Lucaniel Clarke

Appearance & Personality

 * Standing at 1,84 CM, Lucaniel poses a pretty average build, However on the athletic, endurant side. Moreso, his face is covered in various scars he had obtained during the abuse he suffered growing up in the lower districts of Ul'dah, and a constant reminder for him where he came form, and what he came to. His Physical state seems to be improving constantly, to the point some wonder if he's not in training unbeknownst to those closest to him.


 * Overall, Lucans surface-personality has shifted over the years from that of an overly agreeable, and calm manned Merchant to that of a stoic, observant bystander, taking to action only when necessary in his eyes. While he may've once prided himself leaving everyone in the dark as to his true motivations and personal aspirations, He's found himself now yearning for the opposite. He seems more and more drawn to those he'd consider loyal to himself, and while his truly egoistical nature has not been quenched, he cannot stop the constantly nagging concerns over those he considers 'family' at this point.


 * Lucan has taken quite an amount of time for himself nowadays, becoming more reclusive and introspective as the days go by. It seems that thoughts alone are able to occupy him for days now.

Skills/Abilities/Equipment

 * Aetherical Skills: Never keen on restricting himself to casts and sects, Lucaniel sought out early to break the barrier in which Aether can be used. Through a bastardization of the thaumaturgical arts that he majored in, and the more inherent philosophy of Chakra (as is used by the once famed Monks of A'la Mhigo), he's created his own, unique blend of Aether useage, one that does not require him to wield a staff or other amplifying items. A Gateway so to speak to allow him to wield Aether in most original ways.


 * Garlean Gunblade "Rhalgr's Ambition": A Keepsake Memento from his father, one that he's had refined over his various expeditions to Garlemald. Rhalgr's Ambition is in all a rather standard-issue Gunblade, the only difference lying in the refinement of the Garlean steel used and ornamentations adorning it. The name is a direct snipe at the Garleans unwillingness to recognize Aether, or Aetherical Arts as valid and meaningful.


 * Knives : Carries atleast one with himself if he's unable to carry Rhalgr's Ambition. Usually strapped to his thigh underneath his coat, or hidden inside the inner pocket of his Coat.


 * Extensive Memory: Skilled in mnemonic techniques, there's rarely anything he ever forgets least he wants to. A necessary skill given the sheer volume of Books and Theorems Aetherical Arts bring with themselves. Moreso, this skill is quite often a necessary crutch for his business, as he tends to memorize all clients and interactions by mind, rather then chronicling it by paper, mainly to ensure no viable ways of traceback and to maintain a degree of deniability.

Journal
Fifth Umbral Moon

More then one year has passed since I have written something in this Journal, though it feels more like an eternity. Once more, I've found myself enjoying the silence of a spot of my choice, where I can enjoy my Cigar and Glass of Whiskey, while I put down words to paper, Words that may otherwise never escape my sealed lips.

Since I've, once and for all, seperated myself from the small family that I got to know as the Kindred, things have.. once more changed in a way that I can only describe as.. dark, heartfelt and exciting.

The way in which my previous relations to the Kin have dissolved had me..angry. An anger that I've tried to drown in ..what you would call 'work'. It proved to be an exercise in futility however. as I've found myself left alone with my thoughts, Eventually this.. solitude drove me to return Garlemald, to atleast draw a final line through the gaps in my past that have haunted my mind like open wounds, never truly able to heal.

Family, Loyalty. Those where the things that I missed the most, the things after which I yearned so dearly. Even if they where adopted, I had still managed to surround myself with people that I was able to consider..family, and more importantly, brutally loyal.

People through which, perhaps, I tried to fill a void in my Heart. Individuals that I could rely on. Reinard..Nocturiel. My dear cousins, Cousins which I've brought back with myself to Eorzea. Men that I did not have to keep away from myself in fear of betrayal.

Back in Eorzea, I've plunged myself head first into business with them. Reinard, an intellectual and Scholar in his own right sought for ways I could attain the Immortality I so sorely sought after, whilst Nocturiel, less Intelligent then the prior, but perhaps through that lack of intelligence more honest, and a more noble spirit, entertained himself with the 'wet-work' I occationally picked up.I myself, as so often, reassumed my title as 'Concierge of the Underworld', to set out and seek for those that could bring me closer to my goals.

It was during this period..these months that my life took more then just one spin. The first reason for this was called 'Cardinal Vitae'. The second..Roswyn Valhuri.

Cardinal Vitae was one of my.. Inventions. A brain childe so to speak. Cardinal was to be a mantle under which I could gather the dubious and sick minds that otherwise stood sorely alone, to bring them to a table and guide them into productive directions. Amongst them was Melfice Vainchelon. A quite obsessive man to whom I owe the pleasure of my recent curse to a great deal.

Roswyn however was perhaps the result of pure..chance. Though by now I would call it fate rather then chance. We met eachother as Criminals that aimed to become mutual associated, to benefit one another. I, the Concierge, courting her network towards the other connections that I had. Her, the Ringleader of her own criminal outfit, infatuated with the chance to expand her business, and prove her worth to her estranged father. But we didn't become associated.

Against the odds of professional conduct, in spite of the treacherous nature of the criminal underworld, we became lovers. Friends even, as unlikely this may sound written forth through my hand. Up to this very day I wonder what drew her to me, or likewise, myself to her. She would call it Love, I,however, I believe up to this very day that love is something that will forever remain barred for me. While many may believe me to simply be a stubborn child with a traumatic past, there's a slint of truth to it. Every Person, if you strip away the veil, or the illusion of a soul, personality and morals, is but the sum of his experiences.. and mine have been grim. Experiences that led to motivations, desires..and needs, who all are egoistical in nature.

Even so..there's a certain ammount of.. pressure that won't leave my chest If I think about her..or the subject of Love. The Knowledge that she could be what would've once made me 'complete', Happy. In life..I've come to realize, the most beautiful things are Illusions. Like Artists, we weave and spin meaning and value into simple interactions and animalistic desires.. And we enjoy them through that. In that vein, I feel alot of meaning.. and value in her friendship. And I keep wondering if that is enough. A recent verbal joust with my cousin Reinard made me realize that, beneath this mask..this..veneer that I so carefully constructed over the years, still rests the beating heart of a man. Strong enough to be distance.. but unable to cope with loss in any shape or form in a normal measure. That is why I find myself capable of keeping them at a distance..aslong I know them safe..sound..and alive.

Musical Themes

 * ■ "Whilst taking Lives"
 * ■