From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe

He's Will McBlack. He killed everybody. He won the game
Will McBlack
Player: @TemplarWill
Origin:	Natural
Archetype:	Mastermind/Night Widow
Security Level:	50 / 50
Personal Data
Real Name:	William Liam McBlack
Known Aliases:	none
Species:	Human
Age:	27
Height:	5'11"
Weight:	175 lbs
Eye Color:	Blue
Hair Color:	Brown with Gray Highlights
Biographical Data
Citizenship:	Confidential
Occupation:	Ex-Witch Hunter
Place of Birth:	Newcastle, Northern Ireland
Current Residence:	Confidential
Marital Status:	Not Married
Known Relatives:	Confidential
Known Powers
None Known
Known Abilities
Numerous Combat Abilities, Military Tactics, In-depth Occult Knowledge, True Faith, Very Strong Willpower
Equipment
Weapons: Wooden Stake Launchers in sleeves Blessed Knuckle Dusters Dual Colt Single Actions Armies Double-Barreled Remington 12-Gauge Silver-Plated Forearm Blade Body Armor: Tactical XHP Body Armor Kevlar-Weave Coat Lining
Footnotes
Other Equipment: Silver and Wooden Crosses Key Ring with Silver Symbols of Various Saints Various Grenades Grapple Gun

"The name's Will McBlack...I don't know if ya know this, but I'm kind of a big deal."

Will McBlack is was originally a vampire hunter I started playing in tabletop game five years ago. Since then, he has grown through three campaigns, the most recent being The New World of Darkness setting: Hunter: The Vigil, and has more than just a couple of vampires under his belt. Will has managed to take down everything from elder vampires, to countless demons, to spirits and shape changers and has manged to stop three apocalypses. This page is mostly used to catalog his history and abilities, as well as adapt him to the CoX setting, but for balancing purposes, I've put anything questionable into both New World of Darkness and Shadowrun Equivalents. Anytime you see a number of dots followed by a number, that is the equivalent World of Darkness and Shadowrun Rating, the Dots representing the World of Darkness Rating, the Number representing Shadowrun. . Although the information here is purely OOC, almost anything listed here can be found through varying levels of research in game.

This character has taken a long time to develop the the point he is, and I have done countless hours or research to make sure I'm getting it right. No spells, powers or abilities here are made up. They all come from real places, mostly the Lesser and Greater Keys of Solomon (Two Occult books concerning the summoning/binding of angels and demons) or from Christian Mythology. I'm a very reasonable person OOC, so if you have any questions, comments or concerns, please feel free to bring them to my attention. I'll be happy to discuss with you.

Contents 1 The Black Priest; the Immovable Object 1.1 Personality 1.2 Accent 1.3 Skills and Training 1.4 Weapons and Equipment 1.5 Relics, Rituals, Spells and Artifacts 1.5.1 Occult Knowledge 1.5.2 Christian Benedictions 1.5.3 Relics and Artifacts 1.6 Weakness 1.6.1 Excommunicated 2 Affiliations 2.1 Friends 2.2 Acquaintances 2.3 Enemies 2.4 The Team 3 History 3.1 Early Years 3.2 Twelve Years of Hunting

The Black Priest; the Immovable Object

"Oh wow, Will, this is new, how do you think we kill it?"

"RPG Launcher."

"RPG Launcher?"

"Yup. Fire and dismemberment are the two most common demonly weaknesses. This thing does both."

"It didn't work so well against the Boleri Fire Demon."

"No... no it didn't... you're right... that was a bad day."

Personality

To the casual observer, Will appears to be very apathetic, uncaring and detached. His demeanor is one of confidence and apathy, something typical of his trade. In truth, however, there is much that lies beneath his skin. His parents death caused quite a dichotomy within his conscious. Since they were killed but vampires, he obvious holds a hatred for all of their kind, but this has also given him quite the soft spot for orphans. Especially those who's parents died of supernatural causes. He secretly longs for the normal life he never had, and will oftentimes go out of his way to ensure others don't live the same life he has. If he isn't spending his spare time training or researching, he spends it at local orphanages, taking care of the children there.

Even though he was very young when his parents died, they still had a major influence on his present personality, especially his father. Séamus McBlack was a policeman in their Irish hometown of Newcastle. Séamus taught his son about this importance of upholding the law and protecting the innocent. Northern Ireland was a very dangerous place to live growing up. The religious disputes, the IRA fighting against the English, the bombs, the gunfire all colored the backdrop of Will's childhood. Having to deal with such a level of violence from a young age has made it seem almost casual to him. In this setting, Will's father was the best kind of role model a child could ask for.

Also, Will has a love of firearms, especially revolvers. This comes partially from his father's job, partially from the violence in his hometown. However, mostly it comes from his favorite pastime from when he was a young child: American Western Movies. Young Will loved watching these movies, and through them developed a love of revolvers. His preference of a good Colt .45 as opposed to a Beretta APC 9mm has put him at odds with his mentor Father David Hayden. What can he say? A .45 won't jam, and is so much more elegant. If he really needs to though, Will has been known to use autoloaders. Most commonly used are the Colt M1911A1 or a Desert Eagle. Though he prefers revolvers, Will has been known to use the weapons most appropriate to the situation or the thing he's hunting.

Lastly, Will would have turned out to be a sociopathic, uncaring, and dry vampire hunter, had it not been for the intervention of his best friend Trent McCormick. Though he didn't care much for Trent at first, over the years, the energetic, smart mouthed boy has really grown on him. After Twelve years of working together, and having saved each others' lives, the two share a deep understanding and friendship in their dichotomy. Over the years, Will has opened up his feeling more and more, and has even now gotten to the point of getting in sarcastic arguments and using witty phrases in combat. He's even managed to develop a sense of humor, something Trent thought would never happen.

Accent

Although text doesn't convey it well, Will only speaks with a small Irish accent. He's spent so long outside of Ireland (mostly in America), and learned so many different languages that he has kept very little of his Irish accent. He no longer speaks melodically, or in a higher tone like most Irish. Instead, he talks like most Americans, with little to no accent. The only time his accent comes out are during words with an I sound (like fine or my, which sounds almost like an oi sound), and in words with a th, where he pronounces the harsher "th" sound (like in the those or though) almost like a d, and softer "th" (like thing or booth) simply like a t. He also doesn't use Irish slang, and only uses the word "bloody" when he's very passionate.

To hear an example of a light Irish accent, check this YouTube video of actor Glenn Quinn [Rip 12/3/2002].

Skills and Training

Though human in every way, Will has been trained in demon and vampire hunting since age 5. He has an incredible level of skill in fields ranging from combat, tracking, research, planning, tactics and a whole range of others. Below are some of his more commonly used skills an abilities:

• Combat Abilites - Will is a master of many forms of combat, he has no problems in melding different forms as the situation sees fit.
  • Akido - The first martial art taught to new vampire hunters teaches the would-be hunter how to use his enemies superior strength to his advantage.
  • Boxing - A common weapon for hunters of his order are blessed knuckle dusters. Though these weapons are usually made out of steel, Witch Hunters used blessed silver to make them. Boxing is an excellent way to use this weapon, and the footwork helps to avoid attacks in hand-to-hand combat.
  • Military Hand-to-Hand - Will was trained personally by Father David, an expert at close quarters fighting he learned as a DELTA Force Operative, as well as retains some of the Speznaz-style of fighting that was taught to Witch Hunters of the Malleus Maleficarum. This includes the use of not only unarmed fighting, but additional knife techniques as well. Knife fighting in particular translates very well to using wooden stakes, a common vampire-hunter weapon.
  • Gun Fu - Will has spent the past nine years developing a way to mend gunplay, acrobatics and martial art into a single flawless fighting form. Though he hasn't named this technique, his enemies mockingly call it "Gun-Fu."

• Military Training - Being the first apprentice of Father David Hayden, Will has undergone just as much military training a Force Recon soldier.
  • Marksmanship - Although Will can pick up and use any firearm expertly, he has a couple preferences

• • Tactics - Will has a good understanding of Military Tactics, and knows the advantages of planning ahead, only striking when needed, keeping a cool and level head, and the use of excessive force whenever possible. He is also adept and leading and coordinating others.
  • Stealth Training - Will knows how to move silently and stay out of sight. He also knows how to capitalize with the use of diversion and the element of surprise.
  • Forgery - Coming from a Black Ops background, Will has had to learn how to create false documents like passports, IDs and licenses. Combined with his Stealth Training, Will is easily able to get into and out of most places.

• Ambidexterity - Will is naturally ambidextrous and can use either hand just as well as the other.

• Occult Knowledge - Having spent just as much time studying as he did training while growing up, Will has a very in depth knowledge of many different ranges of the occult. This knowledge not only extends to vampires, but to most demons, magics and other supernatural creatures and phenomenon as well.

• True Faith - Will's faith in God has proved most useful in his battles against the Armies of Darkness. Most vampires and demons will feel uncomfortable just being in Will's Presence, but he can also brandish a cross or crucifix to cause any vampire or demon to draw back in fear, revert a werewolf to human form, and even repel magic.
  • Christian Rites - Possessing True Faith, Will is able to perform many different Christian Rites and Benedictions, including sanctifying Holy Water, Consecrating an area, as well as Last Rites and Exorcism.

• Strong Willpower - Beyond all of Will's training, he also has an incredible drive and high level of willpower. He's fended off many mental assaults, and even torture and has always been able to hold onto his sanity. When all his training has failed him, his will to survive and succeed never has.

• Languages - Having traveled the world, Will has had to learn many different languages including Latin, Italian, Gaelic, German, Arabic, French and Aramaic.

Weapons and Equipment

• Handguns - Even though autoloaders have become more and more reliable over the years and revolvers are becoming obsolete, this is not entirely true when hunting the supernatural. More than one type of creature or witch can tip the hands of fate and cause malfunction, causing magic to seem to be mere coincidence or bad luck. However, with the mechanically simpler revover, and the inability for the gun to actually jam, makes hunting these creatures or witches more reliable. For this reason, as well as his love of a good Western, Will uses revolvers over autoloaders whenever possible.
  • Colt .45 SAA - Also called the Peacemaker, this is Will's favorite weapon, and he almost always has a pair of these on him. He also has a variety of specialty-made rounds for the weapon, including non-lethal, silver, liquid nitrogen, phosphorus and stick-and-shock rounds. Any of his rounds could be blessed, though he usually blesses the silver rounds since they tend to be less lethal to normal humans.
  • Colt M1911A1 - One of the first auto-loaders ever created, it is also one of the most reliable. Using the same .45 cartridge as the SAA, this weapons is the logical choice for someone who also uses the revolver. Though the original M1911 only held 7 shots (one more than a revolver), the A1 model that came into heavy popularity during the Vietnam war has a clip size of 14, over twice the capacity of the revolver with negligibly less accuracy.
  • KSR - The mythological 'Supressed Revolver.' The Knight Suppressed Revolver uses a custom 5.56mm round specialty made to direct all the gases down the barrel and into the suppressor, and is one of the most accurate, in addition to being one of the quietest handguns in the world. In addition to the multitudes of payload types Will can load into it, the KSR can also be heavily modified; taking on a laser sight, cobra sight or red dot scope, 10x magnification scope, tactical flashlight, extended barrel and rigid butt stock, forward assist, 5x maginification day/night scope, thermal imaging adapter, and telescoping bipod. When fully modified, the weapon becomes more of a marksman rifle than a revolver, making this weapon into one of the most diverse weapons in Will's arsenal.
  • Blossom Storm Handgun - A new technology developed by Trent allows for an electronic handgun with no moving parts. Rather than the Standard Magazine, the bullets are stacked in-line in each of the top three barrels, while the bottom barrel is loaded with a grappling hook. The handgun uses magnetic force to propel the bullets at hyper-sonic velocities and with next to no recoil. The handgun can also be switched to fire from all three barrels simultaneously or can be fired in fully automatic and burst fire modes, and with a magazine size of ten per barrel, this weapons becomes a highly effective machine pistol. When the slugs are blessed, this weapon becomes devastating to any supernatural creature.
• 12-Gauge Double-Barreled Remington - This powerful weapon serves two distinct purposes: Intimidation and Heavy Damage. Even vampires know to fear the use of this weapon. Depending on what he's hunting it could be loaded with silver buckshot, white phosphorus or rocksalt.
• FN P90 - This utility SMG is Will's favorite weapon for when the going really gets tough. This weapon has greater penetrating capability, lethal range and flatter trajectory than most of his other weapons, plus being an ambidextrous weapon, it allows Will to take advantage of his natural ambidexterity.

Relics, Rituals, Spells and Artifacts

Below are Detailed Will's specific Occult and Christian abilities, as well as artifacts or relics he's discovered.

Occult Knowledge

The Keys of Solomon hold many secrets. Conjurations, invocations and curses to summon and constrain spirits of the dead and demons, are only a few. Within the pages of the two books is contained much more information: rituals and symbols lost to the ages, and even the way to give final death to many demons.

• • Devil's Trap (Ritual •••, Binding 5)- Probably Will's most commonly used Occult Knowledge, it originates in the Lesser Key of Solomon. The devil’s trap is a mystical symbol used to immobilize and control demons, and also to prevent them entering a place, or gaining access to something. Demons naturally don't notice these symbols or a container marked with one, unless they are actively looking for it at the moment and cannot directly affect the symbol in any way or make any attempt to break the seal. The only way out of the seal is if someone on the outside breaks it, or the creator of the seal gives permission to a specific demon to leave. There are a few different variations of this seal, but even the simplest drawing can be effective against most demons. Below are listed the various effects of these variations. The simplest symbol having only the first power, but each effective increase in complexity adds additional effects to demons caught in them. However, if the seal of a specific to a demon or his Master is placed inside a Devil's Trap, the demon in question (as well as his direct minions) will be completely bound by the seal regardless of their level of power. However, the seal is then rendered useless to all other demons and supernatural entities. The Devil's Trap in of itself is not magical and does not radiate magic of any kind or possess an of aura at all whatsoever. The seal works off the laws and properties of Angels and Demons. The Demon must obey the seal, it is in what they are, as much as they despise it. Extremely powerful demons, however, can still use their powers within a completed seal, and can use those powers to indirectly affect the seal. The effects that the Devil's Trap (in order of increased complexity of the seal) are as follows:
    • If drawn on some type of container, a demon cannot gain access to anything inside.
    • Any demon caught in a Devil's Trap or a container marked with one cannot leave unless the symbol is broken.
    • These symbols also work on extra-planar beings like elementals, faeries, ghosts and spirits. For OOC purposes, this works on most magic-origin creatures that are not from our world but will not work on magic origin creatures native to our world like Vampires or Werewolves.
    • Further increases to the seal simply negate more of the contained demon or spirit's power, limiting their ability to break the seal.
  • Ars Almadel(Ritual •••, Banishing 4) - A Ritual again found in the Keys of Solomon. This one however, has two different rituals, and two different uses. Firstly, by creating an altar of Wax, and using the correct assortment of symbols, one can summon an Angel to them. The second use of this ritual involves using four white virgin candles, and melting their wax to create the shown symbol. Any angel entering an area protected by this symbol will be immediately rebuked and sent back whence they came. Why anyone would want to send an angel back to heaven is a mystery, but Will does have the four candles necessary to create the Almadel.
  • Perdition's Gateway (Ritual •••••) - A small occult symbol resembling the head of a pitchfork turned upside down, fashioned from copper or brass and worn around the neck. All that is needed is for the user to stand in water and recite a four-word incantation and they will be instantly transported to Hell. Using the ritual in the same place will always take the caster to the same place in Hell. However, holding onto an object that belonged to someone who's soul currently resides in Hell will bring the caster to near the location of that person's soul; the more valuable the object to soul, the closer the spell takes the caster. However, when going to hell, nothing can come with you, only a small ampule of water. In addition, no magic, metamagic, or even super powers work in Hell. Althogh, as Will has accidentally discovered, Holy Relics an can be transported, and the item will still function normally. Since there is no water in Hell, simply breaking this water ampule on yourself can bring you back with whatever you can manage to hold onto on your way back. However, Hell is a very treacherous place, and should not be entered lightly. Not only does time pass differently there, but without the water ampule, there is no way to return.

Christian Benedictions

Rituals drawn from the Christian rites that predate the Council of Niccea and from secret invocations encoded into the New Testament, these are the things that give Will his righteous power to strike down the forces of darkness.

• Armor of St. Martin - A Prayer to St. Martin of Tours, the patron saint of soldiers, grants Will spiritual protection from physical damage, on par with modern body armor and can even protect against energy from the Netherworld. Shadowrun Equivalent: Armor
• Epipodian Safeguard - Uttering this prayer to St. Epipodus, patron saint of the betrayed, every morning gives Will protection from illusions and mind control. Shadowrun Equivalent: Counterspelling
• Fortitude of St. George - Praying to St. George the Dragon Slayer gives Will the extra endurance to continue fighting longer than normal. Shadowrun Equivalent: Enhance Attribute: Body
• The Hands of St. Luke - Calling on the power of St. Luke the Evangelist allows Will to heal the wounds of others, although not of himself. This prayer can be quite draining and cannot be used to heal grievous or mortal wounds. Shadowrun Equivalent: Heal
• Loyola's Fire - The Benediction is named for St. Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Society of Jesus, a Knight best known for bringing the Light of God to dark places, and allows Will to never be far from God's Light. By invoking the name of St. Ignatius, Will May imbue an object with God's Holy Light (This can also be done to simply create the Light with no Holy Object, but is very difficult and draining). This Benediction is also more difficult to use in well-lit situations, as it's purpose is to brign light to darkness. However, this benediction does have an interesting secondary effect, in that demons and undead (including vampires and zombies) cannot suffer to be in it's presence. Though powerful demons and vampires can fight the urge to flee the light, they are not left without harm, for God's light seeks to purify, and (although it does no damage to the creature), it eats away at their unholy energies. Vampires' vitae will disintegrate from within their bodies, Spirits' Essence will slowly fade away and Demons' sinful energy will dissipate. In game terms, the vampire loses a point of vitae for every combat turn they remain in the light, while demons, spirits and othe undead lose Essence or an equivalent Trait. These lowered traits will come back if an extended perdiod of time is spent outside the light, just as they normally would. Will, however, avoids using this Benediction due to it's outward flashiness, and would prefer to keep his hunting relatively secret.Shadowrun Equivalent: Nova
• Revelationes Coelestes - Uttering this prayer can allow Will to identify any magic users in his vicinity. Upon completion, any [human/metahuman] magic users will begin to bleed either from the nose, ears, mouth or eyes and can even cause a witch to have her menses early. This benediction does not cause any wounds, but makes concentration very difficult and spellcasting almost impossible. Shadowrun Equivalent: Detect Magic Users and Counterspelling
• Sanctification of the Blessed Virgin - Praying to the Virgin Mary is the prayer for creating Holy Water and Anointing Oil. Also, using this prayer and anointing an object will make the item into a blessed item, allowing it to be used in Christian Rites. Though this prayer does not make an item into a Holy Weapon, it does allow normal weapons or objects to harm demons or spirits which otherwise would be unharmed by such things. Shadowrun Equivalent: Dual-Nature Object
• Wrathful Sword of St. Michael the Archangel - One of Will's most commonly used prayers allows him to call upon the power of Michael the Archangel himself to imbue his weapons. A weapon blessed in such a way is an incredibly potent threat to supernatural creatures, vampires, demons and the like; dealing heavy damage and is even able to harm incorporeal entities like Ghosts and Spirits. Also, simply seeing a weapon blessed in this way creates feelings of fear and awe in supernatural creatures seeing it. Against normal humans or mutants the weapon is no more lethal than it normally would be. This prayer is incredibly draining and cannot be used ceaselessly, so is best used to bless weapons in advance. Due to this, Will sets aside time every night before he sleeps to bless a few more rounds of ammunition. In addition, few earthly items can hold the power of the Archangel for long, and will become disenchanted within moments of the blessing. However, many holy relics or blessed items are capable of holding the benediction, and some can hold it indefinitely. For this reason, the bullets Will blesses with this benediction tend to be made from melted down holy relics or from blessed silver crosses. Shadowrun Equivalent: Enchant Weapon Focus

Relics and Artifacts

Hunters have always collected trinkets and odd relics over the centuries. Below are those that Will has come into possession of.

• Tattoos - Anyone can see Will is covered in tattoos, although this may seem non-Christian, there is a very good reason for it. Each tattoo has it's own significance or power. These all have equivalents in Shadowrun as Adept Powers.

• • Devil's Trap on Left Pectoral (Endowment •••) - Just as the Devil's Trap can keep demons out of a container, this tattoo keeps demons out of Will, making him all but immune to possession. Shadowrun Equivalent: Spirit Protection
  • Holy Cross on each side of Neck(Endowment ••) - These crosses cover the jugular vein and carotid artery. They serve as a deterrent to vampires attempting to feed from him. He also has matching tattoos on each of his wrists. Shadowrun Equivalent: Disease Resistance
  • Wolf's Head on Left Shoulder/Bicep (Endowment ••) - Strangely enough, this tattoo seems slightly out of place compared to the others on Will's body. This wolf head is a reminder of two friends he lost in California. Both were Native American and the Wolf was an important symbol to both of them. Being drawn by a Native American Shaman, this tattoo also has magical properties, giving him an almost superhuman awareness in combat, just like a wolf. In World of Darkness Terms, Will uses the highest of his Dexterity or Wits to determine Defense. Shadowrun Equivalent: Combat Sense II, Improved Reflexes I
  • Occult Symbols covering Torso and Upper Arms (Armor Tattoo •••), (Dexterity Tattoo ••) - These tattoos have to be drawn perfectly for each individual person or they have no effect. They also require that the person keep a low body fat percentage, or the lines will be broken, nullifying the effect. Will has spent the past 10 years continuing these tattoos, making them more complex over the years. Only someone with in-depth knowledge of the occult would notice that this isn't a large, single tattoo, but a series of smaller ones blended together to create an altogether more powerful effect. The magic in their symbols protects the body from physical harm, and greatly protects the body from magical harm. In addition, Will is able to perform slightly superhuman feats, but only those surrounding his agility and reaction, and only for a limited time. In World of Darkness Terms, Will may spend a Willpower to increase his Dexterity for the remainder of the scene. Shadowrun Equivalent: Mystic Armor, Attribute Boost: Agility, Attribute Boost: Reaction

• Artifacts
  • Martin Henri's Cross - This unique cross was used by Martin Henri. Dr. Kazz retrieved it from the Circle of thorns, and has since given it to Will. All of this man's relics seem to have some serious power to them. The cross blesses anything in comes in contact with. This cross is currently being stored in the Ghost Hound Sprinkler-System Reservoir.
  • Martyrs' Nails - These ancient nails, pulled from the crucifixion of dead martyrs, are actually quite potent holy items. These Nails are considered blessed items that are capable of harming anything that has ever caused harm to an innocent. The more sins against the innocent, the more damaging these nails are. Will has somewhere in the realm of a half-dozen of these.
  • Twin Colts - "In 1835, when Haley's Comet was overhead, same night those men died at the Alamo, they say Samuel Colt made a pair of guns. Special Guns. He made them for a Hunter, a man by the name Simeon Joseph. Story goes, each gun had thirteen bullets. Legend says these guns can kill anything. Joseph has been recorded using this gun about a half dozen times before he, and the gun, disappeared." The Twin Colts are one of the most powerful relic's recorded in History, one of the only ways to kill a true demon. The gun only works when using it's specialty made bullets, and the bullets only work when fired from their own particular Colt. Anything shot with this gun will die: humans, vampires, demons, even incorporeal spirits. In the case of demons and spirits; when shot they aren't exorcised, it simply end them, removes them from existence. The guns themselves are very old original-work Colt Peacemakers, and look identical. There is a Pentagram etched into the handle, and upon close inspection, the sight on the top is actually the Holy Cross. Also, the words "non timebo mala" (Latin for I will fear no evil) are etched onto the side of the barrel. This marking is the only difference between the two guns; one has the saying on the left side of the barrel, the other on the right. With the help of his fellow Witch-Hunters, Will was able to track down not only both of these guns, but the remaining 11 bullets as well. One gun has five remaining bullets the other has a full cartridge of six.

• Relics
  • Labal's Rings - Will took these three rings after banishing Labal. He doesn't know much about them, just that everyone and their brother seems to want them.
  • Orhalcon Manacles - After helping Harper rescue Heba from the clutches of Aiden O'Connor, Will picked up the manacles. They seem to completely nulify magic of the wearer, and can even remove magical superhuman abilities from ghosts, vampires, werewolves and the like.
  • The Purple Book - Also called The Rituale Romanum, this is a the complete book of exorcisms and benediction used by the Malleus Maleficarum. Will stole this when he infiltrated the Vatican and attempted to assassinate the leader of the Malleus Maleficarum. He has since been using this book to learn the secrets of many of the forgotten benedictions that have become lost to the Catholic Church at large.

Weakness

Being human, there's plenty of things that can kill Will: bullets, high falls, speeding buses. But he has managed to survive this long on his wits. His true weaknesses are in his friends. Will tends to attach himself to other Hunters, especially Trent.Trent is one of the easiest ways to get to Will, but due to Trent's resourcefulness, other ways can prove to be much easier. Will tends to get stupidly heroic and stupidly self-reliant when any of his friends are in danger.

Also, as mentioned earlier, Will has a weak spot for orphans. A fact that an old nemesis, Angela, used to her advantage. This Ex-Witch Hunter turned Vampire was the first protege of Father David. After David's first believed death, she plagued Will and Trent, eventually turning one of Will's orphans into a vampire as well. Something changed in Will that day and even after he moved away from California, he hasn't taken on another job at an orphanage. He will, however, volunteer on occasion.

Due to Will's training and experience, he's almost always ready for whatever fight comes his way. However, if caught off guard, he is just human. Catching him off guard, however, can prove to be even more difficult than a direct confrontation. In fact, when training his own "Vampire Special Forces," Jonathan Cinder told his troops, "You don't find William McBlack, he finds you."

Excommunicated

After discovering the truth about The Malleus Maleficarum, Will became excommunicated from the Catholic Church. He is now considered a heretic, a traitor and perhaps the biggest threat to the Malleus Maleficarum due to his intimate knowledge of the organization and it's deepest, darkest secret.

---

Affiliations

Friends Very few can count themselves as friends of Will McBlack. He tends to keep himself distant form most. Elizabeth Perkins - Liz was a part of the Mallues Maleficarum just like Will and Trent, even if the three only worked together occasionally. It was Liz however, that brought the truth about the Witch Hunters to light, causing the excommunication of not only her, but Will as well. Now, Liz and Will have a close relationship, even if it isn't readily apparent, and the two of them together work to improve their School, The Dawning Light Academy, and their nonprofit group of Hunters, The Valkyrie Foundation. Father David Haden - Will's mentor, teacher and father figure taught him everything he knows. One might even be so bold as to say the young boy has spent his whole life modeling himself after this man. Although the two parted way nine years ago, it seems that David has come to the Rogue Isles as well. Things are setting themselves up as the final battle approaches. James Perkins - James has always been eager and ready to prove himself. He's shown incredible drive, if not a little reckless at times. Something about him, however, stood out to Will, and so he has since taken James under his wing as his apprentice, teaching him how to hunt and kill demons, vampires, and any other supernatural creatures that seeking to harm the innocent. Nyak - Another easily excitable youth, Will and Jake have worked together to bind and banish some increibly powerful demons in the past year. Though Will has the utmost respec for Jake, it's unknown what caused him to choose James as his Apprentice, and for Wraith to choose Jake. Now the two apprentices seem to have a healthy... well mostly healthy competition as do their two mentors... Raid Engineer Harper - Dealing so closely with Wraith, Will inevitably met Harper. Just like Will, Harper is completely human. Seeing how deathly affraid of everything Harper is, Will has somewhat taken him under wing to improve his courageousness. It's proving to be difficult. Satine Dubois - Satine followed the rumors regarding an upstart team of demon hunters in the Isles that were giving the Circle of Thorns, Carnivale of Shadows and the Wailers quite a headache in recent days. These rumors finally led her to a former priest by the name Will McBlack. Lost and alone, looking for work, she approached the man. Satine was able to quickly prove that she was both competent and trustworthy enough to join Will and his newly formed Witch Hunters. Will has never looked back and thought for a second he'd made the wrong decision. As his first instincts told him; she is one of the most competent and loyal hunters he's worked with in years. Ten'ro - The mysterious Shinobi, Tenka and Will have been being seen together with alarming frequency. Why this is so is anyone's guess, but the Shinobi has shown an inexplicable and absolute loyalty to Will. Trent McCormick - Will's best friend and confidant, he and Trent have been fighting the Forces of Darkness for the past 12 years. Unleashed Force - Clint Sanders is probably one of the most powerful mutants in the Rogue Isles currently. Although he and Will aren't seen togetehr as often as they used to be, Clint has helped Will save the wrold countless times, and Will has done the same for Clint. Though the two are so different in many ways, they have a strong and powerful friendship that can be seen anytime an enemy of either rears their ugly head. Wraith Prime - The full-con cyborg known as Wraith approached Will to help train his mercenaries. Wraith has been more than generous in helping Will since his excommunication. Ghost Hound has always had problems in dealing with the Supernatural, and so Wraith has brought Will onboard, not as a mercenary, but as a consultant. As long as Will continues to consult for the group and as long as Wraith continues to keep other Witch Hunters off his back, the two can overlook their differences. Things recently came to a head when Wraith announced he would personally fully fund a team of demon hunters as long as Will led them. Will accepted the offer and has since founded the Witch Hunters: the anti-supernatural threat division of Ghost Hound. Acquaintances Alan Smilevitz - Yes Smiley is a vampire, yes Will is a Vampire Hunter. However, Will is not stupid. Will met Smiley in New Orleans, and saw the usefulness this vampire can provide. Smiley is always keyed into what's really going on and has always been able to lead Will to the real threat. Dr. Kazz - Normally when Will encounters the undead, things turn out very poorly for one side or the other. However, he didn't find out about Kazz's condition until after he'd already become friends with the guy. Will likes Kazz for his quick and decisive actions and fervor in fighting the hordes of evil, but also respects him for his open-mindedness and level-headedness. When the two of them are working together, very little can stand in there way. Mr. Lazarus Black - No one knows quite the relationship between Will and the Preacher: Mr. Black. Both are known vampire and demon hunters, both are known exorcists, and both names strike fear into the hearts of the supernatural that have survived an encounter with either. Although both have been in entirely different parts of the country, the two have only come together twice. Most recently in the Rogue Isles, and before that was in New Orleans, just before Hurricane Katrina hit. The two of them are the only survivors of whatever it is that really happened there, and neither one is talking about it. Rezz - The Unscathable Mutant has the utmost respect from Will. Since Rezz has taken over the Mutant Activist Group, Inevitable Evolution, Will and the giant have beomce strong allies during a time of Evil. Solo Ocelot - He's a monster. A moralless sociopath. Why Will has been seen on the rare occasion dealing with him is unknown. Wilted Petals - Pinky is known to be some of Labal's greatest servants. A human, herself, she has been consorting with demons for a long as Will has known her. However, more recently, she's been seen around Will, Trent and their group of Hunters. It's even been seen that Ghost Hound has been protecting her recently. Why so much ruckus over one girl is still a mystery. Enemies Jonathan Cinder - Will met this Bhaali Vampire during his first stay in England. Under the guise of being Ventrue, Cinder was able to manipulate much of London's underground, and made Will and Trent's lives very difficult during their stay. Since Will killed him, he's encountered many of John's golems. Will's current goal is to rid the world of evil, One Jonathan Cinder at a time. Labal - Likely the most powerful demon in the Rogue Isles. Will found a passage in the Lesser Key of Solomon referring to Babal, the Ashen Prince of lies. Will was convinced the two demons are one in the same, when Babal's symbol worked to immobilize Labal. In an unplanned showdown, Will and his Witch Hunters managed to take the demon down, and with greater success than any of their predecessors. However, in the aftermath, Will would discover that it wasn't just the Demon Lord that posed a threat to humanity, but his servants and followers as well. Because of their actions, Labal has returned to life. The two now make preparations for their final confrontation.

The Team Having been a hunter for so long, Will has met a variety of other hunters. This is his rag-tag hunter cell. From left to right: Gus, Uli, Satine, Will, Reuben, and Murphy. Thugs Jamal Thirston - Jamal was an inner city youth from Detroit. He lived in the rough part of town, just the other side of the train tracks. Everyday, someone would go missing: old men, children, little girls. Cops didn't care; too busy protecting rich white folks. Jamal and has friends started their own neighborhood watch. In stead of killing each other for turf, they started defending their turf from a gang of vampires calling themselves the Brujah, and handing some hurt back in return. They tattooed halos with wings on the side of their necks to show camaraderie and began calling themselves the Night Watch. After meeting up with Will while on the trail of a dark Vodoun, Jamal and his gang quickly became much more organized and powerful force to deal with. Jamal and the Night Watch still run with Will to this day. Nathan Reynolds - Once a barback for for a small restaurant in Baton, Louisiana. Nathan wouldn't have amounted to anything spectacular, that is until one night he was walking along the river with his girlfriend. The two were attacked by a large wolf. His girlfriend killed, no one believed him, and Nathan was ready to go to trial for her murder. That is until a wandering priest believed his story and found the wolf responsible. With the help of a savvy lawyer, Nathan was aquitted of his girlfriends murder and worked with the priest and lawyer to track down the wolf and kill it. Even though Nathan was acquitted, the town still didn't trust him, and Nathan soon lost his job at the bar. Just when Nathan tought all was lost, the lawyer and priest who helped him made him an offer. Just so happened this priest and Lawyer went by the names Will McBlack and Trent McCorrmick. Reuben McIntyre - Reuben was just a typical college kid. Nothing special about him. He went on his daily life and was in the middle of playing the freshman leapfrog with his major when he was kidnapped by cultists. Reuben was chosen to become the sacrifice to their demon master in return for the power he would grant them. As fate would have it, though the cultists carved the wrong symbols into Reuben as well as their own bodies. When the demon emerged, he saw all the cultists as his sacrifice and Reuben as the one to be granted power, and so did so. Since then, Reuben has developed a number of magical talents and acquired quite the collection of supernatural lore. Will had worked along side Reuben a number of times before the two decided to just stick together. Enforcers Ramius Murphy - Murphy was a cop. A damn good cop. He worked the beat his whole life, and then, after the academy, made a great detective. After his precinct was attacked in Chicago, he decided that New York would be a safer choice, and so moved to the Big Apple with his wife and daughter. New York would prove to be a bit more tolerable, and the pay was better. This would change however, the day he met Will and Trent. The Pair had been investigating local demon activity and believed that Murphy's partner was, in fact, the demon they were hunting. Murphy tried to rationalize this away, and talked to his partner about it. His partner just assured him that the two were crazy, and not to worry about it. That night, Murphy came home only to watch his partner change into a terrifying form and rip his wife and daughter apart. If not for the help of his old friend Uli, Murphy would have shared their fate. Now Murphy runs with Uli and Will, still hunting that bastard that killed his family. Uli Zeitsev - This Russian Immigrant came to America at age 17 and immediately joined the U.S. Air Force. When his plane was shot down over Bagdad in the first Iraqi War, he was thought KIA, but in reality, he'd been captured by Al'Quadin sorcerers who performed terrible tortures on him for three years until he finally managed to build the will to fight against and kill his captors. Uli now hunts all magic users with equal prejudice and especially hatesthe Circle of Thorns due to their commonalities with his previous captors. Those who are willing to repent their ways or help society, he lets live. Those that hurt or manipulate others, he kills without mercy. Will met Uli when they were tracking the same demon in New York. The two happened on the scene of Ramius's house just in time to cause the demon they were chasing to flee. It was at this time that Uli recognized Ramius from their time in the Air Force. Bruiser Gus - Gus has been a fighter his whole life. A Golden Gloves Champion in High school, Gus never pursued a boxing career, instead dropping out of High School and joining the Army at age 18. By age 20, he became a Ranger. By age 21, he was discharged from active duty after being caught with ten pounds of marijuana in his possession. After returning home to New Jersey, Gus fell in with the Pagans Motorcycle Gang, where he ended up becoming a Diamond Back, one of the top ranks within the gang. Gus would be arrested during the historical battle for New Jersey between the Pagans and Hell's Angels. Gus spent four years in prison when he was let out for good behavior. It wasn't much longer before Gus ended up back on the streets. It wasn't until the fateful night that Gus picked a fight with the wrong pedestrian. This particular pedestrian was possessed by a demon and quickly showed Gus that he didn't have what it took to fight demons. Luckily, Reuben McIntyre was on this demons trail and ended up saving Gus's life. Now Gus follows Reuben and works as his muscle. Over the years Gus has learend much more about the supernatural and has found ways to use his natural fighting talents to go against the creatures of the night. The most readily apparent thing about Gus (aside from his size) is his tattoos. Having not only personal tattoos, but military, biker and prison tattoos as well, there isn't much of his body left that isn't inked. Gang War The Night Watch - Alot of Jamal's gang still runs with Will and when the going gets rough he knows how to call in a favor. Though no single one of these guys is much of a threat single handedly, fifteen or twenty of them can spell disaster for even the strongest of opponents.

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History

Early Years

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NOTE: To understand the turmoil of Northern Ireland better, please read the wikipedia article: The Troubles. In short, The Troubles consisted of about thirty years of recurring acts of intense violence and terrorism between elements of Northern Ireland's nationalist community (principally Roman Catholic) and unionist community (principally Protestant). The conflict was caused by the disputed status of Northern Ireland within the United Kingdom. Nationalists were discriminated against based on their religion (since it is part of the UK, which by vast majority is protestant), and believed that Northern Ireland should be part of the Country of Ireland, not part of the UK. The IRA (Irish Republican Army) was one of the main antagonists fighting for a new "All-Ireland." Though Will's hometown of Newcastle was lucky enough to escape the worst of The Troubles, it was nonetheless hard to get away form the violence.

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On the 3rd of March, 1981, Séamus and Nancy McBlack were blessed with a healthy baby boy. The Boy would be named after both Séamus's and Nacy;'s fathers, giving the boy the name William Liam McBlack. William was a very healthy and energetic boy, born into the harsh countryside of Newcastle, Northern Ireland. Séamus was a Seargent in the Newcastle Police Force and young William idolized his father. Indeed, Séamus was a great man. After all, being a cop was hard enough, let alone in Northern Ireland. Being a cop made The Troubles so much harder to deal with, Séamus oftentimes being called to other counties to help with relief work. Since his father was gone so often, Nancy would simply leave young Will to watch television while she cleaned and performed the daily housework. This is when young Will would discover his first true love: American Western Movies!

For the first five years of his life, Will's life was pretty normal. That is until one day in the late sumer when Séamus had come home from relief in Belfast. As a gift to his family, he decided to take his family into town to see the american movie his son had been bugging him to see: Labyrinth. However, the family would never get the opportunity to see the movie, because little did they know that not only were humans fighting their wars in Northern Ireland, but vampires as well.

Due to the intense violence in Northern Ireland, the Camarilla found it very easy to disguise their feeding, but the Sabbat also found it easy to wage all-out war on the Camarilla without drawing attention to themselves. The McBlacks were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. While walking from the dark parking lot to the movie theater in Lisburn, the family was attacked by what they thought were petty thieves. When one of the men approached his wife, Séamus drew his gun and fired at the man. The man flinched from the shock of the bullet, but didn't seem to be hurt in the least. The man turned toward Séamus, smiling. Séamus fired into him again, and again the man didn't fall. Before he knew it, his gun was empty and the man was upon him. In a swift motion, the man moved into position and broke Séamus's neck. Will watched as his father's lifeless body fell to the ground with a thump. The two men then turned back toward Nancy, and before Will could even scream, the both were upon her, biting into her neck, blood falling the the ground.

Without thinking, without hesitation, a five year-old Will picked up a piece of rebar, obviously something that had been knocked loose in a prior bombing and layed into one of the assailants with it. The men didn't give Will any more notice than one would give to a fly buzzing around their head. Will was received with a simple kick to the torso, sending him flailing through the air and into another car some twelve feet away. He tried to stand, a sudden sharp pain rushed through his chest. His ribs had been broken, although he hadn't realized it at the time. The pain caused him to cough, choking slightly on his own blood as he did so. He would later learn that one of his ribs has pierced his lung, and he was going to die if he didn't get medical attention. Will simply gritted his teeth as he stood up. Will had always been a little scrapper, and was scolded often for picking fights with other boys in the village. But this was a very different situation, and still Will stood up, breathing heavily, trying to take in as much breath as he could. The two men had finished drinking from his mother now, as Will watched her body drop to the ground as well. Now the two men turned toward him. Will gripped his rebar, ready to fight them himself, despite being a child, despite them being full grown men, despite the fact they'd already killed his father, despite the fact he was going to drown in his own blood. Only one thought consumed young Will's mind: the fight.

As Will raised the rebar to swing, he heard a twanging noise from behind him, and watched as an arrow pierced the heart of one of the assailants. The man burst into dust in mid air, and only dust landed on the pavement as a fine powder. He stopped, the man remaining in front of him hesitated, then another twang. Almost faster than Will could react, the man had dodged the next incoming arrow, dodged around him, and was now behind him somewhere. Will looked over his shoulder to see what was happening. As he looked he saw his savior, a well built man wearing dark sunglasses and priest collar. The man looked cold and focused, as if he'd done this a hundred times before. The assailant lunged at the priest who ducked under the lunge almost effortlessly. As he came up from the duck, the assailant had landed and was turning back toward the priest, but the priest was too quick. He had drawn a crucifix and a handgun from inside his trench coat, and was now holding both outstretched in front of him in a military fashion, as if he were holding a pistol and flashlight.

"What do you think you're going to do with that toy, Padre? You should know guns don't hurt our kind," the assailant mockingly said.

The priest however, didn't react at all to the taunt. Instead, he simply talked in a simple, callous tone, "Phosphorus rounds." And double tapped the assailant in the head. Again, nothing but dust fell to the ground.

The priest then simply replaced the firearm in his shoulder holster and turned back toward Will, who promptly lost consciousness.

Will awoke the following morning in the local Catholic Church. No one knew he was awake yet, but he could hear voices coming from the next room. He tried to move, but found himself in too much pain to do so. He was just about to call out when he heard something he found interesting in the next room over, "Will the boy live?"

"Yes, Eminence. He has taken to The Healing nicely." That was the voice of the priest that had saved his life.

"Does he know what happened?" the second voice asked.

"I don't think so, Eminence. He was barely alive, I'm sure he didn't see anything."

"Good. The last thing we need is an orphan running around telling people his parents were killed by Kindred. We will have him put in the orphanage. You, on the other hand will return to Rome for your next assignment."

"Yes, Eminence. I will check on the boy."

"Indeed you shall. And David..."

"Yes?"

"Make sure he knows nothing."

"Yes, Eminence."

Then Will heard the door to the next room open, then close and the sound of approaching footsteps. Quickly he hid himself under the covers just before he heard the door open. It seemed like an eternity that the priest stood in the doorway before approaching. He felt a hand touch his body and heard soft mutterings in a language he didn't recognize. Before he knew it, his whole body felt warm and as all the aches and pains in his body began to fade away. Will turned over to see what was happening and in doing so had given himself away. The priest looked stunned, and slightly upset. "I don't want to go into an orphanage," he said before the priest could react. "My parents are dead! I'm not going to an orphanage! I want to do what you just did! Don't take me to the orphanage!"

Just then the Cardinal poked his head from around the corner, a look of interest and intrigue on his face, "Really?"

The next few months were rough for Will. He was taken to the Vatican, filled out some adoption papers and became an orphan of the church; he also became a member of the Vatican's hidden wing of witch-hunters: The Malleus Maleficarum (Latin for the Hammer of Witches) Will didn't quite fit in with the other kids. He tended to be a little more reckless, but he was much more driven. There was something about him however, that caused him to catch the eye of a certain Father David Hayden.

Twelve Years of Hunting

• For a complete History of Will and Trent leading up to The Rogue Isles, please see: Will and Trent