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History: There is surprisingly little known about Hannibal Darkholme. What is known is that he is the only son of the Xenologer Jonas Darkholme, a man of some renown in Xeno Village. Hannibal travelled to Metropolis in order to pursue his college career and it was there that he Serrah, his first love, and Kyren, his rival for her affection. Displaying a surprising aptitude for magic and the uncommon ability to manipulate Dark Energy, Hannibal joined Kyren's group of Tolarian defenders as the wielder of the Dark Stone.
During an ill-fated expedition, Hannibal fell prey to a Saint Beast, a soul-devouring creature that had seeped through the cracks in the spell sealing them within Tolaria. His exposure to the Beast reacted with the Dark Stone and, rather than having his soul devoured by the creature, he was instead transported to the realm of Akuma, the God of Darkness. In exchange for a life of servitude as Akuma's Disciple of Dark, Hannibal was given the chance to live again and take revenge on those who had wronged him. His first act as Akuma's Disciple was the destruction of Arato Vara, Kyren's home.
What happened in the years between the destruction of Arato Vara and his resurgence and ensuing conflict with the Raiders is unknown. During his time as an adversary of the group led by his old rival's son, Hannibal quickly became the organization's nemesis, particularly to their commander, Hardrive. Hannibal took delight in manipulating the Raiders towards his own ends and torturing Hardrive at every available opportunity, all in the name of the Game, a battled waged between himself and Cloak, the Disciple of Light. What was to be his crowning achievement - the corruption of Tolaria under the merciless rule of Void, the Dark Lord - ultimately resulted in his downfall, as at the height of the conflict he was killed in battle by none other than Hardrive Echidhog.
This proved not to be the end of his life, however, but merely a transition into a new state of existence. His spirit, the last vestiges of the Mobian he used to be, was recruited by Urza and recast in the form of his servant Lunis. Hannibal's soul, inseparably linked to the power his lord had bestowed upon him, was shattered and scattered across Tolaria with some pieces leaving the island entirely. It was in this state that the barbarian mage Xelas found him, reconstituting him in the form of a homunculus - but without the majority of his power, Hannibal was left with nothing but scattered memories and a mere fraction of his former power.
It was during this time that Hannibal met Morgan, a witch whose assistance was invaluable in returning him to power. She restored part of his memory - enough for him to begin planning his inevitable rise to power. Not long after this Xelas was defeated. With the source of his new body abruptly cut off, it began to decompose and Hannibal was force to flee to Morgan, who stabilized his condition - and by doing so, place Hannibal in her debt.
Hannibal spent some time recovering and eventually emerged from Morgan's care, his body horrifically burned and disfigured beyond recognition. Wrapping himself in bandages, Hannibal then began to track down the missing parts of his soul, discovering signs of a monstrous Lunari Summoner stalking the lands of Mobius. Knowing that if he was to ever destroy the Raiders he'd need allies, Hannibal sought him out, in the process discovering that the creature's plight was similar to his own. In order to secure the creature's assistance, Hannibal secured several parts of the undead Mobian's essence and used them to barter for his loyalty. And so it was that Lucien joined his cause.
Together they continued to search for Hannibal's soul and slowly began to gather more and more of it. It was discovered that his darkness had sought out people and objects connected to Hannibal's past. Piece by piece he reconstituted himself until, within striking distance of his ultimate goal, the Raiders discovered Lucien's presence when the Lunari was stealing a bundle of idols baring pieces of Hannibal's shattered soul. Upon hearing this, Hannibal began to formulate a plan by which he could manipulate the Raiders into doing the final, most difficult tasks of his mission themselves.
First he planted seeds of trust by helping them defeat the Crusaders - though naturally, he was not able to cultivate the level of trust he desired simply because of the organization's paranoid nature. Then he forced them into searching for Kilamo and Nakamaro, unknowing hosts to aspects of his soul. Upon reclaiming them, he unfortunately revealed himself to be a threat, particularly when he located a piece of his soul in Jenet Darklowe - a surprise as much to him as to the Raiders. Finally, in an attempt to provoke them into helping fulfill a deal he had made with Morgan, he inadvertently offended the witch and she revealed his whereabouts to them. The ensuing battle in the tower he had constructed as a base was fierce and brutal, but in the end he was able to use an alchemical machine to become whole once more.
In those moments, 'Jonas' ceased to be and Hannibal was once more complete.
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