Cathak Sentinel

Basic Info

Name: Cathak Jacen Sentinel
Player: NPC (Created and formerly played by Drue)
Aspect: Fire
Concept: Insurrectionist, revolutionary, military officer
Political Affiliation: Imperial (Fundamentalist: Shogunate)
Anima: Jaguar
Motivation: Conquer all of Creation under the Imperial banner

Weapon of Choice: Red Jade Daiklave ('Save the Empress')
Armor of Choice: Red Jade Articulated Plate ('Scales of Hesiesh')
Fighting Style: Highly technical daiklave fencing; perfectly willing to fight dirty

Background

Legends of later days tell of Sentinel as a man in whom the blood of Hesiesh ran so deeply that he was born an Exalt. In truth, his birth was not quite so auspicious, though signs were abound from the time of his birth that his destiny would be one to stand out even among the Dragons' other Chosen. He was born in the Imperial Palace during Calibration during a time period in which his father was a top military adviser to the Scarlet Empress. Though they originally hailed from an agricultural town in the Jaen-ha plains, the Empress had them re-located to the Imperial City, so as to better feed upon Jacen's military brilliance. After being born, Sentinel was sent to the Arjuf Dominion, where he lived with relatives until he was old enough to attend primary school. To the chagrin of his father, he was not a good student, by Dynastic standards, and fought often with other students, notorious for turning even the smallest of squabbles of violent. He returned to the Imperial City during his off time, visiting frequently with his parents. He saw little of his father, who often carried away in the busy life of a Legionnaire general. Though his mother, a learned sorceress, was formally a low-ranking Senator, she practiced a much more significant duty in secret; the Empress had called upon from his mother the favor owed by all Heptagram graduates, asking her to be a set of eyes and ears within the walls of the Deliberative. Given that her duties were largely observatory, she had more time to spend with Sentinel, and it is thought that her stories of the squabbling that occurred within the Deliberative largely influenced his later political extremism.

Though his poor performance in primary school made things more difficult, his father's position as a top military official made Sentinel's entrance into the House of Bells a guarantee. When Sentinel enrolled at the academy, things changed. Sentinel had not been adequately enticed to perform in primary school -- the opinion of his family was not motivation enough to excel. At the House of Bells, however, Sentinel found the chance to shape himself into a man of authority and power, not to mention a fresh multitude of equally ambitious students. Sentinel became a top student and cadet here, frequently scoring perfect marks (particularly in artillery and engineering courses -- Though it was a talent he rarely employed, Sentinel was a brilliant mathematician, and was highly proficient at predicting the trajectory and impact of siege weaponry) and never allowing himself to be bested by even higher ranking cadets during sparring contests. Disaster struck, however, when an enraged Sentinel killed an instructor in mock combat, beheading him with a practice blade after the instructor had mocked Sentinel's political beliefs in front of a body of students. He was promptly expelled, though spared from any other punishment, as his besting of an instructor could only be excused a failure on the part of the House of Bells to hire teachers adequately skilled in swordplay. His father, though upset, carried a touch of well-concealed pride, seeing in his son a passion that he never possessed. He considered disowning Sentinel as an act of political prudence, but instead found him employment as bodyguard to his mother. Sentinel spent the next two years parading the halls of the Deliberative alongside his mother, where he bore even greater witness to the petty infighting of what he perceived as old men with too much money and too little to do. He also accompanied his mother to several meetings with the Empress and various other demiworld contacts. During this time, he forged the beginnings of what would be a profitable relationship with agents of the All-Seeing-Eye. It was also after meeting the Empress that Sentinel gained a profound respect for what a dangerous weapon ambition was.

On one particularly fortunate day, Sentinel's mother was outed by a magistrate as an ASE mole and attacked. Together, he and his mother slew the magistrate. Sentinel seized the opportunity; threatening to expose the true reason for the Magistrate's death to the upper regions of the Dynasty, he agreed to keep his mouth shut in exchange for a favor. Rather than face the bureaucratic squabble of an Imperial censure, The All-Seeing-Eye, in exchange for his silence, pulled the strings necessary for Sentinel to be re-admitted to the military academy. He completed his final years at the House of Bells with the same fire he had before, though his newfound drive to achieve a position from which he could profoundly influence Creation for the better gave him a reason to reign in the temper so common of his aspect. With his temper under control and his remarkable drive focused, Sentinel graduated leagues at the top of his class, and was stationed in the Legions as a Talonlord.

Sentinel's first military campaigns were remarkable successes (he quickly made it clear that he'd inherited the strategic prowess of his father), and he seemed destined for an prestigious military career until the disappearance of the Empress. This was Sentinel's greatest fear -- now the Deliberative's squabbling anachronisms held real power. True to his worries, the Realm was quickly consumed by infighting, and lost most of its territories in the Threshold. This was disastrous -- Sentinel saw only one reason for the greatest power in Creation to hold comparatively so little territory, and that was the lack of a coherent, capable leader. With no defined source of power, those with money and influence would forever bicker for favor amongst themselves, slipping blissfully into ignorance of the encroaching threats from within and without.

Now, however, Sentinel had found a funnel for his focus. He knew what he had to do -- It was clear that most of the Realm's upper power structure was incorrigibly corrupt; his only choice was to take hold of the Realm's reigns himself and direct it again towards its former greatness. Calling upon his contacts within the ASE and among former friends of the Empress, Sentinel used his military prowess and extensive network of underground contacts to set about the beginnings of what would later become the greatest coup d’état of the Second Age.

Sentinel has sired one admittedly illegitimate child, Kallisto, whose mother he claims died in childbirth. He also has some sort of major falling out with his father, though they were previously on good terms when they were seen together at his graduation from the House of Bells, so the anger-related slip-ups of his younger years were likely not the cause of his falling out. The two no longer acknowledge one another, a point of major concern to the House's elders (Though, since each continues to bring money and influence to the House, they are not openly chided for their distance).

Personality

A driven man in all aspects of his character, Sentinel exudes a tangible air of fanatical ambition. He considers his cause greater than himself, and has forsaken most trappings of power and personal life in furtherance of his goals. He is unmarried, though his great military successes have brought enough prestige to his house that the elders spare him the pressure to procreate. In some cases, he appears a walking contradiction. He has no qualms about using underhanded tactics (assassination, false surrender, ambush, etc.), yet he is not without a strong sense of honor. He reconciles this conflict, however, by reasoning that to fail to progress closer to one's goal because of limitations imposed by personal honor is a selfish arrogance reserved for the hubris of the Anathema. He is unafraid of shattering oaths and contracts, yet he understands well the value of trust, and will defend to the death those he considers trustworthy, upstanding individuals. He embraces the Dragon-Blooded bureaucracy that he loathes, but only insofar as to make a mockery of its simplicity and to further his ends without the need for excessive military effort.

The anger issues of his past are long forgotten, and Sentinel's newfound ambition has given him an air of tranquility often possessed only by Immaculate Monks. Even in the face of certain defeat and grave danger, Sentinel keeps his wits about him, the only sign of a slight uneasiness being the occasional humorous quip (Sentinel is not without a sense of humor, but only bares it in the face of insurmountable stress; it serves him largely as a coping mechanism, allowing him to retain clearheadedness). So steadfast is his calm and great his passion, in fact, that those familiar with him recount that he raises his voice more often in idealogical debate than he does entrenched in battle.

Sentinel is unbudging in his views, considering most efforts at their subversion an attempt by Dynastic power mongers to curb his ambitions. He is not such a fool as to isolate himself politically, however, and is open to accommodation of those whose views he considers plausible and sufficiently enlightened, and has particularly taken a liking to the changes Cathak Rufus longs to implement.

Sentinel is proud, but not so to a fault, as one might expect. He is not so ignorant as to think himself the greatest warrior or cleverest power player in all of Creation, or even the Realm. If clearly outmatched, Sentinel would sooner defer superiority to the greater party than have his long term plans shattered over a transient quarrel.

Sentinel has managed to reign in the aspects of his personality which he considers to be potentially limiting, and this is no mistake -- He knows that if he is to ascend to a position in which he can correct the Dynasty's flaws, he cannot afford to indulge his personal eccentricities.

Sentinel's idealism is both his strength and his fault -- Though his vision of the Realm as a unified power under one leader serves as a fountain of ambition for him, it also perhaps his underestimation of his opponents, assuming them to be nothing more than antiquities engaged in petty power struggles, that poses the greatest danger to his plans.