Varus Adelric Rosenthal
 Varus Adelric Rosenthal
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| Gender | Male |
| Race | Hyur |
| Clan | Midlander |
| Citizenship | Ul'dah |
| Guardian | Althyk, the Keeper |
| Trades | Magical scholar, alchemist, and jeweler |
| Alignment | Neutral Evil |
| Server | Balmung |
General
Given name: Varus Adelric Rosenthal
Nicknames/Aliases: 9th Heir to the Rosenthal Family.
Age: 36
Current residence: The Rosenthal Estate
Starting City: Ul'dah.
Grand Company Allegiance: None
Employment: Magical Weapons Developer, Magical Consultant, Alchemist, and Gemcutter
Marital Status: Single
Alignment: Neutral Evil
This is the most suitable alignment for Varus because of his tendency to chase after power without regard to those that he harms in the process.
Personality
Mannerisms: In order to create the illusion of normalcy, a Magus with Varus' darker tendencies often adopts an “outward” persona akin to a split-personality. Varus chose the persona of an aristocratic scholar. He is forthcoming with his minor discoveries and even opts to exchange information and knowledge instead of hording it for his own personal gain. In reality, he hordes his most prized experiments and specimens in order to keep his most controversial research away from prying eyes.
Philosophy: In public, Varus often keeps to himself and his research - the facade of an anti-social scholar helps to maintain his secret passions. Varus strives to achieve True Wisdom - it is the open pursuit of the universe's greater truths, not for the sake of any tangible objective, but simply to understand how the universe functions. In order to reach that goal, most magi do not value nor possess the common sense of society, and believe that their progression and advancement are paramount. Varus is no exception and will go to great and atrocious lengths to qualify and quantify the universe's greatest mysteries.
Varus is uninterested in the political and economic power struggles his fellow mages often immerse themselves in, believing such gains to be meaninglessly transient. He is a magus that strives to reach the greatest of magical heights, thus he acts within no moral boundary and does not possess a normal code of conduct or honor. Since he progresses without restraint, Varus is capable of attaining great power in a stunningly short amount of time, but at the cost of victimizing a large number of innocent people.
Abilities
- Alchemy – This includes the craft of alchemy and the magical branch. Varus' lineage focused on Internal Alchemy, the transmutation of the self into a more perfect form. Related spells are material transmutation, and accelerated calculation. Despite extensive knowledge in multiple fields, this is his field of expertise alongside Flow and Transference of Power.
- Flow and Transference of Power – Spells of this nature involve the movement of power or information from one source to another. Examples include energy storage and transfer of consciousness.
- Elemental Magic – The manipulation of the basic elements and fundamental laws of nature. For example, fire elemental magic can involve entropy, transfer of energy, and the manipulation of thermodynamics.
- Crystal Magic – By manipulating the aspected Aether within a shard, crystal, or cluster, Varus is capable of casting spells that would normally require a grand ritual to realize with a single snap of his fingers. This method of spellcasting is extremely efficient. All Varus must do is trigger the spell and the crystal provides the power, so it does not require his own Aether to use or maintain. This also allows him to alter the properties of his familiars by using different crystals as catalysts.
- Summoning Magic – Using grand rituals to call forth beings of power or allies. By altering and manipulating the basic theories of Aetheryte teleportation, Varus has devised a way to summon his agents directly to his side at a moments notice without the need for extensive rituals or preparations. He is also capable of summoning spirits, undead, Voidsent, Egi, Fairies, and altering them to suit his needs.
- Mental Interference – The manipulation of a target's mind. Examples include memory manipulation, illusions, and hypnosis. This is predominately used to cover his tracks when people try to investigate him or to hide his experiments. His skill in this form of magic is passively reflected by the strength of his mental defenses. Even extremely powerful entities like Ascians have difficulty influencing Varus' mind without his consent.
- Healing and Restoration – Although not his forte, Varus is capable of magically healing most wounds and supplementing the healing process with potations. Normally used to artificially and magically preserve his specimens and experiments. For wounds and damage beyond his ability, he summons his fairies to support him.
- Hand-to-Hand Combat – In order to maintain his physical health, prolong his natural lifespan, and general self-defense, Varus decided to train in unarmed martial arts. Among all his skills, this is his weakest.
- The Echo – Like many, Varus was mysteriously granted the Echo.
History
The Rosenthal are a lineage of magi with a history of over 1,000 years. Despite the age of their lineage, they have not attained any great fame among their peers, although the family has been known to produce first-rate magi with no extraordinary skills. Their primary focus lies in internal alchemy, that is, the transmutation of the self into a more perfect form and Varus' predecessors focused on creating the perfect human body. But the culmination of this millennia-long research experiment merely resulted in the creation a Frankenstein monster. Faced with his family's decline and tarnished reputation, Varus turned to more esoteric roots of alchemy. Specifically, finding the River of Living Water, a well-spring that all souls are said to come from and return to. By following this metaphysical river to its source, Varus believes he can tap into the Lifestream itself.
House Rosenthal has been a part of Ul'dah's upper caste since its inception although it has retreated from the political field in the last few generations. It is now more of a slumbering behemoth that only stirs when prodded. Even the Syndicate does not provoke the House needlessly, as the Rosenthal Scions have remained neutral in their bids against the Sultana. Their clouded reputation precedes them, as they are rumored to practice ancient and forbidden magic arts. In the same crowd, another would claim benefit from the Rosenthal's mysterious magic and alchemical genius. Their fame, connections, and wealth make them nigh untouchable and because they do not act openly, the authorities have no legal ground to remove them. The Ninth Patriarch, Varus Rosenthal, is said to be just as cunning and ruthless as his father, if not more so.
Other Notes
His name means "Varus, the bright noble from the valley of roses."
If you would ask those closest to him, the responses you'd get about the male would amount to something similar to this:
- - "Ye' can't trust 'im, can't live wif' 'im, but ye're forced ta' deal wif' 'im."
- - "He doesn't put out."
- - "...." Silence. Looks away. Shrugs.
