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{\*\generator Msftedit 5.41.21.2509;}\viewkind4\uc1\pard\f0\fs20 [u][b]Name;[/b][/u] The owner of this sly grin calls himself Rio Muerte. Although he does have a middle name, perhaps the only remnant of his birth name, it will take either a mind reader or a strong drink and a persuasive voice to pry it from him. He truly believes himself to be some sort of embodification of the mythical "Styx", or the river of death. His first name may have also stemmed from the fact that he was raised beside a local river, or from the fact that his eyes are an unnatural pure blue. One can only speculate on what he was once called.\par
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[u][b]Nickname;[/b][/u] (MR. CREEPER MCBADASS. >8U *Shot* ) Rio has a tendency to refer to himself with a variety of names, often with a riddle-like nature behind their usage. Such names for himself include "Contradiction", "the Styx", the "River", "the Guardian", and the "13th Ciphendoephia".\par
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[u][b]Gender;[/b][/u] Male\par
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[u][b]Height;[/b][/u] 7'6"\par
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[u][b]Age;[/b][/u] His exact age is unknown (even he only knows an estimate), but he is presumed to be ancient. His physical aging appears to be paused in early to mid adulthood, perhaps through the use of advanced alchemy.\par
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[u][b]Species;[/b][/u] Although Rio was once an Elakul, he has mutilated his organic shell to the point of becoming a monster in the eyes of his former brethren. Mutated both internally and externally through use of specialized alchemy and the magic included in its usage, Rio now identifies himself with a group rather than a species: the Ciphendoephians, a secretive guild with members from a variety of species.\par
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[u][b]Appearance;[/b][/u] Far from the draconian Elakul he once was, Rio now resembles more of a human or an insect than anything. One would almost think he was something altogether alien; devoid of both hair and scales on his hide, the remaining skin is smooth and flexible much like that of a human's. The pale, green-yellow tone of his flesh is a characteristic of the highly-toxic vanadium (II) and weak chartreuse melanin. In contrast with his skin are a lengthy pair of sleek, black antennae that all Elakul possess; lightweight cartilage wrapped in a network of nerves and a thin coat of tiny scales to serve as auditory sensors. Below the border of light green and black a gaunt, almost high cheekbone is visible while his expression is anything but a grin. Retained from having a reptilian snout, his facial muscles can stretch quite well; well enough, in fact, to grin nearly "from ear to ear", making good use of the slight channels beneath his cheekbones. Thin lips, a long, pointed tongue, and slightly yellowed teeth (befitting even the best of carnivores) do not aide in making such a grin any friendlier, nor does the ghastly lack of a nose (or even visible nostrils)*. Appearing quite feral at his worst, what may appear to be an obvious villain can look quite the opposite while calm. Above the jaws rest a single pair of eyes without sclera. Blue in the purest sense back to the retina, their centers keep a tiny dot of black each. Those pupils can shrink to a pinprick in strong light, reshaping as light dims to plus signs, then stretched crosses, and finally to ovals struck through their middles with a vertical line each. In most Elakul, such single-colour eyes would be followed further down the snout by a pair of smaller eyes capable of sensing heat signatures. With a flat, human-like face, however, those heat sensors are nowhere to be found. \par
Standing at a formidable height of over seven and a half feet, his entire form is built to play upon that dominating aspect; muscles are kept lean and toned, yet just thin enough to allow agility and accurate, light movements even while running (the majority of his diet consists of animal and plant proteins, providing sufficient upkeep coupled with the exercise involved with hunting and traveling). If in a blind rage, Rio can prove himself quite strong, although rampaging in such a way will often leave him injured afterwords, as lifting in his daily life is limited to hauling shot game.\par
[b]*[/b]Although no nasal cavities are visible, an opaque, skin-like membrane covers the skull's flattened nasal cavities; the pores of such are numerous yet tiny, each tapering down into numerous particle-sized holes. The covering is a semi-permeable membrane allowing tiny particles in the air to pass through to reach the olfactory neurons and bulb. Muscles under the skin can tighten to close off the pores for situations (like swimming) where having the membrane open would be a disadvantage.\par
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[u][b]Personality;[/b][/u] Rio is straight-forward and (usually) no-nonsense, clever and cunning, and is feral/predatory towards other humans/humanoids. He hates being ignored, finds great amusement in messing with people's heads, and prefers to appear intimidating to others as he believes fear equates to control. Although he is often hostile (and can be a villainous cur in addition, might I add), he can and will give anything to protect those he is close to. If you're perhaps not on the best of terms with this blackguard (such as having simply hired him instead of taking on the daunting task of befriending him) he would just as easily take the side of one with better pay or promises of greater profit, even if the highest bidder so happens to be the one he was hired to be against.\par
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[u][b]History;[/b][/u] Rio was born in the western Elakulian River Tribe as the son of the clan's herbalist. The way simple flora could be broken down and used to form complex cures drew his attention while others his age dug about in the mud banks. As he grew, Rio devoted more and more of his time to learning all that he could from his father. Past the point of drawing well into his chore time, the chemistry and biology involved in his father's trade became an obsession. Over the years the young Elakul became more and more secluded, preferring to try and map out nature's internal workings while in the unclaimed areas of the nearby deciduous forest. Perhaps one of the last days Rio was seen within the riverside village was the day of his coming-of-age ceremony. The only belongings he took with him that day were the various crude, handcrafted instruments and containers he carried on a belt with him at all times. When the traditions of the Elakul are taken into consideration, it us understandable that the entire village was devastated when the youth did not return. As the weeks passed, the tribe presumed Rio was dead and gone; perhaps a victim of a wild animal attack or a bog covered by a layer of plant debris. The distant adolescent was mourned and, over the years, forgotten as his presence faded to the fogginess of long-forgotten memories; they had never found his remains, however, leaving his parents to cling to a decaying thread of hope.\par
The end of autumn's fleeting warmth was upon the river village when he found himself returning. Ragged from his years of meandering through the trailing creepers and past fallen greenery, the youth had resurrected himself as an oddity in the minds of his former peers. Having caught the tail end of the bountiful harvest season, curiosity was kept to preferably glances and brief stares of stupor sipped at between festivities and crowds. Word of the stranger's arrival in the boreal town, although it took nearly half a week to be confirmed due to his nocturnal schedule, crept onto the tongues of partygoers and workers alike. While rumors spread, Rio gathered what he could from the preoccupied townsfolk; surely they wouldn't miss the meager scrapings of bread and fruits that he gathered from market stalls past sunset. \par
Chancing upon their presumably lost son was a moment of churning disbelief and distress for the medic and his mate. Although the cloak was quite effective pertaining to the secrecy of his form, the belt wrapped firmly around the waist of it pulled the attention of the elderly couple; it was the same strap of hide Rio wore as he was consumed by the forest's vast thickets. Those eyes were his (although two were missing), even though they darted amongst the crowd as though in the presence an unfamiliar race, just as that stature was reminiscent of a youth long lost to the brambles. The shock soaked through with the regard that there was no tail, no snout, no scales, no comforting familiarity; everything about him was as traumatizing to see as it was erroneous. When he took notice of their gawking stares and recognized them enough to step forward, the pair of Elakul instinctively fled from the horror.\par
No news spreads as fast as bad news. Within an hour of learning that his former family was going to remove him from the riverside town the hooded aberration had departed for the plains beyond his home, not wishing to risk the mob that was sure to swarm him after sunrise. Having set his path to the distant foothills and valleys, Rio felt that he would have no rest until this requisition was met; the Guild had chose him. He had been called forth as a Ciphendoephia.\par
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[u][b]Family;[/b][/u] Rio no longer has family around; those who were related to him having died off decades ago without leaving a surviving heir to the bloodline. Having the weight of a separated, self-mutated descendant ensured that the family would be ostracized from the rest of their species (and any potentiality cross-family marriages. Inbred Elakul do not usually survive very long.)\par
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[u][b]Magic;[/b][/u] All Majors in the Ciphendoephian guild possess a small object that acts as the anchor for their powers and, if they happen to somehow get themselves killed, soul. Rio is no different, his "anchor" in the form of two thin metal symbols embedded in his wrists. The two coin-like pieces, as flexible as the skin covering them when in contact with the Elakul, reflect their owner's duality; the "anchor" in his left wrist being made of a light metal while the one in the right resembling onyx in colour. The proximity of both pieces to his hands allows Rio to freely shape his powers as one would shape clay, although the manipulation itself is quick, vague, and rarely involves physical contact with the energy. When Rio does use his powers, the energy manifests itself physically, ranging from translucent, smoke-like tendrils to the weightless embodiment of light-absorbing tar. The energy itself is not actually coloured black and would reflect blue light if it didn't take in surrounding photons to fuel itself. The weakest form of energy, the smoke-like manifestation, takes in only the light it needs, leaving a visible haze in its presence. On the opposite end of the spectrum is the energy resembling pitch; taking in all the light that hits it to not only fuel itself but to collect energy for later use. Although the latter strength of magic may seem like the preferable choice, it is actually used very little by Rio as it fatigues his mind rather quickly; thus he prefers to use the former whenever possible.\par
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[u][b]Weapons;[/b][/u] Alongside the basic skinning and hunting knives and the obvious alchemiac chemicals/elixirs, Rio owns a handcrafted, unique, crossbow-type weapon. Possessing the same basic arc and shape of it's regular counterpart, this projectile launcher has a few major differences. For one, below the actual arc (stave) is a metal spool where a durable chain is wound, the thin chain itself being about 45 feet in length, attached at the end to the spool. There is a bit of slack stretching from the stirrup (where the projectile rests) to the spool. There are no bolts involved with this weapon: attached to the slack bit of chain is a rather sharp blade shaped aerodynamically. A few notches/jagged bits sit near the back of the blade for locking into place when the crossbow is loaded. When shot, the blade (propelled with carefully calculated force so as to avoid stress on the chain) will surge forward, then slow when it nears the end of its chain. Mechanics sit behind the chain's spool and inside the crossbow itself, pulling in the chain when the blade tugs at the end. These mechanics are strong enough to pull the blade back and wrap the chain around the spool again, although they are rather noisy. If the mechanics fail, there is a small handle that can be attached to a nob on the side of the spool to rewind it; such a method of reloading is time consuming and can be tiring if repeated often. In short, the "bladebow" (lolol) is a nice medium range projectile weapon that has no need for extra ammo. On the up side it's efficient weight-wise (no extra bolts to carry about), easy to use, reloads on its own (most of the time), is impossible to jam (the handle can fix most of its problems), can be used in short range in a pinch, and it kills faster than the traditional crossbow. On the down side it's got a limited range (nothing over 46 feet away) that becomes progressively weaker past the 35 foot mark, the chain can be cut to give its wielder some nasty backlash from the recoiling metal, the mechanics need (occasional) oiling and maintenance, the "reloading" is loud, and it's far from a rapid fire weapon.\par
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[u][b]Class;[/b][/u] Rio has not assigned himself to a single pursuit in life; as he finds a balanced mix more fitting to his lifestyle. Locked away in his dwelling obscured in the heart of a coppice, he has had plenty of time to perfect and expound upon his methods of alchemy, which draw upon the majority of his time. He is somewhat of a hunter out of sheer necessity, although he would not associate himself with others who hunt for a living or for sport. He is somewhat of a wanderer and may leave for months at a time, living off of what he can earn and hunt until he has homesickness and decides to head back to his forest. If you catch Rio on one of such occasions, perhaps you can convince him to make you an elixir similar to the one he uses to keep relatively youthful.\par
Belonging within the elite ranks of the Ciphendoephian guild, Rio was trained to use a type of magic attuned to his personality. Since the actual physical manifestation of such power resembles liquid darkness, he could be considered a type of shadow manipulist.\par
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[u][b]Occupation;[/b][/u] Apothecarist and elite within the Ciphendoephian guild. The guild itself does not rely heavily on currencies, therefore Rio allows himself to be hired out to do others' dirtywork in order to pay for the upkeep of his hunting equipment and for clothing (city clothing being his preference to the hides of the game he feeds on). Hunting is this old Elakul's source of sustenance; the game surrounding his home as bountiful as in any untouched wildland. On occasion he will even use some of the flesh from an animal to test new alchemaic formulas on.\par
Although the instances of such a situation are very scarce, every few decades or so someone will manage to find their way to his place of sanctuary in order to have mutational work done. Painful as it may be, his work is very meticulous and accurate; promised to change the patient just as they asked (although there have been a few instances of patients growing strange, consumptuous growths in their flesh later on in life).\par
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[u][b]Friends;[/b][/u] Rio's friends are few and far apart outside of the guild, and even within the society he simply makes acquaintances with most. One of the scarce few Rio has formed a friendship with is Liphoen; his utmost loyalty devoted to this particular cordiality. He appears to have taken Liphoen under his wing, guiding her as best as he can while trying to protect her as best as he can. In fact, it was through his exertion of influence on the council that Liphoen was brought into the guild as a Major (an elite within the guild) rather than having to work her way up from a Minor like most.\par
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[u][b]Enemies;[/b][/u] Most other Elakul will remain hostile towards Rio, provided they pass down his story through the generations of course. Those few Elakul who have since forgotten the tale of the alchemist will be repulsed at the severity of his mutations, possibly bringing hostility regardless of inherited legends.\par
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[u][b]Abilities;[/b][/u] Elakul, Rio not excluded, have vanadium (II) in their blood in place of iron (II), giving their oxygenated blood a green hue and unoxygenated blood a gray-blue colour. In addition to a green-yellow melanin pigment (mostly green with a faint yellow tint), Elakul also have vanadium (II) stored in their skin, enhancing the natural colouration of their flesh as well as adding to their toxicity to would-be predators. This means that Rio could use his own blood as a poison, proving quite useful in a pinch. In addition, Rio has basic combat and weapon-usage knowledge learned from fending off everything from bears to Elakul wishing to rid their species of such a blight. After countless years of hunting for his own food, it's only natural that he knows the quickest way to kill a creature; bipedal beings prove only a slight challenge to this knowledge.\par
On the more domestic side of life, this mutant knows how to start a fire, cook a meal, distill/sanitize water, defur and tan hides, build a basic shelter, and which wild plants are fine to eat.\par
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[u][b]Weaknesses;[/b][/u] Like all Elakul and other such reptilian pseudo-mammals, Rio cannot stand temperatures nearing or below 0 degrees Celsius, such making him sluggish and, over a period of time, sickly. Ice-based magic is his bane, even just a snowstorm being enough to send him into hypothermic slumber. At that point he is unable to snap out of hibernation until he has been reintroduced to warmer conditions.\par
Living in almost hermit-like conditions for as long as he has leaves Rio at a point of mental instability. Although he has maintained a rather decent chunk of his sanity, gaps in normality sometimes make themselves present with no real warning. At times his mood can switch to a polar opposite, such as turning from a vicious, dedicated killer to a cackling wild animal wishing for nothing more than to toy with his target (seeing great fear, even if faked, from his opponent will often trigger such a change). Another byproduct of living alone for so long is Rio's temper; volatile and easy to set off, it would be wise not to offend him. \par
*Note: threatening those close to him, and providing actual proof of the danger they're in, will not usually set off his temper; instead forcing him into submission.\par
If [url= ]Batis Embius[/url] is killed, Rio will suffer the immediate effects of having half of himself removed from life. Such an event transpiring would result in anything ranging from a sudden, brief stop in his heartbeat to blood vessels in his skull bursting and causing brain hemorrhaging. Understandably, Rio wishes to keep Batis alive, no matter how much he wishes for that part of himself to pass away.\par
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[u][b]Other;[/b][/u] \par
Strange events surround Rio's appearances, especially when his travels include passing through a populated area in the night. More oft than naught residents will awaken to find that someone is missing without so much as evidence of forced entry into their abodes. Those who disappear will never return to their unlocked homes; those who remain find that after drinking from local water sources (such as a neighborhood well) they forget about the one who was lost to the traveler. Exactly what happens to those stolen from their beds is uncertain, although it has been noted that the wandering alchemist never visits food markets after a disappearance.\par
When passing through a village or city in the day, Rio will occasionally set up a stall with which he sells freshly-mixed elixirs and poultices to those drawn in by their curiosity. Children sometimes gather around to see the wonders the curious stranger has brought. If Rio feels that he could use some more customers, he will try to bribe those children into bringing others to the stall. Youngsters who do take the bribe are given anything from sweets made from crushed berries to strangely familiar-tasting dried meat.\par
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[b]Reference picture pending.[/b]\par
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