Zuri

> *"It's not that I want to miss battles... exactly. Drowsiness is my archnemesis. For some reason I just can't seem to win against it. Just talking about it makes me sleepy..."*
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## Personal Status

### Relatives

* Unnamed father (Deceased)
* Natasha Chykov (Older Paternal Half-sister)
* Unnamed grandfather

### Likes

* Magic
* Research
* Sleep
* Freedom
* Percy Levont

### Dislikes

* Constraints
* Blood

## Professional Status

### Alignment

Good

**Zuri** is one of the most intelligent mages in the world whose also one of Sylvia's childhood friends.

## Personality

Hating constraints and loving his freedom, Zuri does his best to avoid worries and problems, and indulges in lazing about. Contrary to what this may indicate at first, Zuri is far from useless, as he offers precise observation and criticism to his allies, but he is unwilling to utilize his skills in a practical manner.

He has a genuine interest in Magic, and when he gets into his research he can forget to even eat or sleep. That, accompanied by his unparalleled intellect makes him one of the smartest mages in the whole world. However, he often flutters from interests and is only able to focus on whatever fancies him in the moment. Additionally, he is so disinterested in anything else that he will fall asleep when the topic of discussion shifts away from his interests.

Due to his Magic research, he's particularly intelligent and can realize that things are not as they seem compared to others.

## Powers and Abilities

**Thought Projection**: An extremely rare and powerful ability to alter reality through one's imagination, and is hence related to Projection. Amongst other things, Zuri can also use this ability to grant any number of powers to another being. The degree of permanence these changes have to reality is unknown. Thought Projection is an extremely coveted power.

## Background

Zuri was born as the first son, but second child, of the owner of the largest Trading Company in the North, the Chykov Family Trading Company. His older sister, Natasha Chykov, was the oldest child, however was born of a mistress. So, even if Natasha was born first, Zuri was set to inherit the Company on his 18th birthday. He had already known for years that Natasha hated him for it.

Zuri apparently had many private tutors, wore uncomfortable clothing, sang, and even held forks in a specific way. He would often take trips down to Ariamis, a small village, where he would meet some other children whom he would become friends with.

When Zuri was still a kid though, his father passed away suddenly. As Zuri was still too young at the time, Natasha inherited the company for the time being, but didn't want to hand it over to Zuri after he turned 18. Zuri overheard this in a conversation between Natasha and a servant, most likely the head butler of the house. The one thing he surely remembers is her very words, "He has no passion! He only does what he's told!"

On the day of his 18th birthday, when there was a celebration in place for his succession to the inheritance of the company, Natasha attempted to kill him by strangling him with a ribbon, also managing to turn all the servants whom he trusted into going along with it. However, the attempted murder failed and all it managed to do was make Zuri pass out from a lack of oxygen.

Due to the failed attempt at killing him, it is surmised that Natasha used her 'Plan B' to ship Zuri off to war. He spent little more than a year on the front, in the trenches. According to him, those were the longest and most terrible months of his life. There, he understood how sinister and despicable a human being could become. They all slept in muddy pits as soon as they had a few hours of quiet, but those long hours of waiting seemed endless. Zuri preferred to hear the sound of gunshots and bombs rather than the unnatural silence. His crew hadn't seen a woman in months and before dying, many men just wanted to sleep with someone. Most satisfied that need in other ways. Sometimes, Zuri could feel them at night in the dark, touching themselves next to him. He tried to pretend to sleep, thinking that if he ignored them, sooner or later, they would die or that he would die, or maybe the war would end.

Then, one evening, they decided that touching themselves was no longer enough. Zuri didn't know why they chose him, perhaps because he was among the youngest. Perhaps simply because he was alone. It seemed that a strange silence had fallen in the trench. There were two of them, they took him by surprise and threw him on the ground. With his face pushed down in piss and mud, he found it hard to breathe, reminding him of when he was nearly strangled to death by Natasha. They ripped off his pants. He felt their hands everywhere. For a moment, he thought that it would have been better if he had died in the attack the day before. Just for a moment. Then he woke up. He didn't let them do it, killing them with a dagger, though he doesn't strictly remember doing this.

Zuri threw their bodies among other corpses, pretending that nothing had happened to avoid problems. Fortunately, before the battalion was moved to another country, he met his grandfather. He saved Zuri. That was when Zuri moved to his grandfather's house in Ariamis, and never stepped foot on a battlefield again.

## Trivia

* Interestingly, Zuri's name means 'Beautiful'.
* He can fall asleep while standing up.

## Quotes

* *"I always feel as if I cannot keep up with other people. Everyone else seems to have a destination in mind."*
* *"We should explore ways to utilize the power of weapons and Magic for something other than combat."*
* *“Just my luck to be born in such a dismal time...”*
* *"War is not heroic. War is not exhilarating. War is full of despair. It’s dark. It’s dreadful. It’s a thing of sorrow and gloom."*