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The Hunter of Skulls - A Brief History
thhunterofskulls
Posts: 80 Arc User
((putting this up here for now as I am not able to sign up on Primus from my current location))
--Archive subject: Hunter of Skulls--
Section 1a: Earliest known references
Information regarding the demonic entity Hunter of Skulls first appears in the local lore of Scandanavia in 800 CE, referencing a being that would take possession of dying warriors on the battlefield. This entity seemed to give preference to those it felt were the strongest, ignoring all other factors including rank and gender. Those possessed would recover instantly from their injuries and then wreak havoc on all combatants regardless of their allegiance. If not destroyed in the fighting, the Hunter of Skulls would make trophies of the heads of notable fallen foes and then leave the field; its host would never be seen again and the entity itself would not return for a decade or more. The entity itself seemed unconcerned with either terrorizing humanity or ruling them, limiting itself solely to interfering in mortal warfare and even then not attacking those who were badly wounded, unarmed or otherwise unable to fight. It is perhaps this uncharacteristic streak of honor that would eventually lead to the entity's fall from demonic favor.
966 CE, during the reign of King Olaf Tryggvason of Norway, the entity returned again during the resistance to Olaf's rule and his forcible conversion of the Norse to Christianity. An unnamed rebel, his body pierced by spears and arrows, lay bleeding to death until raised by the Hunter of Skulls to fight again. What happened next has not been adequately explained and the modern incarnation of the Hunter of Skulls has been reluctant to clarify events. Instead of turning on friend and foe alike, the risen warrior took up his axe again and lead his allies in a charge against Tryggvason's forces. Instead of indiscriminate slaughter, the entity's arrival heralded a victory for those resisting King Olaf and the unnamed warrior remained with his fellows when the battle was done (although he did still take the heads of his foes). This unknown warrior remained the host for the entity for several years, eventually earning the dire emnity of King Olaf in the mortal world just as the Hunter of Skulls entity would earn the dire emnity of its own kind.
--End Section 1a--
--Archive subject: Hunter of Skulls--
Section 1a: Earliest known references
Information regarding the demonic entity Hunter of Skulls first appears in the local lore of Scandanavia in 800 CE, referencing a being that would take possession of dying warriors on the battlefield. This entity seemed to give preference to those it felt were the strongest, ignoring all other factors including rank and gender. Those possessed would recover instantly from their injuries and then wreak havoc on all combatants regardless of their allegiance. If not destroyed in the fighting, the Hunter of Skulls would make trophies of the heads of notable fallen foes and then leave the field; its host would never be seen again and the entity itself would not return for a decade or more. The entity itself seemed unconcerned with either terrorizing humanity or ruling them, limiting itself solely to interfering in mortal warfare and even then not attacking those who were badly wounded, unarmed or otherwise unable to fight. It is perhaps this uncharacteristic streak of honor that would eventually lead to the entity's fall from demonic favor.
966 CE, during the reign of King Olaf Tryggvason of Norway, the entity returned again during the resistance to Olaf's rule and his forcible conversion of the Norse to Christianity. An unnamed rebel, his body pierced by spears and arrows, lay bleeding to death until raised by the Hunter of Skulls to fight again. What happened next has not been adequately explained and the modern incarnation of the Hunter of Skulls has been reluctant to clarify events. Instead of turning on friend and foe alike, the risen warrior took up his axe again and lead his allies in a charge against Tryggvason's forces. Instead of indiscriminate slaughter, the entity's arrival heralded a victory for those resisting King Olaf and the unnamed warrior remained with his fellows when the battle was done (although he did still take the heads of his foes). This unknown warrior remained the host for the entity for several years, eventually earning the dire emnity of King Olaf in the mortal world just as the Hunter of Skulls entity would earn the dire emnity of its own kind.
--End Section 1a--
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The Hunter of Skulls' time as a heroic defender of Olaf Tryggvason's heathen subjects drew to a close only a few short years after it began. Tryggvason's soldiers took hostages from among those villages sympathetic to the resistance to draw the Hunter of Skulls out, promising their deaths if he did not surrender himself. Whether this plan came about due to the involvement of Qliphothic entities opposed to the Hunter is unknown but the end result unmistakeably bore the marks of their handiwork: the hostages were horribly slain despite the Hunter surrendering and the Hunter's host was tortured for days before being bound by heavy chains upon a pyre and burnt alive. One surviving tale from the time speaks of the Hunter's chains shattering and the host standing amidst the consuming flames, shrieking a curse with his final breath that Olaf would meet his end after confronting a woman of the Old Ways. The great axe that slew so many of his foes was lost and thought destroyed; later it would be discovered that the axe had become the prison of the Hunter of Skulls, taken to the Qliphothic realm with the intention of eternally separating it from the humans it had once championed. There it would remain for over a thousand years; buried, silent, forgotten, the terrible rage of the being locked within it growing with each century that crawled by.
--End Section 1b--
In October of 2001, an Argent facility in Vibora Bay was infiltrated by a local vigilante named Sorin and several of his associates in an attempt to disrupt their local operations. Vibora Bay officials had proven powerless to stop Argent's pollution of the local waterways, so Sorin's plan was to enter the facility, sabotage Argent's waste processing machinery and then leave. No one outside the facility was aware of the fact that the toxic sludge being pumped into Vibora Bay had its origins in the nightmarish world of Qliphoth.
Argent's Vibora Bay installation was involved in researching Qliphothic horrors and their potential for weaponization, capturing the creatures using a dimensional dredge device that would pull part of the Qliphothic landscape into the earthly realm. Sorin and his comrades arrived at the worst possible moment; the most recent harvest of creatures from the Qliphothic overpowered the Argent security detail and were loose in the facility. Sorin's simple monkeywrenching raid rapidly turned into a terrifying fight for survival he and his group were destined to lose.
Moments later Sorin's entire group were all either dead or dying, butchered by the monstrous creatures. Sorin himself lay torn and bleeding to death, sprawled on the rocky substrate of Qliphoth that had been pulled through the barrier between worlds. Something in that unearthly soil responded to the blood soaking through it. Something sang.
From the information pieced together through candid interviews with the Hunter of Skulls himself, it would seem that the human Sorin's blood coming in contact with the axe released the imprisoned Hunter of Skulls entity. The being then immediately bound itself to Sorin, saving his life and resulting in the death of every Qliphothic beast and Argent operative in the facility. After completely clearing the Argent facility and retrieving the bodies of his fallen comrades, the Hunter of Skulls collapsed the entire structure, completely burying it and destroying all of Argent's research. The Hunter of Skulls and his associates continue to be listed by Argent as high priority targets due to this incident and due to their continued campaign of sabotage and theft against Argent.
--End Section 2b--
Subsection 1 - physical and combat capabilities
The Hunter of Skulls composite entity (hereafter referred to as Hunter of Skulls) seems to be adapting to the 21st Century with little difficulty thanks to the guidance of its host. Although Hunter of Skulls usually resort to using heavy melee weapons (axe, broadsword or warhammer), he has also begun using modern fireams. Hunter of Skulls has been observed using large-caliber automatic pistols and heavy machineguns in addition to melee weapons. Hunter of Skulls has also expanded his habit of trophy-taking to include the weapons and technology of his enemies; so far he and his allies have captured, scavenged our outright stolen the technology of Dr. Destroyer, Argent, Viper, the Roin'esh and possibly several other alien species. For example, Dr. Destroyer's teleportation technology has been adapted into the "proto-port" ammunition delivery system employed by all the members of the super group Dead Reckoning, allowing their weapons to continue to fire without having to change magazines.
Physically, the Hunter of Skulls is extremely resistant to damage and can regenerate almost instantaneously from any injury with the current incarnation even able to revive from a near-death state. While his physical strength is surpassed by fellow super group member Nemesis, Hunter of Skulls is still strong enough to lift objects weighing in excess of several tons and tear steel armor plate with nothing but his own hands. He also seems to possess a limited shapeshifting ability that may or may not be a product of captured Roin'esh technology. The Hunter of Skulls also possesses the ability to fly at at a moderate to high rate of speed.
((that's all for right now, probably more tomorrow and I'll get it fleshed out more and shifted to Primus over the weekend. Please feel free to share any constructive thoughts or criticism))
((Very glad you liked it. I can't even honestly say I originally planned on intertwining it with Norwegian history, it just started running in that direction and I was helplessly dragged along with it. Partner may have infected me with her "characters that write their own story" bug. I'll write some more in a bit after I've had a chance to become conscious, only woke up about an hour and a half ago and I am so very not a morning person.))
- David Brin, "Those Eyes"
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((+100 points for Girl Genius reference. Funny enough, there's speculation that Olaf Tryggvason was actually the inspiration for Othar and his fanatical crusade against sparks. Okay enough lollygagging, here's more stuff))
Subsection 2 - Known associates
Hunter of Skulls' primary allies are the members of the super group Dead Reckoning.
Nemesis: Much like Hunter of Skulls himself, the modern avatar of an ancient force. In this case she is the embodiment of the Greek pantheon's goddess of vengeance. Notable for her incredible strength, massive resistance to physical injury of any kind and formidable magical abilities.
Mertvaya Ruka: Cybernetically enhanced undead, produced by a Cold War-era Soviet supersoldier project. Utilizes power armor of relatively uncomplicated technology level that is almost crude by today's standards but is also somewhat more robust and easy to maintain.
Nachthexe: Cybernetically and magically enhanced undead, produced by an offshoot of the same project that designed Mertvaya Ruka. Her power armor is more sophisticated than Mertvaya Ruka's, incorporating advanced energy shields and supplemented by her own sorcery for both defense and offense.
Anarchodroid: Artificial intelligence, liberated from Argent and given a body constructed from stolen Argent, Destroid and Roin'esh technology. Utilizes heat/fire projection and control of earth/rock in combat.
Strelok Dukh: Supernatural construct, created by Hunter of Skulls and Nachthexe. A spirit of unknown origin inhabiting a golem-like body composed of base metal particulate and high-strength polymer. Has the ability to form weapons (usually firearms) and protective armor plate from the stuff of its own body.
Subsection 3 - Notable enemies and people that might be irritated with him
The Pig: A corrupt Vibora Bay police officer who turned to outright villiany after being contiually frustrated in his attempts to frame and imprison Hunter of Skulls. Expert in weapons and tactics, heavily armed and employs low-level criminals as minions and enforcers. Whereabouts currently unknown.
Number Six a.k.a. "Lee Tosi": One of the more brilliant (and obsessive) duplicates of the geneticist Telelios, whose vendetta against Hunter of Skulls' fellow Dead Reckoning teammate Nemesis has occasionally spilled over to the rest of the super group.
Dr. Pascal Kaufmann and Kaufmann Inc.: After a recent dispute during the battle with Dr. Destroyer's forces near Champions HQ. Hunter of Skulls lost a hat to "friendly fire"; Kaufmann lost a sniper rifle and almost lost his adjutant Roberts. Kaufmann and Hunter of Skulls are still not speaking to each other.
Current and past enemies of Dead Reckoning teammates: Including but not limited to Father Blight, The Military Industrial Complex, the angel Camiel, Autopsy and the unnamed Roin'esh agent currently trying to reclaim the technology incorporated into Anarchodroid.
I know how that happens. Some of my characters, I have intended them a specific way, and then it seems they insist on being a different way. Like Senka, for instance. That story pretty much wrote itself.
I know about mornings, I'm not a morning person either. (Destroyer would hate both of us, he's usually up at five in the morning if he's slept at all.)
Weapons commonly used by Hunter of Skulls -
Melee:
Battle axe "Endsong", the weapon of the previous Hunter of Skulls, accidentally retrieved from Qliphoth by Argent.
Warhammer
Broadsword
Handguns:
"Headhunter" .500 S&W autopistol - custom designed by Hunter of Skulls himself. Fires the following types of ammunition, selectable by the user: conventional hollowpoint, silver-jacketed hollowpoint, ironwood, teflon-jacketed cold iron, explosive.
Gatling pistol, chambered for .45 Long Colt
MARS Syndicate autopistol, chambered for .45 MARS Long
Dan Wesson PPC revolver, rechambered for .500 S&W
Machineguns:
M61 Vulcan Gatling gun, chambered for 20mm
M1903-'06 Gatling gun, chambered for .30-06
Browning 1919 belt-fed machinegun, chambered for .308 Winchester
Russian "Kord" belt-fed machinegun, chambered for 12.7x108mm, a gift from Mertvaya Ruka
Other items:
Harmon Industries modular weapons systems
((I really like Senka's story. May actually enlist your help getting my toons set up on Primus if that's at all interesting to you. All done for now, gonna go run Anarchodroid and see if I can get him to lvl 30 today))
May I ask which parts of Senka's story that were the most interesting?
(incidentally, I was reading the Vibora Bay sourcebook earlier and realized that she might actually get along very well with Juryrig. They're both engineer types who dislike VIPER intensely.) ))
((I like pretty much all of it, including the part involving VIPER and the grudging respect for Destroyer. I need to work on Nemesis next. Maybe today, not sure yet))
As for VIPER, it seemed to fit so perfectly I had to pick them and not some other group.))