Alukard the Faded Sun

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 Name 
Alukard Cassius
Pronounced Al-U-card or Al-yew-card

-- Nicknames: Alu, Viper, Golden Sun
-- Coliseum title: The Sun Viper
-- Formally spelled as Alucard. Changed for looks
-- Name spells "dracula" backwards
-- Last name is of course, the same as his master, and is only used to show ownership


 Rank
Bounty Hunter: 

-- Was originally paid in as a tribune, when the Hunters were first testing out the rank. He remained at home during this time, however, due to his small size, and his rank title was still "apprentice".
-- When Alu became an official apprentice, his personality was still that of a cub. His determination carried him through training quickly.
-- After graduating with three other successful apprentices, is now a well known Hunter with more than a few successful captures and raids on his record

 Age
Starting Age: 7 months old? 1 year
Current Age: 5 years, 10 months

Born: October 31, 50 BC 
Starsign: Scorpio ♏   


 Species
Bengal/Siberian Tiger - Mutation: Longer canines + overbite = "fangs"
As a tiger, Alukard is large and muscular. His colors come from his bengal mother, while his sheer size comes from his papa, from whom he also inherited huge fangs. Another abnormality worthy of mention are his ears, which are pointed on the ends and somewhat small. They may have been cut this way when he was too young to remember it, or it could be natural. Ocelli on the back of his ears are triangular.  Although he was born a rather small runt and at first was rather scrawny, much training and food has brought him out from being the underdog. He is now rather large, and very muscular. His upper body strength is great, and his speed isn't too shabby either; like all tigers, his hind legs are longer than his front. His best skill though is accuracy and precision, which he relies on more than speed. 

 Traits

Breeding Group: Large  
Dominant Traits:  markings above and between eyes, general coloration,  thin/less fluffy tail,
Recessive Traits: duel colored pelt, green eyes, triangular ocelli, mohawk, fangs
Carrier Traits: More fluff, light orange/yellow coloration, darker red coloration, amber eyes

[[Note: Carrier Traits cannot be seen. They are combinations that could have been, but weren't. ]]


 Loyalties: 

Master: 80%
Mate: 60%
Hunters: 45%
Self: 30%
 Voice actor/character:  Steve Coogan
 Anthem:  tba

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• Above Average Understanding of the outside world/empire life:
  Alukard has spent the majority of his life within stone walls. He's been outside of the city quite a few times now, and been on empire territory almost as many. The knowledge he gained from elder Hunters as an apprentice he has seen and learned first hand by now, and added on with his own experiences. 

• Advanced combat skill: HURT training
  He first began learning how to fight when he became an apprentice Hunter. Before that, it was only play fights with his master. Actual training from felines however really helped him grow his skills, and when he was taken from the Hunters and put into the solitary HURT (Hunter Undergoing Re-Training) program, he had the chance to use his skills in the arena without holding back. His coliseum trainers taught and drilled him until information was engraved in his mind. Including battle moves, defensive moves, BH laws, and the descriptions of various wanted felines. They also touched on hunting briefly, but not enough to make Alu a positive success in hunting.
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• Special Skill: Precision
  Alukard's quick ability to judge the speed, velocity, and distance of an object or opponent make him a dangerous foe. He uses his quick judgement to land precise and powerful blows on opponents, usually going for their weak spots so as to wear them down faster. The quicker you nuetralize the enemy, the more strength you have left over to take on the next one.

Upon becoming an apprentice, Alukard had two major father figures he really looked up to and saw as his fathers. Erebus, a tiger/panther hybrid, gave Alu good guidance. While Torex, although rather frightening to the young apprentice at first, gave good advice that Alu would take to heart. Another cat that really inspired him as an apprentice was the Hunter's leader, Scaeden, but more about him later. 

Apprentice armor
When he joined as a tribune, Alukard had no armor. However after becoming an apprentice and doing well in combat practice, his master gave him four metal ankle cuffs with spikes on them. There is the symbol of Rome on the front two, and each of the four has a different rune, each representing something hoped for/seen in the apprentice: Strength, victory, ambition, and potential. He was also given a leather, metal reinforced collar with the BH crest on a small silver plate on the front, and two spikes on each side. The spikes represent his fangs. 
After graduating from HURT training, he was given another cuff similar to his leg cuffs. This one was for his tail and held the rune for "warrior". 
Full Hunter armor
Upon becoming a full Hunter soon after, Julius invested in more armor for him. This armor includes thick leather straps (two that go around his stomach, and one down his spine and part of his tail). The stomach straps have circles where more armor could be attached onto later, while the spine strap has blades. Alukard was also given a shoulder guard for his left shoulder only, and a cape to cover his brightly colored pelt. However, Julius is new to the cat business, and didn't think this through very well. When worn all together, the cape would often catch on the blades, and restrict Alukard's range of movement, resulting in him pulling at it until it would rip free. The cape is now tattered and full of holes. Julius plans to have Alukard's armor remade soon, with the money earned from Alukard's capture of Silver Gladiator, Dehlia. 
He was also given facial piercings when he graduated, taken from a former Air gladiator named Griffin. On his left side, two ear rings, and a stud on the muzzle. On his right side, two earring spikes, and an eyebrow ring. 
Full Hunter armor, take 2
Julius had new armor made for Alukard, as well as had new ankle cuffs made for him, as the old ones became too small. Julius now wears one of the cuffs on his left wrist. The new cuffs look similar to the old ones, and all of them look the same...with the exception of the runes and the placement of the spikes. The front cuffs have spikes on the front while the back cuffs have spikes located on the back of the cuff. These "spikes" are actually the canines of fallen colosseum gladiators. A gray leather harness bears the Hunter crest on a silver-plated piece on his chest, adorned with red markings around it. The harness helps to keep the rest of his armor in place. Three large black back plates attach firmly onto it, with the Hunter crest over them in gray. (Crest can be portrayed either on the first plate or across the first two.) The plates are made out metal on top, thick reinforced leather beneath, and soft fur on the inside for comfort. To keep them in place, there is another strap that goes around the base of his stomach, and another that goes down his haunches, connecting to another strap that goes around his hind leg. He has two shoulder plates now, which are attached to one another with a strap on top which goes below it to hook onto a metal ring. Two other straps branch off it to keep it firmly in place on his shoulder. A metal horn made to resemble a ram's or bull's horn is on the shoulder plates. They make squeezing into certain small spaces impossible, but can deliver some nasty wounds in battle. He also owns a black cloak with a hood. It can be worn over his armor without it snagging on anything, and he usually has it set in a way that the bull horns do not catch on it. There are decorative markings on the hood. 
His facial piercings have been changed a bit. Each side's earrings have not changed, but he now has an eyebrow ring on each side, and usually does not wear the muzzle stud. His owner has, however, given him a septum ring like that of a bull...perhaps to go with the horns on his armor. The ring isn't completely pierced, so it would not cause great damage if it was torn out in battle, although it would still hurt. This silver ring was added after the ambush he co-lead against Shadow and Lightning Empires.
Full Hunter armor, take 3 (CURRENT)
Alukard's new armor is completely renovated from his past sets of armor. He still has his piercings, but he gave away his tattered cloak to an apprentice, as it was useless to him. Bracers protect his lower legs. The black is metal, the red is dyed leather, and the gray is chain mail with a light leather underneath. The spikes on the front of the bracers are also metal. Above the top of the front bracers is a leather strap that holds his shoulder armor in place. Except for the leather straps and popped collar, all of Alukard's shoulder armor is made of metal. It is the heaviest part of his armor due to the protruding metal horns. Separate from the shoulder armor is his body armor. The black and red plates along his back are metal, and below is chain mail and a moderately thick sheet of leather to help protect his stomach while also cinching the body armor plates in place. The two cuffs on his tail are more for looks than anything, although if the spiked one is swung the right way and with enough force, it could hurt or possibly take out an eye. 

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• Protective and Ruthless                            
  "Back off, or your blood will flow."
  Maybe it's not natural for a Bounty Hunter to care so much about his comrades. Maybe they're not supposed to. And maybe they can take care of themselves. But none of that makes a difference to Alukard. The more he cares for someone, be it his mate, his young, his comrades, or his master, the more protective over them he will be. He's also protective over the safety of Massilia's citizens, often watching from the edge of a tall building like a gargoyle to ensure no harm comes to them. If they should meet some kind of trouble (be it a thief, a rabid dog, or another felid), Alukard will leap in to help without a second thought. He has a tendency to defend the weak, and the underdog, having once been one himself. He has a special softness for the human cubs, and keeps an even closer eye on them...although he'd never admit it. Should some foe trouble him, he is vicious in battle and is willing to kill if necessary. "Better them than I" is a saying he adheres to.
  

• Serious and Responsible                              
  "No, we have orders to carry out."
  Alukard used to be a care free, bouncy cub. When he checked into HURT training though, he was given a sudden reality check, and it grew him up fast. By the time he left the HURT program, he was goal oriented and mission focused. Being quite ambitious as well, he makes sure he is always doing well by his superiors. He's not so mature that he forgets how to have fun, though, and when he's not on duty, he tries to get out any cubby urges that may plague him. When on duty though, strictly professional. 

• Racist and Biased 
  "I have high hopes that Thanatos will do well. He's a tiger like us, after all. Everyone knows tigers are superior."
  This is a more recently developed trait. After Scaeden's leaving, and the bitterness Alukard feels toward the lynx he never personally met, Alukard decided lesser big cats were just that...lesser. The bigger the cat, the better. And tigers? Well, they just happen to be the biggest and fiercest felids out there. And the strongest. And the most attractive. And...well, just superior to any other breed of big cat. Not to mention, many of the BH's ranks consist of tigers. Wonder why that is? Of course, Alukard knows not all felines he'll have to work with are tigers, and so he keeps his thoughts and feelings to himself. No point in starting a bunch of drama...Unless he had others who agreed with him. ((NOTICE: Alukard's racist beliefs are kept to himself and is thus OOC information, so your character should not know about it.))
  
• Optimistic                                                      
• As time as gone by and his hatred for Scaeden all but vanished as he moved on with life and ceased to care about the past, as did his dislike for small felines. Throughout the years he's made friends with small cats and seen what they can do; thus, despite his former dislike, he had to admit to himself that they weren't so bad. A part of him still holds a little pride in being a big strong tiger, but he sees the value in the smaller kinds as well. 

• Blunt and Straightforward                              
  "You've got to be an idiot if you think that plan will work." 
• Alukard is honest. He's plain and simple. If he's got a thought he wants to tell you, but doesn't know if he should say it...well, he won't leave it in his mind forever to rot away. He'll just tell you flat out what's on his mind. Many don't always expect such simple words, and many may be offended by what he has to say. But he says it anyway (with the exception of the last trait). The worst they can do is disagree. He is more likely to be blunt with those he's comfortable with, or those who's feelings he doesn't care about hurting, while he'll hold his tongue around those above him when he knows they don't need to know what he would like to say. 
  

• Adventurous...But cautious 
  "Wanna get lost in the city? It might be fun."
  Alukard loves adventure. He loves not knowing what will happen next, and having to use his skills to overcome the next obstacle. If an adventure consists of rule breaking however...well, he'll be quite a bit uneasy, and will try to take every precaution to be sure they stay safe...and don't get caught. He prefers to go into something with some sort of a plan, but if he's feeling confident and optimistic, he's not afraid to wing it.

• Confident and Ambitious                                
  "We'll get some space between us to cover any gaps between our group and the teams on either side of us. Try to maintain a visual of me until I give the signal..."
  After going on a few hunts and learning how they work and gaining experience through trial and error, Alu has used his mistakes to learn from. Now having grown into a great gladiator Hunter, he is confident in his strength and abilities. As a cub he would pretend to be confident to hide his low self-esteem and lack of self-confidence. He's learned that he's better off not trying to please everyone, and just do what he knows needs to be done. In a way his level of confidence as made him a leader of sorts, with other hunters who have more time-in-rank and age on him asking him how things should be done. This doesn't make Alukard uneasy at all; in fact it rather pleases him. 
  

• Heartfelt and lonely                                      
  "Don't worry, my children, we still have one another."
  His mate leaving him was one of the most painful things Alukard had ever experienced, although he won't easily let on how badly it hurt. Seeing his children less didn't help, and he felt increasingly more lonely until they got a little older. Even with time spent with his children, Alukard still feels rather lonely, and hopes one day he can find someone to fill the void.

- While humans may compare this cub to a gorgon (or vampire, in modern terms), felines tend to refer to him as part smilodon. (Saber-tooth cat). Is he really? We may never know.. Rumors say he's related to the god Sator, or that he was blessed by that god of life because of his fangs.

- When he fights, he makes it a personal goal to leave his signature bite wound on his opponent's neck (or shoulder, if they've got a mane), which often cause a scar. 

- As a child, he used to have a fear of heights. He worked on this throughout his apprentice stage with the help of comrades and has since conquered his fear.

- He has astounding upper body strength

- The deep scar going down the center of his chest was given to him by Andromeda, while the much newer scars on his left flank were dealt by Ryder of Lightning. Other scars are from Aiode, Evander, and Thalia, all of Shadow.

- He likes to nom on apples. 

- While taking part in Marcus Cassius' breeding program, Alukard was able to meet his mother, Rama. They rekindled a mother/son relationship and now talk often.

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  H i s t o r y  

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Summary:
<sub>Alukard was born to a pair of large tigers who were matched as part of a breeding program. The owner of Alukard's father had paid to have his siberian tiger, Jack, cover Marcus Cassius's bengal tiger, Rama, in order to create a strong first born cub. Alukard never met his father, as he left as soon as he had done his siring duty. He doesn't remember much of his mother and littermates. He /does/ remember his mother's red fur however, and maybe her scent. He recalls his first born brother being the biggest, and just as red as their mother. But Alukard was born a runt. He was small. Weak. Frail. However, he had little fangs, and looked quite unusual. As such, other felines in Marcus Cassius' breeding grounds- mostly the females, since they were motherly and curious- tried to get a look at him, and gave Rama whatever advice they could in order for him to survive. Alukard remembers a particular reddish bobcat staring at him with jealous eyes as the bobcat's mother spent more time hovering over Alu then she did her own cubs. His name was Viator, and he was a few months older than Alukard...And also Marcus Cassius' favorite at the time. As Alukard grew, Viator made his distaste for the tiger cub known, and the two butted heads at once. When Marcus Cassius caught the two quarreling in a fight that sliced Viator's ear, Marcus Cassius decided it was time to get rid of the trouble maker- Alukard. No one would want to invest in the cub anyway, and getting rid of him would mean a better chance of survival for Alu's littermates. 

So a 5 month old Alukard was taken to the docks that day as the sun began to set, and tossed off a pier into the sea. Viator watched with satisfaction as the tiger cub tried to swim for his life...and went under. Marcus Cassius turned and left, no longer caring about the trash he had thrown away. Viator spat on the drowning cub then followed his master home. He cried out but his mewls were cut short by water that flooded his lungs. Everything was growing distant and dark when Alu became dimly aware of something gathering him, a feeling like being curled up between his mother's paws...and he thought he had become no more, fading out of this life as quickly as he had entered.

He woke a short while later, coughing up sea water and gasping for breath. He looked up deliriously and gazed upon the face of his savior; a young blonde man with caring blue eyes. The man was Marcus Cassius' son, Julius. The two had had some sort of falling out long ago and no longer spoke, and Julius decided the cub his father had sentenced to death deserved a second chance. Julius took Alu in and nursed him back to health. He fed the tiger well and treated him like a son. Perhaps Julius had seen his father's actions and taken pity on the runt of a cub...after all, Julius himself had almost not made it when he was an infant. Somehow though, he had pulled through. Surely a tiger cub could do the same. And seeming to sense that Julius truly believed in him, Alu became stronger. He missed his mother a bit, but Julius did well to fill the void, and Alukard quickly forgot his cubby dependency on her. 

When the cub had fully recovered from his ordeal and was back to his bouncy cub self about a month later, Julius payed to have Alu inducted into the Bounty Hunters. Or more specifically, a new BH pre-training regime, which was cheaper and more suitable for his age. This was a test-trail of sorts for young cubs who had potential to be future Bounty Hunters but were too young to become apprentices. This rank would later be called "tribune". Being as he was a runt though, he remained living at home with his master, where Julius and his house keeper could keep a close watch over him. He didn't go to meet the hunters until Julius decided he was big and strong enough to be an apprentice. He became an apprentice at the age of 1 year. From there, he lived life in the fast lane.  

For more history after this, click here!</sub>

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Family Lineage
 Jack 
Father: Siberian tiger; Rank unknown; Status unknown

 Rama
Mother: Bengal tiger; Breeder; Alive

 Artemus
Half Brother: tiger; Shadow Empire; Alive

 Lucifer  

Brother: tiger, location unknown, Status unknown






 Current Mate

Juno