Ab Antiquo

Ravenblack City Statistics

IGN: Lokidaem
Blood Rank: Elder
Powers: Second-sight Suction Surprise Perception Celerity(3) Stamina(3) Shadows(3) Thievery(3) Locate(3) Telepathy(3) Charisma(3)
Lineage: Nicolai Greye.
Sibling:Leitha.
Childe[r]: Xylia Tansim.
Partner: Xylia Tansim.

The Character

Personality
In short: Rude. Very, very rude. He thinks he's better than everyone else because of his accomplishments and is angered that they amount to a pile of dog shit within the city's walls.

Appearance
Older male.

History
Lokidaem. A curious, mischievous creature. Born of Michelle and Bartholomew Aequis, Loki was raised in poverty and was taught that money isn't everything. Loki accepted these teachings and grew into a noble man, helping people whenever they needed it, saving kittens from trees, and the like. Loki grew up and out of his place much as his parents had hoped he would. He achieved even becoming a member of the King's Guard, and later that same year the General of his own troop. Lokidaem Aequis had brought more than just honor to his family's name and overall existence, but also assured him a place in the Heaven in which they so devoutly believed. Assured, of course, if he stayed on this course for the remaining years of his life. But all of this greatness added up to naught at the turn of his life. A choice, a change, and a demon guaranteed Loki's days would be in the service of a Lord that he gave no conscious thought to most days. One for which he declared often that he would never serve; for his Lord drove him to the top and in His name he lead each march to battle and back again with his life, and those of his comrades. Yes, Loki was a disillusioned man, still a good man, but also a human man. And humans are not perfect.

One day, a traveler came to Loki's family's village seeking shelter. Loki was with his parents this night, for he was staying over with his troops before heading west, almost all the way to the ocean. Well, not everyone was keen on housing this decrepit-looking being. Except, of course, the Aequis', who readily helped this man out of the night and into a warm and comfortable bed. They didn't have much to offer, but the stranger assured them that their kindness more than made up for their lack of amenities. With their minds set at ease, and their immortal souls no where near danger, the Aequis' slept soundly that night.

All of them, but for one Lokidaem, dreamed of the next day's work. Some time in the wee hours of morning, a sound awoke the Aequis male from a deep sleep. A sound that he did not recognize and could not quickly place. A sound that left a seed of fear in the hollow of his chest. He was a soldier, and fear did not come easily to him. As a frown settled over the man's features, he moved to grab his sword, thinking to thwart anyone trying to cause trouble for himself or his parents, or for even the stranger that they sheltered that night. His eyesight was fair in the light of the stars and sliver of a moon, and he saw a figure hunched on the main room floor, just outside where his parents continued their rest. At that point, the sound that had awakened Loki from his dreams of raising his own family filled the house once more. A sinister sound, now that he heard it without a veil of sleep to mask its true meaning. It was the sound of demons feeding upon mortals, a sickening and wet sound. A sound that meant this creature was mid-meal.

“Halt! Reveal yourself, demon, and I may let you live!” Loki had meant for his voice to come out strong, but it was small, and more than a little frightened.
Slowly, the figure stood and turned around, indeed revealing itself as Loki had commanded, but no where could be sensed that Loki was in control of the situation. “You dare to order me, human?” Hissed the vile beast, and Loki's sword wavered, then fell from his hand. “You are nothing, but cattle, to me and mine,” it whispered, inching closer as it spoke, “But your fire burns bright and you could prove yourself useful to one such as I.”
At this, Loki's seed of fear sprouted and grew into a sapling in under a second, “What would you do with me?”
“I would make you immortal and bestow my magicks upon your re-enforced body,” it said simply, as though it were no more important that putting on your shoes for the daily chores.
“What are you?” whimpered the terrified Aequis. By this time, he'd realized that his parents were no longer alive, and that he was the last left of the Aequis line.
“I am a mage of sorts. I deal in the dark arts of life and, more acutely, death.”
“What are your purposes with me?”
“Come into my realm, and I'll show you all that can be yours if you but submit to being mine.” It did not mean this in a sexual way, or a way that deemed a sort of friendship. No, Loki knew immediately that 'mine' translated to 'my servant' and the sapling within him blossomed into a great pine. It's needles prickling at the man's insides as though he'd swallowed a porcupine. He forced his voice out in a thin whine of resignation, “I agree.” And with those two words, Lokidaem Aequis' fate was forever sealed.

The demon turned out to be a vampire. One that was a shadow mage before being turned. Also, one that knew more about the dark side of magic than the lighter side, and thus Loki became the instrument of evil within weeks. The vampire's name was Xelexia. 'It' turned out to be female. Loki was a fast learner, and a good student. This made for a bad combination when on the receiving end of one of his spells, but it ensured his life, and so he threw himself entirely into the teachings. Too much, it turned out, but Xelexia wouldn't find this out until it was too late. She was so impressed with the pace at which Loki mastered everything that she was blind to the rising hostility pointed in her direction and increasing with every passing moment. Lokidaem, who was so lost to the darkness now that the person he'd been just two months previous was no where to be found, was quickly becoming more and more adept at new things. Even the hardest of rituals proved no more than a slight obstacle to him. A sign that he'd had the power of the mage within him since birth and, if Gabriel had found him first, he could've been just as perfect at wielding the holy arts of the same magicks he now performed. In fact, his parents had thought him destined to be an angel upon death, but now he was only destined for that pure blackness that awaits every shadow master, murderer, rapist, etc.

After two years under Xelexia's careful instructing, Lokidaem deemed it time to break free. To do that, he'd have to kill her. To him, this was a simple task, because while Xelexia did teach him a lot, he'd taught himself even more when she wasn't looking. Yes, Lokidaem was now Xelexia's elder in the respect of magic, and he was still human. He imagined how his powers would be strengthened if he allowed this woman to change him into a demon like herself. A grin pulled his thin lips into a smirk, but he would not let her do that. Indeed she planned on doing just that anytime soon, but he had other plans. He did not want to be like her, and would not allow her to make him that way. While the demon slept one night, or rather meditated for she did not need regular sleep like he did, he put a deafening spell upon her and approached from behind. With his enchanted dagger, he made quick work of slicing her throat wide open, letting her blood pour out and stain the front of her clothes. The enchantments he'd put on the blade were more than simple for him, but to Xelexia, they not only ensured that she'd die because they prevented her body from healing the wound, but also that she could not be resurrected by anyone. Lokidaem made absolute certain that he would be through with Xelexia that night, free without ever having to deal with her again. As the demon's life faded before him, Lokidaem started to feel more empowered, and only months later realized that he could absorb being's strength of magic when he killed them; but only with that dagger with those enchantments. It was dumb luck that he would use the correct ones together on Xelexia, for this absorption power was unique to Loki and the Aequis lineage. Other beings, in other ways, could do the same thing, but Loki had discovered what made him special, and so powerful, and that made him even more eager to destroy and kill. In the name of himself, no one else.

He'd learned ways to keep himself young, even, and employed these actions on a weekly basis, slowly the aging process by nearly eight-five percent. He was nearing the age of one thousand when he happened upon a city by the name of Ravenblack. Loki, only thirty-one when Xelexia stole him from his life, now appeared only about forty-five. He'd become so skilled at slowing his age, that he had ceased it completely without even noticing. It was second-nature. Loki moved freely between the realm of Xelexia's origin and the mortal realm of Earth, thus losing decades of time, sometimes centuries, between visits to humans. He was slowly taking over Archias, home of the demon Xelexia and a host of more and diverse demons. Lokidaem was close to being supreme overlord, and wasn't even a demon. Not technically. He could even summon demons to his side when on his visits to humans, but they expired after forty-eight hours on this side. That's all right, though, because Loki rarely had a use for them anyway. He had done most of this work on his own, and he would continue to do so as long as it benefited him; and being the all-powerful ruler of a demon realm was certainly the main benefit and goal to which Lokidaem strives. Little did he know that Karma was indeed paying attention to his chaotic and destructive lifestyle, and knew all about his betrayal to the being that brought him the beginnings of his greatness in the ways of the shadow. Karma had a plan.

Whether Karma is a conscious being or just a presence sensed and mostly known throughout all realms, dimensions, and worlds will never be ascertained. But it is there, it does exist, and even if it works a little slow for the taste of mortals, Karma always succeeds. As with Lokidaem, it was only a matter of time before Karma could be given the ideal moment to act, but when it was dished out it was a blow that only the “mega-bitch of just desserts” could deal.

Now in this new place, Ravenblack, Lokidaem thought he merely stumbled upon another human settlement to destroy and take as his own, but he was not through learning just yet. Ravenblack was actually a city of vampires. Sure, there were humans running about, but it was a haven for the immortal beasts to take up shop and try to get ahead. Though full of demons, it still had too much humanity in it for the taste of this mage. He figured he'd stop in for a night, then continue on in the morning. While he stayed, he could go see some of the sights nearby, if any were offered that is, and this was his plan. While among a throng of humans, Loki stopped to study a plaque that was outside a building. Distracted, and not for the first time in his life with his guard down, the Aequis mage did not sense a demon approaching. In fact, it was because he was surrounded by humans that he felt he could relax, and not be the stuck up prick that he'd grown into. In all honesty, he was in awe of the building before him and wondered if there were anymore immense structures scattered around the city. He even toyed with the thought of staying more than just the night in order to see each building he could find, to see if it was as magnificent as the one he now gazed upon.

Coming into the crowd was a vampire by the name of Nicolai Greye. Nicolai did not know that Loki was damn near being a demon, that all he needed was to actually become one using magicks already known. Not even Loki knew he could become a demon and retain all he'd learned. Neither knew, also, that if Loki were to be turned into a vampire, he would only be that. A vampire. Though with magical capabilities, of course. No, Loki looked just like every other human around him. A faceless being promising crimson life for yet another night's hunting was all Loki was while in that group. So caught up with the building and words inscribed on the plaque that Lokidaem did not even notice fewer and fewer humans. Pretty soon, he was the only one left standing there, and without warning, all went black.

Upon waking, Loki at first thought that some dumb human had come up on him while he wasn't paying attention and mugged him. Loki would be luckier if that had happened. A headache pounded at his temples and his veins seemed to burn with fire; both of which confused the downed mage to the point of screaming. Though screaming his did not do until later, and not out of frustration, but out of pure rage. A slight tug on his mind sent the shadow mage into retching, though there was nothing to expel. He would later find the source of that tug, and learn of his true fate. Meanwhile, on his way back to the tavern to find some rest and painkillers, Loki spotted a mortal. The fire inside flared white-hot and he almost doubled-over with the pain. He fled to the demon realm as quickly as possible and didn't take note that it was more effort than it had been in too long a time. In the demon realm though, his powers would be unaffected, as would his vampiric hunger. After a few days in Xelexia's world, Loki would return to Ravenblack City, but not with the knowledge that he could not return to the newly conquered whole of Archias. His kingdom would be lost to him, though not forever if he so chose to go back and fight all the way to the top. Again.

A year passed for mortals and immortals alike in Ravenblack City. All without incident since Nicolai unknowingly changed Lokidaem Aequis into a vampire. All that time was nothing more than a few days in Archias while Loki took the last remaining steps to absolute power over all beings, taking what he thought to be his rightful place above all of those demons. He would enjoy his victory for but a few hours before his curiosity of that city of darkness dragged him from his throne and cast him from Archias forever. Well, perhaps not forever, but it would feel much like it for Lokidaem. He had no one to which he could leave in control of Archias while he was gone, but he figured he wouldn't be gone long anyway, and therefore needed not to appoint anyone. He wore his full-body armor, steeped in wicked enchantments and his trusty sword, with no enchantments at all upon it. This would be the armor that he would look at to fuel his ever-burning hate toward Nicolai later, and the sword with which he would use to kill every single human he came across.

Upon first returning to the city, Lokidaem didn't notice how his armor suddenly weighed a couple pounds more, or that his magic was waning almost instantly. He stalked through the city, scaring mortals all the while by his countenance. He found the building at which he was attacked, and still found it awe-inspiring, but he was having trouble moving with the armor on, now, and couldn't focus on the frightening beauty of the place as much as he'd have liked to. In fact, Loki soon was out of his armor, scowling at it as he tried to summon some imps to take it away. Tried, and failed. Almost nearing panic, Loki ran off to the nearest inn and booked two suites, one for just him to sleep in, and one to work in. He got some rope and a canvas cover and worked three hours at packing up his armor enough to just pull it along behind him. He felt feeble, and much too human, for the first time since meeting Xelexia in his parent's house. And he thought he probably looked ridiculous, but it was now that no one gave him a second glance. Suddenly, he was blending in with everyone else, and this he despised more than his weakened state.

After stacking his armor up back together and hiding it in a closet, Loki went about the task of setting up to make a portal back to Archias. When he found that he could barely cause a shadow to move, he threw what most people might call a temper tantrum. All his noise caused the barkeep to come and check on Loki; fatal mistake for that human, of course. When the fallen king discovered that he still had some kind of strength and power, he soon set out to find everything he could about what he now was. And he learned three things that enraged him further, but would drive him to do what was needed to not only locate Nicolai, but to face him, demon to demon.

One, Lokidaem was now a vampire, which awarded him many luxuries whilst still left him lacking incredibly. Two, there were certain powers available to gain while staying in the city itself. Three, he was a peon to his peers. He was once again at the bottom of the ladder.