Alphonse Holcomb
From Valwiki
(Work in progress.)
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| Player: | Sulukra. | |
| Title: | Perfected of Searith. | |
| Age: | 23. | |
| Race: | Human. | |
| Eye Colour: | Brown. | |
| Hair: | White?. | |
| Skin Tone: | Light tan. | |
| Height: | 6'0. | |
| Weight: | 215 lbs. | |
| Alignment: | Chaotic Neutral. | |
Contents |
History
Alphonse awoke to a face staring at him. "Hey, Al! Wake up, sleepyhead!" The face belonged to his friend, Avery. "The goddess doesn't like lazybones like you in the Order, Al!"
"Oh, can't we just forget the Order for awhile, Avery? Come on! Five more minutes!"
"No way, Al! Come on, I've already been up for half an hour. Just get up already, won't you? You'll miss breakfast."
"What? Its that late already? I'm up, I'm up!" Alphonse jumped out of his bedroll. The other bedrolls - about twenty of them - were mostly empty. The only one still occupied - other then his own - was that of Johnny. But Johnny was always either sleeping, eating, or walking between the two - now THERE was someone who'd never get accepted into Her Order.
The breakfast room was rather sober - as was most of Her temple. She was not one for lavish self-indulgence, after all. The stone floor was cold; the air, slightly damp. The initiates, all of whom were young boys, ate at one table. The Brothers of Her Order ate at a seperate, raised table. Both, however, ate the same food for breakfast; a form of oatmeal or porridge. Alphonse had never been sure what it was.
"Al, Avery! What took you two so long? You almost missed breakfast!" Charlie grinned at them. Charlie was a tall, loud boy with short brown hair. His open face beamed at Alphonse and Avery. Avery was a bit different - he had a more reserved face, and was a half-foot shorter then Alphonse with wavy, dirty blonde. Alphonse was comfortably between the two boys; he had longish black hair, and was between the two in height. All of the Initiates of Her Order wore the same clothing - black robes with Her sigil stitched on them.
"Its not MY fault that Al is hopeless in the morning." Avery sat down next to Charlie. Alphonse sat down next to Charlie also. There were two bowls of food there - both boys took to the dull food with a passion.
"Shame about the food, though. I mean, sure, its better when its warm - but not by much, eh?" Charlie nudged the two of them jokingly. "My Ma used to make the best breakfast - eggs and bacon! It was great!" All of the Initiates fell silent. "Oh, uh, right - sorry, guys." Charlie bowed his head - Avery and Alphonse started eating again. "I just hope my Ma has found the Goddess, like me..."
"The Goddess's teachings are the one truth in the universe - remember that, Initiates. Dismissed." Brother Isaac pointed towards the door. Their classes were held in the Grand Hall - the Goddess's temple was composed entirely of large, underground caverns. The main cavern - named the Grand Hall, where most of the rites of the Goddess were performed - was the largest; to its left was the dining hall, a smaller cave. All of the light came from torches; torches were stored in one of the various sidecaves that branched off of the Grand Hall. There was also a Room of Rites, deep underground, that only the Brothers were allowed into. When an Initiate was to be made a Brother of Her Order, he was called to the Room of Rites to undergo the initiation ritual. It was never spoken what the initiation ceremony was outside of the Room of Rites. Only the Brothers knew the ceremony, and they did not speak of it.
"Hey, Al, how much longer do you think it is until dinner?" asked Avery with a grin.
"I dunno, Avery - maybe one or two more classes?" There was, of course, no way to tell time underground. Classes were the only way of judging how much longer there was until meals, and the number was never constant.
"I'd have said three atleast, Al! You're guess is WAY off," chipped in Charlie.
"Aw, shutup, Charlie. I'd say Al is dead-on - you're the one who's off!" retorted Avery.
"Maybe. Who knows? Maybe we're all wrong."
There were four classes before dinner.
"Ah, dinner, sweet dinner! After a long day of learning to serve our Goddess best, we get to kick back and relax!" Avery stretched as he sat down. "Well, the food isn't great, but its better then nothing!"
The food - which really was better then nothing - was much the same as breakfast, but it now had bits of an indecipherable meat floating around in it.
"Well, its better then the stuff we found out in the streets, right?" questioned Charlie. The Initiates all fell silent. "...Did I do it again, guys? Sorry."
All of the Initiates were orphans of war, from a variety of places in Kharlia. Alphonse and Avery had both been from the same streets - those of the capital. Charlie had never told them where he was from.
"Charles Woodworth?" A Brother had approached the table. He wore the full outfit of a Brother - a black cloak and hood, with the ensignia of the Goddess on his chest.
"Yes?" Charlie stood up.
"Charles Woodworth, you have been summoned to the Room of Rites. Follow me."
That was the last they saw of Charlie for awhile.
Life continued on without him. Alphonse, Avery and the other Initiates continued going to classes; eating dull meals; the day in and day out routine of life in Her temple. After all, one of the Goddess's teachings was not to mourn loss; for loss was inevitable, and it was better to move on.
"Hey, Al, have you seen Johnny around lately?" asked Avery three days after Charlie had left for the Room of Rites.
"Now that you mention it - no, I haven't! Thats weird. When was the last time we saw him? Was it the day Charlie left?"
"I think so, yeah! Weird. Maybe he got called to the Room of Rites too."
"Haha, as if, Al. You think that JOHNNY could ever be accepted into Her Order? Before we are? Thats a funny joke, Al."
"Yeah, yeah, laugh all you want, Avery - but its possible. Even though he didn't do much..."
Life went on without both Charlie and Johnny.
"Hey, Al, how many more lessons 'til dinner?"
"Hm. Three?"
"Only? I'd have said five. Anyways, go on to the next one - I just want to ask Brother Isaac a few questions, alright?" Avery turned around, walking back into the grand hall.
That evening at dinner, Brother Isaac approached the table.
"Alphonse Holcomb. It is time for you to come to the Room of Rites."
Alphonse stood up. Brother Isaac nodded, and led the way to one of the many side-caves branching off of the dining hall. Alphonse followed.
It took an hour of travelling through several dark caves to reach the Room of Rites. The only light came from the torch Brother Isaac was carrying, and even so, the light was scarce - enough to see where they were going, but little else.
The door to the Room of Rites looked like all of the other doors in Her temple. A big, oaken door with a metal ring in place in a door knob. Brother Isaac pulled the door open, ushering Alphonse inside.
"Alphonse Holcomb. The time has come for your acceptance into the Order of the Goddess. There is only one final task lying in your way."
Brother Isaac ushered Alphonse onto the altar. The altar was very plain; it was a simple stone altar with Her insignia upon it.
"We have recently caught a heretic within our order - he questioned the teachings of the Goddess, and now must be dished out his punishment - his punishment will be your final task."
Brother Isaac handed him Her ceremonial dagger. He placed his torch in a brazier, which shed light upon the altar. He could now see a human shape on it, but he could not see well enough to make out any distinguishing features.
"Sacrifice the heretic to the Goddess."
Alphonse took the dagger in his right hand, closing his eyes. He plunged the dagger forth.
"FOR SEARITH!"
As the dagger plunged into the sacrifice's heart, the sacrifice looked up, his eyes meeting with Alphonse's.
Alphonse stared back into Avery's dying eyes.
Three days had passed since he had killed Avery.
He was now a full-fledged Brother of the Order.
Brother Isaac told him that Charlie was completing his initiation quest. His sacrifice was on the run, and he was pursuing him by himself.
He felt terrible about Avery. Yes, he hadn't known who he was killing at the time - but that didn't excuse his actions. He had killed his best friend, while Charlie was off killing one his other friends. What a cruel fate it was that the Goddess had placed upon them - Initiates were made to weed out the weak, and whoever could not kill their own friend was unable to join Her Order and would be killed by those who were stronger. What a cruel fate...But atleast the Goddess would protect them forever, right? A life of peace, blessed by the Goddess. What a life...
The door to his room crashed open. Standing in the dim light was Charlie.
"Al! We're Brothers now!"
"Charlie..."
"Cheer up, Al! It's all over now! All over..." A tear rolled down Charlie's cheek.
"Charlie...It's alright..." Al stood up, walking over to Charlie. A second tear fell onto Charlie's shirt, from Alphonse.
The two boys stood there, holding each other, crying at their loss - of friends and of innocence.
The smell of singed flesh filled the cavern as flames burst from Alphonse's open jaw, singing the rotting flesh that had come so close to wrapping itself around him.
Upon seeing the undead creature, Alphonse had not been entirely sure of what it had been in life. Perhaps a large beast - a boar, he had read, had tusks similar to this creature - that had wandered into the Underdark from the surfaceworld long ago and become twisted by the 'corruption' of the Goddess. And then it would have died a quiet death, only to be brought back by the same taint that had twisted it in life. Only to be set back to peace by Alphonse Holcomb.
No. Not Alphonse Holcomb - Adin'aere Rylntar, the Living Dragon. Never again will I be Alphonse Holcomb.
The beast had retreated a safe distance after Alphonse had set it aflame, but it was readying itself for another charge. Alphonse closed his eyes as he saw it was ready to begin its bull rush, trying to re-live a heaviness Her Brotherhood had once induced in him. He felt his body get heavier, his bones becoming stronger. That was one of the many gifts of being a true Perfected - your body was truly under your control, more then it would ever be otherwise. His eyes opened wide, seeing the creature's charge.
The tainted undead's charge was halted mid-run when it crashed into Alphonse. He grabbed one of the creature's tusks, then sent his rock-solid fist into the creature's neck. The corrupted beast fell to the ground as more flames from the Living Dragon engulfed it, ending the Goddess's taint on the undeserving beast forever.
"Perhaps, Living Dragon, you'd find the beasts you're looking for deeper in the caves. The closer you get to the Goddess, the more powerful her influence on the beasts become - and is it not only the strongest of creatures that you seek to learn from?"
Alphonse turned towards the source of the voice, recognizing it as belonging to Shriual Baenar. How fitting that it means one who is silent.
"Perhaps, Shriual, you will learn better then to question why I do not go closer to the...-Goddess.-"
"You still harbor your fear of Her touch? When you are so strongly touched by it yourself?"
"I do not fear her touch; I resent it."
"Welcome home, Adin'aere. How was your hunting?" The doors to the House of the Keepers was opened by a female drow - Vieraste, Keeper of the Dark.
"Poor, Vieraste. The creatures around here have nothing worth learning." Alphonse sighed as he walked through the twin doors to the home of the Keepers.
Like so many of the great buildings of the Underdark, it was carved entirely from the rock walls around it. As the Keepers of the Dragon, the entire building was shaped like the head of one of the fearsome creatures; the eyes, made of stained glass, were eternally keeping watch over a small lake, the Dragon's Tear.
"We have told you that, Adin'aere. You must descend deeper into the caverns if you wish to find creatures of true power."
"Clearly. In the weeks I've spent hunting around here, I've learned nothing of worth."
"Perhaps you should seek your namesake in the caves below? I am certain that you could learn much from an actual dragon, Adin'aere."
"I'm not looking for dragons, Vieraste. I only seek to learn from the tainted of the goddess - as the Living Dragon, I am a hunter, and they are my quarry."
"Yet you refuse to step closer to the Goddess? You may be a Living Dragon, Adin'aere, but you are a coward and a fool."
"Where in your prophecies does it say that I must travel closer to the Goddess? ' The Living Dragon is one who has been touched by the Goddess, yet seeks to destroy those touched by the taint ' does not imply that I must go any closer to the Goddess then necessary."
"The prophecies also say, ' The Keepers of the Dragon shall follow him, but they will both face certain doom; the Living Dragon's heart shall be ripped from his body, and his Keepers left in shambles ', Adin'aere. The prophecies don't say what shall destroy us and you, but if you bring the wrath of the Goddess down upon us, we shall be sure to finish her work if she leaves your heart beating."
"' And when the Living Dragon falls, so shall the House '. I have read the prophecies, Keeper. To kill me is to cut out the heart of your house."
Skills
Body Magic: He's pretty much a body magic master.
Drowish: At the moment, it's unclear where he learned it, but he certainly seems to speak it fluently. His Common is even laden with a Drowish accent...
Swordfighting: His sword is his arm. He can also use it to cut stuff.
Possessions
Unknown.
Body Magic
The entire wiki page.
Electro-Control
Casting time: 1 turn
Having watched a chimera use this ability, Alphonse learned to duplicate it himself. The user can do one of two things with this spell; they can choose to either generate a mild electric blast, similar to Ball Lightning (but a bit smaller) or to re-direct lightning of any form directed at them.
P.S. Ritual involves getting STRUCK BY LIGHTNING
