The Demigod Idea part 4

Part 4 is finally up, and I received some great comments from part 3.  Glad to see smarter people than me on the board.  Had some people suggest other Demigods that need to exist and I’ll get onto them.  But first…

Ethereal Haze (Assassin, Force of Light)

Every city has an urban legend, no matter how great or small the deed or event.   All it takes is the tatter-tale of one gossiper and even an urban legend of a vampire cat pissing lead can prevail for generations to come.  So it was that the city of Filertaef carries the strangest of all urban legends: the legend of the ghost of Zakrov. 

Legend has it that Zakrov Lyvonski was a captain of the law enforcement of Filertaef.  From the moment of birth he was trained to obey and respect the law.  He could recite the entire Testament of Justice before he could walk, and learned the discipline of a soldier before he could read and write.   It wasn’t surprising that when he reached the age of 14 he joined the Filertaef United Corp Koalition, the youngest ever to join the force. 

By the time he reached the age of 18 he had built an enviable reputation no less of a hero.  Tales of his unflinching duty and selfless dedication to the public had earned him the love of and respect of every citizen in the city.  When a bounty was put on a criminal’s head Zakrov would be the first out the great hall of the Koalition and did not return until the criminal was cuffed and brought in for judgment, even if it took weeks.  When the Koalition was corrupted Zakrov refused all bribes and reported them to the more competent superiors of his force.  As long as the integrity of law and order was threatened Zakrov was on the forefront, springing into action before his colleagues are even aware. 

To the standards of any law-abiding citizen he was the perfect role model.  Men wanted to be like him, and women showered devoted attention to him.  Some said he has garnered all possible medals the Koalition, and the city, has to offer.  Therefore it wasn’t a surprise when the former Koalition Captain stepped down for retirement, and the successor was none other than Zakrov Lyvonski himself. 

If there was one fault in him, only one, then the fault would be his wife Charvel.  Anyone who have met her face-to-face can agree that Charvel is best related to a snake; sly, sharp-eyed, and venom-tongued.  She rarely had anything good to say, and selfishness was expected from her.  Even though it cannot be denied that Charvel had the appearance of an angel and the structural curves of a goddess, no one could comprehend why Zakrov would choose Charvel to be her wife (Some believed it was because Charvel never broke a single law in her entire life, and that aspect appealed to Zakrov.) 

While it may have been the dream of every female to be Zakrov’s wife, Charvel would tell you otherwise.  She would say how Zakrov is duller than a blunt blade, of how he would rather spend his time reviewing the law and write reports than spend quality time with his wife.  Almost completely ignored by his husband, it wasn’t long before Charvel would begin to secretly see another man behind his back. 

During the first few weeks Zakrov didn’t mind his wife going out in the evenings, as she had told him she was attending union meetings concerning the welfare of women’s rights.  This ruse did not last long, as he soon found out that such a union did not even exist (during the time of this legend society insisted that women were second-rated servants, not equals to male, and therefore not allowed to have any official meetings).  Very concerned as to why his wife would lie to him, he resolved to follow her the next time she went out for her “union meetings”. 

It was not hard to follow his own wife, as years of training on the streets and his wife’s misguided faith kept him from being spotted.  Soon they arrived to their destination to find a handsome man waiting under a post lamp.  Charvel immediately ran up to the man and kissed him in a warming embrace.  The sight that greeted him almost shattered the usually impalpable Zakrov.  He continued to follow them into a nearby house which is the man’s home. 

When he peered into the 1^st floor window (it was a single story garden home) what he saw confirmed his fears; his wife was committing adultery behind his back.  His shock and pain was soon replaced by cold demeanor:  His wife has committed a crime and it must not go unpunished.  He immediately smashed the window and jumped through. 

Surprise was total and Charvel was dumbstruck at the sudden entrance of her husband.  All she could do was sit and stare as Zakrov recite to the adulterers the crimes they have committed and the penalty of such crimes.  So great was Zakrov’s pain, however, that he concentrated his fury on his wife and forgot to watch the man, who had snuck behind him with a chair.  With all his might the man swung the chair at Zakrov’s head.  Completely caught off-guard, Zakrov was knocked to the floor, unconscious. 

Charvel was quick to rebuke the man.  Not only have they committed adultery, now they have assaulted and caused bodily harm to an enforcer; a captain no less.  When Zakrov woke up, she warned, he would have both of them executed for their actions. 

The man suggested that he kill Zakrov and get rid of the body, much to Charvel’s surprise.  The man told her how he worked at a gas cycling center that regulated the poison toxins factories inevitably release from the underground pipes.  Accidents frequently happens where someone would accidently drop into one of the gas pits and choke to death, only to be found when the gas tanks are emptied.   There, he said, they would get rid of Zakrov and begin to make an alibi for one another.  Hesitantly Charvel agreed. 

There was a pit quite close to the man’s house, and he dragged Zakrov’s limp body to the pit.  Just as he was about to throw him into the pit Zakrov regained consciousness.  When he realized where he was it was already too late, the gas has begun to fill his lungs.  Before he died he emptily cried out to the gods, begging for any one of them to answer, and slumped to the floor, dead. 

When the man returned to his home he found Charvel waiting in one of the chairs.  Before he could speak Charvel looked up, her eyes widened and screamed.  Instinctly, the man whirled around to look behind him.  Right before his eyes was a cloud of toxin gas that he was so accustomed to looking at.  What he was not accustomed to seeing was the face of a regal man looking back at him.  With a soundless shriek, the spectre engulfed both the man and Charvel.  They were found the next morning by a messenger, dead on the ground with a mask of painful fear etched into their face. 

The legend ends here with a note that the spectre the two adulterers saw was the vengeful ghost of Zakrov, and that he continues to stalk the streets of Filertaef, eager to dispend indiscriminate justice on the lawbreakers.  While many have claimed this to be nothing more than a fairy tale warning against all future adulterers, it is interesting to add that all the adulterers caught have always complained about a pain in their chest, accompanied by their difficulty to breathe.  All of them would die a few days before their trial. 
---

Ethereal Haze was designed to be the Bloodmage’s complete opposite.  While the Bloodmage is seriously dependant on his health, Ethereal Haze is dependant on his mana.  Here’s some of his abilities and my POV on him:

[Range] Ranged.  Average range of any Demigod. 
[Appearance] He’s a floating cloud of ball with an indication of a face to the direction he’s facing.  The toxin cloud should always be dispersing, but the quantity of the cloud never diminishes. 
[Mottos] Myssssstifying. 
            Body…gone.  Consciousness…remains.
            The breath…of deattth.

[Instant] Ethereal Barrier – Being a ghost means no harm can come to you, but it takes a lot of willpower to remain corporeal.  Activate a shield that absorbs all damage, normal or magical, and instead drains that much mana.  While active it drains 1.5% of your total mana cost per second. 
[2.5] – Gasp of Breath – Injesting your toxins into a person will kill them slowly and steal their breath away.  Target enemy takes 500/1000/1500etc damange over 10sec and moves 7%/14%/21%etc slower for 10 sec. 
[Instant] Mana Drain – 5%/10%/15% mana drain.  5 sec cooldown
[0.3] Smother – Concentrates a large amount of smoke to blind a Demigod.  Spell interrupts and blinds a demigod for 3/5/7sec (blind as in your screen goes black and you can’t see what’s happening).  8 sec cooldown
[Instant] Toxication – Saturates Ethereal Haze’s immediate area with toxins.  When activated enemies within X radius of Ethereal Haze takes X damage per second and moves X% slower.  Drains 1% mana per second. 
[3.0] Teleport – Being a spectre means you can go anywhere at will.  Teleport to target location.  60 sec cooldown.  No mana cost. 
And, of course, the stats bonus thing

These are just the examples of Ethereal Haze’s abilities.  Haze only has 200 life (which means almost anything can 1 hit K.O. him) and twice the amount of starting mana.  This is to provide the fact that he has an impenetrable shield he can employ that drains his mana per second (note that stun, interrupt and any other likewise effects still affect Haze) so the moment he’s out of mana he’d better leg it!  That is also why he has a FREE teleport ability at his disposal.  So when he has no mana he can still teleport back to the health crystal to resupply (hence the 60 sec teleport cooldown).  Once again not sure if he’s unbalanced, so feel free to voice out.  Thou it will be interesting to see this in live battle.  Because scrolling over an enemy Demigod only reveals health and not mana, the enemy will not see whether or not he’s close to penetrating his shield. 

That’s all for part 4.  Look forward to part 5 where we introduce the Artificer.  Cheers!