The Fallen

Age:
    Thirty-six.

Personality:
    Vincent is the type of person who will follow laws, as long as they aid him in the long-run. He has been known to �bend� the rules to achieve his goals, and has even killed any who got in his way, no matter how innocent. Although once a kind and loving man, the murder of his family drove him to near-insanity, causing the occasional hunt for sport or to protect his villagers, to something that his life is devoted to. Overbearingly proud and generally anti-social and confrontational, Vincent keeps to himself; both because he is a loner and aggravates most people who speak to him. He has no qualms about slaying a demon of any gender or age, and has killed many young half-demon children without as much as a blink. Locked deep inside of himself, so deep that Vincent himself has forgotten about it, is the once friendly, smiling man who used to be both a skillful nobleman and loving husband and father.

Race:
    At first glance, Vincent is a typical human demon hunter, but within him flows the blood of a lycanthrope. Every full moon Vincent loses control of himself and transforms into a bloodthirsty werewolf with no regard for life of any kind. On these nights it as if a darker part of himself is unleashed that exists only to spill blood, and only when the sun rises does its rage subside. To his knowledge, Vincent is a human, but he is also the very beast that he hunts tirelessly.

Characteristics:
    Vincent's face carries small hints to his once noble heritage. His hair, although now tangled and somewhat unclean, is still worn in a noble fashion. Long layers of blonde hair hang to his well-formed shoulders, and when properly maintained would look very handsome. His somewhat-lengthy bangs are parted and kept far away from his icy blue eyes, which are locked in a glare filled with pure contempt. No trace of emotion can be found in his eyes other than hatred and an almost undetectable sorrow. Vincent's highly structured face gives an impression of strength, manliness, and a forgotten charisma. A smile across his face is as rare as any priceless treasure, and the only time his lips dare to move from their sneer is to speak. A scar cuts across his upper left eyebrow to his left cheekbone and runs in a straight diagonal line. This is but one of many scars and wounds that riddle Vincent's body.

        A long, open black overcoat trails down to his ankles with the stains of many hunts dotting the bottom in a crimson pattern. When he is not out on a hunt, Vincent wears a plain, uncared for white shirt that has as many wrinkles as it does stitches, but he typically wears a black shirt when hunting to help conceal himself in the darkness. Every now and then somebody will catch a glimpse of a golden chain around Vincent's neck, although he typically attempts to conceal it. A loose-fitting pair of black pants tucks into a pair of worn hunting boots.
   

Equipment:
    Scyrra and Cyress:
        Scyrra and Cyress are the names given to Vincent�s set of scimitars. Vincent fights using the two-weapon style proficiently, as is his family�s tradition, despite their western lifestyle. Cyress is a barbed blade with a richly colored ruby hilt, with a perfectly circular sapphire set into the middle, The Eye of Virtue. Scyrra�s blade is the classic scimitar but similiar to Cyress, except her hilt is a light sky blue, similiar to a sapphire, and set within the hilt is the ruby, The Blood of the Shadows.
   
    Vincent inherited the two blades from his father, who in turn was given to them by his father, and so on, until Vincent�s great-great grandfather recieved them from a travelling swordsman, who had been plagued by a vampire lord. Vincent�s great-great grandfather, a highly-skilled hunter, had agreed to hunt the vampire, but upon completing the task, the swordsman had no means of payment and instead decided to give two of his best blades, both slightly sentient. Vincent�s great great grandfather graciously took the blades, and had the two gems set, which he had found the two gems in the crypt of another vampire.
   
    Many found using The Blood of the Shadows on Scyrra, which had been originally been used as a protector of the innocent, hence it�s protective nature, to be a bit sacriligeous. However, it seemed to increase the blade�s power, as well as allow it to awaken further. Cyress had been a blade of berserker�s strength, and had been known to set it�s wielder into a berserk fury, as it was wielded first by a brutal warlord who notoriously known for his love of murdering the innocent. The Eye of Virtue was used to calm it�s nature. Together, Scyrra and Cyress are a deadly combination, and are able to detect the true nature of a soul, ideal for hunting. Their sentience has only increased over the years as they have grown accustomed to the DarkFang bloodline, even if the name has been abandoned by Vincent. But more importantly, they have come to recognize Vincent�s grip, and now will only be wielded by him. If another had, for example, knocked Scyrra or Cyress out of Vincent�s hands and tried to wield them, they would either fall out of their hands, or cause him to stab himself. Also, if Vincent were to try to attack an innocent soul, he would find that he would be unable to strike at them. Vincent considers Scyrra and Cyress not to be swords, but rather his companions.

    Evelyn's Amulet:
        Vincent wears the amulet of Evelyn, his wife, around his neck as a symbol of his undying love, although now misguided, as well a severe reminder of his inability to protect her. Although it serves no magical ailment, it is more of a spiritural keepsake than a typical amulet. The amulet is silver in color, and is hung upon a light platinum chain. The only hands that have ever touched it since Evelyn�s death have either belonged to Vincent, or have been found without a body. There is nothing overly-special about the amulet itself in it�s design, and was given to Evelyn by her mother, who had recieved it while being courted by Evelyn�s father, a poor apprentice gemsmith, who had made it especially for her. The amulet was stolen by the werewolf who had murdered Evelyn, but Vincent found it on the ground beneath the window that the werewolf escaped from. A strange feeling compelled Vincent to keep the amulet as a keepsake, rather than bury it with his wife.

Strengths and Abilities:
    For the most part Vincent's abilities are hunting related, but beyond that he is similiar to a typical human.
   
    Tracking: Vincent has a heightened ability to track creatures, and depending on the skill of his prey, usually finds them relatively quickly. Few details go unnoticed by his eyes.

    Resistance to Darkness:
        As a trained hunter and ex-member of a lesser-known branch of the church systems, Vincent has developed an increase resistance to the forces of darkness, although he is now amongst their ranks. Very young creatures have been known to do damage similiar to that of a mortal man.

    Awareness of magical energy:
        Due to being a hunter, beings of a high magical essence, or events of high magical productivity, seem to stand out. Similiar to an enhanced hearing, he can sense them slightly, although as he becomes stronger as a werewolf, his hunting skills can fluctuate. Towards the night of the full moon, his skills diminish as he claims that his prey is nearby, almost right on top of him so to speak, and many regard it as insanity.

Weaknesses:

    Mortality:
        Vincent is a human, more or less anyways. Therefore, he has the typical strengths and weaknesses a typical human has.

    Lunar Insanity:
        Due to having two souls, one evil, and one wandering between darkness and light, inhabiting one body comed with the murder of his family, the strain on his mind is incredible. Before and after the full moon, the full effects of this strain are noted. He begins to be incoherent, speaking slight gibberish, seeming to be in another plane of existance, all effects are slightly beginning to show. He is beginning to lose the highly trained persception between good and evil that a hunter of his order was taught as a result.

    Silver:
        For reasons Vincent cannot himself explain, he has a weakness to silver weapons. When struck by silver, the wound becomes infected and takes much longer to heal than a wound from a normal weapon would. The damage from a silver weapon is also greatly increased.

Forms:

    Human:
        Vincent is human every day and every night except on the night of the full moon. While human, he bears no abnormal traits, other than his highly developed tracking skills and weakness to silver.

    Werewolf:
        As a werewolf, Vincent is at the height of his power, as well as his insanity. Driven into a primal, berserk rage, he is unable to control himself and commits acts he would never do as a human. Although he is unable to remember, he often has a dreaded feeling while he sleeps that he has sinned in some way. His strength, size, and speed are greatly altered in werewolf form, as he is half-wolf, half-human.
   
    While in werewolf form, Vincent's body is covered in a thick coat of a silverish fur. His teeth nearly double in size, and become razor-sharp. His hands change into padded, furry claws that could easily shred flesh. Due to being a Hunter, he is unable to produce the poison coating his fangs and claws that turns a creature into a werewolf. Rather than their usual blue, his eyes are a deep blood-red and seem to be soulless. There is no trace of humanity left within him when he transforms into the werewolf.
   
    Some werewolfs are able to ascend to a higher state of power, however, this ability can only be gained when a human has accepted and merged with the beast within.

Past:

      Vincent was born into a long line of Hunters, and the family was well-known amongst the ranks of the church. His family was considered a branch of the church itself, and often times was sought out by fledgling hunters wishing to be trained. The DarkFang family had overtime accumulated great-wealth and power through the treasure to be gained by hunting, as well as the favors it gained from grateful nobility. A small amount of land had been granted to the family after Vincent�s great-great grandfather, probably the most well-known and successful hunters of the family, after he had slain a vampire which was terrorizing the local area. The vampire had siezed a plot of land from a nearby noble, who had sought help from the church. A fortress was built under the vampires�s short rule, and was included in the gift. The fortress soon became the base of operations for the DarkFang family, and a courtyard was soon added to serve as a training grounds.
   
    Trained by his father, as well as a few of the resident hunters, Vincent soon became an expert hunter, as was expected in his family. His father was killed when Vincent was 24 while leading an expedition into a lair, but his party was swarmed. The few who survived were able to bring back a few of the bodies that had not been completely mutilated or dragged off, and Vincent�s father was amongst them. Using his father�s blades and armor, Vincent swore vengeance and set off to the lair the night following the funeral. Although he sustained many injuries, Vincent was able to complete his fathers mission. Along with the head of the beast, he brought back Evelyn, daughter of an arch-bishop, who was captured by the vampire and was held as a means of vengeance. Within the lair were various treasures and corpses, the treasures were mostly donated to the church and then spread amongst the families of the deceased hunters, while the bodies of the hunters were properly buried. These acts, although deemed foolish and irresponsible by many close family friends, were the first of many honorable and just acts Vincent commited during his Lordship.
   
    Evelyn had helped Vincent recover from his battle with the vampire, as he had nearly suffered the same fate as his father. During the course of his recovery, which many noted to have been suspiciously long, the two fell in love and soon wed afterwards. Over the course of the next six years, Vincent had two children, a son and a daughter, and had developed into a grizzled and well-known hunter, famous throughout the land. The family was well-loved by the nearby villagers, governed by Vincent, and had become an important part of the Church. More and more Hunters arrived over the years to be trained, many sent by the Church itself. But as time went on, a few Hunters had decided that Vincent was too soft in his ways and sought to try to overthrow him.
   
    Gathering a small force of mercenaries who were foolish enough to agree, the rogue Hunters attacked their former training school and assaulted Vincent and his family. Only two of the six Hunters had survived the attack, and both had fled to a nearby village. All of the mercenaries were quickly killed, but Vincent also lost three of his fledging hunters. The next night, after making sure everything was back to order in his home, Vincent set off to pursue his attackers. The two had split up, and one was easily found by Vincent. Slightly dissapointed by his ex-student�s performance, Vincent easily slew his attacker and followed the leader of the rogue Hunters to an outlying village under the DarkFang rule. In the tavern of the town, the Hunter could be found foolishly preaching against the DarkFang family. Although many of the patrons disagreed, many were too afraid to stand up against a Hunter, and the few who did were either drunk or died quickly. Upon seeing Vincent enter the tavern, the Hunter immediately tried to run, but found his way blocked. After throwing a chair at Vincent, which was knocked away with Cyrra, he equipped a crude set of knuckles, which had werewolf claws attached, although Vincent did not know it at the time. The rogue Hunter was able to land a strike on Vincent�s face, scarring the area around his left eye, but was soon disarmed, literally. The Hunter was brought back to the DarkFang residence, and was hung as punishment, issued by the church. Although the slash from the rogue Hunter had not blinded Vincent, one of the three gashes left a scar, even after Evelyn used her clerical powers to heal the wounds.
   
    Finally realizing the danger of his career, Vincent decided to settle down for a little while and personally trained the Hunter�s at his fort, as well as his son. With the aid of the Master Hunter�s at his residence, Vincent was able to turn many average Hunters into professionals as time went on, and his son was quickly learning. But as time went on, the scar over his eye soon became infected, and had to be treated by Evelyn�s father. Although the infection seemed to disappear, it was only removed from the exterior. Inside, the werewolf had begun to awaken and grow. As the virus continued, Vincent had to have continual visits to the main church. But on the next full moon, the werewolf broke free of Vincent�s will and murdered his family, as well as many of the hunters staying in his home. The following morning, Vincent awoke, dirty and blood-covered, in a nearby forest and returned to his castle, dazed and confused, only to find blood covering the grass and stones of his home. Panicked, Vincent rushed through his courtyard, past the crumpled and broken bodies of many of his students, to his family�s quarters. Inside were the bodies of his wife, son, daughter, as well as three of his finest Hunters. Scyrra lay on the floor near his wife, blood covering its blade. Evelyn still clutched Cyress, and had seemingly tried to use Scyrra and Cyress to defend herself, and had not succeeded, despite the inhuman blood on both of their blades. Her amulet had been ripped from her neck.
   
    Driven mad by grief, Vincent spent the three weeks following his family�s funeral sulking in his chambers, as well as training in a berserk rage. The sentient nature of Scyrra and Cyress responded sharply to Vincent�s emotions, and developed an even stronger bond with him. Finally, Vincent returned from his sulkings and resumed control over his land. His rule had changed slightly, he was unable to make as many decisions as he used to and eventually appointed one of the surviving advisors to govern the land. He devoted the rest of his time to training the few Hunters who had survived, but an increased brutality and rage was present in his fighting style. Eventually, Vincent dropped from the public eye entirely and could be found wandering the surrounding lands or training. Any enemy he encountered was swiftly and brutally slain, and he claimed to be hunting the murderer of his family. The church tried to recover Vincent, but failed miserably. Eventually, Vincent found the amulet of his wife a short distance from her window, and presumed that the beast had dropped it in its escape. This only added to his already extreme grief.
   
    Although the typical werewolf emerges every full moon, the next time Vincent transformed was in three months time, as the werewolf was still growing. He awoke in the forest once more, and immediately declared that the creature had attacked again. Returning to his estate, he did not find the expected carnage, but rather its usual peace. Insisting that he was attacked, Vincent tore through his castle, demanding he be told the truth. Disregardered as gibberish, the residents ignored it. Vincent�s closest friends advised him to take a few weeks vacation, to take some time off from the hunt, which combined with his sulking, had lasted half a year. Refusing to do so, he took Scyrra and Cyress as well as a few hundred gold coins. He set off into the wilderness, and was never found. Although he continually awakens with no memory of the previous night, he denies it constantly. As he slowly becomes more conscious during his transformations, he is starting to regain his memory of his most dreaded nights.
   
    The church sadly declared that Vincent de DarkFang had been slain hunting the creature that murdered his family, and that the creature was found lying beneath Vincent, impaled on Scyrra and Cyress. A lie told to ease the public fear of the great beast that massacred the DarkFang line and many accomplished Hunters. The DarkFang line of nobility was declared dead, and rule of his lands was passed to the Master Hunter in the area. Many members of the church, as well as close family friends, personally believes that Vincent still hunted the beast. But many also believe that he had flung himself off of the nearby mountains, driven insane by grief. Either way, Vincent de DarkFang is now known as another legend claimed by history. But amongst the taverns and streets of the land, rumors speak of a master hunter, gone rogue from the churches teachings who has slain many supernatural creatures, and even humans, over the past six years. And tales of a fearsome beast with a strength noted by the supernatural and mortal alike, fill the nightmares of many.