Viper

> **Speed of Lightning, Crash of Thunder**
>
>

Viper is a high-class mercenary, famous for his work in the realms of extermination, assassination and, in general, high society contract work. While not much is known about the masked mercenary, his strength in hand to hand combat is nigh unmatched when it comes to humans, this coupled with his lightning reflexes, leads to speculation on a harsh previous life of rigorous training and many years of studious endurance in many different martial fields. Being a straight to the point type of mercenary, he never really engages in idle chatter, bar with his clients if it were necessary. He mainly uses his fists in Close Quarters Combat, but will sometimes pull out a short blade to help himself where he finds that his fists suprisingly don't work.

Viper is wanted in several cities across Kyllambria, but he has never actually had a rendition of his masked likeness caught and painted before a recent assassination of his in the capital city of Lorminar left his mask and cloak recorded and plastered over every information board across the city. The poster, placed by the Black Brotherhood, calls him "one of Lorminar's Most Wanted", with a price on his head measuring at 27,000 gold pieces if killed and 50,000 if caught and brought back for interrogation. He has been described as a major threat to all Lorminarian aristocrats and to the government, whatever it may be, as a whole.

His quickest, yet loudest, assassinations are characterized by 4 sonic booms that reverberate throughout the area very much akin to rapid thunderstrikes - the force generated by the mercenary's strike is, more often than not, way too much for an aristocrat's body to handle, thus leaving them dead with entirely shattered arms and ribs, collapsed lungs, a burst heart, a broken skull, splintered femurs and more.

Class
Monk
128
20
16
20
 INT
15
20
10

## Appearance

Viper is a stout, strong and broad-shouldered man, weighing in at 89kg and just about 180cm in height. He wears black almost snakeskin-like magical robes that cover almost everything, bar the mask, the robes ending in patchy, flowing black silken threads. The front most piece of the mask is made of polished silver grappled on to a carbon mesh that covers all other parts of the face. The mesh/mask itself is definitely magical, as his eyes are also covered by it and yet he can still see through it - through the covers, two cyan-colored dots, that spark to the edge of the eye, observe and analyse everything happening around them. Should one see past the cloak, one would see no armour - simply very fine beautifully-threaded blue and black clothes with some metallic additions to some of the more vital offensive areas - reinforcement on the gauntlets and shoulders, steel padding for the knee caps and the elbows and more. His knuckles have more pronounced steel rivets clasped on them to enhance the power of Viper's close quarters combat.

## Personality

Viper is a cold and calculating person, even among mercenaries, seeking the facts, price and information necessary before "blabbering" about anything else the client might want to talk about. This doesn't mean he is entirely disrespectful however, and it has been found that on occasion he has had some entirely unrelated to the job conversations with his more frequent clients about a plethora of different subjects. Viper is a highly materialistic person when it comes to life in general, which has propelled him towards those high class clients with rivals of equal or higher status who simply have the money to give so as to make their problem go away.

Being generally untrusting of others when it comes to the mercenary lifestyle, Viper has, for the most part, avoided group work, except for those times when the pay was "simply too good" and the people around him - "simply too good at being ordered around" - regardless of that Viper will be quick to show that he is the top-dog of whatever group he is with ease.

## Training

Not much is known about where Viper actually acquired his training and martial arts prowess, but inner government theories circle around 4 possible places: The Haoto Monastery in the north, the former Koji-Samuruki Monastery in the south, general underground fighting arenas or somewhere off the continent. The Haoto Monastery has entirely denied any connection between them and the masked mercenary, stating that "The individuals residing within Haoto are of higher virtue and strictly follow a combat and life style that exemplify the honour of one's own person, thus disallowing displays such as the ones attributed to this tenacious headhunter." Due to occupation, the Koji-Samuruki Monastery is another unclear answer as records of the individuals studying there have long since been thrown away with the advent of the Dark Brotherhood, and were they to still be functioning the consensus is that they would state something akin to the words of the Northern Monastery. This leaves undeground fighting rings - the most unlikely of all theories, as Viper's technique lacks that rough-and-thimble quality that brawlers for cash have, it is precise, instantaneous and almost vindictive in its' destructive potential. The theory of a off-continent martial education has the most merit in the eyes of the high-ranking investigators - but where exactly are they from and is the pay the thing that is keeping them here? Seems dubious, especially when hearing tales of the riches of the Far East in comparison to the economies of the West.

## "The Serpent's Trail"

With his most recent fiasco in the capital of Lorminar proper, Viper has been identified by privately hired organizations in the country of Lorminar as a possible suspect in other murder cases surrounding the aristocracy and bourgeoise, numbering a total of 147 individuals, ranking from lower to higher echelons of the aforementioned social stratas. Many investigators were quick to draw a connection and have therefore pinned a large portion of the cases on Viper, therefore organizing to create a shared single dossier between each other and other would-be investigators nicknamed "The Serpent's Trail". "The Serpent's Trail" has Viper held as the only eligible suspect for all 147 murders and more - some of the more banal additions have included him either in cohorts or even leading some of the biggest underground criminal organizations such as "The Underworlders"; "Jirana's Cabal"; "The Craven"; and even The Syndicate itself. The main goal for "The Serpent's Trail" dossier is, of course, the unmasking and execution of the masked mercenary and, while certainly effective in pooling information, has also tipped off Viper himself, leading to him taking on an increasingly cutthroat *modus operandi* during his missions akin to a "No *Possible* Witnesses" mindset, this is certainly worrisome as it significantly delays the reaction and investigations put forth by the necessary authorities and institutions.

## Quotes

**"You need to be faster than that, kid, speed is life."**

**"Should've slept with one eye open."**

**"Got you."**

**"You look like you've seen a ghost."**

**"And now you are just like the rest."**

**"Tango with lightning, see what happens."**

**"Your mansion belongs to me, rat, nowhere to run... nowhere to hide."**

**"Seems you woke up to a Viper in your den."**

**"Your status can't save you."**