Zanmato
Weapons Moderator
Age : 31
Posts : 71
Join Date : 2014-02-16
Rank : Lord of Blood
Exp : 107
Weapon Skill : Master
HSM : Master
Reiatsu : Master
Hakudo : Untrained
 |  Subject: Zanmato  Tue Feb 18, 2014 2:34 am | |
| ~~~Bount~~~ Name: Zanmato Alias: Eternal Praetorian | X | Lord of Blood Age: 2114 Visual Age: Early Twenties Gender: Male Reiatsu Color: Smoky Grey w/Silver Ribbons Affiliation: The Shataiki Rank: Blood Lord of the Bounts --------------------Persona-------------------- Appearance:- Spoiler:
Zanmato's frame is best described as being lithe, as his body is not overly muscular but is instead built with a runner's or swimmer's build. He is relatively tall and his musculature is toned rather than being exceedingly buff. His skin is roughly the color of milk chocolate, though perhaps it can be described as being a few shades lighter. Either way, it contrasts brilliantly with the color of his hair and eyes. The color of Zanmato's hair is a silvery-white. It is generally kept unkempt, but never so much so that it could be considered to be without the ability to be presentable. Similarly to his hair, Zanmato's eyes are grey, though they are a shade of grey so incredibly light that they actually appear to be lilac instead, particularly under the effects of light. The Blood Lord is perpetually clean shaven, having no trace of a mustache nor of a beard and a relatively low amount of body hair. For clothing, Zanmato typically dresses to the human eye as any other human would dress according to the occasion. Favoring darker colors, he typically chooses to wear black as the major coloration of his outfits. For situations that are neither highly casual or highly formal, Zanmato typically adopts semi-formal attire or at least clothing that makes him stand out as a regal figure. To this end, all of his clothing is tailored to his specific build and everything is maintained to a degree that borders on military specifications. Silver is Zanmato's main accessory color of choice, and he is always seen to be wearing it in some form, whether in the shape of a watch or a ring, silver will be on his person at all times. His black clothing typically makes this silver fascination stand out, especially the silver cross that Zan wears perpetually around his neck. Finally, there are three items that Zanmato has collected over the centuries that he will sometimes wear on his person, from the three major factions that he has come across. One is the white haori of a Shinigami Captain that he defeated sometime after becoming Blood Lord. This sleeveless haori is worn as any Shinigami would wear it, though instead of being worn over a uniform is simply worn over casual clothing. Being of a spiritual nature, it is invisible to those who cannot see spiritual beings or items. The second item is a Hollow's mask that Zanmato ripped off in the process of killing one of the creatures. This mask has pair of lines that run from each corner to form an X that meets in the center and is worn as an actual mask or on the arm as a trophy and shield. The final item is a Quincy Cross, taken from the first Quincy that Zanmato ever killed and worn around one of his arms or on his neck as he pleases. The cross is shaped like a crucifix and is silver in coloration. Personality: What does one think about when they hear the title 'Blood Lord of the Bounts?' What characteristics do they attribute to the man who leads a legion of soul devouring immortals? They might assume him to be arrogant, tyrannical, thirsty for the blood of others, and perhaps highly ambitious. What they might be surprised to learn is that Zanmato does not particularly carry any of those traits in high amounts. Firstly, he is a calm individual, holding a preference for speech and negotiation rather than combat. Though not arrogant, he holds himself with his calm regardless of the direness of the situation that he is in. As the leader of the Bounts, he knows that he must serve as an inspiration for his race and as such knows that he cannot allow them to see him falter. Thus he presents himself as being indifferent, though this indifference does not consume him such that he does not notice negative events occurring around him. Secondly, Zanmato does not rule the Bount with a heavy hand nor an iron fist. He does hold himself to be 'holier than thou' and prefers to be seen with others of his kind rather than shut off away from them eternally standing vigil in Castle Avalonia. Further, he holds himself to be more of a necessary 'first among equals' rather than a 'Lord' of any kind, knowing full well that the weight of his decision affects all of the Bounts and also knowing that without the support of the masses he could be no Blood Lord. Thirdly, he is no by no stretch of the imagination an aggressive individual, and is certainly not bloodthirsty. He views his necessary consumption of souls as something necessary for survival instead of something to be necessarily 'enjoyed,' which is also why he typically devours the souls of criminals and those of Hollows unless out of self defense or vengeance and righteous fury. This 'necessary consumption' view is a large part of why he seeks the 'Lord's Soul,' as something such as that would negate the need for feeding on the souls of sentient beings. Finally, though it would be a lie to say that Zanmato possesses no ambition, to say that his ambition is what drives him would be a falsehood. He spent much of his life in the position of a follower to another, rising to positions of leadership out of necessity rather than out of desire to command and relinquishing them when the time came to do so. Along this same line of thought, Zanmato became Blood Lord of the Bounts not because he simply desired the title, but because he truly believed that the previous one was himself a threat to the continued existence of the Bounts as a race due to his aggression and tyrannical rule. Overall, Zanmato could be described as being truly neutral on the scales of morality, willing to do whatever it takes to secure the future of the Bounts, but not necessarily willing to enjoy what must be done when the means become questionable and redeemable only through their ends. --------------------History-------------------- History:- General Overview:
Though not without good reason, there are many who assume that the Leader of the Bounts was born and raised sheltered away from humanity. Perhaps he was even groomed for the day when he would take upon himself the mantle of the Blood Lord? In truth, neither of those assumptions are accurate. In the year 100 BC, Zanmato was born under another name in the land of Bithynia to a pair of nobles who were the 'prolonged guests' of the King of Bithynia. For ages before his birth, Zan's parents served as the immortal advisers and bodyguards to the Kings of Bithynia, a fact that was relatively unknown by the common masses from whom their existence was kept secret. The people assumed that the family's name was not a name at all, but a title synonymous with 'adviser' and that the title shifted over time to differing people. This guise was relatively simple to maintain, as the family rarely left the lands immediately surrounding the castle and interacted mainly with the servants who were sworn to secrecy.
The son of those favored by the King, Zan was born privileged and would live a life that would reflect this fact. He was given an education comparable to the highest ranking nobility of the time, and was taught in the ways of basic mortal combat by his parents. He would also summon his Doll for the first time during these early years of his life, though his usage thereof would be monitored closely under the watchful eyes of his family in order to assure his safety. The knowledge that he was a Bount and therefore not exactly the same as the other humans around him was taken as casually as possible by a young Zan. He did not see it as an affliction, only as something that set him apart from his fellow men. Indeed, the biggest impact that he assumed that his immortality would have would be the fact that he would have an eternity to continue growing as a human being.
In 80 BC, Zan would meet a young Julius Caesar when the latter arrived in Bithynia on business concerning the Roman Republic. During his much extended stay, Zan would come to find the man to be rather fascinating and a curious individual. He would even come to respect the man immensely, enough so that when King Nicomedes IV of Bithynia willed that his Kingdom should become a part of Rome, a Zan with no King to advise or protect would seek out Caesar and offer his services as a personal guard. For many years afterward, Zan would become Caesar's shadow, ensuring the safety of the man and performing tasks that were dependent upon which point in history one was observing. During Caesar's political trials, Zan functioned in the dual capacities of bodyguard and spy. On the other hand, when the Roman marched to war, Zan's functions switched on an axis and he became Caesar's right hand man on the battlefield and a commander of his armies. Nothing overwhelmingly significant to the Bount's story would occur until roughly 47 BC, when Caesar fought in the Battle of the Nile whose aftermath saw the installation of Cleopatra as Pharaoh of Egypt. Caesar would task Zan with remaining in Egypt to ensure the safety of Cleopatra or rather the safety of the lands of Egypt in a political and militaristic sense.
Thus it would occur that Zan would be in Egypt when Caesar was assassinated only a few years later. The Bount would return to Rome to mourn his friend and would thereafter seek out Octavius, who Caesar had named posthumously as his heir. He would eventually discover the fact that Julius had apparently also placed in his will a letter to be read by Octavius only just in case of his death, one that described in brief detail what Zan was and explained that he was a friend to be trusted. This would lead to the Bount becoming Octavius's adviser and guardian just as he had been Caesar's. When the former became Emperor, Zan would become the first of his Praetorian Guard, beginning a long career of the immortal safeguarding the Emperor's of Rome. One after the other, the Roman Emperors would die and be succeeded by the next in the line and Zan would become an adviser and guard to that Emperor.
Naturally, not every Emperor was appreciative of his immortality and unnatural powers, and sometimes Zan would find himself unwelcome by that particular Emperor. At other times, he would determine an Emperor to be unworthy, but either way the result would be the same: he would leave that Emperor's presence and explore Rome and areas that existed outside of the massive empire. He would effectively disappear for decades at a time, long enough for the Emperor to pass away and for another to take his place at which point Zan would return to question how this particular Emperor felt about his immortal nature and strange powers. His name and abilities were a secret passed down by the Emperor's regardless of how they felt about him as individuals, and some were more positive than others in how they perceived the immortal.
Centuries would pass in this manner, with Zan outliving the 'western' half of the Empire and continuing his tradition in the eastern half, which would come to be named the Byzantine Empire. The tradition was ended permanently only when the Roman Empire was brought to its final end in 1453. After having served the Roman Empire for over a thousand years in one capacity or another, Zan would not turn his loyalties over to the Ottoman Empire. Instead, he would journey to the west of the Byzantine Empire and find himself in a Europe that was undergoing its Renaissance. During one of the many times that he had left Rome in self-imposed exile, Zan had met a small enclave of Bounts in Europe acting as reclusive nobles that he typically returned to in later exiles. It would be to this group that he would go when he entered Europe for the purpose of existing there in a more permanent sense.
Time would pass from the point wherein Rome fell, and much of it would be spent by Zan watching the world pass forward in time while he sat still and observed. The business of mortals was intriguing, but he largely stayed separate from it. It was not that being without an Emperor left him lethargic, but Zan thought of himself as being rather without a particular purpose without someone worth calling a leader to direct his motions. This would change when a group of Bounts from Asia would come to the small enclave with words of a large gathering of their kind in the Himalayas, led by a powerful Bount known as the Blood Lord. Having been long without a particularly worthy leader, Zanmato would accept the offer of the Asian Bounts to journey back with them to Castle Avalonia.
In the early 1500s, Zan would arrive into Avalonia and offer himself as a follower of the then Blood Lord. The leader of the Bounts would accept, and Zan would find himself with a purpose again. Beyond that, for the first time, Zan would find himself in the company of his people not in terms of a few Bounts, but in terms of many. He would eventually discover that he was one of the more ancient Bounts present, comparable in age to the Blood Lord. Beyond that, he would also learn that he was one of the more powerful Bounts present, being again comparable to the Blood Lord, who also noticed these things. Instead of reacting with suspicion of Zan's motives, the Leader of the Bounts would see this as an opportunity, making Zanmato one of his Revenants. Coincidentally, this would mirror Zan's relationship to the Emperors of Rome, something that would please him considerably.
To mark this important change in his life, Zan would officially adopt the name 'Zanmato,' the very same name that he carries even today. One hundred years would pass since the day of his introduction to Castle Avalonia, and over the century, Zan would be introduced to many topics that had until then been either unknown or irrelevant to him. For instance, he would join the Bounts in their war against the Quincy race. The number of Quincy that would find themselves ended by his hands was one that could only be said by counting in terms of scores, but Zanmato never once found himself reveling in the task of eliminating the other race of enhanced humans. Over time, this lack of aggression turned into doubt as to why the Blood Lord continued this war. His doubt eventually became frustration as he also noticed the way that the Blood Lord ruled. The man was essentially a tyrant, doing what pleased him regardless of how it affected the Bounts under his command as a whole. This frustration would eventually become the catalyst for Zanmato to desire to depose the man, an idea given to him ironically by the Praetorian Guards, who occasionally did the same to unworthy Emperors of Rome.
A century after beginning his tenure at Castle Avalonia, Zanmato would challenge the Lord of Blood to a duel for the title of Leader of the Bounts. It was a testament to the man's tyrannical nature that no other Revenant questioned Zan's right to challenge the leader. The duel would last for the better part of several hours, spanning the entire length of the Himalayas and impacting the mountain range in a way that would spark legends and myths for years afterwards. At the end of it however, Zanmato would emerge the victor: he would devour the soul of the Blood Lord, increasing his own power exponentially before tossing what little remained of the man at the grounds of the Castle and setting fire to it before tossing the ashes into a nearby river. In the early 1600s, Zanmato had become the new Lord of Blood and Leader of the Bounts of Castle Avalonia. With the then Revenants loyal to him, all other Bounts had no other option but to accept Zanmato's reign regardless of how they felt about the previous Blood Lord.
Now the Blood Lord of the Bounts, Zanmato would first declare that unauthorized attacks against the Quincy race were forbidden. Hardly being a fool, Zan knew that peace was a goal that would be unavailable for centuries, considering the fact that the Bounts and Quincy had been at war for long before his reign had come to pass. Instead, he hoped to slowly cool the inferno of the war by limiting the attacks that occurred on his race's ancestral enemies. This was not to say that he never authorized attacks however; though Zanmato insisted that the Bounts fight mostly in self-defense, there were times when conflict with the other race were seen as unavoidable. These instances were such as when Quincy were seen in massive numbers, or when he decided that for the greater good of the Bounts an amount of aggression was necessary.
Several centuries have passed, and now Zanmato still reigns as Blood Lord of the Bounts. War between Bounts and Quincy still rages, though Zan still has hope that the endless conflicts can be ended eventually. At the moment however, something larger than the Quincy threat has revealed itself. The 'Lord's Soul,' a name written in an ancient Tome handed to Zanmato by a strange man who he did not recognize. This Soul was said to contain enough power to feed the Bounts hunger for eternity. Sustenance without the need to devour human souls is an offer far too tempting for Zanmato to refuse, and the fact that this Soul would more than likely increase the powers of the Bount in unfathomable ways only makes finding it all the more an attractive proposition. As is, this leaves Zanmato with three goals in his eternal life. The first is to preform his duties as Blood Lord of the Bounts, safeguarding and advancing the interests of his people. The second is to end the war with the Quincy race so that both of their peoples can prosper instead of endlessly wear each other down. The third is to find the Lord's Soul, and with it assure the survival and prospering of the Bounts.
- Doll Relationship:
The nature of Zanmato's soul is that of a fraternal bond, which manifested itself in the relationship that he would come to possess with his Doll. Whereas most Bount/Doll relationships can be stated to be in terms of 'master' and 'servant' or perhaps equals under mutual respect, Zanmato and his Doll refer to each other as brothers. It is this relationship that allowed Zanmato to triumph over the former Blood Lord. The former Bount Leader's tyrannical nature had even been inflicted onto his Doll, which left their relationship strained even though the Doll had called him 'master.' During their duel, both combatants had been steadily wearing down and becoming weaker. The difference between them and the deciding factor in the duel was the fact that in Zanmato's weakness, his Doll gave him support and protected him. By contrast, the former Blood Lord's Doll offered only minimal support, a fact that Zan would take advantage of to strike a decisive blow.
- Shinigami/Hollow Relations:
As far as Zanmato's history with beings such as Shinigami and Hollows go, he has been both friend and foe to the former and a hunter to the latter. His diet aside from Human Souls mainly consists of Hollows, and it would be from one of the thousands of Hollows that he has slain over the centuries that Zanmato would rip the mask that he keeps as a trophy and arm adornment. Down through the centuries, Zanmato has been slaying Hollows of various level, finding devouring their essences to be more filling than devouring the essences of humans. He speculates that this is because Hollows have more spiritual power than ordinary humans, a fact that is supported by the fact that his strength grew more significantly from devouring Hollows than Humans. The 'friend and foe' relationship with the Shinigami results from the fact that Zanmato has more than once supported them in their fight against the Hollows, arriving during a battle wherein it seemed that the Shinigami would be devoured by Hollows. However, he has also been hunted by the death gods, and has slain many of them in self defense. The most significant encounter that he has ever had with a Shinigami was an event wherein he defeated but spared the life of a man wearing a white haori.
The Bount would allow the man to live, but on the condition that he spend a week with him in the world of the living, to ascertain whether or not Zanmato was truly as much a threat as someone seemed to believe he was. During this week, Zan restricted his diet to Hollows in an attempt to persuade the Shinigami that he was not a harmful creature. Also during this time, Zan would talk to the Shinigami Captain, learning from the exchange much about the Soul Society and the afterlife in general. At the end of the week, the Bount would allow the Captain to go on his way, though he would insist on keeping the man's haori as an exchange for having allowed him to live. As well, it was serve as a reminder of the fact that mercy to a Shinigami had resulted in an enemy having turned to something bordering on a friend if not someone with whom a mutual respect was shared.
- Bount Relations:
Though there are few mentions of other Bounts in Zan's history until after the fall of Rome, Zan had contact with others of his kind centuries beforehand. He would casually come across other Bounts during his time amongst the Romans, knowing them by their significantly different spiritual pressures in comparison to those around him. These he would typically befriend and establish contact with even across long distances, building friendships and connections across the world over centuries. The most significant of these would be the small enclave in Europe that he would reside with in times of self-imposed exile from Rome, and the group that resided in Castle Avalonia. After he became the Blood Lord of the Bounts, many Bounts that had not joined those at Castle Avalonia would join because of the man leading it, bringing their resources and skills to the conglomerate under Zanmato's control. As is, Zanmato has contacts and resources that literally span the entire globe, especially in Asia.
- Zanmato's Consumption Habits:
An important question would be what the Blood Lord of the Bounts 'eats' and has 'eaten' down through the centuries. It is a known fact that only through the consumption of souls can a Bount maintain his longevity, giving rise to various assumptions. In reality, Zanmato prefers the souls of Hollows to those of humans, noting that they are more filling and increase his power far more than the devouring of human souls. That is not to say however that he does not ever devour humans as well. When it comes time for him to dine on the souls of humans, Zanmato prefers to eat those who have committed some great crime and not repented or have gone unpunished, seeing it as a method of balancing out the fact that he is devouring another sentient being's soul. On that note, the souls that Zanmato devours also extends to those who anger him enough that simply killing them will not sate his fury. The fate of the previous Blood Lord exemplifies this, though Zan has performed this execution-style devouring on Shinigami, Hollows, and Quincy alike who have done something particularly worthy of punishment. The most typical way to earn such a fate? To compromise or threaten the safety of the Bount race.
- Praetorian Clarification:
Throughout the centuries that Zanmato acted as a guard for the Emperors of Rome, he did not always act as the Praetorian Guards, standing close by to the man and acting as an actual bodyguard. At times, his role was less the guardsman and more the protector of Rome in general. Hollows have existed since ancient times, and at times they could wreak havoc such that it would come to the attention of the Bount or of the Emperor who would send him to hunt down whatever foul creature was disturbing the populace. In this manner, his role became that of a hunter for supernatural creatures that were disturbing Rome. On more than one occasion, the disturbances actually turned out to be Bounts instead of Hollows, his fellow immortals devouring souls in with wanton abandon rather than with discipline like Zan. These would be persuaded to either cease their activities or leave Rome, though Zan never once killed another Bount in these circumstances. The only other Bount that he has ever killed has been the Blood Lord who reigned before him.
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