▰ ▰ ▰ ▰ ▰ ▰ ▰ ▰ ▰ [THE BLOODMOON BISHOP]
The progeny of Almira, the gluttonous Bloodmoon Knight, Lucien discovered a connection more deep than merely their ties of blood. What Almira found within her, so too did her progeny, and the wrath of the bloodmoon became more clear and evident within the vampress and her progeny than anyone else.
Lucien Lordaeron, child of Almira, is known as the Halcyon Dream. The Sin of Lust. And now, the Bloodmoon Bishop. What do these names mean? These titles? They all reference facets of the Hunt. The trapping of prey. The Halcyon Dream, realized, is a thing of beauty; a haunting visitation within one's sleeping mind. The beginning of the lure.
The Sin of Lust - a manifestation of worldly desires - is the realization of your dreams when the man, inevitably, comes to compel the one he's enamored in sleepless nights. And the Bloodmoon Bishop, violent and raw, is the beast that emerges when prey has truly been lured into the grasp of his maw. This facet of the Hunt is all about violently executing those who have been drawn into complacency by his beguiling gaze.
Strengths
• Lightrender: Upon entering combat, around Lucien will form a dome of shadow that can only barely be seen by those outside of it. This dome will follow Lucien wherever he goes, though he will not necessarily be the epicenter of it, and will often lurk around the edges. The shadow stretches outwards and upwards for 50 meters, and its effects are simple as they are visceral. Light entering the dome or formed within it is dramatically reduced, UV light dampened to the point of near non-existence. The closer to the ground the light reaches, the more it is weakened, to the point of near complete darkness at ground level. The darker his surroundings, the more potent Lucien's stealth becomes. The vampire can latch onto pockets of darkness around him and pull them over him to perfect his concealment, the shadowmeld completely camouflaging him with the environment around him.
• Enemies caught within the darkness of Lightrender begin to experience similar effects to vampires caught in natural UV light. Nausea, violent irritation and stinging pain can encompass those who have been frequently and consistently exposed to the darkness of the Lightrender dome. This takes several minutes (posts) to kick in very clearly, but after that point the conditions of the afflicted foes will only worsen.
Weaknesses
• Physically attacking will dispel any stealth or shadow cloak given by Lightrender unless it is reinforced by an energy-based technique.
• Continuous physical attacks by Lucien will completely dismantle the Lightrender barrier and prevent it from being reformed unless an expensive technique is used. In fact, it is best for Lucien not to attack at all for the first several stages of the fight. The fighting style supplied by the Bloodmoon Bishop is one of degradation of health and morale, as well as the consistent locking down and dismantling of foes' offensive. It is only when a foe is entirely drained that the 'execution' phase of this sub-class should be initiated.
• Most techniques only work on organics, thus this sub-class is hugely weak to mechanists or races without consistent biological properties. However, it does work on races that have physical bodies but don't always manifest them, such as the Shades.
Techniques
• Empowered Stealth Passive
Within the Lightrender, Assassin-Class Stealth has no set duration. This is a facilitator for the style of combat that Lightrender offers; one of complete subversion, where Lucien cannot be found, but merely fought against as a specter of looming darkness, applying virulent illness and winnowing dangers to his foes.
• Blood Sickness C-B
Designated enemies within the Lightrender when this technique is used - for three posts afterwards - are caught with a violent fit of nausea and dampening of their physical potential. They suffer with weakness and fatigue, reducing their strength and speed by 1, or 2 if B rank.
• Vexation C
Vexation applies a fragility to foes caught within the Lightrender, one that lasts for three posts. All foes inflicted with fragility take significant extra damage from all sources.
• Cloud of Darkness B
This ability expands the Lightrender fifty meters in all directions, doubling its size. This effect lasts for the duration of the battle, though it may only be used once.
• Shadows of Nocturne B
This will cause for the darkness within the Lightrender to form a thick mist that will spread throughout the area in a sort of slow-moving vortex. This mist is one of shadowy magic, and vampiric abilities that utilize shadows are empowered in potency and their range of actions while used within this vortex. Furthermore, with the constantly shifting nature of the shadowy mist within the Lightrender, Lucien and all nocturnal combatants are even more difficult to deal with, capable of riding along the darkness while others cannot anticipate them. Duration of five posts.
• Visceral Blades B-SS
Blades of shadow, within the darkness, will form and viciously pursue a foe. These blades appear first as merely large daggers, but can have their forms shifted to more imposing objects and weapons. The special effect of the blades is in their strike: anyone struck with these blades will have their blood drained on impact and forwarded within the shadows of the Lightrender towards Lucien. This means - potentially, in ideal circumstances - they could pay for themselves if the blood is consumed.
• Curse of Gore A
The Curse of Gore is an ability that causes for those caught within the Lightrender to begin to let out blood; blood will pour from their noses, mouths, nails, and even pours. This blood will be carried from their bodies and will scatter through the Lightrender, forming into a thin vapor to be consumed by Lucien without the opponent's notice. After the blood has been consumed, multiple new abilities open up. This ability can only effect a target once, and will only take one liter of blood from each target. One liter of blood is enough to cause shock and weakness in affected foes.
No matter what preventative measures are taken, at least some blood will be consumed, due to the fact that the blood begins to evaporate into the Lightrender immediately after being exposed.
• Hunted A
*Requires Curse of Gore being used previously on the target
Upon consuming the blood of a foe, Lucien can emulate the features of a shark hunting bloodied prey. He will see the enemy purely, perfectly, regardless of obstruction and surrounded in a clear red outline. When pursuing this foe, he moves more quickly, and his movements are entirely muffled. Any attacks that make contact with this foe are inflicted with highly empowered versions of Vexation and Blood Sickness, causing for a single blow to the opponent to become paralyzing; the target becomes violently ill and will begin to vomit, hemorrhage blood, and even potentially die if they have already been damaged. Attacks made on a Hunted foe will still dispel Stealth, but won't disrupt the Lightrender as much.
• Dance of Sanguine Rain A
*Requires Curse of Gore being used previously on the target
Once the blood of a foe has been consumed, Lucien may draw near to the target and enact a brutal curse. This is known as the Dance of Sanguine Rain, and by forming a connection to the target via the consumed blood, he is capable of amplifying the effects of one particular thing within the target: blood loss. The target is afflicted with extreme hemophilia, where if blood is lost by them, it will be unable to clot and they will bleed at a much faster and greater rate than others. This lasts for the duration of the fight, after which their ability to properly coagulate returns.
• Shadowform S
Melding with darkness, Lucien's form becomes one of a total black; he cannot be seen whatsoever while within the Lightrender, even if attacking from stealth. This form vastly reduces damage received as well, though it will not completely nullify any attack. The only warning of his coming is that of an aura of virulence around him; foes within 15 feet of Lucien in this form face onsets of illness, weakness and migraines. This lasts for five posts.
• Mindrender S
This ability can be used to reform Lightrender if it has been dispelled by Lucien (likely due to consistent physical attacks by the vampire). More than that, it has a particular effect that vastly endangers all enemies caught within. Mindrender is the apex of deadly effects caused by Lightrender. It is the final 'execution' of Lucien's abilities, if the foe has not already died from illness, trauma or bloodloss.
Mindrender locks all intended targets within the dome of Lightrender. More definitively than any other ability, it supplies them with an ultimate fragility, more deadly than Vexation or the Dance of the Sanguine Rain. Simply put, the next time the foe is impacted by any attack or ability to an extent more than grazing, they will immediately drop dead. The effects of Mindrender will transfer into their body through the wound - however small - and will completely destroy their brain, thus the namesake. Only a Fairhair can survive this ability. This 'debuff' lasts for 5 posts.
• Night Sky SS-SSS
A finalizing assassination technique, one usually used after Mindrender to assure a kill. Night Sky is a skill that, for a single post, gives Lucien an in-quantifiable degree of speed. Surrounded by a shadowy cloak that empowers his blades, this ability requires several seconds to cast, and any stealth he may have had is broken while casting it. Once it is used, for a single post Lucien will have a degree of speed incalculable by any metric. He will move instantly, and will be capable of controlling his speed precisely in order to assassinate a target. He will not be torn apart by his absurd speed; this ability allows him to meld with it.
