Post by zzz - Leif de Drakenberg on Jan 5, 2012 20:34:21 GMT -5
Leif De Drakenberg
---- THE BASICS
Character's Full Name: Leif Guthrumsson De Drakenberg
Nicknames and Aliases: Soldier, Shadow, Drake (only by a selected few)
Age: 361 (appearing in his mid/late twenties)
Species: Vampire
Played By: Wes Ramsey
Appearance: Leif comes from a time when men could wear long hair without being called a Hippie, and he has kept his blond locks to at least shoulder-length throughout the centuries. Sometimes he grows a little beard to look more ‘manly’ and less the innocent angel, that all depends on his mood and what he wants to come across as.
His eyes are of a dark brown and grow even darker when he’s hungry or annoyed. The eyes are probably that one feature that give his overall innocent look the certain ‘bad boy’ tinge he doesn’t even want to work against.
He’s considerably tall with his 6’2 and quite muscular, though still not overly brawny. He has been a fit fighter when still human, and hasn’t lost that fitness in his centuries as a vampire, even less as he sees himself as a guardian still.
Clothe-wise, he likes it simple, but elegant at the same time. You will most likely see him in a black, tight fitting t-shirt and dark jeans. When the occasion demands it, he can dress up, but he doesn’t like it all too much, as he feels like a ‘lackey’ in shirt and suit. He wears a ring with a dragon on his right hand, but sadly it is no lapislazuli ring like he would like to.The ring is nothing but a reminder of the family he comes from, the Drakenbergs. The same symbol can be found curling around his right wrist.
Personality: There are two words, slightly contradicting each other that can sum up Leif in a nutshell: Indifferent and cruel.
He is indifferent to almost everything, other people’s lives and feelings, humans in general, and also animals. One might think long before his heart stopped beating, there were no feelings inside it at all, as he seems to have completely lost his humanity. He doesn’t miss it either, just sometimes puts on the odd act to not appear repellent to people he wants to charm, especially women. He’s loyal towards one person only, and that is Elizabeth Benoit, a mighty female vampire he serves, but even this loyalty is not born out of any distinctive tender feeling. He works for her and follows her orders, but if she said to throw in his life for her, he would laugh it off and tell her not to be silly. Even his loyalty doesn’t stretch that far. He will not deceive her distinct orders, but he’s apt enough to find loopholes and use them, if what she says doesn’t suit him for any reason at all. But he will also willingly suffer the consequences should she be angry at him. It was worth it after all.
Following that line of thinking, Leif is also very indifferent if he causes someone pain. On the contrary, he even likes it. It’s the only time you can catch him feeling anything at all, when he’s got someone in his claws and knows they won’t escape from him. He’s good at getting needed information out of people, and his boundaries have yet to be tested. It might be because he grew up in quite ruthless times and was a soldier until the day he died, but killing someone, vampire, werewolf or human, is nothing but a job for him. A job he gets done well and shrugs off the second after. He knows he’s not the brains of an operation, but he doesn’t desire to be. Being arms and legs is enough for him, as long as it also gets him a little extra on the side.
Will there ever be one able to crack this shell and discover if there’s something behind it? Who knows, Leif doesn’t worry about the future too much. He takes everything as it comes and tries to squeeze the best out of it for him.
Powers and Strengths:
- Superhuman strength
- Compulsion
- Torture
- Heightened Senses
- Combat (rapier is his weapon of choice, but that might come off odd nowadays, and his hands are strong enough after all those years)
- His lack of conscience
- Streetsmart
Vulnerabilities and Weaknesses:
- Sunlight (he’s annoyed at Bet for not giving him one, endless source of irritation)
- Vervaine
- Stake through the heart
- Werewolve bite
- Has to be invited into a house
- He can become reckless, because he simply doesn’t care for risks
---- HISTORY
Leif Guthrumsson De Drakenberg was born in the prospering Empire of Sweden just two years after the Peace of Westphalia in 1648 set an end to a time of bloody war, uproar and instability in Europe, but peaceful times were still not his to be born into. While outwardly Europe seemed to settle down at least a bit, inside the conflicts kept on brewing. Leif’s father Guthrum De Drakenberg was of lower nobility and had been serving his queen Christina and later the new King Charles X with steel and blood. The sword being his death one day, he left his young son and his wife in the care of his brother, who took it upon himself to raise young Leif as worthy nobleman and excellent soldier. Just having turned sixteen, Leif already found himself making first-hand experiences in the battlefield, following Swedish raids onto adjoining territories to gain more land.
With the rising of a new king, Sweden did no longer satify itself with raids, but sided with France, aiding it in the so called Scanian War which this time led them to fight for newly acquired territories, called Scania, that had formaly been Swedish. Leif, now a grown up man and already seasoned soldier, commanded his own battalion, and was quite proud of it. Many began to praise his cool head and his absolute ruthlessness, which proved to be a true forte in war. What might have made him an outcast in society, made him a wanted man on the unforgiving battlefield. Even during the many skirmishes they fought, the Swedish could not quite give up on their raptorial nature, and so sacking villages, manors and even castles on their way was a common occurrence.
It was on the eve of the Battle of Fehrbellin in 1675 that Leif was asked to lead an attack on a wealthy looking manor in the night. He went in there with only twenty men, thinking it an easy task as he thought the entire inhabitants and staff fast asleep… just that they were not!
Even today when he understands everything, he still looks back on this night as some kind of horrid nightmare. They found the house wide awake though it was around midnight or later, and they were greeted with a mob of servants that fought them back with nothing but their sheer hands and inhuman strength, teeth bared like those of wild animals. The master of the house seemed to get a sick satisfaction out of watching what could be called nothing else but a slaughter from a gallery above the entrance hall, and Leif, feeling unusual hatred and ire taking over him, fought his way up the stairs to reach this man, to take out at least one of them, before he went down fighting, but he didn’t get far. He wasn’t held back by any of the eerily fast and brutal men – and women! – no, it was the sheer gaze of the master that held him in custody. Suddenly, he didn’t want to kill him anymore… no, he felt even obliged to lay down his rapier in front of him, expecting further commands.
”You fought well…” the master said, nodding slowly. “Fearless, careless… I like it. Yes, you might be a swedish bastard, but I think I will keep you. Should be amusing. Come closer…”
And so Leif De Drakenberg became a creature of the night, he became one of the master’s servants and fighters. He learned that the old manor was thought by the locals to be haunted, cursed, and they were right. Not that Leif did care. He could go hunting as much as he wanted, could harass the poor humans as much as he wanted, as long as he always returned to the manor at the stroke of three in the morning, to amuse the master with his fighting skills. The vampires fought amongst each other like gladiators, and whoever won that night could be sure of a little ‘treat’. It might be a boring life, but it also held many benefits. The wars of the humans and the entire political situation went past Leif, and he didn’t care.
One day however, his master entertained a special visitor, a vampire like them all, and he showed off his fighters to her for her amusement. Elizabeth Benoit was the woman’s name, and for the first time in his afterlife, something began to matter for Leif. He was not smitten with her, though she was surely a beauty, but rather intrigued. That night, he won the games they had been playing, even bested some of his far older companions, just because he wanted to please her. She had something about her, an aura of ambition and cleverness he admired. His old soldier self was coming through again, the one that wanted a figure above him that challenged him more than just these stupid every day combats. And she could give him that… he felt it. She would be his general, or like with the old Viking tales, his ring lord. He knew he was not born to shape the world on his own, but he would gladly take out the orders that lead to it – or anything she would want him to do, however small.
So, when the master announced his victory and asked for his prize, Leif bended his knee without hesitation, crossing his heart in the traditional warrior salute, and asked her to take him on as his personal guard and helping hand, as he could not think of a greater honor.
His world wouldn’t have crashed had she said no, but he still felt a vague sense of relief when she accepted.
He followed Bet wherever she went, and didn’t care much about the surroundings, whether it was England, Europe in general or America. He was never one into fashion business, so he kept his head out of whatever she did, just being there in case she needed him for any dirty work. As the years went by, Leif took special pleasure in the new role especially women took on in this world. He liked their sassy and free-spirited attitude, it made breaking them all the more fun. As long as he cleans up after himself, he knows he can do whatever he pleases, and that makes him look forward to every new day, and every new task he gets – which as much excitement as his indifference allows.
---- ROLE PLAY SAMPLE
A free night out… that could be boring or that could be pleasing, whatever you made of it. Leif had decided to go with pleasing for the time being, as he was already making some progress of becoming drunk, and had as well already felt some appreciative female eyes on himself. He needed a new puppet maybe… someone who could intrigue him enough to last for more than one night, though rare they were. Cause Leif was hard to be intrigued. Well, it might be Bet setting the stakes incredibly high, but then he couldn’t always take her as an excuse. He didn’t fawn over her after all… he fawned over no one. That was the good thing about being a mostly free man.
Raising another beer to his mouth, he let his predatory eyes wander over the dimly lit room, listening to the heavy beat of the music all around him. Truly, discos had been invented either to taunt vampires, or to please them. There were loads and loads of skimpily clad girls, smelling of sweet fragrances and sweat, their pulses higher than usual from the warmth and the dancing… it was a true feast of the senses. And they were so willing… oh yes, so very willing. Once again he could feel probing, curious eyes on himself, and he slowly turned towards the dancefloor, catching the hastily cast down eyes of a small redhead girl. Oh, acting all coy, were we? When in fact they so were not… Lazily like a cat, Leif stood up from the bar, and made his way towards the dancefloor, his limbs picking up the rhythm with ease. Then he positioned himself a little away from the redhead, acting as if he hadn’t seen her. If she really wanted something, she would come.
And of course she came. They all came. Was it his long golden locks he weared tied behind his head today? Was it the tight fitting black shirt, suggesting his muscular chest and six-pack? They bad boy air? It didn’t matter to him as long as it worked.
Greeting her with a wolfish grin, he took her hands and lead her into the next dance, increasing the body contact more and more. Oh yes, she would do. He didn’t even need to bring out the heavy artillery, she was tipsy enough to not care… and thought probably she had gotten himself quite the catch.
A bit of persuasion and a few minutes later they found themselves in a shabby, dimlit backstreet. Loud rushing of cars nearby. Even if she should scream no one would hear… his skin prickled in anticipation as he pushed her against the wall, leaning in to give her a kiss she would never forget.
There was nothing like a free night out.
---- THE PLAYER
Alias: Gwen again ^^
RP Experience: four to five years
Contact: PM is fine!