Forging a Path Forward

Darin is a tall, broad, energetic young man with a toned, muscular build, emerald green eyes, and spiky blue hair. More often than not, his traditional attire consists of a tight, sleeveless black shirt with a high neckline under a long, pale, sky blue, sleeveless coat that bears goldenrod trim and some tanned, brick red leather padding, khaki slacks, heavy, shin-high boots, and deef forest green dyed leather bracers around his forearms. Across the back of the coat is an emblem of his own design— a smithing hammer whose head is a comet with its tail arcing in a circle around the border of the emblem. He bears a long, jagged scar across his back that starts where his right shoulder meets his neck and continues down to his left hip.

age:	24	gender:	male (he/him)
height:	6'3" / 190.5 cm	eye color:	emerald green
weight:	164 lbs / 74.5 kg	hair color:	navy blue

Darin is boisterous and loud, bordering on arrogant and cocky. Hot-blooded is the name of the game with him. He speaks with energy and conviction and tends to have an optimistic outlook on matters provided they don't concern him. When focus is directed towards himself, he's often cynical and sardonic, oftentimes leaning into self-deprecating humor. In conversation, he's honest to the the point of being tone deaf and blunt and can often say the wrong thing at the wrong time. He is very animated in his gestures and expressions. He becomes very high energy when somethiing catches his attention and tends to ignore personal space.

—– scent: Metal shavings and the ocean with a hint of smokey sandlewood. Warm yet refreshing but industrious.

—– voice: A hearty, animated baritone with considerable octave range. Inspirations: Kyle Hebert and Billy Kametz

—– body language: Animated, with lots of large gestures.

Eclectic. Darin abhors dressing up because clothes with sleeves feel restraining. But that does not mean he can't be convinced. He'll wear mostly anything if given a good enough reason or if he finds it amusing. Tee shirts, tank tops, and board shorts are his go to relaxation choices regardless of weather unless it's truly freezing but he has been known to bust out the occasional sweater or turtle neck. Corralling him into a suit or a tuxedo is going to be like giving a cat a bath so be forewarned. He also suffers from Eternal Bachelor Syndrome in the sense that he very likely only has a few sparse sets of clothes that he will ruin or wear until threadbare. His appearance has never been high priority despite the fact that it probably should be.

Darin is, technically, an orphan. His mother, Seren Altway, sadly died when giving birth to him and his twin brother, Dromas. His father, Dracer Altway, lost his life in an attack that also claimed the life Dromas when he and Darin were children. Darin survived that fateful night by pretending to be dead under the corpse of his father.

In Darin's home kingdom of Alvale, it is said that people with uniquely colored hair like his are descended from demons and monsters. Having survived the brutal attack that left him an orphan, the people of his hometown of Kenmore not only had no idea what to do with him but were also shocked and appalled that he survived at all. Thus, he began to be known as "the Cursed Child" among the adults in town. Sentiments that would easily find their way to Darin's ears as children love to parrot the things their parents say.

For a little over a year, Darin was bounced from home to home as most did not wish to care for him out of fear that a terrible fate would befall their own household. Fortunately, a kind smith and old friend of his father, Acteon, took him in. It was under Acteon's tutelage that Darin learned how to be a blacksmith and it was under the guidance of Isaac Kessler, Captain of the Royal Guard, that he learned how to fight. Since then, Darin has grown up putting his considerable talents to work in the forge, hiding his true strength and abilities so that he could live peacefully.

But, as is too often the case, that peace would not last.

Darin's quest began the evening that soldiers from the capital of Arclight descended upon Darin and Acteon's home in Kenmore. It was then that Darin was placed under arrest for the crime of assassinating a noble ambassador from a neighboring country. Not only was Darin's distate for nobility well-known, but the culprit was described as having the same build as Darin and, most damning, spiky, blue hair. Shocked, Darin was led away from his home, fully expecting to be thrown in a dungeon or executed for a crime he didn't commit.

Acteon raced to his adopted son's rescue and led an attack that would see Darin freed. In their last moments together, he bequeathed to Darin a masterwork dao that had been intended for him and told him to run. To run and clear his name so that he could be exonerated and live the life he'd always dreamed of living.

Darin, now on the lam, began hunting for leads on this mysterious, blue-haired stranger. He traveled the Alvale for weeks until a lead finally pointed him to one of the western cities of Eruyeka where he believed the true culprit could be found. To his shock, the entire city was bereft of people. The entirety of the population was merely gone. Darin, alongside his traveling companion Iris, began to investigate, only to find that the source of the mass disappearance and the culprit Darin had been chasing were one in the same. In dramatic fashion, the culprit revealed himself to be Dromas, Darin's brother seemingly restored from the dead. Brandishing powers that dwarfed even Darin's considerable might, Dromas beat back Darin and revealed the truth of their powers. That they are two halves of one whole: reincarnations of the Archfiend Lord Diomuhr and the prophesied destroyer of their world. To hammer his point home, Diomuhr wiped the remains of Eruyeka off of the map— using a form of magic never before seen, the buildings of the city were transmogrified into a sinister spire that Dromas declared to be his official seat of power. There, he would watch as Darin struggled in vain until he finally accepted their shared destiny.

Wracked by the weight of this revelation, Darin has to come to terms with what he was born as, what he was meant to be, and what he desires, ultimately, for himself, his journey of perspective and self-actualization begins in earnest.

Darin is the very model of a hot-blooded individual. He's loud, brash, passionate, and tends to speak in absolutes and optimism. He's quick to fight, quicker to defend, loves to challenge and be challenged, but mostly just wants to do the right thing. He is naturally drawn to creative and excitable people and tends to push back on authoritative figures. Darin has a way of doing things and it's usually his own, against the beaten path.

That is not to say he is not insightful as well. His antics usually overshadow a keen eye for detail as he's spent his life watching people and learning how to act in a way that would ensure his survival.

This boisterous, borderline arrogant personality is the face he shows publicly. It is a mask to hide the fact that he is deeply insecure and lacks self-worth. Despite his inherent altruism, Darin does not believe he, himself, has any good or noteworthy qualities beyond his ability as a master blacksmith. He dislikes his powers due to the nature of their origin and what it means for him, his world, and potentially any other world he might find himself on. If someone calls him 'heroic' he will adamantly refuse the compliment, believing that the good he does shouldn't be celebrated. That kindness should be the rule and not the exception. Most importantly, he will attempt to resist people growing too close to him out of fear. Fear of hurting them or, worse, disappointing them should he eventually succumb to his prophesied fate. In this manner, he can prove to be more reserved than one would expect him to be.

darin facts
birthday:	june 10th
blood type:	AB
sexuality:	straight
profession:	backsmith
hobbies:	fishing, mapmaking, sketching, woodworking
fav. color:	blue
fav. food:	fish stew
least fav.:	anything spicy
fav. season:	autumn
pride point:	his physique
fatal flaw:	self-doubt/insecure
fears:	his power, his ultimate destiny
goals:	live a normal life
dream:	become a hero

Regardless, he is fiercely loyal to friends who manage to get through to him and the self-imposed barrier he has erected. He's prone to reckless acts of courage and self-sacrifice to help them.

super strength & athleticism

Because he is the bearer of half of Diomuhr's soul, his body is overflowing with strength and vitality. He's inhumanly strong and fast, though using his strength has a drawback. Specifically, because Darin has never trained his powers, any significant use of his strength recoils badly. The more power he puts into strikes, the worse the damage to his own body becomes. He is unaware of his limitations but posits that a full-powered punch would likely blow his arm to pieces.

stamina

Being in possession of half of a god's soul comes with the perks of overwhelming vitality. This translates to an overabundance of stamina where Darin can (and often does) work himself for incredible lengths of time without stopping to rest.

accelerated healing & resilience

Coupled with his strength and speed, Darin is also incredibly sturdy and resilient. Due to the power of his soul, he has an overabundance of stamina and can immediately heal from light injuries. The cost of this is directly rooted to his metabolism. The worse he's injured, the more it drains his stamina to heal which, in turn, means he must consume more calories to get back up to speed. This also means that Darin is incapable of getting drunk because he metabolizes alcohol too quickly. He also cannot eat spicy foods as his taste buds don't go numb.

transmutation magic (unknown)

Darin is unaware of this but he possesses “creation” magic that allows him to transmute matter, essentially molding it into new forms. It requires a deep understanding of the material components, however and these powers won't manifest until some considerable training in understanding the nature of his powers takes place.

archfiend transformation

When Darin's emotions run rampant and he gives in to Diomuhr's aggressive will, he loses himself. The result is a terrifying, hulking monstosity- a towering behemoth with Darin's features and chitinous, exoskeleton like armor with no logic of its own. If he becomes this, he must be stopped at all cost, lest he become the one thing he fears the most in the world. Should he master his emotions though, this form would reflect that and become something inherently new.

—– escordvi

diomuhr

Lord of the Verunta, a race of beings dubbed 'Archfiends' by Church Doctrine. Verunta are humanoid in appearance and come in all shapes and sizes. Their bodies are pockmarked with chitinous plating and spines, giving the appearance of a segmented carapace or armor. Most of them have horns of some size, the more powerful of the Verunta having beetle-like crests and laurels. Diomuhr is the leader of this race, a proud, passionate warrior who ruled through strength. Despite his destructive power, Diomuhr strove only to lead his people fairly. During the War of Creation, he fought fiercely against the Celestial Race, angels who sought to subjugate the Verunta. Diomuhr, believing fiercely in the power of wil and chouce over divine providence, refused to recognize that an all-powerful being was responsible for the fates of all that lived. In a bid to help guide Humanity against the increasing power of the Celestials, Diomuhr chose to reincarnate on Anmaral, the human realm, wiith the intent of swaying the people of the fledgling race to make choices for themselves rather than rely on the hand of an unseen "God." Sadly, one human alone could not handle the power of a Verunta Lord. The process split his soul in half, with each half being sealed inside the body of twin boys. Darin is the bearer of one of these halves, and while Diomihr's consciousness is present, Darin cannot hear him due to his reluctance to accept who and what he is and is capable of.

dromas altway

Darin's twin brother. They have identical body types and build, with the only difference between them is the fact that Dromas has shoulder length, wild, forest green hair and cerulean eyes. He bears a scar that is identical to the one on Darin's back, except his starts at his left shoulder and cuts diagonally across his chest and abdomen to his right hip. Murdered as a child in an attack against their home, Dromas' soul was retrieved by the Verunta and brought to their realm where he would be given a new body. Now, he has returned to Anmaral as an adult with the intent of bringing about a fated prophecy to end the world. A prophecy that he needs Darin's help if he is to succeed.

acteon belsaid

Darin's adopted father, mentor, and Forgemaster of Belsaid's Blacksmith in the town of Kenmore. A stout, loud, boisterous man, he took Darin in a couple of years after he had been orphaned. Once upon a time, he worked alongside Darin's father, Dracer Altway, as weaponsmaster to his mercenary band. After Dracer diisbanded the group, Acteon settled in Kenmore with his longtime friend and opened his own forge. After Dracer and Dromas has been murdered, Acteon did his best to keep tabs on young Darin, believing that he wouldn't be able to raise the boy in a way that would satisfy his respect for Dracer. However, the lack of care that Darin faced as a child due to his appearance spurred him into action. He took the young boy in and mentored him when Darin began to show an interest and talent for smithing. Since then, he's treated Darin as his own child, though he tends to introduce Darin as his protegé rather than his son out of respect for both Darin and Dracer. He sponsored Darin's rise through the Arclight Smithing Guild from Apprentice all the way to Master, and worked tirelessly to see that his needs were met. Darin owes everything he has to Acteon and has been awaitng the opportunity to one day introduce him as his father.

isaac kessler

Darin's master and instructor in martial combat. Like Acteon, Kessler served as Dracer's righthand man and second-in-command in his band of mercenaries. After Dracer disbanded the group and settled down, Kessler made for the Alvalean capital of Arclight where he enlisted in the military. Due to his service with Dracer and his already impressive skillset, he quickly rose through the ranks. Now, as Captain of the Royal Guard, he sees to the development and training of the kingdom's knights. As a favor to Acteon, he trained Darin in swordplay and combat in private, as both men believed that Darin's power was something to be harnesed and lauded than feared and suppressed. A giant of of a man, Kessler keeps his sandy blond hair trimmed in a neat crewcut. He is clean shaven with bushy eyebrows and piercing, icy blue eyes. His trademark is his stoic expression and his no-nonsense manner of speaking. However, those who are close to him know that Kessler reserves his smiles for those he is comfortable with, none moreso than his precious wife and young daughter.

Iris desalvo

Duchess and heiress to the DeSalvo Family, a proud line of nobles in the kingdom of Alvale. Iris left home feeling stifled by the expectations of her family and the upper castes of society with whom she vehemently disagrees with. Wanting to see more of the kingdom and, by extension, the world, Iris ran away from her house and took on the guise of a "mysterious fortuneteller." She met Darin when she attempted a "cold read" of him, leading to Darin revealing more about his powers than he intended. Since then, Iris has followed Darin closely as a traveling companion, determined to unravel the mystery of his powers and destiny. She is a fiercely competent mage and has trained since childhood in martial arts, choosing to combine the two schools using specially crafted gauntlets that allow her to channel her magic into her strikes. Iris is incredibly insightful and intelligent though she lacks some of the street smarts and peole skills that Darin often employs due to her upbringing in the DeSalvo Manor.

—– crew: hand and hearth

—– armada: corsairs

—– inbox

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—– backtagging: Yes

—– threadhopping: Ask Please

—– fourthwalling: Yes

—– offensive subjects: None, but Ask if Unsure

—– hugging this character: Yes

—– kissing this character: Yes

—– flirting w/ this character: Yes

—– fighting w/ this character: Yes

—– injuring this character: Ask Beforehand

—– killing this character: Ask Beforehand

—– telepathy/mind reading: Ask Beforehand

trauma/loss: Darin does suffer from some trauma since he watched his brother and father get cut down in front of him. He won't admit to it right away, but if CR progresses enough with him, he'll be open and up front about it. If that sort of thing bothers you, please feel free to talk to me about it beforehand!

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