Jade Curtiss

IN A NUTSHELL

Jade is a tall, slender man with a perpetual smile etched on his face -generally due to his being utterly pleased with himself, or with a particularly witty put-down he flung in Luke's direction-. He is keenly aware of his worth, both as a strong and versatile fonist and as the personal confidante to the Malkuth emperor, Peony... so his lack of advancement past the rank of colonel in the military could come as a surprise if it wasn't for the fact that it was a personal choice motivated by his desire to avoid extra work. For, even more than his sarcasm or his style, his laziness impacts his motivations and his actions : he will often invoke his "ripe old age" (he is only 35) to skirt his duties and any menial or manual tasks thrown his way.

A gifted scholar, Jade gave birth the science of "fomicry" (creating replicas -clones- of individuals and items using fonons) as a child, when, instead of mending a broken toy, he just created a new, identical copy. He extended his work to human beings when a failed experiment caused the death of his beloved mentor. Instead of creating a copy of the woman he admired so much, he created a insane monster, and swore off fomicry forever.

THE EARLY YEARS

Jade was a strange child who didn't seem to understand many notions that are thought to be intuitive. He was quiet, but cruel, and enjoyed the death of defenseless monsters as much as he did the pain of people around him. His little sister, Nephry, said that she thought he did not understand the meaning behind life and death, between something that is whole, and broken. He single-handedly founded the science of fomicry when Nephry broke one of her dolls and he made a copy of it instead of repairing it, and would often cast artes on himself, oblivious to the danger.

Other children stayed away, until he started going to a school founded by General Nebilim, who retired from action in Ketersburg, and he met Peony, the young and lonely future Emperor of Malkuth. Nebilim mentored all the children, and with the help of Peony, who hounded the strange boy with his smiles and his stories of rappigs, he came to change and enjoy a more normal childhood, playing pranks, building snow-Dists and stealing -then replicating- pies and sweets. At night, Peony would often sneak into Jade's room, slip into his bed, and talk to his best friend all night long, about his life, his fears of not being able to govern a country, and especially the crush he had on his friend's sister, Nephry.

CHILDHOOD, INTERRUPTED

A distinguished fonist, even as a child, Jade pushed his thirst for knowledge to the limit when he attempted to learn to use the seventh fonon, an arte only available to a very special few, the "seventh fonists". Buyoed by his successes in replication of matter, he thought it was only a matter of time before he perfected his use of all of the fonons. His attempt was a failure, and he unleashed a devastating fire that killed his mentor. He barely survived, thanks to Peony, who dragged him out of the burning husk of a building.

Grief-stricken, he decided to create a replica of Nebilim, to cheat her death. But the copy was mentally unstable, and slipped into total insanity, killing everything in its path. Jade tried to eliminate her, but she escaped, and the darkest period of Jade's life started. He wouldn't have made it through without Peony, who stayed by his side, constantly reminding him that it hadn't been his fault, that he simply made a mistake, that he wasn't a bad person... and that he should eradicate the science of fomicry before it could be used for evil. While he finally understood that death could not be cheated, and had to be accepted, Dist, on the contrary, refused to denounce fomicry and continued Jade's research against his will, which dug an unbridgeable rift between them.

THE MALKUTH NECROMANCER

Jade was later adopted by the Curtiss family, a very influent family both in the military and political circle, and moved with them to Grand Chokmah. Years later, he quickly rose in rank to that of Colonel, and has refused every promotion since, in an attempt to avoid responsibility.

He is admired by his men, and feared by his enemies, who call him "The Necromancer" due to rumours that he drinks blood, or that he collects the bodies of his fallen enemies, and to facts, such as his scholarly work to bring people back from the dead. He enjoys playing with that reputation by making outrageous claims and watching people squirm.

In charge of the mighty Land Dreadnought Tartarus, he was sent on a diplomatic mission to Baticul when he encountered Luke and Tear, and was boarded by the Largo the Black Lion, one of the God-Generals. Abandoning ship, he finished the voyage with them to try to stop a war, and was sent to help Luke as an envoy of peace to the mining town of Akzeriuth.

THE MAN BEHIND THE SPEAR

Malkuth's infamous necromancer is a contradiction in terms : honest to a fault, he will always say what is on his mind, more often than not offending everyone around him with his sarcasm and his rapier wit ; but so private as to be withdrawn, he hides behind his military rank and his diplomatic credentials a deep-seated insecurity due to his greatest failure -fomicry-, and his greatest weakness -a forbidden love-.

He has persuaded himself that he is a scientist to the core, that he is completely detached from his feelings, and that rational thought is the only thing that rules his life. As a result, he always acts based on what he logically decides is the right course of action, no matter who it will hurt, or how people will interpret his actions.

Slow to trust, impatient, but even tempered, Jade is misunderstood -and feared- by many.

AS TIME PASSES IN RIVELATA...

All of Jade's adventures in Rivelata, as well as Peony's and Dist's can be found on this page.

techno-beat	Latest page update: made by techno-beat , Mar 1 2009, 5:43 PM EST (about this update About This Update Moved from: Tales of the Abyss - techno-beat No content added or deleted. - complete history)
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