The Man in Black
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Overcome your obstacles, grasp your dream." |
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— Himself |
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Born of a Lunarian man and an earthly woman, Golbez was taken at a young age to be raised amongst his father's people as a capable warrior, as well as a powerful sorcerer and a master of black magic. Secretly conditioned from a young age, he was manipulated and controlled by the Lunarian blood-traitor Zemus in a bid to dominate all life in the world.
A group of Warriors of Light arose to defeat Zemus, and Golbez was freed of the man's malicious control, joining forces with the Warriors of Light. He returned to his father's people for a time, focusing on recovering from his mental trauma. Having since left the Lunarian moon, he now travels the worlds on his own.
Personality
At the core of Golbez's psyche is a drive to do good, to make the world better. This is partly altruistic; having seen the heart of darkness, he seeks to live a better life and sincerely wishes to see the people of the worlds happier, treated better, and given more opportunities to thrive. Even so, as a result of his Lunarian upbringing, he has always seen himself as apart from humanity. Having seen human failings, he also tends to see humanity as needing occasional saving from itself and is quick to dismiss foolishness, thinking he knows better than others, particularly anyone who seems to be guilty of shortsightedness or small-mindedness. There is an arrogance to this, but it is born of a logical, if biased perspective. It is not mere ego which drives him, but a sincere belief that the world must be made better and that he can be an instrument of that.
In terms of classic alignment, Golbez might be termed "Neutral Good." He holds some regard for the law and respects the authority of governments to a degree, so long as they do not abuse it, but he is willing to step outside legal or social boundaries when called to. Golbez also adheres to a strict personal code of honor. He stands up for the weak and will never cause true harm to an innocent. He only kills when he absolutely must, and he never spills innocent blood. He avoids excessive force and would sooner let harm come to himself before he would endanger the undeserving. For those who he has judged as guilty, he will treat them with exactly the same regard they have shown for others: he will do no more harm to them than they do to others. An eye for an eye, but no more. A tooth for a tooth, but never beyond.
His general mentality is one of focused resolve, a belief that the world can be better and the best traits of mankind will be brought forward if the corrupt are kept in check and the powerful held to account. He feels he must atone for the failings of his past, and he may occasionally indulge in a bit of brooding. Golbez has his morose periods, often brought on by old regrets, but in his travels he has come to see the value of companions and life's simpler pleasures. Sometimes, balancing the scales and doing good may be about making connections, exploring opportunities, and focusing on personal stakes and even enjoyment rather than great deeds or grand campaigns.
Background
Born of a Dragon's Womb
The child first named Theodor Harvey was not, in fact, born of a dragon's womb; his mother Cecilia was quite human. His father, on the other hand, was a Lunarian Paladin named Kluya. From a young age, the child was gifted with magic, yet he could not cast "white" or restorative magics. When corrupt humans betrayed and murdered his parents, the child was dismayed that he was unable to heal them. Kinder humans took in Theodor and his younger brother, Cecil, but Golbez's youth and grief made him vulnerable to manipulation by a malicious Lunarian sorcerer, Zemus, who spoke to him telepathically and entered his dreams. Zemus told the child that he was not human at all but a monster, born of a dragon, and placed malign influences upon the boy until until he fled human society. Zemus gave the child the Lunarian name Golbez and guided him into becoming a sorcerer in his own right, teaching him Lunarian ways but also conditioning him to control his thoughts.
Borne Unto the Stars
When Golbez came of age, he used his magical talents and what Zemus had taught him, and he raised an army of monsters and fiends. By now fully in the evil sorcerer's thrall, Golbez sought to gather magical power and styled himself a conqueror, though in truth all the power he amassed was in service of restoring Zemus, who had long ago been sealed away by his fellow Lunarians, to physical form. Unexpectedly, Kluya's elder brother, Fusoya, and Golbez's nearly forgotten younger brother came into his life. Cecil sought to defeat Golbez, not realizing their connection, but the potent sage Fusoya shattered Zemus' control over Golbez and reunited the brothers in shared purpose: they would not conquer the world, but instead save it. They raised an ancient Lunarian vessel, The Lunar Whale, from where it lay hidden beneath the sea, and they traveled to the Lunarian moon.
Dreamtide Oaths Resworn
Golbez and Fusoya fought alongside Cecil and his allies, battling their way through an ancient labyrinth and confronting Zemus. Cecil, a Paladin like Kluya, was able to turn the tide and defeat Zemus. Golbez and his brother reconciled, and Cecil and his friends returned to their world to lead their homelands in rebuilding what had been damaged and setting on a path to a better future. Golbez returned to the Lunarian moon with Fusoya, who helped his nephew recover from Zemus' abuses and helped him learn the ways of the Lunarian people. Years passed, and Golbez made peace with his past. Once again boarding The Lunar Whale, he left the Lunarian moon, seeking to see more of the worlds, to ensure no one else must endure harms such as Zemus had inflicted, and to build a life of his own.
SKILLS
Alchemy - Competent Level
While Golbez is not a master alchemist, he is highly capable in this area. This allows him to brew his own potions, remedies, and other useful preparations.
Animal Ken - Competent Level
Golbez is experienced in the care of various creatures, dating back to his days of heading an army of monsters. He has no power of summoning or animal empathy, but given time he can develop strong bonds with various creatures and may be able to call upon them for aid.
Athletics - Expert Level
As a trained and battle-hardened warrior, Golbez keeps in peak physical condition. He has excellent physical reflexes, stamina, hand-eye coordination, and general physical ability.
Combat - Expert Level
While primarily a wizard by training, Golbez has not neglected his physical combat skills. He has trained as a warrior extensively, even mastering the arms and armor of a Dark Knight, especially the dark blade.
Lore - Expert Level
Trained by the Lunarians, Golbez is a loremaster of expert ability. He may not have intricate knowledge of every topic, but is is broadly versed in many things and has a highly disciplined, capacious mind. In addition to knowledge of Lunarian and mystic lore, he has studied the balance of the elements, especially as they relate to magic.
Perception - Expert Level
A vigilant and attentive person, Golbez is quite adept at awareness and keeping track of his surroundings.
Social Skills - Competent Level
While not the world's most social creature, Golbez has quite a strong presence and is generally capable when it comes to personal expression, persuasion, understanding others, or even the arts of politics and subterfuge.
Spellcasting - Expert Level
While trained as a warrior, Golbez's primary focus is on sorcery. He is an expert at what might be termed black magic: generally, elemental and combat-oriented magic. When it comes to occult study and knowledge, very few surpass him.
Tactics - Competent Level
While not a foremost authority, Golbez has a reliable knowledge of tactics, warfare, and related matters. While he dearly hopes his days of commanding armies are over forever, he still benefits from that experience.
Technology - Competent Level
Golbez has a fairly extensive knowledge of technology, especially technology that interfaces with magic, such as Lunarian technology.
Vehicles - Competent Level
Golbez knows how to operate various vehicles, particularly those based on Lunarian technology, and would have little trouble adapting to less sophisticated devices.
Willpower - Expert Level
Since breaking free of Zemus' mental control, Golbez has rebuilt his will from the ground up, honing his mental discipline to new heights.
ABILITIES
Magic: Black Magic - Supreme Level
As a masterful sorcerer specializing in black magic, Golbez is capable of casting a wide array of spells and lesser magical effects. He ranks amongst the most powerful wielders of elemental magics, particularly specializing in fire, ice, and lightning. Even famously difficult black magic spells such as Flare or Meteor come easily to him. Subtler magics that poison or infect a target, send them to sleep, or slow or stop them within a temporary time bubble offer less dramatic alternatives.
Golbez is also able to expertly perform magics of transformation, such as changing a target to an animal shape or to stone. He is skilled at breaking such enchantments or transformations as well, and he can even cast spells that directly affect life or magic; he is most reluctant to use magics such as Doom, which cause death, but he is far more willing to use effects such as Drain or Osmose to more subtly siphon life or magical energy from a target. Some spells involve manipulating the elements in much more complex ways. An example of this is Warp, which allows him to teleport himself and his companions to familiar locations.
Lunarian Physiology
Aside from being in excellent physical condition, Golbez's Lunarian genetic heritage grants him certain advantages. He is immune to sickness and is much more long-lived than a human. In many ways, Lunarians are more like elves than they are like humans, and Golbez favors his Lunarian half. Lunarians are also noted for their mental powers, which are detailed in separate entries.
Golbez also heals quickly and extensively, so much so that Golbez could theoretically (given time) recover from even apparent total physical obliteration. The use of appropriate magic or technology could speed this process, else it could take quite a long time. Even if Golbez's body is destroyed, his mind and spirit may remain intact. He is extremely weak in this condition, perhaps able to teleport once or mentally call for help, but he will otherwise be rendered helpless. Basically, if he is killed he remains in spirit form and can control any part of his body that still remains in some kind of working condition. He must rely on natural healing or exterior aid to restore his body, however.
Innate: Magical Resistance - Supreme Level
Golbez has a high amount of resistance to most offensive magic, especially elemental and black magic. Basic-level black spells (Fire, Blizzard, Thunder, etc.) do him no harm, and he can shrug off even Enhanced-level spells (Fira, Blizzara, Thundara, etc.). The strongest black magic (Firaga, Blizaga, Thundaga, Flare, etc.) may have some impact, but it has much less effect on him than it would on others.
Beyond merely resisting damage, Golbez has attained effective immunity from certain forms of influence and magical effect. He is supremely resistant to any power or effect that would attempt to compromise his free will or control his mind or emotions, as well as to magics that would transform his body against his will or inflict "death magic" on him, such as Doom.
Magic: Pressure - Enhanced Level
By exerting his will, Golbez can directly inflict paralysis on targets without the need to actively cast a spell or channel mana. This effect is partly psychokinetic and partly empathic compulsion based on his formidable personal presence. It can be disrupted via standard recovery means, such as the Esuna spell from certain common white magic traditions.
Magic: Sorcery - Basic Level
Golbez has a strong level of magical power as a wizard, but he can also command some lesser magics. These abilities would are not combat based, more use of rituals or simple "cantrip" level effects one would expect from an accomplished sorcerer: simple illusions, such as conjured images or other "special effects" and the like; performing ritual spells or creating potions or other alchemical agents as those noted in his equipment; and generally performing such magic as any wizard might be expected to do.
Magic: Telepathy - Enhanced Level
Golbez is able to project his thoughts across great distances to communicate with others. Once he has created a link with someone, he can easily contact them mentally from a great distance. He can read surface thoughts from, exert influence over, or even overtly control unshielded minds; however, he most readily uses this to communicate with others.
ADVANTAGES
Arms and Armor
Golbez's basic equipment is of high quality, oriented to physical defense as Golbez relies more on his own abilities to deal with magic. He also often wears a Lunarian circlet, which augments the wearer's willpower, enhancing his already considerable resistance to mind-affecting magic. Finally, he carries a dark blade of fine make.
Equipment
Golbez keeps stocked up with a ready supply of potions for healing, restoration, and recovery, as well as other concoctions that one could obtain from any decent alchemist.
The Lunar Whale
- Main article: The Lunar Whale
Since departing the Lunarian moon, Golbez had need of a vessel. He was given use of the technomagical starship known as The Lunar Whale, a ship capable of both high-speed atmospheric and interstellar flight. It is extremely durable, though it carries little in the way of armament, and it is capable of sustaining its crew indefinitely with living quarters and other amenities.
WEAKNESSES
Code of Honor
Golbez adheres to a strict personal code of honor. He stands up for the weak and will never cause true harm to an innocent. He only kills when he absolutely must, and he never spills innocent blood. He avoids excessive force and would sooner let harm come to himself before he would endanger the undeserving. For those who he has judged as guilty, he will treat them with exactly the same regard they have shown for others. He will do no more harm to them than they do to others: an eye for an eye, but no more; a tooth for a tooth, but never beyond.
Guarded Heart
Golbez is hesitant to trust others and does not form attachments easily. He can engage with others readily enough, but he is challenged to form meaningful, lasting bonds to others. Those he does become close to are given great dedication, protection, and even a measure of loyalty.
Holy Magic
Golbez is more strongly affected by offensive white magic, particularly divine or "holy" spells. Much even the strongest black magic has only limited effect on him, divine offensive magic tends to have an especially strong effect on him.
