Aktuelle

Basic Info

Name: Aktuelle
Player: NPC
Caste: Zenith
Concept: Clergy meets Clandestine (Priest/Spymaster)
Political Affiliation: Gold Faction
Anima: Man-Eating Plant (Venus fly-trap)
Motivation: Re-establish the Unconquered Sun's influence within the heavenly bureaucracy

Weapon of Choice: Orichalum Grand Daiklave ('Zomorrodnegar')
Armor of Choice: Clergyman robes
Fighting Style: Hit hard, hit strong

Background

While the story of Aktuelle's childhood is lost to the annals of history, what is known of his tale begins with a lost, troubled young man cavorting the Scavenger Lands in search of the fabled meaning that so many seek. His drifting landed him squarely in the throes of a Great Forks pleasure cult, where hedonism and indulgence allowed him to ignore the perceived futility of his existence. One auspicious day, during a particularly strong drug trip, the Unconquered Sun visited Aktuelle. Suddenly, it became painfully and obviously clear -- the hollowness evident in Aktuelle's own life was not exclusive, Creation itself had slowly become devoid of meaning. The Celestial Hiererarchy had been torn asunder, the unity between gods lost. With their power divided, the gods were gradually losing their connection to creation. Creation would not abide well by the Unconquered Sun's ignorance, forced or chosen, and the time for salvation was running short.

Aktuelle's revelation had been world-shattering. The next day, he turned his judging gaze to the pleasure cult with which he'd surrounded himself, and saw the very depravity against which he had been warned. As he explained his vision to his fellow cultsmen, he found that the spiritual connection he'd established did not end with the drug trip. Something was different, extra, greater. Aktuelle was a changed man. As a Zenith Caste priest of the Unconquered Sun, his first use of gifted power would be converting his former pleasure cult into one of piety towards the greatest of celestial incarnae.

After some time spent travelling the Scavenger Lands spreading the word of the Returning Sun, Aktuelle had another revelation, this one internal. Mortals, through no fault of their own, were subject to the wills and actions of the various spirits and minor gods who had been tasked to govern nearly every aspect of their physical existence. It was these spirits who must be converted if the minds of men were to be enlightened. Aktuelle took a pilgrimmage to the South, where he spent some time studying spirits and their interactions with both mortals and one another. Upon his return, he descended upon Great Forks with a vengeance, ready to return the Unconquered faith to the Celestial Bureaucracy.

Presently owes Lazarus a favor. He only grumbles if asked why.

Personality

On paper, Aktuelle's piety can be deceiving -- He's rather something of an eccentric hotshot in person. A perfect physical specimen, he radiates a swagger and charm somewhat unexpected of a clergyman. Though he tends to disavow worldly pleasures and conceals his intense faith beneath the atmosphere of the hedonistic, carefree drifter he once was, Aktuelle is quite the preacher; he spends a good deal of his time convincing spirits, whose personalities are nigh short of being hardcoded into Creation's laws, and as a result, he's had no small amount of practice persuading the stubborn and the blind. Nevertheless, a meeting with the man would leave one wondering if they'd met a priest or a pirate. With a perpetual boyish grin and an insistence on fighting with an enormous Grand Daiklave (which he has very little idea how to properly wield), he is a peculiar hybrid of extravagance and piety.

Defining Quote

"Shortcuts through life only get you to the end sooner."

Relationships

Lazarus

"Lazarus? Now there's a guy who knows his shit. He's definitely a main course kind-of-guy, but he needs a good side dish to be palatable. Does that make sense? No? Well, look at this way. Lazarus is pretty good at figuring out where he needs to hit hard to get results, but he's gonna hit something no matter what. I think people relegate him to a novelty when there's no fighting around, and that's a pretty wicked mistake. He operates in a certain element, sure, but if you can keep him at home, there's not a better guy in Creation to have at your back. Still not seeing it? Maybe we should have another drink..."

Whispers from Beyond

"Arkanian troubles me. Not in the sense that poverty and injustice trouble me, no, more like sex at a funeral or drug trade regulation troubles me. By default, it's hard not to chalk him up as a bad guy, but it's clear he's not working for his old master anymore, and I swear he makes more sense than half of the people I normally work with. That alone is disturbing, but it just makes me think even more that maybe it is possible to save anyone if they're willing. After all, I wouldn't be much good without that clause, would I? You know, that, or Arkanian has us fooled... in which case, well... Hat's off to you, m'friend."