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Character Ref. - Cormorant Tekta’al

This is Cormorant Tekta’al, the main character of the Ichor Wars. The Ichor War takes place between two warring nations, Tollan and Adria. Cormorant, or Cor, will be tested as few in history of either nation has, but will she be powerful enough to stop the advance of Adria, and their dreadful King Anarch?

Name:

Cormorant Tekta'al

Nickname(s):

The Azure Jaguar; Neon Blue; Grandmaster Tekta'al; the Merciless Jaguar; Cor

Age:

115

Sex:

Female

Sexual Preference:

Bisexual

Alliance:

Jaguar of the 7th Clade of the Tollan Military

Divinity:

Black/True Tezcatlipoca

Appearance:

Cormorant Tekta'al was born in the slums of Tollan, on the outskirts of the nation high atop one of the enormous mountains that make up one of the natural border lines between Tollan and Adria. Her home was a frigid place, forcing only the strongest to survive and killed those too weak to contribute to the clan. Cormorant was one of only a few children, and she was among the more physically durable, as such she was forced into the life of a hunter. She was trained to be a capable hunter, as good as any of the men on her team and nearly twice as fast she proved an asset. While others spent a majority of their free time playing, Cormorant was taught how to sharpen knives, skin animals, build traps, and spent long weekends in the jungles of the forest with her ‘pack,’ and that was the way she liked it. That was the way the tribe demanded it.

Her hair was a long point of contention. Both mother and father would often bicker about the best way to style her long obsidian black hair. Mother longed for length, at least past her shoulders, while father argued against that in favor of a more classical hunters style haircut. Cormorant, thinking herself smart, opted for neither. Instead, she grew her hair long and then forced bunches of hair into tight cords, it didn’t take long for her parents to notice the long dreads but neither said anything as the new hairdo could be worn down or up and reduce the risk that it might snag while on the hunt. Often, the thick cords from either side are wrapped around the bulk to form a ponytail that reaches down to the middle of her back with the dreadlocks themselves holding the ponytail tight.

Few aspects speak of strength as much as the eyes, the windows into a core of a human can sometimes be alight with power or dull and vacant. Cormorant’s eyes are nothing if not powerful. Eyes like blue-steel peer from over high cheek bones, a sharp nose and full lips. Few would find fault in the almost noble features, nor with the dignity and grace with which Cormorant carries herself. Even in her younger years, none would doubt the greatness Cormorant would, one day, achieve; nor, the power many whispered about to her parents which seemed to ebb and flow like some endless ocean of light behind the young woman’s bright blue eyes.

War paint holds a special place among both the Tollan Military and Cormorant’s own tribe. After learning of her Divinity, Cormorant had the colors of her lineage placed over her face, as if she were Lord of the Near and the Nigh. Over her eyes, Cormorant paints a black band, the top and bottom of this band are outlined with a deep gold that shimmers in the light. Both are a mixture of chemicals that almost give the makeup an internal sheen. Such that, during the darkest hours of the night, it is possible to notice Cormorant walking as the glowing gold and deep black causes the blue of her eyes to become all the more intense. Her lips are kept with a single line of black cutting vertically down the center and, occasionally, slightly further down her chin.

Cormorant wears what is typical for Jaguars during wartime. Her headdress is relatively small, compared to the headdress of other Jaguars. Cormorant would slip her headdress on like a tiara, tiny teeth would lock in the dreadlocks, from the top of the metal band extended several feather-like constructs which followed the curve of her hair for but left more than half the length of her ponytail bare. The feathers are each about a foot long, and range in colors from red to blue though the majority were blue. From the bottom of the headdress extended two ‘fangs’ which framed either side of Cormorants face. This was her status of power and signified her as the 7th Jaguar. The rest of her uniform likewise confirmed to the requirement of jaguars.

A black body suit stretches from the Azure Jaguar’s throat down to the bottom of her rib cage and from mid-forearm to mid-forearm. The black body suit reveals her midriff, a variation Cormorant demanded after a particularly hot day and which she has not since regretted. Over the body suit, she wears a vest which is also cut off at the midriff though slightly lower than the bodysuit beneath. The tactical vest, like the bodysuit, is black broken by random streaks of white – Scars, Cormorant calls them, as they mark repairs to the vest after engagements. The front of the vest is home to three pockets, crossing the woman’s breasts, and another two beneath each arm. Shoulder pads connect to the vest via thin cables both in front of and behind Cormorants shoulder, these pads connect to gauntlets though a thin layer of carbon fiber which covers the elbow joint.

When Cormorant was young, before her twelfth birthday, her mother and father her had their daughter taken along ad hunt and had her watch a jungle cat move. For hours a day, she would be subject to this for years, until she left her village at the age of twenty. This was to instill in the girl a singular method of movement. One she readily adopted. Cormorant’s movements became those of an apex predator, graceful and flowing like water and yet laced with a sense of attention and passive aggression. Her steps are whispers against the ground, and her movements are the wind. Her overpowering, almost hungry aura bleeds into her movements and simultaneously draws attention while alerting you to look away. For many, Cormorant walking into a room is as intimidating as any jungle cat.

Beneath the exoskeleton-like armor and bodysuit, Cormorant’s body rests like a tiger ready to pounce. She stands at a slightly-taller-than-average five feet ten inches, with a muscular, fit form hardened over decades of battle. Her modest bust is kept tight within the confines of her vest, preventing her breasts from being an issue in battle. Due to being among the first Clades deployed for any large-scale engagement, her body is riddled with scars which tell a tale of a warrior who has experienced more than their fair share of hardships. Most cross her exposed stomach, a feat she embellishes with pride. That is her challenge, a wordless challenge issued to every enemy on every battlefield.

Personality:

One of the first words anyone would come to recognize with the Azure Jaguar is the brutality she harbors within her always. Growing up within a tribe which forced her to face death every day while other kids of comparable ages where playing hop scotch. She quickly became desensitized to the taking of a life, be it animal or human, and with that desensitivity came a brutality which very few, even among the Jaguars, could equal and made her the prime candidate for the Jaguar of the 7th Clade. Though she never intends to offend, it almost comes as a given that those of weak wills will have their feelings crushed under her merciless heel.

In social spaces, this personality trait shines like a blunt, almost anti-social light. For her, pleasantries are useless, and some social conventions seem add to the length of time which she must deal with another. When approached by someone she doesn’t know well, Cormorant will share no more than a few words at a time and only for a certain number of responses before requesting them to leave her be. This resulted, only once, in a fight between her and a hot-headed newly anointed lieutenant; the fight ended with the lieutenant being hospital bound for several days and a stipend to Cormorant’s salary for a few months. Most who interact with her on a regular basis see a more patient Cormorant, though still not one any would wish to meddle with.

The second word anyone in Tollan would associate with Cormorant is a simple title. Grandmaster. At the age of twenty, when she left her tribe for the larger cities, a man from the military saw something within her, power, an unbelievable connection to Ichor that few could even conceive. He prophesied that she would be the individual who would succeed the Emperor should he fall. As such, that man began her down the road of unarmed combat, and had her apply into the military. Before she was accepted into any Clade, her ability in the art of unarmed combat allowed Cormorant to battle several armed opponents at once without so much as a hair on her head being ruffled. When she was made lieutenant of the 7th Clade, her teacher challenged Cormorant to a duel to the death. She accepted and, after a three-hour-long battle, she rose the victor, and was christened the Grandmaster.

In unarmed combat, Cormorant found a release for the pent-up energy and bestial urges that rallied just beneath her flesh. Eight hours of her day are spent continually training her skills, either through dummy-sparing, meditating, or contact-sparring with another Jaguar or several of her own underlings at once. She trains harder on days which wear thinner on her patience, many believe it a form of therapy for the Neon Blue. A release valve that Cormorant can use to release massive amount of anger on whatever dummy or ranking officer is unlucky enough to be spotted in the sparring ring. The result? A brutal, uncompromising, unorthodox fighting method which few enemies can predict and even fewer can adequately defend against.

There’s a tale often recited by lower-ranking officers to the few below them who would listen, it begins with Cormorant happening upon a bridge, a four-armed giant approached her and demanded a toll to cross his bridge and Cormorant, unwilling to pay, offered a duel with a year’s salary as the prize to which the giant agreed. The battle lasted four seconds and the bridge has been giant-free since. Though the tale may be a legend in the making, it contains a kernel of truth. There is no task Cormorant can’t overcome so long as she is capable of fighting. To date, none within the Tollan military have even come close to besting the Azure Jaguar in a round of fisticuffs and she knows this, she takes great pride in her abilities and none would dare attempt to rob her of that pride.

Cormorant is a prideful, blunt instrument of war kept barely restrained by her knowledge of a better life gained for her family. On the battlefield, though, Cormorant is set free. She is a whirlwind of doom, destroying any and everything that would dare oppose her empire. Allies know to give the Neon Blue a wide berth, offer long-rang aid with whatever means necessary.

Equipment:

Macuahuitl: Being a Jaguar, Cormorant is one of the few to be given a Macuahuitl within the whole of Tollan by the Emperor. Cormorant’s personal Macuahuitl is matte grey, as oppose to the traditional wood-like base, and the two obsidian edges interlock to form a single, long blade on each side of the paddle-shaped base. The ‘pummel’ of the wooden sword is a plain circle, coiled around which are three thick threads terminating in crimson feathers. Each of the flat sides are decorated with a glossy black depiction of a sun. When not in use, Cormorant keeps her four-foot long Macuahuitl strapped to her back.

S1-Ramjet: On both her left hip sit Cormorant S1-Ramjet. The Ramjet fires three bolts of superheated plasma carried along an electromagnetic “line” which fires from the center of the tri-barrel design on trigger-pull. The S1 is a ‘rapid fire’ handgun which measures twelve-inches in length with an eight-inch-long barrel. A semi-automatic firearm, the S1 can match the trigger pull shot for shot with no lag between trigger pull and plasma discharge. In order to make this possible, the S1 fires weaker shots than its sibling the S2.

S2-Ramjet: On both her right hip sit the sibling to Cormorant’s firearm, the S2-Ramjet. The Ramjet fires three bolts of super-heated plasma carried along an electromagnetic “line” which fires from the center of the tri-barrel design on trigger-pull. The S2 is a ‘heavy duty’ handgun which has the same measurements as its sister-series while being a bit bulkier. Like it’s sibling, the S2 is a semi-automatic firearm capable of answering a quick-trigger pull. However, due to the added firepower of the S2, the on-board heatsink requires a cooldown system. After 5 shots, the weapon must be allowed to cool. Cormorant, personal, allows a count of 5 between each trigger pull, so as to avoid the overly long cooldown process.

Abilities:

Unarmed combat Grandmaster: After besting her mentor and ascending as Jaguar of the 7th Clade, few people doubt Cormorant is worthy of the prodigious title. Should doubt begin to seed itself, all they need do is spar with the Azure Jaguar to figure out just how talented she is. Few have forced Cormorant to draw her firearms, none have forced her to unsheathe her Macuahuitl, even other Jaguar’s would rather not face against the Grandmaster in pure hand-to-hand combat. Hundreds of hours have gone into forming a style of fighting which lacks the grace with which the woman carries herself and opts for a more brutal beauty leading many to spread the word that her tribe was little more than actual jaguars. No matter which style she chooses, her technique is nearly flawless, even armed opponents have a hard time overcoming the strength and speed which the woman combines to effortlessly evade, redirect, or block an attack and then launch a counterattack, in one fluid motion.

Smoking Mirror: The style created by Cormorant. It’s a rabid, fast-paced style which is centered around rapid, powerful strikes. Cormorant is, currently, the only known user of this technique, as it relies heavily on one’s durability, speed, and physical strength which many trade off, to varying degrees, for boosts in other fields on battle. Those few who have seen the full breadth of this style often remark on its animality, it has a certain brutality which seems to lend itself to the animal kingdom and the showing of its strength I was the fundamental reason the Emperor saw to it Cormorant be made a Jaguar. Hooks, jabs, straights, elbows, knees, kicks, every part of Cormorant becomes a weapon capable of killing even heavily armored foes in a single strike.

Macuahuitl Master: Cormorant has learned to master the art of her Macuahuitl in combat, as all Jaguars are required. The number of opponents who have forced Cormorant to draw out her Macuahuitl can be counted on one hand and, where they alive to tell the tale, they would share the brutal truth that Cormorant’s strength, speed, and agility used in her unarmed combat creates a warrior whose swordplay can rival any great swordsman. She can quickly swing the blade, and is even capable of redirecting missed attacks with relative ease. Her lack of a shield is almost made up in the flat-side of the wooden sword, which she often uses as a shield instead of either of the rows of sharp obsidian that line its edge. Its use is rare, and her swordplay a raw, brutal style, but skill in unarmed combat makes her formidable.

Proficient Marksman: With either of two Ramjets strapped to her hips, Cormorant is a proficient marksman regardless of the yield of her weapon. All but the fastest foes would manage to outspeed her aim. He’s all but mastered the ability of leading her target to such a degree most begin to think she can almost see the future, though she has no such ability her knowledge of the human body, hard won through hundreds of battles, gifts her an intuition few others are truly capable of. And even with this, her maximum range only extends 200 meters, reducing that skill to a fraction of what it could be should she ever opt for a longer range rifle.

Masterful Ichor Control: Like all Jaguar’s, Cormorant has a level of control over Ichor that most could only dream of and which is all but unheard of in civilian circles and is what makes her skills in hand to hand combat more destructive. Cormorant’s control over Ichor is such that, with a whim, her Ichor can change the very space around her, applying a dangerously high pressure which can bring lesser warriors to their knees. When using her distinctive Smoking Mirror style of fighting, Cormorant’s Ichor trails behind her as wisps of bright blue smoke, earning her the nickname of Neon Blue. This same color seems to radiate from the Azure Jaguar during especially stressful times. It was her masterful control over Ichor that allowed her to attain the title she currently holds fast to.

Immense Strength: With an immense control of one’s Ichor, a person can manage tasks otherwise though impossible by ordinary means. Cormorant has dedicated hours into honing her Ichor, saturating every muscle fiber in the energy, empowering them beyond normal human limitations and strengthening them to withstand the stress of prolonged overexertion. The result is muscle fiber capable of dishing out, and defending against, unbelievably large amount of pressure. Each strike capable of piercing metal, strikes to the chest are likely to cause almost immediate death even with the added protection of armor. On the battlefield, it is rare to see the Azure Jaguar even consider taking a prisoner. Cormorant has become one of the most physically powerful Jaguars through the combination of masterful control of Ichor and an intense workout regimen, which she finds most useful in breaking down the muscle fibers and then enrich them with Ichor, but even under circumstances which would render Ichor a nonfactor, Cormorant would still be a devastatingly strong woman.

Enhanced Endurance: Cormorant lacks scars of any type and this ca be attributed to two factors, the first being her durability. Melee weapons have very little chance of cutting into the woman unless the wielder is well beyond her in terms of Ichor, those beneath her will find Cormorant’s skin to be unchanged no matter the amount of times they hack and slash at her as the Ichor poured into her muscles acts as a secondary layer of protection after her armor. Should injury come, the Neon Blue is more than capable of continuing to fight even through grievous injuries that would be fatal to most other humans. Ruptured organs or splintered bone does little to slow down her onslaught in a battlefield.

Enhanced Speed: Like all Jaguars, Cormorant is many times faster than an average human. Ichor lowers her reaction time down to the single-digit millisecond range, allowing her to react to opponents many times quicker than the speed of sound. Running, Cormorant is only capable of reaching supersonic speeds and only for very brief ‘sprints’, just enough to allow her to get closer to an opponent and out them within her effective range. Striking speed is another matter entirely. Entire muscle groups act in concert to allow her strikes each attain speeds well beyond the speed of sound and well into the hypersonic ranges, this speed is due to a ‘shortcut’ neuron composed almost entirely of Ichor which exists externally from her physical body. Using this ‘shortcut’, Cormorant can react to nearly anything.

Tactician & Strategist: Many of the Jaguars within Tollan are military experts, from a young age the song-and-dance of war was instilled in their head as an inscrutable truth of battle, that all battles must be thought out and planned so as to gain the most with the least amount of loss. Cormorant, growing up well beyond the militaristic hold the Empire sometimes gleams with, was never indoctrinated into this simple truth of war, as such strategies were never learned, manuals of war tactics never committed to memory. The Grandmaster jumps headlong into battle and does simply as she is told by the Emperor himself, an advancing whirlwind of destruction and carnage. This much more direct style of war can leave many at a disadvantage, the surprising nature of the lone Jaguar forgoing caution and protecting her nation is very rarely seen and never seen twice.

#OC #Original Character #Ichor War #Ichorverse #RP #Original #Character #Roleplay

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