Algol's Theme: Nikhil Banerjee - Bhimpalasi - Alap

Algol's Introduction Theme: Samurai Champloo OST - "The Stroll" by Force of Nature

Algol's Battle Theme: Samurai Champloo OST - "1st Samurai" by Nujabes¹⁾

Algol Marida is a NPC played by Ametheliana and made by Exhack and is currently involved in the Dream World plot.

Height: 5'10” (170 cm) Mass: 163 lbs (73 kg)

Build and Skin Color: Algol is an archetypal Sund Wakir, with a lean body that appears to be hardened by harsh conditions, but not especially bulky. His skin is a base olive, bronzed and burnt by the sun to a darker shade of brown and, slightly dry and rough from the harsh winds and sandstorms. His ankles and wrists are marked with bands of red, and his cheeks are crossed with wedges of the same color, marking him as a life-long member of a criminal organization.

Facial Features and Eye Color: Algol's face is slightly long, but robust and decidedly masculine. His face is neither blocky nor sharp, but his nose is slightly aquiline in shape, appearing to have been broken on a few occasions and crossed with a number of scars. His eyes are orange, and have a glow that is more pronounced than normal for his age, due to his prolonged exposure to the contaminants of the Expanse.

Hair Color and Style: Algol's hair is a straight, dark brown, but mangy and untamed to the point where it seems to naturally hold itself up. He tends to keep it sequestered by bandages or headwrappings, as it might otherwise impede his vision. His face is otherwise covered in a bit of stubble around the jaw and chin.

Distinguishing Features: Algol appears to be a baseline Iromakuanhe at a glance, but there are cues that give him away as someone who has undergone minor bioenhancement procedures. After an accident that nearly cost him his life, most of his internal organs and left arm were replaced with more advanced Homunculus-type symbiotes that are permanently bonded to his physique. This translates as improved stamina and endurance, and a greater tolerance to trauma, at the cost of needing to eat much more. His arm is decidedly less standard, being covered in a permanent armored claw-like weapon.

Through previous treatments, Algol once possessed a pair of modified eyes that could be used separately of one another and provided limited depth perception and night vision, but his right eye was lost in a recent duel and has not been treated through regenerative therapy to regain it. From these treatments, he also has a slightly improved musculature and agility, placing him around the abilities of top Iromakuanhe athlete.

Personality: Algol is quick-witted, willful and nearly fearless, but is also thick-headed, rude, lewd and arrogant. He is a person who acts entirely on instinct, living from one moment to the next through sheer luck, skill and willpower. For him, there is no deep thinking or meditation to be made, no deeper meanings to be taken from life. His interests are always of an earthly sort, such as feeding himself that day, finding a place to sleep out of the heat or the rain and occasionally finding someone to fill his bed.

Despite a preference for the richer things in life, his personality is hardly decadent or slovenly. Everything he has is taken, through his own power or through a bit of deceit and a lot of luck.

His character is rarely one of nobility, although he does show a preference for honorable combat against people that follow lives similar to his own, while using less respectable tactics if pressed into a tight spot and presented with the possibility of losing his life. The code of law means very little to him, and drawn out contracts are just annoyances that are meant to be ignored. He'll only rarely give any sign of loyalty, and even then, his adherence to a single group or employer is tenuous.

Likes: Food, money, sleeping, women, fighting, fresh air, his sitar. Dislikes: Annoying women, rules, orders, government, oppression, tight spaces, doing nothing. Goals: Keep living, keep fighting. Move the disparate bandit clans into space?

Algol was born in a mountain fortress along the eastern fringe of the Fingers of the Sky region, the only son of a powerful bandit lord who held sway over many of the western bandit clans that continued to exist into the later eras of the Commonwealth reign over the Iromakuanhe homeworld. Unlike many outlaws, Algol was lavished with gifts and treated as if he were one of the governors that were so despised by the outlaws and free-living people of the Expanse. His upbringing was not strict, but there were expectations for him to succeed as the new leader of the infamous Marida Clan.

He chafed under the gifts and , seeking to become more like the men that served his father, covered in scars and exotic tatoos and full of life in spite of how close they skirted death on many occasions. Although he received lessons in swordplay, music and the ways of a bandit, he did not feel as if these were serious lessons.

So, at the age of 13²⁾, with only a knife, three days of food and water and his old sitar strapped to his back, he ran away from home, heading towards the nearest city.

Kuyun, a famous spaceport and the sole settlement to be constructed at the base of an orbital elevator in the Expanse, was the place where the young 'bandit prince' arrived. Finding employment was difficult, especially for an unregistered youngster with no apparent skills or history. Algol had to eek out a living as a busker and moonlight as a cutpurse to survive, perhaps only prospering because of his choice location in the lawless sector of a seedy spaceport city. Eventually, the Eider Syndicate³⁾ took notice of his actions, and offered him 'membership' as an ultimatum for operating in their territory without a license. The young outlaw accepted, albeit grudgingly, with little to lose in doing so and much more in refusing. It wasn't as if this was 'falling into the wrong crowd' for him. He'd always been a criminal, even if it was by association.

Syndicate life was easier, but still presented all sorts of difficulties for him, as he payed more out of his earnings, but had a roof over his head for the first time in months, and received promises of a future with the organization if he proved himself. He kept up work as a street musician and performer by day, getting to know the people passing through the cities, and picking a bit on the culture of the land a bit himself, and carrying out tasks as requested by the Syndicate.

A few years went by, and Algol graduated from being a simple thief or a thug to a messenger, and occasionally enforcer for the Eider family, receiving the gift of expensive biomodifications. Even though he made a public game presenting himself as a loyal and valuable subordinate, he began to resent the Syndicates and their games, and felt homesick. He disliked the plays of pretended legitimacy the Syndicates put on, and felt that he should return home to live as he thought he was born to. An outlaw.

Again, in the deep of a night, he fled Kuyun, and returned to the mountain fortress of his childhood.

Welcomed back by his father and given the same luxuries as before, Algol immediately remembered why he had left the care of his father. The feeling died down when he was allowed to go on the long trips with the men and lead the attacks on the caravans of law-abiding Sund Wakir and pilgrims. Evidently, news of a young criminal with the strong features of the Marida Clan had spread even to the secluded mountain fortresses from the Syndicate houses, and Algol had built a reputation for himself. His father had also understood why his son had left, and acknowledged that his choice of rearing the young boy was not in line with what would be proper for a bandit.

Reconciled with his father, Algol was able to return home, this time living as he thought he was born to.

For many months, life was good. The caravans were frequent and laden with goods, and Commonwealth patrols were to a minim, allowing the Marida clan and their allies to swell in size and wealth. This success would be temporary, at best. The reality was that most of the items being stolen were tagged with transponders or isotope markers, enabling an Astral Vanguard SOF unit to make night raids on the mountain hideouts and fortresses of the disparate bandit clans. Over the course of a few days, many were killed or taken in by the Special Operations Forces, forcing the survivors to disperse. Algol himself only escaped from the slaughter because he was out in a raiding party, and returned to find his home in shambles.

Realizing that there was little left for him there, he set off to find some new purpose in his life.

Following the martial traditions of the Sund Wakir, Algol is well versed in all manner of bladed weapons, including knives, swords and hatchets. His skill with the sword is perhaps on par with those of the Temple Guard, but eschews the discipline and technique of more conventional swordfighting schools for a more instinctive 'natural style' that combines improvisational usage of the environment, acrobatics and an aggressive sword technique that uses the entire body. His emphasis is on wearing down a weaker or equally skilled enemy and finishing them off with minimal strikes, and falling back on a few trump cards against a stronger one.

On a lesser note, he is fairly able with pistols and rifles, having a preference for the former because they can be wielded with a blade. His marksmanship is not impressive, but around that of a trainee soldier.

Algol's physical abilities and athletic prowess are derived from his enhanced body and years of experience skulking around the craggy wastes and towering cities of Maekardan. He is a skilled Tower Diver, a GravElectric-enhanced analogue to free running or other 'acrobatic escape' sports, although his skills without a GE Lift harness are still excellent. Enhancements to his body mean that he is unusually tough and resilient, able to run or swim for days with only minimal subsistence. The main downside of this is that his calorific needs have increased in proportion to his performance.

Algol has spent much of his life in the desert, and has learned or otherwise adopted the skills that would allow someone to survive those hostile conditions. He knows how to obtain water sources and extend a limited supply for as long as possible, build or find shelter and hunt or trap typical desert fauna. His familiarity is largely with the environment of Maekardan, but many of those skills may apply to other worlds. He also learned how to fish during a trip to the coast with his bandit compatriots, but this skill has not seen much use recently.

With fast hands, quick wits and slippery morals, Algol is something of a consummate pickpocket and liar. He has a knack for grabbing things or hiding small objects on his person, and rarely exposes any wrongdoing on his part in his speaking or manner. He lacks knowledge of more complex skills such as cracking security systems or more advanced games of deception such as confidence games or gambits, but can recognize when these tricks are being played on him, to some extent.

Algol is a skilled player of the sitar, well enough to pass off as a busker and make a lean living as a street musician. He is also able to sing, although his style is more in the haunting wails and airy chants of Sund Wakir folk tunes and traditional Maekardan music. He is also something of a performer with the blade, often coupling his acrobatic skill and swordsmanship to put on displays to attract the audiences of the streets.

Algol is not a particularly good cook, nor pretends to be, but he has a decent knowledge of butchery and cooking over open flame. He also has plenty of practice sharpening knives and other bladed items, and has a few tricks for getting blood out of clothes and off of metal items.

Although a leader of men, Algol did not inherit the strategy or tactical wisdom of his bandit lord father. Instead, he leads from the front, riling up those behind him with battlecries and the example of his own steely will, and following his instincts in the field. His talents make him better suited as a lieutenant placed in the field than a commander.

• Sleeveless Short Tunic, White
• Short, Wide Trousers, Gray
• Banyan, Crimson w/ Gold Trim
  • Fancy Belt, Brown w/ Gold Trim
• Bandages
  • Handwrappings
  • Footwrappings
  • Impromptu Eyepatch
  • Impromptu Cover for Replacement Left Arm
  • Additional Bandages
• Sandals
• scarves
  • Headscarf/Bandanna, Faded Blue and Red
  • Long scarf

• Dust Cloak, Light Gray
• Headwrappings and scarf, Dark Gray

• 2 Pairs of Boxer Briefs?

• 2 Sund Wakir-style Gold Bangles, 18 Carat w/ Polished Lapis Lazuli
• 2 Sund Wakir-style Steel Rings, 18 Carat w/ Polished Lapis Lazuli
  • 1 Sund Wakir-style Platinum Ring, 16 Carat w/ Polished Sunstone
  • 1 Sund Wakir-style Treated Brass Ring, w/ Polished Ametrine
• 1 Prayer Necklace, Made from carved and illuminated Bistani Graimel teeth
• 1 Expanse Amber Necklace⁴⁾

• Bag of Hlaraian Pearls

• 1 Solanii Laiz Pistol
  • 4 Leyflar Supercapacitor
  • 1 Holster, Brown

• 1 Solanii Laiz Faelraig
  • 2 Spec2 Leyflar Supercapacitor
• 1 Agridinn Khanda⁵⁾
  • 1 Shealth, Brown
• 2 Agridinn Kard⁶⁾
  • 1 Double Sheath, Black

• 1 GE Tower Diving Harness

• Travel Bag

• Wallet, Brown
  • Stolen KD Cards, Hacked and Invalid
  • Stolen KD Card, Sharpened
  • Photo of Lorea Eider, Age 15
  • Photo of the Marida Clan by the Ocean, circa AR 934
  • Notes Hastily Scribbled Down

• Canteen (.6 Liters), Brown
• .6 Liters of Hlaraian Brandy

• Straight Razor
• Small Bottle of Perfume
• Breath Mints
• Needle
  • 30 feet of Gut-string

• Worn Sitar, Reddish Brown w/o Varnish
  • 7 Replacement Strings, Steel

• 13 KD?

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