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Joss Landon; Demon Hunter

Started by Zero, May 22, 2014, 11:32:52 AM

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Zero

BASIC INFORMATION

Full name: Joss Landon
Nickname(s) or Alias: Joslyn Lafayette
Race: Demon-touched Human
Gender: Male
Age: 22
Height: 5'6"
Weight: 132 lbs
Sexuality: Pansexual but tries to be celibate
Nationality: Serenian
Occupation: Demon Hunter
Relationship Status: Single

PHYSICAL APPEARANCE
Short, unruly hair, just barely long enough to fall into his soulful grey and red speckled eyes, is rich ebony at the roots with streaks of a brilliant shade of bright red feathering through the dark locks. Joss used to have long, beautiful hair, but he cut it all off in frustration as it tended to get in the way and caught on things. Not to mention it was a pain to brush or fix up in any way. Now he can just comb his fingers through it and be good to go, but can't get it to lay flat at all. His habit of running his fingers through it constantly doesn't help much and usually has it looking even more disheveled than strictly necessary.

There was another reason to cut his hair short, and that is because with his hair shortened it is easier to hide his gender from others. Joss has attractive, but androgynous, features. His facial structure easily allows him to pass outwardly for an effeminate young man, rather than a young woman. His entire skeletal structure allows for this deception, actually. Joss has a slender, straight build, with no real feminine curves to draw attention to, and his chest is relatively flat. What small amount of chest he does have is easily hidden by binding his torso carefully.

For clothing he tends to wear simple dark woolen breeches, fashioned to be a little loose and tucked into nearly knee-high black leather boots, a simple red linen shirt with a quilted black vest, black leather gloves, and a knee-length black wool coat with silver buttons carved to look like scrolls. Sometimes he wears a black, floppy wizard's hat and a leather-bound tome is tucked into a satchel at his hip.


Drago and Drogo
The hellhounds are identical. When accompanying Joss they take the form of large, shaggy black dogs as tall as Joss's hip, with gleaming red eyes. In battle they take their true forms nearly doubling in height and bulk, their fangs become sabers, their claws elongate, and twisted horns grow from their massive heads.


PERSONALITY
Confused, bitter, angry, self-loathing you can take your pick. Joss feels that his life is meaningless. All his life he's been nothing but a puppet on a string, and if he has a daughter, she can look forward to the same life of thinly veiled slavery and agonizing loss. Nothing he does matters; he can't escape the fate his ancestor condemned him to, at least not that he can tell.

To make matters worse, he feels completely strange and alien in his own skin. Born female, but lacking in any desire to actually be female, he feels like even more of a freak than he already is with the Demoncraft and damned soul. Surely he couldn't possibly be anymore unnatural than he was already condemned at birth, but no, on top of the demonic contract he holds, he must also have the body of a woman and the soul of a...well man, he guesses, but honestly he isn't even sure what he is, but thinking of himself as male seems easier than female, so that's what he's done.

While part of him longs for death, Joss is afraid to die. Maybe it would be a release from his tormented existence, but maybe it wouldn't be. What would happen to his soul? All his male relatives for generations had their souls stolen by a demon. The women were allowed to live to produce more souls for the demon's sick satisfaction, and they even had power, but what happened to them when they died? If he feels like a man, does that mean his soul was supposed to already be taken but wasn't because the body he'd been thrust into had been female?

Since he is too cowardly to outwardly take his own life, Joss employs much slower methods of self-destruction, such as consuming large quantities of alcohol and cigarettes. He engages in risky behavior, such as frequently finding himself in drunken brawls that often leave him battered and broken, but not any worse off than the other guy. Of course he also finds himself terribly lonely with no family and no real friends that he can share himself with. Relationships, both romantic and platonic, are out of the question for reasons he finds obvious.



SKILLS

Talents/skills: Joss has gone through rigorous training all his life in self-defense against demons and other supernatural beings. He is quite athletic. Tumbling, climbing, sprinting, and leaping through a chase, both as the hunter and the prey have honed him into a formidable acrobat.

Magic Abilities:
Demoncraft: The ability to summon and bind demons to the crafter's will. Joss uses summoning and containment runes inked in his own blood. The imp Azalon is the only demon that the young man summons and uses regularly. Other demons are rarely brought forth, and are not easily controlled.

Demon Soul-Syphoning: Joss is a human facing demons. A mere mortal going against the immortal hordes would be a suicide without an ace in the hole. For the Lafayette women, that is the ability to steal the power of demons. Enhanced senses, speed, reflexes, and various magical abilities are there for the taking with the right motivation. These abilities are temporary, but useful.




COMBAT

Peaceful or aggressive attitude? When you pick fights with demons you go all in or not at all. It was one of his first lessons. Joss goes in with the intent to kill and with no mercy. That's how he stays alive. Hesitation is what will get you killed.

Fighting skills/techniques: Joss has extensive training of in the art of summoning demons to fight at his command, but he is also capable of drawing from the power of demons to temporary steal their abilities and use them as his own weapons of destruction.

Special skills: Demoncraft is a dark, dangerous art, and the Lafayette women are masters of it. Joss is no exception. He has taken the mystic art and turned it into a weapon in ways other casters have never even dreamed of exploiting.

Weapon of choice (if any): Magic, and a leather bound grimoire of runes and spells.

Weaknesses in combat: Joss, despite his demonic enhancements, is still human, mortal, and therefore vulnerable. He is also Serenian, and like many people from Serendipity he has a weakness to iron.

Strengths in combat: Drawing on demonic energies allow Joss to empower himself in rather expansive and impressive ways. His opponents are always at the mercy of being surprised by some new demonic power being launched at them.


FAMILY, FRIENDS AND FOES

Parents names: His mother is Regina Lafayette and all he knows of his father is that he is a knight of Serendipity.

Are parents alive or dead? Regina Lafayette is missing and presumed dead. As he has never known his father he doesn't know if he lives or not.

Is the character still in contact with their parents? It has been three years since he lost contact with his mother. He assumes this is because his mother has finally met her end. Never has had contact with his father.

Siblings? Relationship with siblings? Before he was born it is impossible to say if his mother gave birth to other children. Since he's been alive his mother conceived – and lost – four boys. Regina refused to even bestow names on her stillborn sons. Joss gave them each names – Jordan, Mitchel, Lucas, and Daniel.

Other Relatives: Joss has no idea if he has any relatives aside from his mother and deceased brothers. His mother never mentioned any other family members to him, aside from his grandmother, great-grandmother, great-great grandmother, great-great-great grandmother, and so on. All of whom are deceased, of course. No males are ever mentioned in family histories. It seems only a single daughter is ever born to each generation, with many, many males conceived and lost.

Partner/Spouse: Lafayette women don't marry or form permanent attachments to men. This is something Joss has been told many times in his life. Considering the family history, this really isn't something he's ever questioned. Attachments are impractical for people like him anyway. Relationships would complicate things too much considering the deviation in his associated gender and the one that his body actually presents.

Children: A very sore subject for women in his family, or a non-issue, if you're as cold as Joss's mother. Joss has never wanted any children. That said, he lost his first son at the tender age of fifteen. Like all male children of the Lafayette family he was stillborn. His name was Alexander. His father was a handsome merchant from Adela and Alexander had his father's sandy blonde hair and hazel eyes.

His next son, Justin, was stillborn when he was seventeen. He had dark hair and eyes like his soldier father. At twenty he had a third son, Matthew, who was also stillborn, as you could probably guess. He was another beautiful blonde boy, with big blue eyes this time. His father was a Connlaothian immigrant to Serendipity, a mage that had escaped before the war began in his home country.

Best Friend: Regina Lafayette's philosophy was always that you are your own best friend. Joss has taken such sentiment to heart. The greatest person you can count on will always be yourself. Relying on others will only make you lazy or weak – or it will get you killed, betrayed, or just plain disappointed. Especially because of how very different he is from other people.

Other Important Friends: Senji Yamada is the name of the demon from which the Lafayette family draw their power. Selene Lafayette first invoked him and made the bargain which allows the females of her bloodline to draw on his demonic power. He is also the reason that all males born to Lafayette women are stillborn, as the demon feeds off the male children's souls before they have even left the womb, causing their deaths. He zealously protects his Lafayette women.

Acquaintances: There are plenty of people that Joss has come to know in passing. Fellow hunters of the inhuman monstrosities that plague mankind are always interesting to associate with. There are the blacksmiths, leatherworkers, and tailors that arm and outfit him across the globe, though some he has need to visit more often than others.

Minions: Azalon is a small imp demon bound to Joss's service. He was the first demon he ever successfully summoned and bound on his own. The imp is used frequently for any number of trivial tasks that Joss would rather not do himself. The demon is lively and mouthy, but serves him completely. Make no mistake, this creature is not in any way his friend or pet. Given half a chance, Azalon would kill him without a thought and with terrible glee.

Drago and Drogo are identical hellhounds. They have been bound to Joss since before his birth, guarding him even as he grew in his mother's womb. Unlike the imp, the hellhounds would die to serve and protect their master. If they die, they simply return to the hell from whence they came and can be summoned fully restored by Joss, but if he dies, they die – permanently. A drastic measure, perhaps, but it does ensure their obedience and faithfulness. The hounds were a gift from  Senji, to ensure his safety.

Enemies? Why are they enemies? Senji Yamada is the source of Joss's power, and while he acts like a guardian to the women of his family, he is responsible for the death of every boy conceived since Selene Lafayette made the bargain with him a few centuries ago. The Lafayette's owe the survival of their family and their lives to him, but at the same time he is the greatest source of pain and anguish that the Lafayette family could ever know.

Most types of inhuman beings have been the prey of Joss at some point in his life. Demons bear the brunt of his hatred and most of his energy and time is spent hunting them down and either sending them back to the hell they came from, or outright destroying them. While his primary focus is those of the demonic persuasion, he will take detours to put an end to any inhuman that is causing problems for humans. Vampires, werewolves, and other such monsters have been hunted and killed by him, though he tends to leave them be as long as they aren't hurting anyone.

BACKSTORY

Blood and fire. Selene blinked back the tears in her eyes only for them to be replaced immediately, her throat felt raw and each breath burned horribly. The girl could only move at a slow crawl, pausing to cough violently far too frequently as the world spun and blurred sickeningly. It had to be the smoke, it was killing her. Reaching out tentatively she laid a hand upon the lifeless body of her father. Peering over him she could see other still figures sprawled out on the cold, frosted ground.

The only sounds Selene could hear, no matter how she strained, was the roaring and crackling of the fires that engulfed every house in the village. There had been screams earlier, but those had gone silent some time ago. She didn't know which was worse, the screams or the relative silence that now permeated the air. The girl trembled violently as she let out ragged, raw sobs, clinging pitifully to her father's corpse. The things that had done this, they hadn't been human. Not at all. Her family hadn't stood a chance against such vile, wicked creatures.

"I don't want to die!" She wailed through her intense pain. "Please, I'll do anything. Somebody, anybody, help."

"Are you so sure about that?" Came the suave, deep voice from out of nowhere.

"Anything! I'll pay any price, but please, don't let me die. I want to live." She cried softly.

"And what else do you want?" The air pulsed, vibrated, and crackled around her as she cowered away from the disembodied voice. "Life is so mundane a thing to ask for, if you're going to make a deal with the devil, you might as well think a little bigger than that."

Selene licked her dry, cracked, bloody lips, eyes hazily taking in the devastation around her, forgetting for a moment her own pain. What else did she want? Her eyes moved back to the still form of her father and she choked back a sob. "Power. I want power. I want to find the demons that did this, and I want to destroy them! I want to destroy them all."

"Vengeance and hatred are beautiful things." The voice chuckled darkly. "I can grant you power, my sweet child. Power you couldn't even dream of before today. I will generously give this power to you and your daughters for all eternity. Would you like that?"

"Only my daughters?" Selene asked hesitantly.

"Nothing is free, child. Your daughters will become vessels of my power. They will live and thrive and destroy those you hate. Your sons...your sons will forever belong to me. A small price to pay, I assure you. Their sacrifice will be a noble one. Think of the countless lives you and your daughters can save with the power to ruin demons!"

"How will they be yours? Will they suffer? How could I condemn my own sons to this?" By the gods, she was seriously considering this! She should pray for deliverance, not making deals with the very things she despised.

"I want their souls, of course. I assure you, your sons will not feel pain. Of that you have my word. Just think, if you don't accept my gift, you won't have sons or daughters and it won't matter. You will die here in the dirt and be forgotten. Your family line will die out forever. I am not known for my patience, child. Life or death. Choose."

"Life! I choose life, gods forgive me."


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Joss was born into a strange and twisted world. His cold, distant mother cared only to train him for one purpose, to kill demons. From birth he has been indoctrinated into the long, dark history of his family's skills, power, and destiny. For as long as he can remember he has been educated for the sole purpose of being a demon hunter, a slayer of evil things that go bump in the night. For a Lafayette woman there is no other option, or so he was told again and again.

When he was thirteen Joss managed to summon and bind his first demon, a weak imp named Azalon. It was a celebrated accomplishment. He knows this because that was the first night that he ever saw the demon master that ensnared his family tightly through generations of women. The encounter was brief, the crimson-eyed demon didn't even speak to him, but he could feel him assessing him apathetically, as if he didn't care if he measured up to some unspoken standard.

The next year his mother took him to Adela to go on his first actual hunt. After he had successfully destroyed his first demon by his mother's side he was taken to a strange shop. His mother knew the merchant that owned the building. He was a very handsome young man who had inherited the business from his father, who had also been associated with his mother. The first night in his home he came to him in his bed long after he'd gone to sleep. Confused and tired, Joss didn't really understand what was going on or being done to him. The next morning when he told his mother about the strange and disconcerting encounter, his mother told him to accept it and keep quiet about it.

During their stay, which was strangely longer than most stays anywhere, the merchant would visit him every night. Because his mother had told him to, he let him have his way with him, although he was uncomfortable and awkward. He was handsome and nice to him, though, so he figured it was just what was supposed to be done, and his mother seemed to think so since she'd urged him to just allow it. Still, when they left he felt a great deal of relief to be away from the disturbing experience and the man that caused it.

Unfortunately, it was far from the end of his discomfort and misfortune from the visit to Adela. Joss was pregnant, and shortly after turning fifteen, spent an agonizing labor that lasted for what seemed forever only to give birth to an already dead baby boy. His mother didn't even try to comfort him. He was told this was the life he could expect and not to get attached to the babies that would grow inside him, because they would almost always be boys, and the boys never lived. Joss had seen his mother give birth to four dead boys, but he still reeled from the loss at such a tender age. He'd never felt a worse pain in his life, to both body and heart.

That was the year he moved out of his mother's house. If he was old enough to be coerced into sex, impregnated, and to suffer the loss of a son; he was old enough to be away from his cold, heartless mother. Everything was arranged for Joss, and he didn't have to ask how or who was arranging it. Bitterly he moved into his new house, no longer disillusioned that he was a kept pet for a demon, one of the very beings he'd been trained to kill all his life.

Accepting his fate, though it was a bitter pill to swallow, Joss focused on doing what he'd been raised to do. Killing and banishing as many demons as he could find and overpower. Of course, there was one in particular he wanted to utterly destroy for what he had done to him, but he couldn't harm the demon that held his life in his hands. He spent a great deal of time researching demonic contracts, trying to find a loophole that would release him and his children from their obligation. So far he's had no success.

At seventeen and twenty he lost two more sons, both were accidental pregnancies, and both devastated him. He had been very careful both times, but had still conceived. Growing desperate, and a little emotionally unstable, Joss decided that his only choice was to stop being a woman. He would have to forsake male attention completely and become celibate. Hiding his physical gender by posing as a man would help keep men's eyes less focused on him he hoped, and he also wanted to try to hide from the demon that so shackled his soul.

In addition to those reasons, there was also the fact that Joss had never wanted to be Joslyn Lafayette in the first place. He had slept with men because that was what was expected of him before, but while he could find men attractive, and sex pleasurable, it honestly hasn't been missed that much. He'd never felt like a girl anyway. His life is still consumed with hunting demons and trying to find a way to release himself from his cursed family contract.

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