Alistair Pickrell

Alistair Pickrell (ピケッルアリステア, Pikerru Arisutea) is an Independent Mage and who has wandered Earth Land for many years. He has no known affiliations, having never claimed to be apart of a guild. He enjoys wandering to many lands and gathering information about their people, culture, and respective magics. His travels have left him with a bountiful wealth of wisdom making him a treasure trove of knowledge. While his own country of origin is not exactly certain, he did hold a temporary residency in Fiore for awhile in order to train his disciple, Jiyūjin Shinkirō. According to himself, he is not from Fiore or the surrounding continent, shrouding his roots even more. Once Jiyūjin's training was complete, or at least to the point where he could fend for himself, Alistair resumed his travels around the world and left the country behind. As he is almost always on the move without an intended destination, his whereabouts remain obscured.

Equipment
Magic Cloak: Alistair's magic cloak is a clothing item that he obtained on his own while traveling in a faraway land. The origins of the cloak is as enigmatic as the individual wearing it. Unlike Alistair's staff, which isn't exactly remarkable, his cloak appears to be rather unusual as it features its own magical properties. The cloak is nothing short of a sentient being as it has been shown to behave on its own. The cloak's sole ability is to increase is length and thickness. Therefore, the cloak acts as Alistair's armor as it is able to distract damage from external magical energy from its wearer. The cloak also appears to be made of a fabric that is resistant to metal, making bladed weapon slightly less effective in cutting it. The cloak can wrap itself around Alistair and protect him when absolutely needed although its main function is to simply serve as his static armor. The cloak clearly has a mind of its own as it will react to certain situations with gestures from its sleeves.

Magic Staff: The only weapon that Alistair is known to use or own. A magic staff is not only an item, but a type of Holder Magic as well. Thus, through his own personal staff, Alistair is able to access another set of spells that he would not normally be able to use without it as Holder Magic requires interaction with a source outside that of its user. Alistair has owned his magic staff since his late teenage years. Similar to how he gave Jiyūjin his sword at the completion of his training, Jinsei bestowed to Alistair his own magic staff when he recognized his student as a full-fledged mage - a tradition commonly practiced in their master/apprentice chain. Alistair carries his staff with him at all times while traveling and it can be seen equipped to his back. The staff itself has no notable qualities that make it unique; its sole purpose is to serve as a channel that Alistair can transmit his magical power through. While he isn't the one to engage in melee combat, Alistair can also use the staff to fight against opponents while at a close-range.

Natural Abilities
Genius Intellect: A well-traveled man, Alistair has been to many places and has also delved into many different fields of study. As he values education greatly, Alistair makes sure to harvest whatever information he is able to gain and store within his brain so that he may access it again. Alistair loves to keep his intake of new information in abundance and will spend many hours studying just for fun. His intellect is field by his willingness to learn and his curiosity for the mechanics of the world around him. Naturally, as he is a traveler, it is necessary for him to gather information and thus learn. As he has been traveling and learning at such an excessive rate since a young age, Alistair's high intelligence has been in development over the course of many decades. While it is impossible to know absolutely everything, and Alistair will proudly admit that with a thrill, it is indeed possible to know a lot and Alistair is living proof of that. In terms of academics, Alistair is fairly skilled in mathematics and science. His magical IQ is also astoundingly high as he possesses well attuned knowledge of both the fundamentals as well as advanced levels of magic.

Alistair loves to express his intelligence, his usage of a colorful vocabulary allowing him to vividly describe how he feels and express his thoughts on a particular matter. He also likes to exercise his brain - crosswords as well as seek and finds being his hobbies. As shown with his usage of Riddle Magic, Alistair likes to compare his own level of intelligence with that of others. In battle, Alistair's intelligence is his greatest asset. He does not rely on brute strength or skill alone to see his way through. He instead prefers to analyze his situation and generate methods to turn the tables in his favor.

Expert Tactician: Having no need to rely strictly on strength or spell, Alistair has a need to attach all of his actions while in combat with a strategy - especially when is against opponents who he deems as simple minded. As he is not as gifted when it comes to physical power, Alistair has to compensate by utilizing his creative edge in fights. In conjunction with a thorough analysis of his opponent, their surroundings, and the present circumstances; Alistair is usually able to whip up a plan on the fly to overcome an obstacle. As a smart man learns best through trial and error, a failing strategy will aid Alistair in making up a successful one as he can reevaluate his previous plan and work out the kinks. Likewise, most of Alistair's strategies focus on deception. He enjoys fooling his opponent's perception in order to create openings for attack.


 * Extraordinarily Cunning: Deception is Alistair's niche; therefore, he needs to be cunning so he can fool his opponents. Alistair is able to fool individuals who are just as keen as he is through his elusiveness and cryptic behavior. His diction purposely consists of words which are not used in common vernacular. A secretive man, he attempts to code his true intentions within his speech. While one may be able to decipher Alistair, it will usually take someone who is of the same level of intelligence or higher. Also, those who are trained to spot deceptiveness such as experienced interrogators may be able to see through his fabrications as well. However, the common citizen is highly susceptible to being fooled by Alistair. He could very well use his underhanded ways for criminal activities such as theft but chooses not to because of his morality.

Great Adaptability: Able to come up with a variety of complex solutions on the dime, Alistar is also able to adjust very quickly to sudden changes in circumstance. While the adjustment may not necessarily be the easiest and definitely not the most convenient, Alistair can put his analytical ability to use and strategize his way out of a bind. This does not only pertain to combat. Alistair must periodically settle into a multitude of cultures. In certain countries where customs are profoundly different than what he is used to, Alistair will have to quickly collect the necessary information before conforming. This is to make his stay more pleasurable rather than him surrendering his identity.

Magical Abilities
Immense Magical Energy: As a master magician, Alistair must have a substantial amount of magical energy to fully release his potential and alternate between his varying categories of magic. His level of magical energy transcends that of the average mage and puts him on par with those who are legendary in status. Alistair states that he has withheld an abnormally high pool of magical energy for quite some time. His own master verified upon their initial encounter that his pool of magical energy was already large enough for him to one day become powerful if he had the will to master controlling it. Alistair confirms that it took quite awhile to attain proper flow of his magical energy. Being a young boy when he first began training, he had yet to possess the proper knowledge of how to maintain his energy. It took years of hard training for Alistair to gain full control over his magical energy. He claims that he was around the age of nineteen before he could finally call forth his energy without any rebuttal. Presently, he is able to release his magical energy to the edges of his limitations. He can consecutively use lower ranking spells without tiring while higher ranking spells don't take as much of a toll on him as they would on a mage with lesser skill.

Transformation: As opposed to using the much more advanced Take Over, Alistair chooses the simple transformation that acts as its precursor. Favoring trickery over brute force, Alistair has little to no need to use the body of another being in combat. Alistair feels completely comfortable in using transformation - his skill in the spell being at the upper echelon due to his overall mastery of magic in general. According to Alistair, transformation was the first style of magic he learned and mastered. Through using transformation, Alistair was able to learn how to properly distribute his magical energy throughout his body and manipulate it. With each level of transformation requiring a different degree magical energy, Alistair had to frequently switch the amount he used for each different transformation. While it was extremely easy for him to change his appearance into that of another entity, Alistair had much difficulty in changing other characteristics such as his clothing and voice - the intermediate level of transformation being a necessity for proper disguise.

Mastering transformation was a major milestone for Alistair as a mage. After achieving advanced transformation, he was able to completely shift his own characteristics into that of another. Transformation is his most often executed method for deceiving his enemies. Taking heed to his surroundings, especially before initiating combat, Alistair may transform himself into a fitting object to camouflage. An example would be changing his form into a boulder when near the edge of a rocky cliff while the adversary is below. Pertaining to this example, the opponent would ideally be walking underneath Alistair. When the opponent is close enough to his perch, Alistair will then propel himself off the cliff and onto his opponent in a preemptive strike. Another example of this camouflage transformation strategy would be taking the shape of vines while in a forest and strangling foes as they walk under him. Alistair also uses transformation when gathering information - accessing his most common form of a hawk to spy on opponents from the air above.

Riddle Magic: Alistair's signature magic. The role of Riddle Magic spells in his arsenal is to act as traps, the majority of their effects being to slow down enemies. Alistair will use place riddles when trying to escape. As it may take time for enemies to figure them out, and even longer for them to recover if they get the riddles wrong, Alistair can create a window for him to mount an escape. Alistair will also use Riddle Magic to surround himself if he finds escape to be impossible, conjuring up riddles around his perimeter to slow down the enemy and give himself ample time to recover.

Sealing Magic: Allows for the user to constrict their target, whether they be person or object, via enchantments. Examples of Sealing Magic include disabling an opponent's spell for a short period of time. Alistair executes Sealing Magic straight forward. He normally uses it as a means of disallowing others to access certain locations. For example, somewhere he has a house where he keeps his mountains of books, scrolls, and other treasures. Securing Alistair's home is not only a lock on the front door, but a series of magical seals placed all across the home's exterior. These seals will prevent anyone from entering the dwelling by simply breaking in or picking the lock. Seals can also be planted with traps that will trigger only if the seal is tampered with or successfully removed. Some seals are designed to last until they are removed while others vanish automatically after a short amount of time has passed; the latter being the easier to conjure as they require lesser doses of magical energy.

Illusion Magic: As a man of deception and craft, Alistair employs illusions to toy with his opponents. Such magic requires a great level of skill in a mage to be executed without error. Illusion Magic is broad, as is many of Alistair's magics, in that there are several sub-categories which a spell can fall under. Illusion Magic also allows its user to exercise their creativity alongside their ruthlessness. The effect of Illusion Magic is that it disrupts the senses of the target and alters their perception in doing so. The user is able to then create false images to be projected into the mind of their respective target. These illusions can play on any of the five senses and possibly even more than one at a time. Illusions can be used to disguise the scent of poisons, the sound of the user's footsteps, and even the pain of a mortal injury. Illusion Magic is Alistair's favorite style of magic as it allows him utmost creativity and to be freely deceptive as that is the magic's purpose. Alistair's mastery over Illusion Magic is astounding as he has formulated spells capable of fooling each sense. His favorite spells trick sight as that is what most people tend to rely on the most.


 * Thought Projection: Alistair does not prefer to use this style of magic often in combat but has found several uses for it outside of combat, namely for the purpose of communication. Thought Projection allows its caster to create a copy of themselves which can travel a considerable amount of distance away from its source body. As it is entirely plausible for a copy to transmit information to its source body, Alistair has utilized Thought Projection to scout and relay messages to his allies. When he feels that it isn't safe for him to venture directly into a particular area, Alistair will conjure up a Thought Projection and have it due the necessary investigation in his place. Pertaining to the capability of a projection to travel rather far away from its creator, Alistair has also sent his projections to pay visits to Jiyūjin during their time apart.


 * Thought Projection, although not likely to be utilized by Alistair in this scenario, can also play a good role in battle. The most effective strategy is to have the copy act as a doppelganger of the user. Alistair does not like to create a copy during battle as using the spell requires the user to allocate their magical power into that of copy's in order for it to be sustained. This would restrict Alistair's ability to cast magic on his own while extending his range. Copies created through Thought Projection are able to interact with physical objects and are thus capable of fighting against a flesh and blood opponent to a degree. However, as is the case with their creator, the copy's own strength is only half of the original. Alistair would much rather use his pool of magical energy conservatively than divide it from his sole control. He has still managed to use Thought Projection to enact wonderfully crafted trickery against opponents, however.

Barrier Magic: A style of caster magic that permits its user to conjure their magical energy in the form of shields that are to be used as a means of defense against incoming attacks. The creation of barriers with this magic requires the user to flow their energy through their hands. Using the magical force that subsequently emits, the user can shape their magical energy into barriers which can vary wildly in shape, size, and coloration. The guidelines on the barriers that can be created aren't exactly defined as many different combinations are possible - the user's imagination being the only limiting factor. Alistair, who is certainly imaginative with his adoration of tricking people to death, has little to no trouble in thinking of a suitable barrier.

Energy Magic: The primary offensive magic used by Alistair. Energy Magic allows its user to expel raw magical energy from their bodies. Similar to Barrier Magic, the possibilities with Energy Magic are diverse. As the energy released from the body is raw, it can be wielded by its user in a number of different forms - a simple blast being the default choice by many mages who use this magic as it is both quick and easy to unleash. Alistair uses Energy Magic because of the sheer amount of freedom it gives him in combat. It is easy for him to exert, amplify, and sculpt his raw energy than it is for him to use elemental magic. While he does resolve to using flashy energy blasts and beams, Alistair also has supplementary spells that are composed of only raw energy and uses them more.

Summoning Magic: A brand of magic that allows its user to summon objects out of thin air. Bonding the summoner and the object together magically is a seal that triggers the transportation of the object after the appropriate incantation or procedure is conducted. Alistair's usage of Summoning Magic is strictly supplementary as nothing he summons has any offensive capabilities. As he owns nearly hundreds of books and scrolls, all of which he doesn't even keep in the same location, Alistair needs his Summoning Magic to access items he cannot carry on his person while traveling.

Trivia

 * Alistair's physical likeness is derived from Abel Nightroad of Trinity Blood.
 * Alistair's magic cloak was loosely inspired by the brooms in Fantasia.