Overlord/Warlords

[Celadon's Penultimate]

 It's only for mentioning mostly. It's a nation of cryokinetics and thermokinetics and cold-adapteds and other types like that. The North Pole was gonna be a huge project, as the Cold Empire attempted to rebuild the Arctic Circle that had been formerly whittled down to nubs by global warming, using their icy powers, and use said rebuilt Arctic Circle for a sort of frigid haven to all cold-adapted and cold-loving types.

Though, the South Pole would be where folks got banished. Carried away as the most undesirable of society, and even the world as a whole. Pedophiles, rapists, traitors to various thrones, and assorted other baddies, would either be imprisoned, tortured, put to death, or sent to spend the rest of their miserable lives there. It is left mostly barren, except for the cold-adapted that patrol its large and intricate incarceration apparatus. And even if they manage to escape the majority of the prisoners are not cold-adapted, and would likely die anyhow, before they got to anything close to safety.

Again, though, it's just a theorized little setting in the story. Seldom mentioned, unless you guys decide otherwise. And even so, it would never have an arc of its own (again, unless you guys decide otherwise).

It was really just something that came up as something of an interesting idea for myself. What you guys do with it, if anything, is entirely up for discussion.

[Celadon's Penultimate]

Gentleman Vaultboy wrote

Why would you even claim a pole? The poles suck! You would have to kidnap people and bring them to the poles because you wouldn't have anyone to rule otherwise. And then grab a new batch when the first one either froze, starved to death, or died of radiation poisoning.

 Read my post, GV.

[Celadon's Penultimate]

Read my post at the bottom of that page we just finished.

Hopefully, that explains it.

[Gentleman Vaultboy]

Oh, a Eco-Cult of sadists. Yeah, they'd have to be completely mad to try it.

[Celadon's Penultimate]

 Well, technically, they would be where folks turned to, when villains truly needed dealing with, and the people hadn't the heart to handle the 'problem' themselves. Folks would be turned over to the Cold Empire, and their mysterious leader would sentence them for however-long to be imprisoned in the Cold, their only friends the hateful wintry winds and the icicles.

But, otherwise, they'd be totally nice people who really love nature, and wish to restore its frigid wiles. And may or may not have some fringe, crazy ranks...

[Gentleman Vaultboy]

That built and maintain Cocytus on Earth.

The only person who could possibly do such a thing is either a sadist, self-righteous in the extreme, or suffering from sever cognitive dissonance. Some sort of thing where the Ice King get's a kickbacks and supplies as long as he's prepared to keep running the secret supermax at the south pole. A real "This is for the greater good" type guy.

[Zaleramancer]

Well, what if you're adapted to the cold far, far better than the heat?

Moving up north, to somewhere you can sprint around naked without freezing to death seems like a better move than bursting into flames closer to the equator.

[Celadon's Penultimate]

 A cold dynasty, indeed. The wife wants to harbor life in the cold, helping to rebuild an ecosystem she knows is shot. She wants to save those poor polar bears, those poor penguins, those poor walruses, those poor seals.

Her husband, on the other hand, is much more interested in the profit. He began just as starry-eyed as his wife, when the two took over the Poles. They were met with nearly no resistance, and so, of course, hey! Honey, we have free land, to do with as we please! Let's make a paradise! Then the orders started rolling in. People begging to use their property as something of a worldwide Guantanamo. And the pay is quite handsome.

So he keeps up the racket of building a frigid empire up north, out of the way of his wife, and down south, he runs the deal that keeps their kingdom funded and comfortable and much adored.

[Celadon's Penultimate]

Especially when laws are lax enough that running around naked is not a punishable offense.

[Gentleman Vaultboy]

"My Nora has always been a dreamer. An idealist. So very full of life and passion, as hardly befitting her power set. It's why I fell in love with her."

"But she has never been very practical. So, when she came to me with this insane plan to move to the arctic circle, repair that which man has broken, do some good, save the world, I was prepared to tell her that there were more comfortable ways to commit suicide. But, like always, I couldn't. I yielded like a blade of grass to the winds of her passion. So, we spent out whole fortune, found some like minded allies, found the strongest ship we could, and set off for the most inhospitable place on the planet."

"It was hard going, those first few years. We had nothing but our wills. Every time I went back to the mainland for supplies I would drop off another of out allies, those that didn't have the will. And, I'm sorry to say, my funds were running low. Then I was approached by a man."

"He told me I had a unique opportunity: a man his master didn't want dead, but did not want to see ever again. A black mark, to be forgotten. He said he'd pay me handsomely. I agreed, and brought the man with me. I used my powers to create a small hut on the shore, and that is where I left him. My first prisoner. I don't know what he did."

"I received more offers after that, from people all over the world. If I would handle they're dirty laundry, they would pay. Soon I had many such secret huts. Nora didn't know. No one knew."

"I couldn't hide them forever, and with more requests coming every day I would either have to tell my wife what I had done or relocate them. I chose to relocate to the point farthest from Nora, here. I used my backers to built Cocytus, and I told my wife I was going to try and repair the damage here. Told her that two teams were quicker on the job than one. That was two years ago. Two long years in this fortress of ice and cold, surrounded by the screams of the damned. But the thought of the colony on the other side of the world, of my wifes impossible dream becoming a reality, manages to keep me warm through the long nights."

"To destroy this place is to destroy my Nora's dream. To have her learn of what that dream has been built upon, all the blood and frozen death and pain, would destroy my Nora. That is why you will never leave here alive."

"On our wedding day, I vowed that I would fulfill her every wish. I will not break my vow, even if it means becoming the Devil."

[Celadon's Penultimate]

 Um...well, yeah, basically. Though, it should be known, he obviously couldn't maintain the facade while being AWAY all the time.

Which is why he has his loyal followers (Arctic Acolytes, whatever). He lulls them into "Nora's" grand plan for the arctic environment, and when they've gotten comfortable enough, or have proven themselves zealous toward his cause...he initiates them into his frigid operations.

[Zaleramancer]

Beautiful.

[Celadon's Penultimate]

 In that awesomely disturbing sort of way.

[Zaleramancer]

Pathos.

[Celadon's Penultimate]

 Indeed...

Too bad we may not get to that land in the story...

[Gentleman Vaultboy]

Subject of Interest #67
Subject Name: Wayne Maxwell
Sex: Male
Race: Caucasian
Age: Unknown, early to mid thirties.
Allegiances: N/A
Profession: Freelance Mercenary

History

We unfortunately know very little of Maxwells personal history before the Austrailius event. When pressed about his past he has a tenancy to craft elaborate lies or give synopsis of various movies, the most common of which is The Highlander, Halloween, The Warriors, and Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome. He employs a similar tactic when asked about where he acquired his skills, and has claimed to have been trained by a number of organizations ranging from the plausible (U.S. Marine Corps, The IRA, and Delta Force) to the farcical (Majestic 12 and the Hellsing Organization*.) While his actual involvement with these organizations is suspect at best, surviving record do show a correlation between dates and places where Maxwell claims he was "on a mission" and series of bizarre deaths in those areas.

* Yes, from the cartoon of the same name.

He first enters our records 3 years ago, doing various mercenary work while drifting through the country (caravan guard, bodyguard, at least three assassinations.) His first truly notable event, and what drew our attention to him, was "The Crimson Massacre," where Maxwell was hired as a bodyguard for a prominent Vampire living in Chicago. It is unknown exactly what exactly caused a falling out between them, but it is know that a small war was conducted that led to the evacuation of the Vampire Court from Chicago to Michigan City after suffering significant losses. Maxwell proceeded to follow them to their new stronghold and, using White Phosphorus and Dragonbreath Rounds, hit them in the daytime before they had a chance to consolidate their power base. There were no survivors.

Psych Profile 

Maxwell has shown sighs of being psychologically unstable, and is believed to be suffering from delusions. It is very probable that he is simply insane.

His manner is distinctly unprofessional, suffering from a lack of respect toward anyone. Previous employers have painted him as effective, but difficult to work with. He is often not serious during missions, and does not work well when given command of a team. He also has a tendency to prolong battle, preferring to employ psychological warfare and tricks with opponents he feels are beneath his talents.

Most of his earning seem to be funneled back into his "business", paying for arms and armament.

Maxwell appears to have no sex drive whatsoever.

Risk Assessment

Maxwell is incredibly dangerous in close and mid range combat. Though favoring no particular melee weapon, his preferred firearms are either fully automatic weapons or shotguns. At longer ranges he becomes less of a threat, owing to him being a poor shot. Maxwells preferred method on attack is to get as close to his target as possible, then either beat or spray them down.

On the defense, he will rig the area to his advantage with traps or explosives. His ability only makes these booby traps more dangerous.

Maxwells ability is Transparency, which allows his to render anything within his sight transparent. Because of the effect of this power, it extends to the curvature of the Earth and allows his to render vast swaths of land completely transparent, though he usually utilizes it on a smaller scale. He does not appear to have to exert any effort in order to do this, and no physical movements accompany it. He will use this to hide weapons on himself, hide allies, booby traps, and obstacles. He will also hide his arms and legs during hand to hand combat, obscuring his movements. Things rendered transparent can either be filled back in if Maxwell wills it, or regain definition in roughly thirty minutes. He prefers not to render himself fully transparent, for reasons detailed below.

In a desperate situation, where he believes his life is actually on the line, the first thing he will do is blind everyone around him by rendering their eyes transparent. Because light can no longer enter the cornea, it renders the victim functionally blind. When Maxwell chooses to render himself transparent, he will always leave his eyes visible.

Precautionary Measures

Wayne Maxwell is not to be approached on his ground. Any building negotiations take place in must be wired with both seismic and noise sensors. Guards should wear heavy face concealing masks or sunglasses, in order to buy them a second to act while he vanishes his way through it to reach their eyes.

Preferred methods of termination are either a team of snipers or explosives. Extra Normals with either enhanced hearing, smell, or touch are also recommended precautions.

[Celadon's Penultimate]

 Interesting redo.

Profile format is a tad off, though we can overlook that for sheer quality, I'm sure...

[Gentleman Vaultboy]

I tried to write it as if it was the file of an Overlord, just one of many people of interest to the organization.

[Zaleramancer]

I like it.

In character is fun.

It would be good if you could find a way to work a physical description into it.

Or a picture from the wiki.

[Celadon's Penultimate]

 Perfectly acceptable.