Vladimirescu, Lord Xavier

[Lord Xavier]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=align,center][atrb=style,width: 450px; background-image: url(http://i55.tinypic.com/5zodjn.jpg); -moz-border-radius: 30px; -webkit-border-radius: 30px; -moz-box-shadow: 3px 3px 3px #00000; -webkit-box-shadow: 3px 3px 3px #000000; padding: 10px;] lord xavier vladimirecu My name is Lord Xavier Vladimirescu, but I go by countless pseudonyms and aliases which I've used in the five-hundred years that I've been on this planet. A pure-blooded vampire from Romania, I'm known to bend and break the rules of this mixed society of mortals and immortals. Oh, and I also happen to be the Master of the City of New Orleans, before I forget. PHYSICAL APPEARANCE Short, rather well-kempt hair that has tinges of grey with darker roots, hinting at the raven hair of his youth. If he is agitated or mulling something over, Xavier can be seen huddled over a cigarette with his spare hand tussling his hair in thought, because of this his fringe is often seen as being rather messy, cutting down across his brow yet keeping his maroon eyes in plain view for all. Common to the stereotypical vampire, his eyes are a definite shade of red. Even though he could have adopted any eye colour he desired, he felt that he owed his heritage some respect by keeping his eye colour the same, however adopting a darker shade so that he does not appear too clone-like. His eyes are sunken into his skull, casting dark shadows around them, making him seem even more mysterious and malevolent. Close to seven feet in height, weighing in somewhere around one-hundred and fifteen kilogrammes. But his body, as slender and lithe as it may seem, is also heavy, proving an advantage in battle for it makes the possibility of him being thrown around much more unlikely and his amazing agility allows him to avoid obstacles whilst travelling at great speeds. As a side note, his skin is pallid and particularly cold to the touch, although very few get close enough to this vampire. Because of the lengths he has pushed his body, there are some unique features some of which are beneficial and others which are not so. One of these features is that he can no longer feel pain, the downside of this is that he no longer knows his limits nor can he feel anything; truly an unfeeling monster, unable to feel the wind on his skin, the warmth of another being. Simplistic and smart, Xavier can always be found dressed in a black suit with not a crease in sight. Accompanying this immaculate suit is a dark grey shirt, with a maroon tie pushed right to the top, held in place by a silver tiepin. Along with this rather conservative attire are a few bits and pieces of interest, namely well-polished black shoes, a thick platinum ring with his family emblem, and two extremely powerful pistols (Jekyll and Hyde) that can only be wielded effectively by a being with supernatural strength; blessed silver casing and mercury-core, the bullets have the ability to tear humans, were-creatures and vampires limb from limb. While his ability to regenerate flesh is particularly useful for growing back lost limbs and the like, it also allows him (to a limited degree) to change his physical appearance: namely he can change his teeth from their usual perfection to an array of serrated teeth, clustered on bright red gums, giving the appearance of a mouth full of nasty, little rocks. His jaw will also change, allowing him to take chunks out of a fully-grown werewolves and swallow them in the same instant; this ability to eat other living and much larger beings was one of the few talents taught to him by his vampiric ancestor Alexandru. PERSONALITY While he doesn't really care for the society of humans and prefers to steer clear of them altogether, Lord Xavier plays something of an active role in the vampire community and this also sparks the opportunity for him to attend the odd masquerade, as this twisted vampire of illusion and deceit incredibly enjoys pretence, allowing his mask to drop for a short time. He is a vampire that can change his entire appearance on a whim, but attending masquerades is much easier if he wants to become somebody different for an evening. As well as masquerades, he also enjoys manipulation. Indeed, he can easily begin to break a person down until the only words they are capable of uttering are: "Yes, master." As he allows his empire to expand beneath him, Xavier constantly searches for new victims, victims to receive the mark that will have them in slavery for the rest of their days. Although he may seem charming at times, do not let this fool you into believing that he is a civil being as he has earned himself a ruthless reputation and often exercises his incredible power to inflict excruciating pain, believing that death is far too quick and easy for the maggots he crosses paths with. Due to his blood-thirsty nature, Xavier relishes the opportunity to track down prey, and once he has established his prey he will not give up the hunt. When most fail to capture their prey, they will simply cease with the hunt, however this is not the case for this vampire, he can spend years waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike down his prey, nothing will deter him from feasting upon the desired flesh. Linking to this strong passion for hunting, Xavier also warmly welcomes the prospect of war; indeed, he will actually do all within his power to fuel it further. As a Vampire Master he waits for the night when the Great War finally arrives, when he will be able to inflict his gruesome powers on hundreds upon thousands of enemies. Apart from being an extremely skilled solider in the heat of battle, Xavier can also be mildly diplomatic, greasing the appropriate hands with gold and severing the hands of others. Although he does not gain allies, he can hold favour with those who will not stop his war. Even with his murderous ways, he will usually destroy his victims with an almost sophisticated air, cutting them down casually with one of his explosive bullets. By slaughtering his victims with a sophisticated disposition, Xavier is capable of creating a calm air about the way in which he can murder, and if he is able to kill casually it will only increase the psychological fear of those who oppose him. And those who do oppose him are always subject to baptising him, pouring their blood upon the vampire. It is rare for this vampire to emerge from combat not drenched in the precious crimson substance that he craves so dearly. One of his major pet hates would be those beings who are excessively ignorant, those who think themselves superior to him. Such as the overconfident bounty hunters who emerge from the safety of light into his realm of darkness, those who raise their stakes in vain at him. It is hardly surprising the sheer amount of people who attempt to kill him, but it's usually in the name of vengeance. Other items of hatred included disobedient slaves and the majority of his family. This vampire welcomes openly the moment he has a victim within his sight, looming over them to pass his mark onto their necks, taking them under his wing for eternity. Slaves pour from Xavier's hands, constantly his eyes are alert for the unsuspecting or powerful who would do well to become a part of his empire. However, should a slave try to escape from him then there truly is no way of determining the extent of their punishment. Usually Xavier will crucify their naked forms and set alight their writhing bodies, but only if he’s feeling unimaginative. The nightly bloodshed coupled with the murder of his wife spawns his inability to care, his violent nature disallows him from loving others or caring, unless he achieves something worthwhile in return. But even then he will not truly care or love, it will only be an echo of those emotions. He blames himself for the death of his wife and desires nothing that could potentially hurt him again in such a way, but the damage to his mind has already been done. There is nothing of his being that Xavier cares more for than his wrath, he allowed his mind to decay under the restraints of insanity years ago so he is simply left to tend his unimaginable fury, often idly slaughtering an entire club of writhing humans, were-creatures and vampires. Even though he has enough wrath to fight for an eternity, Xavier is restricted to fighting at night, which puts him at a great disadvantage usually, although this is the reason why this vampire will be seen on the streets the moment the sun disappears. FAMILY Mother: Maria Vladimirescu, Vampire, Deceased. Father: Mircea Vladimirescu, Vampire, Deceased. Brother: Furor Vladimirescu, Vampire, Deceased. Elder: Alexandru Vladimirescu, Vampire, Deceased. Wife: Clarissa Vladimirescu, Vampire, Deceased. Daughter: Felicia Vladimirescu, Vampire, Unknown. HISTORY A direct descendant from the House of Basarb, despite its eventual demise, Xavier was born into a particularly wealthy and aristocratic vampiric dynasty who, whilst not having the pleasure of actually ruling, still bore the titles that came with being part of the Romanian bloodline. His father, a boyar in Wallachia, had managed to use his political and militaristic ties to have his twin sons elected for the princely titles they continue to hold today, although the translation of the original word is closer to that of ‘lord’ rather than ‘prince’. Mircea owned a great deal of land, with his own towering castle and vast estate that was attended by the many serfs that were under his command and control. Xavier never lacked company as a child even though he resented being around others and grew particularly aggressive towards his father’s labourers as he grew up. While he received an identical system of education as his twin, Furor, and became quite the scholar, it was the physical activities and lessons that caught Xavier’s eye. Lessons in fencing were of particular importance to him as he grew up and he became a renowned swordsman before he had even set a foot anywhere near his later militaristic career. If anybody had given the young vampire princes much concern as they were growing up they would have noticed how the two were gradually becoming polar opposites; while Furor treated everything he did with a careful eye, a perfectionist to the end, his twin brother grew unstable, creating chaos and instability in everything he put his mind to. While the Vladimirescu family has a naturally dark air about them because of their vampiric taste, they were never as evil or corrupt as Xavier would later become. Growing up, he pushed his vampirism to its limits and often beyond, pushing himself to such lengths and depths that would have obliterated a lesser man (or should that be monster?). Credit where credit’s due, many of the heavy leather-bound books stained with serf blood were authored by one of Xavier’s ancestors but their powers had never been adopted (or had been able to be adopted) until Xavier got his spidery fingers on them. As a child and teenager, he grew up reading these demonic volumes but it wasn’t until much later that he was truly able to master the “gifts” that had been inscribed on the dark pages. In their twenties, the brothers both took up their individual functions within the Romanian dynasty: Furor taking up an administrative function as his father had and Xavier taking up a military one. Although he commanded legions to thwart his family’s enemies, he grew frustrated that he could not take part in the skirmishes because of the accursed sunlight that bathed the battlefields. With him slowly beginning to absorb more and more from the darkest books of his family’s library, Xavier became frustrated with the time it took him to learn each new skill and began conjuring ideas of how he could speed up the process. Deciding that he’d had enough of his military function (with him being no better than a figurehead), Xavier started cooking up a new way of gaining some of the more diabolical vampiric powers. His plan first took him on a grand tour of Egypt and China where, eventually in the latter, Xavier got his hands on a necromancer, marking him with his personal insignia, taking his first and most important serf (or slave, as he’d later come to call them). Returning to his homeland with his necromancer, he was able to locate the tomb of his ancestor (who authored the books he studied so closely from such an early age), and in a matter of days had fully restored the great Alexandru Vladimirescu. Keeping his ancestor and necromancer out of his family’s sight, Xavier began the laborious process of replenishing his ancestor’s thirst. Dragging virgin after virgin into the tomb, letting Alexandru do with her as he pleased – it was several weeks until he had built up his strength once more, ready to repay the debt of his resurrection. Xavier was quick to explain that the debt could be settled with Alexandru teaching the eager, young vampire all of the dark talents he had written about so very long ago. And with his ancestor replenished, he was quick to despatch the necromancer and to begin his training; Alexandru agreed to teach three dark talents: the ability to dominate minds, the ability to regenerate flesh and the ability to eat the flesh of others. With the onset of the seventeenth-century, the Vladimirescu family, if asked, would not have been able to place the location of Xavier even though he was only one and a half thousand kilometres away. Hiding in France, he patiently studied underneath Alexandru, spending years gradually learning and perfecting each of the three abilities he’d requested. Under the watchful eye of his ancestor, dominating the minds of the weak came rather naturally to Xavier. He reached the point where he could reduce peasants to obedient slaves before they had even clapped eyes on him. But one of the major benefits was the ability to cloud the weak minds of those around him, allowing him to walk through the village at night unnoticed, picking off humans without detection. The more difficult ability to master was the regeneration of flesh, and his mentor was particularly sadistic in his handling of Xavier. You could see the enjoyment as Alexandru stabbed, slashed and hacked at his descendant – the young vampire could often be found, bleeding like a stuck pig, struggling to heal the wound before he slipped into the darkness, reclaimed by his maker. And while the years ticked by, there was definite improvement made until Alexandru would tear limbs from his descendant only to watch them grow back in the next instance. And it was with this ability that Xavier could alter his body to really be able to eat flesh rather than drink blood. Capable of altering his physical flesh, he could change his teeth into a hideous collection of what can only be described as daggers, hideous red gums and digestive system capable of processing the raw flesh of a victim. Leaving the French trembling as more bodies surfaced with huge chunks ripped out of them, watching lycanthropes running scared as he tore through their pack leader. It had been nearly half a century of hard work yet Xavier was far from satisfied with these new abilities – he wanted more. It is said that, upon completing his agreed training under his vampiric ancestor, Xavier was so consumed by power and driven insane by it; indeed, it was upon completing his training that the vampire lord double-crossed his ancestor, desiring to have Alexandru’s power of pyrokinesis for himself, he waged war against the Elder. Reports vary in the amount of time it took for him to destroy his ancestor, but one thing is agreed upon: Xavier ate Alexandru, flesh, organs and all. The thinking behind it was that, in consuming his ancestor, he would also consume his powers and, to be fair to his psychotic logic, it would seem that it worked. Disappearing for an inordinate amount of time, Xavier went from making sparks between finger and thumb to being able to set an enemy's home on fire. He stayed within Europe while he trained himself, occasionally coming across another vampire who could control fire, picking up advice and a little training before exploding them into a screaming, convulsing ball of fire. Still to this day it remains his favourite "toy" although has been somewhat marginalised by his pistols. With the tremendous powers of a Vampire Elder under his belt, Xavier trekked home having been missing for two centuries. But if his parents were expecting a warm welcome they certainly were in for a treat when their son turned up only to roast them a second later. He seized control of the castle with ease, his brother nowhere in sight to oppose him, and settled down to enjoy his meal with a nice glass of vintage wine. And as he swallowed the last morsel of his father, word of the barbarity reached his brother, but did he return home? No, he didn't yet dare face his brother which sent Xavier into a violent rage, butchering the neighbouring villages. Having eaten his parents, tortured and slaughtered every human within an impressive radius, the vampire sat down once again to eat – one of his slaves cut up and cooked – his father was dead, the title of 'Master of Romania' hung in the air and Xavier snatched it up greedily, knowing his brother wouldn't dare contest him for it. With maniacal laughter thundering in the dining room, the Master Vampire forked the slave into his mouth piece by piece, watching the grand ascension of the moon outside. The great chorus reached the crescendo, the last of the meat eaten, the clatter of fork and knife hitting the plate, the vampire moving in front of the high window, casting his eyes across the land, his land and saw that it was empty and formless, darkness was the overhanging firmament – and he saw that it was good. The vampire lord rarely ventured from his castle, remaining as the vampiric ruler of Romania as the humans operated beneath him, the rise and fall of governments, the crossing of generations into the abyss. So it's no surprise that most were shocked at hearing that the vampire had taken a bride. Xavier was a Vampire Master whereas Clarissa was an Italian peasant-girl turned huntress – the small village where she had spawned from hailed her as their protector, due to her accomplishment in killing over a dozen lycanthropes that had tried to lay waste to their village. It is said they met by demand of the vampire lord himself; and the naïve, young huntress had every intention of staking the heart of Xavier. No-one really knows the actual reason why the two all of a sudden seemed inseparable, folk-legend has it that Xavier dominated Clarissa’s mind so that she no longer thought on her own accord, forced to become a vampire and stay with the vampire lord, but it is also said she fell in love with this monster – either way they eventually married and she would carry the most respected title underneath that of the Xavier's. By the end of the long winter, the two were married; Clarissa carried with her the title of “Lady” as well as the unborn child of the vampire. Nine months later, the vampire couple were blessed with a beautiful girl, Felicia, but this sweet bliss could never last long for such a malicious creature as Xavier. ‘Twas while he was, after a tip-off, in England hunting down his twin brother that bloody vengeance was claimed. Reports have it that the castle was stormed by a seventy-strong team of expertly trained hunters who were literally armed to the teeth – an army of vampire mercenaries. So many had been ordered to attack, not only to execute his family but all of his pathetic, little slaves; the hunters had entered the castle with such stealth that not even the superhuman hearing of Clarissa detected them, their silver knives had soon met the throats of the sleeping servants. The records state that Xavier's wife had died whilst trying to protect their daughter. Speaking of which, Felicia had been carried off into the night rather than having her innards torn out as they had done with her mother. And it wasn't long before news of this atrocity came to the attention of Xavier himself, who, in a tremendous rage, tore through Europe with the ferocity of a hurricane. For five years he searched the planet, searching for his beloved daughter, he was branded as a rouge who killed anyone who tried to stop him, driven by the will to find his daughter. And after a string of failed attempts at recovering Felicia, he happened upon some information that implied his brother had orchestrated the assassination of his wife and slaves and the kidnapping of his daughter. Giving up on the search for his daughter, Xavier turned all of his efforts on finding his brother. After following up a dead-end in New York City, but creating a new fledgling without the correct paperwork and procedure, the vampire lord turned towards New Orleans. He had uncovered information suggesting that his brother was secretly the Vampire Master there, building up a corporate empire around him, trying to hide himself from his mad, bad and dangerous twin brother. Even with all his money and bodyguards, Furor was still no safer from his brother and, disappointingly in Xavier's eyes, he refused to fight his brother and accepted his execution. And having executed his brother, the new Master of the City of New Orleans ate his brother's remains to assimilate any powers he had been hiding. But rather than powers, and it has become particularly strong the past few years, Xavier took on his brother's characteristics. Rather than an unstoppable killing machine leaving constant blood baths in his wake, he can actually sit down and run the blood banks his brother left. Running the highly lucrative business from New Orleans, locking up his old Master title with his Romanian castle, Lord Xavier always has his pale finger on the pulse of his city, knowing everything and everyone that comes and goes. He is still known to fight and kill ruthlessly but this is usually to keep a rogue vampire from spoiling the balance between humans and vampires. He's certainly less determined to kill everything in sight for which he blames his brother's characteristics. Seven years he has watched over his city, looking out over it with his favourite fledgling by his side. Who knows how long it will be before somebody tries contesting him for his title... You may know me as The Master from... well, around here, but soon you're going to know me for my characters. I've been doing this for several years out of the twenty that I've been on this planet. If you need to get a hold of me, just drop me a personal message! And that's it really... Toodle-oo.