Gareth MacKay

gareth is not particularly tall, coming in at around 5'10"; however, what he lacks for in height me makes up for with agility.  He is mesomorphic, and while he does not appear terribly toned his body has enough muscle mass to do things that mercenaries are traditionally asked of, namely fight.  His eyes are large ovals with olives for irises, and they usually have an artificially disinterested air about them that can hide whatever glint appears.  his wispy black hair is slow to grow, and whenever it becomes something unmanageable he usually cuts it down as short as he can.  Gareth has a large number of burn marks on his body, the most noticeable one runs from his right cheek down to his chin and then turns around to go back up about half of the first length.  facial hair is usually patchy in this area, and even though he isn't too concerned with appearances, Gareth keeps himself shaven.

Gareth's main identifier is his identity issues.  recently released from the mercenary company that has raised him all of his life, he has begun to question his values now that he exists outside constant warfare.  Caught in an internalized struggle between his established values as a mercenary and his nascent ones as a human being, he is prone to making erratic, often out of character choices.  Often he will help others, however, he usually places his own goals above those of others.  Because of this he values those that are "useful" and can pull their own weight.

Gareth is young, intelligent, and physically able--but he is hot blooded to a fault.  When he keeps his composure during combat he is a formidable foe, able to hold his own in single combat against most enemies.  But angry, he is stupid and prone to making unnecessarily risky moves that endanger himself or his team.  But at his core, Gareth is a survivor.  living in the streets of zhadrah for so long has toughened him up for the kind of work that he has used to survive.

REquired: 3 likes and 3 dislikes. one goal and one secret. more are allowed of course.

LIKES:

• pragmatic things or trinkets
• Quiet, especially when in the city
• a full stomach
• strategic combat

DISLIKES:

• people that drone on and on about whatever it was they were doing last night or whatever, he doesn't know, Gareth stopped listening about 15 minutes ago
• people, things, or any piece of matter that cannot pull its own weight, literally or figuratively. 
• milk products--he is slightly lactose intolerant

GOALS & SECRETS:

• goal::: Gareth wants more than anything to find out who his parents were and what his history was before being swept up in the escape-from-gang life that he knows now.
• secret::: one secret here

Fire manipulation

technically true, however, calling it manipulation is giving him too much credit.  gareth is able to create some small sparks and flames when in control of himself, but that is about it.  The ability blossoms during intense combat, when he is fueled by extreme senses of anger or hatred, or sometimes innately as a defense mechanism.  He becomes immolated in flames that vary in intensity with how much he gives himself in to the experience.  when in this stage he is much more proficient in manipulating fire, particularly through his weapon.

in this stage, gareth might as well be an entirely different being--don't worry, he's gotten "demon" plenty of times.  His fighting style is incredibly different from that when he is in control.  Calculated strikes and careful moves become violent barrages and wild fury.  His bloodlust when immolated does not make distinctions between friend and foe, and returning to his normal state is something that requires either physical exhaustion, a lack of targets, or incredible will power from Gareth.

obviously gareth has the ability to become fireproof, something that seems pretty necessary given his capacity to combust.  However, this is not constitutive and thus he has to consciously turn on and off.  his sweat covers his body in a fireproof coating, which also requires that Gareth stay very hydrated lest he sweat himself into dehydration.  his sweat also carries over onto his clothes as well, a convenient side effect, as he wouldn't be able to afford constant replacements.

combat

as stated above, gareth enjoys combat, sometimes viewing it as sport and other times as necessary.  Either way, he is especially effective at close range combat.  he is usually decisive and quick to react, with an ability to effectively analyze and manipulate his environment to his advantage; however, he has not ever been a good shot with any kind of fire arm.  However, he is particularly skilled with his long sword (the bladed kind) with a dagger for back up.  Because of his necessity for close range he will usually wear some plated mail, so that he has a chance to get close to whoever he is fighting.

intelligence

gareth is pretty intelligent in a broad sense--he does not have particularly deep pools of knowledge in any one subject, but he does know a little about everything, and he's found that often that's all someone needs to get by in life comfortably.

strengths:

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weaknesses:

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Here, please write out no less than three paragraphs detailing where your character has been in the world of From Dust 'til now. Tell us how they got to where they are today and how they are relating to the plot at-hand of where they're from and where they live. anything of note. If they are gifted, tell us when they got the powers and whether or not they acknolwedge their divinity and explain their relationship to them in regards to their powers.

known family is optional.

known family:

name - age - occupation
name - age - occupation