Appearance

Physical Description

Cyne is a little underweight, but very much in-shape. What few scars he's kept are always hidden by a layer of illusion or by physical coverings. His tiefling aspects - his horns, his desaturated and too-cold skin, his pointed ears and slight fangs, and his glowing golden eyes - do not have any affect on his wellbeing aside from being points of prejudice.

Apparel & Accessories

Wears finely-tailored outfits of black or grey, accented with silver, gold, and either blue or red depending on his business that day. Tends to keep his true appearance concealed with slight illusions that mask his magical accessories.

Specialized Equipment

Wields a sword made of umbrite that was gifted to him by the drow of Yue'thintar during his time as Lord of Serendel.

Special abilities

Is a nightblade - heavily stealth-based and skilled with shadow magic, magical crafting, and various arcane spells. Has his own personal demiplane in the Plane of Shadow.

Mentality

Personal history

Cyne grew up facing the constant fear of assassination for simply being 'the royal fiend'. As such, he trained with skilled warriors and learnt how to avoid sight from an early age; as his magical ability showed itself, he sought out tutors in rare shadow-based magics to master this talent. This was how he first encountered the Shadows, though he didn't join until shortly after he reached adulthood.

When he reached the age of 12, his sister, Alysia, was born - and he began to express his first infernal characteristics. Whilst his blood had been known as infernal since birth, it was far harder to hide the glowing golden eyes that marked him as one of the Hells. Scared, his father forbade him from meeting Alysia until the girl was 6, and him 18. This first meeting was carefully watched for good reason - the annoyed 'teenager' acted rudely and dismissively towards his 'perfect' sister, exiting the meeting in a flash of shadow when Alysia demanded he join her for a tea party.
 
The two crossed paths on occasion, but didn't spend much time together until Alysia was stricken by the curse that would forever mark her as an oracle - he was the first to find her lying on the floor, having heard the strange thud in the neighbouring room, and refused to leave her side until she awakened.
 
Since that fateful day, shrouded in secrecy for the sake of Alysia's health, Cyne has been his sister's closest friend, confidant and guard - even though his own skills lend themselves elsewhere. Whilst their roles have drawn them apart in recent years, they maintain regular correspondence and often seek each other's counsel.

Aside from his familial relationships, Cyne's next years came with many lessons in appropriate etiquette, languages, magics, all sorts of history and politics... all alongside his continued Nightblade training. He spent multiple years at the Aletheian High Courts with the other members of his family, learning the ways of their ruling in case the worst happened to Albion Aletheia. Needless to say, something happened: both Albion and his son, Taerien, were killed by an unknown assassin and Cyne ascended to the position of Crown Prince.
 
Over the years, Cyne also endured many assassination and kidnapping attempts on himself, some of which were more successful than others, giving him much reason to keep his weaponry close and his scars covered by illusion. He later allied himself with the adventuring group known as the Lost Ones, and aided them in many respects before their three-year disappearance. For a brief time, this granted him the position of Champion of the Lost Prince - a Fey Eldest. It was during this group's absence that Emperor Asterion passed away due to poisons developed by the evil Medimian Empire, and Cyne ascended to the throne as Emperor Aneirin.
 
After Iomedae's fall, his Championship became more of a burden as the shield of Tenaerul locked onto his magic and nearly killed him. The Prince of Hell, Asmodeus, learnt of this and offered to save him - but unbeknownst to Cyne, his sister was also involving herself with Asmodeus. Cyne accepted the deal - and Alysia became Asmodeus's Champion briefly before killing herself to permanently repair the Tenaerul shield and save her brother. Cyne then became the new Champion, unaware of his sister's death until he visited her to confirm.
 
In the brief time since Alysia's death, the Emperor has already been observed to have become more stoic and withdrawn. Whether this change is permanent or simply part of the grieving process is unknown.

Accomplishments & Achievements

Emperor of the Aletheian Empire and a war hero of the same. Champion of Asmodeus. Invented the Books of Instant Transmission - a series of books enchanted to pass messages instantaneously. Liese Celadrion has since improved upon the enchantments to allow limited transmission of items.

Failures & Embarrassments

Couldn't protect his sister, or the others that he cared about.

Mental Trauma

Severe depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. Heavily blames himself for what happened to Alysia, and to certain others.

person.sexuality

Pansexual.

Personality

Motivation

Used to want to protect his sister from the cruelties of life and become skilled with his blades and magic. Secretly desired a neutral, politics-free life of adventure, but knew that he would never be granted this wish. Wanted the best for his people, no matter the cost to himself.
 
Now that everyone important to him is either far away or dead? The only thing keeping him going is a desire to prove to Alysia that what she gave up wasn't wasted. And even that small motivation is hard to keep.

Savvies & Ineptitudes

Talented blademaster, illusionist and shadowcaster. Useless at completing paperwork and being where he's expected to be. Surprisingly prone to enchantments.

Likes & Dislikes

Likes isolation, shadow magic, illusion and sneaking around (and adventuring in general). Also enjoys red wine and esoteric knowledge. Prefers fine cuisine and expensive fitted clothing, but isn't picky about it. Finds it amusing to annoy Veronika.
 
Dislikes a lot of things, particularly when irritating people are involved.

Virtues & Personality perks

Has little patience for tomfoolery, but is genuinely empathetic when he gets to know someone. Dextrous, quick to act, and incredibly sarcastic. Attempts to stay neutral in conflicts unless they involve him or threaten to harm those he's sworn to protect. Deadly if he perceives a threat to his 'charges'.

Vices & Personality flaws

In danger of becoming an alcoholic. Currently in a very volatile emotional state, though he often suppresses emotions instead of dealing with them. Inwardly depressed, but has developed significant skill at hiding it.

Hygiene

He stays immaculately clean and has perfect manners, but tends to get lost in readings and research. This results in a terrifyingly messy study until he comes to his senses and restores it to normal - or has a servant or family member interrupt him.

Social

Birthplace

Aletheia

Current Residence

Aletheia

Honorary & Occupational Titles

Probably has too many titles to easily list. In short: Emperor of the Aletheian Empire, Champion of Asmodeus, Starseeker of the Shadows, and Kingslayer.

Wealth & Financial state

Rich af.