[ INFO. ]
Player Information
Name: Miru.
Age: 21.
AIM SN: dash chromatique
email: miruvix[@]gmail.com
Have you played in an LJ based game before? Yup.
Currrently Played Characters: Idui (dacnomanic).
Character Information
General
Canon Source: Assassin's Creed.
Canon Format: Videogame.
Character's Name: Malik A-Sayf (مالك السيف).
Character's Age: 26.
What form will your character's NV take? An iPhone, much to his confusion. He'll inevitably end up calling it a 'talking box' or something of that sort. Such a strange device.
Abilities
Character's Canon Abilities:
Ignore the fact that Malik's left sleeve is virtually empty and he spends most of his time poring over books and maps, and he's actually quite a formidable person. Originally trained as an Assassin -- yes, the same runny jumpy climby stabby type as Altair -- Malik's roots lie in hand-to-hand combat; he's not just all books and maps. The loss of his left arm means he's also lost some mobility, and is no longer as adept at sneaking around rooftops and bouncing off walls as before, but he can make his way around cities well enough in a pinch. (He does, after all, somehow make it in and out of the Jerusalem Assassin's Bureau, a facility that is essentially impossible to get into unless you can scale walls.)
He also lost the use of the iconic Assassin's hidden blade when he lost his arm, unfortunately, but it's not like that was the only weapon he learned how to use. Give him a sword and he'll kick your ass seven ways to Sunday; one incident found him forced to battle against several of his fellow (mind-controlled) assassins, severely outnumbered, and he came out of that case just fine. Though probably more wary and cautious in combat than he was in the past in order to make up for his missing arm, he's still more than capable, and seems to have kept himself in shape despite having been pulled from field work.
Apart from combat, though, Malik's probably had plenty of time to sharpen his tactical skills during his time as leader of the Assassin's Bureau. As a dai -- a direct representative of the spiritual leader of the people, and a high-ranker in the Assassins' society -- Malik is learned in cartography as the discipline he may teach to apprentices, as well as being well-versed in the Quran and the Creed.
Dormant Ability:
Fun fact: Malik A-Sayf means "King of the Sword" in Arabic. It'd be a shame not to put an awesome name like that to use, right?
Malik's dormant ability will be, succinctly put, the ability to "summon" swords. To be more precise, he'll be able to instantly gather up and compress the miniscule amounts of matter in the air into the form of a blade, essentially pulling it out of the air. These weapons won't be permanent, of course, and will disintegrate back into the air once he no longer needs them, and won't be consistent, fixed entities -- so rather than "summoning," "creating" would be the more accurate term. Drawing weapons out of thin air.
Of course, this ability's bound to start off as something much smaller. Malik probably won't even be aware of this ability for quite some time, and it will only trigger in a situation where he desperately needs it -- perhaps, disarmed and lacking in a weapon, he would suddenly find himself holding a dagger that's materialized out of thin air, only to see it crumble away to nothing once the danger is over. Once he's aware of his ability and begins training himself, he'll be able to use this ability more fluidly, summoning a larger number of stronger weapons instantly, making them disintegrate at will, being able to toss them to others to use for the moment. Given that Assassins rely heavily on the weapons they have at their disposal, this ability is bound to be immensely useful to one like Malik -- especially taking into account how useful it would be to have a (temporarily) unlimited supply of weapons to make up for his missing limb.
Weapons:
Malik has with him the standard sword and short blade that all Assassins carry, as well as a leather bracer containing several light throwing knives. Basically the standard Assassin gear minus the hidden blade, since he doesn't have the appropriate limb for that one.
History/Personality/Plans/etc.
Character History:
[ Wiki link. ]
The exact details of Malik's early life are unknown, but they're easy enough to guess. Mostly likely trained as an Assassin from a young age, he probably spent much of his life in Masyaf, the home base of the Assassins' Order. Alongside his younger brother Kadar, he slowly climbed the ranks of the Order, learning of the Creed and training himself to his absolute limit. Though not yet of the highest position, he'd been doing well enough, abiding by the Assassin's Creed and acting as he was ordered to.
The turning point of his life, however, came about in 1191 when he was sent on a mission to retrieve a treasure in Solomon's Temple. It wasn't just him, though -- he was sent alongside Kadar and Altair, much to his displeasure. Arrogant, rash, and prone to disobeying the rules of the Assassins' Order, Altair was perhaps one of the last people Malik would have wanted to work with, regardless of the way his brother Kadar seemed to admire Altair. Repeatedly, he warned Altair of the potential repercussions of his actions -- killing an innocent man near the Temple, revealing himself to de Sable in a thoughtless move -- but was ignored. It ended badly.
Altair's brash attack was deflected and he was hurled out of the Temple, leaving Malik and Kadar to fend for themselves and retrieve the artifact. And though they ultimately succeeded, there was a heavy price to pay. Kadar was killed in the ensuing battle, and Malik's left arm was irreparably damaged as he fought to secure the Temple treasure. Barely escaping with his life, Malik managed to return to Masyaf with the treasure in hand, pursued by Templars. Staggering into the chamber of Al-Mualim to hand over the treasure, he found Altair speaking with their master, proclaiming him dead -- he certainly didn't hesitate in telling the truth, that Altair's brash actions had doomed their mission.
He was forced out of commission then, though, by his mutilated left arm. As Altair was sent to provide a distraction and help drive the Templars out of the city, Malik was hurriedly given medical care before he bled out any further. It was while he was still being cared for that he heard of Altair's punishment for betraying the Assassin's Creed -- being stripped of his weapons and demoted to novice, forced to repent through a long assassination of nine targets -- and while he would have preferred that Altair pay for Kadar's death with his own life, this would have to suffice.
It wasn't like Altair's fate was his only concern, though. His damaged left arm -- sliced deep into the flesh, damaging nerves and bone -- had to be amputated before it started rotting, and the loss of a limb meant he would be no longer be able to perform field duty as an Assassin. Though his successful retrieval of the Templar treasure merited him a promotion to dai, he was made to work in Jerusalem as the leader of the Assassin's Bureau -- essentially an informant-slash-manager, mapmaker and strategist in charge of directing Assassins on their missions, giving them permission to make the fatal strike when he deemed they had enough information.
Imagine his displeasure when Altair came traipsing into the bureau one day.
He'd already gotten a message from Al Mualim that Altair was coming, of course. The letter had been delivered via messenger pigeon, and he'd been instructed to give Altair the necessary information to carry out his tasks. Not that he went about the task out of good-will. It was to no one's surprise that he lashed out at Altair quite viciously, speaking to him harshly and driving him out of the bureau after giving him the minimum of information. For the most part, he expected Altair's arduous work in the name of repentance to end up useless -- in his mind, Altair was a man beyond change, too entrenched in his rebellious, disrespectful ways.
And so, it must have startled him, when he realized that -- as time went by and missions were completed, one by one -- Altair was capable of changing. It was a slow process, of course (no man can change overnight), but clearly visible. Who was he to deny this? By the time Altair had to complete his list of assassinations by ending the life of Robert de Sable, Malik was accepting enough of Altair to treat him as a fellow assassin -- not as the disgraced, demoted rogue that he'd once been thought of. And despite a brief, heated argument over whether Altair should go forth for the strike or request guidance from Al Mualim, Malik ultimately heeded Altair's advice to stop shielding himself with the Creed -- his job as an Assassin was to seek the truth, not to obey Al-Mualim's every order. Malik promised to research the Piece of Eden while Altair left to kill de Sable -- denying the parting apology Altair had offered for the loss of his arm and Kadar. The man standing before him was not the same man who'd caused the damage in Solomon's Temple.
And perhaps it was just good luck, good timing, when he later arrived Masyaf just in time to help Altair fend against the masses of Assassins who had been hypnotized by Al-Mualim. It turned out the nine people Al-Mualim had ordered Altair had to kill had been Templars -- the same as Al-Mualim himself. He had gotten the others killed in order to keep the power of the Piece of Eden -- the treasure from Solomon's Temple -- to himself, and was abusing it. Determined to see through this matter to the end, Malik and a handful of his men fought against the hypnotized Assassins to create a distraction, giving Altair the chance to put an end to Al-Mualim's life.
No doubt, with Al-Mualim overthrown, Altair would take the position of Grand Master of the Assassin Brotherhood -- and for all of his grumbling, Malik would have appreciated this regime change and the time of peace it would hopefully bring. The Brotherhood had too long been abused and manipulated by Al-Mualim, and deserved the safety and peace that he trusted Altair's guidace would bring it.
-- pity he was so severely disappointed. Because as soon as he regrouped with Altair, passing by Al-Mualim's body to observe the Piece of Eden glowing with an unnatural light, something yanked him from his feet, drowning him with an overwhelming sense of vertigo. Plucked out of Masyaf, he was hurled quite impolitely out of his world and into the harsh, alien landscape of Siren's Port.
Point in Canon: Immediately after the game's end, shortly after Al-Mualim has been killed.
Character Personality:
Going by first impressions, Malik isn't exactly the sunniest guy around. Pragmatic and devoted, he was one to adhere exactly to the rules of the Assassin Brotherhood -- no killing innocents, no standing out, no bringing danger to the organization. No wonder he clashed with Altair right off the bat -- his personality was the complete opposite of Altair's. And, of course, it came as no surprise that he turned out to be quite the harsh, caustic individual when he was working as leader of the bureau, only to have Altair come traipsing in. Lashing out harshly at everything Altair said, he only grudgingly offered the help and information that Altair needed, belittling everything that the other said along the way. Nooot exactly that nice a guy.
But then again, they do say first impressions can be deceiving.
Because, despite everything, Malik is ultimately a fairly humble, honest man. Although he's perfectly capable of being immensely hateful, acerbic in his words and sharp in picking out some of the most acrid things to say, he only flares up like that when he has a reason to. (Like, when he lost his brother and arm because of Altair's actions.)
However, give him some time to calm down and think, and he's quick to pull his anger back and look at a situation from a less-biased light. Despite his initial loathing towards Altair, he made no attempt to deny that Altair had changed over time -- grown more humble, more caring of the people he hurt, more admitting of his own faults -- and quickly soothed his hatred. After all, Altair was no longer the arrogant, brash man that had caused the damage before -- there was no reason to continue maintaining his grudge when the person he'd hated no longer existed, right?
He's willing enough to forgive, given the chance, and equally willing to admit to his own faults. When Altair apologizes for the loss of his arm and his brother, he answers with little hesitation that some of the fault is his own -- that he had been jealous of Altair's status and skill, that he should not have been so grudging of Altair's attitude, that he should not have been so arrogant himself. Malik is proud of who he is -- he should be, as one of the higher representative of the Assassin Brotherhood -- but he's not foolish enough to think himself beyond fault. It wouldn't be right of him to think himself flawless, after all.
Especially when it turned out that the entire Assassin Brotherhood had been manipulated by its leader, Al-Mualim -- it must have been a hard blow, accepting that his former master had turned to hypnotizing the Assassins en masse. It was then that he admitted Altair had been right for quite some time -- strict adherence to the Creed alone was not the path to walk. He's made a bit of a turn-around since then. Less harsh about following the Creed's every word and more mindful of the Assassin Brotherhood's original maxim -- "nothing is true, everything is permitted." His concerns are now of making smaller sacrifices to ensure the peace of the masses -- the original goal of the Assassins. It might be a lofty goal, but he cares for peace and justice -- that's what Assassins do.
So what is he, ultimately?
Well, he's still a pretty ornery sort of guy. Not exactly sunny and cheerful, more the type to snark at you, especially if you aren't the pinnacle of perfection right off the bat. It's not that he's mean, or cruel, or a jerk (well, maybe just a little bit), but he's just a strict pragmatist. As one who manages lower-ranked Assassins and assesses whether they're ready for missions or not, his job is to analyze people from a strict light, not to think everything is swell. (One of his informants in Jerusalem begs Altair to finish a difficult task for him, looking terrified of the prospect of returning to Malik and admitting he failed. Probably a testament to Malik's unforgiving temper in the face of inadequacy.) Give him a flaw he can pick out, and he'll plate it up to wave under your nose, he's gotten too used to being critical of people for everyone's sakes.
(Not that he's completely humorless, though. He's quite good at picking out some of the most hideous, sarcastic comments to spit out at opportune moments. He does seem to have a sense of humor, albeit one as dry as the arid environment he's from.)
But win his admiration and he'll be equally quick to admit that, too. Because that's also his job, you see. Say the bad, but also say the good -- just say the truth. Even if he thought you were a bit of an idiot at first, he'll turn back on his words if you prove otherwise, and the appropriate amount of respect will follow afterward. It's not that he's arrogant, really -- arrogance is one of the personality traits he pointedly dislikes -- he's just honest in both dislikes and likes.
Essentially, he's what the dai of the Assassin Brotherhood (and later, right-hand man to the Grand Master) should be: critical and sharp, in enough control of his emotions to not make rash decisions, but human enough to show what he feels. Sure he might not be an cheerful fellow, but he was never trained for that. He cares for peace and justice, and for the sake of that, he'll be as ornery as necessary for his job.
Character Plans:
I mean come on, who can resist throwing an 12th century hashashin into a modern setting to watch the ensuing chaos? Malik is bound to be both boggled and fascinated by all the modern technology (steel beasts on wheels! strange talking boxes! doors that open by themselves!), which will be awfully fun to play with. Not to mention, the huge number of strange people (in strange clothes, with strange devices, speaking in strange lingo!) is also bound to make him stare forever. Just the usual hijinks of having some poor dude thrown in a completely strange environment, really.
And on top of that, there'll be his paranoia about Templars and the Piece of Eden to deal with. He's bound to think everything's some massive Templar plot, at first -- especially given the war between AGI and SERO. He's supposed to be a peacekeeper, after all, according to his duties as an Assassin -- he'll probably get dragged into that conflict sooner or later in some shape or form.
Appearance/PB:
Due to the difficulty of finding more than three different icons for him with game screenshots, I've gone with fanart icons for the sake of consistency. Gamewise, he looks a bit like [ this ] and [ this ]. Icon-wise, he looks like [ this ], which was the closest I thought I could get to a balance between accuracy and variety in expression.
Writing Samples
First Person Sample
VIDEO.
[ beep! the sound crackles with the hard click of the device bumping into something. the transmissions starts, but -- the screen shows very little. mostly just darkness, but in the corner there, you can just barely make out the rough texture of coarse cotton. shifting slightly. -- the device is in someone's pocket, being jostled around. it must have turned on when it collided with the edge of his sword sheathe. the shouting it picks up is slightly muffled: ]
-- tair!
[ it sounds angry, underlined by the thumping of quick footsteps. ]
Altair, if this is your doing -- [ a huffing, angry breath. ] -- if you thought it was your turn to toy with the Piece of Eden, I am not at all impressed!
[ clack clatter! as the device slips out of pocket to land on the pavement. it goes spinning across the ground, catching the blurred sight of a man walking angrily, then skidding to a halt -- his empty left sleeve flapping from the momentum as he stares at the device. he looks -- confused. perplexed. completely boggled.
for a long moment, he just stares, like that, before cautiously stepping forward to lean down and pick it up -- studying it from a few different angles, not aware that it's recording his every sound and movement. ]
Third Person Sample
Head hurts. Head hurts something awful. That's the first thing Malik's aware of, and he knows it shouldn't be. Or -- is this an effect of the Piece of Eden? He'd been resistant to Al-Mualim's hypnosis, but was he vulnerable, now? No -- that wouldn't do. He'd barely seen the Piece of Eden show -- some sort of glowing image in the air -- had only come jogging over to where Altair stood over the body of their former Master --
And then, suddenly, he'd felt himself falling -- from where, from what? -- and thumping to his knees, his one hand pressed against his temples as he tried to stop his vision from spinning. What on earth had just happened?
It's not until a good minute or so later that he managed to stagger up to his feet, casting a bleary glance around -- wherever this is. Some sort of field, surrounded by -- a net? A net made of steel? A glance down at the loose sand at his feet. He's standing on some sort of strange cloth pad. -- some sort of ritual ground? A glance back up, and a hard squint at the lights in the distance --
illuminating the people standing there.
It doesn't take him more than a second to realize that they're not wearing anything even close to the customary Assassin robes -- whoever they are, they're not residents of the fortress. Templars? More of them? Perhaps they were alerted by Al-Mualim's death? -- And they seem to be drawing closer. A step back to test that he's not going to topple over (he's not, luckily enough), before he turns and lunges over the strange wooden benches. Two or three paces, and he's got his fingers gripping at a handful of the strange metal netting -- what is this? -- and is taking a deep breath.
It's times like this that he really rues the loss of his left arm, because it's tough work, hauling himself up the fence with just one arm, jamming the tips of his shoes into the small gaps to keep his balance. Pressing close against the netting to keep himself from falling, he just barely makes it over the railing, dropping over the side and immediately sliding into a dark alleyway -- his pace quickening, as he stares out the other end of the alleyway and sees a completely alien landscape.
-- where is this?
Name: Miru.
Age: 21.
AIM SN: dash chromatique
email: miruvix[@]gmail.com
Have you played in an LJ based game before? Yup.
Currrently Played Characters: Idui (dacnomanic).
Character Information
General
Canon Source: Assassin's Creed.
Canon Format: Videogame.
Character's Name: Malik A-Sayf (مالك السيف).
Character's Age: 26.
What form will your character's NV take? An iPhone, much to his confusion. He'll inevitably end up calling it a 'talking box' or something of that sort. Such a strange device.
Abilities
Character's Canon Abilities:
Ignore the fact that Malik's left sleeve is virtually empty and he spends most of his time poring over books and maps, and he's actually quite a formidable person. Originally trained as an Assassin -- yes, the same runny jumpy climby stabby type as Altair -- Malik's roots lie in hand-to-hand combat; he's not just all books and maps. The loss of his left arm means he's also lost some mobility, and is no longer as adept at sneaking around rooftops and bouncing off walls as before, but he can make his way around cities well enough in a pinch. (He does, after all, somehow make it in and out of the Jerusalem Assassin's Bureau, a facility that is essentially impossible to get into unless you can scale walls.)
He also lost the use of the iconic Assassin's hidden blade when he lost his arm, unfortunately, but it's not like that was the only weapon he learned how to use. Give him a sword and he'll kick your ass seven ways to Sunday; one incident found him forced to battle against several of his fellow (mind-controlled) assassins, severely outnumbered, and he came out of that case just fine. Though probably more wary and cautious in combat than he was in the past in order to make up for his missing arm, he's still more than capable, and seems to have kept himself in shape despite having been pulled from field work.
Apart from combat, though, Malik's probably had plenty of time to sharpen his tactical skills during his time as leader of the Assassin's Bureau. As a dai -- a direct representative of the spiritual leader of the people, and a high-ranker in the Assassins' society -- Malik is learned in cartography as the discipline he may teach to apprentices, as well as being well-versed in the Quran and the Creed.
Dormant Ability:
Fun fact: Malik A-Sayf means "King of the Sword" in Arabic. It'd be a shame not to put an awesome name like that to use, right?
Malik's dormant ability will be, succinctly put, the ability to "summon" swords. To be more precise, he'll be able to instantly gather up and compress the miniscule amounts of matter in the air into the form of a blade, essentially pulling it out of the air. These weapons won't be permanent, of course, and will disintegrate back into the air once he no longer needs them, and won't be consistent, fixed entities -- so rather than "summoning," "creating" would be the more accurate term. Drawing weapons out of thin air.
Of course, this ability's bound to start off as something much smaller. Malik probably won't even be aware of this ability for quite some time, and it will only trigger in a situation where he desperately needs it -- perhaps, disarmed and lacking in a weapon, he would suddenly find himself holding a dagger that's materialized out of thin air, only to see it crumble away to nothing once the danger is over. Once he's aware of his ability and begins training himself, he'll be able to use this ability more fluidly, summoning a larger number of stronger weapons instantly, making them disintegrate at will, being able to toss them to others to use for the moment. Given that Assassins rely heavily on the weapons they have at their disposal, this ability is bound to be immensely useful to one like Malik -- especially taking into account how useful it would be to have a (temporarily) unlimited supply of weapons to make up for his missing limb.
Weapons:
Malik has with him the standard sword and short blade that all Assassins carry, as well as a leather bracer containing several light throwing knives. Basically the standard Assassin gear minus the hidden blade, since he doesn't have the appropriate limb for that one.
History/Personality/Plans/etc.
Character History:
[ Wiki link. ]
The exact details of Malik's early life are unknown, but they're easy enough to guess. Mostly likely trained as an Assassin from a young age, he probably spent much of his life in Masyaf, the home base of the Assassins' Order. Alongside his younger brother Kadar, he slowly climbed the ranks of the Order, learning of the Creed and training himself to his absolute limit. Though not yet of the highest position, he'd been doing well enough, abiding by the Assassin's Creed and acting as he was ordered to.
The turning point of his life, however, came about in 1191 when he was sent on a mission to retrieve a treasure in Solomon's Temple. It wasn't just him, though -- he was sent alongside Kadar and Altair, much to his displeasure. Arrogant, rash, and prone to disobeying the rules of the Assassins' Order, Altair was perhaps one of the last people Malik would have wanted to work with, regardless of the way his brother Kadar seemed to admire Altair. Repeatedly, he warned Altair of the potential repercussions of his actions -- killing an innocent man near the Temple, revealing himself to de Sable in a thoughtless move -- but was ignored. It ended badly.
Altair's brash attack was deflected and he was hurled out of the Temple, leaving Malik and Kadar to fend for themselves and retrieve the artifact. And though they ultimately succeeded, there was a heavy price to pay. Kadar was killed in the ensuing battle, and Malik's left arm was irreparably damaged as he fought to secure the Temple treasure. Barely escaping with his life, Malik managed to return to Masyaf with the treasure in hand, pursued by Templars. Staggering into the chamber of Al-Mualim to hand over the treasure, he found Altair speaking with their master, proclaiming him dead -- he certainly didn't hesitate in telling the truth, that Altair's brash actions had doomed their mission.
He was forced out of commission then, though, by his mutilated left arm. As Altair was sent to provide a distraction and help drive the Templars out of the city, Malik was hurriedly given medical care before he bled out any further. It was while he was still being cared for that he heard of Altair's punishment for betraying the Assassin's Creed -- being stripped of his weapons and demoted to novice, forced to repent through a long assassination of nine targets -- and while he would have preferred that Altair pay for Kadar's death with his own life, this would have to suffice.
It wasn't like Altair's fate was his only concern, though. His damaged left arm -- sliced deep into the flesh, damaging nerves and bone -- had to be amputated before it started rotting, and the loss of a limb meant he would be no longer be able to perform field duty as an Assassin. Though his successful retrieval of the Templar treasure merited him a promotion to dai, he was made to work in Jerusalem as the leader of the Assassin's Bureau -- essentially an informant-slash-manager, mapmaker and strategist in charge of directing Assassins on their missions, giving them permission to make the fatal strike when he deemed they had enough information.
Imagine his displeasure when Altair came traipsing into the bureau one day.
He'd already gotten a message from Al Mualim that Altair was coming, of course. The letter had been delivered via messenger pigeon, and he'd been instructed to give Altair the necessary information to carry out his tasks. Not that he went about the task out of good-will. It was to no one's surprise that he lashed out at Altair quite viciously, speaking to him harshly and driving him out of the bureau after giving him the minimum of information. For the most part, he expected Altair's arduous work in the name of repentance to end up useless -- in his mind, Altair was a man beyond change, too entrenched in his rebellious, disrespectful ways.
And so, it must have startled him, when he realized that -- as time went by and missions were completed, one by one -- Altair was capable of changing. It was a slow process, of course (no man can change overnight), but clearly visible. Who was he to deny this? By the time Altair had to complete his list of assassinations by ending the life of Robert de Sable, Malik was accepting enough of Altair to treat him as a fellow assassin -- not as the disgraced, demoted rogue that he'd once been thought of. And despite a brief, heated argument over whether Altair should go forth for the strike or request guidance from Al Mualim, Malik ultimately heeded Altair's advice to stop shielding himself with the Creed -- his job as an Assassin was to seek the truth, not to obey Al-Mualim's every order. Malik promised to research the Piece of Eden while Altair left to kill de Sable -- denying the parting apology Altair had offered for the loss of his arm and Kadar. The man standing before him was not the same man who'd caused the damage in Solomon's Temple.
And perhaps it was just good luck, good timing, when he later arrived Masyaf just in time to help Altair fend against the masses of Assassins who had been hypnotized by Al-Mualim. It turned out the nine people Al-Mualim had ordered Altair had to kill had been Templars -- the same as Al-Mualim himself. He had gotten the others killed in order to keep the power of the Piece of Eden -- the treasure from Solomon's Temple -- to himself, and was abusing it. Determined to see through this matter to the end, Malik and a handful of his men fought against the hypnotized Assassins to create a distraction, giving Altair the chance to put an end to Al-Mualim's life.
No doubt, with Al-Mualim overthrown, Altair would take the position of Grand Master of the Assassin Brotherhood -- and for all of his grumbling, Malik would have appreciated this regime change and the time of peace it would hopefully bring. The Brotherhood had too long been abused and manipulated by Al-Mualim, and deserved the safety and peace that he trusted Altair's guidace would bring it.
-- pity he was so severely disappointed. Because as soon as he regrouped with Altair, passing by Al-Mualim's body to observe the Piece of Eden glowing with an unnatural light, something yanked him from his feet, drowning him with an overwhelming sense of vertigo. Plucked out of Masyaf, he was hurled quite impolitely out of his world and into the harsh, alien landscape of Siren's Port.
Point in Canon: Immediately after the game's end, shortly after Al-Mualim has been killed.
Character Personality:
Going by first impressions, Malik isn't exactly the sunniest guy around. Pragmatic and devoted, he was one to adhere exactly to the rules of the Assassin Brotherhood -- no killing innocents, no standing out, no bringing danger to the organization. No wonder he clashed with Altair right off the bat -- his personality was the complete opposite of Altair's. And, of course, it came as no surprise that he turned out to be quite the harsh, caustic individual when he was working as leader of the bureau, only to have Altair come traipsing in. Lashing out harshly at everything Altair said, he only grudgingly offered the help and information that Altair needed, belittling everything that the other said along the way. Nooot exactly that nice a guy.
But then again, they do say first impressions can be deceiving.
Because, despite everything, Malik is ultimately a fairly humble, honest man. Although he's perfectly capable of being immensely hateful, acerbic in his words and sharp in picking out some of the most acrid things to say, he only flares up like that when he has a reason to. (Like, when he lost his brother and arm because of Altair's actions.)
However, give him some time to calm down and think, and he's quick to pull his anger back and look at a situation from a less-biased light. Despite his initial loathing towards Altair, he made no attempt to deny that Altair had changed over time -- grown more humble, more caring of the people he hurt, more admitting of his own faults -- and quickly soothed his hatred. After all, Altair was no longer the arrogant, brash man that had caused the damage before -- there was no reason to continue maintaining his grudge when the person he'd hated no longer existed, right?
He's willing enough to forgive, given the chance, and equally willing to admit to his own faults. When Altair apologizes for the loss of his arm and his brother, he answers with little hesitation that some of the fault is his own -- that he had been jealous of Altair's status and skill, that he should not have been so grudging of Altair's attitude, that he should not have been so arrogant himself. Malik is proud of who he is -- he should be, as one of the higher representative of the Assassin Brotherhood -- but he's not foolish enough to think himself beyond fault. It wouldn't be right of him to think himself flawless, after all.
Especially when it turned out that the entire Assassin Brotherhood had been manipulated by its leader, Al-Mualim -- it must have been a hard blow, accepting that his former master had turned to hypnotizing the Assassins en masse. It was then that he admitted Altair had been right for quite some time -- strict adherence to the Creed alone was not the path to walk. He's made a bit of a turn-around since then. Less harsh about following the Creed's every word and more mindful of the Assassin Brotherhood's original maxim -- "nothing is true, everything is permitted." His concerns are now of making smaller sacrifices to ensure the peace of the masses -- the original goal of the Assassins. It might be a lofty goal, but he cares for peace and justice -- that's what Assassins do.
So what is he, ultimately?
Well, he's still a pretty ornery sort of guy. Not exactly sunny and cheerful, more the type to snark at you, especially if you aren't the pinnacle of perfection right off the bat. It's not that he's mean, or cruel, or a jerk (well, maybe just a little bit), but he's just a strict pragmatist. As one who manages lower-ranked Assassins and assesses whether they're ready for missions or not, his job is to analyze people from a strict light, not to think everything is swell. (One of his informants in Jerusalem begs Altair to finish a difficult task for him, looking terrified of the prospect of returning to Malik and admitting he failed. Probably a testament to Malik's unforgiving temper in the face of inadequacy.) Give him a flaw he can pick out, and he'll plate it up to wave under your nose, he's gotten too used to being critical of people for everyone's sakes.
(Not that he's completely humorless, though. He's quite good at picking out some of the most hideous, sarcastic comments to spit out at opportune moments. He does seem to have a sense of humor, albeit one as dry as the arid environment he's from.)
But win his admiration and he'll be equally quick to admit that, too. Because that's also his job, you see. Say the bad, but also say the good -- just say the truth. Even if he thought you were a bit of an idiot at first, he'll turn back on his words if you prove otherwise, and the appropriate amount of respect will follow afterward. It's not that he's arrogant, really -- arrogance is one of the personality traits he pointedly dislikes -- he's just honest in both dislikes and likes.
Essentially, he's what the dai of the Assassin Brotherhood (and later, right-hand man to the Grand Master) should be: critical and sharp, in enough control of his emotions to not make rash decisions, but human enough to show what he feels. Sure he might not be an cheerful fellow, but he was never trained for that. He cares for peace and justice, and for the sake of that, he'll be as ornery as necessary for his job.
Character Plans:
I mean come on, who can resist throwing an 12th century hashashin into a modern setting to watch the ensuing chaos? Malik is bound to be both boggled and fascinated by all the modern technology (steel beasts on wheels! strange talking boxes! doors that open by themselves!), which will be awfully fun to play with. Not to mention, the huge number of strange people (in strange clothes, with strange devices, speaking in strange lingo!) is also bound to make him stare forever. Just the usual hijinks of having some poor dude thrown in a completely strange environment, really.
And on top of that, there'll be his paranoia about Templars and the Piece of Eden to deal with. He's bound to think everything's some massive Templar plot, at first -- especially given the war between AGI and SERO. He's supposed to be a peacekeeper, after all, according to his duties as an Assassin -- he'll probably get dragged into that conflict sooner or later in some shape or form.
Appearance/PB:
Due to the difficulty of finding more than three different icons for him with game screenshots, I've gone with fanart icons for the sake of consistency. Gamewise, he looks a bit like [ this ] and [ this ]. Icon-wise, he looks like [ this ], which was the closest I thought I could get to a balance between accuracy and variety in expression.
Writing Samples
First Person Sample
VIDEO.
[ beep! the sound crackles with the hard click of the device bumping into something. the transmissions starts, but -- the screen shows very little. mostly just darkness, but in the corner there, you can just barely make out the rough texture of coarse cotton. shifting slightly. -- the device is in someone's pocket, being jostled around. it must have turned on when it collided with the edge of his sword sheathe. the shouting it picks up is slightly muffled: ]
-- tair!
[ it sounds angry, underlined by the thumping of quick footsteps. ]
Altair, if this is your doing -- [ a huffing, angry breath. ] -- if you thought it was your turn to toy with the Piece of Eden, I am not at all impressed!
[ clack clatter! as the device slips out of pocket to land on the pavement. it goes spinning across the ground, catching the blurred sight of a man walking angrily, then skidding to a halt -- his empty left sleeve flapping from the momentum as he stares at the device. he looks -- confused. perplexed. completely boggled.
for a long moment, he just stares, like that, before cautiously stepping forward to lean down and pick it up -- studying it from a few different angles, not aware that it's recording his every sound and movement. ]
Third Person Sample
Head hurts. Head hurts something awful. That's the first thing Malik's aware of, and he knows it shouldn't be. Or -- is this an effect of the Piece of Eden? He'd been resistant to Al-Mualim's hypnosis, but was he vulnerable, now? No -- that wouldn't do. He'd barely seen the Piece of Eden show -- some sort of glowing image in the air -- had only come jogging over to where Altair stood over the body of their former Master --
And then, suddenly, he'd felt himself falling -- from where, from what? -- and thumping to his knees, his one hand pressed against his temples as he tried to stop his vision from spinning. What on earth had just happened?
It's not until a good minute or so later that he managed to stagger up to his feet, casting a bleary glance around -- wherever this is. Some sort of field, surrounded by -- a net? A net made of steel? A glance down at the loose sand at his feet. He's standing on some sort of strange cloth pad. -- some sort of ritual ground? A glance back up, and a hard squint at the lights in the distance --
illuminating the people standing there.
It doesn't take him more than a second to realize that they're not wearing anything even close to the customary Assassin robes -- whoever they are, they're not residents of the fortress. Templars? More of them? Perhaps they were alerted by Al-Mualim's death? -- And they seem to be drawing closer. A step back to test that he's not going to topple over (he's not, luckily enough), before he turns and lunges over the strange wooden benches. Two or three paces, and he's got his fingers gripping at a handful of the strange metal netting -- what is this? -- and is taking a deep breath.
It's times like this that he really rues the loss of his left arm, because it's tough work, hauling himself up the fence with just one arm, jamming the tips of his shoes into the small gaps to keep his balance. Pressing close against the netting to keep himself from falling, he just barely makes it over the railing, dropping over the side and immediately sliding into a dark alleyway -- his pace quickening, as he stares out the other end of the alleyway and sees a completely alien landscape.
-- where is this?