Sentry Mikelis
Reflection
· Name: Vince
· Email address: vincent.d.mcdonald@verizon.net
· AIM: Theoric V
· Character Name: Dmitri Radipart (Dmitri as the Russian name derived from the Greek agriculture goddess Demeter, Radipart from Latvian rādīt - to show/create/cause and either pārtika - food or pārticība - prosperity/plenty/thrift) - pronounced deh-MEE-tree RAD-ih-pahrt
· Character Position: Sentry Mikelis, Kartiba Harbinger of Cornucopia
· Birthdate and Age: September 6, age 18
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Profile:
§ Zodiac: Virgo, Moon in Aquarius, Scorpio Rising
o Research from http://www.mooncatsastrology.com/ with further research and a chart taken from http://www.alabe.com/freechart using "2002" as the year when the Kartiba perform "Lunar Renewal" on the New Moon Palace.
o As a Virgo, Dmitri has an excuse for his highly-discerning, sometimes supercritical attitude. It also provides him with a hard-working and frugal nature. As the Mutable Earth sign, Virgo is closely related to his power sphere.
o Moon in Aquarius individuals are both emotionally well-controlled and very independent, attracted to the new-and-unusual and often with the inventive talent to back it up. They make poor followers, but otherwise work well with others.
o Scorpio Rising individuals tend to be hard to understand, outwardly reserved but with emotions that run deep. They are often brave, intense, imaginative, and intuitive.
§ Bloodtype: O
o Information taken from http://www2.justnet.ne.jp/~shozo_owada/AB-E.htm - strongly purpose-oriented, dislikes to be subordinate, realistic, straight-line thinker, cautious with strangers, individualistic, assertive, controls feelings. Unlike most O-types, Dmitri is not romantic, personal, expressive, or strongly conscious of the society - gnawgnawgnaw.
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Likes:
o New and different: New and different ideas make science work. New and different experiences make life enjoyable. New and different people are fascinating to try to understand (just so long as they mind their own business, of course). Dmitri's curiosity is the driving force behind his studious nature, but also can get him to try things that few stereotypical bookish types would even consider ... you know, like participating in a plot to overthrow three planetary governments at once.
o Overindulgence: More is better, when it comes to anything Dmitri enjoys. This is primarily because he spends very little time actually pursuing his "base needs," rather than trying to unlock the secrets of the universe. Luckily for Dmitri, he doesn't get the opportunity to enjoy the occasional eating binge on Lopu very often. Luckily for most women, few see him open up to the point where they get to see his wild side, though those few are often quite surprised by just how energetic he can be.
o Keeping active: Whether it's work or play, Dmitri doesn't enjoy sitting still for periods of time - of course not literally, since his reading and research often requires sitting down. Put in a situation where he has nothing to do, Dmitri tends to get a little antsy, and will find something to do.
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Dislikes:
o Slackers: Being a person who goes to great lengths to get things done, and to get them done right, it grates on Dmitri's nerves when people don't even make the attempt. It bothers him even more to see people go to significant effort to avoid doing real work (no wonder he was never a real hit at court). To be fair, he doesn't expect everyone to be as skilled and keen on detail as he is, nor does he have anything wrong with someone avoiding doing something that they're unable or unqualified to do. People who blow off work and expect others (like him) to pick up the slack, though, are due for an awakening.
o Politics: Specifically, Dmitri dislikes the "talk a lot and get nothing accomplished" parts of politics - see "Slackers" above for detail here. The fact that people of this sort seem to run all three kingdoms is a significant irritation, and part of the reason why he's so willing to help kick them all out of their comfortable roosts.
o Being rushed: As he will be oh-so-happy to inform anyone who wants answers from Dmitri's scientific genius too quickly, the universe didn't become the way it is in a day, so people had best be patient and wait, since bugging him about it won't get them the answer any more quickly anyway. This, of course, doesn't help him when it comes to awaiting information from other people, who are (to his perspective) dragging their feet rather than getting to business. If he can't get to the answer quickly, it's due to incomplete data, or an improper working environment, or poor tools - but it's never his own fault. Clueless Hypocrite, party of one, your table is ready.
o Being held back: Even worse than trying to push him for quick answers to complicated issues, prohibiting Dmitri from a course of action (usually scientific, but occasionally other issues as well) galls him horribly. Oftentimes, he'll try to find a way around the roadblock, as he did when he first snuck off Meness. This will make the system's senshi even less well-liked than they already are, as they try to bring a stop to the Kartiba's plans - over time, it will progress from a political issue to a personal one in Dmitri's head.
o Authority: Chalk up another point for why Dmitri wants to Stick it to the Man (or the Woman, as the case may be). People in positions of Authority have been little but thorns in his side since he was young, and thus never ranked highly in his book of People to Like even before he started ignoring them. Add to this that people in positions of Authority really hate being ignored. Now, in Dmitri's defense, he doesn't mind doing what someone suggests, particularly in situations where the other person is likely to have better expertise (for example, nearly any circumstance where a snap decision needs to be made, or when taking advice in how to find some information from Pal), so long as said other individual doesn't develop "delusions of Authority," in Dmitri's words - meaning that the other person doesn't start thinking themselves capable of delivering unwanted suggestions when they don't have the expertise to back it up. There are drastically few individuals who possess enough power of authority to DEMAND WITHOUT QUESTION that he do something, and those few people often find that, while he'll do the task, it'll be halfhearted at best, unless of course he happens to think that doing said task is a good idea anyway. After time and exposure to the Chaos-touched Zvaigznes shard with his starseed, this won't cause nearly so much problems for Cuska, since Dmitri will not only have past experience with her "leadership" style, but will also be less apt to question decisions and commands she gives that would have originally caused him to rankle.
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Hobbies:
o Reading: A big fan of books that aren't written in Meness Microscript, Dmitri does quite a bit of reading of all kinds. In addition to the scholarly and magical works that he eagerly reads as related to his agricultural and related studies (or to expand his knowledge for use in the Kartiba's plots), he likes the action/adventure novels that he can sometimes find on Lopu.
o Camping: Face it - he's the sentry-turned-Harbinger of Cornucopia, and Lopu is sure as heck a much more appropriate place for the element than Meness is. He's still not entirely used to all the nuances of the Worldly Kingdom, but he's grown fond of "roughing it" now and then (much like how a modern-day suburbanite would do so, particularly by bringing as many amenities as is practical). There's so much to see and do on Lopu, and if he can use the excuse of tracking down another Zvaigznes shard to see more of it, so much the better.
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Description:
§ Hair: Dmitri's hair is a grayish green color. Even though he pays his grooming close attention, there's little he can do with his hair, as it almost always looks tousled and a little on the wild side. His bangs rest sparsely just above his eyebrows, sweeping back to leave his ears only partly uncovered, and reaching down just far enough to cover the nape of his neck.
§ Eyes: Dmitri's eyes are so dark a shade of brown to appear as almost black.
§ Facial features: A broad forehead gradually tapers down to an angled chin, without any significant change in direction from his subtle cheekbones. Set in the middle of this triangular face is a slender, small nose.
§ Complexion: Dmitri's moonskin used to be typically pale, but due to significant periods of time spent outside on both Lopu and Saule, his skin has warmed to a shade that would probably be called "tanned" by those on Meness, but still "on the pale side of normal" by natives of Lopu (and by most people on modern Earth as well).
§ Height: Clearing six feet in height with an inch or so to spare, Dmitri is quite comfortable with his stature, always standing straight and proud.
§ Build: Tall he may be, but broad he is not, which cuts down significantly on the imposing presence he would otherwise have. Dmitri won't be winning any strength contests with his narrow shoulders and thin frame. He's put on a little bit of muscle mass atop this slender skeleton since partaking of Lopu's offerings (both food and exercise), but he's not likely to get all that much larger in any dimension.
§ Clothing: Most of the time, Dmitri favors the scholarly look, wearing plain, dark gray robes that flow lightly from neck to ankle with few frills beyond a simple light gray cloth sash for a belt, to which plain black slippers complete the outfit. Of course, he recognizes (from previous embarrassment, of course) that there are situations where robes aren't just impractical, they're downright dangerous. For these occasions, he has various shirt-and-trouser outfits with sturdy Lopu-made leather boots, usually favoring medium shades of gray with the occasional subdued, cool color, such as blues, greens, or violets.
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Personality:
In many ways, Dmitri is a model scientist, especially among the scholars of Meness. When presented by a problem, he's never satisfied to simply use the old tried-and-true methods unless he can't prove that there's a better way. He has a thirst for knowledge that would rival many scholars from Saule, though he tends toward more concrete application and less theory than those from the Firmament tend to prefer. His almost-absurd attention to detail combined with his keenly rational mind usually points him to solutions quickly, and his habit of always always ALWAYS doublechecking his work helps to weed out any mistakes he may have made.
There's just one problem with all of this: YOU try and tell someone this smart and meticulous that he's wrong. It's not something that Dmitri has had to deal with much, since he's been well ahead of his peers from when he started school. Mind you, Dmitri finds himself perfectly reasonable - he's willing to concede a point to which he hasn't put together enough information, or to which you can prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that he's made some kind of mistake in coming to his conclusion. The first problem in doing that is actually finding any mistakes in the first place, for when he does make them they tend to be insidious enough to escape his own attention. The second problem is that many times, he drew some major conclusion without using concrete proof, and thus others *have* no concrete proof to offer in rebuttal.
Needless to say, Dmitri has an exceptionally high opinion of himself and his abilities. As he sees it, there is no problem that he can't solve, given proper resources and enough time. Of course, it's the problems that require answers "right now" that tend to cause him the most trouble, and the ones for which there are few resources which can easily trip him up. Despite this attitude, he doesn't pretend to know "everything," nor does he claim to be "perfect" in any way, but he can usually compare himself to any one individual and find himself better in some way, should he ever find a specific reason to do so.
Though he might not admit such, there's much more to Dmitri than his scholarly and magical pursuits. Many people have a very hard time seeing it, and Dmitri likes it that way. Other than the simplest of interactions, he keeps his inner self safely tucked inside. Amusingly enough, he prefers being around other people to being alone - so long as those other people aren't trying to engage him in useless small-talk. Because of this, he often comes off as cold and uncaring, yet wholly dedicated to whatever task he has at hand, all of which are fairly accurate assessments.
Since he says little, many who have or currently deal with Dmitri try to understand what they can about him by his possessions. Most get a sense of his perfectionism - he usually keeps his supplies meticulously ordered and neat, to the point of ordering EACH AND EVERY note he's taken by date and TIME of when he wrote it. Other people get to see his dedication to work, particularly when he's doing any kind of field research, as he can ignore many distractions such as poor-quality supplies and nearly-nonexistent storage space without any kind of complaint. The few people who've seen both sides usually scratch their heads, wonder for a short while, then try to tackle less confusing issues.
Inside, Dmitri keeps a tight rein on his emotions. This doesn't mean he comes off like some emotionless automaton (at least not to everyone), as he still feels most of the same emotions that everyone else does - happiness, sadness, surprise, and so forth. In fact, he tends to feel them very STRONGLY, which is precisely why he keeps his reactions in check. It seriously wouldn't do for him to fly off the handle every time someone challenged one of his findings, after all - a painful lesson he learned in his youth. When he tries, and when he's not being pushed too hard, he can easily act the part of the emotionless, uncaring "robot" and make it look convincing.
And yet ... sometimes things pile up so far that he *does* fly off the handle. Continuous exposure to a given emotionally-charged situation, particularly if he doesn't have some other task to concentrate on, tends to cause his control to slip. This isn't always a negative thing - in fact, if anyone could get him to relax enough to do so, some time spent at a cheerful festival would likely brighten his mood considerably. Most often, however, the emotion in question is anger, especially if he's doing something that's being specifically hindered by whatever the stimulus may be. Although he hasn't drawn the conclusion yet, these outbursts have happened much more frequently since he joined the Kartiba....
Speaking of the Kartiba, Dmitri often has mixed feelings about his comrades-in-rebellion, or at least about some specific individuals. As a whole, he views the Kartiba Coalition as a tool he uses to achieve his own ends. And yet, he realizes (to a point) that that the Kartiba is using him in a similar fashion. He's not a part of the rebellion for any desire to exert control, but instead because their goals (as he sees them) dovetail quite nicely, and that each can use the other to achieve both. He lacks the personal megalomania to consider himself a proper leader figure for the Kartiba.
Leadership itself doesn't suit Dmitri well, whether it's him or someone else. Put in a position where he's supposed to delegate responsibility, Dmitri tends to take most of that responsibility himself - because he's usually the best suited for the job. Conversely, put in a position where he's supposed to take directions from someone else, if he doesn't *want* to take those directions, then Problems Arise (the extent of which depending on how much he doesn't like the would-be leader). Handling Dmitri properly is a delicate balancing act, best accomplished by convincing him he'd want to take a particular course of action anyway, and by "offering advice" instead of "giving orders." The only exception to all of this is when a situation is developing rapidly, something that Dmitri doesn't do well with, at which point he'll be more than happy to follow directions given to him by a teammate to which he would otherwise respond with a snark, if he responded at all.
Formality is another issue that doesn't sit well with Dmitri. He's quick to refer to most people in a familiar fashion, something that didn't sit well with many courtiers. He doesn't like going to all kinds of trouble to dress up, nor does it impress him when others do so. In his mind, action and results are what count, and all the frills that most courtiers embrace are wastes of time. This doesn't (necessarily) mean that he's impolite or crass - he does have common courtesy, when he's in a mood to show it - but don't expect him to show up in his Sunday Best for the ball.
So what exactly does Dmitri want out of all of this mess? First and foremost, he wants to stick it to the Meness court that his ideas were right all along, and that they were foolish to ignore him. Though she had no direct influence over Dmitri's banishment, he still holds Princess Neherenia personally responsible for what happened, and he'll be quite gleeful to make her unscheduled trip to Lopu as uncomfortable as possible, particularly if he can show off his own comfort with the surroundings as much as possible. At one point, he simply wanted to put his ideas of interkingdom cooperation into action, but he's gotten himself so lost in the details of the rebellion that he's lost sight of that once-nobly-driven goal.
When he transforms into Sentry Mikelis, Dmitri's personality doesn't really change much. He's still the same arrogant, self-assured person that he was beforehand. If anything, he becomes even more self-assured, for he's changed from someone who's capable only of limited action to being able to deliver some supernatural smack on his own right, all in the name of The Cause (or saving his own hide, take your pick). He also becomes a little more likely to lose his temper and bring that smack to bear.
In a better time and place, Dmitri would make an effective political activist - not for his skill with people, but for his drive to get things done. With that particular position not exactly available, and with his other quirks providing a little more push, it's little wonder why he's joined the Kartiba Coalition.
So, in summary:
o Pros: self-assured, rational, puts thought into results instead of talk, meticulously organized, often emotionally well-controlled
o Neutral: curious, perfectionist, cautious, private, informal, dislikes strong leadership
o Cons: overconfident, exceptionally stubborn, overvalued self-worth, occasionally emotionally volatile
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History:
Really, all of this revolution stuff would be totally unnecessary if people simply admitted that Dmitri was right all along. Too bad it's too late for that now. But that's getting well ahead of the beginning of Mikelis's background.
The Mikelis starseed has been around for many, many generations. Why it first showed up in a male line on Meness, though, and not on Lopu, is one of those mysteries that hasn't yet been fully explained. Some have thought Meness needed all the help it could get when it came to preparing food without requiring constant imports from Lopu. Others think that it was some cosmic mistake, one which has since kept the starseed from growing in power to match the other senshi and sentries in the system. Regardless, it was the first bearers of the starseed of Cornucopia that refined Meness's agricultural system to much of what it is today ... such as it is.
Since those early days, though, the so-called Sentries of Cornucopia have been members of the New Moon Court. Unfortunately, their predecessors did their job so well that there really wasn't much that needed for the later bearers to do. After the first couple generations of Sentries Mikelis, Meness agriculture advanced to the point where the sentries needed to no longer maintain an active hand for everything to grow as it should. As such, the position has become less and less influential in the court with each generation. Over most of the past generation, the position has been viewed as something between an honor for deeds long ago performed and one of the cruel jokes of Meness politics.
The last such bearer of this starseed who had any political success thus far was a man named Panaka Radipart (Panaka from Latvian 'panākums:' - success/achievement). While a smart man, Panaka's skill was greater in politics - though of course even that skill was enough to simply enough to stall the gradual slide into obscurity that his predecessors suffered. He was well-recognized as a reliable go-to person for a few well-said words, though not exceedingly valuable. Despite his having a family, however, his efforts at court left him little time to spend upon them.
The only boy of said family, with six older sisters, was named Sergei (a form of Sergius, possibly Latin - servant), and he did not care to follow in his father's footsteps. He despised the court, and particularly the demands that the court put on his father's time. Rather than accompany Panaka to learn the ways of political survival, he buried himself in his studies, ideally to prepare himself for when such skills would be necessary. This troubled Panaka, and despite his wanting to help his son open up, decided it be best to not start passing on his starseed's meager shine until he woke up to reality.
Enter Antonia Censties ('Antonia' a form of Anthony, perhaps derived from Greek anthos - flower; 'censties' from Latvian - endeavor/try/strive/seek/aim), a young woman whose family was recently new to participation in the court. She took an interest in Sergei, less for any physical or emotional attraction than for the possibility of taking a quick step up the social ladder. He, of course, was unused to such attentions from women outside his family. The families encouraged this pairing, the Censties family seeing that a marriage of one of their daughters would better entrench them in politics, and the Radiparts (Panaka in particular) in the hope that it would convince Sergei to do his familial duty in some fashion, if he wasn't going to participate in court.
After a one-year engagement, Sergei and Antonia were married, and within another year, Dmitri was born. While this was great news for the Radiparts, it didn't last very long, when Panaka's health started failing. Hopeful that his grandson would be able to pick up where his son could not, Panaka bequeathed the sparkle of the Mikelis starseed upon the infant, and soon passed away from his illness.
This turn of events didn't really sit well with the new father. Part of Sergei had hoped to inherit the starseed and the title himself, even with as much as he hated the court. Another part of him wanted his son to have nothing more to do with the matter. Of course, keeping Dmitri away from a future as a courtier was nearly impossible now, and Antonia wouldn't listen to any other alternatives anyway. These varied and conflicting reasons, when all put together, led to a fairly volatile and confusing environment for a young boy to deal with, even without the arguments between his parents and the conflicting information that each gave him.
None of this held back Dmitri's mental skills, however - court or not, Sergei was darn well going to make sure that his son was well-equipped to handle the scientific side of his courtly duties. In addition to his own tutoring, Sergei also hired other scholars to ensure that Dmitri's education was very thorough. Dmitri enjoyed his studies intensely, always ready to learn more - sometimes going through in weeks what a tutor expected to take months. By the time he reached age thirteen, he was already a well-documented scholar on agriculture, biology, and ecology, a remarkable result from one so young, particularly in a field that has sat stagnant on Meness for generations. He quickly mastered the few magical abilities that the Radipart line passed from parent to child.
And then, the fateful day, the day Dmitri dreaded (despite his mother's attempts otherwise) - his first days at the Meness court. Among all the lessons he devoured with zeal, he hated the lessons in etiquette which his mother had arranged for him. It wasn't long before he discovered that he liked the real thing, dealing with people whose sole motivation was to get ahead at others' expense, even less. After less than a year, Dmitri tried his best to drift away from the court and to concentrate further on his studies - but it was a difficult balancing act that became harder and harder as it progressed. Not only did the court continue to put strain on his available time, but he was running out of sources for his research quickly.
This didn't mean that the young man was out of options, though. One thing that both his parents agreed on is that a resourceful mind is never out of options, and Dmitri definitely considered himself resourceful. Calling in what few favors he had managed to earn, he put a bold plan into action, one that both got him away from the court and gave him access to new sources for his scholarly use - days before his fifteenth birthday, he snuck off Meness and arrived on Lopu.
To say that he had culture shock would have been an understatement, but Dmitri quickly found what he was after. Even the publicly-available libraries on Lopu had unthinkable stores of information for his perusal, analysis, and thinking. Lopu's ideas about agriculture, with their vast resources and even more vast experience, caused him to rethink many of his own theories and concepts. During this time, he paid his way primarily through work, copying texts and helping some of Lopu's scholars in their own research. Yet, this wasn't enough.
And so, with time and effort, Dmitri arranged for transportation to Saule - a task which proved much easier than getting off Meness in the first place. There, in similar fashion, he continued to expand upon his knowledge and theory, with a little bit of work-for-hire to pay his upkeep. While the Saulian mindset didn't agree with him nearly as well as the mentality of those from Lopu, there was no denying that the theoretical knowledge available in Saule's vast libraries was very helpful, particularly when combined with what he learned from Lopu.
As Dmitri planned how he would return to Meness, after three years away from the New Moon Kingdom, his keen mind hit on a realization so simple, he berated himself for not thinking about it years earlier. With the varied points of view between the three kingdoms, why didn't they cooperate more? Even Lopu and Saule tended to be fairly separate, even if it was much easier for people and ideas to get between them than it was for them to pass between either of them and Meness. Was it wrong for the Cloistered Kingdom to remain cloistered, or could they usher in a new age of prosperity by opening to the other kingdoms?
Needless to say, upon his return, Dmitri was shocked that no one else saw it his way.
Dmitri soon found out that his plans, which he thought were kept in strictest confidence, were passed on to some other members of the court, members who were very much against interaction outside of Meness. While threats and intimidation didn't daunt the young man, the courtiers had no trouble convincing him that the court wouldn't even listen to him if he did try to voice his opinion - not someone who turned his back on his kingdom and his duties for three years, possibly threatening their security and way of life. They even implied that Princess Neherenia herself would strongly disagree with his actions, and might even throw him out of the court herself. So, within a day of his return home, without even getting the chance to see his family, Dmitri found himself returning to Lopu.
Adrift, Dmitri found himself for the first time without a contingency. He was furious, indignant, frightened. The only thing that Dmitri had left was the assuredness that he was right, dammit, and that his own court wouldn't listen to him anyway.
And that's when the Kartiba delivered their sales pitch. (Details to be worked out later - likely Pal is involved somehow.)
Dmitri didn't agree to the Kartiba's offer right away, but neither did he turn it down - he merely requested time to give the matter consideration. And, of course, the more he considered it, the more he found the idea both appropriate and appealing. Two days later, he was a part of the Kartiba Coalition, ready to show all three kingdoms what it is like to be wrong.
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Special Skills:
§ Reading and Writing (Meness Microscript): Brought up in the scholarly traditions of Meness, Dmitri doesn't just utilize cramped handwriting, he utilizes it well. So long as he has a fine enough writing utensil, he can write 3pt script with practiced ease, and fairly legibly to boot. As a plus, he doesn't get headaches or crossed eyes when reading text of such size. Of course, the books on Lopu and Saule, with their OMFG huge 8pt and larger text, are like a blessing to his eyes. He's also learned how to write in this relatively-huge script as well, though he only does so when the written work is meant for someone not from Meness.
§ Think Tank: As in "horribly slow but equally horribly powerful." Dmitri's sharp mind serves him quite well, particularly for one with an interest in putting science to practical application. He does not have an eidetic memory, but he can often remember reading or hearing "something" related to any particular task he's working on, and more often than not can remember where he learned it from (accessing said knowledge again may be a different matter). His best focus involves agricultural and ecological issues, but since joining the Kartiba, he's found the opportunity to expand his fields of knowledge slowly but surely from there.
§ Casual Camper: Put Dmitri in the middle of a forest without any supplies, and he has only a slightly better chance of survival than most of the Velis. Despite this, he's fond of taking forays into the wilds of Lopu, with plenty of supplies to make the job easier. Sure, he likes his comfort along with his wilderness, but he's good at making the two mix, at least for himself.
§ Magic: Hardly an archwizard by anyone's measure, Dmitri knows a few magical spells that are related to the care and tending of plants. These magics have been in the Radipart line for a long time, originally intended to help the user tend to plants personally, but currently used more for research purposes, and to assist with tending some plant of importance. While they don't absolutely depend on the power of the user's starseed, the related nature of the Mikelis starseed makes them easier to cast - because of this, though, these spells do not get any additional power boost from the Zvaigznes shard. All work at a range no farther than his arm's reach. Most of these magics are information-gathering in nature, such as to determine a plant's health, nature, and capabilities. A few make planting easier, such as spells to put a small hole in tilled earth to a precise depth, or to destroy a small plant determined to be a "weed." His most potent spells can duplicate small amounts of plant matter, but only from existing plants; he could turn a large apple into two identical apples, but he couldn't conjure the apple from thin air. Dmitri has tried to manage other unrelated magical abilities, with no success.
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Powers:
§ Abundant Gathering (Redirect): While Mikelis may lack having any smack-down powers of his own, he's far from defenseless. Using this power, Mikelis can not only protect himself from an incoming attack, but can send it back with a little extra punch - but only with a number of restrictions. He must have his horn in hand, and he must be aware of and ready to react to an attack, for he literally catches the incoming power in the mouth of the horn. Only targeted powers, rather than those that catch him in some area of effect, can be thus captured; powers that are targeted but have an area effect as a secondary effect (such as Lauku's Grace Bomber) can be caught. Powers that affect multiple targets with individually-targeted effects can be caught, but he can only capture (and return) the part of the power aimed at him. The attack must have some kind of physical or energy manifestation; if it just "happens," then there's nothing for Mikelis to catch. The stronger the incoming attack, the more energy he uses to catch and redirect it - in general, it takes about half as much of Mikelis's energy as it took to generate the attack in the first place, though stronger individuals (Cuska, Austras, and the Royals) have bigger energy reserves to play with and thus take proportionally more effort to redirect, and if he tries capturing an attack that he doesn't have the energy to catch, he instead takes the effect. The incoming attack does not necessarily have to be a typical physical attack, though physical attacks are the most likely to fit all of these criteria. All damage or other effect from the attack is negated. Once Mikelis captures the attack in the Cornucopia Horn, he can then return it at the originator, or any other target he chooses. The power gains a little power boost on its return trip, and he doesn't need to use any activation words to release it, but it otherwise functions as if Mikelis used the power himself, including how well the attack can be dodged, blocked, or (again) redirected. However, once he captures a power, he has only about ten seconds or so to release the power from the horn, or it will release itself at whatever the mouth of the horn is pointing, usually at some random and unhelpful target. Stock Footage: Mikelis plants his feet to brace himself, and holds his Cornucopia Horn in front of him, mouth first, quickly calling out, "Abundant Gathering!" The incoming attack shrinks and is sucked into the mouth of the horn, with a little "poof" of air as it disappears. Mikelis smirks broadly (and often says something taunting), then twirls the horn by its short end around one finger. As he brings it down, steadied with his other hand, he points the mouth at some new target and, without any activation words, the captured power springs out of the horn, much as it did when its original user created it.
§ Harvest Indulgence (Energy Drain): Those who have eaten too much for a holiday meal have a good idea of what this power feels like. The only power Mikelis has that doesn't depend on his horn of plenty, it affects everyone in a short-range cone approximately ten feet long and as wide at the far end. Those caught in the cone feel as though they recently partook of a huge meal, with the accompanying stomach discomfort, sluggishness, and lethargy, for the next few minutes. It doesn't actually provide any nourishment, of course, and once the power wears off, the sensation goes away, leaving the affected feeling as full or empty as they did before. Given that most of those from Meness aren't accustomed to having so much to eat, the effects are generally felt more strongly by the Velis (with the exception of Moschel, who's used to heartier fare than her fellows) and other natives of Meness; likewise, the Miesa and most natives of Lopu tend to suffer somewhat less. It's useful to hamper a group of foes, whether for combat or for fleeing. The attack can't generally be redirected, and it requires magical protection to block it. Neither does the cone differentiate between friend or foe; any Kartiba caught in the area are likewise affected. Dodging it is possible, but becomes more difficult the further from the edge of the cone any particular individual may be. Mikelis can use this twice in a combat without hampering his ability to use other powers, and if it's all he does, he could use it at most five times. Stock Footage: Mikelis closes his eyes, standing with feet together and arms held straight out from his shoulders. As he slowly calls out the word, "Harvest..." he slowly bends his knees while lowering his arms, then curls his arms and straightens his knees as if he gathered something from the ground; he finishes the word just as his knees straighten, and his arms are now crossed over his chest. His eyes snap open a moment as he starts shouting the next word, "...Indulgence!" He takes a step to his right to stand with feet shoulder width apart and throws his hands forward, just as he finishes the word; the motion of his arms sends his half-cape billowing out to his side, and a cone of reddish-orange energy spreads from his outstretched hands.
§ Bounty's Blessing (Power-Up or Treat Wounds/Heal): A major concept about having a bounty is sharing that bounty (even if Mikelis has become somewhat more selective as to who he plans to share with). Using this power, he can pull something from his horn of plenty to give to an ally, thus lending some of his own energy to that ally. This can be used to directly transfer his energy to someone else for the use of other powers, or it can convert his energy into a small boost of healing - Mikelis needs to make this decision when he pulls the object from the horn. Needless to say, he can only use the healing effect on himself, since transferring power-related energy directly to himself tends to not be useful. In most cases, he pulls out some kind of fruit, which transfers power by taking a single bite from the fruit; in others, he might pull out a flower or grain, depending on who he's giving to and for what purpose (Svecu, for example, may be given some dry grains which can be set alight to provide a boost of energy). (Tentative: While for most, this power only transfers energy or converts it to healing, when he can pull out something directly sphere-relevant - fruit to Sulu, flowers to Ziedu - the recipient gets about half again as much energy as Mikelis expends.) The item taken from the horn only lasts a minute, and if not eaten or otherwise used in that time, it disappears and the energy returns to Mikelis. The item can be attacked by physical or energy powers, but destroying it with a power that doesn't somehow also drain energy results in the same effect as if it disappeared on its own. Of course, it's possible for someone to swipe the item before it's used and take the energy for themselves. Likewise, nothing forces a teammate to take the boost, save the threat of being thwacked by the Cornucopia Horn. Because of its variable nature, it's hard to pin how often he can use this power - he could, if he wanted, totally exhaust himself to help a teammate recover from total exhaustion (except for Cuska, Austras, and the three Royals, who all have more raw energy than he does), or to heal a number of minor wounds or one major wound (not anything life-threatening, however). There's no "stock" footage, given the variable nature of what Mikelis pulls from the horn, but he needs to loudly call the power's name before he reaches within, at which point a green glow emanates from inside the horn until he pulls the item out.
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Uniform:
Mikelis's primary color is a pumpkin orange,
with a bright apple red as his secondary. This fits in as appropriate into the typical
Kartiba male uniform. It starts with
the typical star-spangled dark blue sleeveless unitard, with triple-layered
translucent colorless shoulders, and a large Zvaigznes star right in the
middle, with a short red streamer hanging from either side. Across his forehead is the Kartiba
"tiara," which looks more like a pale beige bandanna with the
Zvaigznes star just to the left of center (from Mikelis's perspective). Draped over his right shoulder and pinned at
his left shoulder with the Zvaigznes star is an orange half-cape, reaching to
his hips when at rest. His gloves are
typical Kartiba beige, with a red cord around the open thumb, that cover his
entire forearms up to the elbow, and past a dark blue seam are short folds of
orange that reaches past the elbow, rounded and lacking the V-shaped notch
typical of the Kartiba. Wrapped about
his waist twice is a red sash, knotted at his left hip yet hanging down to
broad, V-shaped ends at his calves. His
pants are loosely fitted and orange in color.
He wears flat-soled almost-knee-high boots, almost-black-dark-gray in
color (perhaps a nod to his origins on Meness), which seem much more decorative
than functional.
· Weapon: Cornucopia Horn
Similar in appearance to the symbolic "horn of plenty," Mikelis's horn does not come "pre-stocked" with fruits, grains, or flowers. It appears to be an oversized goat horn, approximately two feet long (or about three if its curves could be somehow "straightened"), with a broad ovular "mouth" about a foot and a half in diameter, tapering and curling slowly until it reaches the opposite end, where it curls in on itself to a blunted point. Being an echo of the Mikelis starseed (and thus boosted by the Zvaigznes shard), it appears only when he is transformed, and is supernaturally resilient. He needs it to focus most of his powers, though in a pinch he can also give someone a solid whack upside the head or use it to block a real weapon. When in use, whether with a power or being swung, small little star-sparklies shine along the horn's surface.
· Transformation: "Mikelis Cardinal Power!"
As Dmitri firmly calls this phrase, his form fades into dark shadow as he slips into equally-dark henshin-space. A small point of light twinkles off something, and as the henshin-space brightens slightly, the "something" is revealed to be the Zvaigznes star glowing in the middle of Dmitri's silhouetted form, arms held out to the side and feet together. The light behind him continues to brighten, melding from medium gray to light blue, and a flutter of yellow, orange, red, and brown leaves swirls around the still-shadowy form. More leaves gather and swirl, enough to obscure the form altogether for a few moment, until with a gust of wind they all blow away. In their wake, Sentry Mikelis stands in full uniform, cape and sash fluttering briefly with the last of the wind. Mikelis reaches his left hand under his cape near his side, and as he withdraws it, it is wrapped around the narrow end of his horn of plenty. Glaring seriously and stepping his feet to shoulder-width, he twirls his horn once in his hand, then brings it to rest with the broad end resting on his right hand.
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Knowledge:
§ 1) Do you hate Neherenia? Will you be complaining that she's not evil and trying to sling mud at her in the game? This is important because if so, I for one will not want to work with you.
o I don't, though Dmitri himself is an entirely different matter - insensitive git that he is. ^.^;
§ 2) Are you up on all your 'canon?' That is to say, have you read all the information on all the pages of the site, as well as the character profiles? If not, that would be bad.
o Always up-to-date soon after new links are posted. <3
§ 3) Isn't Dievs pretty?
o More than words can say. *.*
· RP Experience: Have you ever played a PBeM character before? Not that we'd hold it against you, but we need to know if we need to explain how a PBeM RPG works.
§ Yeah, I think I can say I'm used to this by now.
· Why you: Sell yourself to the staff.
§ Because you know me and you already know how AWESOME I am. *.*
·
Miscellaneous:
§ Paraphrased from http://www.dictionary.com/ - cor·nu·co·pi·a n. 1. A goat's horn overflowing with fruit, flowers, and grain, signifying prosperity; also called "horn of plenty." 2. An overflowing store; an abundance.
§ Webpage blurb: Originally bitter about the New Moon Kingdom's lack of overall prosperity, Mikelis has turned his sharp mind from bolstering Meness's strained agricultural system to the delicate science of helping the Kartiba take over the three Kingdoms.
§ Relations: Yeah, I got the idea from SMF, of course. ^.^;
o Arviene Lieliski/Sailor Cuska: For someone who doesn't like authority figures, Dmitri couldn't ask for a better authority figure than Arviene. Dmitri recognizes Arviene as the "first among equals," and the glue that binds the Kartiba together in their quest. They both share the combination of anal-retentive organization and success-or-bust focus on goals. Her concept of a "New World Order" sings quite well to Dmitri's desires, which made him a relatively simple convert to the Coalition.
o Debess Sarethiit/Sentry Austras: Though he initially doubted the wisdom of including a full-fledged member of one of the courts in this interkingdom coup, Dmitri does have to admit that his concern has thus far been misplaced. Granted, Dmitri is no less likely to lie to the former Dvesele than many of the other Kartiba, but so far he hasn't really needed to (he's bought many of the same lies himself, after all). On the downside, Dmitri is likely under standing orders to mind his temper around the young hothead, and so he cuts Debess a little more slack than he'd rather. It will definitely be a surprise once he realizes that there's someone more self-assured and stubborn than himself.
o Zirgs Patverties/Sentry Martins: Dmitri appreciates having such a hard-working, quiet individual on his team. It's better still that Zirggy can provide a more imposing presence than Dmitri can, and has a more innate down-to-earth sense that only a native of Lopu can claim. Beyond that, however, there's very little the two have in common. At least Dmitri doesn't need to act superior, or worry that Zirgs will - though Dmitri does appreciate that when Zirgs does open his mouth about something, he's usually right.
o Vess Aukstums/Sentry Sersnu: A fellow "exile" from the New Moon Court, Dmitri doesn't quite share the same kind of hatred for his previous "peers," though neither does he begrudge Vess's sentiment. His clingy, needs-friends nature is likely to keep Dmitri at arm's length at times, though not necessarily any farther than that - Dmitri himself certainly wouldn't mind having someone to connect with, and he might have helped establish some of Vess's more arrogant exterior, even if only by serving as an example himself.
o Pal Bren/Sailor Svecu: Depending on the specific situation, Pal could be Dmitri's best friend or worst nightmare. Pal is the quick thinker, while Dmitri puts the details together meticulously; the two together working on the same research project would be devastating. Dmitri doesn't share Pal's caffeine-induced endurance however, and her tendency to ask many personal questions won't be horribly well received. Hopefully, the Zvaigznes shards they each carry will help them to not set themselves against each other.
o Mezonigs/Sailor Vilku: Mezo and Dmitri are about as opposite as any pair can be. Dmitri's a citified, cerebral individual who enjoys time spent in the wilderness of Lopu to be fun. Mezo is a savage, emotion-driven wild-woman who has a fascination with Meness. Even so, I don't see them having many problems. Dmitri can easily acknowledge Mezo's superiority in the woods, and I seriously doubt Mezo will try to out-scholar him. The two would likely make a devastatingly effective pair when they need to work together ... just so long as it's away from the laboratory.
o Neherenia Parestiba/Sailor Meness: Rather straightforward with his feelings, Dmitri blames his major misfortunes primarily on the Cloistered Princess - particularly because of that whole 'Cloistered' bit. He's not the kind who would try to talk out the problem, particularly not after taking all of the steps he's done so far. Dmitri has blinded himself so strongly that, when looking at Neherenia, all he sees is his own hatred reflected back on him. Mind you, he's not murderous - he'd rather see the princess scramble in a futile attempt to pick up the pieces, as he sees it.
o Ilona Atminas/Sailor Laima: Dmitri has likely run into Ilona before, as part of her position as the Keeper of Records and Royal Librarian, during his researches into alternative agricultural techniques used in the past. Her bubbly nature is strictly at-odds with his calm, quiet seriousness - never mind Ilona's tendency to "push the little red button."
With the overabundance (HAH! sphere relevance!) of information already gathered, I move to consider my grammar well-checked. ^.^v
· Nothing yet. ;.;