Novak Gravus

"All things erode to ash..."Voidsent Reaper | Covert Imperial Officer
Freelance Mercenary | Bodyguard-For-Hire

Please Note:
Novak is intended to be a dark character, originating from a dark past and believing in morally questionable ideals. This is NOT a reflection of my beliefs as a player.
Please be aware that this character's past and present contain themes that some readers may find distressing.
This profile may contain spoilers for FFXIV.Please endeavour to read the 'Guidelines' section before setting up RP with me. Thank you.

Profile

Mortal Name:
Novak GravusVoidsent Name:
XarionAge:
UnknownPhysical Appearance:
Late 20sGender:
MaleSexuality:
Heterosexual | StraightMarital Status:
SingleSpecies/Race:
Garlean-Xaela-Voidsent HybridHeight:
9'0" | 275cmBirthday:
UnknownAlignment:
True Neutral | Neutral EvilCurrent Occupation:
Freelance Mercenary
Bodyguard-For-HireFighting Style/Weapon:
Void Magic & Scythe
Void Magic & Greatsword/Katana
Magitek Pistols & GunbladesPlace of Origin:
GarlemaldKnown Languages:
Garlean - Fluent
Eorzean - Fluent
Doman - Adept
Xaelic - ConversationalCurrent Residence:
Eorzea; Unknown WhereaboutsHobbies and Interests:
- meditating
- hunting
- making gil
- exploring new places
- helping those close to him
- great views
- studying the psychology and behaviour of eorzean society-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Notable Features:- Novak is a towering figure, even for a male Au'Ra, standing at 9'0" tall.- Jet-black scales, unlike many of his brethren.- His tail, often varying in size, tends to be seen at roughly 2 metres in length. The underside seems soft and flexible, covered in smooth scales whereas the upperside is plated with thick, armour-like natural plating shaped like chevrons pointing down.- His platinum limbal-ringed eyes have an eerily attractive glow to them--and are filled with a certain hunger.- His jet-black hair has streaks of dark grey and is combed back professionally, but a few defiant strands are known to hang loose and add some ruggedness to his otherwise immaculate appearance.- Novak's canines are notably longer and more fang-like, ending in razor sharp points.- To those with Aethersight, Novak's aetheric signature may appear as an eerie swirl of sable and crimson energies, seemingly threatening to corrupt anything it may make contact with.

Backstory

Please note that this backstory is not essential for you to read through. It is only present for those who are interested in reading about an aspect of Novak's origins and will not make any difference in a scene.
Any knowledge learned about Novak after reading his backstory is purely OOC and cannot be used ICly unless it is learned organically through RP with Novak or discussed with me beforehand.

The Failed ExperimentNovak's past is as ambiguous to most as it is dark and not many know the tale of how the half-Garlean Xaela became a failed but feared experiment at the hands of brutal Garlean scientists.Novak's mother lived with a Garlean officer in the capital as his housemaid after taking her from one of the Empire's earlier conquered territories. As a result of the officer's entitled mindset over his housemaid, she fell pregnant and would give birth to Novak in the capital nine months later.Upon reaching his sixteenth nameday, Novak was chosen as an expendable body for a Garlean science experiment to create a Reaper supersoldier by directly applying the aetheric makeup of a voidsent avatar into the victim's body.Novak would spend the next five years trapped in a secure science facility in Garlemald. He was fed according to a strict diet and was pumped full of different cocktails of steroidal and growth-inducing drugs. He was also subject to regular mental torture sessions to ensure his compliance with orders from his Garlean overlords.On his twenty-first nameday, the time for the experiment had come. The scientists had painstakingly built the now-adult Novak into a physical killing machine to withstand the intensity of being merged with a powerful creature of the Thirteenth Reflection. The experiment had been proceeding well until the hardware used had begun to malfunction, unable to cope with the abundance of void energy being channelled through it. Rather than applying the Voidsent's powers into Novak's body, it channelled the entirety of the Voidsent into Novak and had thus become a separate consciousness inside the reptile's mind. Not only this, but the physical body of the Voidsent merging with Novak's changed his physicality also, making his scales more jet-black in colour, his tail grew in length and width and became useable almost as an additional limb, his canines became razor-sharp fangs and his eyes turned more inhuman and eerie in nature.Besides these concerning physical changes, the Garleans considered the experiment an overall success as Novak's behaviour and responses in the aftermath of the procedure were enough to allay suspicion. Unbeknownst to his overlords, Novak's mental independence had returned to him in the wake of becoming one with the Voidsent's consciousness and so he continued to play the part of loyal soldier in a grasp for survival more than anything.
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The Imperial AssassinNovak would undergo some of the most extensive training in the Empire to prepare him for covert service. Upon its completion, he would be assigned to the Frumentarium for a time to work as an elite assassin and spy in Eorzea, blending into society perfectly as a Xaela who would subvert any suspicion that his loyalties lay with the Empire.From disrupting trade routes, to hijacking supply convoys, to assassinating Eorzean commanders in local garrisons, Novak worked tirelessly as an agent of the Imperial Frumentarium to ensure the Empire was always one step ahead.During his time as an Imperial assassin, Novak would continue to explore the powers at his disposal; from his control of Void Magic, to his insatiable need to consistently feed on aether. He would soon discover that his powers were more potent, the more he sated his hunger for aether but in the sunlight, he was much more vulnerable and his powers much less intense. His vulnerability during the day forced a lot of his hunting to be conducted when the moon illuminated the night sky, lest his weakness to the light prove his undoing.
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The Defence of the CapitalAfter years of service as an agent for the Empire's Imperial Intelligence arm, Novak was ordered back to Garlemald as the world fell to ruin during the course of the Final Days. He fought alongside his Garlean battle brothers and sisters to defend the capital against the monstrous fiends that had invaded, cutting down blasphemy and tempered Imperial left and right until the capital was deemed a lost cause and the Legions fighting valiantly fell or retreated.In the aftermath of the world's near-end, the Garlean Empire was officially deemed a collapsed order. Many of the Legions had gone rogue, deciding to consolidate their power in the parts of the world they were stationed while the Eorzean Alliance took control of the capital.Novak took his opportunity to seize independence and spent some time working throughout the star as a hired mercenary and contracted bodyguard. That was until he was persuaded to return to the frozen reaches of Northern Ilsabard...
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The Aftermath of Garlemald's FallSince working as a contracted bodyguard and mercenary throughout Eorzea and beyond, Novak has learned that the denizens of the world are not as 'savage' as once believed. Finding friends and allies the world over, the Reaper finds himself on a near-endless road, wandering until he finds a cause - or a person - worth committing to.

RP Hooks

Listed below are some potential hooks I have come up with to prompt some interaction between our characters. You are welcome to modify these existing hooks to better fit your character if you so wish. I also welcome entirely new ideas for hooks, and I am happy to discuss them in DMs!

  • Perhaps you have heard of Novak's services as a mercenary, recommended for his professionalism and discretion, and just so happen to need a competent mercenary for a job of your own. If the gil's right, of course...

  • Novak also works as a contracted bodyguard protecting a variety of key figures and items. Perhaps you find yourself requiring protection, or wanting additional protection for a valuable possession you intend to move across the continent.

  • Novak tends to travel around a lot in the course of his duties. From the Far East to Old Sharlayan, to Thanalan and Ilsabard, there are few places Novak has not visited at least once. Perhaps your paths cross in one of these locations.

  • Novak guards his identity as a half-Voidsent Reaper closely, but sometimes the tighter you grip something, the more likely it is to slip through your fingers. Perhaps you catch him out hunting one night, draining the life from some helpless sap. What will you do with this newfound information? Turn him in to the authorities? Blackmail him? Join him? The possibilities are endless...

  • Going on from his half-Voidsent Reaper identity, perhaps you have an affinity for sensing others' aether. Perhaps you pass Novak and feel a keen sense of dread--suspecting he has been touched by the Void... What will you do with this suspicion?

GUIDELINES:

These guidelines are what to expect and what I expect when RPing with a writing partner. If you have any questions, please ask!---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Discord and Communication:
If you intend on RPing or interacting with me, it is a requirement for me that we share Discords so that we aren't playing guessing games as to when we're both in-game. If you're going to be unfoundedly suspicious of me enough to refuse giving your Discord, despite being the one approaching ME for RP, chances are I don't want to write with you anyway. Sorry.Furthermore, if you find yourself an individual who thinks it's okay to speak down to people younger than you, or just generally act like a condescending asshole to them, then I'm not interested in speaking to you. We both have better things to do than condescend to people based solely on a 4-5 year age gap. We're both adults, and that's all that should matter. Grow up.
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RP and In-Game Activity:
I would like to make clear that sometimes I may not be in the mood for RP, despite being online. I enjoy playing the game, as well as roleplaying, so I kindly ask that my partners do not expect me to initiate RP on a whim all of the time. That being said, feel free to ask!
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Sexual Themes in RP and Age Restrictions:
If our characters seem to mesh well, I am happy to explore more sexual themes if that's the path the story takes them down and it's something we are both comfortable exploring together as players, be it more casually, or romantically.It is important that I make it clear I am only prepared to roleplay with other adults, be it SFW or NSFW RP. Please do not attempt to set something up with me if you are below the age of 18 years.Please Note:
I am absolutely NOT prepared to entertain any level of sexual or romantic relationship with the Lalafell race. Just no...---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------FFXIV Lore:
Overall, I'm totally for lore-bending and pothole-filling with headcanon to spice up RP. I prefer not to think of the lore of the universe as a strict rule book as to what one can and cannot do.
That said, I avoid blatantly breaking and contradicting the established lore of FFXIV and am not really interested in RP that breaks lore. No hate, just not my thing.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------RP Writing Style:
My RP writing style is done in the third-person, as to fully establish Novak as a different entity from myself as a player.I tend to aim for paragraph/near paragraph RP, but I will mirror and adapt to my partner as necessary.

OOC INFORMATION:

Hey there! Thank you so much for taking the time to read my Carrd! I know it's rather a lot, but I like to be thorough and communicative with my RP partners.Quick Notes:- 21+ Player- I am from the UK so I live in the BST/UTC Timezone.- Roughly 10 years RP experience.- More than happy to RP with people of all RP skill levels.- Experience in most RP themes. I am not averse to exploring darker themes!- At present, I am not willing to RP on Discord at all. I prefer to use Discord solely as an OOC platform for chatting to friends and hanging out.- I also enjoy doing PvE in FFXIV, so if you ever feel like having a content buddy to play with you, feel free to message!