Post by Xiro on Feb 11, 2024 21:59:27 GMT
FULL NAME
Xiro
PRONOUNS
He/him
ALIASES
The Jack of Blades
AGE
Several millennia
BIRTHDATE
He was born long before there ever was a calendar and does not celebrate his birth, but if pressed, he'll say he was born October 15th.
LOCATION
Median
OCCUPATION
Teacher
SPECIES
Eldritch horror
SEXUALITY
Asexual, demiromantic
RELATIONSHIP STATUS
Single
SOURCE MEDIA
Video Game & Short Story
FANDOM
Fable
CANON or OC
Canon
CANON POINT
Between Fable III and the Journey, after having been captured by the Corruptor's Lieutenants and tortured for a year.
FACE CLAIM
Dan Stevens
PERSONALITY
”These people, these… creatures… They are insufferable things. They don’t know who their betters are.”
To say that the Jack of Blades has a superiority complex and a seething, boiling hatred for humanity would be a gross understatement. As far as he is concerned, none could possibly surpass him, save for his siblings, both of whom are dead. All of that hate and rage are hidden away now behind a lopsided, charming grin and a mask of innocence.
Xiro the Jack of Blades is a bloodthirsty monster, a demonic, beastly thing who cares only for himself and his own desires. Xiro the teacher, however, is a kind young man who is earnest, curious, and a little naive. There is some overlap, of course. Both are intelligent, both have a dorky sense of humor (puns and dad jokes as far as the eye can see), and both have an ardent love of learning. And, though neither would ever admit it, both are cowards, both are sentimental, and both are so painfully lonely.
The loss of his siblings and his people is a pain that never eases. He is bitter and desperately wants to re- establish the chokehold he and his siblings had over Albion. To avenge them, honor them, and make them proud. But… he isn't strong enough, and he hates himself for it. That is something he carries deep within him: shame.
HISTORY
"The demons and gods you fear and worship are as nothing to me!"
They arrived from the sky, from what was then known only as the Void. Three figures appeared in Albion: The Jack, the Knight, and the Queen, collectively known as the Court of Blades. Through use of their awe-inspiring and terrible powers, they subjugated the people of Albion and would rule over them for thousands of years. They were cruel masters who thought of the humans as little more than cattle.
Hope came in the form of a blacksmith’s young son, William Black. The boy himself had awesome powers, which he used to protect his villagers from the many monsters that would have destroyed it. As he grew older, he grew in power, and the people rallied behind him in the hopes that he would free them from the Court’s tyranny.
The Jack of Blades sought to make quick work of the youth and brought William to his own little pocket dimension within the Void, where he challenged him to battle. But Will was stronger than the Jack had anticipated, and the two fought long and hard, exchanging blow for blow. Though wounded, Will was able to steal the Jack’s sword, the Sword of Aeons, and escape the Void.
This loss would prove to be the Court’s undoing, for the sword was possessed by evil. That evil spoke to Will, promised enough power to slay the whole of the Court in exchange for the young Hero’s soul. Desperate and not knowing any better, Will agreed.
The Jack knew what was coming; the Sword of Aeons was his birthright and his charge, so he knew well the dangers posed should it fall into the wrong hands. He tried to warn his siblings, but his brother thought him overreacting, and his sister was overconfident. After all, how could a mere human pose a threat to them? They were no better than ants.
But Jack was frightened. Death awaited them, and there was no chance they would survive should the human be fool enough to accept whatever offer the sword made. And so he did the only thing he could think to do, one of the few things forbidden to him: necromancy. He cleaved his soul to his mask, so that should he die, he might still live. He dared not tell the others what he had done, for he was ashamed of his fear and what it had made him do.
As it would turn out, he was right. William Black returned, stronger than they had ever seen him, and he challenged them to battle upon Mount Ruon’s peak. They would each face him, one at a time (though Jack had insisted they fight together, he was overruled), and each would fall. The Knight was obliterated almost immediately. The Jack managed to last a few hours before his body was broken beyond repair. He would learn later that his sister would last two weeks before finally succumbing to her injuries.
Their heads were mounted on pikes, and eventually their masks were taken as trophies for William Black’s–now Archon–personal collection. It would be many centuries before one of the champion’s very own descendants would be fool enough to try on the Jack’s mask. The young man’s body was swiftly overtaken, his soul ejected so that something darker could move in. The Jack wasted no time in collecting his siblings’ masks (finding them regrettably inert) and fleeing the castle.
In the centuries afterwards, he was hunted, but the few that found him met swift and cruel ends. And so he watched from the fringes of society as his enemy ruled over Albion and molded it into his image, gaining strength and plotting his revenge. He searched for a way to resurrect his siblings, but this would prove a hopeless task. Their souls were nowhere to be found, in this world or the next.
Revenge, too, would have to wait, for after ruling for a thousand years, the Archon vanished. The kingdom was left to his rotten sons, and it wasn’t long before they sought the ultimate power. They constructed the Spire, a nexus of all the world’s magic, with the intention of using it to fulfill whatever wish they wanted. On the day of its completion, a wish was made, and all that was old was wiped away to make way for the new.
With the Old Kingdom now lying in ruins and the old legends having died with it, the Jack of Blades began his hunt for the Sword of Aeons in earnest. In the meantime, he made a name for himself, becoming the most prolific Hero of the age (though he loathed the title, it served him well). He was well known for his cruelty, but also his cunning and fighting prowess. Albion came to both fear and love him. All the while, he amassed a fortune that would aid him in future endeavors, buying Bargate Prison as well as the loyalty of bandits and nobles alike.
Eventually, his search would lead him to Oakvale and the end of William Black’s direct bloodline. How could he have known that his ruin would come at the hands of the small boy who escaped the fire? How did the blood of William Black still burn so strongly? He would very nearly reclaim the Sword of Aeons, but once again his hubris would cause him to underestimate the strength of his enemy, and he would taste the bitterness of defeat once more.
Through trickery and ancient rituals, the Jack sought vengeance. The Hero of Oakvale was fooled into releasing the Jack from the confines of his mask and allowing him to take control of the body of a dragon. Victory seemed certain, but once again, all was for naught. The dragon was slain, the mask destroyed. The Jack of Blades passed from this world and into legend.
Or so everyone thought. Free of the mask at last, the Jack took on a new face and an old name: Xiro. Tall, slim, and boyish, the young man traversed Albion as a teacher in search of work. None knew his true identity, and he never stayed in one place long enough for people to notice that he did not age. In this way, he remained undetected.
Eventually, he found his way to a little village called Oddwood. True to its name, the place was very odd, with its citizens too terrified to even breathe. That was when he learned that the village had been taken over by a gang of bandits, led by the Jack of Blades. Or, at least, a man claiming to be such.
Of course, that simply would not do. Something would have to be done and, feigning clumsy ineptitude, he somehow managed to not only rid the village of its plight, but also kept his true identity a secret. However, in doing so, he attracted the attention (and affections) of a girl named Beatrice, who simply would not leave him alone. She, like the rest of Oddwood, thought him a Hero and would not accept when he professed to be nothing of the sort. He was forced to reveal the truth to her, and her fragile mind broke beneath its weight.
He left her to her screaming, unwilling to stay in Oddwood a moment longer. Humans! How he loathed them! Such stupid, irritating creatures. He wished he could be anywhere but on this godsdamned planet!
He went on to continue his vagrant style of teaching for a handful of centuries, never remaining in one place long enough to put down roots. It was simply easier to remain unnoticed that way. It took a great deal of time, but he managed to amass great wealth, stashed away in secret caches around Albion. It wasn't until the re-opening of the Academy of Brightwall and the rise of a new ruler that he considered buying a home. He signed on with the Academy, and at first, things were much the same. He traveled around Albion, opening small schools. When he wasn't doing that, he was back at the Academy, teaching history, philosophy, and the sciences. Then, he was made an offer: go to Aurora and study the place where the Crawler came from.
He needed to find a reason to leave Brightwall; he was starting to get too comfortable, and soon, people would realize that he did not age. And so, he accepted. It would prove to be a grave error.
The Shadelight, as it was called, was no longer haunted by the Crawler and its dark “children,” but evil still permeated the place. It was tainted by it, corrupted. He could feel it the moment he stepped off the boat. But the Jack of Blades was never one to be deterred, by good nor evil. He dove into the task readily, seeking all the forbidden knowledge that had been secreted away in those ancient stones.
There was so much, and yet precious little. It was clear that there was some great mystery to be uncovered, but the answers remained elusive. It took decades to find what they were looking for, and even once they found it, they weren't even sure what it was. A strange, circular device inscribed with indecipherable runes.
He returned to Albion with this little mystery in hand, unaware that doing so had attracted the attention of a long-lost enemy. He disembarked in Bowerstone, but never made it home to Brightwall.
The Crawler, as it turned out, was not the only one of its kind. Others, known as Lieutenants of Darkness, had existed in the shadows, doing their master's bidding behind closed doors. It was these that snatched Xiro up, lured by the device he'd acquired. But that wasn't all they wanted. They knew who and what he was and they wanted his power for themselves, to crack open the veil and allow their master to return from the Void. Their master, who was none other than the corrupted half of the Archon's soul, known only as the Corruptor.
How long was he in that cell? Days? Months? Years? Time without measure in darkness, filth, and agony. But now, suddenly and without explanation, he finds himself in a forest blanketed by snowfall. Is this a dream?
SKILLS AND SPECIAL ABILITIES
Special Abilities
Skills
FRIENDS
Xiro does not tend to make friends, let alone maintain any sort of lasting relationship. However, if you want to get on his good side, displays of intelligence without excessive hubris are more likely to gain you points than anything else. He values intellect above all else, so if you can impress him and prove that you aren’t an idiot (as he assumes most everyone is from the start), he might be able to stand your company. Maybe. It also helps if you laugh at his stupid jokes.
ENEMIES
Oh boy. Where to start? Pretty much every Hero throughout Albion’s history is considered an enemy. Those who actively oppose him and/or think themselves better than he are at the top of his list. He has been known to kill, maim, and torture anyone he deems worthy of punishment, so beware.
LOVERS
To be honest, I’m not sure that a romantic relationship is possible at this stage. He is too closed off to let anyone in. The Jack of Blades is not the kind of man who would take an interest in finding himself a lover. However, should someone somehow worm their way into his shriveled black heart, they would have to first earn his trust. This is not easily done, as he has relied upon only himself for eons, and quite frankly, does not know how to open himself up to another person. They would have to befriend him first, and then, maybe, just maybe, he might take an interest.
Xiro
PRONOUNS
He/him
ALIASES
The Jack of Blades
AGE
Several millennia
BIRTHDATE
He was born long before there ever was a calendar and does not celebrate his birth, but if pressed, he'll say he was born October 15th.
LOCATION
Median
OCCUPATION
Teacher
SPECIES
Eldritch horror
SEXUALITY
Asexual, demiromantic
RELATIONSHIP STATUS
Single
SOURCE MEDIA
Video Game & Short Story
FANDOM
Fable
CANON or OC
Canon
CANON POINT
Between Fable III and the Journey, after having been captured by the Corruptor's Lieutenants and tortured for a year.
FACE CLAIM
Dan Stevens
PERSONALITY
”These people, these… creatures… They are insufferable things. They don’t know who their betters are.”
To say that the Jack of Blades has a superiority complex and a seething, boiling hatred for humanity would be a gross understatement. As far as he is concerned, none could possibly surpass him, save for his siblings, both of whom are dead. All of that hate and rage are hidden away now behind a lopsided, charming grin and a mask of innocence.
Xiro the Jack of Blades is a bloodthirsty monster, a demonic, beastly thing who cares only for himself and his own desires. Xiro the teacher, however, is a kind young man who is earnest, curious, and a little naive. There is some overlap, of course. Both are intelligent, both have a dorky sense of humor (puns and dad jokes as far as the eye can see), and both have an ardent love of learning. And, though neither would ever admit it, both are cowards, both are sentimental, and both are so painfully lonely.
The loss of his siblings and his people is a pain that never eases. He is bitter and desperately wants to re- establish the chokehold he and his siblings had over Albion. To avenge them, honor them, and make them proud. But… he isn't strong enough, and he hates himself for it. That is something he carries deep within him: shame.
HISTORY
"The demons and gods you fear and worship are as nothing to me!"
They arrived from the sky, from what was then known only as the Void. Three figures appeared in Albion: The Jack, the Knight, and the Queen, collectively known as the Court of Blades. Through use of their awe-inspiring and terrible powers, they subjugated the people of Albion and would rule over them for thousands of years. They were cruel masters who thought of the humans as little more than cattle.
Hope came in the form of a blacksmith’s young son, William Black. The boy himself had awesome powers, which he used to protect his villagers from the many monsters that would have destroyed it. As he grew older, he grew in power, and the people rallied behind him in the hopes that he would free them from the Court’s tyranny.
The Jack of Blades sought to make quick work of the youth and brought William to his own little pocket dimension within the Void, where he challenged him to battle. But Will was stronger than the Jack had anticipated, and the two fought long and hard, exchanging blow for blow. Though wounded, Will was able to steal the Jack’s sword, the Sword of Aeons, and escape the Void.
This loss would prove to be the Court’s undoing, for the sword was possessed by evil. That evil spoke to Will, promised enough power to slay the whole of the Court in exchange for the young Hero’s soul. Desperate and not knowing any better, Will agreed.
The Jack knew what was coming; the Sword of Aeons was his birthright and his charge, so he knew well the dangers posed should it fall into the wrong hands. He tried to warn his siblings, but his brother thought him overreacting, and his sister was overconfident. After all, how could a mere human pose a threat to them? They were no better than ants.
But Jack was frightened. Death awaited them, and there was no chance they would survive should the human be fool enough to accept whatever offer the sword made. And so he did the only thing he could think to do, one of the few things forbidden to him: necromancy. He cleaved his soul to his mask, so that should he die, he might still live. He dared not tell the others what he had done, for he was ashamed of his fear and what it had made him do.
As it would turn out, he was right. William Black returned, stronger than they had ever seen him, and he challenged them to battle upon Mount Ruon’s peak. They would each face him, one at a time (though Jack had insisted they fight together, he was overruled), and each would fall. The Knight was obliterated almost immediately. The Jack managed to last a few hours before his body was broken beyond repair. He would learn later that his sister would last two weeks before finally succumbing to her injuries.
Their heads were mounted on pikes, and eventually their masks were taken as trophies for William Black’s–now Archon–personal collection. It would be many centuries before one of the champion’s very own descendants would be fool enough to try on the Jack’s mask. The young man’s body was swiftly overtaken, his soul ejected so that something darker could move in. The Jack wasted no time in collecting his siblings’ masks (finding them regrettably inert) and fleeing the castle.
In the centuries afterwards, he was hunted, but the few that found him met swift and cruel ends. And so he watched from the fringes of society as his enemy ruled over Albion and molded it into his image, gaining strength and plotting his revenge. He searched for a way to resurrect his siblings, but this would prove a hopeless task. Their souls were nowhere to be found, in this world or the next.
Revenge, too, would have to wait, for after ruling for a thousand years, the Archon vanished. The kingdom was left to his rotten sons, and it wasn’t long before they sought the ultimate power. They constructed the Spire, a nexus of all the world’s magic, with the intention of using it to fulfill whatever wish they wanted. On the day of its completion, a wish was made, and all that was old was wiped away to make way for the new.
With the Old Kingdom now lying in ruins and the old legends having died with it, the Jack of Blades began his hunt for the Sword of Aeons in earnest. In the meantime, he made a name for himself, becoming the most prolific Hero of the age (though he loathed the title, it served him well). He was well known for his cruelty, but also his cunning and fighting prowess. Albion came to both fear and love him. All the while, he amassed a fortune that would aid him in future endeavors, buying Bargate Prison as well as the loyalty of bandits and nobles alike.
Eventually, his search would lead him to Oakvale and the end of William Black’s direct bloodline. How could he have known that his ruin would come at the hands of the small boy who escaped the fire? How did the blood of William Black still burn so strongly? He would very nearly reclaim the Sword of Aeons, but once again his hubris would cause him to underestimate the strength of his enemy, and he would taste the bitterness of defeat once more.
Through trickery and ancient rituals, the Jack sought vengeance. The Hero of Oakvale was fooled into releasing the Jack from the confines of his mask and allowing him to take control of the body of a dragon. Victory seemed certain, but once again, all was for naught. The dragon was slain, the mask destroyed. The Jack of Blades passed from this world and into legend.
Or so everyone thought. Free of the mask at last, the Jack took on a new face and an old name: Xiro. Tall, slim, and boyish, the young man traversed Albion as a teacher in search of work. None knew his true identity, and he never stayed in one place long enough for people to notice that he did not age. In this way, he remained undetected.
Eventually, he found his way to a little village called Oddwood. True to its name, the place was very odd, with its citizens too terrified to even breathe. That was when he learned that the village had been taken over by a gang of bandits, led by the Jack of Blades. Or, at least, a man claiming to be such.
Of course, that simply would not do. Something would have to be done and, feigning clumsy ineptitude, he somehow managed to not only rid the village of its plight, but also kept his true identity a secret. However, in doing so, he attracted the attention (and affections) of a girl named Beatrice, who simply would not leave him alone. She, like the rest of Oddwood, thought him a Hero and would not accept when he professed to be nothing of the sort. He was forced to reveal the truth to her, and her fragile mind broke beneath its weight.
He left her to her screaming, unwilling to stay in Oddwood a moment longer. Humans! How he loathed them! Such stupid, irritating creatures. He wished he could be anywhere but on this godsdamned planet!
He went on to continue his vagrant style of teaching for a handful of centuries, never remaining in one place long enough to put down roots. It was simply easier to remain unnoticed that way. It took a great deal of time, but he managed to amass great wealth, stashed away in secret caches around Albion. It wasn't until the re-opening of the Academy of Brightwall and the rise of a new ruler that he considered buying a home. He signed on with the Academy, and at first, things were much the same. He traveled around Albion, opening small schools. When he wasn't doing that, he was back at the Academy, teaching history, philosophy, and the sciences. Then, he was made an offer: go to Aurora and study the place where the Crawler came from.
He needed to find a reason to leave Brightwall; he was starting to get too comfortable, and soon, people would realize that he did not age. And so, he accepted. It would prove to be a grave error.
The Shadelight, as it was called, was no longer haunted by the Crawler and its dark “children,” but evil still permeated the place. It was tainted by it, corrupted. He could feel it the moment he stepped off the boat. But the Jack of Blades was never one to be deterred, by good nor evil. He dove into the task readily, seeking all the forbidden knowledge that had been secreted away in those ancient stones.
There was so much, and yet precious little. It was clear that there was some great mystery to be uncovered, but the answers remained elusive. It took decades to find what they were looking for, and even once they found it, they weren't even sure what it was. A strange, circular device inscribed with indecipherable runes.
He returned to Albion with this little mystery in hand, unaware that doing so had attracted the attention of a long-lost enemy. He disembarked in Bowerstone, but never made it home to Brightwall.
The Crawler, as it turned out, was not the only one of its kind. Others, known as Lieutenants of Darkness, had existed in the shadows, doing their master's bidding behind closed doors. It was these that snatched Xiro up, lured by the device he'd acquired. But that wasn't all they wanted. They knew who and what he was and they wanted his power for themselves, to crack open the veil and allow their master to return from the Void. Their master, who was none other than the corrupted half of the Archon's soul, known only as the Corruptor.
How long was he in that cell? Days? Months? Years? Time without measure in darkness, filth, and agony. But now, suddenly and without explanation, he finds himself in a forest blanketed by snowfall. Is this a dream?
SKILLS AND SPECIAL ABILITIES
Special Abilities
- Barriers. - Internal - Magic - Xiro can erect magical barriers, either to block paths or to protect himself from projectiles and magical attacks. These barriers can take a lot of damage before going down, but are not entirely invulnerable.
- Element Creation & Manipulation. - Internal - Magic - He is able to create and manipulate the elements (particularly earth and fire), either to use as a weapon or for more practical purposes.
- Flight. - Internal - Magic - He is able to fly and hover without the use of wings.
- Telekinesis. - Internal - Magic - Xiro can lift, push, or pull objects with his mind.
- Soul Mask. - Previously External, now Internal - Magic - Before his mask was destroyed, Xiro relied upon some hapless wanderer to find it and put it on in order to possess a new host. That is no longer necessary, and he can now body hop should his current body ever expire. This does, however, weaken him. A piece of him is lost every time, and he can never hope to regain it. He will never again be as powerful as he once was.
- Summoning. - Internal - Magic - The Jack of Blades can summon creatures from the Void, including Wardogs, Dreadwings, Screamers, and Summoners. The number of each creature he can summon is limited, especially now that he is so much weaker than before. Where once he could call forth whole armies, now, he can summon a mere handful. Wardogs and Screamers are weaker and thus easier to call forth, allowing for five at one time, but Dreadwings and Summoners are more powerful allies, and he can only summon one.
- Super Speed and Strength. - Internal - Magic - Self explanatory. He can reach speeds that are nigh undetectable to the human eye over short distances, and he has been described as having the strength of ten Heroes.
- Telepathy - Internal - Magic - Xiro can speak directly into people’s minds, regardless of distance, so long as they have met before. If he establishes a permanent link with an individual, they can contact him in the same way at any time. As an added benefit to this ability, Xiro can also read the surface thoughts of others so long as he is in the room with them and concentrating. (This ability will only ever be used with permission and discussed beforehand.)
- Teleportation - Internal - Magic - Xiro can cross vast distances in the blink of an eye, so long as he has been to the target location before. He can also transport others, provided that he is touching them.
Skills
- Proficiency with all martial and simple weapons
- Substantial knowledge of the sciences, history, philosophy, and human languages
- Teaching
- Survival skills.
FRIENDS
Xiro does not tend to make friends, let alone maintain any sort of lasting relationship. However, if you want to get on his good side, displays of intelligence without excessive hubris are more likely to gain you points than anything else. He values intellect above all else, so if you can impress him and prove that you aren’t an idiot (as he assumes most everyone is from the start), he might be able to stand your company. Maybe. It also helps if you laugh at his stupid jokes.
ENEMIES
Oh boy. Where to start? Pretty much every Hero throughout Albion’s history is considered an enemy. Those who actively oppose him and/or think themselves better than he are at the top of his list. He has been known to kill, maim, and torture anyone he deems worthy of punishment, so beware.
LOVERS
To be honest, I’m not sure that a romantic relationship is possible at this stage. He is too closed off to let anyone in. The Jack of Blades is not the kind of man who would take an interest in finding himself a lover. However, should someone somehow worm their way into his shriveled black heart, they would have to first earn his trust. This is not easily done, as he has relied upon only himself for eons, and quite frankly, does not know how to open himself up to another person. They would have to befriend him first, and then, maybe, just maybe, he might take an interest.