Portraits - Jarral by kyan on DeviantArt (original) (raw)
Jarral Dekar, slightly more realistic colouring and omg, modern clothing?
Character portrait 3/13
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Full name: Jarral Dekar
Race: Kevali
Age: 19
Height: 5'5"
Weight: ~60lb
Eyes: Pale violet, almost grey, as if the colour has been drained out of them.
Hair: Waist length, Black with naturally reddish streaks
Skin: Pale. Ashen
Build: Slender, frail
Posture: Slouched, introverted. Often looks like he half expects to be hit.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Clothing: Jarral tends toward dull neutral tones, greys, browns, blacks.
His everyday attire consists of cargo pants, workboots and whatever random shirts or tee's people have given him.
His attire as a proxy of the Deus Umbra however, is much more interesting.
Slightly Arabic in style, Jarral attire consists of dark colours, his robes partly comprised of living shadow that twists and writhes around him. His face concealed and his hair tied up into some sort of turban-like headdress, he manages to look more like some sort of desert nomad than a priest. Around his neck he wears a large pendent, A sort of infinity symbol with stylised wings. A symbol of his new God.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Physical description:
Small, frail and sick looking, Jarral never the less looks like someone you shouldn't mess with. His strange Arabian Nights style attire forged in parts from pure shadow and the whispering darkness that surrounds him serve to give him a suitably creepy vibe.
His pale skin is etched with swirling tattoos which run down one side of his face and one arm, he has short horns (approx 5 inches) and each long ear tapers into two distinct points. Bony spines at the elbows and knees mean his clothing needs to be adjusted to accommodate. His long dark hair is always braided tightly, falling to waist length but often wound under a turban-like headdress. His pale eyes slope heavily in his skull and his jaw set with vicious teeth.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Personality:
Untrusting, paranoid, wary and unfriendly. Jarral dislikes people and trusts very few. He won’t touch people and jerks away whenever anyone gets too close. Thankfully ( though it depends on your viewpoint) Jarral's ascension to proxy status has given him some confidence, now the shadows themselves will defend him which has allowed the broken bitter young man the chance to "right some past wrongs". Despite his frail appearance, Jarral is a dangerous enemy to make. He doesn't forgive easy, or at all really to be honest.
Mannerisms/Habits:
Often seems distracted, distant and detatched even. Though Jarral always seems overly wary of anyone he’s speaking to. He trusts next to no one and it shows. He has a habit of lurking in the darkness, listening and observing but seldom interacting if he can help it. He’s slow to action most of the time unless directly threatened or provoked. He knows he can’t fight well and tries to avoid conflict… not that it works. The shadows have however given him some level of confidence, though his trust issues will likely never be resolved.
Jarral rambles about things that no one else seems to quite be able to make sense of and his tendency to speak in circles can make getting information out of him frustrating. He won’t volunteer info and will only answer what he’s directly asked.
Manner of speaking:
Clearly and precisely with a strange slightly Arabic sounding accent.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Skills and talents:
-Linguistics (Jarral is a natural linguist, he has an uncanny knack of just picking up languages with seemingly minimal effort)
-Fast learner
-Reading/writing (given his race are mostly illiterate, this is unusual)
-Occult
-Umbramancy
-Necromancy (very basic knowledge)
Racial abilities:
-Night vision (His race are nocturnal)
-Keen senses
-Slightly more resilient to temperature change than humans
-Elemental affinity - Air
-Slowed metabolism (He eats seldom but gorges himself when he does eat)
Other special abilities (non racial):
-Fast healer (He can channel positive energy into himself to heal wounds)
-Immunity - Poison/toxin (Anything his body deems a toxin is rejected, which unfortunately means a lot of pain killers and other such drugs have no effect on him)
-Move through shadows (Jarral can slip through the shadows, essentially teleporting anywhere shadows are cast)
-Communicate with shadows (the shadows tell him things)
-Shape shadow/Umbramancy
Languages:
-English
-Kevali/Kalvair
-Sevai (written only)
-German
-Latin
-Elvish
-Infernal/Hellish
-ASL
Disadvantages:
-Colourblind (see night vision)
-Slightly photosensitive (see night vision)
-Mild Hemophilia (His blood doesn't clot very efficiently but it does clot... eventually)
-Paranoid/untrusting
-Unnaturally light (a side effect of his air elemental, Jarral weighs next to nothing. He looks thin sure, but not THAT thin)
- Lactose/gluten intolerance - Jarral like all Kevali, is completely carnivorous and anything that isn't meat can make him very very ill.
Interests:
-Reading, learning, language
Fears:
-Betrayal, Being all alone
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
History:
The circumstances surrounding Jarral's conception and birth were not the joyful events you’d hope for. His mother had lost her mate and seeking solace, she turned to the one who had brought her the news for comfort. When morning came she left her lover; she'd gotten what she wanted from him, and he returned to his duties never knowing that he was to be a father.
When Jarral was born, His mother sincerely believed that he would fill the void in her life the death of her mate had brought, but as time went by the child only served to remind her of her infidelity. Unable to cope with the guilt of what she'd done, manipulating someone like that and bringing an unloved child into the world, she headed to the surface to face the sunrise.
Jarral was left in the care of an elderly relative, who was unable to really take care of the sick little boy.
Brought before the Lord's court, Jarral was offered into service. Though only 6 years old, the young boy was quickly put to work as a kitchen hand. It was hard work, especially for a child, but he was fed and clothed and had a place to call home. Quickly however, his abilities became obvious. Caught reading a tome belonging to his Lord one evening he was dragged before the man, who asked him if he had understood the words in the book. Jarral nodded and was asked to read aloud. For one untrained to be able to read, let alone one so young, was simply unheard of. When asked who had taught him, the young boy replied "nobody my lord... I simply knew what the symbols meant." Amazed by this, His Lord appointed Jarral his personal scribe, he would be apprenticed and trained as one over twice his age. The title of Scribe was a great honor, the Scribes were revered and respected people. So, barely 7 years old the young boy began his apprenticeship.
Jarral remained at his Lord's side for many years, a faithful and obedient servant. When his Lord fell ill and begged for his brother to be brought to him, Jarral didn't think twice about finding the outcast and one who could heal his ailing Lord. But, bringing one cast out of their society to the underground city was a crime punishable by death. Despite his Lord's protests little could be done to stop the Elders from issuing their punishment. Instead of death however, Jarral was cast out. Branded with the symbol of the outcast, he was thrown out into the world, alone and terrified.
His Lord, now recovered thanks to the boy, ensured he had a place to stay and Jarral went to live with his Lord's brother Mattias.
The young teen struggled to come to terms with his new environment, the people of this place were so different to home, the sky was so bright, the light hurt his sensitive eyes and he had to quickly learn a whole new language. Learning English was the easy part, as time went by the fits started. Frightened, the boy hid his pain as best he could but it wasn't long before Mattias worked it out. It troubled the man, to see the child in so much pain, he'd watched his own dear brother go through the same thing years before and that troubled him more, for he knew full well the "blessing" of fate was hereditary. Could this child have some relation to his own family?
As the boy got older and his hair began to lighten to red, his features began to resemble that of his caregiver and his caregiver’s brother. This was no mere coincidence, confronting his brother Mattias learned the truth. Jarral was his Lord Webster’s son, something Web had known since he'd first laid eyes upon the boy. He had vowed to ensure the wellbeing of his flesh and blood and he had failed, something Jarral would never be able to forget. Jarral was in shock, unable to forgive his father for lying to him for so many years, for letting him believe himself to be orphaned, he sunk into solitude not wishing to speak to any of his "family". It hurt him to realise the very nature of his conception and now, now he knew why his mother had died. His father had been weak willed and now Jarral was paying the price for his parent’s mistakes. He shouldn't have been born, but here he was, in a strange world surrounded by strange violent people.
Years passed, and Jarral went from caregiver to caregiver, his uncle despite best intentions, no longer able to cope with the distant teenager and had his own children now to worry about. Jarral was taken in by chaos herself and it didn't take long to drive the boy over the edge, twisting and corrupting his mind till he snapped. He was set lose on the world with anger in his heart and vengeance on his mind. One named Boreal believed he could rehabilitate the boy, taking him in and treating him as a son. But Jarral didn't need a father and soon he came to resent his foster parent and the attempts to change him.
Jarral began to take less and less of an interest in people, becoming even more reclusive he started lurking in the darkness and watching the world around him, safe and secure unseen by those who would hurt and betray.
But the darkness watched back and soon the boy found himself haunted by the shadows, Unable to sleep without waking in some strange alternate reality and not wishing to be awake for the whispering calling in the walls and the shadows that slowly covered all.
As his mind fractured, those who had once vowed to protect him; Chaos, his foster father, even his real father abandoned him. Unable to get close, his father simply gave up, chaos didn't care and his foster father had grown sick of playing parent to a damaged and lost teenager. Desperate for protection from something no-one else could see, Jarral turned to the dead one Arvel, who would protect him at all cost, for sit was to be his duty, his purpose.
The dead one and his father's mate were the only ones he could trust, so with them at his side Jarral fled the shadows and the darkness, hoping and praying they would not follow.
The shadows did follow, fascinated by the boy who they called "Mahdi"
Soon Jarral came to learn and accept what Fate had been grooming him for all these years, he was to act as emissary, the voice and will of his new Lord and master, the newly ascended god of shadows, The Deus Umbra.
Having served his purpose to Fate, his "gifts" were stripped of him, the visions subsiding. Naturally, Jarral considered this small mercy the greatest gift of all.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Possessions:
-Razor tipped gloves
-A pendent depicting the Deus Umbra (A sort of infinity or figure 8 symbol in Jet and Ivory)
-Various books and scrolls
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
What you need to know:
- Jarral trusts very few people in the world, those he does trust can be counted on one hand.
- Jarral is a natural linguist, capable of deciphering almost any language provided he's got enough time and has some similar root to refer to.
- The shadows protect him, as best they can.
- His elemental abilities have become shadow tainted, in mechanical terms, that means his electricity attack also does negative energy damage. He can harness both negative and positive energy, though he lacks the experience in such matters to be truly devastating.