Rensetsu Kaito
Rensetsu Kaito, known as the Collector in various criminal syndicates dotted throughout Eorzea, is an older Xaela. Usually found sporting a heavy set of Ishgardian armour, or his most common outfit, which is a simple black shirt and pants laced with gold.Rensetsu is as lawful evil as they come. He truly believes the world would be better if he were in charge, and whilst not exactly comparable to having a god complex, he is incredibly arrogant to a fault that may make some believe he'd believe that.--Physical Characteristics--With long black hair, and large, sharpened horns piercing through whatever helm he's chosen to don, he is an imposing figure. His voice is deep, booming, and almost seems to be practiced in the way he speaks. Selfish, possessive, controlling and all encompassing. On the surface, however, he'd seem calm and relatively easy going when wearing the metaphorical mask.He stands at a staggering 7'4'', putting him about half a head taller than most other Au Ra, let alone other Xaela. He sports two large canines that almost seem too big for his already large mouth. Which is a theme for him, everything about him seemed to be a bit uncannily too large. His hands were the size of spades.His tail is far longer than most Xaela, and far more responsive. It'd be large, relatively thick and almost seemingly muscular. It drags on the floor behind him as he walks, occasionally rattling if it hits anything too hard.--Magical Characteristics--Voidhunters with Aethersight in particular may be able to tell something is somewhat off with him, though keep in mind his 'true' form cannot be seen as he is almost permanently glamoured. He has been around for a while at this point.Those with Aethersight and consider themselves to be proficient at its use would be able to tell he's glamoured, and if they're particularly powerful, be able to sense some form of 'other' presence to the man. Not necessarily negative, nor evil. Just 'off'. It's as if he has multiple strong Aethers within him, the most prominent of which is lightning.Rensetsu has his own relatively powerful Aethersight. Feel free to send a tell in game if you'd like for him to see your character's, or roleplay that out in anyway.--Personality--Positives: Respectful, loyal, assertive, creative, patient, persistent, perceptive.Neutral: Efficient, serious, punctual, extremely competitive.Negative: Possessive, jealous, volatile, controlling, domineering.--Important Notes--Rensetsu is voidsent, but not willingly. I don't roleplay it as a positive thing, in fact it's a very negative thing for him that has sparse benefits compared to the negatives. It's an impending doom, a ticking time clock to losing what he considers most valuable - his mind (And I guess soul too, jeesh. Kind of important, yeah). Not only that, but it contorts ones' appearance, twists your physical form and more. For this reason it's an incredibly tightly kept secret, and something that will most likely never be shared in-character without Rensetsu having planned the whole thing multiple times out within his head. I will stress it again, there is almost no chance that your character would know of his status as one in-character. Discussing it OOC is totally fine though and I'd love to do so!He is perpetually glamoured, meaning that these changes to his physical form would not be obvious to anyone but the most powerful users of aethersight, and even then, they would only be able to tell that something was glamoured, not what was underneath it.
The Story So FarI would like first up say that generally speaking, I will keep most details of Ren's past shrouded. I've written an extensively detailed backstory for him, and I prefer it when it's shared or discovered in character, and not on Flist/Carrd. Having said that, I'd love to share some details here just in case someone would like a hook, or to plan out something in the future. Anything written here is information that, within reason, could be found out if the person looking was thorough enough. Meaning any of it, given a good reason, is free to use as a hook!Rensetsu was born within a tribe in the Steppes, it isn't known how long he remained within, or stayed as a part of that region. Never having enjoyed much of the life as a warrior, Rensetsu quickly moved on, taking 'refuge' within Kugane. With a mind of metal and wheels, the wooden world and the antiquated ways never seemed to keep the young man's attention for very long, soon focusing on his newfound obsession, the first of many, magitek. Trading, selling, buying whatever he could. Tinkering with any bit and bob he could get his large hands on, Rensetsu would not just become acclimated to the inner workings of Garlean technology, but become incredibly skilled at manipulating it. Unfortunately, these things weren't cheap, nor exactly legal. Deeply frowned upon and generally shunned, this was an expensive 'hobby' and Ren never considered the thought of going back to being a mercenary, nor taking up a 'regular' job. He searched for whatever quick scheme seemed to catch his eye, somehow ending up within the Yakuza, within a faction that wanted to keep 'balance' of the world, whatever it took to ensure it.Never having had much regard for others, and generally seeing most other living things as barely above an animal, Rensetsu quickly got in with the wrong group. The Yakuza paid well for work that's best not written out, but it involved things that even he took issue with. Many of the guilds inhabitants had had rituals done to them, whether good, nor bad, to appease those who lay between worlds. Whatever Rensetsu's thoughts were on such a thing were never clear, but what was, was that he was never truly going to give himself up to the cause in totality. He was there for coin. 'Balance' was a costly thing, and even with all the gil he seemed to make doing such, it was never enough to secure more of his precious collection.It was never enough for the Xaela. His greed knew no bounds, as far as he saw it, these were animals in the way of him 'reclaiming' what was his.Years passed, and shady business within more shady business was all Rensetsu knew as he kept trying to satiate his appetite for his collection. Eventually he found himself stealing from this branch of the Yakuza, and paying the price. It isn't clear what exactly took place, but he was subjected to a ritual of their creating as 'penance', or perhaps as a punishment with no return. This ritual would bring further balance, combining him with a voidsent, and thus making him rely on draining aether for the rest of his, arguably, shallow existence.He became a sentient voidsent, what was left of the branch of Yakuza was flame and ire, he never looked back. The newfound powers were almost salivating to him, but expensive. His curiosity only served to burn brighter, more experiments took place, his collection grew, his thirst for knowledge at the cost of blood and his own consciousness seemed to never end.Insatiable. There was nothing left to take, yet this world would never be enough.
The Present Day
It goes without saying that all of this is hearsay, rumour-mongering, or perhaps just straight up a tall tale. All of this could be true, or perhaps it could be false, or perhaps it could be a mixture of the two. A sweet lie, or a harsh truth.Rumours- Word circulates of a large Xaela regularly stalking the streets of Ul'dah. Nothing else is generally spoken of, save for the fact that people seem to disappear along with the sightings of him.- As of late, there's been several pieces of late Allagan-esque technology having been found. Generally in a broken state, but clearly having been used in the past. Someone within Kugane has either taught themselves, or is in the process of, retrofitting and reworking this ancient technology. How successful they've been is unclear, any pieces found are either in disrepair or have intentionally been shutdown with their power sources removed.- There is a public bounty with a roughly drawn photo of a Xaela with two large canine-like fangs, said to be in relation to several large scale robberies and many, many kidnappings.- Word of a man calling himself 'The Collector' spread through the criminal underworld, especially within Kugane.Confirmed- Rensetsu, acting as the Collector, took credit for one of the larger robberies within Ul'dah's walls having broken into the vault above below the throne room. Seemingly nothing of value was taken, especially considering the room holds many gold trinkets within. The only thing taken was the Founder's Ring. Irreplaceable, but certainly not for its material value.- Several 'victims' have, unfortunately for him, escaped captivity and have spoken about their experiences being held within his facility, unfortunately none have ever been able to share intimate details that could be used in his apprehension.
Where It Could Go
I'll proceed to list potential roleplay hooks here, should you wish to roleplay with Rensetsu. For these sorts of scenarios, please do send a tell in game before jumping right into them. I like to have things meticulously planned beforehand, then let the RP carry us the rest of the way instead of pausing/changing things inbetween if we can help it. I'm always open for new scenarios or hooks, so if you have an idea feel free to run it by me!- He is a sentient voidsent as well as a slaver, you might be a bounty/voidsent hunter, so on, who's been tasked with tracking him down and it goes wrong for your character. (Please keep in mind that him being voidsent himself is a tightly guarded secret. You may hear of him being associated with them in someway, but him being one is not something that is ever disclosed, and if found out, more than likely will result in some way to deal with it. (Typically death for NPCs, PCs can be discussed))- He might be interested in whatever you are, or something you own, and so must be his.- You might be a slave he purchases. Or someone he's interested in selling.- You may be seeking power through his own 'gifts' or his own technology, and have heard of him as someone who can trade for it.- Has the ability to control ink through his aether. He can make this more or less viscous, heat up or freeze it, harden it and move it as he desires meaning he can create tentacles, bindings, even body suits should he take enough aether from other characters. This might be a technique that your character is interested in learning more about.. Who knows how it works, you'll need to come find that out in character.- You are a member of the Yakuza, either the one he joined (And destroyed) or another seeking to hire him based on his knowledge of reverse engineering Garlean/magitek things, or of the Occult regarding the bonding of Voidsent/Sin-Eaters and humanoids.- Rensetsu is very much a 'mad scientist' of sorts in regards to the human form, so if that's a line of RP you wish to take, do let me know prior.- Your FC needs a villain, and Rensetsu seems to fit the mould. I am totally good with this scenario! If you're looking for a 'big bad' of sorts, and don't want someone upset when they lose, then Rensetsu is perfect :) I'm more than happy to play an adversary that needs to be felled to progress. Combat-wise Rensetsu would rank relatively high, taking out several knights at once would be no issue for him but of course I'm happy to adjust this for whatever your FC/Party would want :) I've DM'd for several years now, I consider myself to be somewhat decent at it as well.
Other Details
Generally speaking Rensetsu's RP is going to be incredibly dark, with little time for light-hearted things, not that he can't be. I generally do slice-of-life RP mixed with a dark, foreboding sense of coming doom. Fun.Here is his F-List. Generally speaking I won't do one-off ERPs. I prefer for the roleplay to have a deeper meaning and it'd be very out of character for Rensetsu to just go get his rocks off with a random stranger in an alleyway. Not that it can't happen, just generally I don't prefer it and won't do it.I've made some character references for anyone wishing to get an idea of what personality traits amalgamate into Rensetsu.Sylar from HeroesSilco from ArcaneBel'Veth from League of LegendsOzymandias from WatchmenVery much a villain, though I'll generally try to steer away from him being someone overpowering physically, but instead someone who uses his mind to get what he wants, whether by outsmarting an individual or a group. Rensetsu will always be several steps ahead.I am always looking to add new people to Ren's collection, and as cool as it can be, I always want those included to be comfortable at all times. If you have any questions about becoming a long-term slave partner, please ask away.
These are all probably going to be NSFW. Probably. HEED THIS WARNING