About Jasper VraxisJasper Vraxis
For Jasper's eidolon, Jaxterin, see here. Jasper's Story
Children can always tell. They always know when something isn't quite right, even if they can't explain it to you. They found several things to pick on - Jasper was too skinny, to tall; couldn't rush fast enough; couldn't climb high enough; couldn't jump far enough; his feet were too big; he was weird. If an adult had asked, any child would have said the same thing: Jasper was weird. Jasper gave them the creeps. Jasper couldn't understand it. He thought he was prefectly fine, quite normal. But eventually the taunts and jeers became too much, and his sadness festered, slowly turning into anger. Realizing he'd never attain physical perfection, he decided to study magic instead. There was no problem magic couldn't solve. His father managed to find the twelve-year-old boy a mentor - an elderly wizard named Alkaron, who took the child on as an apprentice. But the wizard soon found there was something odd about his young charge. The boy only seemed able to learn a very limited number of spells. He took to summoning magics with ease, but everything else seemed to be a struggle. He spoke in tongues. A strange presence seemed to fill the room whenever he cast a spell - a faint feeling in the air, a light smoky scent if he was casting a cantrip; a stronger, heavier omnipresence when he attempted to draw upon more powerful magic. It didn't take long for Alkaron to grow uneasy, but when Jasper's father died of illness, Alkaron decided to keep the boy and continue to teach him. When, at sixteen, the lad summoned an imp, Alkaron realized what it was. Clearly Jasper was consorting with fiends, knowingly or not. Alkaron flew into a rage, slaying the summoned devil on the spot and ordering Jasper leave his home at once, lest he turn him in to the guards. Jasper obeyed, fleeing in terror. Broke and alone, Jasper wandered. He wandered for weeks, eating what he could find, and practiced his summonings. He found he could summon small creatures with ease - dogs, birds, a small octopus at one point - but nothing more powerful. He realized with rage that he'd failed himself. The study of magic had brought him nowhere! Nothing had worked! He was no better off than before - worse, in fact! He screamed in anguish, and his anguish soon gave way to fury. With fierce resolve, blinded by hate, he drew a summoning circle in the dirt and focused all his will and determination into summoning the most powerful creature he could. With a flash of fire and a loud crack, a monstrous creature appeared before him. It was feline, canine, and aquiline all in one; a strange creature with eyes that gleamed like obsidian and a tail that flicked like a whip. Jasper immediately began begging for his life, terrified at what he had done. The creature considered him. Eventually, it announced that it was letting him live. For now. After all, the lad had managed to summon it, so he clearly had talent. And outsiders can live for a long, long time, and get bored in that time, after all. So a bond was forged between the two - a bond marked by a rune on both brows, a bond forged out of curiosity from one party, and lust for power from the other. Jasper hatched a plan, and his new life began. Together, he and this strange creature - Jaxterin, it called itself - would find a village or other small settlement. There, Jaxterin would cause a ruckus - starting fires, eating chickens and other small fowl, staking out and terrorizing the place. A few days later, Jasper would disguise himself, step in and pose as a demonslayer, having heard rumors of a demonic presence causing trouble in the village, and of course he would slay the demon for a small fee, coin and jewellery only, thank you; no questions to be asked or the demon may come back, you understand. And with his natural talent for lies, it worked. At least, for a while. After ten years, eventually Jasper began to run out of villages. And at Jaxterin's urging, he grew arrogant, and eventually decided to attack a small town on the outskirts of Matharyn. It wasn't long before someone caught on, Jaxterin found himself banished by a more powerful magic-user - an archmage by the name of Nheran. Jasper, now twenty-five, found himself shackled hand and foot, tried, found guilty of several counts of fraud and consorting with dark powers, and thrown into Branderscar to await death if he was lucky, and a life in the salt mines if he wasn't. Escape? Hah. Nobody ever escapes from Branderscar, don't you know... About Jasper
His skin is deathly pale, offset by his personal choice of clothing - leather armour in rich, dark colours. Jasper believes in looking the part as much as anything else, and is adept at finding disguises, for when he requires a little more discretion. He speaks in a deep tone, almost mesmerizing, and strangely reassuring, like a father figure or mentor. He is cold and distant, speaking little, unless it is to Jaxterin. Every movement is calculated. Every word dissected. Yet his force of personality is almost overwhelming - which is precisely what makes him so dangerous. |
