Grimoire

Wizard's First Rule: People are stupid. They will believe a lie because they want it to be true, or are afraid that it is true.

Grimoire
Player: @anubisgod
Only the unskilled require wands or staves to make magic do what they want. Me? I grab reality's balls in my hand and twist until it screams like a bitch. Magic is a meritocracy, not a free ride. Either get good, or get fucked.
Character Build
Class Focus:	Ranged DPS/Healer
Power Level:	40
Research & Development:	N/A
Biographical Data
Real Name:	Moira Graves
Known Aliases:	Grimoire, the Ascendant Mage
Gender:	Female
Species:	Human
Ethnicity:	British
Place of Birth:	Nottingham, United Kingdoms
Base of Operations:	Millennium City, Michigan
Relatives:	Alonsus Graves (father, deceased), Emily Matthews (mother, aged 50), Nimue (apprentice), Dog (Familiar)
Characteristics
Age:	20
Height:	5'9"
Weight:	Unknown
Eyes:	Silvery White
Hair:	Black
Complexion:	Bookish
Physical Build:	Worn-out
Physical Features:	Bloodshot, silvery eyes
Status
Alignment:	██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ Chaotic Good
Reputation:	██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ Imposing
Identity:	Public
Years Active:	4
Citizenship:	British, American
Occupation:	Super Sorcerer
Education:	High School Graduate, College GED
Marital Status:	Single
Known Powers and Abilities
Magic, Artifacts of Power
Equipment and Paraphernalia
The Ascendant Bands, Feather of Sbirouél, Vial of Babylonian Oil, Violon de Macabre Décès

Attributes
	Strength	█ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █		Endurance	█ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █
	Agility	█ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █		Speed	█ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █
	Fighting	█ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █		Projectiles	█ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █
	Durability	█ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █		Resistance	█ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █
	Intelligence	█ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █		Psyche	█ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █
	Intuition	█ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █		Charisma	█ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █
ReldinBox Template

Appearance

Moira sports shoulder length black hair, generally frizzled and worn out in look and style. Her eyes are often bloodshot and are sometimes surrounded by dark marks, indicating a lack of fitful sleep. Her mouth almost -always- has a cigarette in it, and she has been known to go through a pack or two a day on average. Her clothes, while sometimes messy, are kept clean by her cantrips and minor incantations. On her person are generally three metallic bangles - each one a different color. On her left wrist is a black and red wristwrap, on the right a blue and gold. Midway up her right arm is a green and purple bangle, and on some rare events, her left bicep sports a white and gold armlet.

Personality wise, 'brusque' doesn't even begin to describe Moira. She's crass, harsh, unfriendly, and generally a grump. She doesn't have very high views of non-mages, and even amongst magi, she isn't the friendliest with people she knows are beneath her power scale. Overall, she's very much like a elder teenager given a little too much leeway and power. However, her demeanor doesn't prevent her from stepping in to save lives, but she does prefer that people 'leave the magic shit to the professionals, thank you very much'.

Moira is often seen being followed by a red & black Pembroke Welsh Corgi that waddles after her nonchalantly. This is her familiar, Dog, as she so inventively called him, and he is possibly the only thing Moira actually appreciates and respects. She can be seen talking to him in her bookstore, and given the tilt of his head and rolling of his eyes, it's extremely likely that Dog is talking back. She can also sometimes be seen sharing a smoke with Dog, much to the distaste of any nearby animal rights activists.

Mysticism Training

Moira's family line has always been host to a singularly powerful sorcerer, empowered by four mystic artifacts known as the Ascendant Bands, one for each major Imaginal realm. Upon the death of the current Ascendant, the Bands return to their home realms to wait to be retrieved by the next in line for the title. Moira's father, Alonsus Graves, was the previous Ascendant Mage, and he was widely known for his mysticism and even-handed nature. However, when he died and relinquished the Bands after falling in battle to Takofanes the Undying, Moira was determined to prove that she was better than he was - at any cost. In this regard, she attempted to retrieve the first of the Bands, Eternal Pandemonium, at the young age of fifteen. While successful, whatever Moira went through to get it drove her to her present day smoking addiction. Over the course of the next four years, young Moira gathered the remaining three Ascendant Bands, becoming the youngest heritor to the title in recent history.

She has received formal training from both her father and members of the Trismegistus Council, but she prefers to go her own path in terms of magic, using raw force of will and brute magical strength to get what she wants done. Her magic is rarely subtle, and she oftentimes showboats when casting. Woe be to the foe who underestimates her might due to her showy nature, however. She -is- the Ascendant Mage, and with that title comes a great deal of power. And she's not afraid to use it.

Dealing with Anomalies

Moira's main job, as she calls it, is to deal with Imaginal incursions into the human realms. Whether it be roving packs of wild cars from Babylon, or orcs and elves exploring from Faerie, she is determined to keep the realms as separate as she needs to to maintain the peace. While she has no problem with Imaginals that don't break the law or cause havoc, her patience is shorter than usual when dealing with feisty or uncooperative denizens of the Otherworlds. All of this tends to make her extremely unsociable with people who want to help, as she insists that they'd just get in her way since they probably have no actual knowledge in dealing with the things she sees on a daily basis.

Moira is also a major player in the recent anomalies plaguing Millennium City and beyond, details of which can be found at the recordings of the Whispers From The Veil. She also recently took part in an expedition to the Ares I Base on Mars with the Circle of Justice.

Recorded incidents include:

Elysium

Grimoire, along with her apprentice Nimue and the assistance of several capes (much to her chagrin and distaste) encountered a strange golden ring floated in Downtown MC. Upon further inspection (Moira having her suspicions all along, of course), the ring was discovered to be an angelic Throne, one of the guardians of God's kingdom. A brief scuffle broke out before the Throne summoned a mighty Cherubim, later revealed to be Sbirouél, whom intoned that a mere human had attempted to steal the Throne of God and rule Heaven above, and for that, they must be punished. With that, the angel and the heroes began a frantic battle in the streets, most of their attacks slipping off and leaving the imaginal unharmed. With her standard showmanship and utter dislike of intruders, Grimoire, Nimue and the vampire Albino performed a banishment, blasting the Cherubim and Throne back to Elysium, leaving behind a single feather, which Grimoire took into her custody for study and safekeeping. She still has it, of course, and still glowers at it almost daily.

Babylon

Not more than a week later, a second anomaly rippled the streets of Millennium, this time in central Westside. A large, strange garage door was found in the center of the street, and those who approached it felt excitement and determination. Arriving early on the scene, Moira was once again 'aided' by heroes and a fellow mage, a strange man named Casta Blasta. With their expertise, the two determined that it was a portal to the City of Man, Babylon. A pack of wild cars, of many makes and models, exploded up the ramp behind the door, engaging the heroes in probably one of the oddest combats they've experienced. As they dealt with the lesser vehicles, a mighty golem of industrial steel and mystical oil, empowered by humanity's love of monster truck rallies, joined in the fray, the legendary Truckasaurus! As with all giant monsters from other dimensions, however, Grimoire was not going to deal with it's incursion well. After her rather vicious dismantling of the creature, she obtained a vial of Babylonian oil from it's wrecked engine, secluding that away as well.

Yggdrasil

As Millennium City was wracked by minor mystical incursions, Moira had been kept extremely busy dealing with tricky fae, crusading angels, and all sorts of Imaginal mishaps. Responding to a distressed police car deep in Sakura Park, Grimoire arrived on the scene along with three other heroes, to find a massive primordial jungle had taken root in the cherry blossoms. As the heroes managed to put themselves into the danger of being eaten alive by plants, Grimoire determined that the plants were from the otherworldly realm of Yggdrasil - the Imaginal Realm of all plant life. With practiced ease, Grimoire scorched away vines and more with screaming hellfire as the heroes discovered the key to the whole problem - an inexplicable garden gnome beneath the roots of a massive oak tree. As the gnome was shattered with a spinning axe kick, the invasion of plant life dissolved into goopy sap and fibers. Taking the shattered gnome with her, Moira left the scene shortly thereafter, busily studying it for clues as to what the hell was going on.

Powers and Artifacts

• Magic: Obviously, Moira's main power is her formidable magic prowess. She has shown herself to be entirely capable of wielding energies of all types and from all sorts of locations, ranging from all four Imaginal realms to the elements to what some might think to be the material of the stars. Her magic usage, as one might expect, is oftentimes extremely straightforward and direct, favoring explosive attacks and overwhelming power to subtle incantations and illusionary workings. Each of her Bands grants her extraordinary power, but she refrains from using all four in order to 'hold back' a bit.
• The Ascendant Bands: The set of artifacts that are the hallmark of the Ascendant Mage, each of the four bands corresponds to one of the four Parterres.
  • Eternal Pandemonium: The bangle Moira wears on her left wrist hails from the depths of the Netherworld, the Parterre that is made of the visions of Hells from all over - the Nine Hells, Tartarus, Niflheim, Di Yu, anything that humans have believed or created as a place of punishment and torment. Moira's connection to the Netherworld via this bangle allows her to fuel her magic with her own anger and loathing, and out of her repetoire, she uses Netherworld magic the most for offensive casting. She can often be seen with her hands wreathed in the tell-tale black and orange flames of hellfire. According to her, the holder of Eternal Pandemonium when she got it was Demoriel, the Nightmare Queen, a powerful elder demon of fear. (A write-up of her acquisition of this Band can be found here: http://www.championsonlineroleplayers.shivtr.com/forum_threads/1087370)
  • Clockwork Knowledge: The bangle on her right wrist is bound to the newest of the Parterres, Babylon, also known as the City of Man. Within the borders of Babylon are representations of cities from all reaches of humanity, both those fictional and real, those in the past and those yet to exist. Her connection to Babylon gives her several unique abilities, foremost is her skill in speaking and understanding any language spoken on Earth. She also uses Babylonian magic to create hidden vaults within her store and home, as well as to pick locks, and if pressed, to travel cross-continent in the blink of an eye. The previous holders of Clockwork Knowledge were members of a Babylonian organization known as The Fool's Parliament.
  • Faespinner - The bangle on her right bicep is tied to the ancient Land of Legends, Faerie. Home to gods of ancient religions and fairy tales alike, Faerie is also the home of many fantasy races, such as elves, orcs, dwarves, centaur and more. While she generally disdains the usage of such things, Faespinner gives Moira the ability to weave extremely convincing illusions and to craft things such as golems and homonculi to assist her. This specific Band was held by members of the Winter Court, with whom Moira came into contact on her quest to retrieve all four of the bands.
  • The Light of Dawn - The final bangle, which is worn on her left bicep, is tied to Elysium and the heavens above. The opposite of Netherworld, Elysium is formed of the contemporary concepts of Heaven, such as those found in Islam, Shinto, Christianity, Judaism and Hinduism. While it can be just as potent offensively as Netherworld magic, Moira tends to rely on her Elysian ties to mend wounds and knit bone back together, or to help protect her body from receiving severe injury via warding magic and armoring. The Light of Dawn was held in the city of Heavenly Jerusalem by Azrael, the Angel of Death, although she did not come into direct conflict with him, but earned it in some other fashion.
• Addiction - Moira possesses a sword all of her own, which she can summon out of, well, what else? Her smokes. With a twist of magic and a cigarette handy, the super sorcerer can call upon the blade Addiction from within any smoke she holds. The pommel of the blade is colored as a cigarette, with the filter resting against the crossguard. The blade is similar to a longsword, but nicotine smoke emanates constantly from the steel, oftentimes filling the air with secondhand smoke as she does battle with it. She doesn't call upon Addiction often, but she's shown that she's proficient enough in swordfighting to dispatch enemies neatly and cleanly with the cigblade.
• Feather of Sbirouél, Vial of Babylonian Oil & Violon de Macabre Décès: Tokens of conquest from her dealings with the Imaginal, Moira currently has no idea what these might actually be capable of. As such, she treats them with caution - keeping them safely stored away unless she thinks she really, REALLY needs them.

Weaknesses

• Only Human: Despite all her big talk and showy work, Moira is indeed, only human. Her magical wards protect her in most cases, but if those fail, she's liable to get shot in the head and bleed out just as much as the next civilian.
• Two Packs a Day: Moira's chainsmoking habits can sometimes leave her short of breath or in an -exceptionally- crabby mood, not to mention the long standing health risks to inhaling that much nicotine for so long. Her lungs are a mess.
• Overconfidence: She has yet to meet a challenge she can't beat. As such, she's very liable to stick around long past the time she should have left, and will push herself to the breaking point in order to prove that she is -better- than everyone else.

Notable Enemies

• Templar - Templar is the Sword of Heavenly Jerusalem, the guardian of Elysium, and the wielder of Divine Justice. She often crosses into the human world to hunt people who have trespassed on Elysium's soil and defiled holy sites, or those that have 'slain' angels. She is as unswerving as one might expect. Reason and bargaining do not work with the inexorable force that is Templar, as her divine mandate drives her to punish those that dare to go against the will of the Holiest of Holies. Templar and Grimoire have clashed on several occasions, the largest of which being a duel between the two in 2009, in the streets of Heavenly Jerusalem. Grimoire escaped the paladin, and has since been keeping a close eye on her whereabouts, and any appearances Templar might make.
• Demoriel, the Nightmare Queen - Demoriel is an elder demon, ruler of a section of the Netherworld known as the Nightmare Gardens. She often encroaches on sections of the Dreamzone as well, which she uses to give humans nightmares, so she can feed off of their fear. Since she is an elder demon, Demoriel cannot physically manifest on Earth for very long without a suitable host, and even when bound within human skin, she will quickly eat away at the host until they rot and decay. Grimoire and Demoriel have a history of antagonism, stemming from Grimoire's first meeting with the Nightmare Queen, in which she obtained the band of Eternal Pandemonium. Demoriel holds a grudge against the Ascendant Mage, despite her having won the band fairly.
• The Shadow Man - A practicing Haitian bokor, the Shadow Man is a deceptively powerful spellcaster. His magic is subtle, often in the form of insidious curses and twisted hexes, which he uses to commit crimes in order to fuel his enterprising nature. The Shadow Man has sold his soul to the dark loa which reside within Faerie, and has several times used his power to commit robberies, all of which involved gathering mystical artifacts for some unknown purpose. Grimoire and the Shadow Man have clashed several times, with her overwhelming offensive might winning the day time and again, forcing the Shadow Man into the shadows of Vibora Bay. Rumors indicate he may have thrown his lot in with the Sovereign Sons street gang, however, and may be stewing a plot to strike back at the egotistical Ascendant.
• Frosty the Slayman - Despite his rather...silly name and quaint speech, Frosty is in fact quite a dangerous individual. As the acting enforcer and hitman for the Winter Court of Faerie, he is responsible for hunting down and eliminating enemies of the chilly true fae that give him orders. His iced tommy guns have slain several key magicians who abused their powers and pacts with the Land of Legend, and he and the Ascendant clashed during her acquisition of the Faespinner band. During that conflict, she melted most of his torso with a blast of hellfire, and he is determined to get her back for that slight, when his bosses will let him, of course. His most recent appearance on Earth wound up with him getting trounced by a squad of assorted heroes, so for the moment, he's trapped in the Land of Legend.

Thoughts

• The Trismegistus Council - Not bad, if you don't mind a bunch of doddering old try-hards who refuse to act until it's far too late for their fumble fingered spells to make a difference. Unfortunately they require me to keep them updated, the bastards. You could do worse, I guess. But you could do a lot better.

• Project HERMES - This is what you get when non-mages want to meddle in mage affairs. Couldn't even stop either Demonflame event without the help of a multi-national terrorist organization. What does that say about their usefulness? They don't even have anyone stationed in goddamn Vibora Bay. That's like magic hotspot numero uno.

• DEMON - Worst bunch of cultists I've ever had the misfortune of meeting. Idiots have no idea what they're messing with, even the demons in Netherworld don't want to deal with them anymore. That should tell you something, if nothing else. When the worst of the worst don't want to be on speaking terms, you should probably fuck off.

• Circle of the Scarlet Moon - Between all the infighting and general asshole nature, I'm surprised they manage to maintain a 'threat level' for anyone that's even slightly competent. Pathetic. They asked me to join up once, you know. As if I'd join a bunch of has-beens like them.

• Crowns of Krim - You know, they'd be dangerous if they could coherently operate together. That and if Dark Seraph actually had any real power beyond his stupid crown. Take that thing off? He's just another unschooled idiot who thinks he found real power. The others are hardly better.

• Cult of the Red Banner - Why are you even asking me about this? They're barely above street gang level. Don't waste my valuable time with table scraps.

• Witchcraft - Young, and a way better candidate for Archmage than the current ass. I don't care what the Council says. She's got raw talent and power. Good enough for me. Gotta drop that fling with the retard in power armor though - just going to get in the way.

• Robert Caliburn - Do NOT get me started. Uppity ass who thinks just because he got lucky and got picked for Archmage makes him king magic supreme. Guns, really? Who the hell needs those when you can reshape reality to your whims? Probably because he casts slower than frozen molasses. His familiar is adorable, though. Don't know why it picked him.

• Hi Pan - The little, less threatening version of Yin Wu? Don't bother. He couldn't conjure his way out of an empty room, let alone provide enough threat to warrant my attention. A gnat to be swatted.

• Takofanes the Undying - He and I have a score to settle. He killed the previous Ascendant, and I'm not going to let that slide without a fight. Can't take him yet, though...

• Therakiel the Bright - You know how Heaven is supposed to be all friendly cherubs with little bows and adorable wings? Yeah, it hasn't been like that...ever, basically. Therakiel's proof. He's Old Testament. All fire and punishment and shit. All talk, though. Got his ass kicked by God and Lucifer didn't want him. Poor wikkle baby.

• Shadow Destroyer - I never thought I'd hear the big bad Doctor Destroyer all of a sudden turn to magic. I guess he finally wised up - magic's better than science. Not that he's particularly intelligent about it. Of all the places he had to turn, he picked the Shining Darkness. Idiot.

• Casta Blasta - The weirdest mage I've ever seen, and...actually, wait....is he a bard?

• Nimue - Finally, someone that I can work with. A little unsure of herself, but at least she's willing to listen to what I'm goddamn saying. With practice, she'll get there.

• Albino - Filthy bloodsucking parasite. He's got his uses, but no vampire I've ever met turned out good. Something about being a souless monstrosity and a sin against the existence of life. Oh, don't you worry, I've got plans for when he flips his shit and loses it.
• Nox - Fucking called it.
• Architect - Don't even TALK to me about Easwick. That smarmy asshole gets on my nerves like no one except the glorious 'Magnum Mage'. I bet the two of them get along famously as well. Pricks.
• Mantra - You mean the kid with the golden helmet? He's only better than that poseur Dark Seraph thanks to the fact that he's on the proper side. For the moment. Whatever's in that helm, though, needs to go.
• Testament - Someone else who shares the view that the Imaginal are a bigger threat than people realize. Even so, he's too friendly with that angel for someone who expresses as much distate for their kind as I do. I wonder why?
• Scripture - A naive, fool girl. One day she'll wake up and see the world as it really is, not through the rose colored lenses she prefers now. And when that day comes, she'll be worth my notice.

Comments

Leave your thoughts on the Ascendant Mage below!

RP Hooks

• Are you a Mage? Chances are high you've at least -heard- of the Ascendant Mage, if not met the newest one to hold the title. She's well known to the Trismegistus Council, as well as DEMON and the Circle of the Scarlet Moon.
• Are you Imaginal? Moira probably has an eye on you, to make sure you're not fucking up life for humans. She's been accused of being racist before, not that it deters her at all.
• Do you live Downtown? Maybe you've seen Moira's shop! Feel free to stop in and get yelled at, or buy something.

Metagame & Trivia

• Moira is inspired by Zatanna, John Constantine and Doctor Strange.

Grim Moira's Emporium

Moira's day to day job is running a bookstore and reagent shop in Downtown MC. She runs the place Monday through Friday, 9 to 5, with Saturdays and Sundays off. She keeps it well stocked, but most of the -actual- magic tomes are under lock and key in the back. She keeps the harmless stuff out on the shelves for the non-mages to pick through, mostly useless cantrips or books of superstition. However, she does deal in legitimate magical artifacts, and rumour has it she has several tomes of ill nature in her shop, such as the Adumbral Grimoire. She wards the place at night with alarms and a sentient Golem guard, who will not hesitate to bodycheck some upstart thief through a plate glass window to prevent damage to anything actually valuable.

The shop is almost always covered in cigarette smoke, thanks to her bad habits. She also deals in mundane and mystical reagents, ranging from crystals to herbs.

I have awakened, and the mysteries are unveiled before me. My imagination is as real as my fist, and my will is unfettered. This is power. This is magic. With it, I will remake the world.