Emperor Deception

[Winter]

Character: Deception
Faction: Sin
Gender: Male
Age: 834 actual age, appears 25.
Element: Mind, though has been granted the elements of Summer by Taint.
Summon:

Deception's summon is an albino anaconda by the name of Lerithas. Lerithas is a good friend to Deception, and the only one he has learned to trust completely. The two have a bond that is between friends, not master and servant.

His scales gleam the cool white of snow with several gray markings along his slender body. His eyes are a brilliant gold flecked with bright scarlet, and his fangs are a polished white.

Lerithas and Deception are protective of each other, and Lerithas has come to be almost disappointed that his friend has made his way to the Sins, since Lerithas himself seems not to be needed quite so much anymore. Lerithas takes a protective and friendly stance towards the summons of the other Sins, and is quick to make friends among them, though it takes him slightly longer to become used to the masters. However, in some cases, he takes to the masters, and not the summons, or treats both one way or the other, based on the situation.

Power:

Deception alters the perception of those around him, allowing him to create illusions which can overlay reality in the minds of whoever he pleases. For example, he could overlay the image of himself with the background behind him, thus rendering him invisible. He can also create bright flashes of light and loud noises to confuse enemies.

In direct connection with these illusionary powers, Deception possesses the ability to, through physical contact, pull someone with him into a world of illusion within his mind, leaving behind the physical bodies of anyone who he takes, including himself. If he were to exit one of these worlds without the other person, their consciousness would remain trapped in the illusion.

Meeting Deception's eyes directly has been known to cause a drastic loss of memory, if he so wills it. He has even gone so far as to convince enemies to fight for him. Although no permanent loss of memory has thus far occurred, it is entirely possible that he is capable of doing so.

Weapon:

Deception wields, concealed within his pair of gloves, an unknown quantity of very thin steel wires. These wires are able to cut through everything Deception has been able to find on his journeys, and have been hardened through secretive means to a harder consistancy than even diamonds.

Also part of his arsenal is a staff, with a strange crystal in suspended animation at the top. This crystal can form various types of shapes (usually blades) on the end of the staff. This effectively allows it to serve as a staff, spear, scythe, trident, halberd, and more varieties of weapons as the situation requires.

The crystal seems to glow with the very light of darkness, sucking light from the air around it into its own unnatural night.

Appearance:

Deception is very tall, about 7'3" and weighs just under 195 lbs, giving him a frail, slender appearance. However, despite this, he has developed a lean muscle structure, as well as an uncanny degree of flexibility.

He is very pale, his skin appears almost pure white, like snow. His nose is thin and aquiline in form, and his mouth is thin lipped, though proportionally a bit large. His eyes are well set, and his hair is worn as it falls, on all sides of his head.

His hair is a very bright silver and hangs down 4', covering his right eye when it is normally placed. His hair is quite thin of its own accord, and seems to drift about aimlessly on even the slightest wisp of a breeze, yet always returns automatically to its unnatural straightness when it is no longer interrupted.

Deception's eyes are a bright ice blue, and are hard and unforgiving like the eyes of a statue. His vision has been altered by Taint's powers and he can now see beings or objects of importance differently, along with slight precognition.

Deception's eyes give the instant impression of intelligence and vast wisdom, and indeed he is both well-traveled and well-read. His eyes also seem to apply an unconscious pressure upon anyone he looks at, causing them to feel anxious beneath his piercing glare.

Deception has an extensive amount of swirling tattoos in dark red and blue, which have different patterns in different places. Celtic knots are visible among them.

Deception dresses in cloaks and robes of subdued colours, (black, dark or light grey, deep blue, red, green, etc.) His cloaks and robes have secret pouches inside them.

The cloak, when it is worn, is either throw over one shoulder, or, less commonly, worn on the back as a cape of sorts. Deception rarely draws his hood, and when he does it is taken to be a request for solitude or a notification of some unknown problem or complication.

When not wearing robes, his clothes can have more variety, but especially in the northlands, robes have become a preference.

He never removes his gloves, inside of which are contained the titanium hard wires which he utilizes in long distance combat.

Deception's skin seems blanketed in unnatural cold, so much so, that picking up snow warms his hands. People often notice this startling feature if they touch his skin or feel his breath, in which it is also apparent.

Deception's voice rarely exceeds a whisper, becoming a rasping hiss in most cases where he attempts to make it louder. It is unknown why this occurs.

Deception can speak in louder tones now, but his voice sounds as though it were spoken by many people, having tones ranging from very high to very low. He has not spoken in this way to anyone yet. This will also allow him to mimic voices effectively.

History:

Deception's entrance into the Sins was that of an amnesiac, and a wandering nomad who happened upon them entirely by chance, and whose existence not even Taint had been aware of previously. He often alludes to the possibility that he was a Sin long before he came to reveal himself to the rest of them, and his sleep is troubled by dark dreams, presumably those of his previous life.

Despite not remembering it, Deception has the distinct impression that his first life was incredibly unpleasant, and is if anything, glad to be rid of it. He makes no comment on the topic if it ever comes up in conversation.

After having lived in the Empire for quite some time, Deception became a veteran of many battles with the Sins, and others on his own of which they have not yet learned. He fought to free his good friend Pride from the demon which threatened to consume his soul for a time. After realizing that something was wrong with Taint (and being one of the first to reach the conclusion) he and Vengeance were invited to the Throne Room, and were granted the powers of acting Emperor and Empress of the Sins.

In the three years since, Deception made his way north with a select few, occasionally sending his Sins back to Desarith temporarily, to check for news, and new Sins appearing, and has left a reliable path of marked trails and reliable contacts to lead all those who leave back to Lehaita. The Sins at Lehaita have spent the past three years in construction of the fortress which will house them for the duration of their stay, and hopefully protect them should the residents of Desarith ever discover their place of exile.

Deception has spent much of this time in quiet work or solitary thought, or perfecting his martial skills. Despite the other Sins' attractions to it, Deception is distrusting and constantly wary of the Prism Shard lodged in one of the Lehaita mountains, and has warned the others to stay away from it, though not always to the best effect. As the fortress nears completion, Deception looks to the day when Desarith, and more importantly, the Empire Grounds will once more be their home.

Behaviour:

Deception is never overtly aggressive to anyone he does not know, not even Virtues. He likes to play mind games to get to know the person, how they think, what they know about the world, or think they do.

This way, Deception gets to know and control his enemies more efficiently, while dispensing only useless information regarding himself, and keeping the power in his own hands. He is something of a dark genius, and will choose a select few with which he will truly interact constantly of his own accord, and allow others to come and go as they please.

To the point and cynical, Deception also likes to confuse and irritate people, because in truth, he does not want most people to like him.

Deception has many items concealed within his robes and cloak, the full extent of which may never be known. He keeps them concealed for the safety of others, or so he says.

Deception knows how to get information about things happening in any part of the world, and frequently runs into other Sins on the road because of his constant traveling.

Other:

Journal: