Kev'vazulan
Active Member
Name: Ryder Kalesh Zeshatt
Alias(es): Zee'
Faction: Unspecified
Rank: Unspecified
Species: Near-Human (Gen'Dai father, Human mother)
Age: 32
Gender: Male
Height: 6'2 ft/188 cm
Weight: 210 lbs/95 kg
Eyes: Purple-Blue
Hair: Black
Homeworld: Sacorria
Force-Sensitive: Yes, unbeknownst to himself
Physiology:(✓) "Superhuman Strength" - Ryder has inherited the benefits of the Gen'Dai race whilst having a humanoid build (unlike Gen'Dai, he has skin and bones). This means that he can perform actions that are unfathomable for a human to accomplish without the need of the Force. If he's not pulling his punches, he could easily crush a limb with the raw force he can apply to the surface area. He can send armored bodies reeling, or even flying, backwards a considerable distance. He can jump far, cracking the ground geneath him in his wake. He can ofcourse also carry and throw things which humans shouldn't be able to do without the force - don't stand next to airspeeders.
(✘) "Pulling His Punches" - As the name says, Ryder has a tendency to use VERY little of his physical power against other beings. This has to do with his past, where his strength and 'haplessness' would always shatter things indiscriminately. He tends to punch like an average being rather than a true Gen'Dai. He only really uses his power to protect the surroundings (e.g. a large object collapsing towards bystanders) or when facing someone with the intent of killing other people than himself. He has no good reason to worry about himself, after all.
(✓) "Acute Senses & Reflexes" - Ryder has a vastly superior nervous system compared to that of humans thanks to his Gen'Dai heritage. His sensory acuity is improved to a point where he can see, hear and even feel from a considerable distance. It is said that a Gen'Dai could feel heartbeats from over 200 meters away, and Ryder isn't too far off. His reflexes are almost on-par aswell, allowing him to maneuver around and respond to things the average person would more than likely fail at. Donning a Force Cloak won't hide you from Ryder, to say the least.
(✘) "Oh the Irony..." - Ryder certainly has a handful of benefits with an enhanced sensory acuity and reflexes, but that also comes with a handful of drawbacks as one could expect. Gen'Dai typically do not suffer from this issue as they can move their clusters of nerves around in their body if they aren't restricted - but Ryder is susceptible to pain. A lot of it. His skin and bones are his restrictions, and as such, one of the great strengths are one of the great weaknesses. Brutal sounds can inflict a serious wound on his sense of balance, a stabwound can feel like ten instead of one. His emotions become a big issue as a result of feeling more than the average human, making him easily susceptible to anxiety derived from his past.
(✓) "Regenerative Powers" - Ryder is capable of restoring injuries in regards to that of muscle tissues, organs and skin. Should he receive injuries that'd normally remove one's ability to utilise their tendons (or other types of muscles), he can recover from the wounds without the need of the Force within that of a few moments. Gen'Dai have the ability to repair something so intricate as their own brains, meaning that an injured vital organ doesn't guarantee one's death. The race has been considered an immortal race for thousands of years because of this trait, and Ryder has access to it, albeit to a lesser degree.
(✘) "Bones?" - Ryder's ability to heal himself at an accelerated rate doesn't exactly apply to that of his skeletal structure. Whils the can accelerate the growth of muscle, vital tissues and (in turn) skin, bones are a completely different challenge. A broken bone will heal at the same rate as a regular human being, and losing a bone entirely would need a prosthetic replacement. The only solace he has is that muscles, nerves and skin will form around the prosthetic piece after a long period of time.
(✘) "Well, I can still die..." - Gen'Dai typically only die if their entire body is evaporated or disintegrated on a cellular level. Ryder is extremely hard to kill, that's for sure, but he's extremely difficult to kill. Whilst a punctured heart won't kill him, having no blood in his system whatsoever would (Gen'Dai can survive being exploded from the inside because they have the ability to not spill any of their blood.. it's complicated) - He sheds blood like a human. Strangling is futile since the muscles could shift the veins to allow blood flow, but he still needs oxygen to survive. Essentially, he's hard to kill, but not as hard as a Gen'Dai.
(✘) "... But I don't have to worry anytime soon." - Like most entities that are extremely difficult to kill, Ryder has a pretty poor death perception. He discards his personal safety with relative ease, and his lack of death perception is a partial reason as to why he typically pulls his punches. "I doesn't exactly have to kill someone who attempts to kill me - it's not like they're going to pull it off." This is what goes through his mind, meaning that he is prone to taking a handful of injuries in a fight.
(✘) "Psychosis." - The Gen'Dai are prone to developing psychosis. Whilst they can restore a brain to make it work again, it doesn't solve the mental trauma caused to it. Torture is an excellent weapon to break that of a Gen'Dai as it will undoubtedly make them go from pacifists to ruthless murderers who wants nothing but rampage. Ryder is susceptible to this aswell.
Proficiencies:
(✓) "Martial Arts Knowledge" - Ryder's father has lived for thousands of years and his race is prone to extreme criticism, prejudice and hostility. He had to learn how to defend himself - and knowing that Ryder could be targeted aswell in the future - taught him most of what he knows. Whenever he has to fight in a serious manner, Ryder becomes quite a fearsome opponent due to his Advanced close-quarters combat experience, pulling off combinations of attacks that could be seen in a trained soldier. Should he be given an opening, he will use his Expert knowledge of back- and shoulder-throws, aswell as leg reaps. He can often turn a disadvantageous situation into an advantage with sacrificial throws and hip-throws.
(✘) "Weapon Knowledge" - He has next to none due to his 'haplessness' issue. He's tried learning how to use weapons, but they always break after a few strikes. His father always thought it was because wooden practice material wasn't sturdy enough, but he's broken alloys with 'nothing' but a harsh grip. His fists will just have to do the work for him.
(✓) "People-Person" - Thanks to his sensual acuity, he's developed a sharp intuition in regards to other sentient beings. In a conversation, he can practically feel every single part of the being's body, exterior and interior, without the need of physical contact. This means that he becomes a walking lie-detector of sorts, having the ability to pick up every signal that indicates that a person is being dishonest.
(✘) "Incompetence" - He's... rather poor in almost every other aspect, though, due to his 'haplessness'. He can't be an engineer - Ryder's tried before and it ends up with him breaking fusial thrusters on accident. Carrying things can end up with him accidentally applying too much pressure and breaking it. It's annoying for him to even grab a drink at the cantina out of fear that he will accidentally hit a weak spot and spilling the drink all over the counter.
Force Abilities:
(✘) "Shatterpoint" - Or as Ryder calls it, 'my haplessness', is the famous Force Phenomenon that occur in few beings across the galaxy that have the aptitude from birth. His perception of the Shatterpoint is purely in regards to the physical state of objects and people, due to the causation of the phenomenon being subconscious. Having seen his father's immense strength at a very early age, he feared it and developed an immense anxiety - Ryder didn't want to break things like that. The anxiety came in the form of immense concentration of objects around him, thinking about how he'd break things. The anxiety-infused visions came in the form of cracks in objects around him, or even people that he were afraid to end up hurting. He tried facing his fears on some objects, grabbing hold or touching the cracks, and the objects always shattered into bits. No wonder he's incompetent.
Shatterpoint, given Ryder's current state in terms of his Force-Sensitivity, is more of a major handicap than anything (hence why it's marked with ✘) since it has developed a phobia of breaking things - something that inhibits day-to-day activities. It appears only when he doesn't want things to break, overthinking it to the point where a fracture appears. When it could be used offensively, it does not show itself up as he does not focus to the same degree as when he is anxious. His subconscious ability to use the Force derives from his anxiety - something which typically cannot exist in a fight-or-flight situation. If he could learn how to use the Force, maybe his phobia, anxieties and handicap will subside, and maybe he could use the ability for good... Or bad. Who knows.
Pre-RP:
Kalesh, who would later be known as Ryder Zeshatt, is a forbidden child of love between a human and a Gen'Dai. The mother was a jedi knight who had decided to remain on the planet of Sacorria after presumably dying from a mission. The father was a Gen'Dai who had maintained his sanity, travelling the stars in search of a place where he could follow through the philosophy of his species. Perfection of permanence - change is an illusion. The Gen'Dai homeworld was ravaged long ago, forcing the Gen'Dai to adapt and change, something which went against their views on life. Kalesh's father wanted to settle down on a planet where he could live the rest of his years doing nothing, changing nothing, and teaching his future offspring to follow the same idea. He stumbled upon Sacorria, where he settled down a fair distance from the Dorthus Tal Island. The Jedi Knight and the Gen'Dai crossed paths, where she tried not to judge.
Her lack of prejudice towards the Gen'Dai developed a strong bond over the course of a few years, eventually leading to an intimate partnership between the two. This resulted in the birth of Kalesh and the unfortunate set of events that would unfold to shape him into the being he is today.
---
The first few orbital periods of his life were very peaceful, as it should be. With a loving mother and a caring father, he couldn't have asked for any better. He never got to see his father's face during these years, donning a heavy armor akin to mercenaries. He was always curious to see what was under the mask he was wearing. Would he have the same head of hair as him? Or was it he who he inherited his eyes from? Did they look similar at all? The only way to find out would be to somehow berid him of the helmet, to finally lock eyes with his father for the first time.
He tried many tricks - some of which he repeated out of recklessness. Kalesh's most common strategy would be to trick his mother into calling the father over t ohelp with something she didn't quite have the time for. It usually revolved around the barn, where he would thrash certain things which would require physical labor. He'd then approach his mother and tell her that a few Selonian children sabotaged the barn again. She'd tell the father to do it instead, and Kalesh would try to sneak-attack in a futile effort to remove the helmet. He tried assaulting him from different places inside of the barn. Within a haystack. Climbing halfway up one of the wooden beams that supported the roof. Attempting to use a pitchfork as a vaulting pole to get up on his father's shoulders quick enough. Nothing worked, and it agitated Kalesh.
He eventually gave up trying to solve it with his bare hands and instead resorted to simply asking his mother why his father never removes the helmet. She calmly said that he needed it to breathe properly, so he shouldn't have it removed no matter what, and that he would be extremely angry with Kalesh should the helmet ever be removed. Kalesh's head tilted as he looked at his mother. Her eyes refused to meet his gaze up until the mention of wrath. The beating sensation by her wrists, ankles and neck were a bit off. Even the thuds behind her knees. It only corrected itself by the end. So she's lying.
Instead of heeding his mother's words, he decided to skulk his father outside of the farm. He waited until he couldn't feel his blood flowing, and waited another minute after that, before beginning. It's normal for people to feel the blood of others, so he shouldn't try to pursue someone who could do the same thing back - that was his thought process at least, being very intelligent for his age. He followed the footprints caused by his father's bulky stature and heavy armor, stopping once he could feel his presence again. He stopped? Moving a fewmore feet forwards, he could feel a vast amount of people near his father. Not knowing any better, he sneaked as close to the scenario as possible, hiding in the tall grass by the river crossing.
There were a plethora of men standing in front of Kalesh's father, carrying blasters and vibroblades, along with a Selonian. They seemed to be bargaining, but Kalesh couldn't exactly understand the whole discussion, only picking up a few words at a time. Pay up or-... Leave my son ou-... I'LL KILL- the men by the Selonian raised their arms and began to fire at his father, for reasons he did not know. But that's when his mother's warning showed to be true. His father danced around the area whilst devastating everything around them, his arms elongating akin to purple and red tendrils. They were all brutally slaughtered before they were thrown into the riverside. The landspeeders that were used were partially broken and tossed by the riverside aswell to make it look like a crash incident.
Kalesh ran as fast as he could back home and pretended he didn't see anything. He was afraid of his father, of the destruction he had caused. He truly was as dangerous as his armor looked.. Maybe that's what he inherited? Not the eyes and not the hair - but his fury? It made his mind spiral out of control, causing him to feel anxiety for the first time. He was coiled up in bed with his knees right up by his chest, his palms covering his ears as if to shut noise out. He felt his own heart racing, as if it was about to burst into pieces. I... can't ever become like that, I-- I won't ever be like that. I'll never destroy or harm anyth-
His eyes opened in the middle of that thought, looking at the window that was slightly above him. He noticed a small crack on the window glass close to the windowframe's handle, something he hadn't seen before. It looked like the crack was changing shape, though the center point of it was always the same. His right hand lifted, gazing upon it in pure confusion, since he would've felt something hit that specific point. His index was moving closer and closer, stopping only an inch away from the peculiar 'thing'. His mother suddenly barged through the door, with panic in her eyes. She looked at the window and told him to get away from the window. Walking up to her, he tried explaining that he was just looking at a crack in the window, to where she said there isn't one at all. Looking over his shoulder, he noticed that she wasn't lying.
---
Since that day, he repeatedly suffered from these moments of anxiety. Simply looking at his father reminded him of the day, repeating the mantra that he won't ruin things like he did. The cracks always resurfaced, but on different objects, during these moments. A crack appeared on the neck of a spoon whilst eating and the center of a pen when he was writing something. These types of things happened daily, and his mother always seemed riled up. Maybe it was because his heartbeat raced when he was anxious? He didn't know.As he grew older, his father insisted that they train, thinking it'd be a good idea for Kalesh to know how to defend himself. He didn't tell the true reason why, but Kalesh had figured out by now - he was probably afraid that the affiliates of the Selonian would come back and try to kill them whilst the father's not present. He eventually agreed because he wouldn't want his mother to come to harm, but it was a harrowing experience. Given his memories by the river, he was terrified of his father as he was approaching Kalesh, as he was going to teach him how to use his fists to fight. Scared out of his mind, he frantically moved his arms as if to signal to get away from him, the father getting a tad bit aggressive as a result. Looking at the helmet, he noticed a crack right between the eyes. Maybe I can destroy something this time, so it stops. His palm went to smack his father against the forehead of the helmet, subconsciously applying a force to the palm, something which occurred due to his intense focus on what he percieved. The helmet suddenly shattered into pieces and his father stumbled backwards in shock. So did Kalesh, as he got to see his father's face - they looked nothing alike. One was a human, and one was a monster with ferocious fangs and wing-like ears.
The father slowly got up, staring at his son, devoid of emotion. Kalesh didn't know how to react, remaining seated on the grass, lower lip quivering from the uncomfortable experience. The red eyes of the Gen'Dai looked down at the fragments, then simply walked past his son. Don't tell your mother what you saw. We'll continue tomorrow.
---
After that incident, Kalesh began to train on a baily dasis with his father, although it went poorly. He was prone to breaking his own weapons, the fractures occuring on his own tools rather than where he was attempting to strike. This was because he didn't really want to hurt anyone, and would rather see his own sword break, the anxiety of training causing the imagery to appear. Subconsciously, he applied force at that specific point, which in turn broke it. His father thought that it was simply the training swords that were unreliable, but even alloys broke. The father eventually gave up on conventional tools and settled in teaching him how to immobilise people.
Given immobilising didn't mean hurting the opponent, and it could prevent them from doing bad things, his anxiety vanished and he was able to learn his father's skills in close-quarters combat. He progressed quickly, most likely due to his inhuman strength, which made his father proud. During the breaks, they sat by a hilltop and had small conversations about his past. About what he was. Where he was from. How he got to this point. If anything cool happened. Kalesh never dared to ask about that event by the river, though, and would never find the courage to ask.
---
Kalesh was slowly reaching adulthood and matured as a result of good parenting. He didn't manage to get over the fear of breaking things - in fact, it seemed to get worse as he felt the responsibility of keeping both of his parents safe. His father had lived a dangerous life, which he knew because of that day in the river. He didn't want anyone to hurt them, and he'd rather die than ever risking doing so. He could see a crack by the left side of his mother's arm repeatedly. His father on the other hand could look like a glass with dozens of cracks, barely holding together.
During one practice session, Kalesh and his father could see several landspeeders wheezing past the hill they normally sat upon. It looked like they were going right towards the farm. Kalesh didn't think any of it until he could hear his father growling in an intimidating fashion. Looking at him with a startled expression, he figured what was going on. He turned towards the direction of the farm, ready to run to his home - until his father smacked the back of his neck, causing his nerves to override and black out.
He woke up to the night sky, not sure what was going on. The first thing he set his eyes upon was the Sarcophagus - the moon that orbits Sacorria. A moon you aren't meant to look at. A bad omen. He slowly got up from the cold grass and gazed towards his feet. That helmet... The helmet of his father made him realize the predicament, rushing towards his home. A home in ruins. He could feel his mother, but not the kind, beating heart. His father was nowhere to be found, presumably dead aswell.
---
It's been a plethora of years since I returned to M-11. Twelve years, I believe. It's hard to keep count. Can't really afford to go back there, not yet. It's hard finding jobs when you're like me. You know, when it's easier to break things rather than fix them. Maybe I should try and do the type of work that I've dreaded for so long, and still dread to this day. I don't have to kill like he did, someone could just pay me to ensure their safety. Safety doesn't mean murdering people, after all. Mm. Not a bad idea. After all, how am I supposed to protect your new home, if I can't even protect a single life?
I'm content with the name I have now. It's not like I dislike Kalesh, I guess it's just... not as important of a name. I technically carry around both of you with me. Casca Ryder and Zeshatt. Would've been weird if I went for your first name, wouldn't it? Doesn't have the same ring to it as Ryder does.
I'll be home soon, and I promise I won't let this one burn. I won't be frail like then. I promise.
- Ryder Zeshatt, Age 30.
