Alten

[Hjolnai]

Name

Alten

 

Race

Human, at least by birth. His profession may make him seem something... more, or perhaps less.

 

Occupation

Martial Artist, also described as an Atheist Monk; this is not just a profession, but a way of life for him.

 

Beliefs

Alten is an atheist, but shares many of the beliefs of a monk. He has a strong belief in himself, which is necessary for his abilities. Substantially more detail may be added later.

Alten does not indulge himself in many ways. He eats little, and healthily, drinks only water most of the time, and forces himself to avoid anger or other mind-clouding emotions. He has a constant struggle with pride and is deeply introspective, sometimes considering leaving his path as a martial artist completely, but never for very long. He does not consider a middle way of more indulgence much. He also does not speak much, preferring to listen to his own thoughts and knowing that he cannot afford to grow attached to anyone if he wishes to hold to his path. Regardless, he has a strong sense of duty.

Alten also believes in protecting others; he knows that he has made many sacrifices for his skills, and feels he has sacrificed his emotions so that others might experience life without fear. It is through this sense of duty that he holds his self-discipline constant.

 

Abilities (great big wall of text, may be set out better later)

 

Alten's abilities are at least partially based on the abilities of a D&D monk, although as an atheist he does not exactly fit into that definition. He has muscular control and concentration far beyond the norm, which allows him to clamp muscles around an injury to slow the bleeding; this does inhibit movement though. He can also purge himself of most toxins and diseases, either through forcing poisons out through a cut or by consciously fighting them with his immune system, metabolism and so on; this requires most of his intense concentration, and as such can be too much of a distraction in combat. He is also very resistant to cold and heat, at least when it comes to weather, and he does not scar much. He makes very effective use of his strength, with every bit of his weight behind his blows and a huge capacity to leap great distances. However, he is not much more than average in strength, for someone who exercises quite extensively, and lifting heavy weights is hardly easier than normal. The concept of ki, chi, or a variety of other names for the subtle energy used by martial artists, is applied by Alten. Although it is not known to manifest itself in anything beyond being used as a method of breathing to increase the power behind blows, Alten can make some other use of it to make himself suffer less injury from a blow. This is neither easy nor reliable, and takes his concentration away from a battle, potentially leaving him open to a second blow, but in some cases may be enough to save his life.

Basically, as a martial artist, Alten seems much faster, more agile and tougher than he should be, but if his concentration is disrupted he can be left at a severe disadvantage.

 

Equipment

Alten wears undyed robes of worn cotton. He mostly walks barefoot, and carries little.

Weapons and armour are completely absent, but he may carry a little plain food, like rice, when travelling. For longer trips, he may take an apple or two, but almost never any meat; he is capable of hunting with his bare hands, though he would rarely hunt anything larger than a rabbit, being unwilling to carry a large lump of meat or waste much when a life is lost for it.