Name: Zakriid (Zh’kreed.)
Age: 68 (Looks late teens.)
Nationality: Katari
Gender: Male
Height: 5’9”
Weight: 174lbs
Hair: Flame Red, ragged wavy mop
Eyes: One Green and One Blue
Skin: Cream with freckles
Theme Song: ‘Stricken’ by Disturbed
Personality:
A shast-faced grin is common sight upon the face of this shorter than norm man-child. The grin along with a suffocating aura of self-superiority, are just a few of the reasons why all but the minority will find an instant dislike for Zakriid. Though he may be commonly disliked, those that know him for any extended period of time will learn to respect him nonetheless. As the Baijin'M’Hael he does his job and does it well, as a person he is no less effective, he is just a jerk about it. Zakriid has a distaste for doing anyone’s dirty work including his own, but won’t hesitate to do so if found unavoidable.
Taking this man-child at face value is a mistake, for though he is physically lacking when compared to others, his exterior hides a proficient thinker and skilled individual. Still neither the biggest nor the strongest, nonetheless Zakriid possesses a spider like grace paired with advanced skill in all manners of the abstract. Despite those many intangible qualities in the end he remains a dirty dastard. He also has developed a cynical side and deals with repressed negative emotions for what he has done in the past. Being touched by a dark weave of a Forsaken, Zakriid could be considered to bare half a mind.
Strengths: Weaving Dexterity/Ingenuity, Quick Wit and a Sharp Mind, Supreme Strength in Spirit.
Weaknesses: Not Physically Imposing or Physically Strong, Unlikable Arrogant Dastard, Often Underestimated and thus Consistently an Underdog. One arm and half a mind.
Channelers Path: Alantin d'ma Aman
One Power: Above Average
Base strength: 34
Total strength: 84
Age when you first started to channel: 17
Current age: 68
Air: 4
Earth: 6
Fire: 6
Spirit: 10+
Water: 4
Talents: Spirit Elementalism (Major)
Block: N/A
History:
His birth origins are unknown, though he was said to have been found by his parents near the remnants of a portal stone. From earlier childhood growing up in an isolated village near the Domani city of Katar, Zakriid had always set himself apart from the group. He has had the consistent arrogance of all those who considered themselves Katari rather than Domani, only more so. What helped shape him into the man-child he would become the most in early life would have to have been that with which he had been stricken. Zakriid, since no more than a toddler suffered from a terrible disease that ravaged his body until it twisted him both from within and from without. Physically he never finished fully growing up, he remained shorter than all the other boys and men around him. He was also left with the two other distinguishing characteristics to his appearance as a result of the sickness. His eyes, one bright green eye like those of his mother and one piercing blue eye like those of his father. Secondly he was an in-betweener right down to his voice. He looked clearly out of boyhood, yet clearly looked not a man still, lacking the ability to grow any facial hair. As for his voice, it was subtly mellow, without the highness of the pre-pubescent or the deepness of a real man.
Thus Zakriid separated himself from all others; just as those of the prosperous city of Katar were better and apart from the Domani, so was he from them. Shunning his own parents for their simple village life, Zakriid made his way at the sinister age of twelve to Katar. Within a year he found himself among the company of the city’s elite in a manner that was most in accord with how the rest of Zakriid’s thread was woven in the Pattern. His uniqueness along with being blinded by arrogance had him fall prey to those who were predators within Katar. He was captured and trained with many other young men in how to serve the wealthy upper class of Katar; he had become a slave in all but name. He waited hand and foot upon those who attended the various social functions within the elite community. He learned much, and where others would spend the rest of their lives in service till they became an eyesore and were cast out, Zakriid advanced as the favourite who was charged with many tasks for those who would become his benefactors. In another three years Zakriid had become steeped in intrigue, having a part in numerous assassinations, he now stood among the honoured ranks of the designated pleasure-boys for the wealthy ladies of the upper class.
At the age of seventeen Zakriid was in a position of wealth, power, and prestige; he had done what few others could have. Then it was all gone in a flash; his benefactors well aware of the disease that had plagued Zakriid for years had arranged for him to meet with an Asha’man to heal him where all other attempts had failed. The Asha’man came as a personal favour to Ser Aiiald (Iy-ee-ald), who was the most influential individual within Katari politics and the prime benefactor to Zakriid. And so it was that the Asha’man came to Katar and visited with the young and haughty prisprig, within seconds of their meeting Zakriid had been slapped twice for his attitude; the first had drawn blood and the second had brought him to the ground. Then and only then did Zakriid reluctantly broach civility and was then promptly healed of the vicious sickness; Aiiald would now owe the Asha’man a substantial debt. Merely out of habit the Asha’man went on to test Zakriid and was astonished and doubly disappointed that he could learn to channel. The Asha’man gained no favours for taking the lad for training and he would much rather have had never have had to see Zakriid again.
And so it was that the Asha’man took Zakriid to Tear for enrollment as a Soldier in the Black Tower. Once more Zakriid isolated himself, having mixed feeling about being thrown from his life of luxury into the cold and hard militaristic life in the Stone. Still Zakriid had the fortitude to see that he had a chance at real power and that all he had before was the illusions of simpering fools. It was his studies and training in the One Power that now consumed all of his attention after that first tentative taste of the sweetness that was Saidin. He buried himself within those lessons and teaching he was given; Zakriid had achieved a new level for himself widening the gap further from the group and his self as he pulled ahead of his peers. Hated by the other Soldiers, he found himself in many hostile situations, but nonetheless Zakriid survived them all. Fights never lasted long before Zakriid had out maneuvered his opponents who always thought direct and obvious force was superior; though he was not without more than a few scathings for his efforts. There were three specific men who harangued Zakriid the most and made it to Dedicated after him. By the time those three had got the Sword Pin Zakriid had had his for several years; being well on his way to the man he did become. The three did not survive in their antics, in the end two of them were burnt out and the last disappeared completely without a trace. Because of the mystery surrounding these events of which Zakriid did most definitely have a hand in though it was never proven he concentrated on making himself scarce. He learned to become all but invisible to the attention of his peers and superiors.
Zakriid continued to study, train, and develop rapidly in skill, all the while keeping himself out of the focus of anyone else. He achieved nothing significant and kept himself a faceless Dedicated who was not worth thinking of or looking at twice. Alas this did not last, because Zakriid was betrayed by his own arrogance and drive to excel. He had pushed himself and at twenty-seven years of age Zakriid had just greatly bounded in his power in the element of Spirit. A mere Dedicated was the third strongest of all in the Black Tower in Spirit and his strength was still developing. Suddenly Zakriid had the attention of all those around him and had been dragged back to the group without a say. Although he was certainly not remarkable with the other Elements, his strength in Spirit along with his potential with it brought him instant recognition as one of the top Dedicated. It was not surprising that within weeks of his jump in power, weeks in which he was excruciatingly observed, Zakriid ascended fully as an Asha’man of the Black Tower with a bright new Dragon Pin. The first to congratulate him was the Asha’man who had brought him to the Tower a man who would prove to be a most dangerous ally within the ranks of the Black Tower. From that point on Zakriid was making his own way at full pace; he all but dived into the politics that existed in any organized group of reasonable size. He drew on all his skills and more maneuvering his self and others so everything fell into to place at the last moment. All though his actions were subtle, they did not escape the notice of those who knew where to look, and it was the Baijin'M’Hael who saw the applications his skills had for the battlefield.
At thirty-one Zakriid was appointed as an assistant to the Baijin'M’Hael. With his help the two developed many revolutionary techniques; such as the Silencre (see-laun-crey) [Sleeper] which would lead many Aes Sedai to their deaths, with the help of fork root converted into an incense that choked the air with it’s compromising mint particles. It was now as a senior Asha’man when the insufferable arrogance trademarked by Zakriid years earlier fully re-emerged worse than ever; he magnified the natural arrogance of an ideal Asha’man many-fold. Those he had previously associated with were eventually segregated from his self; all but his few deadliest, strongest, and most valuable allies remained connected to him, and even then most of them didn’t care for Zakriid that much. Through the varying levels of hostility with the White Tower, Zakriid has been battle-tested and battle-hardened. Having killed over one hundred Aes Sedai personally or by those directly under him had earned him the name as the ‘Butcher of the Black Hills,’ having waged his bloodiest campaign there. It was a controversial campaign in which many atrocities were committed and more than a few Asha’man and their underlings were executed for those crimes. It was not something any are proud of (save those few depraved individuals), but those who were there knew they did what they had to, to survive and to win.
“War is an ugly thing, there is no glory in it and to think otherwise is childish. Honour be damned, dead is dead and killing must be done swiftly and absolutely lest you prolong the horror.” –as quoted from The Facts by soldier unknown.
The term Butcher was a derogatory one used against Zakriid, a name he hated more than any other. It was in the campaign with fewer men and less supplies than the enemy that left Zakriid with no options; he did what was necessary. Using less than honorable means like so many others he destroyed the enemy forces set against him without a single casualty on his own side. Well that might have been grounds to be called a hero; one must remember Zakriid was not a glorifiable person. His political rivals sought to discredit him by spreading word how he had mercilessly slaughtered his all too human opponents. Zakriid became an unwilling member of the Bloody Four; formerly the Bloody Three. They are the individuals within the ranks and history of the Black Tower reputationed as the most brutal and savage war masters, having slaughtered the most and having the most kills attributed to them and their command. The first of course was the Lord Dragon himself.
Zakriid was thirty-five, with an indisputable and a sickly impressive reputation on the field, when he was backed into a corner and the end resulted in him becoming Baijin'M’Hael. The Old Baijin'M’Hael was growing quite old and noted for no longer making sound decisions; his powers and duty had fallen upon the shoulders of his handpicked assistants. It was almost unanimous when the old Asha’man Attack-leader was forcibly retired by his assistants, the Old Baijin'M’Hael was poisoned in his own room, and was found dead. Most signs and rumors suggested Zakriid as the killer, but Zakriid had had no part in the conspiracy. With no concrete evidence, nothing was done against Zakriid even though the rumours demanded it, but Zakriid still knew all thought it was him who had done the murder. The other senior assistant, besides Zakriid, and true ringleader in the conspiracy was made the new Baijin'M’Hael. The man continued his attempts to further discredit Zakriid. Things slowly progressed worse for Zakriid and in his arrogance he sought no aide from his allies.
Forced into that aforementioned corner, Zakriid finally decided to act and in the course of one night the power structure within the Black Tower had shifted. Zakriid had become Baijin'M’Hael in place the other man, who was executed for Conspiracy against the Black Tower. The traitor's supporters who hadn’t disappeared in that first night were removed to far less influential positions. Zakriid had been lucky and he knew it, things could have easily gone the other way and Zakriid could have found himself either headless or without the ability to channel. Since that critical night, Zakriid has been the Baijin'M’Hael for about a decade and has been an effective one at that. Zakriid has had his problems like everyone else, but his life has been rather quiet, almost too quiet.... Tarmon Gai’don disrupted the quiet. The formerly divided and opposing factions under the Light came together as the Light Alliance against the Shadow Host. The Shadow Host of which was the Forsaken, dread lords, and armies of darkness. Tarmon Gai’don raged on for a long time and eventually, largely do to the fact of the unleashing of war bread Joumara, the Light was pushed back to the Western Seaboard. It was there that the final battle of the Last Battle for Zakriid was fought. Zakriid lead a personal mission with his men to destroy all the Joumara on hand before they could be unleashed on the Light. This mission succeeded and Zakriid returned to the side of the M'Hael. Things looked bleak and Zakriid suggested that Balefire finally be used, from there...
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The M'Hael answered, “There is one more option Zakriid.” At first Zakriid was confused by Lucius' statement, how could there be another option? There was very little else to be done, any other schemes were based more on hope than on tangible substance. Besides, Balefire could and would make a difference as long as the Light acted first and fast before the Shadow could return the favor. Zakriid then saw that look on Lucius' face and looked over yonder to the sea and shore… Seanchan! Those bloody Seanchan were more than late for this final party, Zakriid had long ago dismissed their presence in the war. The Seanchan had not appeared earlier, and so Zakriid had been forced to calculate his strategies without including them as a factor, it would not do to rest hopes on the might and maybe of the Seanchan intervention. However, here they were, in their odd armour slogging through the salty shallows and up onto the land. Something irked Zakriid subconsciously about the Seanchan set up, he paid it no mind though, as he finally allowed hope to swell in his heart. A Hope that was dashed quickly when the first volley of lightning was unleashed indiscriminately upon the Shadow Host and Light Alliance. Zakriid realized what had bothered him about the Seanchan; their forces storming onto the shore were positioned in such a manner that it made no difference whether forces in front of them were of the Light or the Shadow. The lightning attack had confirmed this; now Zakriid heard the M'Hael agree with his earlier assessment. “It would appear the conventions are damned then.” Zakriid committed himself to doing what must be done more than ever; he hardened his heart and set his mind to the task. There would be no more moments of weakness and swells of false hope. Zakriid felt Lucius draw on a full to bursting load on Saidin; the Baijin M'Hael would let the M'Hael fire the first shot in this new offensive, it was for the leader to commit his people to it. Nodding to Lucius, Zakriid excused his self to see to the reorganizing of the Asha’man, they must be made ready to follow suit after Lucius in shooting Balefire, and those who did not know the Balefire weave had to be taught extremely quickly. The moments passed….
When Saidin went wild, Zakriid had begun to exert some order on the forces of the Light, redistributing his men to compensate for those lost to the abrupt Seanchan incursion. Zakriid felt the Balefire from Lucius more than saw it; for what Zakriid saw was a purple trail left on his retina. Where previous he had seen just a momentary flash in the corner of his eye, the purple floated. It took the Baijin'M'Hael a few moments to blink his vision clear, and when it was he noticed something immediately amiss, Lucius was gone. “Frig!” Spat Zakriid abruptly. Though not full of the One Power, Zakriid could still feel Saidin going wild and also noticed that so too besides the M'Hael, many other people were missing. Taking in the situation analytically, after a few more outbursts of oaths, Zakriid could not exactly put everything together in his mind into a comprehensive picture. The M’Hael was dead or very unlikely fled, or something else that still left Zakriid in the same situation; without any other obvious course of action, Zakriid was left to do the only other thing to be done. The Baijin'M'Hael, now the acting M'Hael, took over supreme command of the Light Alliance; something made concrete when word of the Amyrlin’s absence reached Zakriid. The hours went by, as others disappeared and the One Power fought to be random, Zakriid brought about one final tactic. The Seanchan were now into the equation, Zakriid had recalculated and found a grim strategy with an, if small, but possible, chance of victory. Without remorse or regret, and hardened of heart, Zakriid did what he had to do; the Light had one slight possibility of survival, that infinitesimally small chance of victory. Zakriid would have to force the bulk of the Shadow Host into the Seanchan Offensive. Pit the two enemies against each other so that the Light could swoop in and capitalize on the aftermath.
With the Amyrlin and M'Hael AWOL, and the One Power, both Saidin and Saidar, misbehaving, Zakriid committed his forces to the final decision. Standing where the Lucius had stood only a while earlier, Zakriid watched as his plan unfolded. The Aes Sedai, down the last woman who had not already disappeared, lead a push against the Shadow, a feinted wedge to pull the Shadow to them. The Aes Sedai lured the Shadow Host down to near the shore and the Seanchan. What happened next had to be done, it offered the strategy the greatest chance of success. As the Shadow descended, the supporting Light forces fell away. The Aes Sedai were left to themselves to be swallowed up by the Shadow Host. The Shadow Host, which bowled through the Aes Sedai, was thus spilling over onto the Seanchan Offensive. All the Aes Sedai left in the world perished in a single instant. Without telling the Aes Sedai, lest he risk their refusal, he sacrificed them all for a chance at victory. Next Zakriid had those forces remaining; angle their selves out of the way. Then the Balefire came, more balefire then ever used in a war before was unleashed at once. The Balefire disintegrated thousands upon thousands of ranks in the Shadow, and yet there was still always more. Chaos took hold of the armies of darkness, and they fled the Balefire, driving the Shadow Host all the further into the Seanchan Offensive. Watching and not allowing his self the weakness to feel the alarm of what he had just wrought, Zakriid could only stand there without emotion or hope, like a near lifeless empty shell of a man. Only a single smug flame of arrogance burned inside him, as he smirked mutedly.
That was when the Chosen appeared, a dark man with a cruel demeanor. The Chosen laughed at Zakriid and said harshly, “You are aptly named Butcher, you have done the unthinkable to try and win this war, just as you are so reputationed to do. There might be a future for you in the new order of his Great Lord, once you are properly Turned of course.” Unfeeling and trapped in his own mind, Zakriid did not even acknowledge the Chosen, Zakriid had for all intents and purposes temporarily shutdown. The Chosen thus studied Zakriid, and after finding him unresponsive said at last, “Then again, maybe not.” An abhorred weave was consequently woven by the Chosen; he extended his hands and cast the weave out towards Zakriid. Just then two more joined this little meeting, a single Aes Sedai first, who had secretly remained with the Light Alliance and not in the wedge. Now she looked from the Chosen to Zakriid, her face no mask, but ripe with anguish over Sisters lost, and she screamed, “Monsters!” It all happened so quickly, the Aes Sedai channeled and killed the Chosen so that only half his evil weave affected Zakriid. Then there was the fourth that joined the meeting, a Fade had slunk in like a viper and swung his lightless blade into Zakriid. The dual shock of having his own arm hewed off by the tainted Thakan’dar blade and being partially touched by the foul weave of the Chosen, bolted Zakriid awake into full consciousness. In a torrent of emotions, Zakriid lashed out indiscriminately, with the fury of Spirit. Unbeknownst to him, the portal stone was activated by this, and as the thrashing weaves of Spirit struck down the Myrddraal and Aes Sedai, Zakriid fell into the all-consuming whiteness of world displacement...! His final thought was that he had at least given the Light a chance, and saved the world from the hated witches. This thought was not entirely his own, as a voice within him cackled stormily. He knew no more.
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[To be continued in an actual thread.]
B) thats badass. :P So uh, I guess approved? Its a motion, I'm gonna have to do it for the others too. Just so no one says, "wtf, you didn't approve theirs!" -_-
So yea, that was a great story.
Just one little thing, in your Power strength, your total is 51 points higher than your base, the max we've set is 50, so your top strength shouldn't be higher than 84. :) I'll mark it approved, just be sure to fix that. :)