The Pale Jackal

Jake Gyllenhaal as Ambrose Llewellyn Atherton

Name:	Ambrose Llewellyn Atherton
Codename:	The Pale Jackal
Faction:	Immortal Irritations, The Rogue's Table
Position:	Lieutenant, Esquire, Master-Thief
Age:	140 (appears 30)
Hometown:	Basra Province, Iraq/Kuwait
Gender:	Male
Height:	6'0"
Build:	Toned
Skin:	Sunkissed
Hair:	Brunet
Eyes:	Blue

Details

The jackal cannot curl his lip
to snarl or sneer.
As predator he chooses
intricate ways with a smile on his face.
"Morning, stranger," he says,
the eyes blinking with innocence.

You can scare him away
if you think about it,
but no one usually does.
He seems to be tentative;
he looks away, sometimes;
he has a beggar's heart;
he can't think about tomorrow.

He wants you to believe in him.
He compliments you in every way
and wishes you were dead.

- "The Jackal", Ray Skjelbred

Born in Britain in 1880 and dragged along by his consulate-bound parents to Basra, modern-day Kuwait, Ambrose spent his days doing his best to be the dutiful son to a father intent on seeing young Atherton, Esq., rise to star-status in the political theater. Ambrose had other ideas and when he wasn't being tutored, he was off running with the children of the city and learning the ways of the streets. At one point, his father had enough of him gadding about and when Ambrose was an older teenager, he was remanded to the local military regiment. 'Whip him into shape,' said the man, and by jove, they did.

Ambrose reached the rank of infantry lieutenant before the first World War put a strain on the local military. Bored and left behind, he and a small group of soldiers turned to tomb-robbing for excitement as well as income. They disturbed a Mesopotamian tomb-site and he was struck with the Bane of Eternal Thirst and Restlessness. It took him several weeks to realize that he was the reason for people dropping like flies around him and this scared him to his god-fearing soul. He left Basra and family behind to keep them safe and took to the four winds.

The curse came with no manual and Ambrose has no idea that having a male heir will break it. He believes that returning antiquities to their original countries of origin will earn him enough 'good karma' to break the curse. Residing in Shanghai, China during the 1920s was a noted period of time in which he not only developed a better understanding of his powers, but also his prowess in theft. World War II was dark fun and he did his damage to Rommel's campaign before slipping into Europe proper and eventually to New York City. Having recently returned after a long period of travel throughout the United States over a period of several decades, he found the city changed and in some parts to his liking. The modern security is worth the challenge of overcoming to continue returning that which is lost from its birth-culture.

BANE OF ETERNAL THIRST AND RESTLESSNESS: Ambrose constantly absorbs life-force from the environment around him at all times. Any organic life-force is targeted, from grass up to sentient beings, and the potency of the power increases alongside the complexity of the life form itself. It is not dramatic enough to be felt in normal, controlled circumstances by anyone around him within five feet, especially in a group setting; if anything, people may get tired. Each living being nearby decreases the intensity of the effect. As such, being in a crowd is the fastest way for him to assuage the curse with minimal effort.

It can be focused by Ambrose to intensify upon a single target. Physical touch is required for maximum effect. Otherwise, within line of sight, a far-less-intense effect can be set upon the single target.
Staying present in a location for more than seven days is risky to the city-dwellers around him and to himself, by proxy of suspicion falling upon him. Each additional week that passes doubles the radius of the Bane's absorption affects. Few barriers can stymie his Bane.

INSOMNIAC: Ambrose has no need to sleep per the Bane and the constant influx of life-energy. It is possible to knock him unconscious or put him into a comatose state, but his body defies conventional circadian rhythms otherwise. While unconscious/comatose, his powers remain active at continuous low levels.

SUGGESTION: Ambrose, upon physical touch to a single target, is able to absorb a small portion of someone's life-force and then return the energy to the target's body along. This energy is imbued with his own suggestion. The target is highly responsive to his suggestion as long as it does not run completely counter to their nature or sense of self-preservation.

HEALING TOUCH: Ambrose is able to expend absorbed life force in order to heal someone upon touch. The output is enough that he takes from his own life force and brings himself closer to death in turn. He cannot reverse death, seeing as it would cause his own in turn and ultimately fail. He is able to speed up the body's natural healing process, but in cases of severe medical trauma, he can only delay the worst.

He can do this to himself as well, but it comes with the cost of needing to absorb additional power to his reserves within the day.

PHYSICAL BOOST: Ambrose is able to spend some of the absorbed life energy in order to boost his own physical abilities for a short period of time (read: the duration of a scene) at the cost of visibly aging. He can run up to 50 miles an hour, scale a twenty-foot high fence in one leap, lift up to two tons, and react to sudden events at a superhuman speed. He is able to dodge a bullet shot at an appreciable distance if aware of it; a sniper could still end his life. During this period of boosted ability, his Bane is inactive. He cannot draw life energy from any target around himself.

He must absorb the same amount of life energy utilized in the next day or suffers the aging as a permanent state.

STATE OF IMMORTALITY: Ambrose ages at a fraction of the normal human rate, given that he is constantly absorbing life-force from around him. He has visibly aged since the striking of the curse due to actions both within and beyond his control, but he still looks the part of a man in his mid-twenties, albeit with some silvering at the nape of his neck. While he may make himself more durable when taking a physical blow or by utilizing the collected life-force to combat a poison, he is still mortal and can die of untreated severe wounds. Eating is nice, but unnecessary. Drinking is moderately necessary.

MULTILINGUAL: Every self-respecting son of a British consulate learned French and German alongside the native English in the early 1900s. Latin was offered and learned half-heartedly, resulting in a far less complete understanding. While living in Basra, Ambrose picked up conversational Urdu and Persian. His time in Shanghai allowed him to pick up semi-conversational Chinese; hes not fluent at it in the least. His Russian is passable.

GUNSLINGER: The Maxim gun was a lot of fun way back when, but put his modernized Webley & Scott service revolvers in his hands and Ambrose can fill an enemy full of holes in a short period of time. He's a fair shot with a rifle, though nowhere near the accuracy of a trained sniper. Knowing how to use a slingshot with high accuracy is always a bonus.

SURVIVALIST: While serving time in the local military in Basra, he was taught the art of living another day in the harshness of the surrounding desert beyond the reach of the river's fertile growth. While potentially unnecessary for himself with the Bane, the skills are handy no matter the environment.

FORGERY: Having to cross borders regularly, both on land and across water, means needing a solid stash of IDs as well as the ability to change them. Ambrose has become moderately accomplished at forging travel documents, though he still relies on connections elsewhere for the more difficult documents.

SLEIGHT OF HAND: A hobby turned habit turned full-time job, he picked up the skill on the streets of Basra and refined it in the military. He can pickpocket a wallet, show you which card you chose from a fanned hand, or make a small ball disappear, all while making something else vanish entirely.

TECH SAVVY: With the passing of the decades, society and technology continue to advance. Ambrose tries to keep aware of these advances, especially in terms of weaponry and area-defense systems. He's savvy with the latest security systems that could be used both in private collections and in public places, such as museums.

FALCONRY: Back when the world was simpler and before the Bane, Ambrose took up the hobby of falconry. He flew multiple sakar falcons and enjoyed the freedom and thrill of the birds. He still looks to the skies from time to time, hoping to see a svelte silhouette.

BOLT-HOLE: Whether he comes back empty-handed or not, Ambrose has a bolt-hole tucked away in the basement of an abandoned shop-building on the outskirts of the docks by the river. It's conveniently "haunted" through his efforts/word-of-mouth/the Bane's effects and even the transients know to stay away. He has a small cache of weaponry and documents here as well as shelf-stable food stuffs. More personal belongings can also be found, such as his pith helmet and scarlet serge uniform from his time in the military in the early 1900s.

ATHLETICISM: The military made certain that its recruits were fit for duty and the Bane's life-force absorption keeps Ambrose at the physical peak of a professional athlete.

CONNECTIONS: Most of the time, Ambrose keeps to himself and relies on his own abilities. However, when necessity comes, he'll use his contacts through both the New York City underworld and above, in those regularly handling antiques both legally and illegally, American or not. Some are dicey, others are more reliable, and he'll use any means to keep himself from danger.

LUCKY COIN: Around his neck on a fine steel-chain length is an antique coin, several thousand years old, carefully preserved against everyday wear and tear. A silver siglos coin, minted circa 400 BC, is engraved on one side with a lion-and-bull motif and on the other with an incuse rectangular punch. There is no true luckiness about this coin or influence on events around Ambrose. It's all a matter of belief on the part of its wearer.

MOTORCYCLE: His Triumph Thruxton R, top of its line in black and chrome, is his newest enabler to his adrenaline addiction. The European "cafe racer" bike (named "Sakar", after the falcons) allows him fast travel times when he's acting the courier with a hot item (most likely illegal) and for getaways in his own thefts. Being relatively immortal and able to shrug off most physical damage when he concentrates the Bane appropriately, Ambrose is a lunatic about the risks he takes on the bike. Jumping open space like Evil Kenevil? Won't blink twice. Sliding the bike beneath a moving eighteen-wheeler to escape a cop car? Let's do it. Passengers on the bike, beware, and hold on tight.

COLLAR OF IRONY: In Ambrose's past, he was victim in a bid to overturn powers between competing factions of the underworld of Shanghai, China. After having escaped with his life, he came into possession of a thin leather slip-collar studded with clear diamonds. This is enchanted to turn him into a life-accurate jackal (the wild animal, 21 lbs). While he wears it, he has no thumbs and is unable to remove it from his person. He cannot speak in this form; the only clear manner is communication is via telepathy from another strong telepath or through an animal-based form of All Speak. He is unable to access any of his Bane abilities due to the curse-magic not identifying him as 'human'. He has only the natural strength, agility, and defensive actions of the jackal species itself. While an excellent disguise, this is Ambrose at his weakest and most vulnerable. Being kicked hard enough by an average human could severely injure if not kill him — a well-aimed bullet would be his end.

PEOPLE: The Bane ensures that Ambrose has fleeting relationships at best. Human beings remain the purest source of life-force and assuaging the Bane is relaxing to him, almost like an addict with their drug of choice. He's outlived all immediate family by now and has little interest in hunting down his relatives. He loves human interaction, but knows better than to hang around for too long. People get hurt.

VEXED: Frustration is a weakness for Ambrose. He's not a perfectionist by any means, but being denied a success seems plain unfair. He's already got a curse to deal with, how much more cruel can life be? It makes him downright prickly sometimes and shockingly rude to anyone, even women and those of status. Who cares if someone's insulted? He's not going to run into them again anyways.

TICK-TOCK: The Bane needs fulfilling regularly or it takes from Ambrose's life-force instead. The constant necessity is a source of stress.

STEADY INCOME: Unable to stay in one place for more than a week at most due to the Bane's inevitable spread, Ambrose has never been able to hold down a regular job unless it required constant travel. The monetary rewards of returning antiques to their home countries has been enough to sustain an ability to get groceries and keep himself clothed, but the risk almost always outweighs the payment. This does not negate the fact that he has invested wisely and squirreled away money, but accessing it does come with difficulties. One cant move several hundred thousand dollars under the nose of the government without some serious effort.

ALMOST A GHOST: Interpol is aware that he exists, though not to what extent. He has been brought before authorities overseas, but never got to processing after he used his Suggestion power upon the officer in control of him. His face is in a folder somewhere and a high-ranking agent or someone aware of his propensity to rob museums would recognize him.

FEAR OF FIRE: Ambrose is convinced that at one time, back in the early 1900s, he saw another person succumb to the Bane. They caught on fire and screamed themselves into a pile of ash before a bone-chilling wind scattered them across the desert. He dislikes fire out of control in any form and is quick to scamper if the blaze exceeds his concept of 'controlled'.

Gallery

Logs

2019-03-10 - Sudden and Unsettled Terms
Summary: Poor Elmo, being the helpful fix-it-up guy that he is. He gets to deal with a brief...
(ambrose elmo halgrim social)

2019-02-27 - The Best in New York
Summary: Ambrose needs an electrician. Elmo just happens to be the best in New York. Log Info:...
(ambrose elmo social)

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Empire State Heroes MUSH

The Pale Jackal

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Gallery

Logs