Varian Cornwall
Varian Cornwall is a formal-speaking scholar from the Laniden Archipelago with a penchant for caution.
History
In the Laniden Archipelago, three sons in the wealthy Cornwall family were born. Varian was discovered early on for his affinity with the magical arts, earning the praise of many that knew him. Early in life, held the expectations of many friends and family that he would eventually acquire a governmental position as an interrogator. In his free time, Varian enjoyed reading books and hanging out with his siblings, and was considered somewhat lazy due to his propensity to avoid work.
Early in his teenage years, an incident had occurred. The night-time watch duty that secured one of the sections of the city-state were unable to detect a band of kobolds sneaking pass their defenses. Many buildings burned that day, including the Cornwall family home. Varian had suffered grievous burns, and the healers arrived too late to completely mend the damage. Forever burdened with full-body scars, Varian was blamed by the remnants of his family for the deaths that day, holding him responsible for not saving the lost lives. As a result of the trauma, the magical energies that were within Varian manifested fully, shaped by emotion and thought.
Excommunicated by the remnants of the family, Varian stuck out most of his life on his own. Him and his siblings: Alfonso and Marceus, still kept their ties strong, but with the heavy blow to the Cornwall estate and his own body dealt, Varian focused most of his time on honing his psychic abilities; fueled in his determination by conflicting feelings. Regret for those he couldn't protect and spite for those that blamed him.
Relying on the continued contact and encouragement of his brothers for support, Varian acquired greater control over his abilities when he became an adult. At this time however, he still remained conflicted, and was struck with a conundrum;
What purpose do I truly strive for? What do I really want to?.
After consulting Alfonso and Marceus, the brothers agreed that adventuring in the mainland would do good for him to clear his thoughts, but the latter of the two decided to stay home due to his responsibilities. Shortly after leaving the Archipelago, Alfonso and Varian parted ways to find their own paths to follow.
Appearance
Due to their entire body being covered in clothing, not much could be garnered about Varian's true physical appearance.
He wears a grayed metal mask that covers his face and the upper rear of the head. On his body he wears a black vest trimmed with gold, overlapping a white tunic; in addition to leather breeches and sturdy boots of the same material. White leather gloves rest over his hands, which are typically placed in the corresponding pockets of the pants.
On various parts of his body where skin would be revealed, are instead layers of a tight-fitting mesh of black cloth.
Personality
Due to his upbringing, Varian was trained to act with those he is unfamiliar with in a polite way; which is not hindered by his tendency for caution. He typically greets new fellows in a calm and formal fashion, preferring to avoid conflict whenever possible. In the presence of many, Varian often elects to remain silent and remain content contemplating in his own mind and not give to a conversation. Very rarely does he expresses his emotions outwardly outside his use of magic, but one could very easily sense intensity bleed through his person if such a situation were to occur.
To those familiar with the man, they would know that Varian possesses a laid-back nature. One way this could be seen is through his preference of applying the use of magic for day-to-day tasks; like teleporting across a room instead of walking. His family members would know especially of the times he'd spend most of a day just sleeping.
One of his hobbies is studying up on magical theorems and the applications to further improve his own magic, the other being his indulgence in Babel's cuisine.
When an inquiry is made for the reason why Varian covers his entire person or wears his mask, his mood darkens. Every and any mention of the topic increases his distress, due to the reminder of the traumatic incident that caused his full-body wounds.
Relationships
Alfonso Cornwall - "The oldest of us Cornwall brothers. The most confident too, I would have been much worse off if he wasn't around back home. The vigor he possesses to get what he wants is so grand, inspiring even! Though, that doesn't stop me from trying to pull him out of the trouble he could get into with his schemes. He can be quite crafty."
Marceus Cornwall - "Whenever we got into trouble, Marceus always looked out for Alfonso and I. Though, his defensiveness often got him into deeper problems with the other kids. One time he broke someone's nose because they called him insecure. Technically their analysis was not wrong, but oh well. Its a shame that he did not come with us to the mainland though."
Gabriel - "The first friend I've made after leaving the islands. He's a wanderer, just like myself. I didn't expect to meet a fellow like him in the Ghostlands, but he was amiable, helpful as well. He assisted me in my research on auras, which I am very thankful for."'
Abilities
Due to the irreparable damage he had sustained from the incident, Varian's physical ability is very much below average. In contrast, he's endowed with the particular power to harness magic through his emotions as a psychic. While he is able to teleport short distances and manipulate his telekinesis to acquire flight, his specialization is his ability to manipulate the mind. At long distances, he's most capable in disabling a creature's ability to stay conscious by tampering with the link between their aura and body; causing it to also affect mindless creatures such as undead. After awakening more psychic energy within himself, Varian attained further focus in his specialization, becoming a telepath.
Adventures
The Crypt of Ashfall
Near Ashfall, a hectare of grassland was turned into a desert, and several people had went missing. As one of the few that had showed up, Varian assisted in the investigation; eventually discovering a hidden crypt, with many hostile creatures inside its darkness. Unfortunately, the dangerous events that accumulated throughout the descent left harrowing marks on Varian's subconciousness: a rash strike at the mind of a Dark Stalker lead to him taking the brunt of a fiery explosion, and the touch of a Shadow put him at death's door. Due to the adrenaline rush of all the events occurring, he subconciously pushed these thoughts away, focusing on the task at hand. Once the Shadow Demon responsible for the events was dealt with, and the greenery around Ashfall restored, did the memory surge through Varian's mind.
"Its warm. Everything is so bright. What's happening?"
"I hear screaming. Father?"
"Where are you? I can't see anything! It hurts!"
Disturbed by the experience, he'd seek solace in the wilderness.
The Monkey King's Exam: Final Trial
"Of course it had to be fire. Great."
It was not even a minute into the Demonstration phase of the Graduation Exam at the Hero Association. The party was sent through a portal to fight in the planar wars, beyond the dawn of civilization. After being dropped into a large pond, they were struck by dual fireballs, which completely charred Varian's outfit, and opened old wounds. With a flash of the thought, he became invisible and flew out of harms way. Despite being at the brink of death, the rest of the battle went relatively fine; all that he had to do was pull at the auras of the fire and water elementals and they'd be fine. It was not a minute later before a portal opened to the next area. Replenishing their wounds, they pushed on.
Shivers went down Varian's spine, and an overwhelming heat encompassed the entire room. Demons were everywhere, with pits of hellfire surrounding a bridge in the middle of the room. The one named Retsu tried to pummel the biggest that was guarding the bridge, but he was almost downed by a barrage of aerial swings, magic missiles, and claw swipes.
"The clock is ticking adventurers!" exclaimed the Monkey King.
Luckily, everyone had a means of quickly crossing the bridge and reaching the maw that laid at the end of it. After granting the shrunken dwarf a means of flight to carry one of their own whilst invisible, Varian narrowly avoided the blaze of fiery explosions that rocked the bridge. Telekinetic acceleration was quite handy for his escape, as he managed to reach the end of bridge and into the next portal.
A massive dragon of unfathomable proportions stood in between the wedges of fractured little islands. A storm was brewing, and lava was boiling the oceanic waters from where the creature stood. Tentacles of living magma lashed out at the party, with immense hands latching on the island the party stood. A battle of attrition was too dangerous to attempt, as infernal blood frequently sprouted from the platforms.
"We have to take out his hands to do anything!" somebody yelled.
A brief examination confirmed that the dragon was clinging to the hard platform they stood, its fingers digging into solid rock. The others engaged the beasts and tackled the appendages head on; but for Varian, he was trying to avoid the monsters' attention with his magic. He flew around the battle constantly whilst under the effects of Greater Invisibility and Mind Blank. He couldn't risk being detected; a single hit would melt him into a puddle, and the increase in difficulty for each skirmish so far cemented that point into his mind. It didn't help that the unbearable heat from the area was wearing on him, but he still had a well of power to spare. The only saving grace was that the Monkey King claimed that death was not going to reach them here, but even then, the current events put him on high alert.
It was two minutes into the battle. His charms and psychic power proved to be ineffective against the blobs of magma and the dragon itself. The dwarf and the sage were the first to fall, but the sniper, Jackdaw, managed to deal a hard blow to the last finger of the dragon; causing its grip to slip and it to fall on the third island. Accelerating in the air towards the monster, Varian felt the edges of his aura meet the dragon; and it barely did much to affect its mind. The others that were still fighting: Rikki and Retsu, jumped a hundred feet to do battle at close range, and Jackdaw was nearing his last legs while stuck on the first island. The joint efforts of the other three staggered the dragon, but it was only temporary. The exhaustion wore on them, until the invisible sorcerer was the last one left. Alone and faced with insurmountable odds, blistering pain covered Varian's body as nuclear hellfire tore him asunder.
Hours later, they all woke up back at the chapel where they came for the demonstration. Although congratulated by the Monkey King for their effort and the show, Varian felt despondent. His ability wasn't enough to do anything.