Epitaph

> *"To be honest, I never wanted to fight you. But I guess you've forced my hand. I will make sure your epitaph is a fitting one - 'Died fighting something he couldn't'. What do you think?" ~ Epitaph challenging an opponent.*
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## General Info

### Power(s)

Baneish PhysiologySoul Manipulation (Reanimation)

## Other

### Character Theme

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**Epitaph** is an Earthen Darkbane who survived the Alliance-Darkbane Conflict. He now serves as one of James Adnoartina's top members of Kata Tjuta, and is a member of the Four Kings by extension.

## Appearance

Epitaph exhibits most features that a regular Darkbane would have, including ghastly white skin, piercing red eyes, long horns and a muscular figure. He is, however, shorter than most Darkbane and possesses two bovine-like legs. Most notably, he dons what seems to be the skull of a bovine-type creature on his head at all times.

On his back he carries his *Mausoleum*, a coffin structure used to store the souls he has collected. He also carries a lantern in hand, which he uses to project the soul of the one he is currently reanimating.

## Personality

Epitaph can be described as rather docile, preferring to avoid unnecessary fights, contrary to his Darkbane heritage. He believes that opponents seemingly weaker than himself should simply step down from those stronger than them in order to preserve their lives, and has in fact given enemies seconds chances after defeating them, much to the scorn of other members of the Kings. He is, nonetheless, a ruthless and brutal fighter in combat.

## Backstory

### Pre-Alliance Conflict

Raised from the Draught of Lifeblood, Epitaph was destined to become a Xephyr. From an early age he showed a natural interest in sorcery and the art of soul manipulation. He also possessed a keen intellect, and whilst these traits may have been seen as useless by other Darkbane factions, the Xephyrs showed interest in Epitaph and eventually drafted him into their ranks. He studied the art of sorcery and discovered a particular type of soul-manipulating magic, the Necromancy Tree. He delved into more advanced techniques of Necromancy, such as reanimation and soul-attraction. He eventually would imbue this magic into his weaponry, and even craft his own soul-attracting apparatus dubbed the *Mausoleum*.

### Alliance Conflict

During the Darkbane's first attempt to invade Earth, they ran into immediate resistance from the Alliance. They had severely underestimated the advanced technology, unorthodox tactics, and powerful Supers the Alliance possessed, and were pushed back after only a few brutal conflicts. During the final push-back of the Bane, Epitaph engaged in battle with Maxwell Gremory, but alas was bested by the Gremory's superior skill and demonism and was critically injured. Left for dead, the rest of the Baneish forces retreated soon after. However, Epitaph still lived, if barely, and through sheer will managed to escape Alliance cleanup squads and eventually went into hiding, slowly making his way across America, attempting to integrate into human society but failing to do so, until he met with the Four Kings.

### Spellplague Event

During the Spellplague, Epitaph experienced vivid and horrifying flashbacks of the Alliance-Darkbane Conflict. He re-experienced the losses he suffered and the wounds he gained, before experiencing one final image - an image of himself running through the streets until he reached an abandoned warehouse in a sparsely populated area of NNYC. After finally coming to, Epitaph had the directions imprinted in his mind, and felt that he experienced this image for a reason, and so he set off to find the warehouse. At this warehouse, he would find several Four Kings grunts loading up crates with illicit supplies. They spotted him and opened fire, but Epitaph, using his Baneish prowess, quickly dispatched of the low-level grunts. He was soon approached by Dreadnaught, who he prepared to fight with, but was stopped when Dreadnaught instead offered him a place within the Kings, impressed that he was able to take down a warehouse full of armed men with little trouble. Dreadnaught recognized that Epitaph was a Darkbane, and promised him a place within the Kings that guaranteed a place to live, under the conditions that he helped in the Kings' efforts to overthrow New York. Epitaph, desperate for a place to stay and not really caring about taking a few lives in the process due to his Baneish heritage, accepted the offer.

## Equipment

**Harvesting Scythe:** A darkstone scythe used as Epitaph's primary weapon. If Epitaph injures someone with his scythe and draws blood, he gains access to memories of deceased people they have had encounters with prior to their death. This is when his second piece of equipment kicks into effect.

**Mausoleum:** A large coffin-like structure with a silver cross welded onto it that Epitaph carries on his back. Once Epitaph has damaged someone with his scythe, he can use the Mausoleum to draw in one of the souls of a deceased acquaintance of the individual he damaged. The soul is then absorbed into the cross and stored within the Mausoleum for later use. Whenever his projecting a soul, a green mist seeps from the mausoleum and several hands begin to burst out of it and grasp at the air.

**Gravedigger's Lantern:** A lantern that Epitaph carries in his left hand. He uses this to project the souls of those stored within the Mausoleum before reanimating their body, turning them into what he calls "**Soul Echoes**". Epitaph can only have one Soul Echo summoned at a time, however he has complete control over their actions so long as he is focused. If he is to lose focus, the reanimated soul will cease movement, and if focus is not returned a few seconds afterwards, the Soul Echo will dissipate and return to the Mausoleum.

## Powers and Abilities

**Necromancy Magic:** An ancient tree of Magic that allows the user to manipulate the souls and bodies of the deceased. His practice and knowledge in the arts of Necromancy is rooted deep within his being. He uses his weapons as filters for this magic.

* **Reanimation:** Using this magic, he can summon past acquaintances, friends or family members of an individual provided he has damaged them with his scythe and that the acquaintances/relatives of the individual in question are deceased. He can use this as both a form of physical and psychological warfare. It should be noted that should the reanimated soul be a Super, their powers will likely be less potent than they were during their time in the living world. Reanimation is separate from a related Necromancy technique, *Resurrection*. Resurrection is simply restoring life to a deceased organism despite the organism succumbing to death, whereas reanimation is summoning a deceased individual and having full control over their actions.

**Baneish Physiology:** Like other Bane, Epitaph has strength, speed and stamina far beyond any human, though he relies on his necromancy much more than his physical capabilities. He also possesses dramatically sharpened senses, being able to see clearly in the dark and hear even the quietest of sounds. He seems to show either a lack of ability to or decision not to use his fear-inducing aura, though this is more likely due to the fact that he'd have to break concentration on keeping his Soul Echoes active in order to use his fear aura.

## Trivia

* An **Epitaph** is a text or poem on the graves of the deceased, usually written in honor of the person.
* Epitaph's main weapon, the **Mausoleum**, is named after the real life structure that is built around graves and resting places as a monument.