Zion

## Traits

Whilst initially coming across as some kind of antisocial, reserved hermit who never leaves the safety of his Apothecary, he is actually very deeply caring and undyingly loyal to those who he trusts - he is not nearly as quiet as he first seems once you break his distant exterior. He believes himself to be unworthy of being liked by other people, and so shuts himself off as much as he can socially. Under his icy surface, he’s a little hectic and hard to keep up with, often rambling and mumbling inaudibly, or running around his apothecary with a new hypothesis to execute.

Sometimes, he can be interpreted as a 'fatherly' figure of sorts unto those he cares for - he can be found constantly worrying and fussing about others, even if there is no apparent reason to.

## Goals & Motivation

Short term: Zion wants to treat anyone he comes across for their illnesses without fail, and amass medicinal knowledge.

Long term: He aims to, and tirelessly works toward developing a cure for the mysterious, ‘incurable’ illness that took his mother, his village, and too many other innocent lives from the world.

## Physical strength

Average physical strength, but nothing special - only has this 'average' strength due to his tall stature. His physical build, in terms of muscle, and skills in physical combat are just short of average.

## Speed & Agility

Very quick and agile - a good runner, for short periods of time, due to his long legs, but is not considered 'in-shape'. He’s rather nimble, and good at navigating spaces quickly.

## Endurance and Stamina

He could endure a fair deal of physical damage, but probably could not run or fight for a prolonged period of time due to his lack of exercise for the last several decades.

## Charisma & Intelligence

He is very intelligent, due to his scholarly and curious nature, alongside an incredible photographic memory. He has several notebooks filled with writings of recorded knowledge in almost all areas of medicine, and even some culinary factors.

He is fairly withdrawn, and although he doesn’t *lack* charisma, his charm isn’t always outwardly evident - or at least, not upon first glance.

## Combat ability

He doesn't have much of an ability to fight, at least not physically - he acts as a supporter of sorts to more skilled fighters, providing potions to deal with various situations they might find themselves in, for example:

- Damage: Harming Potions unto monsters and/or other threats.

- Healing: Health and regenerative potions to allies, and he can also utilise medicinal knowledge in a fight.

- Magnification: Buff potions to provide beneficial effects to allies during a fight.

## Skills

He is a very skilled healer - working as an apothecarist has granted him knowledge in plenty of medicinal herbs, as well as, antiseptics etcetera. He has a high survival rate in his patients, and knows basically every household remedy, and takes enjoyment in testing the truth in old wives' tales. He is very observant and analytical, so he can adapt to a situation with relative ease, making him an asset to have when exploring a new environment.

## Drawbacks/weaknesses

Whilst he is observant and intelligent, his physical strength and combat skills are below average. He can barely hold a sword upright, and is more likely to end up on the end of his own blade than any foe’s weapon. He also spends too much time analysing and does not act fast enough, mostly, which leaves plenty of blind spots for him to be attacked.

## Early Life

He was raised by a single mother, who, in his later years, was slowly being consumed by an illness that nobody in their small community understood. This illness kept her bedridden and she never left the house, staying in the comfort of its small walls and garden for several years - Zion grew familiar with herbs due to his mother growing them as her only pastime. It was unknown where she had contracted it from, or what it was actually doing to her, but the evident decline in all her mental and physical attributes was enough for anyone to see her poor condition, and know her life was being taken from her unfairly.

Despite his best efforts, when Zion was merely 16, his mother passed away, leaving him well and truly on his own. Prior to her death, as she tried to venture more around their community to ‘get her affairs in order’, it appeared that her disease had been transferred to some of the more elderly townspeople. Zion assumed this illness was not contagious, as he had never exhibited any of the symptoms of it during his life.

As his village seemed to succumb to this illness that had kept his mother bedridden for several years, Zion watched from behind closed doors, desperately trying to innovate a cure.

His efforts were in vain.

Over half of his village was wiped out, with no distinct pattern among the victims, and he left his home behind in pure shame. He swore from then on that he’d cure the foul thing, which he named “Lungrot” - this name was derived from the fact that his Mother’s respiratory system, alongside the other victims, had deteriorated at the most alarming rate, and it was what seemed to trouble her the most. He also vowed to himself to help people he crossed paths with who might need to utilise him and his skillset, and never let them down the way he convinced himself he did with the people of his village.

## Recent life events

After travelling for several years as a wandering doctor, he eventually settled down, working in an Apothecary of his own in Silanus Haven - but chose to remain in complete solitude, in terms of both friendship *and* romance. He ached to be wanted and cared for, but contented himself with helping travellers and villagers who required herbs and medicines, which he had quite a gift for both finding and making. His notebooks slowly amassed into a great collection of various categories: poisonous herbs, medicinal herbs, herbs with magical properties, antiseptics, medical theories he had on infection, but his most prized knowledge lay within his knack for Potion Making.

He was confronted with another Lungrot patient just one year after opening his Apothecary - a young human girl, who was barely six years old. He tried his hardest, and made several discoveries, but she could not be saved. He spiralled a little following this - his behaviour became somewhat frantic and unhinged, with bursts of energy, spontaneity and ‘inspiration’ which were usually followed by depressive episodes.

## Present life

He spends most of his time in his apothecary, on the third floor of the Silanus Haven hospital, hidden from the world outside. He’s spent so much time in isolation, he’s afraid to confront the society that lay outside his front doors. Mostly, he can be found tinkering with various potions, or cleaning the mess that his failed experiments made. He has made some advancement toward curing Lungrot, which he has not had much experience with aside from the human girl and his long-dead village, in terms of theory and knowledge,. For now, he represses the desire to turn away from his work for a short while and live his life that he has neglected for several decades, and buries himself in his obsession.