Age: 39
Pronouns: he/him
Species: Bovine
Background: Order Mage
Occupation: Mage protector, Legendary hero
Personality: Harlow is about as average as they come. The saying “never meet your heroes” seems to be tailored to him, as he can be a bit of a disappointment to anyone who has high expectations. He tends to hold himself in low self esteem, and despite his accomplishments he struggles to recognize his magical talents.
He finds his confidence in other things, like sketching and journaling and his love of nature, but he secrets these things away as if discovery by others will ruin them forever. He is quite compassionate and would be a pacifist if not for his time as a mage protector. Fighting brings him no joy, and he struggles with the moral implications of fighting corrupted mages-turned-monsters. He is afraid of becoming one of them almost as much as he is afraid his friends will too.
For all his introversion and fear of crowds Harlow doesn’t hate others, and is in fact a rather friendly guy so long as he doesn’t feel overwhelmed. He won’t go out of his way to seem heroic or better than anyone else, but he will help someone out with their groceries or help a lost kid find their parent. He’s just a regular guy, and he wishes everyone else would just realize that too.
History: Harlow was born in Faline, surrounded by the wonders of magic. Even as a baby he was always drawn to it, so it came as no surprise to his parents when the first signs of magic appeared at the age of seven. Like most newly-discovered mages, Harlow was whisked away from his family and Faline to the city of Namrast to hone his ability.
Suddenly at the bottom of the food chain and one of the youngest training in the Order, Harlow was well aware of how little he knew of magic. The older students were intimidating with their flashy powers and strong grasp of their abilities, and Harlow was just... Harlow. He could run fast in a straight line, and ended up crashing into things more often than not.
Inspired by his peers (and perhaps powered a little by spite), he decided to train hard so he could... do something. Be better at his magic or prove himself. Whatever the reasoning wasn’t important, but rather the consequences of his desire to become more powerful. In one of his uncontrolled attempts to hone his abilities he crashed quite spectacularly, badly injuring himself and another student. This event encouraged him into taking a step back to learn how to control his abilities, rather than focus on solely their power. The negative attention he received from the incident also scared him into becoming more of a wallflower, avoiding the focus of his teachers and peers alike. Any previous notions of becoming a great and well-loved hero were dashed by his guilt and shame.
Eventually his training in Namrast drew to a close, and it was time for Harlow to choose an occupation. There was little he could think of to apply his powers to aside from combat, and was pressured by his professors to serve his country as a mage protector. It was an honourable job, though one he didn’t particularly care for. He was mediocre at it for a long time, as he struggled with the idea of hurting others, even monsters, though the longer he was surrounded by the idea the more numb to it he became. With that numbness came skill, though he tried not to focus on that.
After many long and horrible years of fighting corrupted mages his life was changed forever. By a stroke of luck, fate, or something else entirely, Harlow managed to become one of the few of his group that managed to destroy a beast terrorizing the city of Faline. Suddenly he was thrust into the spotlight along with the other surviving mage protectors, garnering both love and hate from the citizens of Ivras.
Though five years have passed since the event that brought him fame, there is little escape for Harlow from the eyes of mages and non-mages alike. Corrupted monsters continue to appear at an alarming rate, and suddenly everyone is asking him to kill. Harlow isn’t very sure that he wants to help fight these monsters, but abandoning the mage protectors is sure to bring more unwanted attention. He just hopes that if he is quiet and keeps his head down, eventually everyone will simply forget about him.
Magic: Flightfoot (augmented speed)
Using his powers, Harlow can move at speeds up to 240 kmh (150mph), though it does take a few seconds to accelerate to that speed depending on the environment. Due to his discipline he can start and stop suddenly and safely so long as the area is clear of obstacles. He can avoid and traverse static terrain and objects, but objects that move/start or stop suddenly may pose problems if he is not prepared for it. If he is tripped or otherwise forced to stop suddenly, he can sustain minor to major injuries.
- More power = higher speed, faster acceleration and deceleration
- More discipline = higher agility, better at starting and stopping
- Power: 03
- Cost: 03
- Discipline: 05
- Corruption: 00
Costs:
- Magic use fatigues the caster (1)
- Magic disables one or more of the caster's senses while it is in use. (2)
- Harlow can not hear while he is using his magic.
6 stat points +2 Discipline (8 total), 3 cost.
Harlow's Comments