Lieutenant Azryel Asmodeus Ashworth Black

[Stryker]

Sorry Tracy, it's another lengthy one! But not as long as Braythe's.

Name: Lieutenant/Doctor Azryel Asmodeus Ashworth Black
Moniker: Lord Death, Blackheart
Gender: Male
Age: 28 Years Old
Species: Mountain Hare
Occupation: Physician, Grave Robber, Anatomist, Army Doctor
Side: Neutral

Physical Appearance:

Born high up on the ladder of aristocracy, it shows on every inch of his haughty, hauntingly attractive face – washed out, piercing gray eyes, slim, tall stature, and a sense of detachment so severe it's as though someone's cut out his compassion with a knife. Days without sleep have left him with ever-darkening circles beneath his eyes, making them look somewhat sunken in. Hailing from a long, mixed line of mountain hares and brown hares have left him with a hybridized type of coat, the fur coarse and thick in the winter time, thin and soft in the summer. Azryel is a dark, dusty brown like much of the Long Patrol, though the hue is variegated throughout his body: most of his extremities are dark tan and brown, with his back being the darkest (though it's ticked, so the bands of cream and reddish brown of his undercoat show through), his chest, throat and underside of his tail are the lightest. His ears are tipped with black.

There are many at the Long Patrol who have drawn a likeness between Azryel and their own personification of Death; the cause of this is a combination of both his profession, past actions and his appearance – weeks of eating only once a day (and sometimes not at all) have left him gaunt and unusually thin for a pecies known for being gluttonous even on a bad day. Azryel's cold, haughty demeanor gives off the impression that he is superior than just about everyone he comes in contact with, regardless of rank or stature – like he's some kind of ethereal being they could never understand. His movements are always steady, unhesitating, even in times of crisis his paws never waver and his gaze is always fixed, reflecting his sharp attitude and clipped way of speaking. It seems almost impossible to perturb him in any way. Being noticeably underweight, Azryel's height has conveyed a 'larger than life' kind of aura, this hare often appearing to tower over the maids and some of the males of a less than average height. Compared to some of the lankier hares, however, Azryel's height is nothing too extraordinary, though he is an inch or so taller than even the loftiest ones. It quite fortunate that he was born with such alluring characteristics, because what he lacks in compassion and sympathy can almost be overlooked if a smile, no matter how insincere, is flashed at the right person – and Azryel is certainly not above taking advantage of his own good looks to get what he wants.

Despite being somewhat remove from high society, this aristocratic hare does come off with a certain level of sophistication, even when wearing the drabbest or dirtiest of clothes. When effort is put in, he can dress sharply and with all the proper attire of a gentleman – basically, he cleans up nicely after a long day of probing some poor creature's insides or having a look at an infected limb.

{Clothing}
The dashing red tunics of the Long Patrol look ill-fitting on someone of his physical appearance, it's like putting a pink bow on the grim reaper. For the sake of his dignity and personal taste, Azryel has taken to dying all of his uniforms either different shades of gray or black, and matches them with trousers of the same color.

When away from Salamandastron, Azryel allows a little more color into his wardrobe, though arguably the only red he ever wears is the blood of his latest patient. When at his spring/summer home, Azryel can be seen wearing a white v-necked, collared tunic with a black shirt beneath it, and dark trousers of either gray or brown. He may occasionally wear a green shirt or navy blue cloak, but those rare bursts of variety are few and far between. Azryel dresses as though he's in mourning or trying not to draw attention to himself – to blend into the background.

Possessions:

Azryel carries little with him except for medical supplies and a canteen of water and a travel cloak when on the move.

(c)

[Stryker]

Personality:

There's a heavy contrast between the Azryel of younger years and the Azryel who's here now; the Azryel that operates in fervent silence, consumed by a single-minded task of healing or investigating, is a dark, ill-humored, cynical creature. He's extremely clear-headed, and chooses to strongly believe in only what logic, reasoning and cool, calm assessment can tell him. Believing there's an answer or an explanation for everything, he scorns those who believe in higher powers, faith or some kind of karma. He believes even less in miracles, and has generally come to the decision that Badger Lords are all subject of some kind of horrible hereditary disease that's responsible for Bloodwrath and whatever goes on in their private chambers. Though initially tolerant of high society, Azryel has reached his peak of antisocial tendencies, and would literally rather talk and dine with the dead than put up with even a minute of living beings. He's insensitive in regards to the plights of others, cold-hearted and arrogant, he cares not for anyone else's problems but his own, and isn't one to just sit quietly while you talk about them either; he'll let you know soon enough he doesn't give a damn.
Though prolonged withdrawals from high society have left him extremely socially inept (not that he cares), of the few relationships he does have at Salamandastron, they are complicated and perhaps not all together healthy, ranging from his strained relationship with his father, the awkwardness around former friends, and the extremely convoluted relationship with his ex-fiancee. Being a deeply intellectual being, Azryel dwells primarily in his own head, constantly thinking, analyzing, remembering, cataloging data like a leporid computer. Very little patience for those he deems 'dull' or 'intellectually boring', or 'nothing more than a bit of witty word play or sharp retorts', he's quick to look down on those around him, and has a very egotistical approach to most social gatherings. He generally assumes he's the smartest person in the room unless proven otherwise.

The overbearing self-righteousness that dominates much of his character tends to act as the 'excuse' for much of his less-than-appropriate behavior, Azryel often confusing his desires with sound logic rather than seeing them for what they are. He basically does whatever he wants, when he wants, and shoves a twisted moral code and a great deal of fancy words upon anyone who tries to question him about it. Clearly he thinks himself above the law in most cases, and can oftentimes appear as though he were born without both a conscience and a heart. Oh yes, about that moral code...
Azryel would heal a murderer if both the ailment and the payment piqued his interest. His reasoning would be the pursuit of knowledge and patient confidentiality. What his patients choose to do in their spare time is frankly none of his business, and he's sticking by that rule for as long as he practices medicine. He's aware that right and wrong are not as simple as black and white, and to save himself the headache, doesn't think about them. He doesn't feel the need to question his own morals, he simply lives for science and does whatever science and medicine require him to.

Arguably a bit unhinged, Azryel is the type of 'gentleman' who would put his patient out of his suffering if he thought he could not possibly save their life. However, he would find a cure or antidote or at least a better understanding of the issue regardless of whether or not the patient is alive. He prefers the dead to the living because not only does he not need to hold their feelings in regard when tinkering, poking and prodding, but he doesn't have to worry about trying to keep them alive when he cuts them open. Azryel, after close analysis, doesn't seem to be in the business of saving lives; he seems to be in the business of solving medical problems, but that doesn't necessarily mean he accepts cases with the intention of bringing patients back from the brink of death. The linchpin that holds the doctor together is his obsessive love for his craft; his devotion to medical science has completely replaced any desire for the comforts of a female companion, and he was quick to abandon the idea of following the same structure plaguing his own family for years. That structure is to simply join the Long Patrol, hold a high position, marry into a family with money, have a couple of leverets, retire a few years after you've been promoted to Major (or higher), rinse and repeat. This cycle is expected of every male (and sometimes female) members of his family, and Azryel has become the ostracized black sheep for having strayed so far from the path they've marked for him. Azryel's line of work, or rather, the methods he employs to get the job done have lost him a lot of friends, not that he's ever needed them to be happy. He's a strong believer that science, medicine and the pursuit of knowledge are all he needs to keep himself happy, and if happiness is unobtainable with those things, then at least they'll keep him occupied.

If a person needed just one word to describe Lieutenant Black, it would be this: Psychopath.

{Shallow Emotions} Outside of his passion for his chosen field, Black doesn't care much for other things, and can't seem to reach any sort of emotional depth towards anything else; words meant to trigger his emotions such as 'death, pain, dismemberment, suicide, violence' do nothing for him, and he'd respond to them as though they were all flowers grown in a garden somewhere.

{Low Tolerance for Boredom} Lieutenant Black cannot stand idle paws; he must always be in the throes of productivity or else he can turn quite ill-tempered if he's forced to stop, even if it means stopping for sleep or food.

{Callousness & Lack of Empathy} His detachment to others doesn't just come from an interesting childhood, but seems to have been there since birth – it just took a few years to develop fully. A bit more of a sound being in his younger years, Azryel's turned into an unfeeling, unsympathetic creature who has absolutely no desire to put himself in anyone else's shoes.

{Criminal Versatility} Azryel has killed, stolen, and even robbed graves throughout his lifetime, whether or not he regards this as crimes remains to be seen. That been said, there is apparently no true limit on what he will or will not do in pursuit of knowledge.

{Impulsive, Manipulative, Parasitic} When caught up in that single-minded intensity he falls victim to nearly every week, Azryel can be impulsive and manipulative as needed, often resorting to death threats or verbal beat-downs to get what he wants – or, if the opportunity arrives, he'll simply take it. Though he lives completely alone, Azryel will occasionally take an assistant, and can become completely dependent upon them for his most basic needs; his assistant will usually have to cook for him, remind him to sleep, bathe, change his clothes, etc. It's almost like he needs a caretaker when in a particularly bad bout of obsession.

Strengths:

• Excellent Doctor
  
• Decent Sword-fighter
  
• Inability to truly feel fear
  
• Quick Reflexes
  
• Brilliant
  

Weaknesses:

• Socially Inept
  
• Psychopathic
  
• Twisted Morals
  
• Impulsive, Obsessive
  
• Careless and unsympathetic
  
• Lacks fear
  
• Unorthodox
  
• Prone to criminal activity
  
• Shallow and lacks emotional depth
  
• Difficult to like and trust
  
• Puts his own needs above anyone else's.
  
• Underweight, physically weak
  
• Difficult to work with
  
• Plagued by Nightmares, frequently loses sleep
  
• Overconfident
  

(c)

[Stryker]

History:

Azryel was born sitting on pillows made of gold and with a silver fork in his mouth; the marriage of his parents prior brought forth a union of two extremely wealthy families – the Ashworths and the Blacks. It's safe to say that he was blessed with being born into a family with such strong financial stability and age-old aristocracy. His childhood was a spoiled one, marked by presents and the affections of his parents (more so his mother than his father, the latter of which adopting a more 'tough love' approach), Azryel accepted without question into the little circle of wealth that included only a few prominent families of Salamandastron. It was there that Azryel met his friends and future schoolmates, Rex Swiftley, Carlyle Tompkins, and Collin Hargreaves. With an extremely long and rather boring collection of military figures on both sides of Azryel's history, sending him to the Salamandastron Academy had been planned even before his birth – lest they break those age old family traditions. Azryel easily fell into the mold his parents had set for him, becoming the perfect little future Major or Brigadier they always wanted, the leveret happy with his friends, pleased with his social standing and not altogether ready to give that up for anything. Well, at least until he discovered death.

Perhaps 'discover' isn't the right word; more like 'witness' what that word truly meant beyond the stories his father's wealthy dinner party friends told, or the boring passages from old text books he'd had to read in class. When Azryel was 13-years-old, his mother, Lady Narcissa Ashworth-Black and himself joined the many wives and their families awaiting the return of a recently dispatched regiment. His father, Major Asmodeus Black, had been one of the figureheads of this regiment. The first to arrive on the scene were the few soldiers given the grim task of carrying in those unfortunate Long Patrollers who'd died on the return voyage, 7 bodies in total laid out on makeshift stretchers. Unfortunately the returning regiment did not have cloths to cover the bodies with, and despite his mother shielding him from the horrors of war – Azryel still got an eyeful.
Thus his curiosity, like a monster that fed off of the darkest, most visceral parts of the world around him, was born.

Shortly after reaching the rank of Corporal (with an intellect and reasoning skills like his, how could they NOT give him the position?), an 18-year-old Azryel, his life only just beginning, began pursue his passion in earnest by becoming an apprentice at the infirmary. His father, a hard war veteran, was extremely displeased with the idea of raising a doctor or a healer in the family, believing that a buck's true strength lay in defending and protecting lives out on the battlefield, not tending to the sick and wounded back home. However, despite his father's wishes, Azryel's thirst for knowledge could not be quenched. For 6 years Azryel balanced his time between the study and practice of medicine, and the duties of a soldier, the young brilliant hare stretched thin with (what he felt was) an unwelcome promotion to the rank of Lieutenant. 24 years old, the idea of pursuing a military career had dwindled less and less as the years had rolled by, but that hadn't meant his performance in that area of his life had done the same. He was good at both of his jobs, handy with a sword, quick reflexes, and obviously an extremely gifted healer... However, if Azryel had to place anything as the direct cause of his unwanted promotion, it would have to be a battle on Salamandastron's coast in the spring of his 24th year.

Locked down on Salamandastron's shores, a small platoon of Long Patrol hares had been dispatched to deal with a corsair attack, but they were outnumbered. It was fortunate that Azryel had been along, however, and had had the good sense to bring with him his bag of supplies. Splitting his attention between retaliating against the enemy and healing those that had fallen, Azryel had seemed to be everywhere at once, doing his absolute best to grit his teeth and stretch his abilities to the absolute max.

His valiant efforts had not gone unnoticed. While Azryel was able to prove himself as an army doctor, he had also proved himself to be quick in times of crisis and able to take control of a situation that would've otherwise been nothing more than utter chaos. With a love for the medical field first and foremost in his heart, the promotion from Corporal to Lieutenant was something he almost regretted, the rank not something he felt he truly deserved or wanted. Regardless of his opinion, he was made to accept his new position as Lieutenant, but was still allowed to juggle his dual role as a healer at the infirmary and a military personnel.

When he was 25 years old, Azryel Asmodeus Ashworth Black became ensnared in an arranged marriage to a lovely creature by the name of Elizabeth 'Eliza' Addison Croft, her family from the same social background as was his own. The engagement didn't last long, however, despite them both developing some level of feeling towards one another (hers albeit much stronger than his own), Eliza broke off the engagement after realizing he could never truly love her as much as he loved his work. Medicine was his mistress, and it would not come at a surprise that if they were to wed, Eliza would certainly be playing second fiddle to his almost obsessive work ethic.

After this, Azryel requested a leave of absence, choosing to travel the world to further his understanding of medicine, death and science in all its forms. Spending a year abroad, Azryel returned to Salamandastron a changed hare; his methods were unorthodox but effective, however, some call about his morals came into question often... And Eliza found herself dealing with an ex-fiance that was not the same as when he'd left 12 months ago. Through a series of unfortunate events, the Croft family suffered a tragedy with the death of their young son, William Croft, the academy student having snuck outside with a group of friends to have their own adventure. Unfortunately, the youngster was bitten and abruptly rushed back to Salamandastron as quickly as his friends could carry him. It was Azryel who tried to save his life, but young William Croft died before Azryel had had much of a chance to help him. Guilty and immensely frustrated, Azryel pleaded with the Croft family to let him keep the body for an indefinite amount of time – until he could find a cure for the snake's venom. However, the Crofts were a very traditional family, and the idea of having their youngest child cut open by some irate, raving doctor did not appeal to them in the slightest.

Two hours before the burial, the body of William Croft went missing.

Trust in the unorthodox Azryel Black crumbled, and slowly he began to lose his grip upon the society he'd once been a part of. His friends ostracized him, his family treated him like the Black Sheep – his father furious and disappointed, his mother upset yet in denial he could be capable of such a crime – while Azryel felt himself willingly pull away now that a new door had opened to him. The Lieutenant packed up his things and left Salamandastron, arranging so that he would return every fall and winter to once more render his services to the mountain stronghold as both Lieutenant and Doctor, spending the rest of his time in a small part of Mossflower Wood. In the summer and spring, Azryel shunned his title of Lieutenant and filled the roles of physician and scientist, offering medical services to all who knocked upon his door.
For a price of course.
Though it's only been two years since he set up permanent residency in the Black Plains (a section of Mossflower Wood that suffered from a severe forest fire and has not yet had the chance to grow back), Azryel Black has flourished away from the glaring eyes of society, able to be alone, at last, with the only thing he's ever truly loved.
His work.

Relationships:

Lord Asmodeus Black (Major) (Father)
Lady Narcissa Ashworth-Black (Mother)
Elizabeth “Eliza” Addison Croft (ex-Fiancée)
William Arthur Addison Croft -- victim
Rex Swiftley, Carlyle Tompkins, Collin Hargreaves – Former friends

Other:

Azryel's name is an alternate spelling of Azrael, the name of the angel of death.

The reason for Azryel being listed as 'neutral' despite being a Lieutenant of the Long Patrol is that he's basically the bad guy on the good side. He's a bit too complex to be considered wholly bad or wholly good.

[Tracy]

Accepted.