Jack Pembrook
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Jack Pembrook, sorcerer extraordinare and occasional Exorcist - this man is bad news to the Demons he hunts, or so he likes to think. A new face in Millennium City, he seeks to make a name for himself amongst Magical circles, grow his knowledge and expand his business - all while saving people.
Contents
History
Origins
It's true, Pembrook's family was loving and affectionate in the Welsh town of Swansea. He was born in 1961 at Morriston Hospital to two loving parents. Their firstborn son, he encountered minor health complications at his birth, these complications were miraculously healed from him in the middle of the night, a bright light supposedly filling the room and curing him of his ailments. To this day, his parents believe this to be an act of divine intervention by the Christian God himself, the experience converting the two parents into devout, loving Christians.
Early life
Jack's home life was, while loving and tender, very boring. At least in his eyes, from a young age he liked to act out and adventure, causing mayhem for his parents but fun for him. This attitude continued into his teenage years, resulting in a long rebellious streak, leading him to several run-ins with the police, breaking his parents hearts and exposure to a world of drugs and vices. It was, coincidentally, this vice-filled lifestyle that drove the young lad down the path he follows today, as an altruistic demon hunter. Throughout his teenage years, he was educated at the Bishop Vaughan Catholic School - the experience still failing to convert him into a devout religious follower like his parents, only pushing him further away from their moral beliefs. He dropped out of school without passing his A-Level exams, leaving his qualifications rather... Lacklustre.
One night, just after his seventeenth birthday, Jack was bound to an underground rave alongside some friend outside of school, successfully evading his parents - for years, they would have no idea what happened that night.
Discovering magic
The rave was everything Jack wanted it to be, loud music, attractive women, drugs and alcohol - a dream for a rebellious youth. That was until the newest Metal band on the scene came out. The music began playing, everyone dancing, but then the most curious things started to happen - Jack's vision began failing, stretching and blurring, until the artists on stage appeared... Demonic, the music sounding like tortured screams. He sought to block it out, covering his ears and shifting out of the mosh pits, to the back of the warehouse. The was a woman there too, not much older than him, clutching her ears tightly, all whilst glaring at the act on stage. She noticed Jack suffering from the same phenomena, glancing at him curiously.
The world changed for Jack at that moment, the artists on stage apparently abandoning their thin veneer between human and demon, assuming demonic personas, the music turning to ear-bursting screams for everyone, crippling many of the crowd and forcing them to their knees. The woman beside him stepping forward, her hand glowing brightly - Jack didn't know, but could feel the ethereal energies flowing from it. She flung the energy towards the act on stage, a planar fracture opening up - sending the demons right back to Hell. The supernatural display both frightening and eliciting awe from the young lad. He blinked for a moment, as though to take in what he had just seen. The woman was gone. He fled the scene soon after that, leaving his injured friends behind in a hurry.
Training begins
Life returned to a mundane normality after that, albeit Jack's friends being annoyed with him for leaving them, ear burst, at the rave. It became about the monotony of finding a job whilst waiting for his final year at school to end, nowhere seemingly wanting to hire him. He was on his way to a potential job interview when he encountered the woman from the Rave yet again, she was pinned by a strange looking man in an alley. Jack acted impulsively, charging the man, catching him off-guard and knocking him to the ground. Jack went in for a punch, his vision fuzzing again as he raised his fist - the clear image of the man's decomposing, vampiric face filling his view - showing Jack the man's true appearance. The vampire-man threw the distracted and horrified young lad from him with ease, refocusing his attention on the young woman nearby. She had enough time to prepare a spell, chanting some unfamiliar language before producing a magnum pistol, pressing a button on the side of it - the barrel taking the shape of a crucifix. She pulled the trigger, a stake-shaped bullet firing from it, hitting the vampire square in the chest - the creature turning to dust mere moments after. The woman moved over to the shaken young teenager.
London, 1988
After ten years of travelling with his strange female acquaintance, who he refuses to disclose the name of, Pembrook arrived in London, renting an apartment in the lower-class East End. From here, he and his acquaintance seemed to set up some form of Occult business, offering advice and solutions to people suffering from hauntings within the East End, one of the most haunted places within the United Kingdom.
Becoming an Exorcist
Demon hunt gone wrong
The Lost years
Current events
Characteristics
Appearance
Personality
Jack Pembrook is a very world-wizened man. He's seen a lot in his time which has gradually diminished his personality and withered him down to bare basics. He's cynical at times and prone to dry, sarcastic humour as a method of dealing with his personal issues and shrugging off the responsibilities and dangers he finds himself facing off every day. He's a passionate man, caring deeply about those close to him, to the point of being willing to do anything in order to save them. That being said, he does also have a selfish streak, born of a determination to save his soul from Hell, an almost impossible feat due to his weak-willed addiction to various vices. He's ultimately an indifferent realist, very little surprising him and always maintaining a fair, reasoned view of the world - allowing neither optimism or pessimism to pull him too far. He's also largely manipulative to those he deems beneath him or wasting his time, playing them to his own means. His harsh life experiences have left him with a somewhat broken moral compass, being neither a white knight or an evil person - but rather walking the faint line between the two.
He also bares a deep, vengeful streak. Those that wrong him need to beware of his wrath, for he stops at nothing to attain his revenge, either through macabre methods or manipulative means - bearing the traits of a sociopath at times when pursuing a vendetta.
Abilities
Powers
Jack has a few natural born 'powers' which aid him in his crusade against the supernatural:
"Truesight" - Jack has experienced a strange ability which he dubs "Truesight", allowing him to see through the disguises of some supernatural creatures, such as his ability to perceive the demons at the rave the night his life changed.
Magical affinity - Being a magician, Jack has a natural affinity for the magical forces, allowing him to channel them in offensive measures such as hexes and spells. He's the first member of his family to demonstrate such a skill, begging the question of where his magical power has come from.
Powers as Eleoin
When under the control of the Demon, Jack gains additional powers (Though he will rarely use them):
Pyrokinesis - As a Hell Demon, Eleoin gains masterful control over the destructive element of fire, able to both manipulate it and generate it. This also entails its own weakness, making him highly vulnerable to water and ice, enough to force Eleoin back into human form. Jack frequently asks someone to do this do him when he loses control.
Shadow Manipulation - As a Hell Demon, Eleoin has control over shadows and other forms of dark, evil magic. Use of such magic does blacken Jack's soul however, so he subconsciously fights against the demon to prevent him from using it, regardless of the perceived benefits it brings.
Empathetic Telepathy and situational omniscience - As with all demons, Eleoin can get into the heads of those he fights, frequently drawing on negative emotions and painful memories, taunting his opponents with them as a method of getting them to submit.
Inhuman physicality - As the much larger, muscular Eleoin, Jack has access to inhuman strength, speed and durabilty, approximately enough strength to lift a car under current standards. This enables him to stand toe-to-toe with superpowered opponents.
Skills
Jack has quite the repertoire of skills when it comes down to it - but they aren't all too impressive:
Capable hand-to-hand combatant - Without having formal training in advanced martial arts like many a modern vigilante, Jack developed a 'unique' style of street brawling from his time in drunken fights throughout his life, allowing him to hold his own in fights, for some time.
Accurate shooter - Using his own custom-built "Smiter" firearm, he has gradually developed a keen eye, able to hit targets at just over 30 feet away without compromising the fatality of his shots.
Knowledge of the Occult - Throughout his years of travelling the world and training in the Occult, he has developed a knowledge of many magical technique which he employs on his crusade against the supernatural - these include hexes, magical history and the manipulation of Eldritch energies.
Biblical knowledge - Jack also has knowledge of the 'factual' events in the Bible, demons, angels and the Circles of Hell come under this. His knowledge isn't perfect and is prone to flaws, but he's still learning. His skills in Christian Occultism and Exorcisms are derived from this.
Alcohol tolerance - Through years of exposure to alcohol, he has developed a high tolerance to alcohol, whilst seemingly unimpressive it has saved his life many times.
Weaknesses
Substance addiction - Jack goes through relapses of crippling addiction to alcohol, weakening him mentally and physically through the abuse of drink.
Just human - At least while in human form, Jack has all the weaknesses associated with being a human, all their weak points and failings.
Corrupted soul - Jack's soul has been corrupted through Sin and exposure to demonic energies, allowing the demon inside him to take control of his body at times.
Equipment
Jack has several additional pieces of equipment to aid his fight:
The Trenchcoat - Like many occult detectives in fiction, Jack has a trenchcoat, it channels his demonic energies inside of him, to give him slightly enhanced durability and reflexes while he's wearing it, acting as an almost protective layer between himself and those he fights. That, and it happens to look very "Edgy", in Jack's own opinion.
The Smiter - The Smiter is a custom-made firearm designed with the sole purpose of combating supernatural beings. It was constructed under the tutelage of his rarely-spoken-of mentor, it has various settings tailored to different types of supernatural beings. It fires several different types of ammunition, from werewolf-silver bullets, to ectoplasm-raiders. In order to take down more... Biblical enemies, all he needs to do is press a button and the magnum-shaped firearm assumes a crucifix-shaped barrel, allowing him to fire specialised stakes for vampires and other blessed bullets for Demons. And even anti-blessed ammunition for angels and the like.
The Carlya Arcanum - Jack is also in possession of his mentor's old spellbook, always kept out on display in his Sanctum. The book contains several binding rituals and combat spells with the express purpose of combating Biblical-level threats, whilst rarely seeing use, Jack keeps it around as both a reminder of his duty, and out of necessity of the day he may someday need it.
Trivia
Other stuff
RP Hooks
Here are some ways you could interact with him:
- Got demon problems? Give him a call, he has a website and a phone number to call.
- A magician? Or someone knowledgeable of magical circles? Maybe you've heard of him, that's a way to recognise him.
- I'm always looking for villains to fight, so demons and other supernatural antagonists can always organise something with me.
- Conversely, I'm also looking for a web of supernatural informants, from ghosts to simple magicians.
- Maybe you encountered him in the past? We can talk about the details of meetings like that.
Theme songs
Tropes
Older than they look - Jack appears to be in his late twenties, in reality he's actually in his early fifties.
Amazing luck - Jack appears to have some guiding hand behind him, giving him unusually extraordinary luck.
Timeshare body - Jack shares his body with an ancient, yet amnesiac demon. Occasionally turning him immoral and evil.
Occult Detective - Jack works as a demon hunter, exorcist and Occult investigator these days. Hear a bump in the night? You know who to call.
Foul-mouthed - Jack doesn't exactly have the most... Polite of vocabularies.
Sarcastic ass - Jack is known for cracking sarcastic one-liners, with a dry and often offensive sense of humor.
Indifferent to much - Jack is rarely surprised by what he sees in his line of work.
Struggling man - Jack, since his teenage years, has battled against vices such as alcoholism.
