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Name: Alaric Morgan Door: Returning Submissive Canon: The Deryni Chronicles. Canon Point: Early in King's Service/just after Brion's death. Age: 32 - looking young is a thing though. Appearance: History: Here. The addition to his history based on previous game experiences is pretty brief, honestly. He came, he had a whole lot of sex, he loved deeply had a lovely satisfying relationship with Anders and Hawke, and made a few friends, almost none of whom are still in game. The biggest impact is basically that he knows how the world works, the rules, the risks of punishments and is familiar (though he'll have to remember) enough with the technology (like zippers and running water). Personality: Loyalty: Alaric is magically bound to the King as a very young child, destined to unlock the King's magical abilities when the time is right. He is not bound to love the king, nor to be loyal to him, but he is - completely, and even in situations that come at great personal cost and danger to himself. He goes into a hostile court as a child to serve, and leaves again when the Queen hates and despises him and will not return with his presence there, giving up his life and what few friendships he has, yet again. At even higher cost he witnesses a man burn to death to prevent civil unrest and his King (and friend) being sanctioned by the Church. He serves Brion personally, not only as a page and squire, then advisor and general to his armies, but as a friend, in doing things as simple as allowing the King time alone, or starting a fire and catching and cooking a rabbit for their dinner. There is no resentment, no bitterness, no resistance. It is simply who he is and that includes loyalty that goes all the way to his bones. Remote: Alaric is told time and again that he must not ever allow people to see him cry - not even people who want him dead, not even people who torture him, directly or otherwise. His father tells him when he is seven years old that he is too old to be hugged, though he makes an exception. The result of both of these things is that he is not at all inclined toward initiating physical displays of affection, and even less inclined toward expressing his emotions in any way that is visible. He will, with a deep amount of trust, cry in the presence of someone as close to him as his cousin or the man who has been his knight since he was a very small child, and under dire circumstances express some anger, but these are both rare, even then. He shares very, very little of himself and even less emotionally. The result of all that reserve is that he can seem incredibly unapproachable, and even cold. He does not make friends - real friends - easily. Mistrustful: He also does not make friends easily because he has been aware, since he was four years old, that people hate Deryni in general and that many, some very powerful, hate him in particular. That he is never entirely safe, that he is always in danger. This feeds into the remoteness, but it is also an entirely separate thing. He expects to be challenged, met with derision, or even to be outright hated. He watched a man burned to death for being Deryni, forced to be there by the Archbishop (who, you guessed it) hates him. He knows how dangerous that sort of hate can be, and it has been very firmly directed at him his entire life. He can't even escape it; he is known to be Deryni from young child, because his mother was known to be Deryni and helped to prosecute a very public man (The Archbishop's heir), and is in service within the king's court. This makes him watchful, cautious, and he absolutely can and will respond defensively to perceived threats. And because he is so wired to expect people to respond terribly to him, he sees a whole lot of challenge and threat where they do not exist. Uptight all around: Alaric had been aware since he was very young that the weight of his decisions would ultimately be that of life and death. He has heard, time and again, that the games he plays when he trains, his studies, are things that prepare him for battle - and that a lost piece on a game board is a lot man in reality. Added to that his position within the King's Court and his awareness of that as something like fate, or destiny, and that he was pushed and pushed hard to live up to incredibly high expectations of those around him, and Alaric has very, very little sense of play. Even his humor is somewhat subdued and more rare than it should be, especially now that he is actually an Earl and Duke, rather than simply one in training. He just... does not know how. He is also, on a directly interconnected vein, always, always, concerned with what people think of him, are thinking of him, and of presenting the proper image and doing things 'right'. He can, has, and will absolutely stand up and push back against even the King, but awareness of position and decorum has been drilled into him from early childhood. It isn't likely to fade quickly or easily. Effectively, everything he does - from the state of his hair and his word choices, to military orders - have always had capacity for profound consequences, and he does not know how to let that go. Arrogant: Alaric's rank and position within the court leaves him with an expectation that, while people may hate him and want him dead, they will be respectful to his face - respectful and with some degree of deference. He expects to be listened to and his words to carry weight. He has been interrupting, challenging, and making demands of the King (and his advisors and other adults) since he was a child. More over, those demands and interruptions were usually listened to. He also has a very high rate of succeeding what he attempts. Sometimes with a lot of hard work, yes, but he expects to 'win'. This sort of arrogance isn't all that overt, but he does have a very high opinion of himself and his abilities. Powers and Abilities: There is more information here Alaric Deryni who was trained from young childhood in his abilities. His abilities rely and hinge heavily on innate psychic abilities. He is effectively a telepath and empath. He can read, see, and feel the thoughts and emotions of others, as well as share and alter memories. One of the specific expressions of this (in a particular way) is particularly knowing what is the truth and what is a lie and can, theoretically, make someone tell him the truth. He also has some low level telekinesis - he can use it to turn the tumblers in a lock or move a glass, but anything much heavier would be beyond him. He has very good mental shielding; magical (and telepathic) combat is a thing that is not common but does happen and preventing attack is one of the very first things he was taught. In things that are more traditionally considered magic/use of spells: Alaric can 'banish' fatigue which is really just a means of ignoring his need for rest until a more convenient time but with an unusually high level of effectiveness (and he will pay for it, with interest, when he stops). He can use spells to calm and focus himself or others. He has the capacity and innate ability to learn to magically heal, but not very well and at this point in canon has not discovered that. (It is a lost art that he rediscovers at a very slightly later canon point) There are various ritual magics that I am nerfing for game play, like control weather or create transfer portals. It's an easy nerf since these require esoetric supplies or other Deryni (ie: group rituals), or, in the case of weather, I'm simply saying it doesn't work in Duplicity. Weakness: Merasha is a drug derived from a plant that is a mild sedative in humans but in Deryni completely shuts down any magical or psychic ability including shield, causes pain and intense nausea. It effectively leaves the subject 'locked in' to their bodies (blind, deaf, unable to move but conscious), with no mental shielding. The primary effects last 6-12 hours with after-effects that are headache, nausea, light sensitivity, and dizziness vertigo. It is used against Brion to 'cloud his mind' before he is attacked and ultimately, but it does not work because Brion is Haldane - all human with some magical potential, not Deryni, though the attacker does not know this. Alaric knows OF it at this point in canon but he has not yet experienced it directly- or used it to train Kelson. There is evidence further in canon when he is drugged that it very much works as expected on him. General abilities: Excellent swordsman, horseman, and strategist. Very much a general under a very pretty facade. (Also literally a general). Really, really, super good with animals. Inventory: Long sword, his duchal cornet, and a carved, adorned, but very sharp dagger.