CHB: Into the Storm - Discussion Thread

[takara]

@Hazel- Cool! I'll get my posts up later. I'm waiting on someone to respond, but if they don't respond by this afternoon, I'll move on with Ophelia

[Kveykva]

@WitchHazel ooooh, sounds good to me! I'll get to work on my posts once I get off--in about 3ish hours.

on that note, do you want me to go ahead and drop my other form? It's pretty much ready to go

[WitchHazel]

Sounds good^^
Feel free to, if you'd like! c:

[*Lovel*]

@ *Lovel*- Do you want to say that he passed out and Hank carries him to the medic tent?
That could give you a new situation to work with him in, and new people to interact with, which might give you ideas? Let me know what you think?

Yeah that works!

[Kveykva]

General Information
Full name: Nicholas Storm
Nicknames: Nick, Mal Dinok
Gender/Pronouns: male (he/him)
Age: 56, though he looks closer to being in his mid 30s
Birthday: September 23rd
Sexuality: Pansexual (masculine lean)

Divine Information
Titles: Death, horseman of the apocalypse
Legacy: Thanatos, Greek god of peaceful death
Domain: the Last Judgement
Symbols of Power: the Pale Horse, Inner Eye


Weapon(s):
▸ walking cane - a sturdy but stylish walking cane is a constant companion to Nicholas during formal outings. it has a handle made of bone, a collar of silver, and the shaft is crafted of ebony. although not dangerous on its own, the cane serves as a sheath for a much more lethal Stygian Iron sword, styled after a Western European rapier. the knob handle serves as the sword's pommel when unsheathed and the collar reshapes to form a handguard.
▸ Xaliphax - as well as the main symbol of his power, the pale horse is never more than a call away from his horseman. it takes the form of an off-white, ivory-colored Akhal-Teke stallion with black sockets instead of eyes, and its presence makes people and animals alike anxious. it can also take a more modern form of a '67 Ford Mustang Fastback of the same color. Xaliphax is a fickle creature who enjoys being treated like royalty and often is uncooperative with his master for fun. in the end, however, his loyalty is to Nicholas. horse | car

Powers:
▸ death inducement - not everyone dies because they want to. most die against their will. and if the horseman so wished, a person could drop dead with a snap of his fingers. Nicholas also grows stronger by the deaths of others.
▸ necromancy - as one can imagine, Nicholas is a powerful necromancer whose skills are only rivaled by other death domain gods. he is capable of summoning ancient dead, recently dead, mindless zombies and skeletons, or fully conscious ghosts. Nick can sense the thoughts and feelings of a summon, and alter their properties at will. there isn't much of a limit of how many he can raise at one time, and he tends to use them as tools in any way he sees fit. he also has the power to take control of anything summoned by someone else, or simply banish the dead.
▸ necroscience - by extension of his necromancy, Nicholas is also quite intuitive about the spirits he summons. he knows how, when, and where they died, as well as the final destination of their soul. essentially anything involving a person's death, he can determine.
▸ death sense - he can sense the coming of death and determine when someone is dead or dying if they are within a certain proximity. he can also sense if a mass death has occurred in a specific location, or if an item (like a weapon or mirror) was either used or present during a mass death. summoning spirits specific to these locations is notably easier.
▸ general status - similarly to death sense, Nicholas can sense direction and distance of living or dead beings and any conditions affecting them, such as unconsciousness or injury. by extension, Nicholas can "feel" the pain and emotions of these beings to a minor degree. this ability also extends to his death sense.
▸ object memory - when a person owns something special to them, they leave a piece of themselves with it. Nicholas can use items belonging to individuals to find their whereabouts or, if they've passed, easily summon their soul. this trait is seen with children of Hades, but it goes a step further. he can draw memories and sensations from the items relating to the person. the more special the item, the more powerful and clear the memories are.
▸ nether wings - he has two large black wings extending from his back. instead of being feathered, they are crafted from a material similar to obsidian, giving them a glassy appearance. they are sturdy enough to block attacks and sharp enough to serve as weapons on their own, but he is incapable of flight.
▸ limited umbrakinesis - he can manipulate shadows in his immediate vicinity to cloud his appearance, fashion clothes, darken a room, or shadow travel, but giving more substance to shadow is beyond his abilities.
▸ skilled duelist - given his weapon of choice is a rapier, Nicholas is skilled in bladed combat. his fighting style takes after fencing, with quick swipes and jabs, and a weapon swift enough to parry attacks.
▸ multilingual - Nicholas' studies as a child spanned a wide variety of subjects, and that combined with the innate knowledge stemming from being a demigod, he is fluent in eight languages and knowledgeable in a number more. the list of fluencies includes English, Hebrew, Arabic, Greek, Latin, Italian, the language of dragons, and a final foreign language he claims to be his native tongue
▸ musically inclined - for the same reason as above, Nicholas has learned to play a number of instruments at an average level.

Physical Description
Nicholas stands taller than most at 6'2 and has a thin, waifish build, but strikingly attractive features. Although almost looking sickly thin and relatively harmless in appearance, he has a very powerful presence to contrast. His godly aura is often described as the same sort of air as a king or politician; someone whose word alone could ruin your life in an instant. People feel this aura most strongly when looking into his eyes, which are royal purple in color. Nicholas has thin black hair, which is cut just above shoulder length, pale skin, and teeth like a military cemetery.
Although it might be considered strange for a god to bear scars, Nicholas has two notable ones that serve as handicaps. A long scar extends across his torso from just under his right arm to the bottom of his ribcage, curling around his side and mirrored on his back; this scar is from the time he was killed. He also has severe damage to his left shoulder, which although repaired, gives it a hitch and limits his arm's range of movement. Stranger still, Nicholas still has the body of a demigod, which despite all his power, he can still be damaged by both mortal and immortal weaponry.
Nicholas has rather refined tastes when it comes to his clothing choices. He prefers suits, slacks, and ties on occasion. His outfits always match, though they usually have an Underworld-esque color palette. The only consistent items between all his outfits that never leave his person are an amulet and a ring. The amulet consists of a brilliantly polished blue gemstone and a silver chain. The gemstone is framed in silver and engraved with a gold avian crest. The signet ring represents his position as a horseman; it is a wide, rounded ring made of Stygian Iron with the Inner Eye symbol stamped into it.
appearance here

Personality
Though he wasn't in the past, Nicholas is confident and lively with a knack for showmanship. He likes to enjoy the little things and isn't often put down over minor inconveniences and the like. He rarely plans ahead and prefers to take things as they come, curveballs and all. He's open and outgoing, especially with larger groups of people, and lives for public speaking. He's incredibly persuasive and charismatic, but he's also quite impulsive, which oftentimes can get him into trouble. Though he can seem a little absent-minded at times, Nicholas is calm, collected, and rational, especially when a situation demands it. More often than not, he'll allow things to take their course if whatever it is doesn't affect him or others he cares for, but he does enjoy seeing how certain things play out, as it helps him pass the time until the Last Judgement comes to pass. He thrives in the position of a leader and uses the undead as his pawns, as he usually tries to avoid combat himself. He's a natural diplomat, and though he isn't swayed by Charmspeak, he is unable to use it himself.
Likes: birds, music, being in charge, snow
Dislikes: rain, disrespect (backtalk especially), the thought of eating eggs or poultry, arrogant or show offish people who can't back themselves up
Fears: rats (ironic, isn't it?)
Fatal flaw: Since Nicholas ascended to his role as a horseman rather than being born into it, there's been quite a bit of an adjustment period. Instead of brooding in Tartarus or in some lofty palace, he chooses to live in the world among mortals. While anyone could brush off this off as his destructive nature feeding on the pain and suffering of the Earth, its' something different. He leaves himself open and vulnerable to these experiences by his choices because he never wants to forget where he came from, and he clings to what little humanity he has left instead of completely embracing his destiny. As a result, he limits himself from becoming nearly as powerful as he could or should be in his position.

Themes
As the horseman: Jeff Tuohy - Bourbon Street
As himself: Poor Man's Poison - Wayfaring Stranger

Background:
Curiously, Nicholas began his life as a demigod, child of the virgin God of Death, and a mortal named Angel. From what he understands, his mother was thrilled at his birth, but she came to blame him for the departure of his father. As a result, he grew up under the care of nannies who were terrified of him and his budding necromancy, only finding solace in the time he spent with his father. Thanatos made what time he could to take a part in Nick's life, and as a result, the two have a fairly close relationship. While Nicholas is thankful for the time they spent together and accredits his skills to what his father taught him, he would never fully understand why until later in his life.
When he was about 16, Nicholas ran away from home and his mother. He grew tired of being groomed for a role he didn't feel like he belonged in and hated the way everyone treated him. They did what he said, but they did it out of fear. He decided to try life out on his own, and it was a lot more difficult than he accounted for. He spent his early adulthood wandering from place to place, never really settling down. He did his best to get by, but strangely never had any encounters with monsters.
Eventually, Nicholas' wanderings brought him full circle back to his mother, who seemed to be a drastically different person. Gone was the noblewoman he knew from his childhood, who groomed him to be her heir. She'd found happiness with someone else and had a second child. Nicholas tried to be happy for them, but their relationship never really healed and he couldn't completely hide the bitter resentment he felt towards Angel. When he was in his mid-thirties, Nick took a fatal blow meant for someone else and died, meeting his father in less than ideal circumstances. Reluctantly, Death informed him of the destiny he'd been dealt by the Fates. He was to become the fourth horseman of Christian theology, taking the role originally meant for Thanatos.
There wasn't a choice to become a god; the divinity was forced into him, and originally Nicholas was just a vessel. The ordeal left him in pieces, and he was mute for many years afterward. He regained his voice when he began to accept his destiny, and the spirit of destruction merged with his own, making them one and the same.

Personal Relationships: 《pos ✔》《neu ◆》《neg ✘》《friend ✩》《best friend ★》《love int. ♡》《enemy ✖》

▸Moxie [◆]

Nicholas considers Moxie a close friend, someone who he
would do almost anything for. He has for the longest time,
and he even grew to love her. Moxie never shared the
feelings, as she was a very "no strings attached" kind of
woman. She brushed off the intimate moments they shared
as being just for fun, and she never seemed to catch on to
how much those words impacted the horseman of Death.
He has a lot of mixed emotions towards Moxie, which is
what ultimately led to her death, but he still has a piece
of him that would like to try and make amends.

▸Malcolm [✔]

Malcolm Kingston appeals to the side of Nicholas that
rarely sees light in this day and age. He's socially adept
and has a level of cruel charm that Nick has too much
of a heart to achieve, and the divinity in him envies it.
Still, he empathizes with Malcolm's grief, as well as
his method of coping. Perhaps after this is all over
he will reach out to the shell of a man in strife's
absence.

▸Eris [✔]

Nicholas knew very little of his aunt prior to meeting
Kingston, despite all the time he spent in the under-
world as a child. They likely wouldn't have gotten
along in the past, but as a god, Nicholas has respect
for her and her persistence. It isn't proper for a
goddess like herself to lay down and die.

▸Thanatos [◆]

The horseman's opinion on the god of Death is rather
two-faced; on one hand, Nicholas holds a justified
anger towards his father for lying to him for so
long about his destiny to become the horseman.
As a result, he blames his birth and his divinity as
his father's mistake, and has a share of harsh
words for the next time they meet. On the other,
Nicholas does care about his dad; he was the one
constant figure in his life and taught Nick almost
all of what he knows, as well as many of his own
morals.

▸Xaliphax [★]

Death's trusty pale horse, never more than a reliable
call away from its master. Xaliphax and Nick formed
an unshakable bond even before he inherited the
title of horseman, and though he often calls the
stallion fickle and temperamental, Nicholas loves
Xaliphax greatly.

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▸Vivienne [✩]

At their first meeting, Nicholas couldn't have cared less
for Vivienne. She shared many of her mother's negative
traits and, from what he could tell, served more to get
in the way than anything else. However, when his facade
floundered at Harper's, he stopped trying so hard to be
a god and began to understand Vivienne in the way he
best knew how, one demigod to another. He finds
humor in making her second guess her stiffness and
standoffishness, and he's truly grown to like her. You
could even say he has a soft spot for her now.

▸Khione [✔]

Nicholas has a healthy amount of respect for the goddess
of snow, though her personality is a little too lackluster
for his taste. He wouldn't follow her to the ends of the
Earth, but he lets her have some authority over his
actions due to the role he's begun to play. Their
business relationship aside, he does enjoy playing
at flattery and flirtation to gain a reaction from
Khione, but his efforts so far have been fruitless.

▸The Shadow [✘]

Even before Death's induction into the world, Nicholas
never had a high opinion of the Kronos-born titan.
He's all bark and, compared to a being like himself,
no bite, and generally just irritating. Not in a playful
or charming way, he just grates Nicholas down to his
last nerve and beyond.

▸The Vessel [◆]

Nicholas is still very on the fence about The Vessel, given
their first impression. He will admit he allowed his anger
to get away from him, but something about the idea of
another god treading in his niche domain didn't sit right.
He has some speculations as to what this Maw of the
Void wants exactly, but he can't deny the idea of
causing a bit of chaos before Judgement Day would
sate his cravings.

[WitchHazel]

Ohoho, time to add him to the characters page!
I gotta update that anyways lmao

"Teeth like a military cemetary"
Asfjkghg how did I miss that WTNV reference the first time!?

[sammy,]

ohhhhhhhhh,...... it's all gotten very 'good omens' up in here....... this is huge. monumental. nuclear

[indigo']

I don’t really know what to do with Jamie at this point but I was thinking of having him run back into the woods with a tree branch for a weapon

@Takara would it be ok if I threw him at Ophelia?

[takara]

@Kveykva- the plot thickkkkens!!

@indigo.rain- go ahead! They might actually have a little bonding moment since she's all rattled.. We'll have to see! Also, Izzy is still with her, but she's probably going to leave in a second (doggo was out here trying to round up campers, but now that the horn is blown, she'll probably be done working, especially with the cold)

[indigo']

Jamie and Auggie are such opposites it’s hard to switch between writing them but Jamie is such a sweet little himbo I love him and his tree branch sword that he forgets about within .5 seconds