Ethan Linh

**Ethan Tiên Linh** is an oracle who has made a pact with the spirit Cassius. He eventually joins Trevor, Elaine, and Diedra on their quest for a series of magical journals.

## History

Ethan thought he was a regular kid until he started to see things that no one else did. First it was just weird dreams that seemed to mirror real-life events that happened later, then he started to see strange creatures and people apparently invisible to everyone else. It turned out that he had a magical ancestor, from whom he inherited the ability to see and interact with the spirit world, as well as future vision. Overwhelmed by all this, Ethan left home. Soon after, he was approached by a spirit in the form of his childhood dog, who after a long time he eventually grew to trust. He formed a pact with it to gain its power and protection.

## Appearance

Ethan is a young man with tan skin marred with a few small scars on his fingers and arms. He has a much more pronounced scar on his cheek that runs through his eyebrow. People constantly ask how he got it, a question that he never gives the same answer to. He has chin-length, haphazardly cut brown hair, which he rarely ever brushes, and the way he sleeps makes one half stick up and the other stick flat to his head. His blue eyes, a side-effect of his powers, are so pale the color is almost transparent. His sleeping habits are terrible so there's always pronounced dark circles under his eyes. He needs glasses but doesn't always wear them; when they're not on his face, they're typically up on his head or in his jacket pocket. His smiles are always slight even in they’re genuine. He has a tattoo-like marking inscribed on the back of his neck, a symbol of his pact with Cas.

Ethan prefers big, loose clothing - usually some kind of sweater or light jacket over a t-shirt. The sleeves are always long enough to go past his hands. He finds random things in his pockets all the time - pens, candy, paper scraps, change, various creature parts of unknown origin. Always chooses comfort over looking nice. He wears a lot of drawstring sweatpants or b-ball shorts. He has one ratty pair of hiking boots that he’s used for years and refuses to replace.

## Personality

His focus on the future blinds him to the present, the classic blind prophet trope. He's constantly worried about what's going to come next and doesn't pay attention to what's going on now, because it "doesn't matter anymore". He does almost everything on instinct (instincts bad). Minimalistic, he doesn't really care about his belongings because "it's just stuff". Generally a quiet and reserved person, it’s difficult to get close to him or get him to “open up”. Despite being secretive himself, he's kind of a gossip and is really bad at keeping other peoples' secrets. He's confused and a little scared by new power, and seeks understanding of it. Pessimistic by nature, he's sarcastic and frequents morbid humor. He rolls his eyes a lot. He's thick-skinned, takes insults really well; it is extremely hard to get a rise out of him. He's really good at avoiding confrontation, both physical and emotional. When he's uncomfortable he has the habit of repeatedly clenching and unclenching his fists. Though he's actually really book smart, he never puts in the effort. He has a severe lack of common sense; the true story of got his scar is that he crashed his bike into a tree because he forgot his glasses at home and decided he’d “be fine without them” (he wasn't).

Paranoid, his motto is “if someone’s not out to get you, then they want something from you”. However, weirdly contrary to this mindset, he's pretty gullible. He acts like he doesn't need anyone else but he's actually really lonely and doesn’t know how to handle kindness. He gets really jittery and awkward when people are genuinely nice to him. He has a snort laugh, which only the few lucky enough to get him to laugh will hear. He seems like a super spiritual and omniscient person but is actually a huge dork. He fucking loves dogs: he’ll run across a busy street to go pet a dog and cries at any movie about dogs even if the dog doesn’t die. He commonly gives tarot readings at college campuses and street corners for $5 a pop, and will actually tell them the future with no cryptic wording (some of his customers say this ruins the mysticism, but you don't hear them complaining when his predictions come true to a T). Instead of dealing with his emotions, he sweeps them under the rug and continues on like nothing is wrong. When he doesn't know how to react to a situation he'll just get up and walk away. He needs more sleep. He gets all passive-aggressive at you if you piss him off. He doesn’t really talk much, living proof of the “it’s always the quiet ones” cliché.

## Powers and Abilities

**Future Vision** **–** Ethan occasionally receives visions of future events. his visions show the most likely possible future - although it is possible for the outcome to be different than what he sees, there's a low chance of that happening. A vision can be triggered on purpose if he is asked a specific question about the future.

**Clairvoyance** **–** Ethan has the innate ability to see past the "veil" into the spirit world. He has no control over this ability and thus sees the physical and spirit worlds simultaneously at all times. He usually cannot speak to or hear the spirits clearly, only getting whispers or snippets of their voices. This causes him chronic headaches.

A**stral Projection** – With concentration, Ethan can project his soul from his body into the spirit world, allowing him full communication with the spirits that reside there. During this time, his body is completely unconscious and cannot be awoken by normal means. It's possible for Ethan's soul to "wander too far" and get permanently separated from his body if he's not careful.

**Spirit Bond** – If he makes a pact with a spirit he is able to communicate with it at any time without astral-projecting. The spirit is magically tied to him, and can be summoned at any time or location without fail.

## Trivia

* The surname Linh is a Vietnamese name meaning "spirit" or "soul". Combined with possible meanings of his first and middle names, "strong" and "immortal/transcendent" respectively, his full name could be read as meaning "strong immortal soul."