Difference between revisions of "Wandering Blade"
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'''Education:''' Wandering Blade is of slightly above average intelligence with a great thirst for knowledge and an innate ability to retain information. His post-secondary education involved a wide survey of the liberal arts, and is thus well versed in many fields. He continued the pattern in his professional life, bouncing from job to job collecting experiences from a wide variety of vocations. As long as it does not involve intense study of the maths and sciences, Wandering Blade will most likely have some background in any given topic of mundane origin. | '''Education:''' Wandering Blade is of slightly above average intelligence with a great thirst for knowledge and an innate ability to retain information. His post-secondary education involved a wide survey of the liberal arts, and is thus well versed in many fields. He continued the pattern in his professional life, bouncing from job to job collecting experiences from a wide variety of vocations. As long as it does not involve intense study of the maths and sciences, Wandering Blade will most likely have some background in any given topic of mundane origin. | ||
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Latest revision as of 05:37, 16 September 2014
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Wandering Blade is a hero in the Millennium City area, though he has spent most of his time as an active hero in the backwoods and backwater towns of rural America. He now takes (temporary) residence in a small cave near Lake St. Clair.
After losing everything in a house fire, Jim Theis decided that it was his chance to start a new life. Unsatisfied with the "average" life, he set off as a nomad, drifting from town to town looking for answers about himself, other people, and life itself. During his travels, Jim stumbled upon a hidden grove guarding a great secret: the mystical blade, Orshkibub, a relic of unknown power! Upon drawing the blade, Orshkibub bound itself to Jim making him its chosen wielder, a bond only broken by death. Though Jim was untrained with use of a sword, the knowledge of Orshkibub's previous wielders flows through it, guiding Jim... the Wandering Blade!
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Contents
Character History
Secret Origin
Jim Theis's birth was ordinary, under no particular sign, and to parents of little importance. His childhood was equally uninteresting; he grew up in a small Ohio town leading an average life. He was more smart than he was athletic, but neither aspect stood out against the other by any true significance. He continued his education, attending a smaller liberal arts college, graduating with a B.A. in English. From there he drifted from job to job, career path to career path. Life had been easy, but uneventful for Jim. His goals were like many others, acquire wealth, a spouse, children, and in this someone can find happiness.
For a long time, Jim believed this, in the American dream. That with hard work comes the reward of happiness and fulfillment. But as each day closed, as Jim's mind drifted in to the foggy aether of sleep, he heard a voice. A small voice that echoed for seconds which felt like years; “Nothing,” it would say. “There is nothing.” And the voice grew. It crawled out of the chasm of the mind that makes the subconscious and made a nest in his thoughts and actions. He grew detached from the few friends he had, his hobbies. His passions died. Each day was a personal struggle, a testament to human will -- to see how many times he could push the boulder up the mountain. By twenty-eight, Jim was alone. He was a shadow that knew only one truth, one absolute: hard word lead to happiness. He just wasn't working hard enough. If he would only work harder, then surely happiness would follow.
It was a small fire that burned through his house, but it was enough. Support beams were damaged enough to condemn the building, smoke thick enough to ruin his possessions. In one afternoon everything Jim's life had amounted to rose into the air and drifted away. “From nothing, to nothing,” he heard his own voice say in his head. “There is nothing,” he told the smoldering remains.
He stayed in a hotel, and in those days he thought. He thought about the American dream, and how his was dead. That insurance would try to find any way possible to not pay out, that what he called “his” was gone, that it was never truly his. He thought back to his college days: the last time he could remember being happy. He thought of the great minds he had read, of Nietzsche, of Marx, of Derrida and of Althusser. He realized the source of his own unhappiness was not from lack of effort, but from a removal of what it was to be human: the connection between people. He had placed so much emphasis on the artificially valued that he had neglected his own personhood. From then he decided he would no longer answer the call of what he once thought was the dream, the one path to life. He would search for his own dream, blazing his own path.
And that's when Jim Theis became a person of importance.
A Person of Importance
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Powers and Talents
Powers
Wandering Blade's sword offers him powers beyond a normal human's grasp in order to ensure his continued survival.
Increased Fortitude: Orshkibub is protective of its chosen wielder and protects them with its own magics. Wandering Blade is more resistant to physical trauma because of it. While not bullet proof by any means, it takes more than one shot to bring him down and he'll still crumple like paper from a haymaker delivered by someone with super strength. For point of reference, think of his bare skin as "lightly armored." His mental defenses are also fortified. Any attempt to intrude in his mind, magical or otherwise, will be met with resistance. However, a reasonably adapt mentalist would be above to overpower him with noticeable effort.
Peak-Human Abilities: While no physical slouch, Wandering Blade's physique received considerable upgrades. He is able to dash at nearly inhuman speeds, as well as lift nearly half a ton. He is able to work at peak performance for close to an hour before showing any sign of tiring.
Healing Factor: What takes weeks to mend, takes Wandering Blade days. A bone, when properly set, will heal from a clean break within days. Nearly fatal wounds will be completely gone hours after being sustained and minor injuries are healed almost instantly. However, Wandering Blade's healing factor does not work under high-stress and can be overloaded by multiple severe wounds. Thus, it is not much use during combat itself and Wandering Blade must instead rely on his quick footing and lightning reaction-time.
Danger Sense: The fullest extent of Orshkibub's protection is a precognitive ability to sense danger moments before it strikes. It is extremely difficult to catch Wandering Blade completely flatfooted. He will not be made aware of the nature of the danger; he is merely overcome with a feeling to "look over there." This is a relatively new power, one that he does not even know he has.
Teleportation:Orshkibub is able to "cut" through space offering quick passage through small rips in space/time. The distance traveled is limited by line of sight, but transportation is nearly instantaneous. The rips suture themselves as soon as they are entered and as such, Wandering Blade is unable to transport anything not on his person through them. He also requires enough clear space to make the "cut," as well as be able to physically move through the rip.
Talents
Swordsmanship: While not a trained swordsman, per se, Wandering Blade gains the wisdom and talent of Orshkibub's previous owners. The longer he uses the blade, the more their knowledge is imparted onto him. His style is intentionally sloppy, but peppered with dirty tricks and moments of insight that hint at a more nuanced understanding of swordplay.
Unarmed Combat: Before finding his sword, Wandering Blade studied Thai Kickboxing in order to learn to defend himself on his travels. While he is by no means a skilled martial artist, he is able to easily overcome someone who is untrained and on equal or lesser physical footing.
Education: Wandering Blade is of slightly above average intelligence with a great thirst for knowledge and an innate ability to retain information. His post-secondary education involved a wide survey of the liberal arts, and is thus well versed in many fields. He continued the pattern in his professional life, bouncing from job to job collecting experiences from a wide variety of vocations. As long as it does not involve intense study of the maths and sciences, Wandering Blade will most likely have some background in any given topic of mundane origin.
