Markus Velafi

Markus Velafi is one of the protagonists of Thrilling Intent and a member of the Nine Shrines Adventure Agency.
== History ==
Markus is one of the most open of the main characters about his backstory, though he doesn't look back on his past fondly. He hails from the Kingdom of Tannhauser where the Velafi family's ancestral duty was to wait hand and foot on the Tannhausers, Aasimar who ruled over the kingdom. He worked underneath his father, who directly served the king, while Markus tended to moreso serve the rest of the royal family, namely The Prince of Tannhauser. 
As a young child, being trained as a manservant for the royal family, Markus had run off into the woods for an escape from his chores, despite the warnings that huntsmen had given him of the danger there. He sat there, reading his favorite book, a book where the hero; a prince, was defeated by the evil and scheming vizier, providing the seeds for Markus' future. However, an Owlbear emerged from the woods and attacked the young Markus, but before it could strike, the local tactician, known as The Silverfish, intervened, with both having been slacking off from their work. The pair, not knowing what to do, run away from the beast, cowering in a bush. In a moment of revelation, however, although reciprocated by Ashe and Gregor in the dream this memory was shown in, Markus convinced some nearby huntsmen or soldiers to handle the Owlbear, lying to them with promises of reward, and then promptly running away. From that experience, Markus learned to be a manipulator and schemer, and The Silverfish became one of Markus' role models.
Later he would tell the story that at the age of 15, three years after taking up his duties to serve the King, a heavily inebriated king informed him that the current rulers had taken the throne in a bloody coup nearly a century ago that had been recorded as an unsuccessful revolution attempt. With this knowledge, he left Tannhauser the next week and hasn't been back since.https://youtu.be/vmTdgH81sXU?t=8m5s He decided Tannhauser was not a place he wanted to spend his life in, although he still retains some fondness for the country. He would eventually leave, believing a life outside of Tannhauser would be more fun and fulfilling than the one that was planned for him there. Based on his personality, it is very likely some part of his story is a lie, but it is unclear which part.
In recent years, Markus' nature has proven problematic for some supernatural beings that reside in the realm below. The Black Parliament, a leading force in Hell has taken immense cpncern with his endeavors in the mortal plane, as how they handle him may very well effect their relationship with all tieflings going forward. One specific Devil, Ven, has volunteered himself to monitor Markus' situation.
== Appearance ==
Markus is described as tall and beautiful. He has fair skin, blue eyes, and sleek, long, blond hair. Most people consider his good looks to be spoiled by a thin and weak frame. He weighs little, reportedly between 80 and 90 pounds, and is terribly out of shape; even walking against the wind exhausts him.
Due to his demonic progenitor's blood being heavily diluted, his demonic features are minor: long canine teeth; small horns; a slippery, prehensile tail; and small wings. He smells of brimstone, especially his blood, which he claims runs 20 degrees hotter than normal human blood.
His normal attire is a dark green shirt, dark purple pantaloons, and a black cape, which he likes to sweep about dramatically.
One of his forearms now lacks bone due to infusing himself with iconoclasm.
== Personality ==
The words that could be used to describe Markus in a nutshell are easy going and self-confident.
Markus is rarely phased by bizarre phenomena or strange creatures, either pretending to know what's going on and then defaulting to the knowledge presented by others or actually being knowledgeable about the subject in question and providing an explanation. He has a unique ability to roll with just about anything, making him appear to be a well traveled individual who's seen just about everything.
Markus appears to have a near unshakable confidence in himself and his abilities. Despite being the typical "frail caster" of the group, he brazenly charges headlong into the front lines and into danger, using his tiefling resistances and casting abilities with little regard for himself. Surprisingly, he has survived the kinds of damage that would normally gravely wound a caster, even exposing himself to hits he is not resistant to in order to protect his friends. This selfless confidence is usually reciprocated in kind during battle by either Gregor returning the favor and shielding Markus or Aesling immediately breaking off combat to focus on healing him.
Markus does seem to have an inflated sense of self. He introduces himself with his full name, loudly proclaiming it in a major victory, openly sharing it with spirits (disregarding the possibility of names having power), and referring to himself as "that sexy, beautiful hunk of a tiefling" while in disguise. However, he maintains consistency with his confidence and this vanity doesn't seem to be a detrimental weakness.
Markus is something of a showman. He often casts his spells with flourishes and is particularly fond of glitter. Always looking for that perfect stage presence, he didn't even hesitate to jump on stage not once, but twice during the Shrouded Isles arc. The first time was something of a comedy sketch of questionable reception done with Kyr. The second was an impromptu drama about the importance of Death in the cycle of life with Ashe performed for the Death God. Markus is extremely fond of personas, enjoying disguising himself with sunglasses, fake mustaches, and other props, making up ridiculous names for himself at the drop of a hat and easily slipping into and out of these roles.
Markus does have a few regrets over the course of his life. Memories of "Wizard High School" seem to be one of the few things that can shake him.
Another facet of Markus' easy going personality is his lack of holding any serious grudge against people who have previously attacked or wronged him. Notable individuals include Thog, Inien, and Colvin.
Despite being an impulsive goofball at times, Markus does knuckle down and acts as both a restraint for the other impulsive members of the party - talking down Gregor and Kyr from rash actions that would see them badly hurt and soothing Ashe's short temper and hysterics. This most often comes out during the final episodes of an arc; in Romance of the Four Clans, he attempts to mediate between Ashe and Gregor when they begin feuding over decisions in the final moments. When the group wonders what to do concerning the villain or powerful artifact. Markus generally tends to favor completing the original objective the group sets out to do, but can be talked into tweaking that a bit.
Markus loses his temper very rarely, with one example being his anger with Gregor for indirectly acquiring Telvillion's Tear and attempting to utilize it without the consent of the full group. However, despite his anger he remained impressively level-headed with Gregor, reprimanding him without raising his voice. Markus can therefore be considered extremely even-tempered.
Although Markus generally considered his summoned imps to be expendable cannon fodder, even since the beginning he seemed to see them as a sort of pseudo-adopted children. While most imps summoned in the heat of battle are nameless, there are a few that Markus is particularly attached to and seem to have survived long enough in his service to receive names. Others, unfortunately, are either summarily used as improvised projectiles, ablative armor, suicide runners, or just plain disposed of by being punted back into a burning building. His attitude towarrds imps would subtly shift however, as he began to show a more direct care for all of their wellbeing, as well as a greater reluctance to summoning them in combat.
As a descendant of a demon, Markus is imbued with an innate sense of order that guides him through life, one that has allowed him to make his way through the most treacherous of situations. However, alongside that order is a contradictory yet ever present inclination towards chaos, causing havoc and stirring the world into a more unpredictable situation then it was last. The nature of this dichotomy defines Markus Velafi, and has become the point of scrutiny by those who watch him from bellow.
Markus has a longstanding hatred and rivalry with a competing author, Ballast McGee. There are no words to describe the loathing Markus has for this man.
== Abilities ==
Markus uses various magic-based spells. He classifies himself as a sorcelock, and when it comes to magic he possesses the abilities of a sorcerer. As a sorcerer, he does not have a magic “battery”, so he can cast his own spells with almost no restriction, although this is excluded from a few of his spells that need more concentration.
His various spells include:
* Eldritch Blast - a ball of dark, chaotic energy. Apparently, it is based on a different spell known as a dark scowering, however summoned in a 'basic mobile cartesian spell' with a pinprick opening at the back to propel it. 
* Utter Dark Blast - a powerful ball of pure demon energy; effectively an upgraded eldritch blast, with some of his demon soul infused
* Enlarge/reduce person
* The ability to summon Imps and later Tax Goats
* Detect magic/pilfering/wood/poison/evil
* "Eye beams" - a force of energy from his eyes
* Shadow weaving - sculpting shadows into more solidified objects
** Includes summoning, among other things, a shadow bridge, shadow chains, and a shadow revolver.
* Illusions and the creations of clones
* Some form of 'early-game' hypnotism
* Windy Escape - a spell that allows him to dissipate into mist
* Gust of Wind
* Demonic Effect #11 (Behemoth Skeleton Hammer Fist) - Creates a behemoth skeleton arm from a crack in the earth.
* Spell effect #34 (Small Confused Fat Man) - Summons a small, confused fat man
* Infernal Spell Effect #35 (Festival of a Thousand Sparrows) - creates a swarm of birds that explode into fireworks.
* Demonic Effect #45 (Fluttering Yellow Tree Cannon?) - creates a fluorescent yellow tree trunk above the target. Trunk later dissolves into numerous butterflies
* Sexy Demon Scissor Slicer - Creates a giant energy scissor, which slides closed with enough force to sever Lord Pyrethum's wings. One of the effects of the spell includes the caster's shirt exploding off.
* Spitting Acid
**The acid is generated from his saliva
***If it is very cold and Markus puts his tongue on something it, it will not stick at first, however once the tongue stops producing acid it will freeze on
* The Effect of the Violin Cleaver - Summons an Ebony Fiddle, with which a sorrowful dirge is played, summoning knives of shadows which are used to slice. The fiddle seems to be able to control the knives of shadow directionally somewhat.
* Shadow Katana - Summons the shadow-made blade of the Waterfall Warrior.
* Utter Dark Blast - An utter blast of darkness. If left unchecked, whether misused or overused, it can supposedly forcibly transform and overtake Markus.
* Shadow Fists - Summons a group of shadowy hands to grab at or punch a target.
*Greasology - Can summon a tidal wave of grease. Is notably at the bottom of the grease ladder, as dubbed by grease master Inien.
===Demon Form===
During the final battle with Xin during "Big War", Markus used iconoclasm on himself to draw out the full force of his demonic essence, this transformed him into his "Demon Form", a reflection of the Tieflings that were originally created to hunt Spiritfolk. In this form, his magic is greatly enhanced and incredibly dangerous against Spiritfolk as iconoclasm is embedded into this form. His shadows are also covered in jagged teeth.
Narn refers to him as a fellow "Verse Unbound", the exact meaning of this is unknown. He also now has the ability to consume the essence of Spiritfolk similar to a Zeth.  When activating this form, the demonic energy he releases is seen to neutralize angelic energies as well.
== Relationships ==
=== Family ===
==== Mother ====
Alexandria. [citation needed] Deceased.
==== Breem ====
Breem, a tiefling. Nicknamed "Papa Ram-horns" by Markus. Breem took his job as a butler seriously and because of this was absent for much of Markus' childhood. Markus has a grudging respect for his father's work ethic, but chafed under his stodgy rules and claims that his face was the first thing he forgot when he left Tannhauser. However, they would reunite decades later when Markus returned to Tannhauser. While their relationship would remain somewhat strained by the past, eventually the two would come to reconcile. Markus acknowledged that Breem had been acting in what he believed were his best interests, and the comical attitude of Markus' that Breem had disliked had saved Markus' life. Knowing that his son's life was better for leaving, he resolved that as a parent, he was happy for his son, and the life he had made and the two parted ways after a hug.
=== Friends ===
==== Aesling ====
Ashe can be prickly, but Markus takes her aggressive nature in stride and respects her need for privacy and personal space. While he values her as a good friend, he has also expressed an attraction to her as a "strong, scary, and beautiful" person.
==== Gregor ====
Markus views himself as a mentor and guiding figure for Gregor. His proudest moment of Gregor was watching him discover and perform his "Falling Star" special move against Charoth, where he shed a tear at Gregor's performance.
==== Kyr ====
Although initially suspicious of Kyr's inventions, their similarly excitable, fun-loving and reckless personalities made them fast friends, and they spend a lot of time together on joint projects, coming up with fabulous and terrible ideas. They co-wrote Aesling the Neck Stabber. His friendship with Kyr is one of the few he views as strictly platonic.
Among other things, Kyr and Markus have custom engineered a personal tea blend called "Brutali-tea," which has "room on the ground floor for investors" and causes people's eyes to water.https://youtu.be/z7L2GL91Pb0?si=r3PaMIlpiIUgrwVN 4:50
==== Thog ====
Markus respects and even enjoys Thog's duplicitous and threatening nature, which he views as straightforward and uncomplicated, which has led to them becoming Close Friends.
== Trivia ==
* Markus signs his name with a pentagram.
* He sinks like a stone, "is that a witch thing?"
* He claims to have a summer home in Hell.
* When left alone, Markus's horns are naturally longer and curve like those of a ram, but he keeps them trimmed because he does not want to resemble his father.http://3rdwheelandthe4thwall.tumblr.com/post/120872758406/imp-binary-horns-mothers-and-ass-sacks
* When Markus was younger a bully teased him about his wings. He's been insecure about them ever since, which is why he hides them. When not wearing a shirt he uses a glamour to mask their appearance. [citation needed]
* Markus made his own drink to serve at the Nine Shrines bar. Named the "Velafi Twister" which he made against the "better judgment" of the other members of the Nine Shrines Adventure Agency. Their main concern was they believed he would put blood into it. While he originally said only the first one had blood in it, he later admitted, after drinking part of one himself, that he does put a drop of his own blood in all of them. Markus says he came up with the drink when he was at the bar one day and mixed several different bottles, even one "With a bendy bit in the neck", all of which he had no idea what they where. He then made them spin (using his magic to make a miniature whirl pool in the drink) and it apparently tasted pretty good. It later turned out to be insanely alcoholic.
** When finished, it steams and changes color to a deep green
** His only taste testers were himself and his Imps, which apparently liked it
** Markus made a rule for the drink "Once the twister's twisting ya got to drink the twister until it's done twisting." Gregor quickly remarked, "and it'll twist right through you," which Markus agreed on.
** It was stated the Velafi Twister includes "a measure" of Fog Apple Extract, which is most likely a major reason why it has its green color and strong alcohol level.
** Aesling looked at the bottles used, mumbling "It's whiskey" (most likely referring to a single ingredient) before openly stating it was three kinds of straight up barrel brewed grain alcohol. Markus defended saying "No one told me to put anything else in," even though Fog Apple Extract, his own blood, and "several strange ingredients" are used in it's making.
*** Markus uses a drop of his own blood, saying "It gives it the tang."
** No one except Colvin has ordered two Velafi Twisters in a row, a feat that slightly shocked Markus. Gregor noted people were mostly too unconscious to order another Velafi Twister. A single Velafi Twister was enough to slightly intoxicate Markus and make him fall asleep.
*** After downing his first in one shot, Colvin took several steps back and was suddenly covered in sweat. He then admitted he would respect the drink as a rival and would be honored to meet it on the field of battle, right before ordering his second.
*** After Colvin explained how he warded off the effects of the drink, Markus told him he was the coolest person he has ever meet.
* "Velafi" is a verb meaning "to leap nude from a cliff whilst burning alive." https://youtu.be/Zen-ts7LlaM?t=13m29s
* Markus is panromantic and polyamorous, and possibly quoiromantic. http://katrani.tumblr.com/post/111131778915/im-sorry-i-cant-hear-you-over-the-sound-of-pan
* Markus briefly appeared in the first episode of the Youtube series Corsairs, where he was listed inside a book as a criminal. Among his crimes were "Unnatural Confidence", "Stealing a mountain", "Moustache Counterfeiting", and "Refusing to Fear the Reaper". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtYdNwDb4CI?t=25 To be able to view the page, it may be necessary to slow down the video. Alternatively, on PCs, pressing the [,] or [.] keys while a video is paused will progress the video by a single frame.
** Also in the book on Markus' page, it was mentioned that "We are quite sure the person in question placed this bounty on himself as a means to increase his reputation".
* Markus is a licensed reverend.
* Markus has been on dates with both Inien and Thog; Inien claims that he made them both the same dinner.
*Markus carries around multiple bags of variously weighted sand on his person at all times for the exclusive purpose of weighing pressure plates.
*He can create dohlars out of thin air.
*He carries around vast amounts of socks.
*He carries around a teapot, as well as tea, loose-leafed and bagged.
*He has a list of throw-away aliases.
*He has apparently written a book known as "Markus Velafi, Don't Trust His Lies", written under a pseudonym.
*He is racist against elves. According to Harlock however they do not actually exist.
*He is obsessed with constellations, and owns an entire bookshelf dedicated to them in the event that he would get to use them as a directional guide.
**One such constellation is that of the Fat Duck. Its brightest star, the Fat Duck's Egg, points due North East.
***When the Fat Duck's Egg hatches, the world will end.
*He carries around limes in case he gets scurvy.
*He carries around a few fucking cookies. He baked them himself.
*He can play exactly one chord on the violin, and can play it very well.
*He finds lumber fascinating, but doesn't know much about trees.
*He carries a bunch of backup shirts for his party members in the backpocket of his ass sack. 
**Thog's backup shirt says Boy Toy, Markus' says Toy Boy, and Harlock's says something obscene.
*His worst subject in school was alchemy.https://youtu.be/umu9g7h-FYk?si=WIBa7dyeUaqtjStZ 5:35
*He has written "a few treatises" on the semantics of glitter.https://youtu.be/iAHoNDKUQMA?si=tr0rfhKOPwhkBMFu 18:07
*He has a long list of hand signs he uses with the groups. One of said signs is the sign for "I've put dysentery in the contract", which has been used five times so far. He also has a custom wink, used to request that someone run interference.
*Similar to Kyr, he has a fear of skeletons.
== Gallery ==
See Markus Velafi/Gallery.
== References ==
Category:Main characters
Category:Tieflings