Levi Vargas

*Once a Hunter, Now an Immortal*

* Overview
* Sheet
* Background
* 'Ships
* Logs

Born into a family of hunters, Levi grew up thinking of the supernaturals as his enemies. Recently, after an encounter with an alpha werewolf, he lost his brother to being an omega and he himself somehow came back from the dead. Afraid that his family would do anything and everything to make death stick, he ran. He's still running, looking for answers to what he is and what happened to his brother.

## Personality

Levi is somewhat adrift at the moment. In his element, he is confident, competent and even cocky. The problem is that he has lost what he thought of as 'his element' and is still trying to figure out how he fits into the world, being one of the supernatural beings he was raised to think of as a threat. He's sharp, but not particularly well-educated and has a sly, joking sense of humor that twists to sarcasm and cruelty when he's upset or off-balance. His core values are integrity and protection. He was raised to see himself as a modern day knight, protecting those who can't protect themselves and he still thinks of himself that way. It's just everything else he's unsure about.

## SIGNATURE ABILITY

### Protector's Grace

When the chips are down and everything seems lost, when Levi is outmanned, outgunned and should be ready to consign himself to his fate, he can reach down and tap into a reserve of luck and fortitude and determination, as long as he is trying to protect an innocent or defend a friend or loved one. This isn't a supernatural thing. He doesn't become immune to damage or get a magic power-up. He just gets back up and keeps going, as long as he's not dead and putting himself between danger and thus he needs to protect. This usually involves literally taking a bullet (or arrow or claw) for somebody else and is generally not fun.

## SKILLS

He has a pretty average high school education. A little more emphasis on practical chemistry and ballistic physics, but in general, Levi could have paid more attention.

Levi has had significant training in physical fitness, freerunning and running, growing up in a family of hunters, as well as participating in track through most of his high school career.

Whether it involves guns, crossbows, blades, hand to hand or blunt melee weapons, damaging things was always Levi's strength. Due to his age, he's not exactly a master of the martial arts, but he's better than most people.

It's a little embarrassing for somebody who grew up in a family of Hunters, but Levi never expected to really need to know more than the basics about the things they protect humanity from. Thus he's aware of the supernatural, and the common ways to hurt common species (werewolves, vampires, etc.) but his knowledge is woefully shallow.

From hiking and orienteering to building a shelter and tracking, Levi is reasonably adept. Not an expert, but probably won't die in the woods.

## ABILITIES

Immortals are able to emulate the traits of other creatures around them, attuning themselves to specific elements of nature. This might take the form of running with the speed of a stag, hearing as acutely as a wolf, or feeling the earth and wind around them through trees and plants. They cannot change shape, such as to gain claws or such, but theymay gain the "essence" of a target creature's ability. Targets must be living creatures with some connection to Nature; this power generally does not work with the undead, with spirits, or with extraplanar beings such as angels or demons.

Immortals have developed a technique for concealing blades upon their person, leaving the weapon completely shrouded from the perception of any other. The blade does not become non-corporeal, per se, but the sense of touch of anyone but the immortal carrying it will simply not perceive the blade, fooling the mind. However, once the blade is drawn, the shroud of concealment is broken instantly. The only purpose that can be served by this technique is carrying a concealed blade, so that an immortal can, for example, produce a full-sized katana from beneath a light jacket.

Immortals develop a rapport with the weapons they carry, allowing them to empower their personal blade. This makes the blade virtually unbreakable, as well as empowering it to do increased damage. Their blade inflicts Enhanced-level damage.

All immortals have powerful healing abilities, with any wound vanishing within seconds. Very serious injuries, such as those that result in a temporary death, may take a few hours of a death-like state to recover. Most immortals cannot regenerate lost limbs or body parts, and They cannot do so on his own, but perhaps with the right sort of borrowing...

Immortals have an innate magic sense, commonly called "The Buzz." This sense allows them to sense the presence of magic and supernatural beings, though it is most potent and focused in the presence of sources of The Quickening, which allows them to easily perceive when another of their kind is near. The Buzz may also attune the immortal to natural forces in various ways.

The Quickening is the mystic energy that grants an immortal their power. It causes them to heal rapidly, halts their aging, and fuels their personal gifts. Their Quickening is lost when the immortal is decapitated, and it is transferred--along with the fallen immortal's memories and experience--into the victor. The Quickening is a mystic power directly tied to nature and life force, and it links the immortals to those energies. This could mean many different things, depending on the specific situation. Visually, the Quickening manifests in a form very similar to arcing electricity.

The one enhanced physique element that all immortals share is resiliency. They are immune to disease, though they can be incapacitated by toxins or poisons. Sufficient physical trauma results in a temporary death, leaving him inert for up to several hours. After this, they awaken fully recovered, so long as they have not been decapitated. As a result of the energies of the Quickening coursing through his body, they cannot be transformed into another type of magical creature, such as would happen if bitten by a vampire or werewolf. They are effectively locked into his current form.

## ADVANTAGES

Levi has a battered old Macbook and a burner cellphone.

Levi is a former hunter and still has a beat up Jeep Wrangler that has duffel bags with his clothes and personal items, several guns and ammo (including some for supernatural types), a crossbow and bolts and a few knives, as well as a tactical sword.

## WEAKNESSES

Immortals may only be killed by beheading. If their head is separated from their neck, they lose their stored Quickening, which is in turn absorbed by the nearest other immortal.

The exact result of killing on holy ground is unpredictable, but it is almost certain to create a mystic backlash that powerfully impacts the immortal who did the killing. This could result in a crippling loss of Quickening, for instance. Immortals are able to sense Holy Ground via The Buzz, allowing them to know when they are on it. (Holy Ground includes any consecrated site, not only those of a specific religious tradition.) Some have speculated that because The Quickening is closely tied to natural energies and life force, this may offend the spirits of such sites. As such, all fighting on Holy Ground is strictly forbidden by the immortals' code.

The Vargas family is known in hunters circles among names such as the Argents, which is to say they are known as hunters who carry their mission beyond defense of the innocent to violently striking out against even those supernatural beings who have offered no threat to humankind. While some of the more extreme hunters in the U.S., such as Gerard Argent, have been known to sympathize with their methods, the majority consider such extremes to be both immoral and ill-advised, as they tend to make extremists of supernaturals who might otherwise keep to themselves. The Vargas family has also had a number of dealings with the Watchers Council, who have tried to guide them to less hostile and aggressive tactics, but the Vargas family has taken care to avoid drawing too much attention from the Watchers, thus avoiding any open conflict with them.

Immortals are unable to procreate or pass on their genetic material.

Levi Vargas is from a family of hunters that has connections both with the Hunters of the Code, like the Argents and Calaveras clan, and with the U.S. branch of the Watchers Council. He was raised with the knowledge (in a general sense) that the monsters in the darkness were real and one day it would be his job to end them. His family was spread out through the American Midwest and the central provinces of Canada and Levi moved several times as a child and teen. His life revolved around his family legacy, training for taking up the mantle of hunter and his older brother, Zeke.

In his junior year in high school, Levi was tapped to go on his first real hunt, for an omega werewolf who was killing field workers and farmers in downstate Ohio. He was assigned to work with Zeke, as his brother's backup and apprentice. The hunt went very, very wrong. They weren't chasing an omega. They were being lured in by a rogue alpha. The two brothers were working alone, clearing out an abandoned grain silo when they were attacked. Levi was thrown into a wall and stunned, but Zeke was bitten. The two brothers managed to drive off the alpha, though not even wolfsbane bullets took it out.

After the fight, the brothers took stock of the damage. Zeke had been bitten by an alpha and by the Code, he was supposed to kill himself, but he convinced himself and Levi that nothing would happen. The werewolf wasn't really an alpha. They could wait it out and see what happened. Levi agreed, but insisted they take some time off until after the next moon. If Zeke turned, Levi promised he'd put his brother out of his misery. It wasn't exactly what Zeke wanted, but he agreed.

Of course, the next full moon saw Zeke change and lose control. He attacked his brother and snapped Levi's neck, then ran away. Much to Levi's surprise, he woke up hours after dying. Realizing that he was responsible for releasing another omega into the world and guilty and confused about his own miraculous recovery, Levi assumed he must have been bitten as well and missed it. So he shot himself. And then woke up an hour later. He didn't EVER want to go through that again and he knew his family would see him dead, by cremating him alive, if they had to, so like his older brother, Levi ran. He's still running. Still avoiding hunters and searching for answers as to who and what he is and where he might find Zeke. He's not sure he deserves to live, but dying sucks. And he might be some kind of monster now, but he doesn't feel like one. Maybe his family was wrong? And if so, what did that mean for Levi? And the world in general.

Logs featuring Levi Vargas:

* 2020.06.23 - A Ghoulish Welcome
* 2020.07.29 - Enter the Kaiser--or, Levi Fakes His Own Death--or, How to Evade Head-hunters and Traumatize Park Rangers