[SNPC/Magician] Richmond Longroad

FULL NAME: Richmond Longroad.
AGE: 26 years.
GENDER: Male.
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION:
Any english gentleman’s nightmare. Scruffy, uncoordinated and badly shaves facial hair, a smug face and wild black bangs that usually tend to cover his emerald eyes. Longroad hardly gives off the impression of being someone actually important, but he indeed is. Wearing a beige worn out military hat with round brim and a pair of dessert goggles, he’d seem more like a soldier, if one only skipped over the black priest’s robe he wears underneath a colourful poncho made from special feather-straw fabric. Unlike many priest robes his doesn’t only bear resemblance to the christian ones, but heads into a more open direction, giving off the impression of a cross cultural concept. Not to forget that he’d often wear short sleeves and trousers. The main choice of shoes are hiking boots, aged, a bit worn out, yet much more trustworthy than the amateur goods. What is the most striking, though, is the fact that his choice of accessories couldn’t be any stranger, is the collection of bracelets, earrings, pins etc. pretty much gathered from all over the world, actually invoking the idea of how colourful of intercultural exchange can possibly be.

PERSONALITY:
Freebird…Flying Down the Long Road
In a sense, Richmond Longroad is the epitome of a free man. He is a traveller, an explorer, someone living in the distance. It’s hardly ever that he stays in his home country or in the same place for longer than actually necessary. He just breaks off and goes wherever, whenever, taking on job after job only to bring him farther and farther. It’s a thing that not only dominates the way he works, but the very way he lives and behaves. He talks laid back, is relaxed, is open to new things and has a good hand for dealing with foreign cultures. Overall he is the epitome of someone who lives the world itself.

Journalist at heart
He is what he is and he was born to be that way. Having dropped his career on paper but never in his heart, he lives to fulfil the goal he has set with his Magic Name. To make his life the best story in a sense of an article he is not too shy to go out there and seek whatever thrilling, amazing or unexpected reveal may await in the vast existence that is the world. He is curious, straightforward and simple. He wishes to see new unseen things and therefore follows the difficult jobs with a whole lot of heart. If he has to work with others or alone, he doesn’t care as long as he can see what he wants to see. That’s what his work is about. See it all, draw knowledge from it and then end it once everything has been seen. Interesting enough, eh?

Life’s only as good as it gets if handled Well
Richmond Longroad is a dangerous man. It isn’t because he’s a powerful Magician, it is because he is bright. As an ex-journalist and now a member of Necessarius he is the type of person to inform themselves about everything involved with an incident or situation. He gathers data on all people involved, all events linked to the ongoing events and everything else there is to know. He’d stuff an entire room with various data sheets until the floor, walls and roof is no longer visible, only to cover the whole case entirely. Then he plans out how to fare with things, actually using his knowledge to manipulate the situations entirely. That’s how much of a maniac he actually is for his craft, be afraid!

Follower of the Necessary Evil
Necessarius embodies the idea of using evil to fight evil, the concept of necessary evils. In Richmond’s eyes this is a perfect concept, is there nothing in this world better suited to protect it. As he himself is such a necessary evil that is just being used, he actually sees no issue with employing evil methods for the sake of doing good in the world. A bit complicated at times, this mindset allows him to quickly betray others, sacrifice people or manipulate others into doing things they don’t wish to do while applying methods that are utterly cruel. However only then once it actually serves the purpose that justifies said necessary evil. He is not that rotten a person after all.

Comrade in the Job, Brother in Arms
He may be the same kind of bastard anyone in this world is, but he is still a good man at heart. His affection for Necessarius also counts for its members. He loves his comrades like they are family or at least holds great respect for them. Even if it is a bunch of rats jumbled together by taking individuals from all over the world, he has grown attached to everyone there, keeping them as the precious individuals that are right around him. It goes without saying that with such consideration for the group there also comes pride. Pride not only about himself but the entirety of the organisation that is Necessarius.

International Fast Food Hunter
Being a man of the world, he of course has some weird hobby linked to his travels. A certain businessman for example was a collector of strange charms he’d find in any country he’d go to, someone else collects t-shirts and a wholly other person buys CDs. Longroad’s specialty are fast food products, especially burgers. Any country, hell even any city, nowadays has their own version of these and Longroad can’t really get around to try something new. He’ll just dig into them whenever he can. Booya.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
Some Magician’s backgrounds are utterly terrible, aren’t they?

Richmond Longroad once ago was a journalist, all too far away from the craft of those called Magicians. While he was only 15 years old back in the day, he actually worked for a paper with a name. It wasn't the kind of name you’d see in every storefront or even in the shelves the best sellers were usually placed in. However that still meant it had a name in its own genre, was no magazine published there ever considered to be something akin to a best seller to begin with. What was his starting point was an occult magazine.

He used to write about the sightings of ghosts, Bigfoot, aliens, conspiracies and all that bunch. That meant of course he had to travel a lot to see a lot, quite impressive for only a teenager, but Longroad was a genius of his own kind after all.

As someone who was already chasing the traces of the occult it was hardly surprising that he’d eventually end up stumbling upon the world’s truths. Magic indeed existed, however it was a force so foreign and far away from what he had expected, that even making the realisation that it in fact existed nearly destroyed him and that curious nose he had in his face. What he had expected to be bright and shiny, much like fairy tales and youth novels at times would sell it, turned out to be a dark abyss. One that’d stare back at him, as his gaze only swiftly touched it.

And so he’d learn it himself.

Curious like a little child he sought answers to questions far outside of the range any equation could tackle. Therefore there only remained one path for him, that of one who could cross every obstacle, every challenge and every mystery.

Punctum607 — The period at the end of the absolute.

His very life had become a tale, his every experience a part of the story he’d deliver. He would gather everything he could find in this world of the occult and piece it together until he’d place the final period at the end of the final sentence of what was his existence. In a sense he turned everything that was him into something worthwhile to give the world as a story. He thought that as long as he would find something to write down, something to uncover, something to unveil, he wouldn’t have fulfilled his role. That is what he as a Magician embodied.

Eventually, though, there would be a wall. No matter how many organisations he’d pursue, no matter how many he’d join, there was at some point no advance. Lost somewhere in the world he’d journey he met his wits end, the threat that was incomplete fulfilment.

Richmond Longroad’s story would come to an end or wouldn’t it? What happened to him could only be described as the pinch any Magician would eventually face. Considering what his goal was, he was no longer sure how to obtain it. The means while seemingly infinite were out of reach, his arms were too short, his hands too small to grasp it. Despair or maybe frustration or maybe just nothing? He disappeared from the world, falling into a hole from where there was no return. He entered places he didn’t wish to, they were shady, dark and pointless. None of that would bring him any further. He was at the road’s early end.

And then…

That cabal he belonged to at that time met its end at Necessarius’ hands. In an instance everything had been overturned by a gathering of Magicians from all over the world. They had come, they had striked and they had quickly erased all resistance. Richmond, the skilled man that he was, managed to slip past their lines and escape while leaving his former comrades to their deaths; but that was fine, had everything this was never lead him anywhere anyway.
Actually it had, hadn’t it?

Necessarius, the 0th Parish of the Anglican Church, through them, he had found them.

It was the idea of a group that could reach anywhere, made up from people that came from anywhere. Neither were they an organisation that stuck close to whatever belief they were following, nor was there a concept of unison. Everyone was just themselves, serving a purpose in exchange for great gain. In his eyes Necessarius was the gate to infinite possibility. A land full of forbidden fruits of which each tasted entirely different. His tale would never end. The period could be moved to the end of endlessness.

Discarding his shackles Richmond headed to the country of England, its capital London to be precise and did what many had done before him. He openly revealed himself as one of the survivors of the cabal he once belonged to, selling out his comrades without any sign of hesitation, only to then request the right to join the church of necessary evils, his only desire in the world, no, the key to acquire his true desire.

With the offering he had readily brought and his results in the entrance exams, Longroad managed to impress enough to be welcomed with open arms. However as he joined their ranks he was quick to notice what being a part of this very organisation actually meant. The concept of necessary evil was something far deeper than he had originally expected. They would use whatever dirty method there existed in this world to purge it from all dangers. Dangers being any kind of threat imaginable, mostly the kind caused by Magicians with ambitions that’d break the world’s peace and order. And the better he’d do his work the more he would be able to see. So wasn’t that worth it?

As the years went on Richmond Longroad made himself a name in the world of Necessarius. He’d hunt down hundreds of targets, take on requests unhesitatingly and even travel to the ends of the world just for that. He gained their trust, rising in rank, until there was hardly any top to contain him. Both sides knew that the more he’d gain, the more he’d be into it. That’s how he came to love them and how they came to love him.

And that is how he became someone to often be used as a leader.

ABILITIES:

✵The Whole and the Parts that are the Firebird
Richmond Longroad, as someone who has travelled the world to lay his hands on many phenomena, tales and experiences, expresses this very aspect of his world in his spells by making use of the concept of the Phoenix. While famous mostly due to movies and books in modern day, the Phoenix originally was a concept that crossed many cultures, were there different versions expressing the same idea found in many beliefs, religions and folklore. There are Phoenix in both the western mythologies and the eastern ones, both from ancient and older ages. The idea is to take this entity that has so many different versions and through twisting symbolism, concepts and other cultural ideas, trigger specific effects that embody the bird’s many cultural colours.
The basic preconditions to this spell are found in his choice of clothing. By wearing a poncho of feather and straw made fabric that shows all the various colours associated with the phoenix all throughout mythology he mirrors its wings. Furthermore he tends to use various symbolism spread all over his clothing and accessories to invoke further associations. An example for that would be the special jewellery resembling snakes he chooses to create a connection with the Hindu Garuda.
The true trick behind his spells is the shift of accentuation, which allows him to move the symbolism in various yet very specific directions. That way, he can cast many different spells originating from varying cultures using a very simple baseline.

—✹The Bird of the Eternal Cycle — Phoenix
A characteristic all depictions of the phoenix and any related beings have in common is their immortality or rather the fact that they represent the cycle of death and rebirth. In many tales it is said that before it dies, the phoenix builds itself a nest from cinnamon twigs, myrrh, oak or another kind of branches which are sweet smelling (usually accounted to incense, which on the other hand is associated with the concept of rebirth e.g. in Christianity) and then ignites itself only to then rise again from its ashes. Longroad usually creates a makeshift nest by marking an area around himself with a mixture cinnamon twigs, myrrh and oak covered in sweet-smelling incense, which he then ignites along with himself. Once ignited he will burn until the flames are extinct. When they are however he and the clothes he wears, due to correspondence with the phoenix, will be as good as new.
This spell however can only be used if he is in a situation close to death, which includes lethal wounds and the like. Only then he could recover entirely. However even then it is still a game of endurance, since he will feel the pain of burning alive.

—✹The Branches Building the Phoenix’ Final Nest
A spell Longroad created through abstracting the aforementioned one. The idea is that the phoenix when meeting its end ignites its nest by flapping its wings. The nest itself is build from a mixture cinnamon twigs, myrrh and oak covered in sweet-smelling incense. Usually Longroad can use his collection of various twigs falling under that category to ignite them with a flap of his wings — resembled by his poncho — and have the flames reach over to anything in near proximity. However unlike in the original spell he removes the idea of the Phoenix and its revival, meaning that he creates flames that can end a life, without however returning it into this world by rebirth.
The usual range of the spell is his throwing range and anything in close proximity (about 50m or less) to the branches will be ignited immediately. The flames however, while they can burn human flesh are still extinguishable. Besides that, in order to ignite the twigs it is necessary for Longroad to actually face his target while performing the wing flap motion.

—✹The Bird whose Birth Burns the World — Garuda
Bearing a strong connection to the phoenix is the Garuda from Indian Mythology. It is said that the Garuda is the king of birds and when it first hatched from its eggs it unleashed an inferno like those that consumed the world at the end of every age. By using jewellery (earrings, bracelets etc.) resembling snakes, the poncho as the wings and his hat as a crown, Longroad creates the basic connection to the bird. By then causing his own rebirth using the Phoenix spell, he can provide the symbolism of hatching from an egg, thus breaking off into a new life.
Once those conditions are met, it is possible for Longroad to generate an unending surge of flames from his body, quite literally turning himself into a destructive inferno of many 1000s of degrees that could potentially spread over longer ranges (tens of metres). However it is necessary to remark that he does neither have control over it, nor is able to cancel it without facing the tremendous drawback of losing a lot of strength and stamina in the aftermath, referencing the fact that the Garuda had to cut its power tremendously for the inferno to come to an end.

—✹The Bird whose first Cry Created Time — Bennu
In the Egyptian tale of Creation, the Bennu — the Egyptian Phoenix — was said to stand alone on a rock during the floods of heron, assuming the role of the first life that has set foot into this world. Its cry at this moment is said to be the trigger to the creation of the concept of time.
Longroad creates a spell related to this tale, by placing himself in a remote location, like the top of a building or the centre of a deserted area, or ruins, using either the flow of people, the actual flow of water or simply the flow of air as the symbol vaguely representing the floods of heron. Using a talisman and other symbolism referencing Osiris with whom the Bennu is often associated, to shift the overall phoenix symbolism to the Egyptian version, he just has to unleash a cry similar to that of a bird’s. Everyone hearing this cry will have their perception of time be reset, meaning completely altered. A second will feel like minutes or maybe a minute like a second. Both variants serving not only as confusion but also to weaken or strengthen ones reaction time and attention span. The downside is that the effect starts wearing off immediately, with the affected people’s perception returning back to normal slowly over the course of about 5 minutes.


✵Man-hunting Ex-Journalist
As someone who has once taken the path of a genius journalist, yet switched to the trade of man-hunting – that’s what Necessarius does after all — he has quite a terrifying premise for his current job. Being someone who can easily gather all kinds of information he desires, paired with the need for any analysis of his prey’s movements, he can sniff out everything going on everywhere. Basically, whenever he takes it from, you can assume that he knows everything there is available to know about you, when you face him. However you are wrong to believe that this is where it stops, Richmond Longroad very well has the ability and tendency to analyse whatever he has on you to fullest, making charts, predictions etc. Actually his files on nearly anyone or anything he has interacted with directly or indirectly could easily beat the bible in thickness.

✵The One Above
For someone who has been with an organisation for longer than healthy it’d be hardly unnatural not to be the guy at the higher ranks of the command chain. Longroad is a higher tier. Someone who has done a lot to gain a lot of people’s trust, claiming the roles that are usually only handed out to those that must be foolish. But you see, he isn’t dumb. He’s born to do that, or maybe he just makes it seem like it. He can rule a group, he can handle politics and he can toy around with the enemies. It’s never easy to see through him, but once you do, you’ll see the strings around your neck his hands have been holding onto all along.



FACE CLAIM: Lewin Light from Ao no Exorcist.