Jackal Power Upgrade

Sense Murderer: Jackal is capable of detecting a single type of sin: Murder. For him, this ability serves primarily as a visual sense, allowing him to see a white or black aura around the person. If a person is innocent, having never committed a murder, he'll see a small white aura around them. If a person has committed murder, he'll see a black aura around them, the size of which varies depending on the degree. A person who has committed a single murder will have an extremely thin aura. A person who has killed thousands will have a very thick one, making them visible at a distance. While primarily visual, this works to a reduced degree when Jackal is unable to see. If he was in a room with an innocent, he'd be able to tell, and the same for a sinner. However, it's much more general without sight. He can't see the degree of the sin, nor could he detect the location or specific person in question. If there was a mix, he'd have no way of knowing which was which.

Conditions and Other Details

There are several important notes and contingencies that go along with his sight. Jackal's murder sense only counts true murders. By the definition used by both Jackal and the power, this excludes any accidental murders, or any cases of self defense. For it to count, the person has to have tried (or been unable to try) a route that wouldn't involve the murder of their assailant. This also counts if they were forced to kill to defend another life. His power also counts 'murder' as any successful murder which was ordered by someone, even if they did not physically do the deed themselves. Ordering a hitman still counts, for both the hitman and the one who hired them.

This ability only counts to sentient life. He can only read the auras of sentient life, and only the murder of sentient life counts. It does not distinguish between mortals and immortals, both judging and counting the murders of both. The murder of a vampire still counts, unless in self defense. The murder of immortals can be tricky: If they pass into an afterlife and then later return to earth, it would count as a murder. If they regenerate immediately, without passing into an afterlife, it does not count.

If a person has reincarnated, and doesn't have any memories of their past lives, they're considered a blank slate and will not have their murders be counted. A reincarnation who does remember their past lives (even if they regain that knowledge later) would have those murders count.

Murders committed outside of your control (while you were possessed, berserk, etc) do not count assuming that it could not be reasonably prevented. If you summon a demon, it possesses you and goes on a rampage, those deaths are on your tally. If you are possessed through no fault of your own, they would not count on your tally.

Jackal is capable of sharing this information, but rarely does so. It is extremely risky for anyone to find out the nature of his powers, and so he does so only in rare circumstances.

Click to expand...

Tail: Jackal's tail is large and cumbersome, and tends to be more of a pain then it's worth. It's is prehensile, but lacks a fine level of control as a result of it's size. The outer layer is as hard as bone, with only a small amount of sensation. He won't notice the brush of fabric against it, but if someone knocks on it he can feel it. The tails spikes do make it dangerous, but thankfully them being vertical prevents the majority of accidents.

Click to expand...

Holy Items: Despite being from hell, Jackal isn't weak to holy items or places. Quite the contrary: Jackal himself was created by God, and believes in him, although he is not, and does not, hold himself to the rules that mortals are expected to follow. He keeps a small religious pendant with him which has no magic powers, but instead reminds him of his duty.

Click to expand...

Redemption: The sin of murder isn't easy to clear off, but it is possible to do, at least in Jackal's eyes. If Jackal believes that someone is repentant, and has taken actions to absolve the sin (each murder counting individually), he can choose to grant them redemption, removing the murder from their tally in both the eyes of his own powers, and those like him. However, the redemption cannot be tricked (even if Jackal can). If he attempts to redeem someone who is not truly repentant, the effect will do nothing at all.

Click to expand...

This also extends, even outside of battle, to effects being applied on him by sinners. Auras, passive effects, mind tampering effects and the like will not work on him from those sources. A murderer with an innocence aura would find their aura to have no effect on Jackal.

Click to expand...

His power cannot be tricked by himself, which comes with many unfortunate consequences. Jackal does not retain any powers if he is not actively fighting his current opponent, and if he switches targets his powers will shift immediately, requiring him to quickly adapt. This leads to him mostly focusing on single targets at a time. His power cannot be used to harm innocents. It will specifically avoid giving him any powers which would cause harm to an innocent being, and his powers will falter and be forced to adjust if his target takes a hostage.

Click to expand...

While all innocents have the potential to be highly deadly to Jackal, small children--even babies--are the worst, and he goes out of his way to avoid them. In order for his weakness to activate, there must be an intent to harm, but toddlers and babies general lack the understanding of their actions that would save Jackal from a miserable death. A baby pulling on Jackal's hair could send him flying. A toddler hugging his neck a bit too tight could choke him to death, and the entire experience, even if rescued by an innocent parent, is both humiliating and hard to explain.

Click to expand...

Mark of the Heretic: Jackal has transgressed against the Kravuni way so severely that he has been forever marked by it. Any Prax who is capable of linking in any way (even if the link would not normally read such information) will immediately become aware of the extreme scale of his crime, but gain no other information. Regardless of the Prax's feeling towards their homeworld or gods, the sensation the link gives off makes for a deeply unpleasant first meeting.

This effect only happens the first time a Prax links to him.

Click to expand...

Tail: Jackal's tail is large and cumbersome, and tends to get in the way of day to day life. He has to be very aware of its location to avoid smacking into things. The outer layer is fairly durable, composed of keratin, and has reduced sensation compared to the rest of his body. He wouldn't notice the brush of fabric against it, but if someone touches it he can get a general idea that someone is.

On each side of Jackal's tail are four sets of double jointed legs ending in a sharp point. The pair closest to the base of his tail is the largest, about as thick around as his arm at it's widest, and each set of legs get successively thinner. The smallest of the legs is only about as wide around as wrist.

The tail, composed mostly of muscle, is fairly strong. In theory it could hold Jackal's entire weight, but he'd have an extremely hard time balancing on it due to it's size and shape. It does pack quite a wallop if he smacks you with it, but not any more so then what you'd expect from something of it's size. Each leg is fairly strong in its own merits, equivalent to the strength of Jackal's arms although far less dexterous due to the lack of hands.

One interesting feature of Jackal's tail is the fact that the underside of portion of his tail closest to the body is slightly concave. While the area isn't long, this dent gives him a space to place his legs. In day to day life, there's not much use for it. In situations where he's forced into aerial, aquatic, or other combat types where legs are a hindrance, his legs rest against the underside of his tail, and the smallest pair of legs pinch in to wrap around his ankles, keeping his legs from flailing about and allowing him to focus on his tail.

Much like a lizard, he's technically capable of (slightly) widening his tail to give it more surface area, allowing him to propel himself along underwater a bit faster. He's no mermaid, but he'll do better than a human.

Click to expand...