Althius Zilztift

Physical Appearance

• Long blond hair usually tied back in a messy ponytail
• Yellow eyes
• Fair skinned with a mild tan
• Tall in height
• Physically fit with a well muscled build
• Markings of Lytenin symbols around eyes, arms, and legs
• Body is made out of electricity while in elemental form, and he can manipulate his shape however he likes, although it usually defaults to a feline (typically lion-ish) shape

Clothing Style

Althius's common outfit consists of a turtleneck long-sleeved black top with a mahogany vest along with black pants and mahogany boots. He'll usually wear mahogany shoulder guards with gray straps when not in a casual setting. In general, Althius's style is relatively simple yet well put together, and he only dresses more casually if he doesn't plan on leaving the Channelers' Sanctuary and doesn't have any official business to attend to with the other Channelers. He'll also loosen his style when training with Naga, and he'll usually wear something simple, easy to move in, and unrestricting of his arms. In general he prefers darker colors doesn't wear anything impractical, although since he is an elemental, he doesn't necessarily need to wear as much protective wear as other people.

Personality

Althius is typically known to be a rather grumpy/brooding and serious man. He tends to be sarcastic or overly blunt when he speaks, is a bit of a loner, and keeps himself rather distant from others. He is very slow to trust and never truly trusts anyone unconditionally, save for his son. He usually has ulterior or self-beneficial motives for doing things, and he never really opens up to others or believes that people are intrinsically good, which can make him mistrustful and opportunistic to prevent people from taking advantage of anything he does. Since he grew up without any source of comfort or trust in terms of people, he doesn't really believe in being good to others just on principle and tends to do it only for his own benefit, whether for favors or for simple reputation building. His primary motivation for serving and protecting the people of Doobutsu Tenshi is to keep his benefits of his position of power. He's not particularly interested in actively using the power he has, but he wants to have it available to him should a good opportunity arise. He also isn't really interested in trying to get more power since he's comfortable in his current position and doesn't want to take any further risks with it, especially now that he needs to look after his son and provide him some stability. His son is much more invested in the people of the planet and the moral good of Uniselias's cause, so Althius tends to do good a bit more often because he wants this world his boy is growing up in to be safe for him.

Despite having a less than stellar moral character, Althius is a relatively pleasant and mellow person to be around if you can get used to his rather moody and cynical personality/sense of humor. He tends to play along with most people, and not usually in an ulterior-motive type of way. Since all the other channelers are women, he's gotten used to being forced into conversations about topics that don't particularly interest him and humoring them with legitimate responses. Although he's usually grumpy, he's never unkind or rude to the women he works with or to any of his superiors, although he can be very blunt when speaking his mind to them. He's not particularly loyal to anyone or any cause specifically, but he has no intent of turning against his allies or Doobutsu Tenshi as a whole while combating the Enlightened unless given very strong incentive to. He considers most of his colleagues to actually be rather close friends, and while he's sure most of them wouldn't turn on him, he still doesn't entirely trust them simply out of habit. For the time being though, he's regarded as a very loyal member of the Uniselias Assembly, which he's not interested in changing anytime soon.

Althius tends to soften up around his son, Karinaga, the only person he genuinely seems to love and care for without any ulterior reasoning. Although not initially confident in his competence as a father, especially a single father who never had any good parenting in his own childhood, he's very dedicated to raising Karinaga to the best of his ability so he turns out better than his father. Althius isn't a pushover, but he has a hard time reprimanding his son or doing anything that might disappoint him, especially since Karinaga is such a good hearted kid that doesn't really do anything to break the rules or ask too much of his father. Karinaga seems to adore his father more than anyone and loves spending time with him, so Althius tries his best to be a good example for him. He is viciously protective of his son, and although he isn't too strict about letting him explore and wander about the city, he does worry about Karinaga's safety and will not forgive any threats to him. Due to some attacks from the Enlightened and the Army of the Dark that have put Naga at risk, Althius has a deep hatred for these enemies of Uniselias, which is his strongest motivation for fighting with the side he's already on.

Abilities

• Lytenin rifting - rank 5/5, can increase temporarily to lesser deity-like levels when channeling Thundaga
• Elemental shapeshifting

Strengths

• Cunning, observant, and calculating
• Persuasive, confident, and focused
• Pragmatic, sensible, and resourceful
• Level headed, mellow, and relatively easy to get along with once he warms up to you

Weaknesses

• Manipulative, mistrustful, and hard to trust or approach
• Opportunistic, focused on self preservation, and a bit of a fair-weather friend
• Cynical, doesn't believe the inherent good in people, and moody
• Has a soft spot for his son and would resort to anything to ensure his safety and well-being

Backstory

Althius grew up under harsh conditions and apparently was frequently manipulated and used by his parents and peers. This ranged from basic exploitation of his young naivety to setting him up as patsy for scams. He therefore learned to not trust anyone fairly early in his life and always expects the worst out of others. He moved to Uniselias after his parents abandoned him to pickpocket his way through life in the wealthy city. He was picked up by authorities years later, but Maco Tesoto allowed him to avoid harsh punishment in exchange for undertaking his training.

Althius grew into a skilled rifter under Master Tesoto’s mentorship, and he eventually became the channeler of the Lytenin spirit, Thundaga, and joined the Channeler Counsel. In his mid-twenties, a woman he had a relationship with a couple years prior met with him and left him the child he had unknowingly fathered, and she fled without a trace before he could protest. Althius took up raising his son, Karinaga, with the help of the other channelers. He's surprised himself with how much he's allowed himself to open up emotionally to his son, something he's never truly done ever since he was a child. Despite still having a mistrustful nature, Althius values and loves his son more than anything and wishes for him to grow up in a safe and trustworthy place. Although Uniselias would normally be an excellent hometown for such a vision, the attacks from the Enlightened have flared up again following the return of Shana's Army of the Dark. 

Althius along with the other channelers have focused their efforts in combating the enemy and protecting the denizens of Doobutsu Tenshi. Althius's primarily fights to keep his son safe from the now constant threat plaguing their home.

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