Synopsis
"They're just trying to establish a place in society, and you hunt them like animals? Is that right to you?"
Description
Faction: The Council of Truth
Division: Founder and Leader
Age: 47 (Born 1966)
Gender: Male
Height/Weight: 5'11 / 128 lbs.
Hair Color: Red
Eye Color: Gray
If one sat down and interacted with Thicke for half an hour, almost nobody would guess him to be a member, even less the leader, of a pseudo-terroristic freedom organization. Judging by the way he behaves and looks, he would be more like a "Fun uncle" or family friend then someone in charge of...Well, anything. He always walks with a rather apparent casual slouch, hands tucked deep in his pockets. He will also get very animated when excited about something, moving his hands to "Illustrate" what he is talking about.
Overall, Thicke is rather rugged and "rough around the edges". His eyes have sunken into their sockets and he usually sports a "Five 'o' Clock Shadow". Combined with his habit to simply wear a sweater or thick shirt of some kind and simple jeans, he gives off a very unprofessional look. However, when he does speak, it is made clear that one should listen. Thicke speaks with experience and since it contrasts to sharply with his usual goofy attitude, it is very apparent when he is growing serious.
One would expect someone of his stature and experiences to be physically fit, or at least healthy. That however, is where one would be wrong in Diego's case. While he does pad his clothing to hide it most of the time, he is dropping in weight, fast. At this point, one can see his collar bones clearly and would be able to count the ribs on him with very little issue. Diego himself is unsure what exactly is plaguing him, but he has started to pick up a rather nasty, wheezing cough lately as well.
Personality
As mentioned, Thicke is a very, very carefree man. He usually only do things that he "feels" like, often dismissing things as "Boring" or "Taking too long" in a rather childish manner. He is very friendly and easily excitable, with a strong love for games and bets, overall being able to be described as a big "Goofball". The only real thing that seems to be getting him serious at all is the mistreatment of supernatural creatures, and what he considers the "cruelty" of GPN. But when he does get serious, he truly gets serious, not caring for who he has to harm or what he has to do to make things "right".
While he knows how to speak with experience, rationality and authority, he does not have any charisma more noteworthy then that of any regular individual, baring the exception of his habit to easily get people to let their guard down around him, again, thanks to his very laid-back attitude. He simply relies on the common sense and equality mindset of modern people when making his speeches and orders. He is very quick to underline the importance of the people around him and will almost never accept praise, provided it is worded as if he was the only one who did something. He knows that true results are reached through the cooperation of many individuals, not the achievement of one lone wolf.
It should be noted that while he has been focusing primarily on freeing supernatural entities taken by GPN and hiding those that are still free in the past, he has grown more and more irritable and agressive as he is getting sicker and sicker. It appears that his illness is supernatural in origin and he knows very well that his days are limited at this point and is simply trying to make as much change as possible with the time he has left. Thus, the public attacks and widespread destruction operations have almost tripled in frequency, making it about one every three months. He knows that he is causing pain and grief through his actions, but he is slowly starting to panic more and more. When his body eventually stops fighting his illness, who will take his place after him and what will they do with the Council? He has to push his agenda as far as he possibly can while he still can.
Equipment / Abilities
Equipment
Tomes of Knowledge: Due to his large myriad of connections and strings throughout the Council of Truth, Diego has been able to gather quite a large collection of books and scrolls containing paranormal information from the older days, his oldest writing being from the mid-1700s. Some of them are, naturally, merely myths, but the majority of the scripts he has connected contains quite a bit of truth. As a result, Diego can easily look up a rite or ritual if he needs anything "Extra" for a plan of his.
Crystal Ball: In the center of the Inner Circle's lair, there is a large crystal ball, about ten inches in diameter, weighing about 30 pounds. By putting one's hands on the sides of it and focusing their energy through it, they will be given a hazy, vague and often symbolic hint of an important scene in the viewer's near future. How exactly the Council got their hands on this ball is unknown, though it was most likely donated by another member who wanted to help the Inner Circle.
Abilities
Tactician: Diego is a gifted tactician and since he has been a part of GPN, he knows very well how they operate. He can map out advanced plans and has succeeded to free many a "supernats" from GPN's clutches. He is not a bad thinker on the fly either, easily being able to plan an escape if things go wrong, a plan fails or an unexpected attack happens, not to mention being able to adapt to unexpected events on the fly.
Biological Knowledge: Diego has studied both Biological Engineering and organic Biochemistry. As he had a short-lived career as a surgeon before GPN employment, he knows quite a bit about human and animal bodies, how they tick, how to put them back together and how to...Make them cease working.
Rites of Phagos: One of the main series of rituals that Diego studied from his library was the rites of an ancient, almost unknown blood god, Phagos. As it turns out, the rituals do indeed work, though the existence of some sort of deity figure is still controversial. "Phagos" could very much so simply be a powerful supernatural being, or a power-hungry mage who taught the "shamans" a very specified type of magic. Either way, the Rites have very varied results, depending on the ritual practiced, though blood itself is usually a very central theme. With different rites, Diego can generate walls of blood to defend him, make the blood in others' bodies coagulate, killing them, give himself temporary powers and much, much more A ritual can also vary in the tame it takes to initiate. All between a few minutes to weeks.
The only constant among all the rites is the sacrifice that has to be made. As one might have guessed, the most common tribute is blood, though the exact nature of said blood can vary. Animal blood, the blood of the intended target, any human's blood, the caster's blood...It all depends on which ritual is practiced. Whenever a ritual has been successfully initiated, the blood sacrificed disappears. Where exactly it goes is currently unknown.
Magic: As mages began to join the ranks of the Council, Diego made sure to get bestowed with the miraculous gifts of magic. As a busy man, Diego has not had time to practice or perfect this ability, but he is a minor magic user and specializes in generating different forms of energy. (Electricity, fire, etc)
History
Diego Thicke was born in New York, 1966. As someone who grew up with news of the terrors of war, Diego quickly adapted a very strong wish to help and save people. Not take lives like oh so many in his age, but save them. While others left to fight for their country, Thicke stayed and studied to become a surgeon, something he indeed succeeded in by 1991, at the age of 25, a remarkably young age for his profession. His age, not to mention his results (Remarkable for the time) quickly got him GPN's attention. He had only been a surgeon for three years when they contacted him.
He was indeed brought in, into the world of the paranormal as a Blue Division Agent. While he was originally ecstatic, able to truly protect and help people like he had dreamed about. Through his research, he was shielding millions of people from certain death from the unnatural. This original rush of motivation soon faded, however, as he saw what he ultimately had to do to what was essentially normal people, with a "power" or two. Apply physical or mental torture and document just how far their abilities could go. Make a mind reader go through so many points to the point of mental derangement for the sake of containment issues. The cruelties that had to be done for the job.
He continued dismissing his growing inner moral conflicts for a total of seven years, before it finally boiled over for him. By unlocking the four cells given to him, he caused a major security breach in the base he worked in and ran for it, opening containment cells and stopping whatever he came across along the hallways. Through some miracle, he was able to get out of the base and escape to the city slums. It was not before the adrenaline finally settled that he was able to understand just what he had done. He had betrayed GPN, most likely killed or harmed several Agents of various Divisions. However, no matter how much he tried, he...Really could not muster up any guilt for it. Their actions were twisted, they were committing torture daily...Just like he had done.
But no, he was going to set things straight, once and for all. Diego Thicke went to his most trusted friends at the time. Normal people with no affiliation with GPN. At first, of course, they thought he had gone mad, but when he showed the countless notes, photos, his Blue Division ID Card...They decided to go with it for once. They formed the five-man group that Diego dubbed the "Brotherhood of Azoth", named after the divine fire Prometheus had given to mankind, Prometheus had rebelled against the gods for the best of the world, allowing change to prosper and humans to develop freely. They were going to do the same. For the same reason, the five original members of the Council are still called "Brothers of Azoth" among Council circles, be they male or female.
The Brotherhood thus got to work. Led by Diego and his sister, Karmen (Who happened to be one of the Brothers of Azoth), they began searching the world for the supernatural, which was...Surprisingly easy to find, if you knew where to look. Five grew to eight, as the Brotherhood met a trio of travelling mages. In the exchange for protection by one another, the two groups joined together and the Brothers were imbued with the potencial for magic. With this ability, other entities were a lot easier to locate and as the group grew, the contacts of the new members also joined in. Eight grew to fourteen. Fourteen grew to thirty. Thirty grew to sixty. Sixty grew to a hundred. Humans that had been led over or supernatural entities, the Brotherhood had grown to an incredible size. It was not a mere Brotherhood between partners anymore. The organization was renamed the Council of Truth, as they would bring truth to the world, the truth that GPN was working so hard to hide.
The Council struck with their first truly dangerous "Attack" in 2001. As a large group of mages, people using artifacts and supernatural beings struck a transportation vehicle containing a pair of entities that had been trapped. The Red Division squad inside and the driver were all killed as the supernaturals were taken into the Council. Energized by the success, they struck again only a couple of months later, this time in an underground storage facility, freeing at least twenty different creatures, most sentient ones joining the Council once they were introduced to it. Awareness of the Council's existence now grew within GPN and they began doing their best to put a stop to their activities. It had already grown much too large, however.
As their confidence and influence in supernatural networks grew, the Council began launching attacks at areas not related whatsoever to the Preservation. While Diego did feel tinges of guilt over doing what is essentially terrorist actions, but it seemed to be the only way to get GPN to listen. Naturally, they did not give in to the Council's demands of...Well, ceasing to be. While the attacks stopped, mainly due to orders of Diego himself, the Council once again slunk into the shadows, returning to raiding storage facilities, biding their time. GPN meanwhile, has been growing more and more alert and prepared to get rid of this gigantic threat, doing everything in their power to root out the Council and destroy it.
At present time, Diego hides along with the rest of the Inner Circle of the Council (The Brothers of Azoth and their most trusted allies) in a hidden bunker they call the "Dragon's Lair". With numerous spells, not to mention enchanted artifacts, the bunker is practically unnoticeable unless one is taken there. Over the years, perhaps due to a rite or some sort of entity, nobody is completely sure, Diego has gotten himself some sort of supernatural plague. He is growing weaker and thinner by every day. After calculations that he has made, judging by how his health has been decaying over time, he has roughly half a year left in life. This has not stopped his motivation to help the supernatural, however. Quite the contrary, he is growing desperate and more agressive, as he is doing to make the most of the time he still has.
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