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Re: Jared Vanders - Jared Vanders - 06-24-2014
Character Name: Jared Vanders
Age: 30
Birthday: August 1 2015
Origin: Roswell, New Mexico – Currently – Sierra Leone
Occupation/Skills: Soldier/Mercenary – A reconnaissance expert and good at collecting information from computer systems – 2nd Dan Black Belt in Aikido (Nidan)
Psychological Description: Jared enjoys having a good time and getting to know new people. Due to experience, he responds well in crisis situations and is able to keep his head and make good choices. He is willing to do potentially bad things in order for the good of all believing that often times, the end justifies the means. He has a strong love for his brothers and sisters in arms as they are his family.
Physical Description: He stands 6 feet tall and weighs 180 pounds. His hair and eyes are both dark. He is strong, but not overly muscular.
Powers: Channeler
Current Strength Level: 15
Potential Strength Level: 38
Experience Level: Adept
Reborn God: Osiris
Biography:
Early History
Jared was a child prodigy. He excelled at most things that he put his mind to. He was also very intelligent, skipping two grades in school and graduating from High School at age 16. Growing up in Roswell, he had an interest in stories of aliens and UFOs and enjoyed attending the local conventions. While he was interested in many things, such as video games, reading, math, and science, he had two main areas of study that he really enjoyed and focused on: computers and martial arts (aikido to be specific). At age nine he began studying aikido at a local dojo and he had made his first app by age 10 (a math game to help younger kids learn how to add and subtract). By sixteen he had graduated from High School at the top of his class and had begun attending the University of New Mexico. At 20 he received a Bachelors of Science in Computer Engineering with a specialization in coding, cryptography, and information protection. He also received his second Dan Black Belt (Nidan) in aikido at this time. As his college graduation neared, Jared came across a recruiter for the Marines. After speaking with him for some time, and learning the opportunities he would have to utilize his degree in information gathering, Jared signed up, much to the dismay of his parents.
Life in the Marines
Jared joined up as a member of the MARSOC. He was assigned to be a part of the Special Reconnaissance Division and as such underwent training for working behind enemy lines. Training included deployment of sensors, commando operations, signals intelligence and unconventional warfare. As a result, he spent time working with computer systems, but also underwent a strict combat training program.
After training, Jared was deployed to several areas, but had little real combat experience. He kept up a strict training regimen, however, keeping up his skills in marksmanship, martial arts, and computer engineering. At 25, something happened that would change his life forever. His unit was doing a training exercise and one of his close friends and partner in the exercise, Michael James, was accidentally injured. It was a simple accident that had been caused by a piece of wood that was hanging out in the open in the building they were using. He would have been fine, but Michael’s hand landed on a nail as he tried to gain his balance. The wound wasn’t bad, but it was bleeding.
Jared reached for his radio, “Sergeant Castle…”
Suddenly Jared felt a power filling him inside. Michael began to shudder as the wound on his hand closed before their very eyes.
“Vanders, is that you? Respond!”
Jared heard his sergeant say through the radio.
“Nothing, sir. James had a dizzy spell, but seems to be okay now. I’m bringing him outside.”
James felt a little tired from the ordeal, but agreed to keep silent on the matter. Both men had no idea what had happened.
They exited the building and the medical team checked out James and all turned out okay. Sergeant Castle gave Jared a strange look as he walked by.
The next day, Jared was sick with flu-like symptoms. He had a fever, was vomiting, and could barely stand. He was sent to the infirmary and was commanded to stay in bed until the symptoms had passed.
He had a few visitors come in throughout the day to wish him well, but Jared was surprised to see Sergeant Castle come in.
“Hi Sarge. Forgive me for not standing and saluting.”
Jared said before coughing.
“I know what happened, Jared.”
Castle said matter of factly.
Jared coughed again, “I don’t know what you’re talking about, sir.”
“Come on. James was injured wasn’t he? And you did something and healed it.”
Jared paused a minute before answering,“Yes, sir.”
“You have a special gift Jared. One I have as well. It’s also why you’re sick today. People like us disappear if others find out. If the sickness continues they’ll find out. I can help teach you to control it. Then you will be fine. You have a talent for healing, and although my talents are different, I think I can help you. We’ll start practicing as soon as you’re well…got it?”
Jared moved his mouth without speaking for awhile, still figuring out what just happened before answering, “yes, sir.”
The next day, Jared was up again and he began training with Sergeant Castle. Castle taught him some basic exercises, but they soon found out that Jared could only channel if someone was hurt. This posed to be a serious problem as neither one of them wanted to hurt someone just so Jared could heal them. Castle thought of the problem and soon came up with an idea. He faked an injury, putting fake blood and a slash in his pants, and went to find Jared.
“Jared,”
Castle said, walking in. “I’ve cut my leg. It’s not bad, so it would be good for you to practice. Now just as I taught you.”
Jared went though the exercises, and felt the power flowing through him (due to his love of video games, he referred to seizing the power as collecting mana), and channeled (which he calls using magic or spell casting).
“Stop!”
Castle said as the spell began to touch him. He raised his pant leg to show Jared that his leg was fine.
Jared had stopped immediately, his military training obeying the order as soon as it was issued and then he laid his eyes on the leg. His eyes widened as he realized what the sergeant had done.
“Good,”
Castle said sitting up. “Now watch and do what I do.”
Castle made of ball of light that floated above his hand. Jared copied it. The exercises continued, Jared, now unblocked, was able to copy Castle’s spells. They continued practicing. Through practice, they learned Jared was not able to just use healing magic, but he could also use combat magic. His ability to use combat magic, was smaller than Castle’s (who specialized in combat magic), and they came to the conclusion that his abilities wouldn’t be as strong in each area, but he could do more than most.
Eventually Castle got sent to Officer Training School and Jared was promoted to Sergeant. He remained in MARSOC until he was 27 and then decided to go into civilian life.
Civilian Life
Jared returned to Roswell, his military experience earning him a spot in the Roswell Police Department. He soon moved up the ranks and joined the SWAT Division. For the next year and a half, he would live the quiet life of a civilian. He practiced his magic occasionally, keeping his skills up as he did everything else. He joined an aikido dojo and continued practicing that as well, but he found civilian life rather boring compared to military life, although he did find some friends in the police department. Jared began to realize that he was a soldier and he wouldn’t be happy until he rejoined that life and was fighting for a good cause.
When Jared was 29, he ran across a rerun of Bear Grylls' Escape to the Legion documentary. He did more research on this Legion, now called the Légion Première. Without hesitation, Jared submitted an application to join. Upon receiving confirmation that he had been accepted into their training program, he met with his parents to tell the news. They were less than enthusiastic.
“What the hell do you want to go doing this for,”
his dad asked between bites. “You’re a genius. You can do whatever you want and you choose to go around getting yourself killed.”
“I’m not getting myself killed dad, and besides, it’s not your choice. It’s mine.”
“Doesn’t mean I have to like it, boy.”
The words hurt. Jared did want his parents’ approval, although he would do this without it if needed. What seemed like a long silence passed in the room, his mother quietly sobbing as if making a louder sound would cause more tension.
Jared broke the silence, “Dad, what do you do? I mean, what’s your job?”
His dad spoke without looking up, “I’m an electrical engineer, you know that, boy.”
“What would you say if I told you that you should go work as car salesmen?”
“That’s silly, I’m an electrical engineer.”
“Dad,”
Jared waited until his dad looked up and met his eyes. “I’m a soldier.”
A glimmer came into Jared’s dad’s eyes and his mother’s sobbing abruptly stopped. His father looked at him differently than he ever had before. There was a deep respect in his eyes that Jared had never seen before.
His dad put down his fork and gestured for his wife to stand up. They both moved towards Jared and he stood to meet them and as a family, they hugged.
“Know, son that we are only concerned for your safety. We can’t prevent you from being who you are. Keep safe. We’ll pray for you and write. Please write.”
His dad said.
His mother kissed him on the check and his dad stuck out his hand for shaking. Jared took it, but brought his father in for a hug.
He hadn’t expected his parents to be there when he left for training, but they drove him to the airport themselves and stayed until the flight left.
Légion Première
The training was brutal. Nothing in the Marines compared to the three months of training he had for the Légion Première. There were constant psych-evaluations, the field training seemed to continue forever, and despite growing up in New Mexico, it was hot. Jared woke up early, trained all day, and then was glad to get to bed at night.
Despite the toughness of the situation though, Jared quickly found himself accepted as one of the trainees. He had a new family, and they become quite close knit, relying on each other for morale support and a good kick if it was needed.
Jared made it through training and was a member of the Legion for a year when the Sierra Leone Crisis started. He was then shipped off to Sierra Leone to help.
Other Notes
As Osiris reborn, he takes the form of Osiris the god of death and rebirth, which is why he is able to use both combative and restorative magic. However, as a “jack-of-all-trades” of channeling, he excels at none of them; rather he has a moderate ability in each. For example, he can do typical “battlefield” healings, but is unable to heal more mortal injuries. Because of this, he refers to himself as a "Red Mage" Given his training in more "traditional" forms of combat, he prefers to use his hands to channeling.
Assigned to the 4th Platoon, 1st Company, 1st Battalion
Edited by Jared Vanders, Aug 1 2014, 03:21 PM.
Re: Jared Vanders - Jared Vanders - 07-18-2014
The Dust Settles
To: Danjou, Jacques, CEO Légion Première
From: Vanders, Jared, Legionnaire 1e Classe
On Magic and Its Use
Contents:
I. Terminology
II. Magic Basics
III. Combative (Black) Magic
IV. Healing and Defensive (White) Magic
V. Detection of Practitioners
VI. The Sickness and Blocks
VII. Suggestions and Closing
I. Terminology
The terminology used in this report is what the writer prefers to use to refer to distinctions between types of magic and may not be the same terminology used as another practitioner. As the writer learns more, terms can be added and/or revised to accommodate new knowledge. For your convenience, I have defined the terms as such:
Black Magic/Mage – Combative magic/a practitioner that specializes in the use of combative magic
White Magic/Mage- Healing and Defensive Magic/a practitioner that specializes in the use of healing and defensive magic
Red Mage – A practitioner that is able to use both black and white magic, but is unable to do it to the degree of those who specialize in either form
Mana/Energy – The source from which magic derives. In order to work a spell, energy, or mana, must first be collected
Spell – The effect of a practitioner’s gathering of energy and manipulation of said energy, see Section II.
II. Magic Basics
Magic is composed of five elements - fire, air, water, earth, and spirit. You can use each element on its own, or you can combine them to make more complex spells. All of this is dependent on the skill level of the user. Also it has been observed that multiple spells can be used at the same time – once again dependent of the skill level and experience of the user. It seems that some spells can be subjected to natural laws. By casting a fire spell into water, the fire will be eliminated. The result of such a combination could potentially be steam which could still burn. More testing on this would be required to discern what the exact limitations are. Knowing this principle, even small spells could be utilized to create a lot of damage – please see section III for more details on this.
III. Combative (Black) Magic
Black magic is magic primarily used for destruction or harm. Fire can be used to burn, water to drown, and earth to create earthquakes. By combining elements, black magic can become more destructive as seen by the explosive earthen spires created by the CCD operative in Jeddah (the writer hypothesizes that this was done by combining earth and fire). Also by utilizing the physical environment, a practitioner can enhance the strength of his or her magic. This is most evident with fire magic. Even a practitioner of small strength can utilize a simple fire spell, but by using it in a dry environment or combining it with oil or petroleum, a small spark can become an inferno. It needs to be kept in mind however, that the fire could easily get out of control. I do not recommend this tactic for novices, rather it should be employed in situations in which the fire can be controlled or stop in order to prevent friendly casualties
IV. Healing and Defensive (White) Magic
Healing magic, although possible, is a gift not held by all. My own teacher was unable to use it, but I have some basic understanding of how to heal. Healing, however, can be dangerous. In my experience, the healed individual often becomes exhausted after the healing spell is used. My hypothesis is that the healing spell calls on the reserves of the human body causing the body itself to heal at a faster rate. This could prove to be dangerous to soldiers that may be in a very weak state – even deadly. Defensive magic is can prevent attacks from hitting the user or anyone else the spell is cast on. The author has little experience with defensive magic, but it can be observed by watching the CCD operative. He was able to prevent bullets from hitting him and it is a perfect example of how defensive magic can be used in battle.
V. Detection of Practitioners
Having been in the presence of a male practitioner before, I know that another male practitioner can be detected as long as they are summoning energy for a spell or actively casting. It is important to note that a practitioner can learn a spell by simply observing another caster cast it, although I was unable to learn those used by the operative in Jeddah. It seems as if the learner needs to be within the presence of the teacher to learn spells. It is unknown by the author if female mages exist and how to detect them if they are. Please see sections VI and VII for more information on detection.
VI. The Sickness and Blocks
After the first time I used magic, I was struck down with an illness that included flu-like symptoms. According to my teacher, this sickness had a direct correlation with my use of magic. Until I could learn how to control my own power, I would have the symptoms. The dangers of the sickness are not the only thing that is worrisome. According to rumors, people who have this sickness disappear and so do other practitioners. This will make finding other mages more difficult as they tend to try to blend in. Along with this, I hypothesize that by finding mages earlier and teaching them how to use their powers, we can prevent the sickness from even taking place.
New mages also tend to develop a block that prevents them from using spells when they desire. The mage can only use a spell when a certain condition is met, for example, my block was that I could only use magic if someone around me was injured. The block had to be broken to allow me to use magic when I willed. In order to do that, my teacher tricked me into thinking he was injured, and when he showed me that he wasn’t injured, I was able to do so without issue.
VII. Suggestions and Closing
I think that there are several steps we should take. First of all, we need a plan on how to recruit mages to our cause. Detection is the issue here. We need to find out if there are female mages and how to detect them and research how to detect mages when they are not using magic. I think that will greatly increase our success. Also, hopefully we can learn of them before they develop the sickness and avoid it all together. Of equal importance, we need to learn how to defend ourselves from magical attacks. Mages should be taught basic defensive spells, but for non-magical personnel, we need to determine how to help them avoid such attacks. We should research into developing some type of armor that deflects magical energies. On the note of black and white magic, it seems as if mages can use both to some extent (with the exception of healing), but I still believe that most have a strong strength for one or the other. It will be best to figure out where each mages skills lie and to apply them in that way. For example, if we recruit a mage that has strong healing skills, it would be better to utilize those skills in a medical unit rather than a combat unit.
If you have any questions on this report, do not hesitate to contact me. If I do not know the answer, I will hypothesize and hopefully we can test it later.
Report Prepared by Legionnaire 1e Classe Jared Vanders
Re: Jared Vanders - Jared Vanders - 08-25-2014
Practicing
Jared receives some help with using his powers from Jay Carpenter. He is successfully able to stop bullets, but realized how weak he was in magical strength. Jared and Jay discuss magic and Jared now believes that Jay has come into contact with another mage and plans to observe to learn more.
Current strength raised to 16 for practice
Re: Jared Vanders - Jared Vanders - 09-30-2014
July 6, 2043
Rosewell Convention Center
Roswell, NM
Crazy alien people. Jared knew they existed. He grew up in Roswell - of course he knew they existed. Most of them were harmless. They went around talking to tabloids about how they were abducted - only stories that were probably brought to being by whatever hallucinogen they were using at the time. And with the UFO Festival going - they were here.
This guy, however, was in a different league than the others. He was clearly deranged. Not only did he think he had gotten abducted, but he was under the impression the aliens were remotely controlling him and telling him to blow up the convention unless they got some outrageous ransom. Because aliens totally needed money - yeah this one was crazy. SWAT was called in with the Bomb Squad to handle the situation.
"Smith, Vanders, you are on Sniper/Recon - those two buildings over there. I want to know what is going on in that room."
Captain Perkins issued the order with calm precision.
Jared took the rifle and headed to the location. Peering through his scope he found the room in question - it was obvious with all the people in alien costumes huddled against the wall in fear. The one man walking was carrying a pistol. At least the hostages were smart enough or scared enough to not try anything. Who knew what the man would do if provoked.
"I'm in position and have a visual. Suspect is armed and hostage situation is confirmed. No visual on explosives."
Jared said and Smith echoed his assessment from another angle.
"Bomb Squad is trying to find the explosive. Hang tight."
Basically - just watch. Jared felt a little useless, but acting prematurely could endanger the hostages and anyone else that might have wandered into the building before a perimeter was set. So it was a waiting game. Jared kept his eye on the suspect. The suspect was on a phone - probably with the negotiators. The man turned and Jared noticed the black item that he held in his left hand - a remote.
"Sir, the suspect appears to have a remote detonator."
"Copy that. Bomb squad has located the explosive and are dismantling now."
Just in time too. The deadline was nearing.
"Bomb is dismantled. SitRep."
Jared saw the man try to trigger the bomb. Saw the man scream and throw the remote across the room. Saw the man pacing back and forth grabbing his head - appearing to be in pain.
"Suspect has tried to trigger the bomb. Behavior is becoming erratic."
A second of silence. "If one of you has a shot, take it."
"I don't have one without endangering a hostage. Vanders?"
Smith reported.
"I have one."
Milliseconds turned into hours as Jared lined up the shot. This man's life was in his hands, and he doubted if he could take the shot.
No...all those lives are in the hands of a madman. I have to take the shot.
Jared lined up the shot, held his breath to calm his trembling hands, and fired.
The man fell, blood pooling underneath him. "Suspect is down. That was a helluva shot Vanders."
Compliment aside - Jared felt sick.
Edited by Jared Vanders, Sep 30 2014, 09:54 AM.