Grond

Ancient Shadow

# Character Information

## Background

    A student of emerging magical arts by the name of Demian had his worst night in January 2014: after decent party in an all-right bar he hooked up with captivating boy and all that followed was great. Too great to be true, even: ecstasy he felt was caused by the drain of his soul. Just a little droplet, but it had an impact on his spells. Infuriated, he went for a hunt. In a week he had another night with the gonk, but this time with a twist: instead of being lured into his lair, he entered it by himself, cloaked in spells. As soon as soul-sucker went to bed, Demian threw quietly placed two canisters of gasoline near his bed and threw a lighter. He enjoyed cries and, after fire burned out, checked in on ashes - everything was in order. Only thing is - he was noticed.

   Not only he had grudges with this vampire, but also another group, followers of Halit: dark deity, interested in the blood of metahumans. His problem with Infected was apparent, while his goals were much, much less legible. Still, he did provide for those, who followed him, and even as Demian was not aware of his existence, he received spiritual guidance and felt an increase in his powers. It didn't go without consequence: he used it to leverage himself a position of respect in the MIT&T. Filled with pride and vanity, he readily drunk knowledge from his mentor and converted it into mundane wealth. At the same time he acutely felt the void, that lingered still where long-dead vampire had his bite.

   In a few short years he was fully indoctrinated into secretive, vain and hateful cult, named "Thirsty", waging Halit's war against Infected. There he found help in both his mundane life, his magical prowess, and his vengeance against all cursed kind of soul-suckers. He joined their operations, providing distraction, research, and cover with his spells, while taking his anger on monsters with his "bare" hand. Balancing lives of university professor and vampire-hunter wasn't easy, but it was working. For a time. Until he was not a human anymore: goblinization hit him hard, stretching his limbs for the twice of length. There was only so much he could do with illusions - and he did it all. But in the end of the day, he was shunned out of normal society. Not out of "Thirsty": for them his transformation was a sign of divine grace. And now, freed from his life, he was able to do even more for them. Especially after he was gifted with a hand, jacked up enough to punch throw a concrete wall - useful perk for some of their operations. Just as useful as his newfound strength and resilience that allowed him to withstand claws and spells of some monsters in lieu of his only friends.

   Such life didn't last, tho: one bright day in Seattle of December 2019, once respected professor and now just another troll Demian Walles has met his end: he converged on the lair of Nosferatu alongside his cohort, and they dispersed in threes to root out the monster. But he has dealt with them in threes with balls of shadowy ﬂames and sharp claws. And then he had a feast on the remains, desperately sucking out life of those, who did not perish outright. After all, they did fight back with everything they've had and were able to wound him severely. And they were not having it to be just sucked out. Demian certainly did not and, as life was trickling out of him, he momentarily collected himself to pull off a pin. It proved to be enough for both of them. Demian died, feeling Halit's bliss leaving him in the darkness.

   And then he felt light again. He heard familiar voices, but he was not only glad to hear them: he was hungry for them. He understood it all quickly and then fear took root: they knew, how to spot an Infected. So he ran and hid. But then hunger took hold. He could've start a hunt, he knew how soul-sucker would do that, but he also knew how he would've been caught. No, he was in danger as long as his friends existed. So he blew them out: leaked every detail about their connections, covers, identities, beliefs and deeds. Painted them as terrorists, added some more things to their achievements. Only thing he has to do now was surviving the fallout. So he went under. He stole a coffin and placed it below sewers. His mind blurred as soon as he ran out of air. Then it went dark. And then he woke up once again. Kids from the streets above found him. Not for their good - none of them lived to see another day. Demian was not thinking about morals and standards: he was hungry. And they were beefy. Delicious. Only later he realized that it was exactly the way all Infected think. Even the one from his worst night. And they were right, they had every right to - he understood it then. And still they were monsters, deserving of death. By his hand with or without Halit's blessing. And he - well, he was another kind of monster. Different in subtle ways. Deserving of fame, glory and respect. Riches. Meat.

   But they weren't getting his way just yet. At that point he still was a monster in a cave. Too unaccustomed with the tech of this age he didn't peruse comms that surely were present. He did what he did best: covered his tracks, cloaked himself in spells and got out. He wasn't calling on Halit for these spells, and they were weaker, but in his improvised magic - rather, mojo, he was mostly successful. On the surface he emerged in the Barrens, which was lucky for him: he was able to get more info from people he enthralled. Current date - 2080 - and gist of their predicament were clear to him then. And it was clear that he needed that SIN they were talking about so angrily. He wasn't going to live like them, after all. But he has no way of having this SIN. He, however, had an idea of who can get it to him: the usual man for such things. Made man. They had some business in the Barrens then, so he was able to follow. Even on the streets he was good enough with spells to get by without tech. And so he presented himself to their immediate boss. It probably was not nice of Demian to just appear out of thin air as the guys were entering their place, but it worked out in the end. Don't-ask-don't-tell agreement took place, and he was given a few things to do and a piece of electronics with his new ID and some scrap. He knew that it wasn't a gift, of course. A taste of riches.

   And he tasted it even better as he discovered a way for most of his talent to shine and be profitable: as he explored the new net, he learned of peculiar world of shadows. Wasn't hard for him to get in and take a few shots here and there, while keeping hide whole and creeping out of mob's reach. He had his arm rebuild and reattached. He even had a few contacts, including one nice, if slimy troll named Spades, with whom he had more than one run together. What's more, he took up a name, as descriptive and whimsical for him, as it is arcane and weird for others. Yet another thing to be proud of: legacy of long-forgotten history. In this regard Demian views himself akin to dragons even. If slightly weaker.

## Narrative Significant Qualities

* Infected (Mutaqua)

* Totem Form (Spider) - can spend 20 minutes with Magic + Arcana [Mental] (2) to turn into a spider; Arcana + Magic [Mental] (3) to turn back

* Regeneration (Sunlight and Wood turns it off)

* Dual-Natured Defender

* Superhuman Psychosis

* Prejudiced (Infected) - Grond takes -6 to social against Infected and they takes +6 to social against him

* Thrill-Seeker - roll Composure [2] or take the most risky option; +1 Init in the first five rounds

* Vindictive - roll Composure [2] or get back at whoever wronged him

* Mentor Spirit (Spider [Alt]) - roll Composure [4] or suffer -2 if plan goes wrong or there is no plan

* 4.64 meters tall

* 11 dice of Masking, Cleansing

* 4 IG for Flexible Signature

* Genewipe (biomaterial degrades to uselessness in five minutes after being taken from him)

* Pain Editor (doesn't feel pain nor fall unconscious if Stun monitor is full)

## Run History

**Egg-Headed (April 20 2022)**

**Argos (May 6 2022)**

**Argos (May 11 2022)**

**Against All Odds (May 23 2022)**

**Shadow Politics (June 9 2022)**

**Local 302 (June 16 2022)**

**First Strike (Jule 15 2022)**

**Details (Jule 26 2022)**

**Le Hareng Rouge (September 15 2022)**

**Big Game Hunters (November 7 2022)**

**5 Men Walk into a Bar (November 20 2022)**

**Speluknin' and Ghoul Huntin' (December 1 2022)**

**Miami Bliss (December 17 2022)**

# In Character Information

## Matrix Search Table

 3
 6+

## Shadow Community Table

 3
 6+

## Assensing Table

**Masking**
 2
 3
 4
 5+

**Truth**
 2
 3
 4
 5+
R4 Bone Density, Genewipe, Pain Editor, Chem Gland (Exhale Neuro-Stun X), 4 Striking Calluses.

## SINs

4 Samuel Tally, UCAS

```
 4 Mage
 4 Adept
 4 Cyberware
 4 Bounty Hunter

```

1 Rupert Smith, UCAS

```
 1 Mage
 1 Adept
 1 Cyberware
 1 Bounty Hunter

```

## Appearance

   Not often Grond's face is revealed and even when it is, it's just a face of a normal troll. Which is an illusion that covers a synthskin mask - of the same face - that, in turn, covers unnaturally pale skin with deep furrows and small red eyes of the Infected.

   Hungry countenance just bleeds throw each and every layer of disguise Grond puts on. He can do a social maneuver or two, but as soon as they are done, all strings that makes him tick are simply let loose, once more turning him into staring mountain of flesh, and bone.

### Clothing

Classy cloak over Zoe suit with fashioned gas mask. All of which, of course, is subject to illusions Grond habitually uses.