Pen, the Vulture King

APPEARANCE: Pen is a striking figure, clad in black leather and dark iron, a helmet composed mostly of a dark glass dome on his head. Within the dome swirls a thick purple smoke, and in the right lighting one might see the contours of an ancient skull within. A wicked, heavy pistol called Abraxas sits on his hip, made from the black volcanic rock of some nameless hellscape. A heavy chain epaulette adorns one shoulder. A snake of black iron sprouts from his back, a vicious mockery of a tail which he often wraps around his waist like a belt.

He is never far from his hellish motorcycle, with its flaming wheels and scorched black frame.



BACKGROUND: Once upon a time, in an age long past, a man of science sought to appease his wife’s endless Fury by constructing for her a son of literal steel. This plan, naturally, backfired and the would-be family was broken. The scientist dead, the son discarded for scrap, and the wife departed to join the harem of a vicious space warlord.

Scrap, however, was not to be the son’s fate. Some tell the story of a literal war machine that clawed its way up the ranks of the Saiyan empire, to sit at the right hand of its very Queen. Some tell the tale of a dread mercenary lord, organizing his army of sellswords to fight for the rich and powerful across the galaxy. Some tell the tale of a robot gone mad with fury and vengeance, leaving a trail of blood and ruin in its wake as it sought the woman that spurned it.

Whichever tale is told, each ends with a rumor, the sort of hushed hearsay spoken over campfires - that in the end, the machine was granted a true wish. And with that wish, he chose to become flesh, to become the true son his father had hoped he would be. Naturally, given a flesh and blood body, he eventually died and passed from memory into the afterlife.

Such tales are what drove the Vulture King, Pen. For time immemorial, this hunter would follow the trail of legends and rumors, to find opponents and quarries he considered worth his effort. After each successful hunt, he would take a trophy - a weapon, or the target’s very soul, and add it to his collection, which he kept in a trunk mounted to the back of his motorcycle. The roar of that engine would announce his arrival, and the silence, his departure.

That silence was pervasive in the Otherworld of late. Rumor had it that Pen had been hot on the trail of a beast some called the Ferryman, rumored to hold the keys between the world of the living and that of the dead. Some say that the Ferryman finally put Pen down. Some aren’t so sure.

But in the world of the living, some have been hearing the roar of a ghoulish engine in the night.


OTHERWORLDLY ARSENAL:
The trunk on the back of Pen’s motorcycle locks away his arsenal of trophies taken from his hunts in the afterlife. Purely thematic, these Spirit Arms provide him with a variety of his techniques, or even his transformations. For the sake of clarity and consistency, I’ll curate a list of these Spirit Arms below as more techniques get added.  If this should be tracked elsewhere, please let me know.

Abraxas - Pen’s trusty sidearm, this heavy pistol fires dark magic energy and looks to be made from the melted volcanic rock of some nameless hellscape.

Castor and Pollux - The souls of twin brothers, this shield and spear help Pen close the gap on his opponents. They appear to be crafted from bronze, in the Greek style, with the image of a horse emblazoned on the shield.

Pazuzu - A tattered longcoat with a blood-red thickly feathered collar. Donning this coat imbues Pen with greatly enhanced power.

Light Attack || Gunslinger
Pen draws and fires three shots from his pistol, Abraxas.
Power: 40%
KP Cost: 2 KP
Variants:N/A

Medium Attack || Hunter x Killer
Parker takes aim and fires a single blast of energy from his pistol.
Power: 50%
KP Cost: 4 KP
Variants: Overflowing

Medium Defense || Spartan Defiance
The trunk on the back of Pin’s motorcycle opens, granting him the shield of Castor and Pollux if it is not already in his hands, which he raises to block an oncoming attack.
Power: 50%
KP Cost: 4 KP
Variants: Shield

Medium SPARKING || Meridian Strike
The trunk on the back of Pen’s motorcycle opens, granting him the spear of Castor and Pollux if it is not already in his hands, which he raises over his head and throws at his opponent, aiming for vital areas to cause heavy bleeding.
Power: 70%
KP Cost: 4 KP
Variants: Bleed, Bleed+

Utility Technique || Infernal Ride
Pen is in possession of a mystical black motorcycle with flaming wheels, which he can call to his side from even great distances. Functions as Flight.

Utility Technique || Madman's Grip
Pen can summon an additional pair of arms, composed of dark iron and chains, each ending in a powerful set of claws. Functions as Four Witches.

Utility Technique || Madman's Grasp
Pen can summon yet another additional pair of arms. Functions as Six Witches.