Name: Djedi Akhetiwn (Jed-ee Ahk-et-iwn)
Country Affiliation: Heliohapt
Race: Magician
Tier: D [Novice]
Class: [Strength] Magician
Age + Birthdate: 23 / August 7th
Gender: Male
Sexuality: Demisexual
- Personality:
- Eldest and only son of an esteemed family of Magicians within Heliohapt, carrying the future of a legacy upon his shoulders, there are many things Djedi 'should' be and he is them, to some degree. He is a polite and respectful man who treats others with a sense of nobility that can often be charming, calling others Sir or Ma'am regardless of station and having a treatment of others that is quite genial. With a warm disposition and an outgoing, personable attitude that makes him easy to get along with and what might be called a passive attitude towards conflicts, it is easy to see Djedi as someone who can be pushed around and ignored. His demeanor infers a sort of softness, a lack of willpower that can be deceptive to those who underestimate him; These are the things Djedi wants others to see in him, the mannerisms and reactions he wants to give others.
Djedi is not soft, but he does not show that unless it is provoked.
Born a Magician and raised to take the reins of a family that has years of tradition and lineage behind it, Djedi was taught to believe in himself and have absolute confidence in his own abilities and thoughts above all else. Combined with his highly independent and sharp mind, this has instilled a certain force of will within Djedi that refuses to allow him to be treated as lesser or shoved around by others. He is quick to smile and laugh off small impropriety, but anything more and he will respond with force or a sharp reprimand and he is known to go from a graceful expression to firmly glaring down others without hesitation in a split second. However much he avoids conflict and displeasure, Djedi does not shy away from it when it is unavoidable and he will react with appropriate measures and force against those who force his hand.
Taught to be calculating and always looking for new solutions to problems or new angles of thinking, Djedi is extremely intelligent in both a social and mental sense, learning at a young age how to coach his own expressions and mannerisms as well as reading those of others around him. There is rarely a hair out of place or a glance made without thinking of how it would come off and it's repercussions socially or emotionally. In fact, much of Djedi's outside persona is a carefully constructed mask made to appeal to those around him in the best way and he blends in well to almost any social situation he finds himself in; He can find enjoyment in carousing with workers in a bar the same way he might enjoy a feast with nobles and priests and never would anyone be able to tell if he was actually not enjoying the moment. Often his own preferences become lost in the portrayal he wants to show to others at that time.
Djedi can often lose himself in these portrayals and masks, forcing him to rely on others or some outside circumstances to snap him out of his acting because it becomes hard to separate himself from the roles he's playing. People close to Djedi become lifelines, vital parts of maintaining a healthy framework and state of mind to keep him from completely devolving into what he has always tried to escape being; A man without a true self, who has become his mask. Though useful it is exhausting for Djedi to act for too long and he often has to emotionally recover if forced to endure a prolonged session of such things.
When he isn't trying to affect himself, Djedi is still quite charming and warm but has a certain baseness that can be shocking, indulging in abject laziness as a way of relaxing and further enjoying crude drinks, unrefined meals and listening to gossip that is as unbecoming of his station as possible. He enjoys cracking jokes and making remarks often with beaming smiles on his face, living simply to live without a distinct purpose behind it. He enjoys reading and practicing his Magic, of course, but he is unusually physical for a Magician and he likes exercise, traveling, exploring or simply things such as dancing and working with his hands. Despite his somewhat base nature and laziness, Djedi does however have an immense amount of pride in his appearance, hygiene and clothing, making his upkeep of these things essential to him no matter the circumstance.
One of Djedi's most important points is loyalty to those he trusts and who trust him; Djedi grew up with the idea of using people to achieve his family's goals and being ready to do anything to win and as an independent man, struggling to make his own identity, he refuses to stoop to their levels. If he makes a promise, he honors it and he expects others to be honest in turn. While not strictly naive or careless, he will give others chances and extend them courtesy even if they don't seem to deserve it and if slighted or wronged, Djedi will react accordingly. Yet to those who prove themselves to him, Djedi is one of the most stalwart and dedicated friends one could have. There is almost nothing he wouldn't do for those he cares about, and no lengths he wouldn't go to for them.
As perhaps a counterpoint to his more well bred nature Djedi enjoys a certain level of adrenaline and suspense in his life that one would not find in a palace or gala. Combat, exploration, negotiation, debate and discovery all fuel a sort of addictive attitude towards these thrills that make him decidedly more grounded than he can appear. Djedi is also somewhat overconfident in himself, though not outwardly arrogant or narcissistic and he will not hesitate to discuss his accomplishments or take credit for an action or deed though he does not diminish the work of others in his claims. He will always be honest and share credit where it is due.
Djedi's habit of distancing himself from his family often results in him being deliberately vague or silent about his past, even with his closest allies, and he will often fill the empty space of his name by giving himself nicknames such as The Wanderer, The Sorcerer and many other outlandish or bold titles.
Likes
- Nature - Cooped up for his entire life in a desert or in his large home devoid of plants and natural fixtures, Djedi loves the thrill of being in nature and especially things removed from his native Heliohapt; Cold, snow, rain, forests, jungles, even animals not native to his homeland. It is one of his many reasons for traveling.
- Gambling - One of Djedi’s many vices and by far his most favorite, Djedi loves playing dice and cards for money or simply betting on the outcomes of events. He is naturally drawn to risk and the thrill of beating odds or outwitting others. His preference is on games of pure chance or skill, but he isn’t opposed to more passive betting.
- Fruit - Grapes, figs, watermelons, melons, pears, any fruit native to Heliohapt will always catch Djedi’s attention and draw his interest. He can usually be found snacking on fruit where available or indulging in spirits brewed from the same, making him quite fond of fruit wines and ciders.
- Discovery - Djedi loves learning new things, a natural aspect of his intelligence and drive, but more than simply learning a new skill or talent he enjoys most of all learning things that have been forgotten or haven’t been learned before; He loves the thrill of being the one to puzzle out new ideas and theories, and making things reality.
- Magic - All Magicians enjoy using Magic, but to Djedi it is almost as if it’s an extension of himself. Finding new ways to use his powers, testing their limits and then expanding them until he has learned something entirely new. He revels in testing and theorizing on new applications of Magic and especially loves the feeling of discovering an entirely new avenue of his Magic. For this reason he tends to shy away from formal training or reading and making things up for himself as he goes.
- Refinement - One of the few things from his ‘old’ life that Djedi has carried with him is an enjoyment of looking and feeling his best. Though he does not need to always be wearing high fashion or perfumed and powdered, Djedi does enjoy wearing outfits he feels good wearing and otherwise being clean and properly maintained.
- Danger - Djedi is a smart man and smart men don’t usually run headlong into dangerous situations, but Djedi is somehow both a smart man and one who doesn’t seem to care about self-preservation. He loves the thrill of the unknown and the adrenaline rush of encountering something that can hurt him, and overcoming it with his skills and wits.
Dislikes
- Confinement - Being imprisoned or otherwise locked away is like poison for Djedi’s mood and soul; The longer he is without some semblance of freedom, the more hostile and restless he grows. Even something as simple as being on a ship for a prolonged period of time can make him extremely irritable.
- Control - Djedi dislikes it when others exert direct, personal control over him. While rules and laws, even at their most severe, don’t tend to make him uncomfortable, someone directly ordering him around or limiting his actions will quickly make him frustrated and hostile. Even worse is someone doing it specifically to upset or irritate him; Few things will make Djedi angry faster.
- Pessimism - Djedi is a person who tries his best to bring some semblance of optimism and hopefulness to his attitude and interactions, and people who insist on being contrarian or needlessly dismissive are the kinds of people who swiftly rub him the wrong way. Being forced to be near them for prolonged periods may not end well for at least one part.
- Tea - Being forced to drink dry teas for most of his childhood as part of his upbringing, Djedi actively disdains them now and avoids them like the plague. Aside from instances where it is absolutely impossible to avoid, such as religious ceremony, Djedi will drink almost literally anything else.
- Classism - For all of his traits he inherited from his life, Djedi is surprisingly down to earth and he is deeply opposed to the idea of classes and nobility. He treats everyone equally, based on their actions and character, and those who look down on others or dismiss them for bloodlines or nationality or occupation will find him opposed, if not downright hostile, to them.
Aspirations
Mastery
Djedi is a Magician first and everything else second. He could have had a quiet life as a noble, underusing his family’s Magical lineage, but he instead embraced it and explored it in a way few have done in his family for years. Djedi doesn’t just want to be a Magician, he wants to master Magic itself. He wants to understand the Rukh and the flow of energy it provides, he wants to find and understand every application of the Magic he can find and to do everything in his power to conquer it. Djedi will not be satisfied with anything less than reaching heights of Magic that will make him legend, not because of his family name but because of his own accomplishments.Independence
Despite his family name carrying weight even outside of Heliohapt, Djedi often prefers to give himself fanciful nicknames such as Djedi the Sorcerer or Djedi the Traveler simply to avoid any connection to it. Above most other things, Djedi loathes the idea of being judged and valued for who his parents are and for what they represent instead of his own talents. If he is to be wealthy, he wants to have earned it himself, if he is to be powerful, he wants to have trained for it.Phobias/Fears
Disassociation
All of Djedi’s life until he left his family’s care, he was trained to be something he wasn’t, to show people nothing but what they wanted to see and be perfect in the eyes of others. It was exhausting and often confusing, and one of Djedi’s biggest fears is losing pieces of himself to this ingrained need to show others only what they want to see. There is a part of Djedi that often finds falling into these states of hiding himself behind expectation to be almost soothing and he hates it, fearing he will completely lose what makes him himself because of it. He struggles with this feeling even now, and feels as if he always will.Failure
Though he tries to distance himself from his family, Djedi’s life has always held an expectation of success and accomplishment, a desire to prove himself and show others his worth through his value to them. Even now this has left a gaping hole in Djedi’s mental state that shows when he feels he is failing others and especially if a mistake of his hurts or permanently impairs another. Though he can recover from personal failure after some coaching himself, Djedi has a hard time forgiving himself for the problems he causes others when he doesn’t meet their expectations.Loss of Identity
Being boiled down to his family name, being reduced from a person into a figurehead, that is one of Djedi’s greatest fears in life. To cease being himself and being a Magician, a man who wishes to travel the world and test himself and explore his limitations and instead become seen as a spoiled, sheltered man who is merely taking a break from his family’s estate to gamble and drink his way across the world. His family name changes how others see him so much that Djedi often finds himself fearful of even saying the word or exposing himself because of the results it can bring. Paranoia about it has led Djedi to abandon anything with his family’s symbol on it and completely detach himself from communicating with his family unless it is an emergency, and someone recognizing him will often make Djedi internally panic.Face-Claim: Solomon, Fate/Grand Order
Hair Color: White
Eye Color: Gold-Amber
Height: 186cm (6’1)
Weight: 72kg (158lbs)
Appearance
Tall and slender, Djedi cuts an elegant appearance from the first glance with graceful, lithe limbs and a soft face, thin eyebrows and a pointed chin adding together to make him quite attractive. It is his eyes that are the first hint of his disposition, somewhat lidded and pointed with intricate oil paint over the eyelashes and lids to give them dark wings that frame his eyes. Underneath his eyes a simple red paint is applied, framing his eyes on his face and giving him a more prominent gaze. Djedi has extremely long, waist length white hair that is incredibly fluffy and if properly maintained will puff out like a cape along his back, save for a single braid he maintains that typically curls over his chest, a traditional mark of the eldest son of his family.His deeply tanned skin is smooth and only somewhat rough from exposure to the sunlight but he is extensively tattooed from his shoulders down to his very fingertips with rich black tattoos, staring as geometric shapes modeled after ancient Heliohapt symbols and ending in a geometric flower shape on each hand with a single line tattooed on the back of each finger, from just above the knuckle joint to the middle joint of each finger. His nails are typically painted black, a tradition among the people of Heliohapt who practice Magic; Some Magicians of Heliohapt believe the tattoos and paint help them guide the rukh, but at this point it is mostly ceremonial and for display purposes.
Djedi’s outfits, while not always the same, typically have the same elements no matter the style. He greatly prefers light, airy clothing that has no sleeves and has gold elements, with heavy reds and whites as well, and he wears shawls, capes or cloaks designed to be simple but light and flowing, and he makes incredibly extensive use of golden bands on his arms, neck and ankles as a fashion symbol no matter what outfit he wears unless it is simply impractical to do so. He favors sandals or light shoes, but also likes going barefoot in the right circumstances.
Rukh Alignment: White Rukh
Special Features: Djedi is extensively tattooed on his feet, legs, hands, arms and back. They are all geometric lines and shapes recognizably linked to Heliohapt magical belief and are unique enough to be distinguishable to him.
- History:
- The first and only son of the Akhetiwn family of Heliohapt, Djedi's life was planned for him from the very first day he was conceived. His family were once prominent Magicians within Heliohapt, a family who earned respect and prominence through their use of Magic to assist the kingdom in it's past, but the latest generations let their Magic slip further and further out of their focus as they became increasingly concerned with their legacy and wealth more than accomplishing anything; This was the environment Djedi was raised in. A family who's concern was appearances and maintaining their image, and their son was expected to do the same at all times.
Given a first class education because he was expected to receive one, taught how to act properly and behave in front of others, taught to seclude himself and only interact with those worth his station, taught just enough about his Magic to keep up the appearance of the family's great magical lineage and position of power within the nobility...It was like a maze where someone was guiding Djedi by the hand, living along the path someone else was deciding for him. At first he devoured his books and school work, eager to learn everything he could but as he grew older his interests became more external. It started taking his reading outdoors and then he began to speak with the servants of the house whenever his family wasn't around. His mother and father grew increasingly distant as he was educated, expecting him to simply do as he was told, and he did enough to maintain appearances, but soon his days were spent quietly sitting near the servant's quarters and devouring their stories.
So many of the men and women who worked for his family had led such interesting lives, each one treating their lives as if they were unimportant compared to Djedi's legacy and it somehow upset the young man to hear such things; He hadn't done anything, and yet men who had sailed the seas were telling him he was more than them, women who had raised children were acting as if he had something they did not possess.
These thoughts became a spark, a desire to do something, and Djedi tried to satisfy it by focusing on his Magic. Teaching himself to harness the rukh in his spare time, fascinating himself with the simple wand his family had given him to teach him the basics and expanding on those lessons until he outgrew practicing in his bedroom and he took to practicing secretly at night in the gardens and pathways of the estate.
As he grew more competent at Magic and his family ceased demanding more of his studies, thinking him already sufficiently broken in their plans for him, Djedi's began to take him out of the walls of his home. Using Magic and a little bit of youthful athletics he would frequently scale the walls and end up outside the estate using rooftops and walls as pathways. Exploring the city of his birth for the first time without his parents, Djedi found himself standing atop a gate and staring out into an endless desert and the specks on the horizon fascinated him utterly. What laid beyond the walls of his estate, his city, the desert? Were the lands he'd read of real, what laid beyond them, and beyond that? Where did the world end, and had anyone really seen it before?
Most of all, Djedi realized in that moment that for everything he'd been taught and everything he'd been told to believe, not a single thing in his life up until that point had mattered even a little bit.
Once again the spark inside him began to grow and Djedi began to escape at night, ending up almost anywhere within the city. As he grew older, these excursions turned from boyish adventure to finding games to join in, playing with others of his age and at other times he ended up passing the nights in the gambling dens and drinking parlors, at other times he spent the nights with the intellectuals of the city and it's libraries, discussing books from foreign lands and contemplating the nature of the world.
It wasn't one single thing, because it never is. It wasn't his parent's indifference or the way he had slowly begun to outgrow his home, it wasn't that his tutors deemed him done with his studies or that his father began to take him to gatherings and practically parading him in front of others, it wasn't the coaching of how his smile broke at inappropriate times or how his tone was too harsh, it wasn't even his mother's idle plotting to find him a suitable wife among the worthy families of the city...No, like most things in his life, Djedi came to the decision completely on his own.
Standing in his room, staring at his reflection in the mirror, realizing he no longer recognized the man he was being shaped to be. The reflection of who he was no longer matched the man he was inside, the shell of a pampered nobleman ill fitting. He didn't leave because of one thing, he left because of a thousand things that had always been there, but now he could see them.
Djedi left his home city without fanfare and without even a goodbye, taking nothing but enough food to last a few days of travel. He left the money, the books, the servants and his family completely behind, cutting himself off from them in such a way that without their name, there was nothing of them that remained to weigh him down. His first stop, a few days later, was to sell the finery and clothes he had worn to buy traveling clothes and join a caravan heading away from the area. For the next year, Djedi lived exactly as he had always wanted to; He lived with people, earning his means with his own hands, he made friends and enemies, he used his Magic to protect himself and to find work, he fought and he bled and he climbed back onto his feet and kept moving.
For the first time in his entire life, Djedi felt alive.
He never lost some things, never lost the upbringing that made him who he was, but he grew rougher edges and acquired vices, his wanderlust often carrying him anywhere his urges took him. One day these urges took him to a city on the edge of Heliohapt's borders, a place where ancient ruins and old stories were abundant and by chance he happened upon a gambler in a tavern who had won an artifact from a previous game and was gambling it for coin, extolling it's value and authenticity for anyone to hear...and the thrill of the stakes grabbed Djedi's attention immediately. He should have been suspicious of how easily he won the game, his opponent being positively terrible at cards and thinking it merely a sign of his own skill at the game, Djedi collected his artifact and left the tavern with a smile on his face.
Only to round a corner and run directly into a pair of rough, armed men he had seen sitting nearby during the game. They demanded the artifact and his money, and Djedi knew he was at a disadvantage almost immediately. Thankfully for him, a Magician in the same city had overheard talk of the artifact and the game, and had come just in time to see Djedi win it. She had followed him intending to try and buy it off him, but stumbled upon the confrontation in progress and utilized her magic to create a distraction, a light mirage that obscured Djedi enough for her to call for him to run…
That was how Djedi met Ophilia Araki, and how she somewhat extorted a rare artifact from him. To say he was impressed right away is an understatement; She was one of the few Magicians he had met in his travels to begin with, and a beautiful woman who was so vastly different from the women he was accustomed to seeing that she struck him immediately, but as they got to talking he realized she and he shared many things in common. Her desire to discover and learn mirrored his own, and her travels were already taking her further than he’d ever gone…
Perhaps her presence provided the spark he needed to finally leave Heliohapt, or perhaps he was simply using that as an excuse to tag along with a beautiful, fascinating woman, but either way. Djedi and her were on their way together outside of the kingdom within the next few days, journeying towards the future and new discoveries.
- Role-Play Sample:
- "Thank you very much, sir. It was a pleasure doing business with you."
The aged shopkeeper smiled a bit dryly as Djedi bowed his head and stepped away from the fruit stand holding a selection of ripe figs, one of which he pulled up to his lips to take a bite from as he adjusted the rest in his other arm. Whatever dryness was left in his mouth from the heat was quickly washed away by the delicious fruit and the smile on Djedi's face only intensified as he made his way through the narrow streets of the small city he'd found his way into. Most of the buildings were dried mudstone and cloth awnings hung between them overhead to create shade even on scorching hot days like today, the sun's light angled perfectly to batter down on the city from almost any angle. It would be setting soon, but until then Djedi couldn't stand to be indoors for more than a few minutes before he needed to be out in the air...Not that it helped much, but the figs were worth the trip into the sun.
It only took another bite to finish off the fig he had in his hand and as he rounded a corner Djedi was taking a bite of another one, teeth cutting through the tough skin with a dull chomping sound that stopped dead as Djedi found himself colliding with a man who was coming around the corner at the same time; The impact was hardly severe, both going at normal walking paces, but it did jostle Djedi enough to send the fig he'd just taken a bite of spilling right onto the man's shirt and roll off him into the dirty street, ruined. Without missing a beat, however, Djedi simply smiled and bowed his head to the man in front of him. "Please excuse me, I didn't hear you coming. My sincerest apologies."
Instead of a response, however, Djedi found himself being shoved backwards with a rough palm and a deep grunt of anger escaped the man he'd run into. It took him a few steps to catch himself and Djedi looked up at the man's face in slight confusion, only to be met with a furrowed brow and deep glare as the man thumbed his shirt angrily towards Djedi. "Apologies my ass! This is my lucky shirt, and it's ruined!" he declared, causing Djedi to glance uncertainly towards the spot in question. There was a small, circular mark of fig juice on the shirt and a single seed which was thrust off onto the ground by the man's shaking of the cloth. It would take a drop of water and perhaps two minutes in the sun to clean the shirt.
Instead of raising the point, however, Djedi just kept his smile and adjusted his grip on the figs in his other arm so he could reach for his pocket, understanding already what the man was after. "I am once again sincerely sorry. I will gladly pay for the shirt to be cleaned, or for you to purchase a new one. I saw a lovely fabric shop on my way here, perhaps we can go together?" he offered, still smiling as his fingers pulled several huang from within the lining pocket of his shirt. The man he'd collided with, however, took one look at the money and scoffed as he stepped forward to snatch the money from Djedi.
"I don't know if this is enough, you hit me pretty hard there buddy. I might need to go see a healer."
For the first time since the encounter began, Djedi's smile faded and he stared at the man with a blank expression on his face. "...I think the huang I've already given you will suffice to attend to your shirt and your medical care, sir, and I will be on my way now with a good day to you." came his reply, his voice rapidly drying and he moved to step past the man with enough of a berth to avoid colliding into him again...Not that it mattered, as the man lunged out and caught Djedi's arm, yanking him towards him by the wrist. Every one of the figs in Djedi's arm tumbled free, spilling across the ground and splitting open on impact. Juice and pulp were decorating the stone, only added to when the ruddy-faced man shoved himself into Djedi and crushed one underfoot. "You're not getting away that easy! You're gonna cough up everything you got or I'm going to make you regret getting in my face!"
In the middle of his snide retort, the man's eyes widened a little and he tried to pull back as he realized Djedi was glaring right at him. Without even the benefit of a warning the gold-eyed Magician gripped the staff under his cloak and drew it forward, shoving it into the man's stomach and speaking the words of the spell right there in the street. There was no time for apologies or backing down, the man was standing in front of Djedi one second and the next he was tumbling backwards through the air and slamming face-first into the mudbrick ten feet off the ground and then sliding down the stone only to drop into an awning, laying there with blood seeping from his broken nose and his fingers twitching slowly.
Djedi inhaled sharply as he pulled his staff back from the man, adjusting his robes and tucking the staff back into its position under them. Around him several onlookers were now edging away from him, previously content to watch the situation unfold and now startled by the sudden change in demeanor and were seemingly waiting for his next move...
"I am so sorry you all had to see that. Please forgive me for disturbing your afternoons."
Everyone stared in further shock as Djedi began bowing in each direction, then stood up straight to fluff his cloak back into place, before stepping back the way he'd come with a quiet smile. Above them, the awning gave way suddenly and sent the man he'd flung down onto the street, landing on the pile of figs that had fallen on the ground and smashing the rest of them into pulp.
