: A set of highly advanced tools given to him by ATU-M5 as compensation for repairs. The tools themselves surpass current Terran technology, and their origin is not entirely known. When not using them to assist him in his own work, Eldritch has taken to studying the tools themselves, hoping to glean insights into their inner workings.

Lastly, he wears an artifact shaped like a gauntlet on his right arm, and has explained that it is uniquely attuned to him. It is primarily a defensive device, and the runes etched along the entire length of it help ward against magical attacks, as well as provide some measure of physical enhancement and protection. Furthermore, the addition of several sensor arrays and psi-scramblers help provide protection from mental attack. This meld between magic and technology is one of the few instances where he has been able to get the two to work together, though this may be due more to the nature of the artifact itself than his own artificing skills.

Eldritch is gifted, both mentally and physically, and he tends to excel with little effort in virtually anything he puts his mind to. As a result, he tends to take things less seriously than he should, particularly given the sometimes lethal gravity of superheroics. He often places himself into needlessly dangerous situations, relying on a mix of talent, improvisation, and luck to get him out.

Though something of a daydreamer, Eldritch has always shown an aptitude for understanding higher concepts, whether through his insight in the sciences or his grasp of the supernatural. This manifests in the form of an insatiable curiosity for new things, and sometimes fanatical short-term pursuits that eventually fall to the wayside as he begins to explore the next new thing.

He can be almost effortlessly charismatic, and has a carefree and easygoing nature that, when combined with his genuine interest in people, helps him make friends easily. He is loyal and trusting to a fault, especially towards women — a weakness that has been exploited by supervillains on more than one occasion.

Eldritch was allegedly a college-educated professional who gave up a promising engineering career to study the supernatural. Neither the details of his education nor the specifics of his career have been publicly divulged. During his subsequent study, he claims to have come into contact with a mentor (or circle of magi) who accelerated his studies and turned him into a practitioner of the arcane arts. After allegedly traveling the world for years, he took up residence in a downtown penthouse in Millennium City, Michigan, which he currently uses as his central base of operations.

There presently exists no known record of his identity prior to his public introduction as a superhero. He maintains no secret identity, and is completely public about both the nature of his activities and his base of operations. All legal and financial documents refer to him only as "Eldritch," and even that identity seems to have no verifiable history prior to his arrival in Millennium City. Curiosity regarding his true identity provided a brief media blitz for a period of time prior to the Qularr invasion, but that attention died down due to the influx of superpowered individuals that came into the spotlight during that event.

His adventuring and business career seems to serve the dual purpose of placing Eldritch in a position to study the arcane, research new technologies, and pursue ancient artifacts and other objects of power. He has been the head of F.O.R.W.A.R.D. since its establishment in early 2012, and has known affiliations with PRIMUS, UNTIL, and other organizations. Before the founding of F.O.R.W.A.R.D., he was known to draw income from licensing and sale of his inventions, as well as his consultation and services as a magic practitioner. However, it is also equally likely that he received additional financial assistance from another source during this time. Just who this benefactor (or benefactors) may be is not known, but the answers may be tied to both the circumstances of his training and the erasure of his documented past.

The following persons and organizations have ties to Eldritch pertaining to his PRIMUS-monitored activities:

• F.O.R.W.A.R.D.: Established in early 2012, this organization appears to function primarily on three levels: a paranormal and supernatural investigation agency, an independent special operations unit, and a research and development consortium.
• PRIMUS: The Paranormal Research and Investigation Mission of the United States, a branch of the US Department of Justice, has enlisted Eldritch's expertise in an advisory capacity. He is considered to be in good standing; however, his activities are being more closely monitored since the foundation of F.O.R.W.A.R.D.
• UNTIL: Eldritch has continuing ties with the United Nations Tribunal on International Law, particularly Project Hermes, as both a consultant and a freelance operative.
• SUMMIT: The Superhero Union for Meeting, Management and Intelligence Trading was created to foster a more cooperative community among superheroes. At present, a member of F.O.R.W.A.R.D. is present at each meeting to ensure that they remain in the loop concerning local superhuman activities.
• Circle of Justice: The Circle of Justice is not a supergroup, but an informal alliance of superheroes who gather together to deal with planetary-class threats. Eldritch has been counted among them on one occasion.

The following persons and organizations are suspected to have ties to Eldritch outside the scope of his PRIMUS-sanctioned activities:

• Trismegistus Council: Reports indicate that Eldritch has been contacted by the order, and they are currently keeping tabs on him due to his proficiency in creating extra-dimensional rifts, and his dealings with planar beings. It is unclear whether they wish to enlist his abilities or police them.
• The Daefaroth Society: A closed-member mystic organization that studies the supernatural and the paranormal in all its forms. The location of their sanctum is presently unknown, but is suspected to be in a pocket dimension coterminal with Millennium City.
• Larwryn Solace: A fellow member of F.O.R.W.A.R.D., Larwryn Solace has gone from physical trainer to confidante to Eldritch's second-in-command. Multiple sources have confirmed that the two are also now engaged.

Other recent activities include:

• Eldritch is actively pursuing physical and combat training from a variety of sources, including Larwryn Solace (F.O.R.W.A.R.D.), Astraea Ling (MCPD), and Surova Grimwish. Both this training, and his regular field activities, have resulted in an increase in his Fighting and Projectiles rating.
• Recent UNTIL data suggests that Eldritch has had multiple hostile contacts with extra-planar entities (particularly during the recovery of Corporal Katrina Mirinova). While subsequent observation appears to indicate that his psyche remains relatively unscathed, it is recommended that he undergo a complete psychological evaluation in the near future. Presently recommend that his Psyche rating be upgraded, pending that review.
• Communications over CR&P indicate that Ilynia Audruetta (extra-dimensional humanoid with possible suppressed magic ability, presently under UNTIL protection) is now under his apprenticeship. Will continue to monitor this situation, and gauge the power/threat level of Ilynia Audruetta.
• Eldritch has been observed training recent PRIMUS registrant, Molten Edge (alongside fellow F.O.R.W.A.R.D. operative Larwryn Solace, and occasionally Dr. Seth McIlroy, Sun Lao Hu, and Thundrax).