Blood Lord Aergulf
From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe
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| Blood Lord Aergulf | |
| Player: Scarlet Redemption | |
| Origin: | Magic |
|---|---|
| Archetype: | Brute |
| Threat Level: | 50 |
| Personal Data | |
| Real Name: | Malith |
| Known Aliases: | The Blood Lord, The Bloody One, The Beast |
| Species: | Altered Human |
| Age: | Unknown |
| Height: | 8'4" |
| Weight: | 2000 lbs |
| Eye Color: | Unknown |
| Hair Color: | Unknown |
| Biographical Data | |
| Nationality: | Unknown |
| Occupation: | Unknown |
| Place of Birth: | Unknown |
| Base of Operations: | Unknown |
| Marital Status: | Single |
| Known Relatives: | None |
| Known Powers | |
| Unnatural Strength and Density, Electrical Control and Summoning | |
| Known Abilities | |
| Etiquette, Persuasion, Heraldry, Polyglot, Heightened Senses. | |
| Equipment | |
| The Mask of Blood | |
| No more information. | |
Contents |
Appearance
"Look upon me, mortals. Look upon me and despair."
Blood Lord Aergulf to a group of Wyvern.
Aergulf is a terrifying and intimidating creature. He stands over 8 feet tall and tips the scales at around 2000 pounds of solid mass. His clothing looks to be ancient and of mixed origins. Over his face and head, Aergulf wears the Mask of Blood. This massive leather mask is also from unknown origins. His cape is said to drip constantly with the blood of all those he has slain. His flesh dances with lightning and bursts of electricity. Aergulf can extend this electrical field into a brutal aura of lightning, causing electricity to crackle and ground randomly around him. Aergulf is very aware of his stark and frightening appearance and uses it to his advantage for purposes of intimidation and inspiration.
Aergulf's voice booms out from behind his mask with perfect clarity. It has a duel tonal quality, with a deep basso voice, and a gurgling rasping voice underneath. Occasionally disgusting burbling noises can be heard coming from behind the mask he wears.
Character
"All mortals are destined to wither, die and be forgotten."
Blood Lord Aergulf on humanity.
Power
Power is the only thing in the world that interests Aergulf in the slightest. Mortals without power find themselves beneath his interest. He spends all of his time in pursuit of, or learning about, power. Both his heightened senses and his mystical knowledge guide him to people, places or objects of power.
Uncertainty
Aergulf has been out of the loop for quite a while. It is not known where he was or what he was doing but it is obvious from his quiet confusion that the world has changed a lot since he has been gone. Though he is not naive, he has a hard time understanding advanced science and technology. It is not unusual for him to ask pointed questions about current affairs and even certain history.
Physiology
Aergulf never eats or drinks. He has stated many times that he requires neither food nor drink. He is quite comfortable in sub-zero and 100+ temperatures. He doesn't require air and can survive indefinitely in a vacuum. Pressure extremes also do not phase him. Aergulf has no need for sleep and can rejuvenate himself by simply resting for a few seconds. Aergulf has never been observed with any injuries.
Mind
Aergulf's mindscape is a vast endless maelstrom with no discernible up or down. There is nothing but bursts and tornadoes of hatred, malice and agony. It washes over everything in constant torrents. The foul wind howls rage and incoherent murmurings about power constantly and viciously. Those attempting to find a center or something remotely "human" will eventually become utterly lost. Thoughts and feelings are completely lost in this landscape. With nothing solid, no "landmarks", and the constant buffet of pure rancor hammering a mindreader, the usual outcome is the psychic becomes unusually hostile, paranoid, or delusional. Psychics that spend to much time in the Blood Lord's thoughts suffer from acute mental trauma, depression, anxiety, and usually become suicidal.
Usually these effects are permanent without the help of a councilor, psychiatrist, or psychic surgery. Strong willed or completely deranged psychics often only suffer nightmares or flashbacks from time to time from any amount of time spent reading Aergulf's mind.
Rumors persist that somewhere in the vast wasteland of rage that is Aergulf's mind there is a small fist sized shell of actual human thought and emotion.
Combat
Aergulf fights using no real style. He attacks more as a wild animal than as a trained martial artist. He lashes out randomly at his enemies with gouges, punches, grappling, and head butts. He only uses his legs to crush fallen enemies or stomp the ground to create mini earthquakes. He also wades into combat with little to no regard for his own safety and does not engage in taunting or bullying. In fact he doesn't speak at all during combat. He kills with no warning and no hesitation.
In some ways this kind of fighting makes him harder to fight because of its unpredictability. But those truly skilled in the martial arts can avoid most of his wild attacks.
Psychology
"There was nothing left of them.... Nothing but... but grease spots and blood... Blood everywhere. And their screams... Oh god!"
A hysterical Mook after an attack by Aergulf.
Aergulf has no concept of other people. He often treats allies as nuisances and wades through crowds of enemies without thought of the welfare of his charges. He commits atrocities while in the midst of his enemies, often scarring the minds of all but the most depraved of his allies. What he does to his victims is better forgotten.
Aergulf presents himself as a courtly gentleman when encountered in public. He is a good listener and will ask many questions. He reserves his opinions unless asked and will tell the truth more often than not. But the reason isn't because he's polite. If he actually takes the time to converse with anyone its because he senses that they have a potential for darkness and wishes to exploit it.
Aergulf's alien way of thinking doesn't allow for him to feel anything close to compassion, love, joy, or sadness. His mind is a muddled mass of pure evil. His laughter lacks joy and his attempts at concern are hollow and blatantly false. He has a hard time lying because he lacks the emotional range to seem believable.
Need
Occasionally Aergulf will encounter an unique individual that has potential for something 'greater'. When this happens he becomes completely driven to interact with that person and get to know them. When Aergulf finally wins their trust he will give them a relic of vast magical power. It is not known what he gains from distributing these relics. The individuals don't become his slaves and are often as powerful if not more than him after they accept the gift.
Powers and Abilities
Lightning Control: Aergulf has perfect control over electricity and bathes himself in lightning at all times. Rarely does he let his guard down and lower his electrical field. He has such minute control that he can even maintain the electrical field in water or in a vacuum. Electrical and electronic equipment short out and fry in his presence and he is painful to the touch.
In the past he has been able to throw out arcs of lightning but has not done this since he resurfaced.
Aura of Despair: Aergulf constantly radiates a feeling of hopelessness and apathy. He can, at will, turn up this aura and actually wither his opponents. Victims in his presence feel suicidal, depressed, and exhausted. Their muscles often spasm and tear causing great agony.
His effect on wildlife is apparent. Animals often leave an area he has visited and never return. In close proximity, insects shrivel up and turn to dust, birds often fly into trees or other objects killing themselves, and small mammals usually suffer embolisms or strokes. No animal knowingly comes within one mile of Aergulf.
Unnatural Strength: Aergulf's unnatural strength easily puts him in the superhuman category, though his strength has never been properly tested. He has, in the past, torn through triple flex titanium barriers surrounding the buildings in Agincourt and can tear up steel like tissue paper. Though he doesn't use his strength to lift or carry things as much as shatter and destroy people and property. One punch is enough to finish all but the most sturdy of normal humanity. In the past he has used his horrific strength to kill and mutilate his victims.
Unnatural Speed and Agility: Aergulf's uncanny speed and agility are results of his heightened senses. He is agile enough to dodge bullets and catch boulders thrown at him. He can also run flat out at around 30 mph without rest. Those that have fought by his side say that his fists crack and pop as they break the sound barrier when he punches.
Unnatural Leaping: Given Aergulf's strength and density it is no surprise that he can leap for hundreds of yards at a time, but what is strange is how he can literally turn around and change direction while still in mid leap. It is unknown how he can do this at this time but some state he uses the natural magnetic fields of the Earth to do this. But this is merely speculation.
Mystical and Heightened Senses: Aergulf can sense any magical item within five miles and relics of power within fifty miles. He can also sense mystically enhanced individuals and beings within five miles. He can also sense life energy of people and can quickly tell if something is undead or alive. Aergulf can identify and track people by smell through a hurricane, hear a mouse breath through a blanket of snow, and see and identify individuals from atop a ninety story building in total darkness.
Extensive Knowledge and skills: When it comes to gathering, gaining, controlling or maintaining power, Aergulf is an absolute expert. He knows all arcane, multidimensional, and supernatural paths to power that exist. With a glance he can tell the difference between a true mage, a sorcerer, or a demon in disguise. He has centuries of experience behind him in these matters. He can read thousands of ancient dead languages as well as speak them. He knows the true names of many daemons, devils, and outsiders and isn't frightened by the prospect of confronting an arch-demon or demigod.
Aergulf also has the experiences of thousands of years of life. Ancient history and customs are as memorable to him now as they were thousands of years ago. Though it is not known how old Aergulf is, he has spoken of events that he has seen that span back to times before the pyramids. But it is not known if he is lying, crazy, or both.
Weaknesses
"I looked inside of his mind and saw the vast hollowness of an existence wholly consumed with the depravity of purest evil. I saw no fear, no pain, and no remorse. I saw a creature that was completely unstoppable. Yet beneath it all, I saw the beast's truest terror. I wept at its beauty."
The late Commander Bhaln's journal entry written the day of his death.
Pride: Aergulf suffers from monumental amounts of hubris. He underestimates human mortals all the time. Often he will ignore them completely. Because of this he gets caught flat footed by normal human heroes quite often.
He also doesn't take to being taunted while fighting. He becomes enraged easily.
Human body: When Aergulf isn't surrounded by lightning he is susceptible to all forms of damage that most people are, though he still maintains a high tolerance for energy attacks. Even with electricity dancing around him he is easily injured by acids.
Sense overload: Aergulf's senses being as acute as they are can be overloaded. This will confuse or stupefy him momentarily. Sometimes causing him to lower his defenses. Other times it will cause him to lash out unpredictably at friend and foe alike.
Mystical Senses: One of Aergulf's most powerful attributes is also one of his biggest detriments. His mystical senses are confused and befuddled by technologically or scientifically enhanced beings. Mystically they register as natural but also unnatural. Mortal yet not mortal. This frustrates and perplexes him. Mutants don't even register as human to his senses, yet they don't register as non-human either. Its as if they aren't really there. Aergulf has very little experience with genetics or advanced science and doesn't understand why his senses are so fouled up around these individuals.
Innocence: Aergulf's completely alien way of thinking cannot comprehend random acts of kindness or compassion. When confronted by pure innocence he becomes horrified and ill. In an instance in Sicily, he found himself confronted by a young child trying to protect her parents. The child tried to barter with him for the life of her parents with her own. Aergulf was repelled and appalled by this. His state of horror was such that he even tried to tear the mask from his face. He fled Sicily and never returned.
Righteousness: Not to be confused by self-righteousness, which Aergulf adores. People or beings that have dedicated their lives to morality and humility terrify Aergulf. He is wracked with pain in the presence of those of pure heart. The Blood Lord will choose to flee a righteous individual rather than fight.
History
The Mystery
Throughout history there are stories and accounts of The Blood Lord dating back as far back as 5000 BC. Many are merely descriptions of a being of power who wears a mask and wields the blood of the gods. More concrete accounts begin around areas of northern India, southern Pakistan and Eastern China around 2600 BC. These accounts are more fables about a demon lord and his hounds of hell coming to corrupt men.
In 2200 BC there are stories of a beast with "The Sky's Fury" as a cloak rampaging through the city-states of the Akkadian Empire. These accounts describe a being that resembles Aergulf and many of his powers, though it does say that he breathes fire in those descriptions. In these accounts this being is destroyed by a son or grandson of Sargon.
There are accounts of beings resembling Aergulf with the Assyrian, Babylonian, Hittite, and later the Hyksos empires. These accounts range between 2100 and 1800 BC. Then the Egyptians only make mention of the legends brought by the Hyksos but add nothing new.
Between 1900 BC and 1500 BC it seems that Aergulf is everywhere. From ancient China to South America. In all accounts he looks very much the same as he does now but is always flanked by two hell hounds or hound-like beasts. In all accounts he is defeated, driven away, or killed by some mythic hero or minor god.
Accounts of his appearance and defeat appear all around the world between 1800 BC to around 400 AD. In 400 AD, in ancient Japan, he was described as wielding a spear of lightning and a shield of thunder. Also this was the first account that actually mentioned the Mask of Blood. It was said that he was defeated by the noble son of a lord that he had slain in honorable battle.
What makes the Japanese account so different from all the other stories is that after the noble son slew Aergulf he took the mask as a souvenir. It is unknown whether this account is completely true or not but many later accounts of Aergulf all have him being defeated and his mask being taken. If any of these stories are true then it may be that Aergulf is not as old as he claims or that he is merely under the control of the Mask.
Written Accounts
"He fights like a man possessed. Or not like a man at all. The turks fell before the swipes of his blade like grass before a scythe. He fought without sword and shield just as effectively; demoralizing and ruining the enemy. Those that were not dead were piked out in full view of their fellows. Their cries of agony to their god, unheard. Its been more than a ten-day and the turks have yet to return."
Vlad Tepes's account of Aergulf's way of fighting and torture.
Early written accounts of Aergulf date back as far back as 507 in Paris. Clovis I begins a written history on his family starting with his grandfather, Merovech. In the history there are descriptions of a being much like Aergulf, who wears a bloody mask, stepping from the ocean and siring Merovech. Later this being is recognized as a sea god.
Aergulf has been written about in Russian literature as well as Romanian. They describe a "monster of a man" whom helped the Christians repel the Ottomans in parts of Russia and Romania. Romanian accounts are most descriptive. They describe him as a major power along with Vlad Tepes in the success of the wars.
There are also accounts of a "mysterious masked man" whom provoked a huge peasant uprising in Germany in the 1520's. Tens of thousands died in these uprisings. It is unclear how and why Aergulf did this.
Recent Accounts
After the 1500's all mention of Aergulf completely disappear. Then in 2007, The Blood Lord was sighted in the Rogue Isles. He has then been sighted in Paragon City, often around sites of mass murder or destruction. His threat level has since steadily risen. With the destruction of the Longbow Office in Kings Row and the brutal murders of 18 Longbow Agents, the infiltration of Agincourt and the murder of over 58 Longbow Agents there, his threat level has become considered a national matter. Due to the nature of the murders and the sensitive material stolen from both of these places much of the information of these events have been suppressed.
Aergulf has worked with nearly every notable contact in the Rogue Isles. The few he has not worked with flat out refused to work with him because of his vicious nature. So far, it is not known whether or not Arachnos has taken notice of the Blood Lord, but it seems that Aergulf has taken notice of Arachnos. He seems to be methodically working his way into their good graces.
The Origins
"My mortal days mean as much to me as mortals themselves."
Blood Lord Aergulf's opinion on his own origins.
The Blood Lord was not always the Blood Lord. He was born around 8400 BC to a nomadic tribe of hunter/gatherers in modern day Turkey. His name then was Malith.
Malith's role for the tribe was hunter and headman to the chief. He also was responsible for training of the wild dogs that the tribe would capture around the area. Malith spent most of his time alone hunting with his dogs.
Malith was very superstitious and worshiped the sun along with other heavenly bodies and elements. He understood that strange beasts roamed the land at night so was fearful of the night.
At one point during a hunt Malith met a strange man whom moved like that of an animal. Immediately Malith tried to attack the man out of fear. His spear turned to dust when it touched the man and his dogs would not even go near him. Malith assumed this man to be a god and began to seek forgiveness. The man wordlessly dropped a red mask into Malith's possession then disappeared.
Malith believed he had received a gift from a god and immediately put the mask on. Shortly after Malith found that all of his senses were heightened. This inspired him to open himself up more and more to the power of the mask. Slowly Malith changed. He called himself Aergulf or "Sky Lord" in his native tongue. As the years wore on Aergulf changed more and more until the mortal once known as Malith was completely gone and the beast by the name of Aergulf took his place.
The Beast
For centuries, where ever Aergulf went, death and destruction followed. His humanity was almost completely eroded after a few hundred years and he surrendered more and more of himself to the power of the mask. Aergulf found that he was able to let the power of the mask completely take over and change him into a horrific beast.
It is still not known who is really in control. The Mask of Blood or the man himself. What is known is that the human part of Aergulf is almost thoroughly gone.
Lately Aergulf has been seen reverting to his beast form. During his attack on Agincourt, the Blood Lord kept changing from man to monster than back again. This may or may not have been a result of his mind being invaded by the now deceased Longbow agent, Commander Bhaln, but the videos of this are frightening to behold.
New Employ
Aergulf has been seen in the company of Scirocco. It isn't clear why the Blood Lord is helping out Arachnos.
The relationship between Scirocco and Aergulf seems to be one of mutual respect and mistrust. They both have in their possession items of great magical power and they are both bound to these items. But this is where they diverge. Scirocco wishes to rid himself of his curse while Aergulf, for all intents and purposes, never wishes to change. Some believe that Aergulf associates with Scirocco for his enchanted weapon but Aergulf seems almost completely uninterested in the blade.
Relics of Power
Aergulf's biggest secret is that he is not unique. He is merely one wielder of a relic of vast power. He rarely discusses the others that he calls 'peers'. He and his peers seem to either loathe each other or simply avoid each other. They are rarely seen together. There is no leadership or master amongst them. Some are older than others, some are more powerful than others, but throughout history none have ever fought each other. They have sent proxies against each other but have never physically touched one another.
His peers and Aergulf call each other 'Relics of Power' or their one word moniker for each other. Aergulf's name is "The Beast". It can be quite confusing when they talk to each other because its not clear whether they are talking about an individual or an item. On top of that most of them speak an almost gurgling indecipherable inhuman language to each other, when they choose to speak to each other.
Though they rarely ever work together, every so often many of the Relics gather together underneath Thorn Island to discuss their strange goals. The Relics meet in their inner sanctum, an area that they simply call 'The Outside'. The Outside is hidden far beneath Thorn Island and is rumored to house hundreds of priceless mystical artifacts and dozens of relics of power.
Many decades ago the Circle of Thorns Mages sealed the entrance to The Outside and rarely venture even close to the wards. The demons in the employ of the Circle of Thorns avoid Aergulf and his peers. The few demons that actually speak of the Relics fear them greatly. Aergulf and his peers consider all demons, devils, and daemons weak and call them 'pretenders'.
Roleplay Notes
- Basically Aergulf is always plotting and planning.
- He is always assessing a situation and is rarely unprepared.
- He does not play power games with others. Especially mortals.
- He doesn't respond to bravado or intimidation.
- He also doesn't needlessly provoke people. Though sometimes the things he says can be provocative.
- He doesn't fight for the hell of it.
- He doesn't fight to show dominance.
- He kills and destroys. Those he defeats he rarely lets live and those he fights he fights for a reason.
- He sees those with demonic/devilish/angelic origins as falsely powerful or pretenders.
- Half-breeds or those tainted also fit this.
- Will try and corrupt these beings.
- Aergulf does not feel love, lust, romance, compassion, joy or any remotely positive human emotion.
- Further he does not understand or is completely confused by open displays of such emotion.
- Sometimes attempts to feign these feelings but usually fails.
- Aergulf always leaves his mind open for all to read. Nothing is blocked.
- His mind generally assaults the senses of all but the most deranged psychics.
- His thoughts revolve mainly around relics of power and how beneficial they are.
- Aergulf is really full of himself.
- He doesn't brag about himself but will remind others how powerful, intelligent, and experienced he is.
- Aergulf has an incredibly low opinion of mortals.
- What's a mortal? Basically, if you can die, you're a mortal. Agelessness, longevity, godhood or undeath means nothing to him if you can die.
