SIGNATURE ABILITY
Tenebris Infinitus
In circumstances where Tenebris cannot bring enough power to bear, he can attempt to combine his own soul essence with that of the grand demoness Mandra. This creates a state known as Tenebris Infinitus, during which Tenebris is able to tap into the fullest of potential and near-godlike power, but only for a moment and usually to accomplish a single feat. Because of the brief nature of this, it is sparingly used and Tenebris typically has at least the framework of a plan in advance. Additionally, because this also relies on Mandra being both willing and able to participate, it is not always possible. Tenebris Infinitus causes considerable fatigue which may become worse with greater distance between Tenebris and Mandra, who typically resides in the demon realm known as the Abyss. Though fairly, if Tenebris and Mandra are in physical proximity, it may also cause significantly less fatigue.
SKILLS
Academics - Competent Level
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Though his fields of interest are specialised and occasionally niche, Tenebris has great ability in the field of academics and knows his way around learning and the enrichment of his knowledge. He is intelligent and has a good memory, and he knows the mechanisms of learning; he knows how to do research and how to extrapolate from what information he may have at the time. This can also be applied to investigation and other practical uses of academic knowledge.
Aesthetics - Competent Level
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From art to fashion to general style, Tenebris is a renaissance man. Sometimes he chooses things that only he would be able to pull off, and sometimes he's a little too daring, but he almost always makes it work, in the end. He has some ability in the arts, but he truly prefers to appreciate the visions and stylings of others.
Alchemy - Competent Level
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Tenebris is well-versed in the brewing of potions and the creation of balms, as well as numerous other alchemical concoctions. Of course, all alchemical preparations must be done in advance and the desired products created; they cannot really be produced at will for the magical effects they bear. That is simply the nature of alchemy. From healing to banishing, alchemy can produce truly spectacular results if adequate time, preparation, and quality reagents are applied to the endeavour.
Athletics - Competent Level
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Tenebris is in peak physical shape and keeps himself in fighting fit condition at all times. His flexibility and limberness are both major priorities for him to maintain.
Charisma - Competent Level
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Tenebris has a certain way of relating to others that tends to show his natural charms well. Though he is certainly distinctive, and some might label him eccentric, people usually tend to like him. He is able to use his gifts to make it easier for him to relate to others, or even to manipulate them for his desired ends. He is, it is worth noting, especially good at intimidation, coming across as cool and stylish, and seduction.
As a trained War Witch, Tenebris is superlative in fighting and moves with a grace unlike any other. It's like a dance of doom, and he is able, armed or unarmed, to at least challenge virtually any foe.
Occultism - Competent Level
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Tenebris is well-versed and able in the study of occultism. If he doesn't know something, he at least typically will have an idea of where to look in order to find the information. Equipped with the Libris Omnis, his skill in occult studies truly is world-class.
ABILITIES
Power: Defense - Enhanced Level
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Tenebris typically operates with a number of defensive spells on him, and he can apply at least Basic protection to others with little effort or time. However, with time and sufficient effort, he can protect others almost as well as himself, defying even beings of notable power. He is also able to create protective structures, usually of a relatively small size, such as a dome large enough to comfortably protect a half-dozen people (or more, less comfortably), which as with any other defensive works could be more powerful with greater effort invested.
His defenses will protect easily against things like shrapnel and small projectiles, though they may be taxed by more powerful explosions or other tremendous force directed against them. If sufficient destructive capability meets his shields, they may shatter, which can cause backlash that might even stun Tenebris. Like anything else under his protection, Tenebris is typically safe against shrapnel, small projectiles, and so forth, but he must be mindful of those around him and not under his immediate protection.
Power: Divination - Enhanced Level
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Tenebris is very good at instinctive forecasting and augury, though he excels most when he has a focus, like tarot cards, runes to cast, or something similar. Along these lines, he is able to recognize qualities of auras and identify spellcraft and magical creatures, though magical shields may prevent him from doing so. He is also able to use mirrors, pendulums, and other such tools to scry across worldwide distances or even beyond dimensional barriers, with some preparation and care.
Power: Healing - Enhanced Level
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Through witchcraft, Tenebris is able to combat a wide and nearly limitless range of injuries and maladies. Even without potions or dressings for wounds, he may concentrate his power to heal himself or another. He is able to withstand what for most would be mortal injury, though he would likely be incapacitated by it until he was able to heal to a sufficient level. It takes more energy and focus to heal others, and the more serious the injury, the more effort it will take from Tenebris and the more exhausting it will be to perform.
His own healing enables him to keep going when others would be unable to continue, and it gives him far increased stamina beyond the average. It allows him to soak damage without slowing down significantly, and thanks to his great healing, glancing blows and minor injuries are negligible and disappear rapidly.
Tech: Libris Omnis - Enhanced Level
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Tenebris is able to summon a large tome, which remains hidden until then. He often wears it on his back in a number of his battle clothes, though it just as frequently remains hidden and beyond the grasp of any but Tenebris himself. Called the Libris Omnis, this book is able to replicate and convey the information from any book in his collection, which includes a vast range of grimoires, historical documents, and a number of other, less exotic volumes. The Libris Omnis, if targeted for damage, will simply desummon and vanish; it cannot be destroyed.
Power: Mentalism - Basic Level
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Tenebris possesses a modicum of empathy beyond the mundane, and he can catch surface thoughts that go unguarded. He can probe deeper into the minds of others, but he does not prefer to intrude into that territory. He is able to communicate through basic telepathy with others, though he tends to use this mostly when there is no other option; it can also be used to get past language barriers and communication problems.
Power: Momentum - Supreme Level
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Tenebris is able, through his magical gifts, to manipulate momentum and potential energy, which he most often uses as a defensive measure for himself. Through this, he can prevent dangerous force being brought against him or anyone he wishes to protect. With it, he is able to influence the immediate area around him and, to most who witness it, seemingly slow down time itself. What he's really doing, however, is controlling the flow of momentum and potential energy.
With this, he can stop bullets from hitting him, deplete the cutting force of a blade, and even significantly lessen the destructiveness of an explosion. He can easily survive falling from great height with style, and the pressure of the depths is only dangerous, not certain doom. The larger the area and the more potent the effect (and thus, typically, the greater the momentum and potential energy), the briefer and less powerful Tenebris's influence on it will be. Though he tends to maintain a field immediate to him that will protect him from projectiles and attacks, and can do this whether consciously maintaining it or not, influencing the world around him causes him to become laden with energy, which he typically uses for magical feats. Most energy generated by his control of momentum must be used fairly quickly, as it tends to become unstable and dangerous over a very short time.
It can also be directly used for the purpose of hitting harder, propelling oneself farther, going faster, lifting greater weight, and other similar acts. Tenebris can, for example, lift an average-sized vehicle and throw it at an opponent if using potential energy borrowed from affected things or people. He would be putting himself at more risk if he tried to collect and use enough energy to lift something the size and weight of a tank or a bus, or to punch through a reenforced metal vault door.
Power: Perception - Enhanced Level
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Tenebris is able, whether by using eyeliner for a design around his eyes, or by using a monocle he keeps on his person similar to his whip or tome, to perceive much in much greater degrees. He can see the flow of magical energy, the movement of even secretive beings or forces, and details such as a spell's associations and even flaws. He is also able to see through many illusions and can perceive the true forms of beings through this. He has named the monocle, and the technique, Lachrymarum.
Power: Telekinesis - Basic Level
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Tenebris is capable of using his mind to move objects, which tends to be limited to line-of-sight items and limited as well by the concentration he is capable of sparing for the act. Though he could potentially move a humanoid figure or a large animal, it would be the upper limit of his ability and require full focus and effort for that act. He most often uses telekinesis for basic manipulation of smaller items, and he tends to employ it defensively rather than offensively, or in a utilitarian way for pragmatic tasks.
Power: Time - Basic Level
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Tenebris essentially exists outside of the reach of time. He does not age and is not susceptible to time manipulation of his person. He is functionally immortal and ageless, beyond the touch of human frailty or weakness.
He is also capable of using basic time magic to "borrow time", which means that he can, with great concentration and dedication of power, turn time back for typically a few minutes at most. He also uses borrowing time as an endless wardrobe, able to wear any outfit he has ever worn simply by borrowing its moment. Changing his clothes in such a way is largely effortless, but borrowing time to turn back events takes significant effort since it can potentially undo major events and change the whole course of things.
Power: Transportation - Enhanced Level
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With focus and will, Tenebris is able to move himself and others hundreds of miles in essentially an instant. He can open portals and is capable of even transcending dimensions, traveling with relative ease from one world to another, or even one layer of reality to another. The longer the distance, typically the greater effort required and the more focus needed, as well as usually a spell of some kind. Some places require specific spellcasting, though if the place is regularly navigated, Tenebris may retain the specific incantation needed and find it easier.
Tenebris is additionally able to close and even seal other portals and gateways, and he can potentially interfere with the magical transport of others, depending on the level of complexity of the transportation and his own preparation.
Tech: Whip - Enhanced Level
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Tenebris possesses a rose-themed whip that was grown through advanced magics from a fragment of a similar whip of demonic origin. It can be hidden until summoned, which takes only a thought, and it moves in concert with the mental strategy of its wielder. It can move without physical assistance if necessary and essentially acts as a fighting partner alongside Tenebris in battle. The whip is virtually indestructible, though significant enough destructive power may damage it, even seriously.
Magic: Witchcraft - Enhanced Level
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In terms of narrative or plot, Tenebris's magical abilities are virtually endless, though in everyday usage, they tend to occupy the Enhanced level of ability. Trained comprehensively and possessing strong talent from the very beginning, Tenebris is able to accomplish most anything given time, preparation, and resources. A variety of abilities present themselves through witchcraft, including but not limited to enchanting, conjuration, transfiguration, evocation, and so forth.
ADVANTAGES
Tenebris is contracted with the grand demon Mandra. Through this contract, he can call upon her power at times of need, and he is privy to exclusive knowledge and information. It is through this, too, that he cannot permanently be killed; he will be resuscitated, over time, in Mandra's domain, located in the realm the demons call the Abyss. His soul, the essence of his being, accordingly also cannot be destroyed. He lives in Mandra's domain and keeps his library there, which he can call upon with the Libris Omnis.
So long as he maintains the contract, Tenebris bears Mandra's mark, which most anyone of any magical ability can perceive. This will tell them that he is under her protection, and any attack upon him is an attack upon her...a serious act indeed. Mandra is a grand demon, which sets her above an average demon, making her an iconic figure able to command support and magic that is formidable indeed. She is also a powerhouse when interacting in more mundane worlds, stronger and more agile, tougher, faster, and generally more able than any regular human.
Tenebris lives in the grand luxury of Mandra's domain, occupying what for her is a guest house, but what for most is a lavish chateau. There, he enjoys an expansive library, a luxurious bedroom, and a palatial bath. It is packed with objets d'art and even magical items, though most of them are more decorative or trophies than really pragmatic tools.
WEAKNESSES
Abominations and those allied with them will stop at nothing to try and destroy Tenebris and his own friends and allies. These horrific monstrosities, anathema to all reality that is not them, are things that Should Not Be, because they cannot be without destroying everything else. They are malefic through and through, horrifying to behold, and utterly foul, but they have also managed to create humanoid simulacrums and other deceptions in order to further their agenda of multiversal annihilation. Tenebris is one of their highest-priority targets, not only because he opposes them and is allied with their greatest foes, but also because he wields the whip derived from a demon who delivered them one of their greatest setbacks.
Tenebris's contract with the demoness Mandra can cast him in less favourable light, to some. Those who may be ignorant of the true nature of demons, or those who are enemies of demons, might prove resistant or hostile to Tenebris once they notice Mandra's mark or learn about the nature of his gifts. Demonic energy is easily noticed with Tenebris and his magic.
Abominations and those allied with them will almost certainly oppose or even attack Tenebris upon noticing his alliance with demonic power.
In a cosmic sense, Tenebris is distinctive to the point of being utterly unforgettable. Stealth is not a strong suit of his, and once he has been encountered, no-one who meets him is likely ever to forget him. He does not tend to pass entirely unnoticed anywhere he goes, without significant effort beforehand.
Mr. Agon is a being created by the Abominations who is, in part, an Abomination himself. He appears as unmemorable to most humans, unexceptional and with a face that is impossible for them to recall; this is because in reality, he has no face or any human features, and the effect of his revolting magics is to overwhelm the mundane senses. He is as sturdy as Tenebris, and he can change his shape to an alarming extent. For example, he can change his normal-looking humanoid hands into finger-blades, or even transform his body into a horrific insectoid mass. He is as excellent a fighter as Tenebris.
He is also able to summon forth other Abominations: he may call minor creatures, whom he calls Pit Servitors as an insult to the demons who oppose him, with relatively little effort. Larger Abominations take ritual preparations and time. Major Abominations take significant time and life energy, and simply the act of engaging in the ritual will alert the magically-sensitive, especially the demonic and demon-touched, as surely as a fire alarm.
Like all Abominations, Mr. Agon is in terms of energy completely anathema to reality around him and, if he stays anywhere for a length of time, it will start to become increasingly corrupted by him. He can only conceal this for a short time, and he usually keeps moving so as to avoid notice and give himself the element of surprise. In a way similar to Tenebris, if Agon is defeated or destroyed, he will regenerate within the realm the Abominations call their own and, in time, return to fight. Though he is virtually impossible to defeat permanently, with a powerful enough victory, he may be sealed away indefinitely. This has, however, yet to happen.
