Artemise pronounced as Ar-tim-ize (the e at the end might be overlooked, especially if you'r fluent with mythology) the Ruby:
Username:[
wicked fae mage]
Name:Artemise
Age:20
Description:He has long silk black hair that comes to the small of his back at the longest and fans out over his back at different lengths, save his bangs that lay partly over his face and reach his mid-chest at their longest. His eyes are a deep brown that might as well be called black. His skin is a golden tan and smooth, save for the scars on his hands. His features are soft, his lips full and his cheekbones high. He is lithe with obvious muscle tone and agile. He stands five and a half feet tall and one hundred-sixty pounds.
Not liking to be hindered when moving quickly, Artemise wears skin-tight black leather pants, shirts, wrist guards, gauntlets, boots, and belt (from which his swords are sheathed). He also wears a black bandana around his forehead and a long silver cape that is used like a coat.
His southern drawl is strong when he even bothers speaking, his voice soothing and loving, filled with assurance, certainty and wisdom.
He is a cynical, cold-hearted person until his temper ignites. He is very cunning, bitter and sees people as mere scapegoats and stepping stones to his goals, ambitions and aspirations. He's known for gambling, stealing, swindling, lying, cheating and killing for pay and pleasure.
Weapons: Artemise uses two light one-handed swords that are always at his waist, one that he poisons before use and the other that is cursed with the element ice, both of which are invisible unless he is in combat.
Abilities:Artemise has the ability to turn himself and anything he touches invisible with just a thought, making him an ideal thief and sound assassian. He can force emotions onto others and uses that ability when he's bored. He can manipulate the thoughts of others with only his voice and with a single touch can sense everything about the person. He is noted to be sensitive to fog, mists and other forms of water in an almost empathetic way.
History:Artemise has grown up wondering the southern United States since he was fourteen and ran away from a broken home. Without feeling love, he developed a sense of loneliness and a deep bitterness for everyone and everything. His wishing everything away was sort of granted when he was ten years old and he found his ability to will things invisible.
He spent his preteen year wishing for help, love and attention. He wanted nothing more than for somebody else to know what he felt. His sharp mind and unbreakable will gave him the ability to force empathy when he was twelve and shortly following his thirteenth birthday his paranoia allowed him to collect the thoughts and the feel for others.
When Artemise ran away, he did so on impulse. He wondered the streets of a city for three days before desperately stealing a bottle of water from a small store, then returning there to steal food and water to sustain himself. Each time he would go to get caught, he would will himself invisible and stealth to safety.
After wanting for more and more and not wanting to trouble himself with stealing, he began to swindle others that he knew were fools. Seeing potential in himself as a rogue, he sought work from gangs and drug lords. He took up learning how to use swords after he was attacked by a group of enemy gangsters, and quickly took his revenge using a combination of his stealth and his love for molotov cocktails, he burned half of the city to the ground to ensure he didn't miss any.
Feeling no further attachment to the city he began wondering again, not taking shelter anywhere for too long since swindling people by gambling was a cleaner get away than being tied with drugs and other people.
In sheer boredom he would stalk one particular pathertic pawn and eviscerate them before displaying their remains in a public area and gaging the reactions from his different manners of killing.
When turned nineteen, he discovered the effect his voice had on women and began using that to his advantage. Since then he's been using everybody that he took a slight interest in to whatever extent he felt the desire.
Stone of Power:Ruby
Stone of Weakness:Sapphire (fogs his mind weakening his most potent abilities)
Intro:
Artemise's silken black hair fluttered in the breeze of the brisk night. The weather was a reflection of his heart, dark, icy and empty. His bottonless eyes gazed ahead as he treaded carefully. Careful was an oddity for him. He never cared who saw him since he could just slip away in a moment's notice by thinking of being invisible.
As defenseless as he may look he was always weilding two swords that he used with such arctic grace it could leave you breathless. He stopped, listening to the crunching of the frost beneath his feet. He drew a sword, revealing it from its invisibility and turned around in a flash, parrying the sword that would have made the death of him.
Artemise smirked, "I never thought I'd be seein' ya here."
The mysterious man chuckled, "I can't believe you actually detected me."
Artemise slid his sword away from the man's and slid it back onto his belt, crossing his arms over his chest, watching the man intently. "Ya'll underestimate me too much. Ya need to know that if anythin' is gonna stop ya, knockin ya from yer high horse, I'll be the man behind it."
"So cocky...yet, so pretty," the man shook his head in disappointment
.
Artemise snorted, "It's not cocky if it's true, ya'll be sure ta 'member that for me, will ya?"
"No comment on me saying that you're pretty?" the man took out a cigarette, slipping it between his lips and lightin it, quickly putting the lighter in his pocket.
Artemise shrugged, "Well, isn't that nice? Ya actually think yer opinion matters ta me? Ya know that cigarette is gonna be involved with the death of ya, doncha?"
"You're talkative tonight," the man commented before exhaling a breath of smoke, blowing it in Artemise's face.
Artemise coughed, fanning the smoke away from his face, "Ya dirty mutha.." Artemise choked, hating the horrific stink.
The man laughed, "I found a weakness of yours, it seems. I'll be sure to tell the don that his pride and joy hates the smell of smoke to the point that he chokes when too close to it."
Artemise gritted his teeth before stepping forward, freezing the man in place, shoving the ciagarette into the man's mouth, holding his hand over the man's mouth. The man struggled to no avail against Artemise who's mind was far stronger, intensifying the pain. With his free hand, Artemise took a sword from his belf and held the blade against a pressure point in the man's throat. He eased the man to the ground, as the man drew closer to the ground he struggled less and less.
Artemise laughed, his smooth voice not fit for the dark atrocities that he committed. "I didn't lie. That cigarette made an interestin twist in his death.... How many people can honestly say that they know someone who'd choked to death on a a cigarette?"
Artemise opened a pack of Cuban cigars, removing one and cutting off the tip. He placed it at the corner of his mouth as he slid the sword back into place. He took the lighter from the man's body, inspecting it thoroughly in the dim moon light. "The mutha fucka stole my lighter. Wonder if stealin a lighter from me is good reason ta kill 'em?"
Artemise lit his cigar and continued on his way as if nothing ever happened. "I might half ta play dumb if by some chance they kin tie me ta that murder." He flicked an ash and darted up the hill, hitting the paved road again. He crept forward, flicking ashes as needed, ignoring the winter's fantastic introduction of ice, snow and razors sharp winds.
His morbid curiosity lead him down a small alley way where a woman was screaming. Artemise's temper was ablaze when he took in what was happening. His cold, black eyes met their next victim as he sprang forward, taking the man to the ground with him, leaving the girl shaking, scared and watching Artemise and her attacker with confusion, angst and another potent mixture of emotions.
"Who the hell are you?" the man asked as he kicked Artemise off himself.
Without a second thought Artemise drew both of his swords and began slashing away wildly at the assailant. Artemise stopped moving when the man hit the ground, bloody and lacerated on almost every inch of his body. Artemise dropped his swords and turned toward the girl who was clad in a ripped shirt and what was left of her pants and coat.
He was panting heavily, and staring at her in disbelief. "I'm not gonna hurt ya...my swords are my only weapons." He held his hands in the air and eased his way toward her. She was pressed against the wall of the cold brick buidling, crying and shaking for dear life. She didn't shift her eyes from Artemise's eyes. She let Artemise wrap his coat around her and pull her against him. "Ma name's Artemise, miss. Yer safe with me."
"H-he attacked me on my way home..." she cried as her face hit Artemise's chest and she wrapped her arms around him.
Artemise caressed her hair before stroking it in a soothing rhythm, allowing her to cry out the pain. "Miss, I'm not gonna let anythin happen ta ya, ya hear me?"
"Th-thank you..." she cried as she pulled herself closer against Artemise, kissing his cheek before shivering. "M-my name's Zamber."
Artemise's snowy flesh turned rosy when her gentle lips caressed his cheek so lightly. "C'mon, Zamber. Let's see if we kint get ya warm and dressed better."
"I-is he dead?" Zamber asked cautiously as her eyes shifted to her attacker's body.
"If not I'm not stickin 'round ta see what else he kin take," Artemise said flatly, as he picked up his swords, palcing them at his side again.
Artemise followed her into the small apartment, "Where are you planning on sleeping, Arti?"
"Nowhere. I never do," Artemise blushed at the affectionate nickname. "I just wander 'round aimlessly."
"I..I don't know how to properly thank you..." Zamber stepped from her bedroom in a silk night gown.
"Ya just watched me kill a man. Why aren't ya 'fraida me?" Artemise asked.
Zamber smiled, "I have a good feeling about you. You make me feel safe. Plus, you told me that you weren't going to hurt me, did you not?"
"Ya believed me?" Artemise asked cooly, leaning against the door frame.
"Why wouldn't I? You went out of your way to save me from being raped," Zamber ran her fingers through her long brown hair. She blushed, "Arti, you're a good man."
"Arti?" Artemise laughed. "You're so sweet. Yer the only person that I've ever let touch me, so consider yerself lucky. If yer gonna report that attempted rape, do so without mention of me killin that bastard. He ran away after he started the attack and ya ran home. That's a good story that leaves me outta it, and keeps ya safe from suspicion of murder."
"Where are you going?" Zamber asked shyly.
Artemise shrugged, "There's no place fer me. I'm just a lowly rogue, Zamber. Yer safe, though."
"At least stay the night. It's the least I can do... I'll cook you a good breakfast..." Zamber trailed off.
"Will ya stop thinkin that ya owe me somethin for savin ya if I stay the night?" Artemise asked.
Zamber shook her head, "You have to eat breakfast, too."
Artemise sighed, "Alright. Then ya'll can't be thinin that ya owe me anymore."
"I'll always owe you, Arti," Zamber whispered.
Artemise woke in a cold sweat, panting. He sat up, still on Zamber's couch where he dozed a few short hours ago. He stood, lighting up a cigar and staring out the window into the blizzard.
A seraphic voice sounded in Artemise's head, "You have good in you after all."
"Who the hail do ya think ya are?" Artemise asked, looking around frantically.
"Artemise, you're quite the catch..." the voice replied.
"What the hail is goin' on here?" Artemise hissed, glaring into the darkness.
"Artemise, you're more important than you reallize. You killed for a purpose," the voice said simply.
"I'd kill him anyway. He's a lowly piece of trash," Artemise said crossly.
"Try to hide the good in your soul and you'll regret it," the voice muttered.
"I'll sell my sould for more power and wickedness," Artemise replied simply.
"Do you really believe that?" the voice asked.
"I'm a demon on earth. If ya wanted a good boy ya shoulda talked ta me when I was born," Artemise ran his hands through his hair before taking another hit of his cigar.
"You're too pretty to be wicked," the voice replied.
"Yet anotha that is charmed by my 'lurin' persona," Artemise snickered. "Speakin of which, wonder if I got a chance with Zamber. I think I'm gonna try."
"You'd try after what she's been through?"
"That's the good in me bein slaughtered by lust is all," Artemise stubbed the cigar out and headed into Zamber's bedroom. He eased the door shut and collapsed, sliding down the door, staring toward the pretty young girl in the bed. He ran his hand through his hair again, gritting his teeth. "Evil kin have morals, kint it?" he asked, shying away from the girl.
He stared up at the ceiling, "Truthfully, I half ta be crazy to believe that jis happened. I just wanted an excuse to leave the voice..." he whispered to himself. "I wouldn't rape a woman, but I sure as hail ain't good.... What the hail does that make me, then?"
Stumble!