PHYSICAL
❧ THE BLIGHT HEIR
	Formerly a clergyman by trade, Carlisle once had an affinity for healing and a dislike for the undead; unfortunately, he can no longer heal others quite like he could before, as he is an undead now. While he still despises such abominations on principle, he has had to adjust his priorities. A pacifist by his very nature, this lifestyle led him to study primarily spells of utilitarian purpose rather than those that might cause harm to others, as many other casters would. Like most magicians in his world, he practices somatic spells, and requires his hands for the performance of his magic. Most undeads of his world cannot use magic, as they have neither the capacity nor the cognizance to do so; however, as a specialized, powerful undead known as a Revenant, he has access to traditional magic the same as any living person of his world would. In addition, because he rose from a twice-cursed with the ability to compel others, he has access to aural magic -- that which affects and is affected by the very aura of a person. In short, the exact prerequisites for the Blight Heir's birth were extraordinary, as most Revenants would not have the ability to compel both the living and the dead into action at will. In life, he had a talent for the restorative arts, which utilize the same type of energy as necrotic magic; his affliction -- by pure, unfortunate luck -- granted him the gift of aural compulsion, and raised him into undeath upon his passing. The combination of the two created a unique Revenant who could control the living, then raise them into undeath himself. The infamous Blight Heir, a being who rivaled and surpassed the threat of true necromancers in the region, was created by complete accident from a man who was appalled by the very concept of undeads, and thus did everything in his power to keep people from becoming them. The irony is not lost on him.
❧ UNDEAD PROPERTIES
	As an undead, Carlisle shares their strengths and weaknesses. His physical senses are dulled, particularly his senses of touch and smell; as such, he does not feel pain the same way he used to, and is largely unaffected by airborne threats and temperature shifts. He is immune to diseases, poisons, and sicknesses, and no longer needs to eat. As a magical undead, he does occasionally enter a state of hibernation to "recharge" his energy. This can happen while he's awake, which results in him just standing around for a few hours in a zombie-like haze (literally), but he's much more likely to line it up with a regular sleep cycle, as he hopes to keep some semblance of his humanity. Like with all undeads, he is nearly immune to compulsion and charms; however, he is highly vulnerable to abilities that specifically target undeads with such compulsions, like his own. In addition, healing magic and abilities are now volatile to him, and he can be injured from anything resembling "positive" energy, including enchantments on items and weapons. Thankfully, the same necrotic energies that animate him can also piece him back together if wounded, once he figures out how to manipulate them in the proper way.
MAGICAL
Though an abysmal fighter due to his timid and often cowardly nature, Carlisle is an adept spellcaster. While most of his spells rely on eksth'alva ('magical energy'), some -- namely his aural magic -- are affected by his targets themselves, such as spells with compulsory or mind-altering effects. Primary exceptions to this would be if said target is an outright god or someone with supernaturally high willpower. If you're unsure about something, feel free to drop me a PM so we can hash it out!
❧ Minor Magics
	These spells are basic magic manipulation that any magician worth their salt could cast in Carlisle's world. He can conjure light (either orbs or drawn lines), sparks, puffs of smoke, small flowers, water (about two cups at a time), or handfuls of feathers, sand, or powder. Though he could start a fire with such magic if provided tinder, this kind of magic is mostly prestidigitation. These spells are either somatic and require a gesture for the conjuring, or are focused and cast through a drawn glyph. With his shaky hands ruining any attempt at drawing lines, Carlisle is a subpar glyphcrafter and prefers to use gestures for these when he can.
❧ Necrotic Energies
	Once a naturally gifted healer, Carlisle specialized in the restorative arts, putting people back together via magical means. Unfortunately, as an undead, the manipulation of energy for such purposes counteracts ones keeping him animated -- while still capable of healing even gruesome, life-threatening injuries, he must focus on the task far more than he did when alive, as well as endure excruciating pain during the process. Instead, his healing abilities have largely been attuned toward necrotic magic, which uses the same energy as before, albeit on the opposite end of the magical spectrum. Rather than restoring what he touches with his bare hands, he can now put his focus into draining the life from it, withering and rotting the flesh in an instant. This extends to non-living surfaces as well, though it requires more purposeful concentration and time for him to fully corrode something inanimate, like an item or a wall. Rather than healing the body, he can now manipulate what energy he has to raise a corpse into undeath, even seeing the vague glimpses of the last waking moments of an unconscious or freshly-dead target by putting a hand on them. He can handle quite a bit of this kind of magic without wearing himself out -- more than he could when alive due to his affliction -- but he has his limits and knows he's coming to them when he either starts suffering a massive headache, or the black bile ("concentrated sin," as his uncles used to call it) wells in his mouth or under his eyes. Though his healing was somatic in nature -- he had to use his hands to cast these spells, and has to be touching the target being healed for the magic to be effective -- his years as the Blight Heir developed his abilities to where he can cast some of them at a range, particularly the reanimation of corpses. He hasn't yet figured out the extent of his newfound abilities, and will be horrified to learn his talents now lie in unadulterated necromancy, as let's be real: he does not want to make more undeads, no matter how good he is at it.
❧ Influence
	A byproduct of his condition as a twice-cursed, this magic affects the very auras and souls of those around him, compelling them to action -- or inaction, in some cases. How he can use this ability varies depending on the situation and what he is trying to influence his target to do: he can calm minds, sending people from a blind rage to being slightly less than hostile; he can compel people to either attack or not attack someone; he can cause fear in some subjects, while forcing others to tell the truth or lies. He can even attempt to have people perform more complex tasks, such as crafting something, provided they know how to do it in the first place. He can only influence them to do something they logically can do, but not give them the knowledge on how. This kind of magic is classified as aural magic, and is a relative oddity in Carlisle's world that is usually available only to the twice-cursed, if at all. It's both powerful and hard to control: he cannot choose specific targets with this magic, and thus it affects everyone within a certain radius of him, often including Carlisle himself. Given his morality, he is unlikely to use this ability on purpose, as stripping someone of their free will is 100% abhorrent in the eyes of his goddess. Accidentally, on the other hand... For RP-purposes, whether or not a character is affected is up to the player's discretion. His permissions post is here!
❧ Dealing with the Undead
	Like many other twice-cursed, Carlisle has an attunement toward the undead -- even more so now that he's one of them. He can sense when one is in his immediate area, speak with them, and drain what energy they have through touch to channel it into a different corpse for reanimation. Lesser, mindless undeads (shambling husks, like run-of-the-mill zombies, and the like) are passively compelled by his state of mind: if he's angry, they will be hostile toward the source of his anger, and while calm, they will enter a near-hibernation state where they pay no attention to even the living around them, etc. This could be a boon, as he could potentially protect allies from swarms of undead; however, given he tends to panic easily, it's much more likely to get him -- and those around him -- into trouble. This kind of magic is considered aural in nature, and while Carlisle knows he can sense the undead, he is currently unaware of how they are obedient to him, nor how other undeads -- especially powerful ones -- can sense his presence, as well.
MISCELLANEOUS
	Through years of study and the occasional encounter, he is fairly fluent in his world's versions of Common, Elvish, Draconic, and Anaric (the traditional language of magicians); he also knows enough of the gibberish language of the Forest Folk who live around Bear Den to get by in a conversation.

Setting:

The town of Bear Den is an unfortunate place. Located in the small principality of Dargaran along the Cottonmouth River, it was once home to a variety of peoples, ranging from standard fantasy fare of humans, elves, and dwarves, to half-beaverkin and the occasional wizard who turned his entire arm into wood through a magical mishap. Ever suffering from a necromancy problem, it was primarily known for one thing: its status as the home of the renowned Longinmouth family, a bloodline that had long served the region as monster hunters and trappers. Their skills kept the town financially afloat and threats -- both undead and otherwise -- at bay. Each member of their line was gifted with abilities that allowed them to protect the common folk: they were warriors, magicians, seers, and smiths; their name was known throughout Dargaran and beyond.

Their last member was Carlisle Longinmouth: healer, cleric, practitioner of the Clarity; son of Kevin, nephew of Benistad and Boris; the last in the Longinmouth lineage, and heir of their estate. He was both dead and alive: twice-cursed.

The main religion in the kingdom is the following of the Camisou (the Clarity) and the Domu (the Shroud). Those who have come so close to death that they have seen the Shroud of the Land Beyond Living are said to be cursed twice: once for having nearly died in the first place, and a second time for having wasted the Shroud's time -- while he is not an evil god, the Shroud is a very busy god, and he does not like to have his time wasted.

Though they sometimes return to the world of the living with gifts -- typically magical in nature, as their souls are said to enter another realm and absorb some of the properties from it -- the twice-cursed are often changed for worse. Some return to life with immense, unyielding strength, but also with a limb deadened beyond repair; others gain the ability to glimpse into the future, yet lose their sight, their eyes having been seared for gazing even once at a plane beyond their comprehension. Some even lose their minds, as nothing can compare to the horrors they saw in the Land Beyond Living... even if they can't fully remember said horrors upon waking in their living bodies.

One aspect all twice-cursed have in common is that they expel a black bile from the site of their affliction whenever using their new gifts. Most consider it a sign of the Shroud using the twice-cursed to get a foothold in the living realm, but others collect it and sell it as a miracle drug, touting that taking the essence of death itself into one's body will surely stave it off somehow. Many twice-cursed adapt to their new lives, using their unique gifts for their professions, becoming oracles and fortune tellers; some become witches and warlocks, turning to a darker calling, hoping to gain favor with the lord of the Land Beyond Living so that he might forgive them upon their return. Whatever the reason for surviving their encounter, they straddle the line between life and death with their very existence.

But as it turns out, unbeknownst to anyone, they are far more dead than alive.


History:

Born in the rocky hills surrounding Bear Den, it was clear from an early age that Carlisle was unlikely to live up to the standards of his father, an adventurer and man of action who wasn't satisfied unless the day ended with a dangerous beast slaughtered and a round of drinks served to celebrate its demise. Carlisle, on the other hand, was a superstitious lad who was terrified of death and all things that might bring it, including (but not limited to) beasts, haunts, abominations, aberrations, spooky shadows, and small birds that may or may not have been riddled with diseases. Thus, he was perfectly happy to study such creatures in a purely academic way rather than slay them for recognition.

Upon failing a coming-of-age ceremony known as the Hunt, Carlisle began his studies with the clergy of the Clarity in order to become a healer in her service. Three reasons he was motivated toward this career:

a. the healers who patched him up after his failed Hunt discovered he had a rare aptitude for the restorative arts

b. as someone who thought he had no talents whatsoever, his gift was a life-changing surprise, and one he was eager to take advantage of so as not to disappoint his bloodline

c. clergy weren't often attacked by bears, and as someone who was recently mauled by a bear on his Hunt, he hoped to avoid a second experience

It took him another few months and the death of his father before he realized his failed Hunt brought something else upon him: a condition colloquially known as "twice-cursed." It was at the funeral that his curse first manifested, temporarily stripping him of his ability to speak the common tongue as the black bile poured from his mouth before the congregation.

Though the people of Bear Den knew him to be trustworthy, those outside the village were often distrusting of the twice-cursed. As for Carlisle, the Shroud must have seen it fitting that a man who wanted to work within the realms of healers and the church -- professions that required a lot of compassion, confessing, and conversing in general -- be struck with a condition that would leave him painfully tongue-tied. And so, in times of immense stress or frustration, the poor lad found himself unable to speak or understand anything but Des, the language of the Below and all who dwelt there. Given the nature of his curse and the twisted "gift" he was granted by it -- the power of compulsion and influence over one's will, a terrible ability he could barely control, if at all -- Carlisle became withdrawn, keeping mostly to the town's church and the home he shared with his uncles.

Unfortunately, the twice-cursed are said to be the harbingers of tragedy, and Carlisle found himself as no exception: he was just seventeen when his uncles Boris and Benistad went missing. Because the Longinmouth brothers had been Bear Den's primary source of income, and Carlisle was already the town's religious leader, that left him with sole responsibility for both the family estate and the economic and spiritual welfare of the townspeople. While he was no monster hunter, he was adept at dealing with some demons -- aside from his own -- and started using his gifts in healing, exorcism, and spiritual awareness to help bring extra income into the village. It wasn't much, but he had to atone for guilt and sins some way. After all, he'd seen the Land Beyond Living, and did not want to starve and end up back there anytime soon.

However, his efforts to help the town and serve at its benefactor often went ignored by those not living in Bear Den. Some of the nearby villages believed his curse had brought misfortune upon his family, and that it would soon spread beyond Bear Den if left unchecked; others suspected Carlisle of having had a direct hand in his uncles' disappearances. The growing paranoia among the populace over the fates of such legends as the Longinmouth Brothers was enough to draw the attention of Inquisitors working under the king. Though they detained and questioned Carlisle regarding the vanishing of his uncles, they eventually released him back to Bear Den -- they could have executed him and saved the world from dealing with another twice-cursed, but he was a young man, religious, and they had no proof of his guilt. Perhaps he could be redeemed, if given time.

Time is, unfortunately, a luxury the twice-cursed often do not have. While many are murdered or the subject of "accidents," and their deaths deemed a favor to the world, those who do make it to their natural end only tend to live a meager number of years, their lifespans cut down to only a third of the average, at best. As for Carlisle, he made it to thirty-one: longer than most twice-cursed and enough to secure the financial stability of the town, but not nearly enough time to earn redemption in the eyes of his goddess. Centuries wouldn't have been enough for that, if one asked him. Though he had spent his years in service of his goddess, healing the injured and saving so many from the grip of death, he was embittered by his affliction robbing him of so much: a family, interpersonal connections, a spotless reputation worthy of his lineage, a life. He died alone, sequestered away in his family estate as he so often was.

With the blighted regions of the land giving rise to undeads, very few people were buried in Dargaran; instead, bodies were traditionally burned so their corpses could not be raised by necromancers. This went doubly for the twice-cursed, whose ashes were often scattered to further prevent their curse from afflicting those nearby. Even those who were otherwise "taken care of" were torched, usually by the murderers themselves. No one wanted to deal with the undead.

What no one knew was that when the twice-cursed passed, they didn't just die; they were cursed in both body and soul, in life and death. If not burned, the bodies of the twice-cursed would raise themselves into undeath, creating a creature known as a Revenant -- a powerful undead fueled by bitterness and rage, able to recall just enough of who they used to be to utilize their abilities. A Revenant born from a soldier may be a powerful warrior, faster and cleverer on the battlefield than any skeletal shambler; one created from the corpse of a magician could still cast their spells, harnessing the elements and bending them to their will. As for Carlisle, his healing abilities brought only minimal benefit to the Revenant that resulted from his demise.

However, healing wasn't his only skill: there was his influence, his compulsion, the enslavement of one's very mind that had been given to him when his curse first manifested so long ago. This was the ability that defined his Revenant -- this was how the Blight Heir was born.

Lost in his own undead madness, the Blight Heir took control of anyone he could, his reach and strength magnified by the rage that kept him animated and his newfound lack of moral scruples; those who resisted his influence were attacked by those who hadn't, forced to fight their friends and loved ones as they tore at the uncontrolled with savage brutality. Those who wandered near the town were taken as well, compelled to the Blight Heir's defense. Unable to free themselves from his domination, they starved to death before being raised as undeads as well, the restorative arts he'd treasured in life now used in a perversion of the craft. More came as others who had traveled there disappeared, and they, too, were forced into his servitude.

Word spread as time passed, and only the boldest would approach the valley that had once been Bear Den. The forests were now home to numerous undeads, ranging from simple zombies to powerful wraiths, all tethered to the Revenant that had once been the heir of the Longinmouth line. Necromancers had tried to approach to take advantage of the free army, only to be ensnared themselves or attacked by more undeads than they could handle. Even powerful magicians wielding fire -- an undead's natural enemy -- could only do so much before being swarmed. Fewer and fewer people braved the journey through the mountains, and the roads to Bear Den became overgrown as the town itself disappeared into obscurity, existing only as the subject of myths and ghost stories -- and at the center of those stories was the Blight Heir, the being who had once been Carlisle Longinmouth, and who had single-handedly brought about the demise of his hometown.

But there is always more to legends and myths than the stories tell, and no one spreading them knew the story's end: one day, the Blight Heir vanished, and Carlisle Longinmouth awakened once more.


Personality:

In life, Carlisle was an anxious, cowardly man who desperately wanted to live up to his family's legacy, and despite knowing he'd never have the time or means to do it properly, he certainly did try. Guilt-laden over being the failure of his bloodline -- and the last of it, the one rumored to have brought misfortune to the rest -- he made what amends he could for his accursed existence via his dedication to his goddess and his healing. In death, not much has changed, save for that part about not having time. Now that he doesn't have to worry about dropping dead due to a magical affliction, he has all the time he needs... for better and for worse.

Since reawakening, the bitterness and anger that animated the Blight Heir have receded, his original identity reemerging -- which isn't to say that he's not still bitter and angry, but that he has new things to be bitter and angry about. He thought he knew exactly what was waiting for him: a miserable, unavoidable, early death, one he hoped to mitigate in any way possible by appealing to his goddess and spending what little time he had in repentance for even existing when he should have died. Though afraid of his demise and the languishing his tainted soul would do in the Land Beyond Living, he'd accepted his fate as inevitable. In the end, he had worse coming: his body animated upon death, turning him into somewhat of a natural necromancer, and he became the most infamous Longinmouth of all by bringing ruin to the homeland he'd hoped to sustain like his family before him.

And now that he finds himself as himself again, he's not terribly happy about these circumstances. He finally established his place in the bloodline as anything but a failure, and it's for abhorrent, albeit tragic reasons.

With only sparse memories of what he did as a Revenant, he's determined to make up for as much trouble he caused as possible, if for no other reason than to assuage his endless guilt. He still serves his goddess, but has to do it in an entirely new way, as his healing gifts have shifted toward the necrotic. Unsure of how he rose as an undead in the first place, his confidence has taken a kick in the teeth -- not that it was ever very high. He was known as the one Longinmouth who wasn't an adventurer and who didn't battle tremendous beasts with weapons or magic. Now that he's known as something else, he lives in perpetual fear that someone will recognize what he is and what he's done -- and that they'll bring permanent end to him before he's had a chance to make up for half of it.

Despite his superstitious, high-strung, and often pedantic nature, Carlisle can be a reasonably diplomatic, fair-minded individual and good improviser, which once helped him serve as a trusted mediator for the town despite his curse. Though usually willing to lend an ear to even the most unsavory of people, as is common for clergy (former clergy, in his case), he tends to be callous and irritable when it comes to those who don't take him seriously, especially to those who take their lives for granted. Much like his fears, he tends to wear his aggravations on his sleeve, and doesn't particularly mask it when someone is an annoyance. The same goes for enthusiasm and excitement, both of which are rare treats he experiences sparingly; the undead should be incapable of such emotions, but there's undeniable humanity still lingering within his bones.

Appearance:

Carlisle is considered a fairly tall individual in his world, standing right at 6' even in his undead form. His need for order in his life to balance out his frazzled nerves extends to his appearance: though his light-brown hair has greyed since his passing, he keeps it as tidy as possible with the top of brushed back and the sides shorn, as is custom for clergy serving the Camisou. His glasses are equally cared for, devoid of scratches, and thus do little to hide the glow of his eyes, the magic behind them obvious in low-light settings. Whether he still needs his spectacles or not as an undead is unclear, but he wears them regardless for comfort and familiarity more than utility.

Though magic has kept his body well-preserved (a common phenomenon for magicians in his world, and an excuse he is happy to give should anyone ask about the illuminated eyes), beneath his many layers are telltale signs of his undead status. The soft tissues of his nose and ears have decayed, and some of the flesh around one side of his mouth was ripped off long ago; his eyes have sunken in, giving him an even more tired look than usual. Beneath them, as well as along his mouth and throat, are stains from years of the inky black bile trailing from them as he used his abilities.

His build was on the slim and bony side before, and now even more so -- literally, in some areas. Much of his frame is emaciated, the skin and musculature either worn or torn away from years as the Blight Heir. Several of his fingertips are only bone, as is a part of one of his legs. To give his body a fuller appearance, he wears a padded outfit -- mask, gambeson, and pants -- beneath his coat, hoping no one notices the lack of substance beneath. It's easier to hide than to admit what he truly is.

art by piratecashoo