John

Summary

John Noble is the current Grandmaster of the Templars and head of the Noble family. Much of his rule has been characterized by reform.

Backstory

John is the fourth-born child of the fifth Grandmaster, born during a particularly turbulent and dangerous time. His father, Emmanuel, lost family to an unidentified group of killers called the Starshooters, and grew increasingly abusive towards his remaining children in a desperate, but misguided, attempt to keep them alive and with him. Due to his weak nature, John was treated more harshly than all of his siblings by Emmanuel, and was often underestimated and invalidated by his older brothers. His younger sister, who once appreciated and flourished under his relatively sensitive guidance, eventually succumbed to conformative pressure and rejected him, too. 

Despite the newly-rekindled bond between the Nobles and the Grimadornes, Emmanuel detested John's close friendship with Aster Grimadorne. Perhaps fortunately, Emmanuel prevented John from accepting his romantic feelings towards Aster, even when the latter was clearly into him. The lack of closure caused John's relationship with Aster to remain tense for centuries, but they eventually recovered after the Apocalypse. 

John has had three sons: Odysseus, Amir, and Finn. Odysseus was killed by Lorenzo early in Amir's life, and his death changed John, which ruined Amir's chances at a childhood. Judgement and Amir both knew that someday, Odysseus's killer(s) would strike again, and that Amir had to be ready. His training grew far more harsh, for neither of them knew when the family could be threatened next. Though Amir agree with the way John handled their tragic situation, Amir displays open animosity towards his father. A similar situation occurred with his youngest son, Finn. However, Despite the fact that Finn had always seemed more tolerating and loving, he ended up being the one to cut off John. Initially, John was gripped with anger, but his feelings were quickly overtaken by grief, regret, and fear that he could not protect his son. 

Societal Role

The Nobles' establishment, the Templars, sustained what was once the most popular mortal religion, but today, theology is completely irrelevant. Instead, the Templars strive to fulfill a broad mission to raise the moral standard of the world. Beyond an incredibly active role in art and storytelling, activism, and humanitarian aid, the Templars also have an international military designed to act in the case of demonic invasion. Typically, their efforts are effective, but they have endured critical failures in the past, such as during the invasion of the Leviathan. This mistake resulted in significant restructuring of Templar ranks, which served to eliminate inefficiency and corruption. The Templars also have their own court system, with John himself acting as a judge in high-profile court battles. 

Magic

The Noble Art is based on classic elemental magic, aka thaumaturgy, except with more physical involvement. The pinnacle, light magic, cannot even be touched without first mastering martial arts. Due to genetics, mostly, the Nobles are the only people ever that can wield all five elements. Mastering all five + martial arts allows the Noble to use light magic, a stable alternative to the highly-versatile raw magic. Each Noble uses light magic in a unique way, and John's technique revolves around making powerful floating shields. In fact, most of his magic usage serves utility purposes while most of his damage is physical.