[ooc: moksa app]
Character Name: Will Stanton.
Character Series: The Dark is Rising Sequence by Susan Cooper. Wikipedia link: The Dark is Rising Sequence.
Character Background:
On his eleventh birthday, Will Stanton woke to the discovery that he was 'not human. Not exactly.' Not only that, but as the youngest of the Old Ones, a group of immortal beings that serve the Light, Will finds himself with an important role to play in the Light's ancient battle against the Dark, an opposing force dedicated to the destruction of his world. Will's first task, gathering and joining the 6 signs of power, allows him to learn and master the abilities that being an Old One give him -- being able to sense beings/things of power, the ability to speak mind to mind with other Old Ones, the odd flash of intuition, an understanding of the ancient spells that govern his universe, the ability to alter or remove memory in other people and even an ability to pull things and people out of time and to travel through time. Over the next few years, he accompanies his teacher Merriman (also known as Merlin) to Cornwall to track down the stolen grail, makes friends with a mysterious Welsh kid with a penchant for unsettling people, falls off the odd mountains and prepares for the last rising of the Dark, all while maintaining his everyday life in the 1970s as the youngest child in a very busy family of nine.
Finally, the Dark rises for the final time and the Light stands against it -- and stands victorious. With the Dark banished by their victory, the Old Ones are free to leave en masse, erasing the memory of their battle. Only Will remains. As the only person who remembers the battle between Light and Dark, Will's task now is to be the Watcher and guard against the Dark's return. He settles back into his ordinary life of school and family concerns until one day, he finds himself in Moksa University.
Character Personality:
The first thing people notice about Will is how ordinary he is. He's a calm, slightly serious English schoolboy with a wry sense of humour, generally described as 'stolid' and 'reliable'. This suits Will just fine! He is generally amiable; willing to give people the benefit of the doubt, as being the youngest in a family of nine has given him maturity and an understanding of how people tick. Will cares a lot about his friends and large family, and is troubled by the instances where to protect them he has had to alter their memories. His human instincts are often in conflict with the duties and knowledge that comes with being an Old One.
As an Old One, Will is guided by an instinctive sense of what he must do, and is confident and assured, a stark contrast to his usual politeness and deference. Because so much of his powers are intuitive, Will does tend to make quick judgements about people based on how they 'feel' to him -- people associated with the Light tend to give him a good feeling, while he reacts negatively to Dark or Chaos based powers, even to the point of looking vaguely nauseous. While in canon his instinct tends to be correct, a panfandom game like Moksa University with all sorts of magical vibes is obviously going to challenge him a lot.
Notes:
- Will's age when he is first introduced in canon is 11. References to age and time are rather vague beyond that point, so to be safe and ensure that he's 16, I'd like to take him post-canon, ie. a year or two after the events of Silver on the Tree. In the time between the end of the series and Will's arrival at Moksa University, he's been attending school and leading a very ordinary life in Buckinghamshire.
- The Dark is Rising is somewhat vague about the limits of Will's power and what exactly Will is, but as the name 'Old One' suggests, Will is going to be around a very long time. As another Old One put it, 'if you cut us, we bleed, but if you poison us, we will not die.' Will can be harmed, and despite the advantages that his abilities give him, he is wary of drawing attention to himself by using them too much. He is by no means infallible, making many errors of judgement in canon.
Sample Post:
"Well," Will said at last. "This is one for the books."
He let the letter he'd been reading and re-reading slip onto the cafeteria table, looked around the room. It was almost empty, dinnertime long since gone. There were a few lingering like Will over the remains of their meal, Will nodded when he caught their eye and smiled politely. He supposed they would be used to people showing up unexpectedly. Rather like the Stanton household at mealtimes. Will quashed that thought immediately. He was not about to get homesick. This wasn't the first time he'd found himself in a strange place after all.
It wasn't even the strangest place he'd been. The utilitarian design of the cafeteria was reminiscent of the dinner hall at school, if you discounted the fact that it was self-service for one thing and a lot nicer for another. If it wasn't for the hum of magic niggling on the edge of his awareness like a singularly persistent itch, he might have thought he was visiting his brother Max at Art College in London. Will frowned, picking up the letter again. "Why go," he said quietly to himself, "to all the trouble of making this place then bringing everyone here just to teach?" It was a puzzle. Even with his Old One's knowledge, Will couldn't see what anyone might gain from that--
His stomach growled.
"Ah," said Will. Although hungry, his Old One instinct warned him that accepting food in this place was a risk -- the magical properties of the place would interfere with his ability to detect a hidden spell. On the other hand, it had been an awfully long time since lunch ...
Will found himself facing the conflicting urges of Old One and human. This time, it was Will Stanton, hungry teenager, that won. Tucking the letter into the pocket of his jeans, Will helped himself to a tray. He could worry about his predicament later. First up: dinner.
App posted here.