Orion's Shadow

From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe

Player: Impiousimp
Origin:	Magic
Archetype:	Brute
Security Level:	50
Personal Data
Real Name:	Mathieu Carver
Known Aliases:	Shadow
Species:	Transformed human, spliced with lion and umbral beast.
Age:	15
Height:	5' 7"
Weight:	150 lbs
Eye Color:	Green
Hair Color:	black
Biographical Data
Nationality:	French
Occupation:	None
Place of Birth:	Rogue Isles
Base of Operations:	Port Oakes
Marital Status:	Single
Known Relatives:	Grandfather (status unknown.) Mother (presumed dead.) Father (MIA)
Known Powers
Darkness control, self healing, heightened strength. Savage melee/Dark Armor
Known Abilities
Shape shifting from human/lion hybrid to feral lion, enhanced endurance, speed and leaping. Darkness teleportation.
Equipment
Black Kopesh that channels his powers.
If any description of his powers confuse you, ask.

History

Mathieu Carver grew up under the the care of his grandfather and mother, living modestly under arachnos rule, trying to keep a low profile. Bastian, Mat's grandfather, was a wizard planted in the rogue isles decades ago by the Midnighter's Club to infiltrate the magical underworld of the rogue isles. He was discovered and has lived, hiding in plain sight, ever since.

When Mat turned 10, he was was confronted with a surprising visitor. A massive, glowing white lion, who claimed to be a being of pure light, calling himself Orion. Mathieu was destined to be his vessel to confront a coming darkness some time in the future. For two years, they trained together, Mathieu eager to learn how to fight back against his oppressors. It wasn't until after he and Orion pulled a few acts of selfless heroism, that he realized that he was perhaps a bit too eager. An Arachnos cruiser landed on his family's property, greeting them with a small army, and a face familiar to Bastian, the son of an old rival of his, Sullivan Quinn. The young man challenged Bastien, while Mathieu and Orion took on the troops. Orion managed to protect Mathieu, but his bravado could not match the onslaught of the arachnos soldiers.

Nocturne at a stand still with Bastion, the dark mage used his control over darkness to steal away his daughter, and Mathieu's mother into the darkness, a portal into the abyss as a distraction to finish the old man off, as far as Mathieu knew. Orion attached in retaliation, only to have Nocturne's hand thrust into his chest, darkness being imbued into him. The darkness corrupted the warrior, bringing him under control of the darkness user. After communicating with the beast, he discovered that Mathieu was meant to be Orion's vessel, and so he commanded the umbral beast to unite with the boy, just to see what happens.

Upon merging with Mat, an excruciatingly painful transformation occurred as the boy shifted from human, to animal. He had assumed the form of a pure black feral lion. After he was done changing, Nocturne took him to an underground complex, a training camp for young metas, to be utilized as part of Recluse's Operation Destiny. It didn't take long for Mat to realize how much control Nocturne really had over him. Some commands, he would obey nom atter how much his mind protested. However there was only one command he would not obey, and that would be to kill someone in cold blood. Disappointing, but acceptable as long as Shadow, as he was dubbed, could fight, regardless of his poor attitude.

It was during the following years that the rebellious teen became frustrated enough to conspire with other 'students' to look for an opportunity to break free. It was tough, working through the often painful training sessions, but the day finally came when a Rikti ship came to blow a hole in the roof of the complex, and in the chaos, he and several other students made their escape.

Since then, Shadow has been living in the jungles of Nerva Archipelago, in a secret base built by him and several other youths for the express purpose of seeking out others like them and setting them free or urging them to join them. They know they have enemies, and those who would have them as their tools of war, but the only thing they can do is rebel, and light some fires on the way.

Personality

If his being a smart ass is his worst trait, he isn't too bad off for a teenager. He tries to be polite but isn't afraid to call people out on their foolishness or unfair behavior. He yearns to be independent and self reliant, often quite stubborn in asking for help. Nobody ever said street and book smarts meant wisdom after all. He has had a fairly interesting childhood, from learning about the powers gifted to him from Orion, his mother's herbal potion making, and his grandfather's wizardry he was certainly never bored. His own interests however leaned towards stage magic, sleight of hand and illusion. That said he is quite happy to use his skills as an illusionist to trick and prank others given the chance. Even when it's just a moment or two to show off, he'll take it. Always a showman, this one. In the same vein he's very gregarious and friendly unless he's given a reason not to. First impressions are everything to this cat.

He tends to distrust authority and has a bit of an rebellious streak in him, given the political environment he lives in. He's no radical but as said above he is willing to speak out against those he sees as unjustified. It's the sort of thing a warrior is supposed to do, right? He himself has a strong sense of justice. He's always going to stand up for the little guy and root for the underdog, even if he doesn't say anything. As far as he sees the world, the establishment isn't always in the right.

Matty's biggest fault is probably a lack of seriousness, even given his dire situation. He'd rather kick back and have pursue his own ambitions than work all day on menial labor. The only two things he does seem to take seriously is his task given to him by Orion and his own illusion magic hobbies. We'll just have to blame that on his age.