Were-hare
From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe
| [[Image:|300px|]] | |
| The Ware-Hare | |
| Player: bakayara | |
| Origin: | ' |
|---|---|
| Archetype: | Stalker |
| Threat Level: | ' |
| Personal Data | |
| Real Name: | Lukas Rhinelander |
| Known Aliases: | none |
| Species: | Were-Rabbit |
| Age: | 31 |
| Height: | 6'1" |
| Weight: | 228# |
| Eye Color: | Green |
| Hair Color: | White |
| Biographical Data | |
| Nationality: | German |
| Occupation: | Gentleman Vagabond |
| Place of Birth: | ' |
| Base of Operations: | ' |
| Marital Status: | Single |
| Known Relatives: | None Living |
| Known Powers | |
| ' | |
| Known Abilities | |
| ' | |
| Equipment | |
| ' | |
| ' | |
As a youth growing up, Lukas Rhinelander found little to take any measure of solace from. Although he was the heir to the title and estates of the minor barony of Rhineland, the estate amounted to little more than a shadow of it's once proud heritage. Little remained except a shabbily maintained manor house and the rabbit farms that once had produced the namesake Rhineland rabbit breed and that heritage was as eroded as the manor house. Rhineland rabbits are an aggressive breed and required a stern hand to raise correctly, a quality that Lukas's timid father did not possess. Neither did his mother, it seemed the only qualities she possessed were and complete lack of modesty regarding public behaviour. With a future comprised of a weak, near-alcoholic father, a promiscuous mother and a ranch of untamed, unkempt, aggressive rabbits, it's little wonder that Lukas spent a good deal of time with Hase, the man who had once been the head 'rabbit wrangler' on the estate when Lukas's grandfather still ran things but who was let go by Lukas's father amid suspicions of dalliances on his wife's part with the hired help (not so co-incidentally about 7 months before Lukas was born). When Lukas turned 21, Hase reveled to Lukas the true heritage of the Rhinelanders - one that caused he father to shrink in fear and timidness into a bottle of schnapps and his mother embraced only in her wantonness and promiscuity - that of the Were-Rabbit. A lycanthropy far less common - if such a thing could ever be called common - than the more oft heard of French Loup-Garou (Were-Wolves) and the Druidic Were-Bears, but to Lukas's surprise very much real and very much his legacy. Lukas wasted very little time wresting control of the Barony from his father - who offered no resistance and who's... "disappearance"... caused no concern to anyone, not even his wife. Lukas could not bring himself to consign her to the same fate as his father, through no small part due to the intersession of Hase, who was too discrete to directly say so but left Lukas with little doubt that Hase and Lukas shared more than friendship through Lady Rhineland. She was more than happy to take a generous allowance, more than even she could ever spend, and 'retire' to the 'more active' social circuit in Berlin. Hase, unlike Lukas's father, had served during the war and had maintained ideological and personal ties to people that eventually were Incorporated into the 5th Column and eventually the Council. Through those ties, he strongly urged Lukas to bring his legacy to the attention of the genetics research division of the Council that was responsible for the Vampyri and War Wolves. Lukas resisted Hase's urgings and spend several years at various universities around Europe learning as much about the emerging field of bio-technology as he could so that when, and if, he did approach the Council with his heritage that he would be in a position to present his possible contributions and retain some control over it. When he eventually did approach the Council, they initially appeared to show interest in the possibility as by this time Lukas was well into his prime as a were-rabbit and had considerable control over abilities and with what he had earned and researched before approaching the Council, had refined and honed his abilities well beyond what any of the others in he clan were capable of. His ability to accelerate his metabolism granted him a much greater offensive abilities then his clan mates and while his defenses were not on a par with some of the other Lycanthropes that the Council was investigating, his metabolic enhancement gave him an incredible speed, agility and recuperative prowess that let his stay toe-to-toe with any of the other test subjects. He took more damage, but when the bouts were over, was no the worse for wear and often still ready for more. However he came to find out that the Council already had much invested in the current Vampyri and War Wolf projects and, well, to be honest, they felt that somehow the fluffy tail and floppy ears outweighed the possible benefits that his research offered - a 'Killer Cottentail' is a harder sell to a military man than a Genetically/Surgically Enhanced Super Soldier that just happens to resemble a Vampire, even Lukas had to admit that. However he did not see the treachery coming that saw the Council take -and 'liquidate' - his estates, holdings, research and even the members of his clan that he had convinced to come join him. Lukas barley escaped with his life, making his way out of the base only due to a timely Longbow raid where-in he was able to get himself captured and was able to keep his abilities hidden from the Longbow soldiers. Allowing himself to be scooped up as a simple lab technician, he was simply filed away in a minimum security area of the Zig and escaped during an Arachnos raid. While he has no further interest in sharing his knowledge with 'normal' humans - no matter what their aims - he has been seeking out others like himself while he rebuilds his life and considers his future. While Lukas has found no other were-rabbits - the Council killed all that he knew existed - he has made contact with other Lycanthropes and their cousin 'children of the night', the real Vampires, and hopes to find a kinship and allegiance there...
