<div style="padding: 3px; background-color: #FFFFFF; border: 1px solid #d8d8d8; font-size: 1em;"><div style="text-transform: uppercase; border-bottom: 1px solid #CCCCCC; margin-bottom: 3px; font-size: 0.8em; font-weight: bold; display: block;"><span onclick="if (this.parentNode.parentNode.getElementsByTagName('div')[1].getElementsByTagName('div')[0].style.display != '') {  this.parentNode.parentNode.getElementsByTagName('div')[1].getElementsByTagName('div')[0].style.display = ''; this.innerHTML = '&lt;b&gt;Spoiler: &lt;/b&gt;&lt;a href=\'#\' onClick=\'return false;\'&gt;hide&lt;/a&gt;'; } else { this.parentNode.parentNode.getElementsByTagName('div')[1].getElementsByTagName('div')[0].style.display = 'none'; this.innerHTML = '&lt;b&gt;Spoiler: &lt;/b&gt;&lt;a href=\'#\' onClick=\'return false;\'&gt;show&lt;/a&gt;'; }"><b>Spoiler: </b><a href="#" onclick="return false;">show</a></span></div><div class="quotecontent"><div style="display: none;">And here comes player number three! :3 Can't wait to get started, especially with how the team and campaign is shaping up. Should be fun!</div></div></div><br/><br/><span style="font-weight: bold">Alexei Nocturne</span><br/><br/><br/><span style="font-weight: bold">Appearance</span>: Although Alexei’s build doesn’t stand out much from others of his own species, he bears a number of unusual traits that lend him some distinction. His frame, while lacking in any large amount of muscle, is incredibly well-toned and much stronger than his loose lithe form would let on. Much of this is hidden beneath a coat of soft shale-gray fur, which fades to a snowy white on his chest and belly. The black on the tips of his ear and tail, along with his longish hair, round out his colors nicely, but it is only in his finer details that he stands out from other timber wolves like himself.<br/><br/>Winding up his right arm and spreading onto his back is a midnight black tribal tattoo, self-applied (don’t ask how, he won’t give a straight answer) little by little over the course of his life. It is highly intricate, yet because it is noticeably unfinished its design can be hard to make out: a five-petal moonflower complete with a long winding vine and spade-shaped leaves. However, given that most of this is usually hidden beneath his clothing, his most striking feature is likely his eyes. While a relatively normal shade of gold, they have an eerie gemlike luster that seems to pierce into anyone within his gaze. Even more bizarre, however, is that when viewed from the side his irises refract into a bright and arresting shade of emerald green. These two aspects lend a strange mystical air to an otherwise unremarkable figure.<br/><br/>For a furred creature, Alexei wears a rather large amount of clothing. A dark brown woven leather vest sits atop his fine elven chainmail, crisscrossed with large straps and held together with silvery rivets. More such rivets adorn his black trousers, woven with many additional pockets and cut just above his digitigrade paws, on which he usually walks bare. His hands, conversely, are covered by a pair of black fingerless gloves to match his long black cloak, although his use of a backpack means he cannot wear it much. Coupled with his natural markings, his outfit adds an extra dangerous edge to his canid form.<br/><br/><br/><span style="font-weight: bold">Personality</span>: On the surface, Alexei is polite, professional, and agreeable, always ready to listen or do as he is told. He has his work as an information broker to thank for breeding such traits in him, a job that involved getting close to people, making them comfortable enough to talk… and then abruptly falling off the face of the world. In many ways, he uses his balanced demeanor to keep others at bay, leaving little for his clients to remember him by once his tasks are completed. While agreeable, he is also quiet and solitary, coming across as mysterious and alluring but also cold and distant. Yet for the most part, the wolf is content to keep things that way, as it allows him to ghost his way from town to town without a trace.<br/><br/>Those that can see past Alexei calculating demeanor will find a calm and level-headed, if reserved, personality within. Around people he knows, he can be surprisingly cheeky and playful, not beyond having a good laugh at the expense of others, although rarely in mean spirit. At other times, he can be incredibly pensive and philosophical, sometimes to the point of being cryptic. Other moments will allow his sympathetic side to come to the surface as he tried to relate and understand the troubles of people around him. While largely introspective, he has many other facets that, given time, he will eventually show.<br/><br/>Despite his outward confidence, however, he also carries a subtle yet deep-seated confusion that dictates many of his actions and perceptions. His greatest fear is a lack of purpose, and when things don’t go well for him he tends to be rather self-critical and will interpret it as inadequacy on his part. While this does give him the drive to improve himself, it unfortunately also causes him to see others in an equally critical light. Quick to level judgment on those around him, he readily dismisses others as foolish or worthless, although he is never thick-headed enough to say so. At the same time, though, he is impeccably logical, and he is more than willing to change his mind when presented with a reason to give his loyalty.<br/><br/>Although he is far from being short-tempered, the lupine takes threats towards his safety seriously and can become rather defensive at even the slightest hint of danger. In most cases, he prefers to find peaceful resolutions to possible conflict, either using logic or intimidation to sway possible assailants. However, once someone has made a move to take his life, he sees little reason to give them a second chance and will have few qualms about turning them into a tight bulge in his gut. In that regard, Alexei is a bit of a strange predator in that he usually won’t pick fights himself unless he is on the verge of starving. Then, his range of tastes will become very large indeed…<br/><br/><img alt="Image" src="http://i1009.photobucket.com/albums/af219/sonatawolf/AlexeiNocturneCropped.jpg"/><br/><br/>Alexei's Theme Song! :3<br/><div style="padding: 3px; background-color: #FFFFFF; border: 1px solid #d8d8d8; font-size: 1em;"><div style="text-transform: uppercase; border-bottom: 1px solid #CCCCCC; margin-bottom: 3px; font-size: 0.8em; font-weight: bold; display: block;"><span onclick="if (this.parentNode.parentNode.getElementsByTagName('div')[1].getElementsByTagName('div')[0].style.display != '') {  this.parentNode.parentNode.getElementsByTagName('div')[1].getElementsByTagName('div')[0].style.display = ''; this.innerHTML = '&lt;b&gt;Spoiler: &lt;/b&gt;&lt;a href=\'#\' onClick=\'return false;\'&gt;hide&lt;/a&gt;'; } else { this.parentNode.parentNode.getElementsByTagName('div')[1].getElementsByTagName('div')[0].style.display = 'none'; this.innerHTML = '&lt;b&gt;Spoiler: &lt;/b&gt;&lt;a href=\'#\' onClick=\'return false;\'&gt;show&lt;/a&gt;'; }"><b>Spoiler: </b><a href="#" onclick="return false;">show</a></span></div><div class="quotecontent"><div style="display: none;">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILzcx2BiuUo</div></div></div><br/><br/>Background Stuffs :3<br/><div style="padding: 3px; background-color: #FFFFFF; border: 1px solid #d8d8d8; font-size: 1em;"><div style="text-transform: uppercase; border-bottom: 1px solid #CCCCCC; margin-bottom: 3px; font-size: 0.8em; font-weight: bold; display: block;"><span onclick="if (this.parentNode.parentNode.getElementsByTagName('div')[1].getElementsByTagName('div')[0].style.display != '') {  this.parentNode.parentNode.getElementsByTagName('div')[1].getElementsByTagName('div')[0].style.display = ''; this.innerHTML = '&lt;b&gt;Spoiler: &lt;/b&gt;&lt;a href=\'#\' onClick=\'return false;\'&gt;hide&lt;/a&gt;'; } else { this.parentNode.parentNode.getElementsByTagName('div')[1].getElementsByTagName('div')[0].style.display = 'none'; this.innerHTML = '&lt;b&gt;Spoiler: &lt;/b&gt;&lt;a href=\'#\' onClick=\'return false;\'&gt;show&lt;/a&gt;'; }"><b>Spoiler: </b><a href="#" onclick="return false;">show</a></span></div><div class="quotecontent"><div style="display: none;"><span style="font-style: italic">“When the strings of a marionette are cut, what else is it to do but crumble?”</span><br/><br/>- - - - -<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">Rain. It is the first thing I remember, and I remember it very well. There was the soft rhythmic patter rippling through the moist air I breathed, rousing my consciousness from the black of my mind. With my waking eyes I saw the blue haze broken by crystalline streaks that seeped through my fur, liquid glass that found its way through my half-open lips and down my burning throat. For a long time it was just me and the falling water, my being and the sensations granted to it by the spirit of the world itself. Then, the darkness returned in the form of humanoid shadows that loomed over me, claimed me, and soon they eclipsed the immortal sky…</span><br/><br/>Alexei’s best guess about his age is eighteen, but if such was the case over half of that time has been a complete mystery to him. His first memory placed him in the midst of a forest north of Rel, alone and barely alive amongst the towering evergreens. Apart from a meager shirt and tattered pants, a large duom, crafted from the finest wood and steel and covered in intricate mysterious carvings, was the only indication of his origins. He had no idea how long he had stayed in his deathlike trance, body exhausted and mind broken as he lay in the mud waiting for the creatures of the forest to claim him. Yet, to the best of his fortunes, a group of human travelers discovered him first, and by the insistence of one of its members he was spared a slow demise and brought into their fold.<br/><br/>Within days of being taken under their care, the wolf began to stir, and before long he had become fully conscious and able to move without too much difficulty. Yet although knew what was in the world around him and remembered how to speak, outside of his name he could remember nothing about who he was. The fact that he wasn’t from the area, that he appeared about ten, even that he had gray fur and black hair: all was new to him, and no amount of thought or meditation could bring anything back. However, although his knowledge of his past had all but vanished, the young lupine was quick to pick up what he could, about both himself and the humans that he had fallen into. He discovered that they were a well-known clan of rangers named the Eirol, consisting of many of the finest hunters and survivalists Rel had to offer. He also learned that they were currently working as guardians and patrols in the lands of one of the more power nobles in the kingdom. Most importantly, however, he found that the human that had convinced the others to save his life was a young woman names Teras, and with her aid he slowly took his first steps into his new life.<br/><br/>Shortly after his recovery, the Eirol put him straight to work, wanting to make the most of their unusual new recruit. Most chose not to see him as an equal, treating him more like a dog to be trained than a sentient individual. Fortunately, Teras made up for their shortcomings with her own kindness and respect, and through their friendship she helped to support him through his often arduous and dangerous tasks. After much trial and error, however, two lingering talents from his past slowly rose to the surface. The first came during a raid on one of their camps, where he showed that not only did he come with a duom, but he had an innate aptitude in fighting with it. The second, however, would change his life far more, taking the form of a happy accident that ultimately revealed his ability to swallow people whole. While intimidated at first, the Eirol quickly picked up on the advantages of having such a person in their group, and it was from there the next four years of his life were defined. Wandering the streets of the noble’s land, he worked under Teras as they tracked down criminals and undesirables, and those too dangerous to bring to justice simply became quarry for the wolf. And although it occasionally grated on his conscience, he would be lying if he said those days weren’t some of the most satisfying of his life, especially when coupled with his ever-growing, and maturing, love for Teras.<br/><br/>However, as time pressed on, Alexei would begin to see a distinct change in how the Eirol functioned. Following the death of their current leader, the second-in-command named Sertik took the position into his own hands, and at once their tactics began to change. The respect the rangers once commanded degraded into fear as their methods became increasingly brutal while the wolf, now under the hand of other captors, found himself fed for increasingly petty crimes. As much as he enjoyed it, the taste and feel of live prey were slowly growing numbed, and steadily he grew to be aware of how unfulfilling his existence had become. Then came the fateful day when news of Caleb’s conquest reached their ears. The lord under whom the Eirol had served since Alexei’s arrival called upon them for aid, but the calculating Sertik, when presented with a lucrative proposition from Caleb himself, quickly settled on other plans. However, while most of the other rangers were quick to join into the scheme, Teras stood firm and refused to raise her blade for their cause, claiming Sertik had turned the once-proud sect into monsters. Immediately singled out, she was beaten and dragged down to Alexei, and at blade-point he found himself forced to devour his closest friend. It was then everything fell into place in his mind: under Sertik and the Eirol, he given away his chance to pursue his true purpose, let his captors control the direction of his life, and when the life of his only love was in his very hands he had no control over what he could do with it. His final moments with her made him decide enough was enough. That day, he made Teras a part of him forever. That night, he severed himself from the Eirol for good.<br/><br/>Dropping into the shadows, Alexei slipped away out of the scope of Sertik’s influence into the regions of Southmourne, and from there he began his pursuit of his new life goal of discovering who he was. Travelling from town to town in pursuit of clues, the wolf began his search for any knowledge that might explain his origins. He dived headlong into many fields of study, from history to nature to magic, which he used to refine his art of combat and predation. When these leads proved unfruitful, he fell into the underworld of information broking, gathering sensitive data for his clients while keeping an ear out for anything he could use. Although his work has yet to pay off, he feels certain that the answers he seeks are to be found amongst the faces and voice of the common people, and although he had often been on the verge of giving up he continues to travel from town to town in search of his identity. Now, the outpost of Lakehaven was his newest goal, and to gain access he signed onto a military caravan to join the war against the humans. While having a chance to get back at the people who robbed him of his lover would be a plus, he remains focused on the ambition by which he truly remembers her. Maybe, just maybe, Lakehaven would be the place…</div></div></div>