Marcus Dark "Master of the Ring"

Real Name: Marcus Dark
Renegade/Hero/Villain Name: Marcus Dark "Master of the Ring"
Title: Master of the Ring
Alignment: Chaotic Neutral
Age: 334 Years Old
Gender: Male
Race: Vampire
Hair: Long Black Hair
Eyes: Red
Height: 6ft2
Weight: 190 lbs
Blood type: O+


Character Image/Character Costume Image (Or Description):

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Personality: What if you could live forever? Freed from the bondage of mortality, and spared from mankind's ultimate fear, wouldn't life become so much richer? This is the great fear that Lord Marcus Dark has been freed from, however after losing his love Princess  Khorunzhiy who pulled him through time. Life has lost meaning, though he's had flares of brilliance, Lord Marcus Dark has become profoundly bored with life. It is said the becoming a vampire one loses their soul, and Marcus Dark has learned why, because death truly sets every soul free, which means his soul is trapped.

Reclusive, yet determined, Marcus Dark has set himself to finding a way through the occult to bring Princess Khorunzhiy, and has consumed himself with this work. To do this he will kill anyone or anything.... He feeds without remorse, viewing humans a peasantry to be used, animals to be slaughtered. His fame as a "Lucha Libre", his wealth, all of it has become meaningless to Lord Marcus Dark, as the passage of time has showed him all that truly matters in life, a lesson most humans can't understand due to the confines of their mortal life, that a connection to another creature is all the truly matters.

History: Marcus Dark AKA "Master of the Ring" is a 334 year old vampire, who was born into the aristocratic Dark family, in Vienna Austria. The year was 1679, and the Dark family was among the most powerful in all of Vienna, making a fortune as bankers and lenders. In that time, Vienna was the heart of the Holy Roman Empire which was being torn apart by the thirty years war between Austria and her allies Vs. Prussia and her allies. A gifted child, the young Marcus Dark excelled in studying languages, the arts, music, and most of all sports of any kind. His father paid for the best tutors within the Holy Roman Empire to tutor his son, who seemed far beyond his years, perhaps even a man of destiny who could advance the family at the Court of the Hapsburg Emperors? Along with his classical education, Marcus Dark was instructed in the art of war, as was all aristocratic male youths, and here to the boy showed incredible skill as a cavalry leader. The future was looking bright for this young boy, who his father had pinned the family hopes upon. Marcus Dark's existence was a splendid one at the time, private soirée's, masked balls, Imperial palaces, alpine skiing, and lectures by world famous intellectuals, far away from the struggles of the Holy Roman Empires plebeian's, and the battlefield of the thirty years war.

However by his late teens, Marcus had failed to live up to his great potential, and was languishing in Vienna. He spent his time stumbling from one rowdy saloon to the next, womanizing with low born girls, and wasting much of his vast inheritance on gambling, booze, and a taste for fine Chinese opium. His exploits becoming legendary, Marcus was a staple on Vienna's party scene, with little more ambition than to become a playboy. Angered greatly by his sons foolishness, the elder Dark stripped Marcus of his remaining inheritance, while also renouncing him as his son. Left without coin, his noble family, or even a home, the young Marcus Dark was still not totally without anything.... As he still possessed his great intellect, his daring, and his military prowess. As was always the case in this time, during Europe's long history, a war was always raging somewhere on the continent, which meant money to be made. In these times very few countries had standing armies, relying instead upon mercenaries. It was due to this Marcus easily sold his services to the Russian Tsar as one such mercenary...

The Great Northern War was draining both the Kingdom of Sweden and Imperial Russia of valuable manpower, and the young Marcus Dark quite literally had his pick of which side to throw in his lot with. Tsar Pytor I of Russia simply paid more then his Swedish counterparts, making Marcus's decision an easy one. Wasting little time, Marcus headed north, to join the Army of the Tsar, heavily engaged in the Baltic's. The Great Northern War made Marcus Dark truly come of age, as he distinguished himself as a bold Calvary commander in the Tsar's Cossack's Regiment. Attaining the rank of Cossack Chorąży, Marcus Dark began working his way into the Court of Tsar Pytor I, through his merits on the battlefield, as well as his great charm. The dashing, young, Cossack Chorąży bedded several prominent young Russian noblewomen, and soon found himself courting a beautiful, and mysterious Russian Princess from far to the north.

The Princesses name was Princess Vladlena Khorunzhiy of Arkhangelsk, and she was certainly among the most beautiful woman at court in St.Petersburg. She had smokey dark, mysterious, beautiful Slavic looking features, which gave her an aura of something truly exotic to the young Austrian Chorąży. She was refined, yet wild, truly noble, yet acted as no princess he'd seen back home. Princess  Khorunzhiy of Arkhangelsk was from Imperial Russia's most northern recesses, could drink like a man, hunt, fight, didn't attend the all important orthodox masses, and strangely was only seen at night, attending the parties of Imperial Russia's uppercrust. Instantly Chorąży Marcus Dark was ensnared by her sultry dark eyes and flowing raven hair, which seemed to beckon him, almost as a siren to her. When visiting her St. Petersburg villa, the young Marcus Dark couldn't help but feel swept up in its enchantment, a wealth of rare books from antiquity, far eastern eunuchs, rare pieces of jewelry, yards and yards of Chinese silk, everything the heart could literally desire, under one magical roof. In short order the two became the talk of St. Petersburg's society, invited to every social event, and fixtures of Tsar Pytor I's Imperial Court.

Late one evening, after Chorąży Dark had drank to much, and in a moment of passion, Princess Khorunzhiy of Arkhangelsk offered the young Chorąży "The World", and foolishly he accepted. A twinge of pain later, a lick of blood, and Chorąży Dark's world literally came crashing down. Before one can be undead, they must first be dead, and Marcus Dark died that night.... His body ceasing to function as a human, his soul drifting to the netherworld, and then it happened... He arose, but not as a human, as something different entirely. Princess Khorunzhiy was there to guide him however, as they were now linked by sacred blood. She was his master, his lover, everything. That first night she took him out to feed, and to truly live for the first time, seeing the world as he'd never seen it before.

All good things must come to an end however, and as rumors began to swirl of Princess Khorunzhiy throwing massive orgies at her Baltic Coast Villa, ritualistic blood lettings, household staff were going missing, and worst of all.... Witchcraft, Princess Khorunzhiy began to realize her guise was up. Chorąży Marcus Dark was not in St.Petersburg at the time however, as he was fighting against Sweden in the decisive Battle of Poltava, which essentially ended Charles XII of Sweden's threat to Imperial Russia. It was in this battle that rumors began to swirl about Chorąży Marcus Dark as well. The Chorąży began only leaving his tent at night, during which some of his men had begun disappearing, then in the  Battle of Poltava itself, Chorąży Dark recklessly led his Cossack's on a direct charge onto Swedish line infantry. Leading from the front, Chorąży Dark appeared to be wounded numerous times my massed Swedish fire, yet the Chorąży did not go down, instead he pressed on into the Swedish ranks, almost breaking them by himself.

Normally such heroism would be the cause for celebration, but Chorąży Dark's men had heard the rumors of Princess Khorunzhiy, and now just witnessed their leader take no fewer then a dozen musket balls to various parts of the body, with not a scratch to show for it. The unease in his men was tangible, and Chorąży Dark knew his time with the Tsar's Imperial Army was at an end. Traveling on the fastest horse from a lesser gate, Chorąży Dark fled to St.Petersburg, where he met Princess Khorunzhiy, and together the two fled Imperial Russia, heading into the Holy Roman Empire, and Marcus Dark's homeland.... Austria....

At this time, Austria was still very much recovering from the Thirty Years War, and the subsequent scars it left across the Holy Roman Empire, which was completely decentralized. Nearly eight million civilians and soldiers died during the Thirty Years War, leaving the lands that comprised the Holy Roman Empire a scarred battlefield for years to come, and it was here that Princess Khorunzhiy and Marcus Dark made themselves at home. Using Princess Khorunzhiy's nearly inexhaustible wealth, the couple purchased a castle outside of Graz, named Castle Schloss Eggenberg. The entire layout of the castle was based on astronomical symbolism taken from the brand new Gregorian calendar. The castle featured exactly 365 windows, 31 rooms on each floor, 24 state rooms with 52 doors and 4 corner towers, all alluding to time, the seasons, weeks, days, hours, and minutes. Even the wall paintings in the stately Planetensaal (Planet Hall) were part of this intricate concept, which both Princess Khorunzhiy and Marcus Dark found trivial due to their immortal lifespan's, which made time meaningless.

It was here that Princess Khorunzhiy and Marcus Dark abandoned a world of splendid private menagerie's, eastern eunuchs, gilded balls, and advancement at the courts of kings. Instead the two founded their own court, with Princess Khorunzhiy as Queen and Marcus Dark as King, with Castle Schloss Eggenberg serving as their own sort of immortal Kingdom. The two never went out in public -accept to feed-, were rarely seen by their staff, and retreated into the inner workings of Castle Schloss Eggenberg, known as the "Winter Rooms". It was here the two began to seek company only in each other, learning every detail, fragment of memory, and behavior of the other, as their's was a true love. In this love they fell into each other, like a daydream, or a deep fever, and time passed on, centuries as minutes, minutes as decades, for hundreds of years. 

Castle Schloss Eggenberg was watched over through the centuries by armies of servants, many of whom never even laid eyes on Princess Khorunzhiy and the self proclaimed "Lord" Marcus Dark. These servants were signed to six year contracts throughout the ages, contracts which were strangely never renewed, no exceptions. Over the years rumors built up as to the origins -rather the nature- of the owners of Castle Schloss Eggenberg, however these were often put to rest, as "outlandish", or simply fanciful. However a great many still felt the owners of Castle Schloss Eggenberg were more then rich, noble, recluse's, and rather something more insidious.

It went like this until the early days of World War One, when a shortage of staff left Castle Schloss Eggenberg in a state of decline, and a lack of travelers meant that Princess Khorunzhiy and Lord Marcus Dark had to travel into the villages surrounding Graz for human pray. The body count rising in the villages mixed with antiwar sentiment throughout the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and fueled a mob of thousands who marched on Castle Schloss Eggenberg in daylight to rid the villages of what the peasantry called "Strigoi", simply put... Vampires. Armed with flintlock muskets, pitchforks, torches, and deep seeded anger, the peasants reached the crumbling Castle Schloss Eggenberg seeking vengeance, and that was exactly what they would get.

With no servants to warn the slumbering vampires of the danger that lurked outside their walls, the peasants simply set the castle alight, with Princess Khorunzhiy and Lord Marcus Dark still sleeping in their heavy, metallic coffins. The fire was feed by the rich timbers that held Castle Schloss Eggenberg together, and soon the entire castle was alight. Waking in a daze, Lord Marcus Dark sensed danger, and quickly woke Princess Khorunzhiy. Fighting through the smoke and flames, the two reached the upper level of the castle, at the top of the spire in their citadel. Options were few as it was still light, with only partial clouds to offer protection, and with little choice the two jumped, using their limited flying ability to hide in the clouds. Their skin was burning, peeling away from the light of the sun. Marcus spotted the dark forest on the outskirts of their property and yelled for Princess Khorunzhiy to follow, however it was only he who reached the forest alive. Princess Khorunzhiy of Arkhangelsk, Lord Marcus Dark's great love was dead.....

Princess Khorunzhiy was Lord Marcus Dark's connect to the world of the undead. With that connect severed, Lord Marcus Dark was left as an orphaned child in this world, with literally no one and nothing. So, like many others of this brave new era, he head towards the "New World" in 1916, traveling by steamship to Veracruz Mexico. Truly under the radar now, Lord Marcus Dark fed as he wanted, did as he pleased, and took what he wanted. He was never homeless, as he simply stole the home of whatever unfortunate victim came his way. His intelligence, charm, and charisma was not effected by age, and he used them to great effect, establishing his own personnel fortune in the "New World".

Life without Princess Khorunzhiy meant little to Lord Marcus Dark however, as his immortality against the passage of the sands of time seemed more as a prison sentence, rather then some fountain of youth. Wealth, carnal pleasures, nothing seemed to ease Lord Dark's pain and longing for the Princess. Once again, Lord Marcus Dark slipped into the shadows, this time of his vast Veracruz Estate, where he passed the time in solitude. Nothing peaked his interest, his curiosity, or his imagination for decades. However in the late 1990's he saw something extraordinary....

Watching a most amazing human invention, television, Lord Marcus Dark noticed "Lucha Libre", Mexico's professional wrestling. Instantly Marcus Dark was captivated by it, the violence, the skill, the theatricality, the athleticism, and he delved himself and his superhuman body into the mastery of the "Lucha Libre". Quickly earning great praise as an amateur, Lord Marcus Dark quickly rose to the ranks of a professional "Lucha Libre", earning throngs of fans for his death defying stunts, and great strength. With speed and great ease Lord Marcus Dark, under the name "Master of the Ring" becames Mexico's greatest wrestler, and with it a renewed interest in life. Easily crushing his opponents, Lord Marcus Dark, or "Master of the Ring" has become a Mexican staple, reigning supreme as the greatest "Lucha Libre" to ever live.

However it is lonely at the top, and Lord Marcus Dark's longing for Princess Khorunzhiy has not left him after all these years. Despite all of his success, Lord Marcus Dark has once again grown tired of life, his success as a "Lucha Libre" becoming to lasting, and to total. Taking a break from wrestling, Lord Marcus Dark has begun dabbling into the occult, attempting to find a way to bring his great love, Princess Khorunzhiy back from the next life. Due to this he's begun amassing a vast wealth of occult items, while running in occult circles as he quests to bring back his great love.

Power(s): Lord Marcus Dark his a genius by human standards, capable of great cunning, and using it to trick his opponents. He's able to fly both in human form, as well as in his shape shifted form. Able to shape shift into a bat at a moments notice, with the use of his vampire abilities, Lord Marcus Dark can make a quick getaway. He's also able to sustain a good amount of damage, while also being able to heal quickly. Due to his being a professional wrestler, as well as his former military service, he's mastered a great many fighting styles, and he has great skill as a warrior using a variety of weapons, as well as hand to hand skill.


Grid:
Occult: 3
Strength: 4
Speed: 4
Durability: 4
Ability: 6
Fighting Skills: 7
Flight: 2
Wealth: 1

Finished! I hope....

Approved until stated otherwise