High Concept: Reformed Scion of Vlad Drakul
Faris al-Farik is a Scion, the son of Vlad Drakul and a mortal woman. It is from this demonic heritage that he draws both his extended lifespan and his unnatural vigour and physicality. As he has aged, more capabilities have developed, though it is unclear whether he will one day approach the power of his sire. While he once embraced his evil nature, he has now learned to control his urges and tries to direct his powers to good causes.
Trouble: History is Written in Blood
Faris' own past is a violent and bloody one, but so is much of recorded history. He should know, he's lived through centuries of it. He is forever trying to atone for the sins of his past, make good on the myriad harms he has done. But the fact remains, he did those things, that stain on his soul is very much real.
Phase One: Background
Faris was raised a Mamluk in 18th century Egypt. He was a slave-soldier, a warrior expected to serve without question. He didn't learn the truth of his heritage until late in adulthood, a rare visit from his father. Drakul told him as much as he felt necessary and that one day he would claim him to join his host. However, he did nothing to free his son or improve his position, leaving once he had delivered his messages.
Later his demonic nature brought him to the attention of a corrupt adviser to the Sultan, who discovered his origins after some research. Using the magical bonds already in place, he ensorcelled Faris to obey his orders alone. He became the vizier's personal instrument of terror, used to assassinate enemies and intimidate those he needed to work with.
Aspect: Former Mamluk
Phase Two: Rising Conflict
With the fall of the Mamluk Sultanate in the 1820s, the magical ties binding Faris were broken. He escaped the fateful events that finally broke Mamluk power and was unleashed on a rampage of murder and destruction that lasted a decade as he travelled across the Middle East, Europe and central Asia.
His spree ended when he ran into a Knight of the Cross in the Himalayas in 1831. The wielder of Esperacchius fought him to a standstill, then dealt him a grievous wound. With Faris at his mercy and able to strike the final blow, he stayed his hand. Saying he believed he had the capacity to be a different person, he left him.
Faris crawled into shelter to treat his wounds and then set out to find somewhere to rest. He spent over half a century in the remote Buddhist monastery he found, healing, reflecting on his life, meditating, practicing martial arts and forging a new sense of self in spite of his nature.
Aspect: Through Hope, My Chains Were Broken
Phase Three: The Story - The Red Brigades
Guest Starring: Oriana Stefani, Oliver Montfort
One of the many noble, but ultimately failed causes Faris threw himself into when he was trying to do good was the Spanish Civil War. Under the cover of serving in one of the International Brigades with the Republicans, he worked with the Fellowship of St Giles to counter Red Court influence in Europe emanating from their centre of operations in Spain. It was during this time that he met Oriana Stefani, a White Court luminary supporting the Republican cause. Through her information sources, they learned of a window of opportunity to strike at a Red Knight, a powerful warlock and vampire noble, and so he went with a kill team to assassinate the Knight. While they succeeded in their mission, most of the team were killed in the assault and desparate fight with the warlock. Faris was tossed into a rapidly-closing rift into the Nevernever by the warlock's death curse.
Many decades later, Oliver Montfort was collecting sources on a mysterious figure who seemed to recur across Europe and Asia when he found a lengthy series of accounts from a veteran of the Spanish Civil War which matched up with those from before.
Aspect: Red Knight's Nemesis
Phase Four: Guest Star - Express Train to the Nevernever
Guest Starring: JB Clarke
After being cast into the Nevernever, Faris found himself trapped in a magical prison. Time passed without measure before a demonic servitor, recognising his nature, freed him. However, its intentions were merely to enlist him to serve its master, something Faris was not prepared to do. His refusal drew more of the master's servants and soon he was engaged in a running battle with them. During this combat, a powerful demon cast him through a rift back into the mortal world. Their fight landed in the middle of JB Clarke's operation, forcing her to sacrifice her partner (and lover) to get her principal clear. Faris was unaware of any of this, and was thrown back into the Nevernever as the battle continued.
While from his perspective only a few more minutes passed, in the mortal world years passed and Clarke made her fateful decision to end her life, only to be chosen by the earth spirit Duluth Dur to be its emissary. Moments after her investment, she was sent out of the cathedral to join in battle against the demon Faris fought, and together they slayed its mortal form, banishing it to its demense. Thereafter followed a lengthy conversation about Faris' involvement in that event that changed her life and the realisation that whomever summoned the demons was still out there.
Aspect: Comrades in Arms
Phase Five: Guest Star Redux - [Untitled Story]
Guest Starring: Richard Merovech
In order for Richard's plan to free Aquae Sulis to go ahead with minimal repercussions, he needed to blind the Warden's magical monitoring network, at least temporarily. And do this in a way that couldn't be easily linked back to him.
While he would have liked to be at the fight against the corrupted earth spirit, Clarke was already on hand and this was a task Faris was uniquely suited to. He called in his parkour troupe and together they ran around Bath, tagging and otherwise rendering useless all of the Warden's wards so the team at the spring could go about their task unnoticed.
Aspect: [Parkour Troupe]