Post by Jaxrond on Aug 2, 2015 22:17:38 GMT -5
(I apologize for the length. I still feel that I had a difficult time articulating his personality, however)
Full Name: Jaffar
Other name: The Blade, The Shadow, The Angel of Death
Race: Human
Side: Formerly of the Empire, specifically, the Black Hand. He is now neutral, working as a mercenary.
Birthplace: The Hadarac Desert
Age: 23
Gender: Male
Birthday: Unknown
Eyes: Jaffar’s eyes are a dark brown. They are surrounded by thick lashes and often lined with kohl. Though the eyes may be the window to the soul, Jaffar’s are almost always as blank and emotionless as those of a corpse.
Hair: Jaffar has startling reddish brown hair that is at odds with his dark complexion and could only be described as an auburn russet color. It is cut rather unevenly short and takes to jutting out from his head and draping lightly over his headband. When loose, the longest bangs brush his thin brows.
Weight: Though rather small in stature, Jaffar weighs a surprising amount due to muscle mass. He is by no means heavy, however. He is lean, lacking extra body fat, and, if weighed, would come to somewhere between 130 and 135 pounds.
Height: Jaffar is small for a man, standing just a few inches above five feet. This allows him to move quickly and stealthily and is part of why he was so successful as an assassin.
Magic User: Jaffar, being a member of the Black Hand, is skilled in mental combat and defense as well as magic. Though his training revolved around items such as wards, manipulation of the body, and the Twelve Words of Death, he is able to use other spells as well, since the principle is the same.
Preferred Weapon(s): Jaffar is proficient in many weapons, from blades to bows to those with hafts. However, as an Assassin, he prefers two ornate but practical blades. These blades are made in the tradition of his people, curving slightly from base to tip in much the way a scimitar might. Unlike a scimitar, however, these are sharp on both edges and come to a point rather than a dip. Slightly longer than the average dagger, they are made for both silent killing and melee combat. They are also easily concealable. During his time in the Black Hand, Jaffar also carried a short bow, a blowgun and set of darts with an array of toxins, and a small knife. Now, he carries these only when he knows he will be entering into combat or when given an assignment.
Appearance: Jaffar is a small but lean man, as mentioned above, built for speed, stealth, and the quick overpowering of a target. His skin is dark, almost as though coffee grounds had been rubbed onto it. His reddish hair is cut rather short and is held back from his face by a cloth band tied around his head, though, due to his reputation, he most often completely covers it. He walks with the trained grace of someone who is used to sneaking about and bears himself with the poise of a man who is confident in his skills. He is scarred in numerous places across his body from not only his training but his missions as well. One of his most noticeable features is a scar running across his lips diagonally, beginning near his nose and ending at the edge of his jaw.
Jaffar rarely changes expression and, if he does, it is not in the presence of others. A young man in his prime, he could be described as handsome, however, there is a hardness about him that would make the term seem unfitting. The correct term for him may be ‘exotic’ or ‘striking’. It was due to this that, when on assignments for the Black Hand, Jaffar kept his face covered, showing only his eyes.
Jaffar wears dark clothing, even after Galbatorix’s defeat. In the manner of his people, he wears a black sirwal above flat black shoes. Both allow for easy movement and are rather comfortable. Over his torso, he wears a tight, sleeveless black shirt. This shirt serves mostly as a barrier for his light armor, which covers his torso and is made of a flexible, hardened leather. When not wearing armor, Jaffar trades the shirt for an open vest, which is purple and hemmed in black. Around his hips is a belt that carries the sheaths for his blades as well as numerous pouches containing his blowgun, darts, and toxins. His knife is usually strapped to his calf, under his sirwal. After Galbatorix’s defeat, the belt is accompanied by a number of loose, beaded strands and wraps of different colors. When travelling or on an assignment, Jaffar covers himself completely with a black hooded cape.
Personality: A man of few words, Jaffar prefers to let his actions speak for him. His silences are many and he is not one to bandy empty or casual words. He is strong willed, having been trained through rather heinous means to withstand many different forms of torture. Jaffar appears to be hard, uncaring, and, often, cold. When he fights, it is with a lethal and emotionless precision. Even when he kills, he does not appear effected in any manner, showing neither despair nor joy.
However, despite what his training has made him into, he knows this is not all there is to life. Having witnessed many things over the years; families, lovers, friendships, comraderie, etc; he understands that interpersonal relationships are possible and, in a basic, human way, craves some of his own. However, due to his training, which focused very much on making him a lone agent who had nothing to gain from working with or relying upon others, he has no idea how to go about achieving one. Despite his profession, Jaffar is not evil. He has recently shown that he does have a tendency to lean towards doing good.
Another thing caused by his training is a certain awkwardness around women. Though he does not show it, Jaffar is very uncomfortable around women and prefers to keep his distance. When within the Black Hand, he rarely interacted with members of the fairer sex and, when sent to dispose of a female victim, he did so with the same coldness as all of his targets. Jaffar is also uncomfortable around children, though he does have a soft spot for a young girl named Nephtiri, who was the daughter of a fellow Black Hand member.
Jaffar cares deeply for Nephtiri, though he does not seem to understand this himself. Being many years older than she, he is very protective of her and often goes out of his way to ensure her safety and wellbeing. It was through Nephtiri’s influence that Jaffar began to turn from an instrument of death to something more human.
--->Likes: Weapons, toxins, darkness, silence, Nephtiri, comfortable clothes, spicy foods, warmth
--->Dislikes: Loud noises, harming children, sweets, cold, chafing materials, bright light, inaction
--->Strengths: Hand to hand or close combat, stealth, speed, killing, using a bow, knowledge of poisons and antidotes, certain offensive magic, mental barriers
--->Weakness: Large-scale battles, defensive magic, women, children, social interaction outside of a business setting
Family: A wandering desert tribe, though he never knew them.
History: Jaffar was born within one of the wandering tribes who inhabit the Hadarac desert. As a young child, he was captured from his home during a raid made by slave traders. Transported into the Empire, he was put to market in Uru’baen. There, he was bought by a lord of Galbatorix’s court. Jaffar was put to work within the lord’s home, spending a number of years there in slavery. He quickly gained favor with the lord, as he was a dutiful worker and demonstrated a knack of silently blending into his surroundings. At some point during his time spent there, the lord began to use him to spy on his political enemies, eventually taking him to court with him as a valet of sorts in order to use him to gather information from the background. Galbatorix took notice of this, and, seeing potential for a spy of his own, ordered him given as a ‘gift’.
Life under Galbatorix’s direct rule was harsh. Jaffar was trained brutally to spy, kill, use magic, and invade the minds of others as a member of Galbatorix’s assassin group, the Black Hand. By the time he was thirteen, he had already eliminated a handful of persons within the empire for a variety of reasons. He became known as the Angel of Death by the time he was fifteen, gaining his other, less common nicknames in later years. Within Galbatorix’s inner circle, he was known by his reddish hair, which was offset by his dark skin. However, his face remained unknown. Over the years, Jaffar rose in the ranks as a dutiful soldier who rarely questioned orders. The only dispute to be had with his superiors arose when he refused to kill a lord and his family because to do so would mean to kill the children. Though another member of the group was assigned to the task, and Jaffar was punished severely, he made it clear that he would not harm a child. Due to the number of other assassins available and Jaffar’s reputation, he was simply given other missions that did not involve children.
It was after his initial refusal that he met Nephtiri. She had heard her father mocking Jaffar’s softness and had grown curious about this cold-hearted killer who would not harm a child. Despite his attempts to make her leave him be, she took to following him about whenever he was in Uru’baen. Unwittingly, she wormed her way into his heart, creating in him a soft spot where previously there had been only stone and ice. He began to care for the girl, though he denied it to himself and to others. Something about her innocence, which flourished despite her surroundings, caused him to wish to protect her. Their relationship continued until he was a young man and she in her mid-teens, when the Varden breached Uru’baen.
When the battle of Uru’baen occurred, Jaffar did not take part in the beginning of the battle. Instead, knowing that Galbatorix’s reign was ending, the assassin attempted to spirit Nephtiri away before she could be harmed. During the course of the extensive battle he became separated from her, having been challenged by an elven warrior who headed off his escape from the city. During the skirmish, Nephtiri was swept away by the chaos. Jaffar wounded the elf and fled, knowing that his capture would mean death.
Since Galbatorix’s fall, Jaffar has traveled as a mercenary, searching for Nephtiri while avoiding bounty hunters and any others who may be searching for the Angel of Death. He is wanted for war crimes and has been touted as an ‘extremely dangerous individual’.
Password: Nuanen Brisingr
