"Daylight's not enough. We need the shadows, in order to walk.."
- Urusla K. Le Guin, The Left Hand of Darkness

Design Notes

• He has a beauty mark (a small, black dot) on the left side of his face, near the corner of his mouth.
• He has a thin, long piece of hair that crosses over his nose, in the middle of his face. It can be on the left or right side.
• The number of rings on his horns are different on each side. 2 on his right; 3 on his left.
• His sclera (the "whites" of the eyes) are black, and his irises are amber/gold.
• His lips and eyelids are black or dark blue/purple.
• He has long, black hair with blue-ish highlights. It is tied with a band near the waist, and many strands of it fall loose, as if it is windswept.
• He has long, pointed black fingernails. (And fingerless gloves.)
• His teeth are all sharp, and he has a set of large fangs on the upper jaw where the canines are.

Misc. Notes

• Usually appears very solemn, as if he is thinking about something or as if there's a lot on his mind. His more common expressions are mnore along the lines of contemplative, pensive, a little bit glum, tired, or serious.
• Roughly 5'10" (177.8 cm) tall.

Favored moves: Dragon Claw, Fire Fang, Slash, Swords Dance, Earthquake, Sand Tomb, Stone Edge, Shadow Claw, Brick Break, False Swipe, Laser Focus, Iron Head, Outrage, Draco Meteor, Protect.

Trivia

• Shies away from loud noises, conflict, and being the center of attention. In his younger years, Hildebrand would have rather just kept to himself, but has long-since stepped up to the task of leading the God Hunters and grown comfortable with the responsibility.
• Despite his appearance, he's rather approachable, and the sort to make friends or allies most places he goes. He strikes a curious duality of being known both for his kindness and gentle nature, and for his incomparable strength in battle.
• Dislikes needless violence and will go out of his way to try to de-escalate and solve stressful situations.
• In his downtime, can frequently be found meditating or practicing his scythe-handling. He believes the key to finding peace lies in maintaining balance not only in honing of material skills but balance in the self. He practices a great deal of self-discipline and reflexivity as a result.
• He will always choose to help or protect another person rather than take the opportunity to pursue a foe.
• Adopted as an infant, hence the name. Though he lost his adopted parents in the demon attack on Sight, the god that took him in used the name "Hildebrand" together with the name his biological parents gave him.
• His fighting style focuses more on counter-attacking or using the foe's strength against them, rather than an all-out offensive of his own. His movements could be described as like the wind or water, and as if he were a single unit together with his weapon.
• Extremely fond of tea (particularly green tea and jasmine tea). It's practically all he drinks. He can't stand the taste or smell of coffee, though.
• Vegetarian, and keeps a small little herb garden somewhere around the base that he enjoys tending, and making little clippings of herbs to give away.
• INFP/J personality type.

Origin

For as long as time could remember, the web of dimensions stood still, each entitled to their own timelines, and spaces, and ways of ruling life and death. It was only recently that some became aware of a greater threat, which wished to conquer not one, but all universes, plunging them into madness, and nothingness, and sucking up everything that was left of both Light and Dark. No one knew from whence it came, or where it was bound, but it seemed to drive the deities mad, Unmaking them, until they went rogue, abandoning their duties of Balance, and rampaging across their galaxies, questing only to kill. They fought each other sometimes, but whether between their clashes or underneath a single, raging might, towns, and cities, and countries, and then entire dimensions fell.

So the worlds spun away into chaos, and all lived in fear of the next great attack. Where ash would be left in the wake of these corrupted creatures. It went on like this for some time, with the pure and the tainted clashing together, and tearing into other dimensions to claim or defend them, while all mortals beneath merely tried to stay alive, keeping close to the shadows, and secret pockets of civilizations. War ravishes across the gateways, which would open and close on their own, seemingly to no written law. And some brave warriors would try to stand up to the evils that came pouring through, and one by one, most fell. And most of their names and legacies were wiped from history with the destruction of their homes. Whole star systems were entirely erased.

Enter our hero. We'll call him Hildebrand. He lived in a small village called Sight, which lay on the edge of existence, on a chasm between what was once a great Rift and the wastelands left by some demon god that had trampled through the place many, many years ago. The town was struggling still, wedged between dust and desert and what could only be described as the end of the world. Hildebrand had been a mere child, and had survived wave after wave of the Corrupted--these lesser creatures, who had gone mad. But one day, something from beyond the Rift began to writhe and tear its way through. Most people ignored it, thinking the age of the gods was through, and that the subspace was merely undergoing another Distraction. But then the hole opened, and two giant, black dragons came twisting into their world, and waged war over Sight.

Both were nameless to the villagers. One was corrupted beyond all hope, with dozens of black wings and jagged armor and a halo that seemed to drain the light from all around it. The second was serpentine, trailing golden stars from its face, and it tried to drive the other back into the Rift and away from the people below. But as they battled, the earth below them cracked and the sky blew away, and by the halo of the first, the life of his people was drained. And then there was nothing but death, and decay. And a child who had, with nearly all his life depleted, huddled in the hollowed trunk of the Weeping Tree, which stood on the very edge of the Rift. And when he'd finally gathered the strength enough to lift his head and peer outside, he saw the first god, who'd gone totally mad, strip a wing from itself and drive it to the heart of the serpentine dragon, who wheezed and shuddered and used what seemed like the last of its power to push the demon beast beyond the portal, and seal it with tooth and claw. Then it howled, and twisted, and looking at the landscape around it, flew out into the waste to the old mountains.

It had saved the town, and its one survivor. And having nowhere else to go, for the Rift could not be traversed by any mortal soul, the child followed in its shadow, to the old temples of the gods long forgotten, across the dust.

"Come here, child," said a voice, that beckoned him up the steppe. So for miles he climbed, through his tears and through the fog, until at last he came to the ruins at the peak, where the serpent dragon lay crumpled. From its chest protruded the crooked wing, and poured black blood filled with stars and sky.

The creature seemed dead, the body being motionless, but the voice echoed still to our hero. The child approached without a word, his eyes fixed on the wing and the trail of blood. With caution, he reached to try to remove the thing.

And at first, it burned, with some kind of energy he could not comprehend, and all the pain he'd ever known came coursing through from his fingers to his face, until he stood paralyzed with it. And then he pulled, and pulled, and try as he might, he had not the strength to even budge the thing. Still, the burning sensation arose in him.

"You've greater power," said the voice. "See not with your eyes."

That meant something to him. And with whatever strength he could conjure, he pulled the wing from the gaping wound, and the pain ebbed, and the god woke.

"Show me," they said, without saying, and he knew somehow what they meant. With bloodied hands he held out the wing, while the dragon lowered their head to his level, golden eyes and halos alive with a little thing called faith.

With a claw they took the wing, and fashioned from its remains and their breath a great scythe, and from their own blood formed a pearl. And that is how his story began.

Past

A great deal of practice went into making Hildebrand what he is. He had to learn over many years how to handle his scythe, and how to incorporate into his fighting style, the powerful magic he harbored within himself, and that gifted to him by a nameless dragon god. He was taken in by the entity and underwent a series of trials in order to hone his skills, from hand-to-hand combat to the art of opening up dimensional Rifts, and getting to travel to other worlds. The god that had cared for and trained him would teach him of the nature of these anomalies, or, at least, all they could remember. And he would learn then of how demons and demon gods, who had forever ago terrorized the universe, had spread their influence farther than any mortal could even imagine.

Never did he forget the experience of having his village burned down all around him, of rising--the soul survivor--from the ashes. And seeing, time and time again, similar fates befall humanity, he became ever determined to take a stand against the suffering--the death, the pain. He would fight them, wherever he could, under the council of the nameless god, training still so that he could one day make a difference. He dreamed. He thought of putting together a group of warriors who could protect the people from Evil born of both demon and humankind, and spread hope and peace over fear and hate.

One day, he was ready. And so a God Hunter was born.

Setting out on his own, Hildebrand would use his magic scythe to open Rifts into other worlds, traveling throughout the realms and fighting demons as he went. He would eventually meet Dagger, who would become his closest friend and partner, and the first member of his team. The two of them began to develop visions for the God Hunters together, with the hope of making a better, safer, and happier universe free of tragedy and terror. And while reluctant to really take the role of "leader," with Dagger's encouragement and support, Hildebrand would come to lead one of the most iconic and inspiring groups known to humankind. They were called God Hunter, composed of individuals who were keen to come together and make that old dream a reality.

Others still--inspired by the God Hunters--would seek to establish teams of their own. Centurion was one such individual, who sought guidance from Hildebrand in order to follow in his footsteps, which would lead to the creation of the Stargazers. Hildebrand would entrust Centurion to Beelzebub, an unlikely but powerful and experienced ally who would supervise the new team.

Present

Over the years, The God Hunters have built a multitude of connections and met many people whom he considers allies, or even friends. Though based technically on FLUX: Principle, the God Hunters themselves continue to frequently travel across to different worlds, wherever they are needed.

Hildebrand tries his best to give help however he can. Some worlds have deteriorated into much worse states than others, or face severe demon infestations that take much more effort to deal with. Despite the efforts of his team, demon gods still appear anew to destroy everything in their wake, seizing whole worlds or even solar systems or larger patches of space-time for themselves. His spirit, however, remains unbroken; despite all the terrible memories, of whole countries or even planets wipe out of Existence, Hildebrand will never stop trying to fight against evil, injustice, and all that suppresses the human condition. This task is enormous--or some might say impossible--but his dream lives on.

It was only more recently that Hildebrand was able to figure out more about the origin and complexities of demons and the demon gods. After a stressful first encounter with Astaroth, he would eventually learn of the existence of The Fallen, angels meant to serve as the original demon killers and protectors of humanity, and of their creator's original rivalry with a rival god. Though he remains unsure about where their true loyalties lie, Hildebrand is curious now of the deeper connections lost to history, between the demons and the gods, and these various mysterious entities. While Astaroth herself remains uninterested in considering allying The Fallen with humans, therein may lie the answer to all their troubles, and the key to finally ending the War...