Logan Hawthorne

✦ Appearance

Logan is very stocky with thick, powerful but not fully lean musculature. He also has a small forehead. His eyes are sharp and piercing, when not offset by a more pleasant expression. He often keeps his mid-back length hair in a french braid.

✦ Info

Personality: Logan is pragmatic and patient. However, when he gets the chance, he can be goofy. Sometimes, it's a mask. He's good at knowing the right time to crack a joke. He holds himself to the highest standard, but at the same time at least tries to avoid working himself to death. He now knows very well what he is and isn't capable of; he has to. Any doubts or flaws he had before, as a fresh Rook, he had to kill with all vehemence.
It was the only way forward.
Likes/Dislikes: Likes candy and sugary foods; enjoys a hobby of making candy. Hates coffee. Is really into civil engineering.

¶ Backstory

His twin sister Avabella was the only Hawthorne kid of their generation that matched him in intellect; prodigal twins, of equal level. Each displayed an affinity for magic early on, Logan to electricity and Ava to fire.
What Logan also displayed was an uncanny skill of perception. Sometimes he bordered on clairvoyant, knowing things he had no business knowing: It would be years until it could be explained, by Logan himself.
After evaluation at the age of 9, the clan described his sensory talent as a "once in a generation" ability. So acute was his ability to feel magic, he could feel the residue of a mage's presence in an area, five hours after they left; without sensory training.

He enrolled at DFMA at the age of 17: At 24, he graduated from a dual degree program with a Bachelor's in the Combat Prowess Program and a PHD in Runic System Theory. His professors, on some occasions, urged him to "take it easy," something which seemed ridiculous to him at the time.
In the present, he kinda wishes he had. He wishes he could've spent more time with his sister; yeah, during college everyone has less free time but... he could've definitely tried to make some more, at least.
Soon after graduating, in AE694 he joined the ATDF.

Soon afterward he transferred to a Diagonal which had jurisdiction over the cultural region of Acuria, for a particular reason: He'd heard of a particular mystic group, through the grapevine; rumor said they could rewire the senses.
It was fascinating enough that he had to investigate. He spent several years in the region — That was a weird and rough time, being away from Ava for so long — before he transferred back to Dragonfall in AE702 as a Knight under Alessia Gataki. This was 7 years before Ignis Alston's attack on Dragonfall.

Logan doesn't remember exactly where he was that day, but he knew he was off duty. He felt it long before it happened. He remembers sprinting outside, screaming, and overloading his magic just enough that he barely prevented the buildings behind and around him from being obliterated.
His memory stops being coherent after he reconnects with his diagonal. The only thing he can remember clearly is pain from mana over-exhaustion; when he ran out of mana, his body began consuming itself to continue powering his spells. He was told, after the fact, that he only collapsed once everything was over.
It took him a month to fully recover.

Despite his misgivings Alessia eventually chose Logan to succeed her.
Going forward, thinking back on it, maybe he should've listened to his gut instinct. Maybe he should've waited. He didn't feel ready in the slightest for such a massive responsibility; but that just came with the mantle, he supposed. He didn't know what was in store for them.

AE710, two months after Ignis' attack, signs of a cult began popping up; it had been brewing for even longer, almost certainly, but for one reason or another it only started picking up steam after the attack. First it was disappearances, then they got bolder. They began performing ritualistic murders, leaving behind bodies that could only be described as "desecrated, befouled, and corrupted".
It was possible — unlikely, highly unlikely even, but possible — that the desecrated bodies were hazardous, or toxic, or whatever. It made him uneasy. He declared every case of these ritualistic murders had to be handled by hazmat teams; even when evidence started to point to the unlikelihood of the corruption being contagious, he didn't want to take the risk.
It made them slower than they would've been otherwise, if he'd lifted the quarantine. It's very likely they could've made more progress, sooner.
That was the first of his many mistakes in this case. But the worst was yet to come.

They had been tracking the movements of the cult for some time now, and had narrowed their base's location to a few possibilities. Logan had each of them monitored at all times. Over all, they'd made far less progress than he'd hoped for. Too little progress, too slow; he felt like a fool, like they should've taken the cult down ages ago, like he was failing everyone.
He was restless. He was letting everything get to him.
That was his second biggest mistake: If he'd kept a clearer mind, so much difficulty could've been avoided; this is the mistake that led to everything which would follow.
This is hindsight, of course.

It happened on December 15th, the coldest day of that year.
They'd narrowed the cult's possible base locations down to one. But those bastards, somehow they figured out they were being watched. They shouldn't have been able to. It just shouldn't have been possible; even today, years later, he doesn't have an explanation for how they found out.

By 4 in the morning, some thirty people had entered the base location. Everyone was roused immediately, once the tenth person had entered. By 5, no one had left the location. He should've been more cautious; it was fucking weird. More than anyone else, Logan, Logan should have seen it: They figure out where the base is, then, suddenly, the whole cult convenes. With a clearer mind, he would have seen it for what it was. Of course, this is hindsight again.
At 6 in the morning, they attacked the cult's base.

At the start, for the most part, everything was fine. Most of the members were nonmagi, wielding enchanted weapons not advanced enough to deal with the strength of a diagonal. This was to be expected. What was not expected, as they cleared through the base, was a tunnel. The cult had dug beneath the foundations of the building.
Underneath, Logan couldn't sense anything. It was a complete arcane sensory null zone. They didn't have time to dismantle it; the cult could be preparing anything down there, and they had to stop whatever it was. Without his ace, his sensory prowess, it made sense to Logan to put Avabella in front, in what would usually be his place.
In truth, he was scared; but this also is hindsight. Back then, as a fresh Rook, he didn't offer himself such luxuries as "fear". Another mistake for the pile, this one almost the worst.

A spiraling stairwell carved down through the foundation and the earth, barely large enough at any point for one person, for fifty feet maybe. At the bottom, it opened into a large chamber.
Contained therein — surrounded by the cult, and half of them dead — was a demon.

Its body was semi-amorphous, made of green fire but taking the vague shape of a humanoid leopard. Its limbs were gangling and angular. The surface of the flames glistened, as if covered in oil. When it moved, the light of the flames bent and refracted, casting dizzying green patterns across its surroundings.
Its presence alone almost made him vomit, cutting through the sensory null field now that he was "closer"; "closer" being relative, they were some twenty feet away. Even that far away, and with the suffocating blanket of the null field... He almost ran.

Then it turned. Its eyes were white beneath the miasmatic film. With its wings, wings thin and brittle like dead bramble, it covered its gaunt abdomen. Later, it would be identified as the greater demon Flauros.

It spoke to him, in a voice like the dying gasp of a man. It was his own voice.
And the word of the demon was desolation. What it said, he would never be able to recall. Even in its absence, brain refusing to remember, the wounds of the word are forever.

Despite everything, Logan should've done more. Out of everyone there, he's the one who shouldn't have froze. He was terrified, and in the worst possible moment, he froze; and for that Ava almost died. His fuck up got her grievously injured and almost killed. His fuck up.
He had her extracted while he and his diagonal held back the demon, retreating back up the staircase. With time and backup, they were able to defeat it.
Logan could never get Avabella to see him or talk to him again, after that. Even while she was in the hospital, she refused to see him.
He doesn't blame her.

Logan's grown better into his position since then. He had to obviously; it was the only way he could possibly go on living, let alone keep his position.

✦ Magic Name: Gulthan Ūle

Overall place in type triad: Defense
Elemental Properties: Lightning, Psychic

¶ Description

Logan's expertise in Runic systems, namely Sadyarushk, is one of his greatest assets as a Rook. Theoretically, if left to his devices for long enough, Logan could create a runic matrix to solve any situation; in reality, maybe not.
One True Sense and his runic expertise mesh together exceptionally well, allowing him to discern the functionality of enemy enchantments so as to counter them.
His defensive capabilities, combined with his enhanced mobility, enable him to make sure everyone comes home alive.

¶ Techniques

» One True Sense (Self, Passive || N/E)

Logan has rewired his brain through extensive training and effort. The barriers between his senses have been broken, allowing them to overlap, combine, and even strengthen each other. This includes the five senses everyone knows as well as magic sensing, but also lesser known ones.
A far more comprehensive perception of his surroundings is the end result. It may seem, to the outside observer, that Logan can see in all directions and even through walls but it's more complicated (and less extreme) than that.
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Kinaesthesia and balance are amplified, making Logan far more resilient to disorienting spells. His acute magic senses overlap and amplify almost everything. Hearing, sight, pallesthesia (vibration sense), thermosensation, all combine and amplify the others.
Not only does this combining strengthen each pathway of his perception, if an offensive spell closes off one of those pathways, Logan can continue on almost entirely unhindered.
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µ Inborn Extrasensory Gift (Self, Passive || N/E)

From childhood, Logan has always seemed to know things he shouldn't. That's because, from childhood, he's always had an extremely acute ability to sense magic. So acute in fact that he knew his older cousin, Simon Hawthorne, was going to experience heart failure over a year before it happened.
Nobody believed him.
His extrasensory gift has only grown stronger with time and training. Now, if he knows the signature of a mage, he can pinpoint their exact location relative to him if they're uncloaked within 100 meters. Logan can also track magi through the magic residue their presence leaves behind.

» Psioelectric Discipline (Self || Lightning, Psychic)

Logan's lightning manipulation has been supercharged by his psychic talent and vice versa; the two have fused beyond separation. His Psioelectric control extends in a 5m radius circle around him, growing to 8m when he holds Bealkada or Thundael. He can grab objects and people with psychic-lightning appendages which sprout from his body; he controls whether they electrocute the held object. Another technique available to him is, of course, shooting electricity from his body and his weapons which has an increased range of 7m, or 14m with one of his swords.
If he has the time to do so, he can focus and use himself as a capacitor for his lightning magic. He can move and fight physically while doing so, but cannot use other magic. This is called Capacitance. For every turn he does this, his next ability will have increased power and 1m range for every turn; after five turns, at which he will begin to spark and radiate electricity, his next attack will gain an additional 5m range — on top of the 5m previously granted by Capacitance — and the Bunker Buster effect, making it exceptionally effective against both arcane and physical defenses. The benefits of each turn focused decrease after the fifth.
After a Capacitance attack is used, Capacitance cannot begin again for 4 turns.
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µ Friction Control (Self || Psy, Lightning)

Allows Logan to control his friction with any and every surface individually. He can disable all friction with the ground while increasing friction with his sword, making it impossible for it to be knocked from his grasp. Thanks to ceaseless practice, this technique uses little mana.
Friction Control enables Logan to move and reposition in ways that look comical, but are dangerously effective.
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µ Cicruit Break Riposte (Defense || Psy, Lightning)
Logan creates an electric circuit between him and his blade before taking up a defensive stance. When blocking an attack while Circuit Break is active, the electric circuit is disturbed. Logan must initiate Circuit Break one turn before it activates, and can maintain this defensive stance for up to two turns.
When combined with his One True Sense, Circuit Break allows him to block and then riposte instantly. A secondary effect is that, on initial success, Circuit Break can repeatedly chain into itself within the same turn allowing Logan to block a flurry of many attacks (like a hail of arrows or other projectiles) and immediately follow up.
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µ Revolution (Defense || Psy, Lightning)
Revolution is Logan's most powerful on-the-spot defensive ability. The following steps happen very, very rapidly: Logan first seals his magic inside his body, puts it under pressure, before he begins to spin and release it from everywhere on his body at once. This makes him spin much, much faster.
In fractions of a second, a shell of violently rotating psioelectric magic forms around Logan. This shell has a diameter of 7 meters around Logan. This shell is not only incredibly hard to pierce, it will (try to) shred anything which touches it. In turn, Logan cannot maintain it for long; using it for 4 turns would consume half of his maximum mana supply.

» Bunker Charms (Defense || Psy, Lightning)

Logan has several techniques in his arsenal under this umbrella term. All of them use rune matrices in some way.
The first and simplest of these is simply "Protect" —
Logan points his current weapon forward and channels his psionic might through the blade, while simultaneously, a well memorized runic circle is carved into the air. A concave circular shield is created from the blades tip.
His blade as a catalyst and the stance of pointing it forward as a somatic component are the only requirements. While it is incredibly quick to engage and cheap to use, it is not notably powerful. Technically speaking though, there is no limit to the mana he can pour into it.
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µ Nexal Reinforcement (Defense || Psy, Lightning)

This can only be used outside of combat. Logan can press his magic onto various surfaces to create long-lasting imprints of dense matrices, reinforcing whatever physical structure they're placed on. This is most effective against energy-based attacks. These nexus points can then be linked together, with a maximum range of 30 meters, and these Nexal Reinforcement Systems will grow stronger as they are expanded.
It should be noted however these take time to set up: 5-10 minutes per point, cost scaling with strength. Logan can make 1-3 of these per day, if he wants to remain battle ready, or 4-5 if he's willing to fully commit. Nexal points are immutable once made; they cannot be empowered any further, nor recharged. Points and Systems have a maximum lifespan of 21 days.

µ Brid's Emplacement (Defense, Offense || Psy, Lightning)

This is Logan's strongest ability. Logan creates a crystal lattice matrix of mana made physical, which acts as a temporary or "ghost" wardstone. Creating Brid's Emplacement requires Logan's complete attention for six turns, during which any distraction will negate his progress. The matrix's construction will consume half of his total mana, and will take immediate effect after completion.
The wardstone is intimately and wholly connected to his magic system: Logan is put into a state where he is rooted to where he stands, and all of his senses are greatly enhanced. His physical body becomes dormant. His feet cannot be removed from the ground. Around him is a thin, intangible blue barrier, 15m in diameter.
Anywhere within the space of the barrier, Logan can manifest an electric avatar to either attack or defend; any damage dealt to the avatar is transferred directly to the Wardstone, in reduced amounts. The Wardstone will be destroyed immediately if attacked directly. If it's destroyed, Logan will be stunned and the spell will immediately end.
It should be noted, the avatar is closer to the idea of puppet magic than astral projection — hence the range limitation. This is a well-kept secret, however.
Since the avatar can manifest anywhere within the bounds of the barrier at any time, it can be considered to teleport; however, it can only ever be in one spot at once.

» Ward Creation (Defense || Psy, Lightning)

Logan draws a runic circle in the air around an intended, usually friendly, target. A singular damage type to be protected against is specified, and an amount of mana is allocated to the spell. Then the Ward is finished.
Wards act as shields with a battery, that being the amount of mana allocated to them, against the specified damage type. They can be visualized as a bubble closely hugging the body of the target, absorbing attacks of the specified type and consuming mana from their battery to do so. The ward can block anywhere between 1-8 attacks, depending on attack strength and the power allotted to the ward, before unravelling and ceasing to exist.
Available damage types: Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing. Requires the target to remain within five meters of Logan for three turns.

✦ Gear

¶ Bealkadā

Elemental properties: Psy, Lightning
Catalyst: Y

µ Physical Description

Logan's Montante Bealkadā has an overall length of 66" and a blade length of 50". The long crossguard is not accompanied by side rings as he's found they get in his way far more than they're worth. Above the crossguard is the ricasso. The ricasso is an unsharpened portion of the blade handled during halfswording, and is protected by parrying hooks, effectively a smaller crossguard.

The most striking aspect of the Montante is the blade. The metal is the purest white, like ivory.

µ Functional Description

Bealkadā's creation was a joint effort between the Hawthorne family and Blaise Corbin. The weapon, from before creation, has been fully saturated with Logan's magic. He is able to call it to his side regardless of distance, so long as it has a viable path to get to him. Logan also has a general sense of where Bealkadā is at all times, again regardless of distance.

¶ Thundael

Elemental properties: Psy, Lightning
Catalyst: Y

µ Physical Description

Logan's sidearm Thundael, a bastard sword. It has an overall length of 49" and a blade length of 38". Unlike Bealkadā, the crossguard is accompanied by side rings. However, like Bealkadā, Thundael's blade is the purest ivory white.

µ Functional Description

Thundael's creation mirrors that of its twin sister. Like his montante, Logan can call it to his side from any distance and tell where it is at all times.