Zachary Zatara

# Prince of Prestidigitation

Charmcaster

*Description Here ~ Zach*

## History

### Early Life

Zachary was born and raised in Ischia, a small island just off the Amalfi Coast of Italy. His mother was a sorceress by the name of Maria Zatara & his father was an occult detective known as Alexander Blackthorne. He had a fairly uneventful childhood, brought up by a pair of loving parents. He spent his days reading, playing games, and studying the mystic arts. Though they thought it best that Zachary stay separate from other kids, they took great care in his education. At the age of 9 he was already fluent in three languages with a rich knowledge of world history. Though these things captured his interest nothing seemed to captivate him more than magic. From a young age he dreamed of becoming a great sorcerer and traveling the world. He used the bulk of his free time to research various mystical topics and practice spells his parents had taught him. He became fairly good faster than most, quickly picking up on skills and concepts that most would think complex.

Zachary didn't really have friends growing up, his family lived in a manor just outside of a small town on Ischias west coast. His parents decided it would be best to homeschool him rather than sending him into town everyday to attend their one small elementary school. Because of this there was little reason for Zachary to go into town, he spent his days within the Manor. The closest thing he had to a friend was his pet, a winged black cat named Shadow. Zachary first received Shadow on his seventh birthday after begging his parents for a pet for months. After much refusal they finally conceded and gave him a kitten which he affectionately named Shadow because of the dark coloration of its fur. The two grew close very quickly, becoming attached to one another on a deep emotional level. They grew up together, spending every day in each other's company. Between Shadow and his loving parents, Zachary never felt lonely.

However, good things rarely last long. When Zachary was only ten years of age his father went on a mission to investigate a series of supernatural child kidnappings in Brazil. He was mortally wounded and died while attempting to return home. Zachary's mother fell into a grief-stricken depression, detaching from everything & everyone. It seemed to Zachary that he'd lost two parents at once. He was forced to become self-dependent early on. While Zachary grappled with the grief of losing his father in a healthy manner, his mother became obsessive and hell bent on bringing him back. She began to search for a way to return her lost love, she'd leave for weeks on end to scour the globe for the power to bring him back.

Eventually she found what she was looking for, an ancient tome of dark magic which whispered into her mind. It promised her what she wanted most in the world and she listened. Zachary's mother returned home and while on the outside seemed normal, had become tainted by darkness. The more time passed, the further she fell into the book's embrace. She'd lock herself in the manors basement and forbade Zachary from ever setting foot within. Strangely around the time that this began, people began going missing all over the island at an alarming rate. Following in his father's footsteps, Zachary began to investigate these strange disappearances.

Eventually he traced it all back to his own home, specifically his mother's basement. Suddenly things began to slide into place, the only thing he needed was definitive evidence. He stayed awake that night, waiting silently and just as he suspected his mother crept from the house under the cover of night. Zachary took this opportunity to break into the basement, unlocking the door and managing to dismantle the various curse traps placed at the entrance. And then he descended, walking down stairs for what felt like hours. The basement went down much further than it logically should have, likely the work of magic. Upon reaching the bottom of the stairs he was met with a heavy metal door. He could practically feel the dark magic radiating from the room behind it. Somewhat reluctantly, Zachary pushed the door open.  He was met with a sight worse than anything he could've imagined. Half a dozen metal tables with people strapped to them, except. . . the people weren't correct. Their bodies had been altered by dark magic, twisting their forms in grotesque ways that made Zachary's stomach flip and churn uncomfortably. The walls were lined with vials filled with a wispy blue light, lights which Zachary recognized as souls of the deceased.

As it turned out, Maria's delve into dark magic had unforeseen consequences on her body & mind. It was killing her slowly and to stay alive she had to harvest the life force of other humans. Their souls she used as a source of power and what was left of their bodies became test subjects for horrific experiments. Before Zachary could turn to leave, the door slammed shut behind him. Behind him stood his mother, a silent anger radiating from her. She first attempted to convince Zachary that all she was doing was for good reason, that soon she'd be able to bring his father to life. But once it became clear that he wasn't on her side, she attempted to drain his life force as she had done to all the others.

A fight ensued, one where Zachary was clearly outmatched. He fought well but was handily defeated. Just as all seemed bleak, Zachary had an idea. He casted a spell which destroyed all of the vials in the room, releasing the souls trapped within them. This caused her power to rapidly deplete, giving Zachary the opportunity to cast a spell of pure magic to destroy the tome which purged her of the darkness. Unfortunately the damage had already been done, and without the dark magic to keep her alive, she passed away in her son's arms. After a short moment of grief and regret, Zachary casted a spell to destroy the basement and everything in it, including his mother's body.

And Zachary was now truly on his own. At just 13 years old both his parents were gone. After much thought he decided that he simply couldn't live in the manor anymore, it was simply too painful. While looking through his parents' things a few days later he found an old photo album from his mother, finding images of family he didn't know he had. After a bit of research he discovered his uncle (Giovanni Zatara) lived in America as a hero and stage magician before his passing and decided to move there in hopes of finding out more about his family. He took the small fortune his parents afforded him and moved to New York, purchasing an apartment in his mother's name. He plans to become an occult detective like his father but also to help people in a more direct way like his uncle.

## Powers and Abilities

### Powers

* **Magic:** He is able to use it from both disciplines of Logomancy, and Sigil. He’s able to perform many feats due to it.

### Skills

* **Prestidigitation:** able to use stage magic tricks such as Sleight of Hand, Redirction, Escapology, and Lock Picking.
* **Occultism**
* **Investigation**
* **Multilingualism:** Speaks fluent English, Italian, Arabic, and Latin.