Conch

APPERANCE NOTES
HEIGHT: 9'4" / 284 cm 

• Conch's skin is scaly, smooth, and somewhat slimy to touch. In the dark, purple bioluminescents can be seen on his scales.
  
  
• Claws on both hands and feet are webbed
  
  
• Conch's teeth are serrated and grow back quickly, like a shark's.
  
  
• The pauldrons on his Conch's shoulders are smoothened, reinforced nautilus shells
  
  

BACKGROUND

    Chieftan Conch's story begins far before the day he hatched. The history of the Hadal Tribe, a clan of refuge Mazoku thriving in the deepest darkest depths of Namek's sea, and the abyssal demon that watches over them.

    Three hundred years ago when the Mazoku first began to appear on Namek, there was one particularly warlike tribe that sought for supremacy over their Dragon and Warrior clan brethren after being exiled to the Outer Plait. After decades of conflict, atrocities, and bloodshed, the Dragon and Warrior clansmen were victorious. However, a dark presence coming from the depths of Namek's sea offered sanctuary to the fleeing Mazoku in the ocean, allowing the few that remained of the clan to live on. It was these vile Mazoku that evolved into today's members of the Hadal Tribe- carnivorous, water-breathing, and monstrously reptilian Mazoku Namekians.

    But despite their barbaric roots, the tribe has cooled down, and live contently in complete isolation at the bottom of the sea. The aging, abyssal demon that continues to watch over the Hadal Tribe has kept their home hidden from the rest of Namek, granting the Mazoku under its watchful eyes ki that cannot be sensed, abyssal magic, and extended lifespans. However, it demands sacrifice and worship to keep its power and continue to hide the clan with its magic- any dead clansmen have their bodies fed back to it. However, it too has become much less vicious as the centuries passed- while it only sustained the Hadal Tribe to use as a food source in the past, it eventually grew fond of the Namekians it protected.

    For centuries, life has been the same in the Hadal Tribe. Nobody was allowed to enter or leave their home in the sea for a long, long time...

---

    Conch was born into the Hadal Tribe some two-hundred years ago with an abnormally high power level, able to sling around spells even as a hatchling. He was raised communally like the rest of the tribe's young, and quickly became a very social and curious namekian. Conch loved to learn and figure out how things worked and explore their little nook of the world.

    The young prodigy namekian was quick to take an interest in combat as well. While he didn't win many local tournaments, he'd show up to every one. His grit and developing skill caught the eye of the tribe's huntsmen- the few Hadal Tribesmen allowed to leave the safety of their village to hunt in the depths for food. They offered to train Conch in their ways, and the curious young sea slug couldn't refuse a chance to see what was outside their home.

    Namek's deep sea was equal parts terrifying and beautiful. Bioluminescant reefs lit up parts of the dark some parts sea while monstrous wildlife patrolled the barren wastes, but both parts were incredible and interesting to Conch. He was taught by his mentors how to truly fight and hunt during his time with them, and to respect the world around them. They had to kill the sealife that Conch was so enamored by to eat and live, but to leave a single crumb of a kill unused was disrespectful to the animal. The smallest strand of seaweed, the largest whale, the uncanny creatures of the depths, and the Hadal Tribe themselves, all of these things were equally important to Namek...

    But what about those on the surface?

    Conch asked that very question one day, to the horror of his peers. The world above the water's edge was absolutely forbidden to explore. The Namekians who lived above would slaughter their entire tribe given the chance, the village elders assured Conch. The surface Namekians were different, they could never understand the tribe of the deep.

    Still, even with the surface off limits, the oceans held enough to keep Conch intrigued for a long, long time. A hundred years sculpted the mighty Mazoku into a skilled, respectful warrior- one of the strongest and most skilled the tribe had ever seen... It was Conch's skill and knowledge that made him the number one candidate for Chieftan when their past leader had fallen ill and passed away.

    The role of Chief was thrust upon Conch at first, but he quickly grew into the role. While most past leaders had kept the tribe safe, yet isolated, Conch chose to increase exploration of the depths. Under his command, their home began to advance and prosper, creating new forms of magic and technology and expanding further.

    Eventually, Conch saw fit to have a child of his own. He named his hatchling Tusk. Conch himself had been a curious, somewhat troublesome child as he'd grown up, but Tusk made his father look well-behaved. The little scamp of a Namekian loved to get into trouble, much to his father's dismay. While Tusk loved his family and his tribe, the young Namekian had little respect for rules, taking any sort of guideline as a challenge to break rather than something to be obeyed.

    The tried and true law to never approach the surface was Tusk's final frontier.

    Conch's son had been going to the surface for a few weeks. He'd met another young surface-dwelling Namekian at the beachside, another naive, curious soul like himself that saw the freakish sea-mutant as a fellow Namekian rather than a demonic beast. Being the first to interact with a surface-dweller in hundreds of years felt like a huge deal! While he wasn't very fluent in the Common or Namekian languages, the two children worked past their language barrier with drawings, both slipping out of their villages on the daily to interact.

    Conch eventually became suspicious of his son returning later than usual from his hunting sessions, and one day decided to tail his son to see what he'd been up to. Unfortunately, Tusk's surface-dwelling friend's family had the same idea.

    The surface Namekians had been the first to lash out at the sight of the deep-sea demon that their child had been speaking to, despite their child's pleas to not hurt Tusk. Tusk fought back, but was no match for the warriors' strength- he was overwhelmed and nearly died, were it not for his father erupting from the ocean to fight off his child's attackers. Conch had been only skeptical of the surface dwellers until now, but seeing his son maimed awoke a newfound hatred in his father's heart. He mauled the other Namekians right back, ignorant of Tusk's pleas to hold back against his friend's family.

    Conch managed to fight off and kill some of the surface-dwellers before backup was called, and he quickly returned to the sea with his son in his arms. Tusk was subject to the lecturing of a lifetime. What were you thinking?, his father chastized, parroting the beliefs of every chieftan before him. The Namekians on the surface are not like us. You could have died.

    Tusk was silent during the entire lecture, but he couldn't stop thinking about the other child he'd met and befriended, though. His friend, whose family Conch had nearly torn apart in a bloodlust. The namekians above were like them, even if his entire clan couldn't see it.

    Of course, Tusk was grounded for a very, very long time. But when did he ever care for rules? One day, he left, and didn't come back... Though his father had an inkling of an idea as to where his son had run away to.

    Despite his fear and hatred, Conch didn't hesitate to head to the surface in search of his son yet again. Though he could not see whatever Tusk saw in their land-dwelling counterparts, he wasn't about to let his only son be hurt by them ever again.

TECHNIQUES
Light Attack || Shell Smash
A simple, straightforward, yet powerful punch. This technique doesn't use ki or magic- Conch's massive arms and sharp claws are more than enough to deliver a single, strong blow to a foe. He can stretch his arms to give this attack extra range as well.
    Power: 40%
    KP Cost: 2 KP
    Variants: N/A
    Slot: Starter

Medium Attack || Black Pearl
Conch forms a small, watery black orb of abyssal magic in a single hand, and throws it at a foe. Upon impact, the sphere of dark magic explodes into ice cold, liquid-like bolts of magic that can overwhelm other attacks with much more ease due to their volatile nature.
    Power: 50%
    KP Cost: 4
    Variants: Overflowing
    Slot: Starter

Light Defense || Thermal Vent
Conch digs his heels into the ground and attempts to intercept and catch an oncoming attack. His hands are coated in a scorching hot black liquid that can absorb the oncoming energy and channel it into his next attack. A successful activation of its Taunt variant can give his next attack visual elements from the absorbed technique, but this is purely for visual flavor.
    Power: 20%
    KP Cost: 2
    Variants: Taunt
    Slot: Starter

SPARKING Light Defense || Rebreather
Abyssal magic gathers in Conch's jaws. He bites down onto an oncoming attack, using the strengthened magic inside his mouth to absorb the blow and consume some of its energy. If an attack is successfully absorbed, his gills flare and exude energy similar to the absorbed attack, which allows him to heal himself.
    Power: 50%
    KP Cost: 2 KP
    Variants: Mending
    Slot: Starter

Utility || Ki Sense

Conch can sense the living energy of other beings and their energies, and gauge how powerful they are in comparison to himself or others. Different individuals have different "feelings" to their Ki, so Conch can pick out people he is familiar with. Stronger energies can be sensed from greater distances, whereas smaller ones require much more concentration to pick out, making finding those with small energy signatures increasingly difficult. Those with Antisense cannot be detected by this.
    Slot: Starter

Utility || Beast Speech
Conch can speak the language of beasts to communicate with animals. Though their language is exceedingly simple, he can understand and speak to any form of animal via growls, roars, hisses, etc.
    Slot: Starter

Utility || Sea Mutant

Mazoku Namekians of the Hadal Tribe have adapted to living in the crushing depths of Namek's deepest oceans, and Conch is no exception. He can breathe underwater, see perfectly fine in the dark, and being submerged doesn't hinder his movements at all. Conch is much less suspectible to increases in gravity or pressure due to his deep sea life, though he is not immune to extremely intense pressure. This does not provide resistance against mechanical attacks that use gravity, pressure, or water.
    Slot: Ki Guidebook #1