Heretic [Apheus Drake]

Real Name: Apheus Drake
Villain Name: Heretic
Title:
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
Age: 19
Gender: Male
Race: Witchbreed (Half-Demon)
Hair: Black, slicked back between horns
Eyes: Yellow
Height: 5’9”
Weight: 160
Blood type: B-



Dusky unnaturally red skin on a thin frame with slight musculature. Small spikes poke out of his elbows, pressing against any long sleeved shirt he wears. Small black scales cover his torso from the middle of his left pectoral, to the top of his midriff, and stretching to his left shoulder. His hair is slicked back at almost all times, between a pair of magnificent dusky red horns that seem to have grown directly from his skin. Finally, a pair of glowing cruel yellow eyes stare into the soul of anyone he sees.

Apheus tends towards fancier dress than most villains like him. Most commonly, a long black leather coat with a twin coat tail. Underneath that, a red and silver vest with a floral pattern is worn tightly to his chest, not making any effort to hide his well toned physique. A black dress shirt under that, and a white tank under that all make his build very noticeable. Long black slacks cover his smooth legs, and a pair of black wingtip shoes with red highlights finish off the outfit most commonly seen being worn by the villain.



Arrogant - Apheus is incredibly vain, possibly incapable of believing himself to be in the wrong. He displays this through his expensive tastes, and demeanor. Often lording over those he believes are his lessers.

Cruel - Apheus may just be the most sadistic being on this planet. Taking grim pleasure in causing exorbitant pain on anything he can get his hands on. Apheus is the kind of person who is likely to offer the stick before the carrot. Apheus enjoys torture more than any normal hobby, and will randomly abduct victims just to perform experiments and utilize his talents.

Hot Headed - Apheus tends toward anger when he doesn’t get his way. Apheus will hurl insults, make threats, cast magic, scrap, anything to get his way. In a lot of ways, when Apheus is angry is when he’s the least scary.



TEXT HERE



Demon Strike - Small spikes cover the knuckles of Apheus’ hand. These demonic scales are hard enough to bite into steel, but their original purpose is to get through even the toughest of dermal armor; making them especially good at getting through durability. While the spikes are inside of a victim, they produce a toxin that temporarily makes them feel like their blood is on fire.

Demonic Skin - Apheus’ skin is immune to savage heat and is closer to leather than flesh. Flame of any sort just washes over his skin without injuring him, and blades have a harder time piercing his skin. The protection against flame and heat extends to his clothing as well.

Innate Magic Resistance - Apheus’ magic is extremely hard to shut down. Whether this is due to his demonic heritage or something else deep within him, Apheus is all but impossible to stop with a simple counterspell, and even members of the Templar Order will find it difficult to work around him. Additionally, magic has difficulty affecting him at all.

Demonic Infusion - Apheus can force the souls of demons into his victims. This has two effects, the demonic hybrids Apheus creates are almost always entirely loyal to Apheus. Listening to his every command. The second, is that these hybrids gain the abilities of the demons that they’ve been fused with. Apheus can drag these demons from any number of hells, allowing for a wide variety of powers and appearances.

Silver Tongue - Mortals, and especially humans, are fools. With enough charisma and the proper honeyed words, anyone could manipulate them. But Apheus has a supernatural talent for getting others to heed him more than others. Call it bewitchment, call it a silver tongue. Apheus can subtly command others without even having to use his spells. This isn’t mind control, or a change in the victims thought patterns; this is Apheus nudging people in a direction they may have already been heading.



Fire Bolt
Cost: 0 HF
Range: 80 feet
A small bolt of flame shot from the hand. It isn’t incredibly powerful, but burns hot and has enough force to dent vehicles.

Mask of Many Faces
Cost: 0 HF
Range: Self
This spell allows Apheus to take on the appearance of any humanoid of his choosing. This does not change him physically, but it will be incredibly difficult to tell the difference between him and their target. However nothing can hide the smell of brimstone. The slight glow of golden eyes. The slight wickedness to any smile. This does not allow him to mimic abilities.

Minor Illusion
Cost: 0 HF
Apheus can use this spell to create a small sensory effect such as changing the face of a card from one to another, changing the scent of an object, or creating a light. Additionally, he can change the color of any object. [Permission Based]

Breath of the Beast -
Cost: 2 HF.
Range: 5 ft.
Heretic pulls in a breath that calls in all the heat and energy from in front of him. Then, all the heat and energy is converted into infernal mana. Then the attack begins. Apheus unleashes a torrent of hellflame upon them that scars the soul, not the body. After the attack, the victim feels emptiness and grief but not actual burns. (Permission Based)

Gangrenous Claw
Cost: 5 HF per post
Range: Self
Apheus infuses his own hands with Hellfire, causing the nails to grow long and black. When cut by the claws, the wound becomes infected and destroys flesh and bone over the course of the battle. Taking 10 posts for a limb to require amputation.
[Permission Based]

Grasp of Agony
Cost: 6 HF
Range: Touch
Apheus infuses his palm with yellow mana. When he makes skin contact with a person while this spell is active, their nerve endings ignite sending a shockwave of agony wracking throughout their body.

Demonic Aspect: Wings
Cost: 10 HF per post
Range: Self
Large, batlike, red translucent wings appear on Apheus’ back. Allowing him to fly at speeds reaching up to 400 MPH.

Demonic Aspect: Claws
Cost: 10 HF per post
Range: Self
Large, red translucent claws form out of the hellfire energy that Apheus controls. These claws can cut through 5 inches of solid steel without slowing.

Demonic Aspect: Carapace
Cost: 30 HF per post
Range: Self
A suit of armor, too big to fit Apheus’ actual frame materializes. This red energy armor protects Apheus from nearly all forms of mundane attack.

Hands of Torment
Cost: 30 HF
Range: Touch
A spell that empowers Apheus’ hands with infernal magic. Apheus can grab the opponent, or place his hand against their back and focus his will into their very soul leaving a brand in the shape of a stylized demonic skull. Where the brand lays, an area of around 3 inches, the pain will be incredible. Initially, the pain is akin to having your arm sliced open by a blade and then shoved in lemon juice, salted and lightly sautéed in hot sauce, the pain will fade but never truly stop. Additionally, the brands can still appear on a person with incredible durability. The pain continues to follow them into the afterlife if not removed. The longer contact is maintained, the more the brand hurts. (Permission based)

Dire Ball
Cost: 45 HF
Range: 300 Feet
A flaming ball of rusted blades, barbed wire, and chains. If this ball hits something before reaching its peak distance, it will explode causing massive bleeding and burns. Once it reaches its maximum distance, it explodes sending shrapnel in every direction.

Smokescreen
Cost: 50 HF
Range: 80 Feet
Apheus pulls the heat from his flames and send out a large cloud of smoke to obscure his attacks. The smoke is thick enough to obscure vision and cause trouble with breathing.

Blazing Vortex
Cost: 55 HF
Range: Up to 300 feet
Apheus can create a small, flaming tornado of sorts that picks up and burns anything it touches. Apheus can actively direct the vortex anywhere he likes, changing nothing about the spell itself. The spell can warp steel, and pick up pieces of the shredded pathway.

Devil’s Horns
Cost: 66 HP
Range: Touch for initial activation and up to 90 feet afterward
This allows Apheus to create a pair of gigantic spikes that can be shaped and grown in any number of ways. The strength of the horns depends on the material, the size, and the overall distance they had to go with farther distances meaning that they’re inherently more brittle.

Brand of the Broken Mind
Cost: 130 HF
Range: Touch
A sigil in the shape of an eye that must be placed on the forehead of a victim. This brand is insidious, as it doesn’t appear to do anything. Until Apheus pours Hellfire into it. The sigil glows with a sulphurous yellow and the eye becomes fleshy, filling with orange and yellow fire. The cat like pupil searching as though in a panic. The victim finds themselves trapped against their will within their own thoughts. Even their perception is filtered by the brand. Opening their real, physical eyes reveals a blind orb that shows no signs of life. While in this state, the victim is an extension of Apheus’ will. They act on his orders, even to the detriment of themselves. [PERMISSION BASED]

Brand of the Forgotten Soul
Cost: 130 HF
Range: Touch
A brand shaped like a serpent wrapped around the victims neck, reaching their ear where the head appears. When activated, all memory of the victim becomes clouded. This includes the victims memory of themself.

Brand of the Bound
Cost: 130 HF
Range: Touch
A brand of a pair of chains reaching from the victims back and ending in a pair of shackles around their wrist. Any damage done to Apheus is directed to the bound. Apheus can only use this brand on one victim at any given time.

Shredding Pathway
Cost: 135 HF
Range: Special
Small tendrils of energy burst from Apheus’ fingertips and attach to the ground beneath him. As Apheus moves forward, the earth is torn up and reveals a path of barbed wire and razor blades. If you walk through this path, any cuts you’ve ever had where you touch the pathway suddenly rip open and bleed as if they were new. [Permission Based]

Sadists Trap
Cost: 150 HF
Range: 135 feet
A spiked and rusty metallic bear trap connected to a glowing orange chain wrapped around Apheus’ fist. Apheus can use this weapon like a whip, with the bear trap acting as intended, grasping a victim and paralyzing them where they stand when grabbed by it. If it misses, the chain is superheated to over 500 degrees fahrenheit. [Permission Based for Paralysis]

Sunspot
Cost: 250 HF
Range: Up to 60 feet from Apheus
Apheus summons a small bolt of fire that glows bright white and distorts the air around it. Apheus controls the speed that the bolt goes at, and the overall depth it enters. This spell burns like the surface of the sun, but much more concentrated.

Denial of Mercy
Cost 250 HF for the initial branding, 5 HF to upkeep every post.
Range: Touch
A second brand that Apheus can place on his victims is the Denial of Mercy. While the brand is infused with his magic, any healing that the target receives simply does not work. This includes any sort of resurrection or passive healing from regeneration.

This spell has a horrifying secondary effect. Until Apheus releases the constant strain of Hellfire, the brand does not allow the person to die. No matter how much the person is injured, they will remain alive and conscious.[Permission Based]

Cancerous Growth
Cost: 450 HF
Range: Touch
Apheus infuses a target with hellfire, causing spikes to grow continuously from any material, including human flesh. These growths sap the life force from those they grow on, feeding Apheus’ hellfire, allowing him to cast any other spell at least once without spending Hellfire.

Gateway to Abaddon
Cost: 666 HF
Range: Behind target within 5 feet
A rectangular portal opens behind the target. From this point, Apheus will attempt to forcibly kick them into the portal. After this they will receive the punishment most appropriate for them in the realm of eternal torment. [Permission Based]



Incantation - As a witchbreed, Apheus requires the ability to speak in order to cast. While unable to speak, all magic outside of his brands and zero hellfire cost spells are impossible to cast.

Holy Ground - On consecrated ground, Apheus’s lower level spells do not work. His mask of many faces falls apart, his brands fail to appear, and he can’t produce the smallest spark to summon a fire bolt. Anything with a cost under 100 hellfire not mentioned here, becomes impossible to use.

Magic is in the Hands - For the vast majority of Apheus’s spells, his hands must be capable of movement. Any spell with a cost over 50 hellfire requires the use of his hands in some way.

Brittle Claws - Apheus’s claws can be broken if they are bent too far in one direction. While they will heal, the venom contained inside will leak onto Apheus, creating a similar effect on the outside of his skin, his tough hide offering little in the way of protection.

Broken Brand - A brand is a specific sigil for the caster. If the brand is modified - a process that can be completed as easily as taking a knife and cutting across the sigil - all the hellfire will leak out of it, causing it to lose power. Repairing a sigil is difficult, and requires excessive amounts of time to repair. It’s almost always better to allow the scar to heal, or get someone to heal the scarring and establish a new brand on the repaired flesh.

Volatile - Hellfire is an incredibly powerful magical resource, and while Apheus produces it naturally; shaping it is a tricky and usually painful experience. The more powerful Apheus makes his spells, the more volatile the hellfire becomes. Brands are safe, but in general the higher the HF cost, the more damage it does to Apheus’s body.

Angel Beats Demon - Apheus is weak to divine energy, his body reacting poorly to the presence of angelic beings. His innate magical resistence is bypassed, his skin bubbles and burns, and his hellfire reserves start dropping.



Fragment of the Black Throne - This black shard, formed into the shape of a kris dagger is a spell focus for Apheus. When Apheus holds the dagger to cast a spell, it costs half the normal amount of hellfire.

Equally, the Black Throne can empower the spells. When Apheus activates it, this fragment octuples the power of his spells. But power comes with a price.
Weakness: When Apheus activates the fragment, it eats him. It physically sucks away all the flesh from his bones until he deactivates it.



Hellfire - The substance that fuels Apheus’s spells. Apheus has around 1000 at the start of every thread, and gains it back at a rate of 10 HF per 2 posts. If Apheus runs out of Hellfire, he can no longer cast magic.

Reformation - Apheus doesn’t die like normal. If his body is destroyed, his hellfire infused soul temporarily joins with the lake of fire and then reforms his body from the burning material.