- Aug 6, 2014
- 2,626
- Gender
- magical tree
- Pronouns
- he/him
- Posting Status
- Irregularly
✧ Raphael Niccolo ✧
"Raphy", "Lucky"
16yo; October 18, 2001
Male, Preference unknown
Horseman of the Apocalypse
Student
11th Grade, High School
・・ APPEARANCE ・・
Raphael is like the sun. He has pretty, platinum blond hair, glittering blue eyes, and a bright smile that could lift your moods when you're having a rough day. He's not a tall fellow, being only 5'5 feet at his age, a little lean and barely any muscle mass to boast, but his fair skin seems to glow along with his happy mood. He likes dressing in pastels, mostly in casuals and walking shoes.
Though this is how he usually appears in public, this is more or less his "dormant state". Neither more comfortable nor restricting to his active state — both having its ups and downs. While his active state feels more free, there is an underlying feeling of sickness that makes it lose its charm and vice versa. His active state looks fairly the same, save for the part that his eyes have turned yellow, and his hair has gone dark like the night sky. He slicks it back in this state. His mannerisms change noticeably but still enough to recognize him. He looks to have gone paler and there are dark rings appearing around his eyes. His aura changes significantly to something a little more somber, if not a little sickly.
His fully active state on the other hand, that is, his Horseman Form, is not as pleasing to see. Not to say he isn't still pretty — he has the same face, but all the glow he had in his dormant state fades into a sullen aura and the rest of him... well. He is taller in this form, reaching up to 8 feet, towering with a tree-like figure dressed in a tattered white cloak looks like its saggy with scum and moss. He seems to attract the presence of flies and other disease-carrying creatures this way. His hair fully grows out longer down to his waist, slick down on his form and its color, fully black. His eye color is yellow with a strange haunting glow, droopy and rimmed with dark rings underneath. A victor's crown sits on his head. His skin is a sickly pale, and his movements are significantly slow. His aura doesn't feel welcoming and it makes others feel less even pleasant.
Though this is how he usually appears in public, this is more or less his "dormant state". Neither more comfortable nor restricting to his active state — both having its ups and downs. While his active state feels more free, there is an underlying feeling of sickness that makes it lose its charm and vice versa. His active state looks fairly the same, save for the part that his eyes have turned yellow, and his hair has gone dark like the night sky. He slicks it back in this state. His mannerisms change noticeably but still enough to recognize him. He looks to have gone paler and there are dark rings appearing around his eyes. His aura changes significantly to something a little more somber, if not a little sickly.
His fully active state on the other hand, that is, his Horseman Form, is not as pleasing to see. Not to say he isn't still pretty — he has the same face, but all the glow he had in his dormant state fades into a sullen aura and the rest of him... well. He is taller in this form, reaching up to 8 feet, towering with a tree-like figure dressed in a tattered white cloak looks like its saggy with scum and moss. He seems to attract the presence of flies and other disease-carrying creatures this way. His hair fully grows out longer down to his waist, slick down on his form and its color, fully black. His eye color is yellow with a strange haunting glow, droopy and rimmed with dark rings underneath. A victor's crown sits on his head. His skin is a sickly pale, and his movements are significantly slow. His aura doesn't feel welcoming and it makes others feel less even pleasant.
・・ PERSONALITY ・・
Raphael is a ball of sunshine, he's usually in a chipper mood, eager to help people around him. He's overly-friendly and easy to approach, though he may sometimes come off as annoying with how eager he is. It's good to be friends with him since he seems to be a good mood-lifter. He likes cracking jokes every now and again but he tries to maintain a sense of seriousness when it's really needed. Like, really really needed. This doesn't stop him from muttering inappropriate jokes in the middle of class and breaking into chuckles. On this kind of day, it's really hard to find any time he's fully serious.
On the other kind of day, there won't be any jokes to expect. At least, none kinder. When he's in his active state, he's sounds a little more cynical. His lighthearted jokes come off more condescending, if not sarcastic. He isn't as helpful — or at least eagerly helpful. He doesn't come as any more formal than his usual sunny self but it does give off some sense of peace since he wouldn't be as loud. He looks all the more secretive, cunning and a little antagonistic despite the fact he claims it's still all in good fun. There probably isn't too much difference between the two, but how he comes off to people is only amplified by how his aura affects people around him.
When he's in Horseman form, he has no lick of a personality. He's more like a hollow husk. He doesn't speak, nor does he pay anyone any special attention. He just stands there like a tree, unmoving, undeterred. He can still probably hear others but he doesn't respond at all, nor does he even appear to actually care.
Raphael's interests and hobbies aren't any different from most kids: video games are his usual thing, a very few board games, and eating a bunch of of sweets. It's pretty ridiculous how he would try to multitask most things, including schoolwork and maybe after a little scuffle with it, he almost always manages to finish his work on time in the end of it all. Except on... some times he just really drops a project.
He's not the smartest kid in class, but he's also not the worst as long as he keeps his priorities in check and actually does his project and attends exam days. Which is to say, he sometimes skips class in favor of fun loving. It gets him into trouble and as he likes to say, he likes getting into trouble because it's 'fun when things get crazy'. He's pretty childish most of the time but his more cynical side gets him out of trouble better.
On the other kind of day, there won't be any jokes to expect. At least, none kinder. When he's in his active state, he's sounds a little more cynical. His lighthearted jokes come off more condescending, if not sarcastic. He isn't as helpful — or at least eagerly helpful. He doesn't come as any more formal than his usual sunny self but it does give off some sense of peace since he wouldn't be as loud. He looks all the more secretive, cunning and a little antagonistic despite the fact he claims it's still all in good fun. There probably isn't too much difference between the two, but how he comes off to people is only amplified by how his aura affects people around him.
When he's in Horseman form, he has no lick of a personality. He's more like a hollow husk. He doesn't speak, nor does he pay anyone any special attention. He just stands there like a tree, unmoving, undeterred. He can still probably hear others but he doesn't respond at all, nor does he even appear to actually care.
Raphael's interests and hobbies aren't any different from most kids: video games are his usual thing, a very few board games, and eating a bunch of of sweets. It's pretty ridiculous how he would try to multitask most things, including schoolwork and maybe after a little scuffle with it, he almost always manages to finish his work on time in the end of it all. Except on... some times he just really drops a project.
He's not the smartest kid in class, but he's also not the worst as long as he keeps his priorities in check and actually does his project and attends exam days. Which is to say, he sometimes skips class in favor of fun loving. It gets him into trouble and as he likes to say, he likes getting into trouble because it's 'fun when things get crazy'. He's pretty childish most of the time but his more cynical side gets him out of trouble better.
・・ POWERS ・・
Horseman of Pestilence
Raphael's ability as a Horseman manifests itself in three different ways. It has two different effects depending on what state he is in as a form of duality as a Horseman having been conceived as a human.
Raphael's human form is his dormant state; in this form, his powers seem to work in reverse, towards others, and more in tune with his alternate name, Conquest.
a) Healing Aura : Raphael's dormant state allows him to exude a calming aura to everyone nearby. It usually facilitates some form of metaphysical healing but it has a null effect to those that are damaged by healing magic. The aura itself calms those around him, in the sense of relief, clarity, or achievement to a degree. For example, a person who has been worried about school will feel more confident in that instance of being around him. This mood may carry on but that is dependent on the person's personality and their susceptibility to negative emotions. The passive effects of this ability can reach within a 10 feet radius. He can utilize this healing magic and heal others physically if he so wishes.
b) Probability and Chance (Passive) : As if his calming aura isn't enough, Raphael's presence seems to heighten luck by a certain degree for those people he particularly likes. The luck usually takes its form on little things like winning a draw, a better chance of earning favors, finding business opportunities, and the like. Being around him while trying to convince others also seems to raise the chances of agreeability for some reason.
a) Healing Aura : Raphael's dormant state allows him to exude a calming aura to everyone nearby. It usually facilitates some form of metaphysical healing but it has a null effect to those that are damaged by healing magic. The aura itself calms those around him, in the sense of relief, clarity, or achievement to a degree. For example, a person who has been worried about school will feel more confident in that instance of being around him. This mood may carry on but that is dependent on the person's personality and their susceptibility to negative emotions. The passive effects of this ability can reach within a 10 feet radius. He can utilize this healing magic and heal others physically if he so wishes.
b) Probability and Chance (Passive) : As if his calming aura isn't enough, Raphael's presence seems to heighten luck by a certain degree for those people he particularly likes. The luck usually takes its form on little things like winning a draw, a better chance of earning favors, finding business opportunities, and the like. Being around him while trying to convince others also seems to raise the chances of agreeability for some reason.
His active state allows him to tap into his capabilities as Pestilence. There are two phases in this state: his primary which he can swap with on a day to day basis without consequence, and his fully active state which is his Horseman form. His powers work in accordance to his namesake, and more towards the self.
a) Decaying Aura : First to understand about his aura in this state is that it does not make everything around him rot. His aura makes everything depressing. Hopeless even. As his healing aura, this only affects people at certain degrees depending on the person and the problem. This aura can make people distraught, confused, or troubled that they feel sick. People around him can feel exhausted, possibly actually sick if they have weak immune systems. He seems to attract the presence of rats if anything. It can make things rot but only when he actively uses the aura against something, much like his healing aura. Damages he can inflict are so far are external allergic reactions like rashes, and some skin diseases like chicken pox and measles.
b) Probability and Chance (Passive) : In his active state, his ability for luck seems to become directed at himself rather than others. It carries the same properties as it does in his dormant state but focuses solely on his own activities. It doesn't let him absorb the luck of others but it certainly turns tides in favor of him.
a) Decaying Aura : First to understand about his aura in this state is that it does not make everything around him rot. His aura makes everything depressing. Hopeless even. As his healing aura, this only affects people at certain degrees depending on the person and the problem. This aura can make people distraught, confused, or troubled that they feel sick. People around him can feel exhausted, possibly actually sick if they have weak immune systems. He seems to attract the presence of rats if anything. It can make things rot but only when he actively uses the aura against something, much like his healing aura. Damages he can inflict are so far are external allergic reactions like rashes, and some skin diseases like chicken pox and measles.
b) Probability and Chance (Passive) : In his active state, his ability for luck seems to become directed at himself rather than others. It carries the same properties as it does in his dormant state but focuses solely on his own activities. It doesn't let him absorb the luck of others but it certainly turns tides in favor of him.
This form requires him utmost meditation of up to 20 hours to access when attempting to transform at will but he can also access this from through intense mental pressure. This form follows after his Active State, though much more intense wherein his range is wider and the feeling his aura gives is more noticeably felt than before. The power difference between his primary active state and his Horseman form can be easily identified, and he is unable to use his weaponry on the former. In this form, he's seems to lose most of his human judgement and is almost barely sentient, though he does remain enough so that he can revert. He seems to act under orders for the most part, and he doesn't clearly remember everything that occurred around him in this form.
a) Duration : He can maintain this form for about an hour before it begins to take its toll on his human vessel that can result in fatigue and may cause him to fall ill once he reverts — the longer the sicker. At best, he can get away with a fever. He can never die from illnesses caused by transformation but it causes a heavy inconvenience for his human form. After taking this form, he shifts back to his dormant form. For every 30 minutes he's in his Horseman form, he cannot shift into either active states for at least 24 hours.
b) Arrow of Pestilence (Weaponry) : His weaponry takes the form of a bow and arrow. His brass quiver is filled with poisoned arrows that can inflict any form of disease in his targets. His range can go up to 50 feet. In his human form, these are usually found as a pendant on his necklace as silver quiver hanging on a silver chain while the bow seems to be more spectral. He acquired this pendant the first time he awakened in his Horseman form, but he has no recollection of it. His arrows lose their magic-induced poison and are useless in the hands of others.
a) Duration : He can maintain this form for about an hour before it begins to take its toll on his human vessel that can result in fatigue and may cause him to fall ill once he reverts — the longer the sicker. At best, he can get away with a fever. He can never die from illnesses caused by transformation but it causes a heavy inconvenience for his human form. After taking this form, he shifts back to his dormant form. For every 30 minutes he's in his Horseman form, he cannot shift into either active states for at least 24 hours.
b) Arrow of Pestilence (Weaponry) : His weaponry takes the form of a bow and arrow. His brass quiver is filled with poisoned arrows that can inflict any form of disease in his targets. His range can go up to 50 feet. In his human form, these are usually found as a pendant on his necklace as silver quiver hanging on a silver chain while the bow seems to be more spectral. He acquired this pendant the first time he awakened in his Horseman form, but he has no recollection of it. His arrows lose their magic-induced poison and are useless in the hands of others.
・・ SPECIES ABILITIES ・・
Horseman of the Apocalypse
Functional Immortality — Raphael's nature as a Horseman makes him immortal in the sense that he cannot die purely out of old age (as he will stop aging by the time he reaches his 20s). His body will recover any injury inflicted whichever form he is in though it will be slower in his human form and it can depend on the damage. The only difference he has compared to the current Death and Famine is that he can be ultimately killed if his vessel is completely destroyed. While his Horseman form simply regenerates within the hour, this can be done by destroying it while he is in his human form. When obliterated completely in Horseman form, he would simply regenerate after a day, though in a dormant state.
Pestilence Form — Raphael's Horseman form significantly slows his movement, but his impressive defense and regenerative ability makes up for it. He becomes a tower that cannot be toppled over, and any damage inflicted on him in this form will heal almost instantly ( 30 minutes tops ). The catch is that he seems to be barely aware of his surroundings. He usually hones into the last person he targeted before he went into this form and then nothing else. He would be completely exhausted once he returns to either of his human form — or even sick.
Limitations — Aside from his immortality being crippled, many of his weaknesses come from having a human vessel instead of being a full manifestation. His human form takes damage when he awakens to his Horseman form. He may be immune to normal illnesses but he can suffer just by stretching his time in that form. He is in many senses very human in terms of his morals, necessities, and emotions. Outside his human-like weaknesses, his Horseman form can be manipulated using the crown placed on his head — that is, the owner of the crown he'd wear is his master on the even that one can get close enough to claim it.
Pestilence Form — Raphael's Horseman form significantly slows his movement, but his impressive defense and regenerative ability makes up for it. He becomes a tower that cannot be toppled over, and any damage inflicted on him in this form will heal almost instantly ( 30 minutes tops ). The catch is that he seems to be barely aware of his surroundings. He usually hones into the last person he targeted before he went into this form and then nothing else. He would be completely exhausted once he returns to either of his human form — or even sick.
Limitations — Aside from his immortality being crippled, many of his weaknesses come from having a human vessel instead of being a full manifestation. His human form takes damage when he awakens to his Horseman form. He may be immune to normal illnesses but he can suffer just by stretching his time in that form. He is in many senses very human in terms of his morals, necessities, and emotions. Outside his human-like weaknesses, his Horseman form can be manipulated using the crown placed on his head — that is, the owner of the crown he'd wear is his master on the even that one can get close enough to claim it.
・・ BIOGRAPHY ・・
Raphael's whole story goes back to how his parents were involved with some shady cult. It was a splinter group of another fairly larger, and more influential one but it's leader was nothing but ambitious. After getting his then-pregnant mother to go through a ritual, Raphael was somehow imbued with the abilities upon conception. Months before he was even born, his mother was already showing signs of illness, but no one — not even doctors — could actually tell what caused it. Her condition didn't seem to get any better. She passed away giving birth to a surprisingly healthy child.
His father, realizing his son was practically the fulfillment of the cults twisted goals of the cult of controlling a force of the apocalypse, fled with his only remaining family. The first few years of Raphael's life was peaceful and he got to live out his life normally. He was 8 when things started to go downhill. The Niccolos were persecuted, by the very people of the cult. It was a rough few years for them, earning a few death threats, harrassment, stalking, and one or two attempts in their life. Okay, maybe 'rough' is putting it too lightly. Raphael's childhood got... pretty bad. Still, the little boy managed to spend his days in high spirits.
It wasn't until the crazy fanatics decided to up their game and forcibly take him away. Unfortunately for them, this wasn't going to be their day. The first time Raphael ever remembered awakening his abilities was when he was 11. His decaying aura was strong enough that it melted off the hands of the ones holding him. To be honest, he doesn't remember anything after freaking out. By the time he came to, his dad looked like a mess, mumbling things about him being alright and that he's safe and 'they're never taking him away' before he passed out again. As for the cultists? Better left for the imagination.
His father was surprisingly versatile about his abilities. Raphael had to adjust a great deal after learning of his uh, gifts and his father was kind to help him along the way. It took another few years before a scout from the academy found them to bring him to one place that could probably help him better. Father and son moved to Manta Carlos after a few weeks of preparation.
His father, realizing his son was practically the fulfillment of the cults twisted goals of the cult of controlling a force of the apocalypse, fled with his only remaining family. The first few years of Raphael's life was peaceful and he got to live out his life normally. He was 8 when things started to go downhill. The Niccolos were persecuted, by the very people of the cult. It was a rough few years for them, earning a few death threats, harrassment, stalking, and one or two attempts in their life. Okay, maybe 'rough' is putting it too lightly. Raphael's childhood got... pretty bad. Still, the little boy managed to spend his days in high spirits.
It wasn't until the crazy fanatics decided to up their game and forcibly take him away. Unfortunately for them, this wasn't going to be their day. The first time Raphael ever remembered awakening his abilities was when he was 11. His decaying aura was strong enough that it melted off the hands of the ones holding him. To be honest, he doesn't remember anything after freaking out. By the time he came to, his dad looked like a mess, mumbling things about him being alright and that he's safe and 'they're never taking him away' before he passed out again. As for the cultists? Better left for the imagination.
His father was surprisingly versatile about his abilities. Raphael had to adjust a great deal after learning of his uh, gifts and his father was kind to help him along the way. It took another few years before a scout from the academy found them to bring him to one place that could probably help him better. Father and son moved to Manta Carlos after a few weeks of preparation.
・・ CHARACTER TIMELINE ・・
2001 : Born (Manta Carlos)
2001 - 2017 : Biography
2017 January : Arrives to the island, meets his fellow Horsemen
2017 March : Wins for Student Council
2001 - 2017 : Biography
2017 January : Arrives to the island, meets his fellow Horsemen
2017 March : Wins for Student Council
・・ ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ・・
Clarification for State/Form:
States are: Dormant vs. Active ( Primary Active and Horseman )
Forms are: Human ( Dormant and Primary Active ) vs. Horseman
States are: Dormant vs. Active ( Primary Active and Horseman )
Forms are: Human ( Dormant and Primary Active ) vs. Horseman
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