Arcturius

	Arcturius
	Arcturius.png
	Profile
Status:	Alive
Age:	12
Race:	Human
Gender:	Male
Class:	Bard
Nation:	Libaterra
Faction:	Fellowship of Hidefall

Arcturius is a young bard who has lived his whole life in a forest until recently. He explored the world while trying to find his missing mother, the witch Helena the Grey, and ended up participating in events which took place around Haruko Mizushima in Hidefall and Malperdy. After witnessing these traumatic events while travelling in the Fellowship of Hidefall, he was briefly reunited with his mother but then ran away from her when he saw how ruthlessly she commanded an army of her own, the Grey Guards. Arc eventually located Axikasha Keiran while on the run and decided to tag along with her because he needed company and someone trustworthy to rely on, believing Ax to be a reliable enough person.

Biography

Early Years

"If you ever seek to defy me again, I want you to remember the pain you feel right now. And when it scars you, just know that what you felt this day shall be far worse if you go against my orders again!"

—Helena the Grey after scarring Arcturius

Born the child of a rather sinister witch called Helena and an unknown father, Arcturius grew up in the Libaterran forests west of Etheril in the parts not populated or commonly traveled by others. His mother was, in her youth, responsible for numerous attacks on numerous villages and settlements, often slaughtering countless innocents, as well as for the destruction of various trade caravans. This earned her the name "Helena the Grey" (a name she earned due to her grey hair), and has meant she has had a substantial bounty placed on her head that still remains unclaimed to this day. Her son did not inherit a last name due to Helena not knowing her own, having forgotten it some time ago and with the family name of his father remaining a mystery to her.

However, Arcturius grew up utterly oblivious to his mother's true identity and simply knew her as "Helena" who spent her time from an early age trying to teach him all she knew. While Arcturius was able to pick up on lessons of basic Alchemy (such as the creation of basic healing poultices and potions, as well as a poison) and even some bare-bones swordplay, the world of magic wasn't something he seemed to be able to grasp. Every attempt he made to try to use it ended in failure. He was unable to conjure spells, or even manifest any magical ability which frustrated his parent to absolutely no end and often made her patience thin when dealing with her child.

Apart from Helena's frustrations in dealing with him and how she sometimes lost her temper with him, Arcturius' upbringing was rather peaceful and somewhat uneventful. One of the first restrictions placed on the boy was that he was not allowed to ever leave the forests borders for any reason and was to remain there until he was told otherwise. The second rule was that he was not to speak to another person aside from her, instilling in him that other people were simply trouble. These restrictions upset the boy a substantial amount but he decided to not disobey it.

When he was seven and out exploring his forest home, Arcturius came across a young woman singing, seeming to attract numerous parts of the wild-life. Finding himself curious about what someone was doing in his home, he tried to find a way to stay out of sight but was spotted after accidentally snapping a twig underfoot. However, the woman was friendly and introduced herself as Lilli, an elf who had come to the forest to find a rare herb. The two talked for some time, with Lilli telling Arcturius about her travels and of the outside world whilst Arcturius explained where to find the herb. The two struck a noticeable rapport and Lilli soon asked if the young Arcturius was curious about learning to sing. Finding he was, she decided to coach him in this.

This continued over the course of the following three weeks, with Arcturius having to find ways to sneak away from his mother without suspicion. During the lessons it was found that he did indeed have some magical affinity in using songs to produce magical effects after some songs he was asked to sing caused this to occur: one song seemed to be able to manipulate wind velocity and intensity, another could instill living creatures that listened with a great sense of calm and another was one that conjured up basic illusions.

Unfortunately, on the fourth week Helena was there to greet Arcturius with Lilli dead at her feet. Despite Arcturius' protests, she revealed that Lilli had in-fact been a murderer that had been tricking him into eventually lead her to Helena in order to kill her, displaying a note with orders for both their deaths and again lecturing of the dangers of the outside world. Arcturius was utterly distraught that his only true friend had been using him (or so he believed). To ensure he never forgot this 'lesson', Helena used some of her magic to burn the left side of her son's face as a means of ensuring he wouldn't defy her orders again, ordering him back to their home.

The years passed with little other incident, with Arcturius using his time alone to hone the power of his songs until one day his mother disappeared in the middle of the night. To where, he had no idea and waited a week for her to return. When she didn't, Arc entered into study to find she had been researching old magical artifacts that seemed to be linked to the old gods. Thinking something sinister had happened, Arcturius made a difficult decision: to leave the forest he had called home and go to seek his parent out.

Finding an old short-sword in a store room, he grabbed a cloak and some basic supplies before setting out with only minimal clues to navigate a world he knew almost nothing about.

Godslayer Era

A Cry in the Dark

Arcturius's journey accidentally led him to Hidefall, the hidden city of the Union Workers, and the Union thieves didn't notice his arrival until he was already among them. He met and talked with various people in the city although he didn't trust any of them fully. This was the biggest group of people he had ever seen in his life because he had spent most of his time living with his mother.

One of the thieves, Raul Emmenson, felt sympathy for the boy and promised to do what he could to find any information on Helena's current whereabouts once he heard the bard's story. Arcturius also pledged to help Haruko Mizushima find her family after he and the girl had had a brief talk and he had realized that Haruko too was searching for loved ones just like he was.

More info later.

Deceiver's Gambit

Arcturius prepared a few bombs with his alchemy in case he'd have to fight against Izanagi should they cross paths again. He accompanied a group, which included Raul, the O'Harris brothers, Fox, Illyria and the man in golden armor who called himself Katsutoshi,, in a quest to rescue Haruko from Irvin's and Izanagi's clutches. After what he'd been through, Arcturius found himself unable to trust Katsutoshi who had attacked him and the thieves last night and who was now suddenly working as their ally. He also wasn't sure what to think of Illyria and Fox, the two members of the Dwarven Triad, who were quite secretive.

The group teleported to the countryside near Trinity Gask, the capital of the Crimson Coalition. Raul led them to a hidden Union hideout near the city and, after the group had one more member in the form of the necromancer Razravkar Dominus, they began planning what to do once they were inside the city. They knew Trinity Gask was one of several potential locations where Haruko might've been taken, but even if the girl wasn't in the city, they might hopefully learn where Irvin could've taken her from the Sinlarine who were showing up there to participate in the Tsèni Tournaments. They reasoned that if anyone knew about a Sinlarine shaman like Irvin, it would be his fellow Sinlarine.

They entered the city in the guise of actors and then split up into smaller groups to gather intel and locate the Sinlarine. Arcturius ended up doing his own investigations in the Witch Elves tavern inn once he learned that some people had spotted a man fitting Irvin's looks there. Arcturius asked around despite knowing that he was in enemy territory, but his gamble paid off as his investigations led him to the tavern's back alley where he met with the Weird Sisters, a trio of witches who gave him, Fox and Katsutoshi a few clues how to rescue Haruko and where to start looking for her.

The party members had been successful in gathering intel as they regrouped. They began putting the pieces of the puzzle together, finally discovering that Haruko had last been seen visiting a trio of witches known as the Weird Sisters. The party enlisted the aid of a Sinlarine teen named Beira who led them to the witches. They were also joined by a few members of the mysterious Grey Guard as well as a few members of Grace's Mullencamp unit, and the smug elf Lirado Qavennurrie who seemed to have a history with Illyria. He also took note of Thorns presence and expressed concern about his presence to Grace once the dwarf was out of earshot, but the Mullencamp captain chose to ignore his warnings.

While on their way to the alley where the witches were, the party saw how Katsutoshi was fighting against a man named Rahovart whom Arcturius saw as a Victim. Despite aiding in subduing the demon, he also made sure to use his illusions to confuse Katsutoshi so that he wouldn't kill him. Leaving the demon in Coalition custody, Arcturius followed after the rest of the party to meet the witches.

The witches told the group that they could help them access a portal to the place where Haruko was being held but only if each group member gave the witches their most prized possessions, whether rocks, coins or other valued objects. After the entry fee had been paid, the group entered Malperdy, the labyrinth beneath Trinity Gask. Arcturius eventually surrendered one of the only things of value he had, his home, before entering the labyrinth where Haruko's kidnappers--the rogue shaman Irvin and the strange fox beast Izanagi--were residing.

While traversing the labyrinth, the group faced the monstrous guardians of Malperdy: the Unseen. It was thanks to the quick thinking of several party members and Fox sacrificing himself to lure the Unseen to the Land of the Dead through a necromantic portal that the party survived. Gazing into the vale to see both Death and the land of the froze the bard with fear. The sights he saw left their mark upon the boy and shook him to his core, despite attempts by some of the group to comfort him, namely Beira.

However, the party was confronted by Izanagi immediately afterwards. The beast mocked their efforts to save Haruko but also surprisingly asked them what the real reason for them entering Malperdy was. Some party members tried to buy some time to keep Izanagi distracted so they humoured him with answers. Arcturius, however, chose to answer honestly his motivation for why he was there: To save Haruko and fulfil his promise to aid and protect her. The armored warrior Katsutoshi, however, wasn't amused and tried to attack Izanagi, only ending up triggering a trap which made the party fall to its seeming doom.

Believing that he had finally met his end, and failing to grasp ahold of Razravkar as he summoned fourth his shades to carry him to safety, he resigned himself to falling to his death. However, after seeing Raul and some of the others still try to find a way to save themselves, he became inspired and chose to keep trying as well. Utilizing his song of wind, he tried to slow everyones fall, but found that his own voice wasn't enough. With the aid of Beira the descent was slowed, causing the ground to reform beneath them and reveal that the fall had been a test.

The moment of peace didn't last long as they soon found themselves reunited with Thorn, who surprised Arcturius and only made him grow even more suspicious. The dwarf had disappeared in hidefall, disappeared again in Trinity's Gask and was only now showing himself again? He chose not to dwell on it as the party ventured forward again. The trek was cut short by Trolls, who the group engaged. Arc once again employed his song of Calming but, due to his previous efforts with slowing their fall, he had to enlist the aid of Illyria and Beira to make his song have any impact upon the trolls.

After dispatching the trolls, the group discovered Haruko under attack by more trolls. Some members rushed to fend off the trolls whilst some instead chose to rush to Haruko's side, with Arc among them who immediately asked about her wellbeing. It was only upon reaching Haruko that he noticed the presence of both Fox and Razravkar, curious about the survival of the man. But, he was soon shocked by misunderstanding Haruko's words by believing her to say he wasn't trust-worthy.

Fox then revealed much to everyone's shock that he was not in fact Fox, one of the Triad's leaders, but instead he was Janus Todd, a mere apprentice of the real Fox who was none other than Thorn, the group's supposed ally. It was then that the party found out that the armored man Katsutoshi was working for Janus, and Katsutoshi attacked Thorn with results which surprised the party members. Thorn transformed in front of their eyes due to the pain of the wound which the armored man had inflicted and turned into none other than the dreaded Izanagi.

It turned out that Thorn was in fact not only Izanagi and Fox but also a kitsune and the true Katsutoshi and thus Haruko's husband who had been using the party for his own ends. The fake, golden-armored Katsutoshi, however, was actually Gilgamesh, a warrior from both the real Katsutoshi's and Haruko's past who had partially caused Haruko's imprisonment millennia ago.

Whirling from the revelations, Arcturius' found his composure beginning to slip. In the last moment of clarity, Arcturius tried to defend Haruko from Razravkar's Sundering spell by slicing his hand off, only to be stopped by Raul who tried to reason with the necromancer. But, the assault had been exactly what Laverna had been waiting for, and she used the spell to finally take over Haruko's body and transform her into Izanami, revealing Haruko as the same kind of kitsune as the real Katsutoshi was. After thanking Razravkar for enabling her plan to succeed, the Laverna-possessed Haruko then leaped on a nearby pile of gold to give birth to not one child but twins.

The revelation of Haruko's true form was the final straw. The sights he had seen combined with the revelation of the quest as well as his sacrifice of his home being in vain, caused Arcturius' bottled up emotions to burst through and suffer a mental breakdown. He called out the entire group on their actions along with Haruko and Izanagi but was detained by Sara, who immobilised the Bard in an attempt to stop him hurting himself or anyone else.

The bard struggled but it was not for long as he was soon lulled to sleep by an all to familiar song. His own song of Calming, sung by none other then Beira before succumbing to unconsciousness. Sara took the last flask of Godfire from Arc, the bard remaining unconscious until the next day.

Heart of Darkness

More info later.

Aliases and Nicknames

Arc: What he's called.

Brat: A derogatory nickname used by people who are annoyed by Arcturius.

Appearance

Being slightly shorter than most boys his age at 4'4", Arcturius's skin is rather pale from his secluded lifestyle and his time spent indoors. He is rather thin, not having much muscle to him at all. His eyes are colored a pale green, although if one looks closely they can spot a slight glowing tinge to it. On the left side of his face under his left eye, primarily running down his left cheek and partly across his nose and chin to mid-way down his neck is an old rather sinister looking burn scar. It looks to be rather old, being a faded dark brown color

His hair is reasonably long, settling just mid-way down his neck and although remains slightly matted and messy. It is colored primarily dark brown, but there are numerous greying strands and streaks that run through it due to having inherited his mothers 'premature greying'.

His attire consists of a faded grey Tunic and a pair of dark brown slacks and boots. He wears a black cloak over the top of this that also has a hood. Around his waist is a belt with a few various satchels that contain trinkets and some ingredients for rituals, while the majority of his items go in his back-pack. Also sheathed at his right side is a short-sword, while on his back is a small back-pack with a few basic books and alchemical provisions.

Personality and Traits

Having spent his entire life until recently isolated from the outside world, Arcturius has incredibly limited knowledge of social norms and cultural aspects of the world around him. One example is that he believes Sharing and stealing are the same thing, plus his belief that the world outside of his forest is incredibly dangerous. He compensates for this with a rather good alchemical and some literary knowledge as well as his incredibly aptitude with singing. He is rather shy around other people, often having difficulty voicing his opinions due to this and has resulted in him developing a stutter. He tends to view most people cautiously, but is usually rather respectful and kind despite being incredibly shy.

Despite his cultural and social stunting, as well as often expecting the worst of others, he is not one to ever leave another in harms way unless they have wronged him. Being of a surprisingly peaceful disposition he doesn't like leaving people to suffer and will normally help them out of harms way.

If he finds the person reprehensible or has been seriously wronged, he will display a more sinister side and can be utterly ruthless if he's angered enough. Chillingly, he will often drop his previously shy and stuttering self to become more cold and emotionless, speaking little and always in a manner that expresses what he wants in as few words as possible. When acting like this he truly becomes "His mother's son" and also becomes rather brutal if forced to fight. Outside of these moments he rarely enjoys partaking in combat and usually abhors violence, but if he feels he has to he will do so begrudgingly.

Of final note is two things: Firstly, Arcturius absolutely adores books and shall scoop up any he has found in order to read it despite genre. And secondly, he is incredibly sensitive about his prematurely greying hair and can become easily flustered and withdrawn if people call attention to it.

Powers and Abilities

Uses his songs and swords as weapons. He is also skilled in basic alchemy.

Relationships

Axikasha Keiran

Arc and Ax ended up meeting by chance when they saw each other in the forest. After a bit of hesitation, Arc eventually opened up to her and helped her treat the injured Corwin Finian. The two had lengthy discussions during which Arc began bonding with Ax. He eventually asked to accompany her because she seemed trustworthy and he had nowhere else to go. Ax felt sympathy for Arc and decided to keep him around for the time being although she did warn him of the dangers he might end up facing if he wanted to follow her.

Haruko Mizushima

Arc and Haruko met in Hidefall where they quickly saw a connection as both had bardic knowledge. When Haruko seemed lost and helpless, Arc decided to help her locate her family. When Haruko was kidnapped, Arc was one of the people who volunteered to rescue her only to realize that she wasn't what she seemed once they found her in Malperdy. Terrified of Haruko's true kitsune form and the fact that she had deceived him and others which led to the Battle of Malperdy, he lost his trust on her and began calling her with derogative nicknames as he was hurt by her betrayal.

Helena the Grey

Helena treated Arcturius harshly, wanting to keep him isolated so that he'd meet no other people than her. She scarred him when he disobeyed her orders and psychologically manipulated him to become distrustful of outsiders.

Lilli

Lilli was the first friend Arcturius ever had, and she taught him bardic craft, most notably songs of power. Her death at the hands of Helena hurt Arc deeply.