Lord Tempest

Real Name: Cyrus Willis
Renegade Name: Lord Tempest
Title: Prince of the Storm
Alignment: Lawful Neutral
Age: 32
Gender: Male
Race: Caucasian
Hair: Black
Eyes: Brown
Height: 6'2
Weight: 180 lbs
Blood type: AB+



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Cyrus is a patient, quiet man of few words, which leads to him having a reputation as being aloof or uncaring about things. Despite his apparently noncommittal attitude towards most situations, he in fact possesses a rigid, unyielding personal set of morals that he will rarely compromise, no matter  the cost. When confronted, he maintains the calm, quiet personality for a time, although when pressed, he will fly into an almost uncontrollable rage, which is the second reason many people refer to him as The Storm (the first being his abilities). Unless it is directly against his code of ethics, it is hard to gauge Cyrus' response to most things, although if he disagrees with a course of action, he will make it known. He is aware of the distasteful nature of his grey-scale moral code, often saying he doesn't see himself as a good role model.

Cyrus' origins date back many millenia, long before his grandparent's grandparents were even thought of, and to a mysterious realm known simply as The Elemental Plane, where primordial spirits of earth, fire, water, wind, and many other forces, make their home. Throughout the years, in a sort of game to pass the time, these spirits would grant mortal 'champions' with the abilities to manipulate their elements, and pit them against each other in large battles. This is the true source of Cyrus' powers, although he doesn't know it.

The story of the man begins in August, 1982, when triplets were born to Adam and Sarah Willis. They named the triplets Esther, Terra, and Cyrus. Cyrus, the only boy, was also the quietest and most gentle of the three. His sisters, although not malevolent, were loud and possessed of fierce tempers from a young age. Although when they seemed uncontrollable, he could calm their rage. As he grew, he kept his quiet, gentle personality most of the time, but in his teen years, he, too, was caught in moments of fierce anger and rage, especially when his sisters were put in danger.

The morning of November 1998 is the date he claims he 'got' his powers, but the truth is he simply awoke powers that had been granted to him before his birth. Esther was playing on the street, under Cyrus' watchful eye, as usual. Unexpectedly, she fell into the road as a car came careening down the road at breakneck speed. Cyrus began running to help his sister, although there was no chance of him reaching her before the car did. Unexpectedly, impossibly, a powerful wind rose from behind him and blew his sister past the car's path. She escaped the incident with only a broken arm, and despite Cyrus' unwillingness to discuss it with anyone, further experiments led him to the conclusion that the sudden wind on a calm day, strong enough to lift and carry a 16 year old girl, had not been mere coincidence. He had done that...somehow! He resolved to train this newfound power, to test and push his limits, and see how far he could take it.

Within a few months, he could summon a breeze at will, and could hover small pebbles in the palm of his hands. Within a year, he could stir up a wind powerful enough to lift himself into the air for a few seconds. By his twentieth birthday, he could use his powers to create powerful blasts of wind capable of knocking a man several feet. Due to his gentle nature, however, he rarely aimed to use his powers as a weapon, instead preferring to utilise them for the greater good. At the same time, he was working on his education, graduating university with a degree in economics, although his grades were passable, and nothing special, due to his 'extracurricular activities', as he refers to his dalliance with heroism.

It lasted only a year, but he fought street crime in Newcastle while he pursued his studies. He is reluctant to talk about that year, dismissing it as youthful foolishness, and telling people that heroes only get tragedy, so he'd rather not be one. One implication he has made is that he got shot during the course of that year, although many doubt that's all that happened, or that the bullet is what caused him to stop the heroics.

In recent years, Cyrus has taken up the profession of a freelance accountant, preferring the freedom this gives him over the larger paycheck he'd get from 'selling out' to a company.

1. Agility 2
2. Endurance 3
3. Reaction 1
4. Strength 4

• Air/wind manipulation - Cyrus' base power is the ability to manipulate and channel the forces of air and wind. Often, this is used to  create powerful gusts of wind to knock his opponent off balance or to move heavy objects. The greater the wind required, the more effort Cyrus has to exert. The stronger an existing wind for him to tap into, the more powerful he can be.
  
• Pseudo-flight - By focusing a powerful air channel behind him, Cyrus can lift himself  into the air and travel the same way as he'd move any object, although his guidance in this form is very unskilled, and the movement is too slow to be used in combat. It is useful for short-range movement to otherwise hard-to-reach places. He prefers almost straight-up or straight down movement, as opposed to attempting it like directional flight.
  

• Human physiology - Arguably Cyrus' biggest weakness, is the fact that despite all his power, he is still human, and so is considered fragile to most super powered beings. He's still vulnerable to all the usual human weaknesses.
  
• Overexertion - Cyrus' powers are mystical in nature, and partially due to his ignorance of the origin of said ability, his body is not optimised for channeling his powers at a high rate for an extended period of time. After about thirty seconds of using his powers at an excessive level, he will start to get painful headaches. If he doesn't rest his abilities, the strain on his body will only grow, including migraines, nosebleeds, and in extreme cases, bodily harm such as torn muscles and fractured bones.
  
• Storms - Although this seems counter-intuitive, storms have many winds blowing in all directions, which can make it hard for Cyrus to control, as any wind he tries to direct can be caught up in the storm and blown away. Only by exerting himself to the very limits of his power and attempting to control and direct the storm as a whole, can he hope to overcome this weakness.
  

Even when not using his powers, Cyrus is often surrounded by a slight chilling breeze.

Cyrus tapped the 'answer' button on his chirping mobile phone, raising it to his face with a confident smile. "Nice to hear from you, Mr. Smith. I trust my work for your company was satisfactory? I certainly hope this isn't a call from a disgruntled customer. I hate those." There was silence on the other end of the phone for a moment, then a short intake of breath as the accountant's eyes trailed over the park across the road from him.

"I'll be honest with you, Cyrus." The voice on the other end of the phone was as deep and emotionally dead as Cyrus' had been cheerful and quiet. His ears picked up the sounds of whispering and various snapping of fingers on the other end of the phone. Smith was arguing with...someone. A partner perhaps? "I loved the work you did. Loved it. I thought you were great." A man with a voice like Smith's could not, convincingly, tell a lie. "But, uh...my partner took a look at it and called it bunk. He wants me to terminate our arrangement, and get a different accountant." More fervent whispering, until Smith let out an angry growl. "I am sorry. Like I said, I thought it was great."

Cyrus sighed, his free hand pinching the bridge of his nose, then trailing to stroke his beard as he watched the traffic stream past, his chocolate coloured eyes focusing narrowly. His voice became hard, a deep rumble starting in his throat. "You see, Smith, I know everything about your companies finances, now." He replied, in a harsh tone of voice. "I'm sure your - and your 'partners' - families would be interested where the money I didn't mention disappears every month like clockwork, goes. Don't you think, Smith?" All pretext of politeness had gone out of the window, as the accountant stooped down to take his briefcase in hand before starting to move with the flow of people across the road.  "So, tell your 'partner' that this is how it works. You give me the money that we negotiated, we conclude our business, and then...we never see each other again." As his words spilled from his mouth, a chilling breeze started to blow as if from behind him, the sudden gust a surprise on the otherwise calm day. He reached the other side of the road, and began to stroll casually into the park with his phone still pressed to his right ear. "Don't you think that's a good deal?"

The silence on the other side of the phone lasted much longer this time, angry whispers back and forth quietly shouting words he couldn't quite hear. He had just given the businessman a lesson in the art of lying. There was no significant money going missing. After a moment he heard his former client clear his throat. "I think...that is an excellent, superb, deal, Mr. Willis. My partner may need some convincing, but I believe...we're on board with that."

Cyrus grinned cheerfully, his voice falling back to his previous gentle tone. "I am glad we came to this agreement without the need for unpleasantness, Mr. Smith. I do so despise...what's the term? Airing another's dirty laundry?" He commented simply, then took the phone from his ear and jabbed the end call button with his thumb. As he stowed the mobile in his jacket pocket, the breeze around him died down, and he began to enjoy his stroll through the park. Today was already a good day, and it was only...1pm. "Time for lunch." He hummed, to nobody in particular. Perhaps he would stop at that new sandwich shop on the corner at the other end of the park. He'd heard good things.