[GRIM RENAISSANCE] NATHANIAL BIRCHFIELD

Titles and Alternate Names:
- ‘War Magister’.


Age:
- 18.


Nationality:
- United States, from an undisclosed Earth within his origin Grim Renaissance Realm.
- Ancestry has been tranced back all over that world. One-eighth of his genes bear Saudi Arabian markers, another eighth hailing from the Irish, with the remaining sixth-eighths being of ‘Alpine Celtic’ and other unknown Caucasian forbearers.


Appearance:
- Lightly-tanned skin. Hair is dark brown and shaggy; without proper grooming, it can change shape multiple times per day, and it can be anything from a small afro to a forward spike. Nathanial has no control over what fashion faux pas it wishes to assume. For this reason, he likes to keep it short and wavy, or at least he tries to.
- His eyes are primarily blue and green, with some yellow, red and brown subtly tinting them. Is about 5 feet, 9 inches and weighs about 150 pounds. He's well-toned, broad shouldered, equipped with big feet, and possesses huge dark rings under his eyes. Nathanial, despite being in shape in virtually every other part of his body, has a slight concentration of fat at his belly region. Other than his gigantic nose and ears, that’s really all there is in terms of physical features.
- His posture is straight and perfect when standing or walking, but normally hunched when sitting and having fun. It’s also worth noting that his feet bend out majorly to either side, making long distance running difficult.
- As for clothing, he is usually seen wearing a dark colored T-shirt with a pocket over where the heart is. Its sleeves go past the elbows. For leggings, Nathanial wears a pair of light or dark slacks. A brown pair of hiking boots finish off his usual 'outfit'.


Background:
- Though he enjoys talking about his past, he doesn’t enjoy people knowing it without being told. For this reason, he has personally asked Vidan not to record anything.


Personality:
- Greatly varies depending on who he is with. Around new people, Nathanial is polite and pleasant to be around, quickly matching his personality to whoever he is with. With friends, there isn’t anyone more honest, opinionated, and open – for better or for worse. His views on the notion of respect is that true respect means to be perfectly truthful and blunt among good friends, though he understands that not everybody will share this point of view.
- There are quite a few ‘ever-present consistencies’ with Nathanial’s demeanor, however. Nathanial can get randomly angry, depressed, antisocial or hyper almost without warning. He tends to assert self control over himself in such a situation, often successfully faking being in a normal emotional state, until he can rush out of social interactions to recover.


Grim Artist Class:
- Savant; much more powerful than a Dilettante. Can exhibit highly advanced Grim Techniques and has refined the basic and intermediate ones to the point where they can be used for more complex and potent moves, some of them experimental. Is outclassed by a Virtuoso Class Grim Artist and definitely no match for a Connoisseur Class Grim Artist.


Grim Art Type:
- Soul Art. His expenses jeopardize his mental/emotional self.


Grim Aesthetic/s:
- Nathanial is a Semi-Specialist with a focus on on five Aesthetics, namely Writing, Crafting, Painting, Gaming, and Decoration.


Grim Device/s:
- Anonymous Tablet-and-Headset Combo: Always found with a Writing Program opened, the tablet is Nathanial’s gateway to the most important aspect of his Art. In a creative move, he hooked up a headset to it, allowing him to Write via using Speech-To-Text Software, leaving his hands free.
- Model Case: Pre-built and Pre-Painted Figurines and/or Models are carried in here. All they’re missing is a jolt of energy and Prerogative to activate them.
- Richard’s Modeling Kit: A set of 8 Grim Paint Brushes of varying sizes. The larger ones make for quicker, albeit less precise, Painting strokes. The set also includes small pots of Elemental Paints in the fold-out case. Parts used for quick decorations and customizations are also in here. The set was passed down his father, an Artist with a similar modus operandi.
- Utility Knife: A short, sharp blade mounted on a pen-like aluminum body, used for Crafting. It can be found in the unnamed modeling case. Should the need arise, it’s blade and hilt can be resized to that of a sword or halberd, thus forming Nathanial’s primary melee weapon.


As an Artist:
- His love for Crafting Models is derived from being an obsessive person. Building a Model from start to finish, all while controlling every aspect of it in the process: such an Art is extremely gratifying to Nathanial. However, in contrast to his Writing, Nathanial handles Model-Making with an attitude of ‘what would be best’, rather than ‘what would I enjoy the most’.


As a Grim Artist:
- Nathanial prefers to make things personal if it can be avoided. It’s not uncommon for him to just park himself far away from the conflict and send out a constant stream of Models to do the dirty work. If there is any opportunity at all to attain a scenario where he won’t end up killing an opponent, he will take it every time. Maiming is also out of the question, which is why his Crafted Models' weapons are always blunt. However, if he or one of his close relationships are at risk of being seriously hurt, if he has spent too into of his Art Costs, then killing is not out of the question.
- Curiously enough, Music Aesthetics are extra effective on him. It doesn't matter if the effects inflicted on him are for better or for worse. Whether this is a latent Prerogative affinity on his part, or a vulnerability, is yet to be confirmed.


Art Costs:
- Nathanial’s cost is his inhibition. The more he uses his powers, the less restraint he has over himself in any given situation. This proves problematic, as just below his façade of normality, there is a whirling tide of emotions and feelings just waiting to assert themselves. In addition, loss of sleep and focus are common as well. Nathanial has honed his will power expertly, but it can only last so long against his brand of Art Expenses.


Favored Moves:
- Nathanial has yet to reveal many signature Techniques, but being a Savant, he does have a wonderful grasp of both basic and intermediate fundamentals, a few of which have been listed below.
- Nathanial is primarily (but not mainly) a Grim Writer. His Writing has two distinct styles. One is a ‘Free-floating’ view and the other is a ‘Focused’ view. Free-floating can be used to vaguely manipulate an entire encounter if needed, tipping the balance in one way or another and influencing actions with a little, subtle push. When focused, it hinges around defining what one senses and does. Though powerful, his ‘Focused’ Writing only affects one person, and it tends to take quite a bit of concentration to pull off, and furthermore, Nathanial must put himself in the target’s shoes for it to succeed. Subsequently, turning his ‘Focused’ Writing on himself is both easier and more effective.
- His mainstay ability, however, is a powerful Crafting-Decoration-Painting-Writing-Gaming Multi-Aesthetics Collaboration that is classified as Scarce in Renaissance Forgewater, with it being classified Unique to him when in his origin Renaissance Realm.
- Due to such a Technique being one of his more well-guarded secrets, it will be mentioned here, but its names, specific mechanics, and other classifications will be withheld. Only a vague procedure of steps will be divulged.
- Nathanial’s core Technique revolves around the deployment of Crafted Miniatures (not Sculpted) that range in size from a quarter-inch to a few feet in dimensions. They can range from Characters to Terrains, and the latter will receive a greater factor of growth in comparison to the latter. Once he has infused the miniatures with a right dose of Prerogative and energy (and Nathanial will normally paint them as part of their activation) they will grow to a size that’s been built into their settings, and they gain both mobility and semi-sentience.
- At first glance, this might seem like a Crafting Variant of the Renaissance Token Technique, but both Nathanial and analysts who’ve peered into this Technique have affirmed that it’s a lot more advanced, and magnitudes more complex and potent.
- Miniatures come in three varieties: plastic, pewter, and resin. Plastic Models are the weakest, but they are also the quickest to create and the easiest to customize. Pewter is the complete opposite, and Resin is the middle, albeit Resin Models showcase the greatest intelligence among the three.
- After a Miniature Model manufactured from any one of the three materials is selected, Nathanial may begin customizing it using a Crafts-Decoration Multi-Aesthetic Collaboration. Most of the parts that he adds are just for looks, but since style does count for quite a bit in the Grim Renaissance, the added details serve to further bolster his Model’s overall might, depending on the time and effort invested. Nathanial can tack on extra parts after Crafting them on the fly, or he can use pre-built parts.
- Once any finishing touches are done, Nathanial Primers his Models with an undisclosed chemical. This process is fast and improves all their attributes slightly. Once primed, Nathanial begins Painting. In this stage, most of the Model’s ablative defenses are prepared. The amount of time Nathanial can spare to Paint is a huge factor here. If enough coats of Paint are applied, his Models can be rendered virtually immune to Elemental Technique, though strong-enough attacks will start eroding his Paint.  
- The final phase is when Nathanial calls upon the Writing and the Gaming Aesthetics. Writing gives 'Purpose' to his creations. Gaming allows him to set 'Rules' for, or onto, his Models. Gaming also allows him to govern any interactions they may have.
- A Model Nathanial has deployed might have a gun, but it’s just a hunk of useless material until he gives it the ‘meaning’ and ‘identity’ of a gun, and then proceeds to ‘actualize’ it into a gun.
- Theoretically, with those five Aesthetics working together, any one of Nathanial’s Model can be tailored and enabled to do anything their Artist can think of. But as every Gamer worth his merit knows, the game must be balanced, and imbalances demand hefty prices. Also, the more of himself he puts into a single Model’s Rules and/or ‘Skill Points’, the less there is to place into any others.
- That being said, with Prerogative and Cost limits on Grim Artists being nonexistent outside the Renaissance, Nathanial could easily make the model of a mousetrap larger than multiple omniverses, or he can give a spider enough firepower to easily pound the strongest Cosmic Beings to oblivion.
- Note that many people mistake Nathanial as a being a Sculptor due to the initial step of his repertoire, that is, creating Models. That notion isn't totally correct, neither is it completely incorrect. Nathanial uses the Crafting Aesthetics to 'assemble individual components into a product with practical purposes' as opposed to a true Sculptor 'forming and shaping a material into an object of aesthetic value'. That’s not so say there aren’t similarities here and there. Many Grim Artists do believe that the line parting Nathanial from being a Sculptor is a thin one.

Grim Dictation
- [Writing, plus possible Prerogative and/or Inspiration Multi-Aesthetic Collaboration]
- A Technique that is mandatory for Grim Writers. It allows whatever a Grim Artist writes out to occur as recorded, with actual results depending/varying on the extent of one’s overall Skill and Prerogative.
- This Grim Aesthetic is most effective when used against non-Grim Combatants. It can be defined as above the epitome of beyond-omnipotence; such a term might seem like a logical fallacy, but it being nonsensical doesn’t hinder its transcendence. Many have tried or dismiss Grim Dictation as something that does not work on them, and each one has had their arrogance crushed by Grim Artist they had challenged. Conflicts have even been ended before they began, since some Grim Authors prefer writing in past tense. Against other Grim Artists, however, Dictation is a little more difficult to pull off as they are under the protection of their own Prerogative. There are also tons of Counter-Techniques that can defend against Writing Aesthetics. Instances exist where Legendary Class Artists have manipulated their colleagues with a single word, but this is the exception rather than the rule.
- Nathaniel is a blazingly-strong Writer when it comes to ‘action scenes’ and Characters. However, transforming physical objects and landscapes are not his forte. Whenever an object has no direct effect on or link with any people present, he has no say in its existence. If there is, say, a pen on the ground, he would have no Prerogative over it unless there was a perceptible way doing so would directly help or hamper a person involved in the current conflict.
- Still, even in those scenarios where he cannot transform an object in any way, he could still apply basic manipulations onto it. Going back to the example of the pen, he might be able to position it so that someone steps on it and trips, but he still cannot not transform it into a sword.
- Curiously enough, Nathanial has bad handwriting, which is probably why he has opted to Write using computerized means.  

Dictation over Feelings
- [Writing Aesthetics]
- A Common Technique. Writing inherently connects and influences the hearts of its readers. This Technique distills that aspect of Writing into a more specialized and focused effect, as opposed to the Writing Aesthetics more generalized and diffused methods of Reality Warping.
- Nathaniel can use derivative Techniques that range from 'Moment of joy' to 'Moment of despair'. However, this is almost purely a supplementary power for him, as it he can only use it when in a situation where such feelings can be reasonably be found or produced. For example, he couldn’t use 'Moment of Fear' when he’s broken and beaten on the ground to create terror in his foes if they no longer consider him a threat. Dictation over Feelings is, after all, a manipulative Technique, not a creative or destructive one; there are other Variants that handle those functions. However, if Nathanial uses 'Moment of Intensity' after he scores a good hit on his foe, the damage may be multiplied several times over.
- When empowered with a Technique-Aesthetic Concurrence with the Prerogative Aesthetics, this Technique becomes Dictator over Emotions, and can be more easily applied to others. This is particularly devastating against Soul Artists, since they rely heavily on the stability of their psyche to keep fighting.

Perspectives Interweaving of Sight
- [Writing, plus possible Prerogative Multi-Aesthetics Collaboration, plus one or more viewpoints or sense of sight Multi-Item Conjunction]
- Also called ‘Sight-Weave, Writing Variant’. An Uncommon Technique. The Perspective Mode Shift is capable of hijacking or gleaning what one or more entities or objects can see, and then interlacing and/or sharing them amongst all parties involved. One could gaze through the eyes of another Artist or Character, look through the lens of a Device belonging to an enemy or a bystander, and even force what one sees to override the sight of another.
- While not quite as all-encompassing as a Perspectives Interweaving of Minds Technique, being limited to the visual faculties, this Technique is undeniably versatile, whether used towards espionage or fights. If used for the former, the Perspectives Interweaving of Sight requires both precision and subtlety; sneaking into the sight of another requires less brute force from the user’s Prerogative, but if detected one’s grip would be loose enough to be expelled easily. If used for the latter, one must be aware of the many countermeasures to taking over someone’s vision; crafty Artists have been known to let opponents into their head, only to tag them with a Sealing Technique that leaves their body blind.
- Incidentally, coercing opponents to share the sight of blind Artists (or Artists currently looking at something harmful or hypnotizing) is a popular tactic. Once again, countermeasures are plenty. One might attempt to force an opponent’s sight to gaze into the Sun, only for that opponent to initiate a Technique that ‘anchors’ ill effects to the one perpetrating them, leaving the Technique user with a pair of burned retinas.
- Nathanial refers to this Techniques as ‘Head hopping’, and his Variant is classified as Rare due to what seems to be an anomalous, naturally-occurring Multi-Technique Concurrence with the Perspectives Interweaving of Minds Technique. That is, whenever Nathanial uses a Sight-Weave, Writing Variant, a percentage of a Mind-Weave, Writing Variant is invoked at no extra Art Costs charge. However, if the consciousnesses of all Artists involved have been extracted from their bodies and placed elsewhere, then their bodies undergo a curious sort of ‘Stasis Phase’ where they utterly cease to interact with their surroundings. This denies Nathanial’s allies from making sort work of what would otherwise have been helpless prey, provided there aren’t any Combat Aesthetic Muscle Memory Techniques in play, because the bodies of certain Martial Artists have been known to continue fighting on reaction to stimulus alone, even when beheaded. However, it does grant his team mates and/or Summoned Models an extreme tactical advantage. When the disembodied minds eventually return to their rightful shells, there might be a Grand Array set up around their bodies, ready to unload its effects once they return to normal.
- Nathanial’s Variant, in his opinion, represents a ‘story scene’ that’s held on pause for dramatic tension while different scene is resolved. Nathaniel also needs a ‘windup time’ for his ‘Head Hopping’ that equals the duration he wants to spend in other bodies.

‘Turn About’
- [Writing, plus Unknown Multi-Aesthetic Collaboration, plus possible Past Tense Writing and Unknown Techniques Multi-Technique Concurrence]
- Possibly a Very Rare Technique. True name is hidden.
- This is Nathaniel’s single most powerful writing Technique. It manipulates both Time and Space to rewrite its user’s ‘history’, and in that regard it is akin to a Grim Artist Writing in Past Tense Writing to cause effects as if they had already happened, as opposed to Present Tense causing effects to happen as current events, and Future Tense attempting them make them happen as an inevitability. However, the reach of Nathanial’s ‘Turn About’ is beyond most ordinary Past Tense Writing Techniques. ‘Turn About’ has more of a dedication and connection to the ‘before’ than Past Tense Writing, the which does have some of its function aimed towards the ‘now’.
- Nathanial often uses this Technique as a sort of Deus-ex-Machina substitute. Deus-ex-Machina Techniques are of the highest taboo in the Grim Renaissance, and while ‘Turn About’ skirts that level of forbidden Space-Time tampering, part of its makeup is to avoid causing any Cosmic Paradoxes or Cosmic Imbalances. Part of why ‘Turn About’ is not as ‘violating’ and ‘corrupting’ to a Renaissance Realm’s Fabric of Reality is that Nathanial doesn’t establish drastic changes with it. ‘Turn About’ is often activated to fetch Nathanial a Model, Device, or Product that would have turned the tide in a current duel if only he had it with him when it commenced.
- Note that the rules of the Realm concerning the breaking of the Space-Time Continuum apply. This Technique will only work within a Renaissance Realm where one can breach Space-Time; in Realms whose Cosmic Laws are enforced by an organization, or where the Fabric of Reality has been hardened to prevent being warped, Dimensional Travel and Time Travel is simply not an option.

Character Creation, Writing Variant
- [Writing-Inspiration Multi-Aesthetic Collaboration]
- A slightly Uncommon Technique. Not to be confused with Character Development, where an Artist further refines a pre-existing creation. This Technique creates a new Character for its Author to use.
- Nathanial's Variant of this Technique is Uncommon. Some Artists don’t invest themselves as heavily into their Characters, and such Characters are prone to being ‘dissolved’ into oblivion once their Grim Author decided to abandon them. On the other hand, many other Artists like Nathanial wish to hold on to their creations for far longer.
- In Nathanial’s case, it’s unlikely that he fully fleshes out a Character from the get-go. Instead, they become more complex over time, even without him relying upon Character Development. The longer a particular Character survives in his Canon the more powerful and realistic they get, self-sustaining and self-refining themselves.
- The development of his Characters during their Summoning is also cumulative. If Nathanial creates a brand new ‘warrior’ Character that he wishes to keep around, he can call upon that same Character during a later duel with all its advancements, experiences, and traits intact.
- However, should a Character be struck down and/or erased while it has been Summoned, Nathanial’s mind will lose virtually all data on it, making its resurrection difficult, and this dilemma is in and of itself classified as an Uncommon occurrence. This is circumvented by him keeping a record of his Characters elsewhere, perhaps as a physical copy in a book, or as a digital copy in his Tablet Device; if Nathanial loses a Character that he really doesn’t want lost, he can continue work from its most recent iteration.

Forced Duel, Writing Variant
[Writing-Prerogative, plus multiple participants Aesthetics-Items Collaboration]
- A Rare Technique. Upon successful application and activation, this Technique forces two or more Grim Artists to fight. This is mostly used for a 'mutually assured destruction' scenario, or when one Artist has an overwhelming advantage in order to prevent an opponent’s escape. Virtually any targets can be designated to fight, depending on the Prerogative and skill of the user. Artists can be made to fight other Artists and/or Characters. Rare Variants of this Technique can even use Mirror Products to get Artists fighting a simulacrum of themselves.
- Nathanial has a Rare Variant of this Technique that revolves around the concept of gambling, possibly through a naturally-occurring, partial Technique-Aesthetic Concurrence with Gaming. Whenever he successfully tags one or more targets with a Forced Duel, Writing Variant, he must place a bet on who or what he thinks will win. If he calls it right, the Technique Cost is paid by an enemy. If he calls it wrong, then he pays double the Art Costs.
- The Gaming equivalent of this Technique is called Versus Mode, but duels induced are not set by Writing per se. They continue until Gaming 'Mission Objectives' or 'Victory Conditions' are met.
- The Forced Duel, Writing Variant does share a rich collection of dueling variations with Versus Mode. For example, Deathmatches end only when all but one of the participants have been eliminated. Sudden Death duels end the moment someone lands a hit or scores the first point.
- Both Writing and Gaming can choose from a myriad of rules, prerequisites, and scenarios that must be obeyed, ranging from Quests-Oriented mechanics to Teamwork-Oriented mechanics.
- Once entangled in a Forced Duel, Writing Variant, its effects much harder to defy or shrug off than ordinary Writing Techniques. The best way to deal with Forced Duels is not get caught in its effects to begin with; overruling it with sheer Prerogative is possible, but nowhere near cost effective.
- Still, while the effects of this Technique are potent, the trouble is getting them to apply. Many Artists have defenses that negate Prerogative-based Techniques. Nathanial does apply this Technique via Writing, but that too presents a whole world of difficulty.
- Versus Mode and Forced Duels can be Concurred to form an even more potent Technique that goes by many names, one of which is ‘Ultimate Showdown’.

Game Mode: Best of Three
[Gaming, plus possible Prerogative Multi-Aesthetic Collaboration, plus possible multiple participants Multi-Item Conjunction]
- A highly Uncommon Technique. Creates a record of the participants at any point of a contest, preferably the start of it, and remains dormant until the conclusion of said contest, whereupon it returns everyone and everything under the Techniques effect to the recorded state. This procedure counts on someone winning two out of three total arounds, an so will potentially be repeated once more if the second round concludes in the favor of the loser of the first. Otherwise, for this specific Game Mode Technique, there will be no more ‘resets’.
- Most Gamers need the consent of the other competitors to apply this Game Mode. Sometimes, its effects can be put to a majority vote.
- This is not the power of infinite retries, although theoretically, in Game Modes where ‘Additional Lives’ may be picked up, or where Artists can put forth their Art Costs to grant them ‘Additional Credits’ for extra game time, some contestants could gain more chances at victory than their competitors.
- Accustomed to Fighter-Genre Video Games, this is Nathanial’s favorite back up plan., but it can only be triggered once per encounter in his case.
- Nathanial also doesn’t opt for more prolonged Variants of this Technique, such as Game Mode: Best of Five, or Game Mode: Best of Seven. The one thing that it doesn’t alleviate is the Art Expenses for using it, which thankfully for his Variant are only applied after all rounds have ended.

Third-Person View, Gaming Variant
[Gaming Aesthetics, plus possible multiple participants Multi-Item Conjunction]
- A Common Technique. Disembodies the overall consciousness of one or more targets, allowing them to view and control their body from outside of it.
- For Nathanial, this Technique is used more like an Illusion-Type ability, one that grants him an extra level of reconnaissance, since he can observe any angle of his person at leisure, with little to no delay between him issuing a command for his body to follow. Inversely, Artists unfamiliar with controlling the movement and angle of perspective of their disembodied senses could find themselves ghosting straight through the ground, leaving behind an embarrassing mess of flailing limbs and aimless Techniques.


Trivia:
- Fears dogs, bees and cats.
- Best of friends with wasps, to the absolute horror of his colleagues.
- Enjoys listening to other people’s problems and offering aid, though he expects the same.
- Is a compulsive liar, but he channels it into sarcasm instead because he hates lying.
- Likes bad puns and immature humor.
- Plays a lot of games.
- Often ponders hypothetical scenarios, from something as mundane as getting into a fist fight on a bus, to what if aliens suddenly invaded. Likes walking and daydreaming while doing so.
- Often stares out at a random point in space while thinking deeply. Produces hilarity when this point happens to be a person.
- Has almost no ability to keep track of time.
- Values his friends greatly.
- Eats too much and is only saved from an excess of fat by his great metabolism. The greaser and cheesier the better. Hold the veggies.
- Doesn’t yell, and never really cares enough to. The rare times he does care enough to be spiteful, Nathanial will think something injurious and savage to say, which still produced no yelling.
- May or may not think Tina is cute.





GRIM RENAISSANCE ARCHIVE:

(List of links to be rebuilt)

THE DEVIANT FEATURED IN THIS ROSTER IS:
- Edits have been made to the original draft in order to fit into the setting, and/or for reading purposes.