Dissidious is a Mahjarrat played by Saint Altime, and is a master of illusions. While he has been around for some time now, he has yet to make very many public appearances, preferring to remain in his own realm.
Appearance[]
Dissidious's human form has very dark hair and a shaved face; it is always very determined but also rather handsome when he shows his kind side.
Pre-Roleplay[]
Dissidious was born in Freneskae, and arrived with the other mahjarrat in the second age. Immediately he took a liking to Gielinor for its easy going and relaxed nature. As a mahjarrat, he always had a lust for combat, and as such was more than happy to fight with Icthlarin in defeating the Zarosian army. When the time came for the Mahjarrat to change sides after Sliske's proposal, he was more than happy to fight those whom he had once called comrades. It was after Tumeken sacrificed himself that a doubt formed in the back of Dissidious's mind. Having narrowly escaped death, Dissidious began to reflect on his choices leading up to the conflict, and then sought to focus his strength toward the erudite, rather than the brutal.
As such, he joined the Praetorian and sought to gain knowledge through his position, which was not very high thanks to his constant failure to perform his duties when knowledge was to be had, such as dissections and inhumane tests of emotion.
During the God Wars, this became very evident, when he would often choose to fight for multiple armies under various guises (barring Armadyl, of course, since flight was not an option) in order to gain insight into every creature he could, including those bred for nothing but war. It was during this time he upped his cruel experiments, often taking entire human families hostage and subjecting the members to sick forms of mental torture, such as killing a family member in front of another. It is from these experiences that he grew a subtle respect for other creatures, noting the ferocity that emotions were able to provide.
Despite his growing knowledge, his lust for combat remained. Multiple problems arose from this insatiable urge to fight. His drive to fight would often override his mental restrictions when provoked. Often he would kill a subject before the proper tests could be performed just to test their spirit, much to his later dismay. It was after the death of an increasingly-rare Ourg that he chose to act.
Recalling a ritual detailed in one of his many books, he set out to separate his combat drive and his normal mind. From the elves he secured a crystal staff, and from the priests of Saradomin, a blessed silvthril sickle. He then combined the sickle to the staff in the form of a flail (Much like The Adventurer would later do) and prepared the ritual. It was a long and painful process, often coming within inches of breaking the mahjarrat's mental state, yet he succeeded, and in turn created Aiphos, his staff and companion. She was not quite crystal, not quite metal, and able to transform herself, much like her Mahjarrat master, at will. (As part of the same soul, they are able to communicate telepathically, and while the destruction of one is not inherently the destruction of the other, they are far stronger together, and are rarely seen apart)
By the time the God Wars had come to a close, Dissidious had collected a vast number of followers whom were bound through desperation and lack of purpose to him. Although they consisted entirely of his experiments in mutating creatures, those that remained were loyal to the mahjarrat. When the Great War had ended, he had about a thousand in all, and sought to find a larger space to house them, as the caves they had resided in up until that point had become increasingly more cramped.
Shangri-la[]
It was then that he found the realm of the Reapers, a type of strange demon often 20 feet tall and roaming the land freely and without purpose. Although the conditions were not ideal, he led his people here and founded 4 townships, each spread throughout the realm. It was found that the townships had failed miserably, with attacks by the Reapers taking increasing casualties and buildings. The townspeople, armed only with their mutated strengths and cannons, repelled the reapers only through continuous bombardment and immense sacrifice. Within a year, roughly half of the townspeople remained. Dissidious sought to end the threat once and for all, and called forth the leaders of all 4 townships to a central spot near the coast, overlooking the black oceans of unfathomable depth. It was in this central encampment that a plan was forged. The Reapers were known to abandon their senseless attacks of the townships during the week of a full moon, and as such Dissidious and the leaders plotted their final stand to be produced during said week. They gathered all the skilled builders remaining, dwarves, humans, various other sentient beings, and spent hour after hour toiling over forges and anvils in order to create a machine capable of stopping the beasts. At the hour of dawn on the final day, the machine was finished. On a single, massive shaft in the center of the town stood a behemoth of steel and might, piloted by Dissidious himself. It was humanoid in shape, with a torso and arms, albeit no neck nor legs. In the center of its chest, just above an opening through which Dissidious was able to see, loomed a massive cannon, and inside it a cannonball of equal proportions. The machine, at 100 feet tall, it towered over the Reapers, and repelled them with ease thanks to its long reach and merciless assortment of weaponry. Many Reapers were slaughtered that day, prompting a response from the Reapers.
Although they appeared to be mindless and bestial, they bowed to a central figure, a Reaper of massive proportions living in the spaces of a hollowed-out mountain. With deafening roar and a thundering eruption, the mighty beast emerged from its abode and strode towards the metal man. They stood eye to eye, beast to machine, while Reapers of smaller size charged forth to attack the newly-formed town. In a struggle for the history books, the fight remained deadlocked, neither able to seize a victory, until Dissidious caught hold of the shoulders on this mighty titan. Locking itself into place, the machine was made to fire its cannon, which erupted in an ear-shattering roar that could be heard for miles. So strong was the explosion that the cannon itself was shattered and the machine had begun to break apart, while ash and smoke clouded the battlefield. When all was cleared, the Great Reaper, in all its horrible nature, stood. It was not a sight without victory, however, because in the center of this beast was a large hole where once its chest had been. Though it did not fall thanks to the machine's solid grip, it was surely dead.
At the sight of their greatest leader dead, the Reapers fled for the mountains north of the city, and the townspeople rejoiced appropriately. Though dazed and temporarily deafened, Dissidious emerged from the crumbling machine in triumph, and a victory celebration was had. It was then that the 4 leaders of the various townships sent word for their villagers to emigrate to this central city, now named Shangri-La after a story from the east.
Some 500 years later, a large city stood in the spot of this township, built from stone mined out of the stone beneath their feet. It had expanded rapidly in the 500 years following the defeat of the Great Reaper, whose skull now became the centerpiece of the town's museum. Where once the town center, and the sight of the steel machination once filled the sky, was converted to the town's Battlefront Square, and the metal man restored, albeit non-functional. Dissidious was named the city's king, and although elections were strongly suggested by Dissidious, whom at the time wanted nothing to do with the city's leadership, no other candidate could muster even a small fraction of the votes. It was as such that he began to venture to Gielinor fewer and fewer, returning sometimes only to attend the ritual of the mahjarrat, to which he was still bound.
In Roleplay[]
He has shown his powers of illusion and trickery to his Mahjarrat brethren at the recent meeting, finding himself worried about the sake of his kind. He then established 4 illusion-producing towers and made a test that his siblings inevitably failed.
He has attended every ritual since the first, and now roams Gielinor seeking immortality.
Powers[]
Lich form[]
By far his strongest capability is his lich form. It enhances his power greatly, multiplying his strength, speed, and magical ability, but at a cost. Whereas Dissidious in his normal form is calm, cool, and almost always in control, Dissidious's lich form is reckless, power-mad, and always in need of a fight. This power, although to some a checkmate, is to be used rarely due to its effects on Dissidious's mind. The effects are not permanent, but the recklessness and expulsion of so much power often lead to danger. His Lich form can be spotted by its signature spiked armor, a set of spiked "wings" and the helmet he wears to conceal his face. It is during this phase that he is more likely to display his melee prowess, as his soul and that of Aiphos's are in the greatest harmony (Not a Soul Eater reference I promise).
Illusion[]
He has the power to fool all the senses of another individual, enabling him to convince them that he is all-powerful. While under illusions, his speed and strength are infinite, able to do tasks that are impossible to anything else.
Strength[]
Like all Mahjarrat, he possesses superhuman strength, which he uses to his advantage in melee fights. His strength matched with his weapon's ability to transform should not be underestimated.
Combat techniques[]
He is a master of several combat forms and is a master strategist, using his own unique weapons to his advantage, in addition to his magical power.
Spellbook[]
Ice Spells[]
These are used primarily for freezing his opponent or barraging them with icicles in hopes of overwhelming them. Usually meant to deter or stun opponents, but can also be used to injure or even impale opponents
Smoke Spells[]
Also meant for stunning, these choke the victim and fill their lungs with gas, at best killing them and at worst making them gasp for breath. It is very hard to avoid these spells unless using air spells.
Blood Spells[]
These are more offensive spells, usually involving the manipulation of the opponent's blood or the user's. These are capable of restoring the caster and leaving a heightened sense of awareness. Variations include blood pool manipulation and water spell alternations. Highly-dangerous manipulations include spikes of blood and balls of blood, which, should they be allowed to enter the victim's body through open wound, erupt vicious spikes in all directions, leading to almost certain death.
Shadow Spells[]
Offensive and defensive spells, these are used by Dissidious primarily for his illusions to fool the victim and also for teleportation. These range from incredibly realistic illusions to simple tricks, and everything in between. With the right preparation or power, a single victim and sometimes of group can be manipulated to the point where even the senses lie to them.
Standard Spellbook[]
He is practiced in the human spellbook, and is capable of casting them rather easily. However, he is not a master and prefers not to use it over the ancient spellbook.
"Binding Chains"[]
Summons magical chains from the ground the bind his opponents, they are nearly unbreakable if the user's magical prowess is far greater than the victim's. Variations include a ball of energy that explodes into chains, allowing ranged attacks.
Some lunar capabilities[]
He is capable of casting certain spells in the Lunar Spellbook, heal other, bake pie, and group teleports to some locations.
Trivia[]
- His carefully selected theme song can be heard ->
- No living Mahjarrat has seen his lich form.
- His understanding of things comes from personal experience.
- His ideals are part of the reason that he has remained loyal to Zaros.
- Sophia, while also being an anagram of Aiphos, was also the first person killed by Aiphos.