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edgeoftheknifePlayer Information:
Name: JC
Age/18+?: Older than 18 :P
Contact: PM via DW is the most reliable
Other Characters Played: N/A
Most Recent AC Link: N/A
Character Information:
Name: Erskine Ravel
Canon: Skulduggery Pleasant (book series)
Canon Point: Post Last Stand of Dead Men (same as previous)
Age: 407, although he looks to be in his early to mid-thirties
Type of Character: Canon
Reference: Erskine Ravel | The Dead Men | The War
Setting Concepts:
(Please note I'm re-using my old Setting section because the Application FAQ says this section is exempt from needing to be updated. If I have that wrong please let me know and I'll fix it.)
The setting of the Skulduggery Pleasant series is Earth, modern day (albeit a couple of years behind), with the addition of magic and magical creatures. Most of the history and culture of modern day Earth is intact, including Britney Spears--for better or worse. Like many "urban fantasy" series the vast majority of the population in this world knows nothing of magic or the supernatural. Magic users, typically called sorcerers, are obliged to keep their existence a secret from normal people, known (somewhat derogatorily) as "mortals." Sorcerers have even managed to fight a war amongst themselves for over two centuries without mortals finding out. Magical/supernatural creatures such as vampires, werewolves and wraiths do exist, although it's rare to encounter anything except a vampire--and you really don't want to encounter a vampire.
Sorcerers fall into two broad categories, Elementals and Adepts. Elementals are able to command the four elements: earth, air, fire, and water, although certain of these elements are more useful than others. Adepts can have a much wider range of powers, such as energy throwing, bone breaking, necromancy, magical persuasion, etc, although once the Adept hits the Surge--the age, usually 18-20, at which a sorcerer's power locks in--they are committed to that line of magic. A very few sorcerers are considered magically ambidextrous, in that they can use both Elemental and Adept magics. For some, called "naturals," magic comes easy. They have a strong affinity for one type of magic and are capable of wielding a lot of power with very little training. For most sorcerers, however, magic must be practiced diligently to ever get beyond parlor tricks. The happy side effect of all this is that most sorcerers, excepting those with very little magic in them, age incredibly slowly. A 400 year old sorcerer might not appear to be older than mid-thirties.
All sorcerers have three names--a given name, a taken name, and a true name. Names must be protected, because any sorcerer with knowledge of your given name (or god forbid, your true name) can control you. The third name, the "taken" name, is taken to protect the given name. When the taken name is adopted it forms a magical shield around the given name, so knowledge of that name cannot be used against a person any longer. This is why sorcerers in this world have such oddball, sometimes outright silly names. True names are very hard to discover, even the one belonging to the person themselves. Knowledge of one's own name gives a person vast amounts of power.
The magical community worldwide is governed by local organizations called Sanctuaries. Most major powers such as the US, Japan, France, and Germany have their own Sanctuary, although Africa has only one for the whole continent (for no apparent reason). Three areas of the world--Ireland, Australia, and Africa--are known as Cradles of Magic. Magic is more powerful in these areas and they tend to wield more political power in the worldwide magical community as a result. Each Sanctuary is led by a group of three, consisting of two Elders and a Grand Mage. The Sanctuaries act as a sort of "magical police," punishing criminals, assisting sorcerers in need, and doing their utmost to keep knowledge of magic from mortals.
For roughly two hundred years, from the 18th to the early 20th centuries, a war was fought between sorcerers. Known most often simply as the War, this was a conflict between Mevolent, a very powerful Elemental who worshipped the Faceless Ones, and the Sanctuaries. The Faceless Ones were evil, colossally powerful beings who used to rule this world (we're talking honest-to-goodness, non-Euclidean Lovecraftian horrors that defy the laws of physics), before they were exiled to another dimension by the Ancients, the first users of magic. Worshippers of the Faceless Ones believed that if the beings were returned to the world they themselves would be spared from the destruction that would follow. Mevolent himself was particularly terrifying, as were his Three Generals: Lord Vile, Baron Vengeous, and Nefarian Serpine.
During the War an elite black ops unit was formed to fight against Mevolent. Known as the Dead Men for their penchant for taking on "impossible" or suicide missions, these seven Irishmen became something of a legend because they (almost) always came back alive. Taking into account that replacements were sometimes necessary, due to injuries or actual death, the members of the Dead Men were: Skulduggery Pleasant, Ghastly Bespoke, Dexter Vex, Saracen Rue, Erskine Ravel, Anton Shudder, Hopeless, and Larrikin. The Dead Men took orders from Eachan Meritorious, former Grand Mage of Ireland, and Corrival Deuce, a sorcerer they all greatly respected.
Unfortunately, the Irish Sanctuary has been beleaguered for the last few years with crises of increasing magnitude. Old enemies mysteriously escape from prison only to make their way back to Ireland to wreak havoc. Assassins crawl out of the woodwork. Even the Sanctuary itself, and the Elders, are vaporized by a magical weapon of mass destruction. In the wake of this destruction a new Grand Mage and two new Elders have to be chosen, lest the other Sanctuaries around the world try to swoop in and steal a Cradle of Magic for themselves. Corrival Deuce is nominated for Grand Mage, and Erskine and Skulduggery are nominated as Elders. Neither Erskine nor Skulduggery express any desire to lead. Through another series of crises (including mass possessions) Corrival Deuce winds up dead and Erskine is elected Grand Mage of Ireland. The situation he inherits is... not a pretty one, let's just say that.
Personality:
Because we see Erskine from two different points of view for several books in the series, it becomes necessary to reconcile the two personalities we see--one, a subtle manipulator (the man with golden eyes), and the other a charming, affable guy thrust into a position of leadership.
We don't know a great deal about the events of Ravel's life pre-canon, except the snippets we get of his adventures with the Dead Men and the fact that he's something of a playboy. Corrival Deuce says that he "likes to spend too much money" and it's said that he's left many a lady swooning over him throughout the centuries. He and Skulduggery describe themselves as "rogues." He frequently acted as the "face" for the Dead Men, and spent a good many years before the war as a gambler/grifter. He's presented as something of a ladies' man, and noticeably takes interest in Tanith Low (or is at least shown to take an interest in her, whether genuine or not). He's also acknowledged to have had a relationship with the American Zafira Kerias at one point. However, it is perhaps worth mentioning that the author has stated "there is no straight when you're 400 years old" and that most of Erskine's life at that point is a lie, a deliberately constructed facade.
The largest influence on him pre-canon was, of course, the war with Mevolent. The war itself lasted for just over two hundred years, meaning that Ravel would have spent nearly half of his four hundred years at war. He was good at it too, judging by the fact that the Dead Men were considered to be the best of the best, and are regarded as living legends. Violence is simply a fact of life to him, and he does not hesitate to use it when the situation calls for it. That said, he also spent the better part of a hundred years tagging along with Corrival Deuce on diplomatic missions around the world, meeting with members of other Sanctuaries and discussing policy. He's learned the fine art of politics from the best and can manipulate someone just as easily as punching them (although to be honest sometimes he'd rather just punch them anyway).
Right around 1858 Ravel was captured by Mevolent's forces and tortured for an indeterminate amount of time, probably a few days at least. Given how utterly frightening Mevolent and his generals are explained to be, and the sheer terror with which most characters regard them, being captured and tortured by this group has to have been true hell. He broke under the torture, telling Mevolent anything and everything he wanted to know, but the torture didn't stop. Ravel describes someone coming in to where he was being held, and thinking that at last his friends had come to save him, only to realize that it was the Torment--one of the Children of the Spider--that was rescuing him. It took him a full year under the care of the Children to recover from his ordeal, and it was during this time that his plans as the man with golden eyes began to take shape. Having been broken, seemingly abandoned (and replaced) by his friends, and witnessing the pathetic conditions in which his rescuers were forced to live, Erskine began to loathe the very idea that magical creatures and sorcerers had to hide from mortals. Rather than adopting Mevolent's idea of enslaving humanity, Ravel conceived of a world where sorcerers would govern and guide mortals out of their violent, destructive tendencies and into a better state of existence.
To this end Ravel has been working in the shadows for the last hundred years, slowly gathering followers and laying the groundwork for a worldwide revolution. As he met with mages around the world with Corrival he secretly left a trail of supporters for his vision. He managed to stay hidden for so long with the use of a crystal that erases memories, leaving his agents with no memory of him, only his instructions. As Grand Mage of Ireland for the last few years--thanks to his own schemes, of course--it became increasingly easy to guide events to his liking, aided by Madame Mist and the Children of the Spider, as well as the entire population of Roarhaven.
And yet, despite all of this work, he easily manages to keep his facade of being a charming, funny, somewhat respectable (?!) member of the magical community intact. He often acts like a bit of a child, especially around the other Dead Men, a trait that most of them share. They all possess razor sharp senses of humor, although as opposed to Skulduggery's insults and preening, Erskine's tends to run more toward the simple and self-deprecating. He does like to present himself as having an inflated ego, though he has no problem joking about being stupid or too dense to understand something and will deadpan admit when he has no idea what's going on. This doesn't change when he becomes Grand Mage. In fact, he makes a comment, while acting as an Elder and Grand Mage, about wanting to hit someone, as if violence is the solution he's most comfortable with (even though he's already proven to be a good leader by this point). He jokes about asserting his authority by demanding coffee instead of tea and tries momentarily, in the middle of an apparent crisis, to set Ghastly up with someone.
The funny thing is, even after his schemes are revealed and everyone knows he's a traitor, the charm and the humor don't disappear. Erskine is a genuinely friendly, pleasant person to be around... unless you happen to be on the wrong end of one of his plans. Even during crises he will joke, albeit in a more subdued fashion. He continues to try to be friendly with Dexter, Saracen and Skulduggery even after they learn of his betrayal. This is one of the reasons he's an incredibly effective leader--he doesn't lord himself over people (unless he's joking about it), and he takes the time to be friendly and gracious even with sorcerers he barely knows. He knows how to make fun of himself and he also knows when to take things seriously. Even after he and Skulduggery have come to the point where they consider themselves enemies, Ravel all but pleads with Skulduggery to give himself up, not to get himself killed by resisting. He wants his friends to survive and to be happy.
SPEAKING OF WHICH. Yes, he kills Ghastly in cold blood and orders the Black Cleaver to murder Anton Shudder. The Dead Men all consider themselves brothers, and Ravel murders two of them. He does so in service to his ideals, truly believing that their sacrifice will help him make the world a better place, but that doesn't mean he enjoys killing them. Quite the opposite, it breaks his heart to kill them. While Ravel is usually fairly level-headed about most things, the one time we really see him become enraged is when the Children of the Spider laugh at the corpses of his dead friends. Ravel flies off the handle and screams at them for it, threatens to kill them--his allies--for daring to dishonor the memory of his friends. Later when any of the others mention the murders Ravel turns his head, his ubiquitous smile slipping. He knows the gravity of his crime, and fully expects to pay for it. There's a special place in hell for traitors.
The thing is, the revolution was never just about him, and certainly never about him taking control of the world. His plans only included himself up through the successful shift of power from the mortal governments of the world to the magical community, and then he had always planned to give himself up and to pay for his crimes. What does he know about running a world, anyway?
But none of that matters anymore, because he isn't allowed to retire to a jail cell for the rest of his life, or be exiled, or even to die. No, Darquesse has much more in store for him than simple death. She curses Ravel to twenty-three hours a day of ceaseless agony. No sedative or painkiller will alleviate the agony, and if he starts to become inured to the pain, the intensity will only increase. By the canon point I have chosen he's been in this state of near-perpetual torment for a week and a half and has gotten to the point where he's begging his keepers to kill him. Mevolent's torture may have been more psychologically horrifying, but rest assured, two hundred and thirty hours of screaming agony will break anyone. He is broken.
As a result, Ravel is experiencing several of the symptoms of chronic pain, and will continue to do so even for a while after the pain finally stops. (Ending chronic pain does help reverse symptoms but it is not an immediate reversal.) His attention span is shortened and he is often forgetful. He experiences phantom pain and increased sensitivity to pain, and sometimes finds it difficult to make simple decisions for himself. People who suffer this kind of pain also experience higher levels of anxiety--particularly in situations where they fear the return of pain--and depression. It will take him a while to work through the after-effects of this new bout of torture, but being in another world might just be the best place to do it.
Appearance:
Erskine is described as "beautiful, in a manly sort of way" and "captivating." One character describes him as reminding her of "one of those old movie stars, all dashing good looks and easy charm," and he's said to have beautiful eyes. Ghastly, upon reflecting at the odd contrasts between the Elders, thinks to himself that Erskine would look more appropriate in a tuxedo. We don't get much more description of him other than the fact that he's pretty
His PB
Erskine speaks with an Irish accent.
Abilities:
Fighting
Even without his magic, Ravel can more than handle himself in a fight. Valkyrie describes the majority of the sorcerers she knows as battle-hardened guerilla fighters, which they've had to become thanks to fighting the war with Mevolent for over two hundred years without the mortals finding out. Ravel was also a member of the Dead Men, a black ops unit that took on the most dangerous assignments during the war. Fighting is second nature to him. Like Skulduggery and the rest of the Dead Men he prefers practical maneuvers over the flashier stuff, meaning he'll throw palm shots, elbow strikes, leg sweeps, and kick at kneecaps. He's proficient at hand-to-hand combat as well as with melee weapons (mostly swords) and firearms.
Being an Elemental sorcerer definitely has its advantages, however. Ravel mixes magic into his fighting style, meaning he's just as likely to snap a burst of air at someone or toss a fireball at them as outright strike them with his fist, or one will follow the other. The entire focus of this kind of combat is efficiency. Whatever it takes to subdue (or kill) the target quickly.
Magic
Ravel is an Elemental sorcerer, meaning his magic gives him control of air, fire, water and earth.
Air » Probably the most widely used and versatile element, he can "read" the air in the immediate vicinity to tell if someone is present, if someone is moving, how large they are, etc. He can form an air shield to keep himself dry in the rain, push someone with a blast of air, push himself with a blast of air to leap higher or slow his descent, and can use the air to levitate objects. There are other uses as well, simply depending on a sorcerers inventiveness and quick-thinking.
Fire » Snapping one's fingers causes a spark, which allows an Elemental to create a fireball in the hand that can then be thrown. Constant streams of fire are notably NOT a common usage of this power. A fireball can be held and manipulated, however, such as when Skulduggery refines a fireball down to a tiny, white-hot fleck (I'm assuming that this is not just Skulduggery being amazing, and that any good Elemental can do this, given that no one expresses surprise over this usage of the power).
Water » Moisture can be wicked away from the skin--instant drying after a shower--or sucked out of the atmosphere to be used. A good Elemental, such as Skulduggery and presumably Ravel, can use this power to walk on the surface of water, or can manipulate larger bodies of water.
Earth » The least used element, because to any Elemental who isn't Skulduggery this power is purely defensive and basically consists of turning oneself into a living statue for an indeterminate amount of time.
Inventory:
One prison jumpsuit
Soul Gem:
Same as last time, a yellow topaz-colored stone in the shape of a teardrop, worn as a pendant
Writing Samples:
Third Person:
(Again, this is my previous sample. Please let me know if I need to do a new one.)
Oatmeal or quiche. It shouldn't be this hard.
His stomach is growling. He might even be able to keep something down today, which would be a small miracle in and of itself.
The Midnight Hotel is busy, with Foreigners like himself and these kedan people coming and going at all hours. Ravel stands in the kitchen and lets them mill around him, all busy and all knowing exactly what they want to eat, more or less. It certainly isn't taking any of them as long to decide upon their breakfast as it's taking him. It shouldn't take this long to decide something so simple.
Oatmeal or quiche.
He steps aside, politely letting a young lady move past him. He's in the way. He's always in the way.
Don't panic, they don't know. They just think you're really weird. They don't know what you did.
He takes a deep breath and tries to focus on the task at hand. Breakfast. Food. There's no cell anymore to keep him alive, so it's this or more broth. At least retching up the broth isn't so bad.
He should probably start work soon, once the majority of the patrons move off into the city to start their days. Going to work, going to wherever these people go. It's quiet during the day. He likes it. He doesn't particularly enjoy cleaning, but beggars can't be choosers, isn't that the saying? He hadn't begged Anton for a job but he'd gotten one anyway, and a place to sleep and the comfort of a familiar shape in the dark when he can't sleep and all he can see is Darquesse and the memory of the pain flares up in his joints. Then there's music and mumbling that's meant to soothe him and he doesn't know why Anton doesn't just kill him. He doesn't deserve any of this.
He takes a step back, lets someone else brush past him. He still hasn't decided.
Ravel moves over to a table and takes a seat, oblivious to the strange looks he's getting from the others in the dining area. Maybe if he sits here for a while he'll be able to think clearly enough to make a decision. Maybe Anton will wander by and make the decision for him. That would probably be best.
And to think, I was Grand Mage of Ireland.
He blinks, as if coming out of a trance. Looks around and smiles at the inquiring faces pointed toward him. The man in the impeccable--borrowed--suit stands, brushes the front of the suit with one hand, and strides out of the kitchen with an air of purpose he's lacked for most of the morning. He's not going anywhere in particular, but avoiding that decision leaves him feeling lighter, almost happy.
He'll tell Anton he ate something. It'll be fine.
Network:
[Hello, Keeliai. Remember this face?
For those who don't, the man in the video is gorgeous--or at least, there's a gorgeous man buried somewhere under the dark circles and the eyes that can't quite seem to make contact with the camera. He looks like he hasn't slept in ages. He looks, despite being beautiful, a bit like shit.
There's a pause after the video feed starts. It's not quite long enough to be intensely awkward, but just long enough to give the viewer the sense that something isn't right. When he does speak it's with a pronounced Irish accent. It's also a bit hoarse, as if he's been talking or yelling or singing too much recently.]
Hi there, Keeliai. Good to see everything's still standing... more or less.
[He's not going to mention the loss of Anton's Hotel. His jaw clenches for a moment, and then he moves on.]
I've been told it's been a few months since I... left. I honestly don't know whether it feels like that or not. It feels... a bit like ancient history, if that makes any sense? I don't know. My memory isn't what it used to be. If we've talked before, or if we were friends before, and I don't remember, I'm sorry. I'm sorry... for a lot of things.
[He scrubs a hand over his face, looking like he's trying not to cry.]
I don't know if this counts as a third chance... I- I'm rambling. Raine didn't think it was a very good idea to come on here so soon. Maybe she was right. I just... I wanted to let people know I'm back, if there's anyone out there who remembers me fondly. And I wanted to apologize, on the greater likelihood that most of you don't.
And on the off-chance that anyone out there's seen a tall, skinny redhead with an Irish accent, please tell him I'm looking for him.
[And then he reaches out and the video feed cuts off.]
Game Origin:
CRAU Changes:
Additional Information - Canon OCs:
Character Premise:
Canon Relationships?:
