Ataraxion App
Jun. 12th, 2012 02:54 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
doesntdohumblePLAYER INFORMATION
Your Name: Teresa
OOC Journal: n/a
Under 18? If yes, what is your age?: Nope, have been over 18 since 2006
Email + IM: EMAIL:
Characters Played at Ataraxion: Captain Jack Harkness (capt_greatcoat), Dee Laytner (tryingtoholdback)
CHARACTER INFORMATION
Name: Eric Northman
Canon: True Blood
Original or Alternate Universe: Original
Canon Point: post S3, pre S4
Number: 099
Setting:
True Blood Wiki
History:
Eric was born circa the year 900 somewhere around the North Sea, as he claims that he used to play in it as a child. His family was Viking, his father a Viking chieftain and Eric himself next in line for the succession. His parents wished that he would settle down and start thinking like a chieftain, find a wife and settle down but he likes to lead a more promiscuous life, presumably sleeping with any pretty girl that carries a fancy to him, and given that he's built like a 6'4" Viking god, presumably sleeping around came pretty easily for him.
One fateful day, however, while Eric is having his way with one of the servant girls, a pack of werewolves invades his family's dwelling and attack his family, killing his mother, father, and infant sister. He discovers them to be werewolves once he kills one of the wolves and it transforms back into a normal man. From that day forward, Eric carries a resentment towards werewolves with him that goes beyond just the average vampire disdain for the creatures. One of the wolves takes his father's crown and gives it to a man in a cloak who's standing just in the doorway of their home. Before Eric's father dies in his arms, he pronounces him chieftain himself and makes him promise to live on and avenge his family's deaths. That too is a promise that Eric carries with him always, even after he's made vampire and has lived for over a millenium as one.
As king, Eric is presumably a good one, his men loyal to the last breath. Sometime later after being declared king, he is mortally wounded after a battle that he has led, and his men decide against his will that they will stay with him until his time comes. As he lays dying, they tell him stories of how there will be women waiting to greet him in Valhalla, indicating that his love for women continued even after the tragedy that was the murder of his entire family. Sometime during the night there, however, all of the men that stayed with him as companions are murdered by some unknown and unseen being, before a young, tattooed teen emerges from the shadows and introduces himself to Eric as "Death". This teen isn't in fact "Death", but Godric, a vampire that by that time is already over a thousand year old himself. Godric remarks that he has seen Eric's strength and courage on the battlefield, and offers him a choice. To die there a hero from the battlefield, or to gain immortality as a vampire - to offer him "Life". Eric, with a lust for life and possibly fearing the next big step, takes Godric up on his offer and becomes Godric's vampire progeny, living and traveling with him for the next thousand years or so. At some point during the Elizabethan era, Godric turns another vampire, Nora Gainesborough, who is Eric's vampire "sister", however the pair of them seem to share quite an involved sex life. Nora's role in his life beyond that is so far unclear, but she is a ruling member on the vampire Authority who watches out for Eric from there.
In 1945, during World War II Godric and Eric pose as Nazi Schutzstaffel officers and track down a werewolf to a house in Augsburg, Germany. The wolf attacks and kills a fatefully caring American soldier before turning on Eric and Godric - luckily, Godric is fast and he pins her to the wall, so that the pair of them may interrogate her. Eric demands to know who her master is, but the werewolf agrees to say only if she can have some of Eric's blood in return - vampire is like a drug when consumed by humans and shifters, as will be noted later. Godric takes offense at the very notion of sharing something as sacred as vampire blood with her, but Eric, desperate for his answers, give in anyway. She reveals her master is a vampire, and as the pair of them are reeling, takes advantage of that and nearly kills Eric. Luckily once again Godric is fast and kills her. Godric then lectures Eric on controlling his emotions, and that a vampire must not show their true feelings as he has done just then, before the pair of them part ways for a good many years. This is where there is a discrepancy in timing, however, as it is remarked otherwise that Eric and Godric had parted for over 100 years before the pair of them see each other again, even though there is clearly the flashback between the pair of them dated to 1945.
Sometime around the year 1905, Eric created a progeny of his own, named Pam. Pam is incredibly loyal to him, if not exactly the most obedient to others. So far on the show we have not seen her creation as a vampire, although the first time they meet Eric saves her from being attacked on the streets by another vampire. He admires the way that she is not afraid of him even though he killed in front of her, and then compliments the dress she's wearing, before disappearing off into the night. He later goes to visit her at the brothel that she owns, and the pair of them sleep together. Pam tries to convince him to turn her, and when he refuses she slits her wrists and gives him the choice - let her die or turn her. So turn her he does. Sometime after his split with Godric and before Bill returns to Louisiana, the Queen Sophie-Anne makes Eric the Sheriff of Area 5 in Louisiana, because of his age as well as his ruthlessness. On top of that, once vampires have revealed themselves to the public in general after the creation of True Blood as an acceptable blood substitute in vampire diet, he opens a vampire bar in Shreveport called Fangtasia (though it is as much a vampire bar as it is a bar for humans, especially tourists, to come and 'live dangerously' for a night). Pam is both his second in command in Area 5 as well as for the bar, and he frequently takes advantage of the fact that he has her around to do his business when he is unavailable, much to Pam's dismay.
Eric is first introduced into the series at the visit of Sookie and Bill to his bar, where he becomes aware that Sookie has the ability to read minds. This intrigues him, so he calls her back later, wanting her to use her powers to help search out who in their business was stealing money. After questioning their human employee, Ginger, they find out that it is the vampire and bartender Longshadow who has done the deed. Longshadow attempts to kill Sookie for turning him over to the pair of them, and so Bill steps forward and stakes him instead. Eric is not pleased with this - he knows that what Bill has done goes against vampire law, killing vampire for his human companion, but he as Bill's Sheriff, allows it anyway. Eric and Bill are then called to the Tribunal to go before the Magister and defend themselves. Bill is of course found guilty of his crime, and sentenced to the choice of either being chained in silver for five years or to turn a human to replace the killing of a vampire.
Bill of course chooses to turn a vampire, although he despises the very idea of creating someone. This is relevant to Eric because not long after Bill has created his progeny, Jessica, he takes her to Eric with the complaint that he is unable to discipline or teach her the ways of being a vampire. After a conversation between the pair of them, Eric finally agrees to take Jessica on as long as Bill understands that he will owe him a favor. Of course, not so long after that, Eric too grows tired of such a young and enthusiastic/untrained vampire, and he takes her back to Bill. He offers to take Sookie off of Bill's hands to lighten his load, however Bill refuses once more. Sookie obviously intrigues Eric, and he wants to know more about why he is so drawn to her.
As part of his job as Sheriff Eric takes it upon himself to discipline those that are selling "V" out on the streets - as Godric has taught him, the vampire blood is sacred, and those who are supplying it and selling it both should be justly punished. Punishment according to vampire law as opposed to human law is a bit different, however, with Eric doing the torture and punishment himself. Sookie discovers that Eric has been keeping her friend Lafayette prisoner because he was found to be a dealer, and demands that he set him free. Eric agrees only on the condition that she does something for him in return for Lafayette's freedom - help him investigate the disappearance of Godric, who he eventually admits to her is his maker.
Eric believes that Godric has been kidnapped and therefore travels with Sookie to Texas tp save him from the church of the Fellowship of the Sun, where it has been planned that he will 'meet the sun' - literally, stand out in the sun and therefore burn to death. What Eric does not anticipate, however, is the fact that Godric offered himself willingly to them for this, hoping to smooth the relationship with humans and vampires. He carries around with him much remorse for everything he has said and done, everything that he is. And Eric doesn't understand him. Once Eric 'saves' him and Sookie from the church, they go back to Godric's nest in Dallas, but Godric refuses his offer to find a donor for him. Eric grows more and more concerned throughout the time spent there that Godric is not the vampire he once was. A bomb from the Fellowship goes off in the middle of one of their vampire gatherings, and Eric protects Sookie from the shards of it. He convinces her that he's been hurt and if she doesn't get the shards out he'll die, so she sucks the shards out of his shoulder, in doing so ingesting some of his blood. Now Eric has a blood bond with Sookie as well, so he can be aware of her emotions and her location at all times.
Godric is eventually relieved of his position as Sheriff after it's found out that he willingly gave himself over to the Fellowship, and he just accepts this fact without argument. He reveals that he is still planning on meeting the sun, with or without the Fellowship's help, and Eric doesn't understand. Godric is his maker, he has been with him for 900 years, and the bond between the pair of them is a powerful one. Eric tries to convince Godric out of it, begs him and threatens him and cries at him - a rare display of emotion for him - but Godric will not sway. Eric offers to die with Godric as well, but Godric as his maker commands him to live. And as the sun rises, Eric must leave him on the roof and go back out of the sun, asking Sookie to stay with Godric when he dies, which she agrees to and does.
The rest of the cast is concerned with the threat of a Maenid for the rest of the season, a creature that has already scratched Sookie, requiring the healing expertise of Dr. Ludwig, a magical/supernatural doctor that Eric calls in to cure her. Eric remains out of much of the action and obviously not all that concerned about it, save for when Sookie comes to him looking for answers. Only then does he finally step forward and volunteer to ask the Vampire Queen of Louisiana, Sophie-Anne Leclerq, for help on the matter. During this time, Eric starts having Lafayette sell vampire blood, despite his earlier punishing for having done so, although it is revealed that this is at the command of Sophie-Anne. She's trying to expand her reaches into the community through the use of the "V", despite the fact that this strictly goes against the rules of the Authority, the law and lawmakers for all Vampire-kind.
At the end of that season/beginning of the next season, Bill is kidnapped by a pack of werewolves. Eric is growing feelings and attractions for Sookie at this time, beginning to have daydreams of her thanks to their sharing of blood. He arranges for a werewolf whose father has a debt to pay him, Alcide, to help Sookie while she is in Mississippi looking for Bill, after she tracks him there. Meanwhile, Eric continues to sell "V" for the queen, until The Magister comes to investigate, suspecting that someone in the area has been doing so. They later launch a raid on Fangtasia and find the "V" hidden there, and take Pam as a hostage to hold against Eric. Once Eric finds this out, Pam tells the Magister that it was actually Bill doing the selling. The Magister orders Eric to find Bill within two days to bring to him, and will hold Pam hostage until this has been done.
Eric therefore makes his way to Jackson, intent on infiltrating the group of werewolves that stole Bill and wanting to get him back. They're being directed by a vampire named Russell Edgington, and have been ordered to do said kidnapping by him. Eric plays along, playing perfectly into the roll of visitor offering the proposal to help until he discovers a crown in the study on display - a Viking crown. The one off of his father's head, that the wolf and the cloaked figure took on the day his family was murdered. Suddenly, this becomes about revenge for Eric. Revenge that he has waited over a thousand years to exact.
In an effort to keep up the ruse that he is helping Russell take over Sophie-Anne's kingdom, he accompanies Russell to meet with her, helps to capture her, and later in private interrogates her for his own personal agenda to find out why she's interested in Sookie - revealing that she is part faerie, and that's why her blood is so intoxicating to vampires, why they're attracted to her, and why she has powers herself. He accompanies them to Fangtasia, where the Magister is waiting, revealing that he sold the "V" because the queen asked him to. Pam is set free because Eric is proven innocent, and Russell coerces the Magister into performing the ceremony to marry him and Sophie-Anne before he beheads him. They then travel back to Mississippi together, where Russell sends people after Sookie. Eric, despite the fact that he is undercover, speaks up on her behalf, trying to convince them to spare Sookie, claiming she is of no significance so why bother.
While Russell is away, Talbot, Russell's lover, spends time with Eric. Eric exacts answers from him, leading him on by playing a boardgame with him and then going to have sex with him. He reveals to Talbot that Russell is behind the death of his family, so now he's taking that from him, and he stakes Talbot, before running, taking his father's crown with him. He's shaken, knowing that he needs sanctuary, so he hurries back to Shreveport to collect Pam when Nan - the spokesperson for the Authority in the media - arrives to discuss the disappearance of the Magister. He tells them that it was Russell, reveals the other man's plans, and then requests the permission to exact revenge on Russell, killer of his family. After a day of deliberation, Nan states that the Authority has denied all knowledge of his request and their ruling, meaning that they do have permission to go forward, just without the backing of the Authority. Eric then determines the only way to get Russell to trust him is to offer him a gift - Sookie, who's Fae and therefore if he drinks her blood he will be able to walk in the sun for a time.
Eric then goes and kidnaps Sookie, and without explanation to her, drinks her blood and then shows Russell its capabilities when he walks into the sun with it. Rusell drinks from Sookie and goes to join Eric outside and into the sun. It's clear that it does not last forever, however, and Eric quickly handcuffs himself to Russell, preparing to meet the sun with him - Russell is too weak from the sun, for being such an old vampire, to even struggle, and the pair of them start to burn together. Sookie is the one to eventually save Eric, waking up and dragging him back out of the sun and into the bar. She brings Russell back in as well and the next night, Eric and Bill are charged with figuring out what to do with him. Eric decides that the True Death would be too kind to him, so with the help of Alcide's family, they entomb him in concrete in one of his construction sites and leave it there.
Eric then goes to see Sookie later that night, and reveals to her that Bill is not the man he claims to be - that when they first met, Bill allowed her to be attacked enough to need his blood to survive, so that they could form a bond on purpose, since he was tasked with getting close to her from the queen. He reveals that whatever Bill may feel for her now, it started out because of that. Despite the gain that it will give him on a more selfish note, he is looking out for Sookie, in his own way. It's this canon point that I would like to take Eric from in-game.
Personality:
Eric Northman is a complicated man, having lived for a very long time and therefore with a lot of memories that he carries around with him. The majority of his life (both alive and as vampire) was spent alongside his maker, Godric, and through this relationship he displays a great capacity for loyalty and love, even if he doesn't really recognize it as love even after all that time. When Sookie questions his relationship with Godric, he admits to her that he does not understand what the word love means. This is in part due in part to the fact that he is so old and has lived so long in vampire politics that he cannot remember what it is like to feel human emotions anymore. It is also due to the fact that Godric has taught him that a vampire is never at the mercy of his emotions. He does admit that being around humans (Sookie especially) make him feel more emotions than he would otherwise, and he doesn't like that. Which shows that he is a deeper man than his outward appearance of cocky, arrogant, and calculating outward appearance gives him credit.
Despite being cocky and arrogant, Eric still recognizes rules and authority as such. He does not consider himself to be above vampire law (though he cares very little for human law, as he sees it as having no application to his life as a vampire). His visits to the Queen of Louisiana have him treating her with the level respect that is due to her, and his encounters with the vampire Magistrate have him on good behavior as well. When Bill kills Longshadow in his bar, for example, Bill commits a crime against vampire kind and Eric therefore brings him in front of the Magistrate, as is required by law. However, his sense of honor shows its head when Bill asks him to back him up on the point that Longshadow had been stealing from Eric and his bar, and therefore although Eric would not mind having Bill put out of the way, he ends up saving him from a much crueler sentence than the one Bill ends up serving. And after the state switches hands when Bill defeats Sophie-Anne and becomes the King of Louisiana, although Eric quite obviously has a rivalry going on with the other vampire he still recognizes him as the higher authority and follows his orders and command.
As a leader, he is also just and fair. This is coming in from his experience many many years ago of being a viking chieftain, but all the same, he is a kinder vampire authority than most. He gives the people under his command choices, rather than simply ordering them what to do, and he likes to negotiate and bargain rather than have his word be the final say. When he is carrying out punishment of humans, although the treatment of the people themselves would be considered "inhumane", for a vampire he is pretty lenient. When he kidnaps Lafayette for selling vampire blood, for example, he doesn't kill him right off the bat. He takes him in and questions him and yes, alright, tortures him a little, but he keeps him alive and lets him go when Sookie bargains with him to do so. Although he does like to appear imposing and frightening to humans, he does not scare people for the sake of being horrible. He likes to cut an impressive image, but when Sam brings Arlene's children to the bar he's fairly accommodating for them, despite his big bad vampire reputation. People recognize him for the authority that he is and come to him when they need help, as is the case with Alcide's father. When he falls into debt, he comes to Eric for a loan. Of course, this means that Alcide's family is now in Eric's debt, but he is not unfair with how he makes them repay it: with their loyalty to him. As Russell states, he has an "old world" politeness about him, which translates over regardless as to whether he's being manipulative or sincere.
Just because he is just and fair a great deal of the time, that does not mean he is not without his downfalls. Eric is possibly one of the most hardheaded vampires out there, who will do whatever it takes to get what he wants, even if it means doing something heartless, ruthless, is something that goes against what he believes in, or sets him back in other aspects. For example, Eric and Sookie were working toward having more of a trusting relationship thanks to their work together with saving Godric from the Fellowship of the Sun. Eric does save her from a bomb, taking the shrapnel for her instead. However, he tricks her into sucking the pieces of debris out of his skin so that she will have drank his blood and therefore have a bond with him. He knows that it's not something that she'll appreciate, but he wants it, so he finds a way to make it happen. This same drive is demonstrated later in the series when Eric is seeking to hurt Russell, the vampire who was the one to issue the order to kill his family so many years ago. Eric has sex with Russell's lover, and then stakes him, so that Russell will have lost something dear to him much as he lost something dear to him all those years ago. This goes against vampire law, which it is his duty to uphold, but it meets his end goal in getting Russell's attention and exacting revenge for his family.
Being so old, Eric grew up speaking a completely different language than any of the ones that are spoken nowadays. This means that he's had to adjust through the years and can speak a variety of versions of them, Old Swedish, Swedish, German, and English, to name a few. He's also good at picking out accents from one another, able to recognize a Mississippi accent from a Louisiana one for example. He's lived a very long time, and he's spread out across the globe, owning many different residences all over the globe. Because he is old, also, he has a vast knowledge of the different types of supernatural beings there are out there. Even Bill, who does not like Eric very much, comes to him for advice on what a maenad is and how he might track one down.
He has learned to adapt through the years, not remaining unchanging like some of the older vampires, but embracing the change. Which is why he is such a good businessman with Fangtasia, as well as a good leader. He can balance both the new and old ideals and maintain a certain level of dignity that new ideals just don't account for anymore while remaining innovative in a way that the older ones never could achieve. He is a very clever vampire, which also comes in handy for business; he knows how smart it is to have a network of people who are loyal to him and so any chance he can take he works it so that a person will be on his side. Which is manipulative, but it is also smart, and a tool that many of the older vampires use as well, although there is only one vampire that we know of who he has created and must follow his every word as he is her maker, which shows that he is also discreet in how he does this networking. He is old, and yet he lives with the knowledge that his surroundings will not learn to adapt to him, so he should learn to adapt to his surroundings. Again a technique that he uses not only in his personal life, but in his business strategies as well.
Eric carries with himself a lot of prejudices against humans and other supernaturals, especially werewolves. He considers vampirekind to be higher up on the chain than humans, which is a sentiment shared with a lot of the other vampires, especially the older ones. He likes to make remarks about how human Sookie is with her emotions and her impatience and her softer feelings. He remarks that it's humbling to have to ask humans for assistance on anything. As the Magister states, humans exist to serve vampire, and that is their only purpose in their eyes. Eric has the habit of referring to any human he does not know as "human", and in a somewhat condescending way. Despite all of that, he can himself become attached to humans, although it is once again a feeling that leaves him boggled. He doesn't understand feelings such as love and attachment very well at all, so every vampire that falls in love with a human he questions about what they find so fulfilling about humans, in hopes that he might better understand his infatuation with Sookie himself. He seems to think that the idea that they can grow old and sick somewhat disgusting, once again because vampires themselves are not capable of doing so. Even so, he does find himself being seriously attached to Sookie, in part because he can't have her, then because she intrigues him, and then because she has had his blood and he has a metaphysical bond to her emotions. He keeps her protected and informed, even if it goes against what he'd normally do otherwise.
Along with his prejudice against humans, he carries an extreme dislike for werewolves and shifters. He recognizes them as other supernaturals, and therefore a little more worth paying attention to than humans, but he still doesn't like them. He remains just and fair when dealing with shifters such as Sam, however. But with werewolves, that's where Eric really loses his cool. When he was human, his father, mother, and baby sister were all murdered by werewolves. Since then, Eric harbors an extreme dislike and wariness of were-kind at all. He and Godric stalked this faction of werewolves that killed his family through the decades and centuries, waiting for the right information and the right news. Even though he finally gets to have his revenge with those wolves and the vampire behind their actions, that does not do anything to better his opinion of werewolves in general.
Eric enjoys being a vampire, and he does not approve of mainstreaming, like Bill does. He doesn't want to live in a society integrated with humans, living under human law, nor does he want to reduce himself to drinking TruBlood like the other mainstreaming vampires. There are many who are willing to donate a little blood to him, and he can glamour them into thinking that it's one of the most pleasant experiences they've ever had, so he doesn't see what the harm is in taking the real thing directly from the source. He does lose his temper and when he does he's a dangerous man, because of his vampire strength. One man who had murdered some vampires had the audacity to put a silver cross to his face, so Eric mutilated the man in front of his other prisoners. But then he acted like it was no big deal to do something like that, turning to ask Lafayette if he'd ruined the work that Pam was doing on his hair. He's not a monster, his ideals just work in a different way than humankind's.
Abilities, Weaknesses and Power Limitations:
Eric is a vampire, and an old one at that. Vampires' strength and power grow with their age, and since Eric's over 1000 years old he's very strong. For example, once, when a man pushed him past the limit of reason, he ripped the man apart with his bare hands, and easily as well. As with strength, speed is another thing that vampires possess and grows with age. Therefore, Eric is really fast, and quiet about it too, able to sneak up on people at any time that he wants. Because he is undead and vampire, any injuries he receives will heal in a matter of moments. Unless an injury is severe, then he'll need blood to drink in order to heal himself.
Vampires need to drink blood, and Eric is no exception to this. However, the older they get the less they have to drink to sustain themselves as well, and thus Eric doesn't need to feed a lot all the time. Once a vampire drinks a person's blood, though, a metaphysical bond is established such that that vampire now knows how the person is feeling at any given time (the effects of which are stronger depending on how much blood the vampire has drank), and also is able to keep tabs on that person from a distance (feeling their fear, danger, happiness, lust, etc. from afar). Vampire blood on the other hand is a very powerful healing agent, and if someone who is injured drinks it, they will become well again as quick as vampires heal. It also gives them a supernatural boost, regardless as to whether they're injured or not. Of course, with this supernatural boost comes sexual dreams of the vampire whose blood the person has had it from. Regardless as to whether the person is initially attracted to that vampire, they will automatically have sexual dreams about them. Vampire blood is addictive, though, any sort of magical creature can be effected by it, and as such is treated as a drug that they call "V"; to vampires, the blood is sacred, and therefore dealing "V" is a heinous crime. However, giving of it freely to a person of their choice is another matter entirely, and one that Eric practices himself.
Eric also possesses the ability to "glamour" average humans. A vampire has to be looking the person in the eyes to glamour them, and when it works, it puts the person into a trance-like state and makes them entirely obedient to that vampire. It is primarily used for feeding, although it can also be used to make easy cover-ups for stories, get information out of someone, or just manipulate them in any way. It doesn't work on telepaths like Sookie, though. It is a learned skill, as is flying, which Eric can also do. Not every vampire is able to, but he has demonstrated the ability countless times in the show, whether it's straight-out flying, or hovering in place in the air. Additionally, his senses are very much heightened, such that he can hear, see, and smell better than the average human.
If Eric wanted to, he could convert a person into a vampire by biting them and draining them to near death, and then feeding them his own blood. He would then bury himself with his new "child" until they were reborn as a vampire, his "progeny". Eric is only known to have one "child", though, that being Pam, and it is unlikely he would make another, as the bond between maker and child is a great one. He can call his progeny to him at any time he likes and as his or her master, the "child" is obligated to listen to any command that he makes as a master, regardless as to how they feel about it. This can be demonstrated when Godric orders Eric to leave the roof when he wants to meet the sun at the end of his life.
Of course, being a vampire does have its downsides as well. He is unable to go into the sun, unless he has had the blood of a fairy, and a full-blooded one at that. During the day, he must sleep, otherwise he gets the "bleeds", which means that his nose, eyes, and ears will randomly bleed a little bit, since he is not meant to be up at that time. Eric, being so old, though, does not need to sleep as much, and so he's up usually before the sun sets fully. If he were to meet the sun, he's old enough that his body would burn much faster than a younger vampire's, as it would also do if he were to be set on fire.
Just because he is undead does not mean he cannot die, and a good wooden stake or wooden bullet to the heart will just about do it. Silver, as well as wood, is dangerous to vampires, as it instantly burns them, and regardless of how thick or heavy a silver chain is, the vampire can not struggle against it. Theoretically, the strongest of vampires can be held down by the thinnest of chains, if there is enough of it keeping him down. He is not immune to magic, nor is he immune to blood conditions or poisons in the blood he drinks, and so he must be careful with that as well. Also, being a vampire, he is not allowed to enter homes without being invited. This does not apply to public places or hotels, but if he were to visit someone's home, so long as it is not the home of another vampire, Eric must ask them for permission to enter before he does. That is not to say that he can't just glamour them for entrance, though, as has been done in the show before.
Last, but obviously not least, Eric has fangs, but they are retractable, so he can hide them in plain sight. These fangs protrude with a specific muscle movement as well as with the emotion that he is feeling behind it. If he is aroused or excited in some way, his fangs will involuntarily pop out, but he has enough control on himself that that is generally not the case unless he wants it to be. Unlike other worlds' vampires, Eric's fangs are not behind his canine's but behind the teeth before that, the maxiliary incisors. Unlike some other worlds' vampires as well, Eric can see his reflection and he does show up in photographs.
As for nerfing his powers, if it's necessary I'd be happy to do so, but as with Godric, I feel that - although he might show off a little more than Godric - he's still not all-powerful. Godric for instance, despite being a great deal smaller than him, is also older than him and his maker and he must follow any and all commands that he gives him. I trust Zee to not abuse that power, and as with his glamouring and blood-drinking and such, I will of course make sure that any player I'm interacting with is alright/in agreement with having that happening before I have Eric do anything ~vampirey~ with them.
Inventory:
1. A black tank
2. A pair of black jeans
3. A black leather jacket
4. A pair of black leather shoes
5. This necklace
6. His father's crown
Appearance:
Eric Northman is 6'4" tall Viking vampire. He's got blond hair and blue eyes, and is extremely pale, not having been able to see the sun in a very long time. He's very attractive and a lot of people want him, including people that don't even like him. He's built long and lean and was a Viking warrior when he died, so needless to say he's fit. Bonus fact, as Sookie says in the books, her favorite part of him is his butt, so apparently that's rather nice as well. He carries himself strongly, like the Viking chieftain that he was very long ago, and commands respect, being one of the older and therefore more powerful vampires around.
Age:
He is over a thousand years old, although the exact date of when he was actually born and the exact date of when he was turned remain vague, only speculated to be C. 900 and 930 respectively.
AU Clarification:
SAMPLES
Log Sample:
The first thing Eric notices as he wakes is the breathing tube, which he rolls his eyes at, despite being horribly disoriented and more than a little bit confused as to why he is suddenly suspended in goo when the last time he checked, he had been going to ground in his coffin. As the liquid drains and the panel opens and drops him unceremoniously out onto the ground, it puzzles him further that he is so disoriented, just barely managing to catch himself from plummeting face-first into the grating. He has not eaten for a few days, he knows that it cannot be an illness. But shifting to sit back against the wall for a moment, folding his legs in front of him, he takes stock of the situation.
He cannot feel Pam. If it were not for the fact that he couldn't feel any other links he had, he'd be raging at that fact. But there is nothing, no one humming at the edge of his consciousness, except for... Godric. His maker, who he knows he should not feel anything from since he met the sun perhaps a year or so ago. Clearly something is interfering with his perception, and that troubles him further. He does not know what could cause such a thing, and in fact he is not sure he has ever heard of a vampire losing the bond with all that he has formed one with, nor has he heard of one reforming that he knows to have been severed by death. It does not bode well, whatever this strange mechanical place that he has been stolen away to.
He can feel it, the hum of the engine underneath him. Hear it in the background, despite how much noise the rest of those spilling out of similar tubes around him seem to be making. Human, for the most part. He can smell their blood, hear their heartbeats. Some are calmer than others, and this too is curious. And then there are others. Shifters, some of them. And more still that he cannot identify. Which bothers him as well. For someone who is over a thousand years old, there are rarely that many surprises left, and certainly not this many all at once.
He does not let this puzzlement, this unease, this irritation get to him. 'A vampire is never at the mercy of his emotions - he dominates them.' He was taught that lesson long ago by Godric, and they are words he pledges himself to follow. Pushing himself up off the ground, he schools his previously neutral expression into the quirk of a smile, stepping forth through the throngs to find his answers, completely unashamed of the fact that no, he is not wearing any clothes at all.
Comms Sample:
[Eric sits forward in the chair as he looks at the camera, elbows on the armrests, his hands clasped in front of him, at once casual and nonchalant as well as confident and ready to make a move quicker than the blink of an eye. He smiles pleasantly at the camera - his 'audience' as it is. His presence on camera is attention-grabbing and he obviously knows how to make public statements to the general masses, appearing completely at ease with the fact that he's opened the channel for the entire ship to be able to tune in on him]
Ladies. Gentleman. [The corner of his mouth quirks slightly] Shifters. And the rest of you, whatever you are.
I'm looking for some voluteers. Donors, if you'd rather be specific about it. [He does not display his fangs openly, though one might be able to catch a glint of them here and there as he speaks. He quirks a smirk wider] I promise you. I'll make it worth your while.
Your Name: Teresa
OOC Journal: n/a
Under 18? If yes, what is your age?: Nope, have been over 18 since 2006
Email + IM: EMAIL:
Characters Played at Ataraxion: Captain Jack Harkness (
capt_greatcoat), Dee Laytner (tryingtoholdback)CHARACTER INFORMATION
Name: Eric Northman
Canon: True Blood
Original or Alternate Universe: Original
Canon Point: post S3, pre S4
Number: 099
Setting:
True Blood Wiki
History:
Eric was born circa the year 900 somewhere around the North Sea, as he claims that he used to play in it as a child. His family was Viking, his father a Viking chieftain and Eric himself next in line for the succession. His parents wished that he would settle down and start thinking like a chieftain, find a wife and settle down but he likes to lead a more promiscuous life, presumably sleeping with any pretty girl that carries a fancy to him, and given that he's built like a 6'4" Viking god, presumably sleeping around came pretty easily for him.
One fateful day, however, while Eric is having his way with one of the servant girls, a pack of werewolves invades his family's dwelling and attack his family, killing his mother, father, and infant sister. He discovers them to be werewolves once he kills one of the wolves and it transforms back into a normal man. From that day forward, Eric carries a resentment towards werewolves with him that goes beyond just the average vampire disdain for the creatures. One of the wolves takes his father's crown and gives it to a man in a cloak who's standing just in the doorway of their home. Before Eric's father dies in his arms, he pronounces him chieftain himself and makes him promise to live on and avenge his family's deaths. That too is a promise that Eric carries with him always, even after he's made vampire and has lived for over a millenium as one.
As king, Eric is presumably a good one, his men loyal to the last breath. Sometime later after being declared king, he is mortally wounded after a battle that he has led, and his men decide against his will that they will stay with him until his time comes. As he lays dying, they tell him stories of how there will be women waiting to greet him in Valhalla, indicating that his love for women continued even after the tragedy that was the murder of his entire family. Sometime during the night there, however, all of the men that stayed with him as companions are murdered by some unknown and unseen being, before a young, tattooed teen emerges from the shadows and introduces himself to Eric as "Death". This teen isn't in fact "Death", but Godric, a vampire that by that time is already over a thousand year old himself. Godric remarks that he has seen Eric's strength and courage on the battlefield, and offers him a choice. To die there a hero from the battlefield, or to gain immortality as a vampire - to offer him "Life". Eric, with a lust for life and possibly fearing the next big step, takes Godric up on his offer and becomes Godric's vampire progeny, living and traveling with him for the next thousand years or so. At some point during the Elizabethan era, Godric turns another vampire, Nora Gainesborough, who is Eric's vampire "sister", however the pair of them seem to share quite an involved sex life. Nora's role in his life beyond that is so far unclear, but she is a ruling member on the vampire Authority who watches out for Eric from there.
In 1945, during World War II Godric and Eric pose as Nazi Schutzstaffel officers and track down a werewolf to a house in Augsburg, Germany. The wolf attacks and kills a fatefully caring American soldier before turning on Eric and Godric - luckily, Godric is fast and he pins her to the wall, so that the pair of them may interrogate her. Eric demands to know who her master is, but the werewolf agrees to say only if she can have some of Eric's blood in return - vampire is like a drug when consumed by humans and shifters, as will be noted later. Godric takes offense at the very notion of sharing something as sacred as vampire blood with her, but Eric, desperate for his answers, give in anyway. She reveals her master is a vampire, and as the pair of them are reeling, takes advantage of that and nearly kills Eric. Luckily once again Godric is fast and kills her. Godric then lectures Eric on controlling his emotions, and that a vampire must not show their true feelings as he has done just then, before the pair of them part ways for a good many years. This is where there is a discrepancy in timing, however, as it is remarked otherwise that Eric and Godric had parted for over 100 years before the pair of them see each other again, even though there is clearly the flashback between the pair of them dated to 1945.
Sometime around the year 1905, Eric created a progeny of his own, named Pam. Pam is incredibly loyal to him, if not exactly the most obedient to others. So far on the show we have not seen her creation as a vampire, although the first time they meet Eric saves her from being attacked on the streets by another vampire. He admires the way that she is not afraid of him even though he killed in front of her, and then compliments the dress she's wearing, before disappearing off into the night. He later goes to visit her at the brothel that she owns, and the pair of them sleep together. Pam tries to convince him to turn her, and when he refuses she slits her wrists and gives him the choice - let her die or turn her. So turn her he does. Sometime after his split with Godric and before Bill returns to Louisiana, the Queen Sophie-Anne makes Eric the Sheriff of Area 5 in Louisiana, because of his age as well as his ruthlessness. On top of that, once vampires have revealed themselves to the public in general after the creation of True Blood as an acceptable blood substitute in vampire diet, he opens a vampire bar in Shreveport called Fangtasia (though it is as much a vampire bar as it is a bar for humans, especially tourists, to come and 'live dangerously' for a night). Pam is both his second in command in Area 5 as well as for the bar, and he frequently takes advantage of the fact that he has her around to do his business when he is unavailable, much to Pam's dismay.
Eric is first introduced into the series at the visit of Sookie and Bill to his bar, where he becomes aware that Sookie has the ability to read minds. This intrigues him, so he calls her back later, wanting her to use her powers to help search out who in their business was stealing money. After questioning their human employee, Ginger, they find out that it is the vampire and bartender Longshadow who has done the deed. Longshadow attempts to kill Sookie for turning him over to the pair of them, and so Bill steps forward and stakes him instead. Eric is not pleased with this - he knows that what Bill has done goes against vampire law, killing vampire for his human companion, but he as Bill's Sheriff, allows it anyway. Eric and Bill are then called to the Tribunal to go before the Magister and defend themselves. Bill is of course found guilty of his crime, and sentenced to the choice of either being chained in silver for five years or to turn a human to replace the killing of a vampire.
Bill of course chooses to turn a vampire, although he despises the very idea of creating someone. This is relevant to Eric because not long after Bill has created his progeny, Jessica, he takes her to Eric with the complaint that he is unable to discipline or teach her the ways of being a vampire. After a conversation between the pair of them, Eric finally agrees to take Jessica on as long as Bill understands that he will owe him a favor. Of course, not so long after that, Eric too grows tired of such a young and enthusiastic/untrained vampire, and he takes her back to Bill. He offers to take Sookie off of Bill's hands to lighten his load, however Bill refuses once more. Sookie obviously intrigues Eric, and he wants to know more about why he is so drawn to her.
As part of his job as Sheriff Eric takes it upon himself to discipline those that are selling "V" out on the streets - as Godric has taught him, the vampire blood is sacred, and those who are supplying it and selling it both should be justly punished. Punishment according to vampire law as opposed to human law is a bit different, however, with Eric doing the torture and punishment himself. Sookie discovers that Eric has been keeping her friend Lafayette prisoner because he was found to be a dealer, and demands that he set him free. Eric agrees only on the condition that she does something for him in return for Lafayette's freedom - help him investigate the disappearance of Godric, who he eventually admits to her is his maker.
Eric believes that Godric has been kidnapped and therefore travels with Sookie to Texas tp save him from the church of the Fellowship of the Sun, where it has been planned that he will 'meet the sun' - literally, stand out in the sun and therefore burn to death. What Eric does not anticipate, however, is the fact that Godric offered himself willingly to them for this, hoping to smooth the relationship with humans and vampires. He carries around with him much remorse for everything he has said and done, everything that he is. And Eric doesn't understand him. Once Eric 'saves' him and Sookie from the church, they go back to Godric's nest in Dallas, but Godric refuses his offer to find a donor for him. Eric grows more and more concerned throughout the time spent there that Godric is not the vampire he once was. A bomb from the Fellowship goes off in the middle of one of their vampire gatherings, and Eric protects Sookie from the shards of it. He convinces her that he's been hurt and if she doesn't get the shards out he'll die, so she sucks the shards out of his shoulder, in doing so ingesting some of his blood. Now Eric has a blood bond with Sookie as well, so he can be aware of her emotions and her location at all times.
Godric is eventually relieved of his position as Sheriff after it's found out that he willingly gave himself over to the Fellowship, and he just accepts this fact without argument. He reveals that he is still planning on meeting the sun, with or without the Fellowship's help, and Eric doesn't understand. Godric is his maker, he has been with him for 900 years, and the bond between the pair of them is a powerful one. Eric tries to convince Godric out of it, begs him and threatens him and cries at him - a rare display of emotion for him - but Godric will not sway. Eric offers to die with Godric as well, but Godric as his maker commands him to live. And as the sun rises, Eric must leave him on the roof and go back out of the sun, asking Sookie to stay with Godric when he dies, which she agrees to and does.
The rest of the cast is concerned with the threat of a Maenid for the rest of the season, a creature that has already scratched Sookie, requiring the healing expertise of Dr. Ludwig, a magical/supernatural doctor that Eric calls in to cure her. Eric remains out of much of the action and obviously not all that concerned about it, save for when Sookie comes to him looking for answers. Only then does he finally step forward and volunteer to ask the Vampire Queen of Louisiana, Sophie-Anne Leclerq, for help on the matter. During this time, Eric starts having Lafayette sell vampire blood, despite his earlier punishing for having done so, although it is revealed that this is at the command of Sophie-Anne. She's trying to expand her reaches into the community through the use of the "V", despite the fact that this strictly goes against the rules of the Authority, the law and lawmakers for all Vampire-kind.
At the end of that season/beginning of the next season, Bill is kidnapped by a pack of werewolves. Eric is growing feelings and attractions for Sookie at this time, beginning to have daydreams of her thanks to their sharing of blood. He arranges for a werewolf whose father has a debt to pay him, Alcide, to help Sookie while she is in Mississippi looking for Bill, after she tracks him there. Meanwhile, Eric continues to sell "V" for the queen, until The Magister comes to investigate, suspecting that someone in the area has been doing so. They later launch a raid on Fangtasia and find the "V" hidden there, and take Pam as a hostage to hold against Eric. Once Eric finds this out, Pam tells the Magister that it was actually Bill doing the selling. The Magister orders Eric to find Bill within two days to bring to him, and will hold Pam hostage until this has been done.
Eric therefore makes his way to Jackson, intent on infiltrating the group of werewolves that stole Bill and wanting to get him back. They're being directed by a vampire named Russell Edgington, and have been ordered to do said kidnapping by him. Eric plays along, playing perfectly into the roll of visitor offering the proposal to help until he discovers a crown in the study on display - a Viking crown. The one off of his father's head, that the wolf and the cloaked figure took on the day his family was murdered. Suddenly, this becomes about revenge for Eric. Revenge that he has waited over a thousand years to exact.
In an effort to keep up the ruse that he is helping Russell take over Sophie-Anne's kingdom, he accompanies Russell to meet with her, helps to capture her, and later in private interrogates her for his own personal agenda to find out why she's interested in Sookie - revealing that she is part faerie, and that's why her blood is so intoxicating to vampires, why they're attracted to her, and why she has powers herself. He accompanies them to Fangtasia, where the Magister is waiting, revealing that he sold the "V" because the queen asked him to. Pam is set free because Eric is proven innocent, and Russell coerces the Magister into performing the ceremony to marry him and Sophie-Anne before he beheads him. They then travel back to Mississippi together, where Russell sends people after Sookie. Eric, despite the fact that he is undercover, speaks up on her behalf, trying to convince them to spare Sookie, claiming she is of no significance so why bother.
While Russell is away, Talbot, Russell's lover, spends time with Eric. Eric exacts answers from him, leading him on by playing a boardgame with him and then going to have sex with him. He reveals to Talbot that Russell is behind the death of his family, so now he's taking that from him, and he stakes Talbot, before running, taking his father's crown with him. He's shaken, knowing that he needs sanctuary, so he hurries back to Shreveport to collect Pam when Nan - the spokesperson for the Authority in the media - arrives to discuss the disappearance of the Magister. He tells them that it was Russell, reveals the other man's plans, and then requests the permission to exact revenge on Russell, killer of his family. After a day of deliberation, Nan states that the Authority has denied all knowledge of his request and their ruling, meaning that they do have permission to go forward, just without the backing of the Authority. Eric then determines the only way to get Russell to trust him is to offer him a gift - Sookie, who's Fae and therefore if he drinks her blood he will be able to walk in the sun for a time.
Eric then goes and kidnaps Sookie, and without explanation to her, drinks her blood and then shows Russell its capabilities when he walks into the sun with it. Rusell drinks from Sookie and goes to join Eric outside and into the sun. It's clear that it does not last forever, however, and Eric quickly handcuffs himself to Russell, preparing to meet the sun with him - Russell is too weak from the sun, for being such an old vampire, to even struggle, and the pair of them start to burn together. Sookie is the one to eventually save Eric, waking up and dragging him back out of the sun and into the bar. She brings Russell back in as well and the next night, Eric and Bill are charged with figuring out what to do with him. Eric decides that the True Death would be too kind to him, so with the help of Alcide's family, they entomb him in concrete in one of his construction sites and leave it there.
Eric then goes to see Sookie later that night, and reveals to her that Bill is not the man he claims to be - that when they first met, Bill allowed her to be attacked enough to need his blood to survive, so that they could form a bond on purpose, since he was tasked with getting close to her from the queen. He reveals that whatever Bill may feel for her now, it started out because of that. Despite the gain that it will give him on a more selfish note, he is looking out for Sookie, in his own way. It's this canon point that I would like to take Eric from in-game.
Personality:
Eric Northman is a complicated man, having lived for a very long time and therefore with a lot of memories that he carries around with him. The majority of his life (both alive and as vampire) was spent alongside his maker, Godric, and through this relationship he displays a great capacity for loyalty and love, even if he doesn't really recognize it as love even after all that time. When Sookie questions his relationship with Godric, he admits to her that he does not understand what the word love means. This is in part due in part to the fact that he is so old and has lived so long in vampire politics that he cannot remember what it is like to feel human emotions anymore. It is also due to the fact that Godric has taught him that a vampire is never at the mercy of his emotions. He does admit that being around humans (Sookie especially) make him feel more emotions than he would otherwise, and he doesn't like that. Which shows that he is a deeper man than his outward appearance of cocky, arrogant, and calculating outward appearance gives him credit.
Despite being cocky and arrogant, Eric still recognizes rules and authority as such. He does not consider himself to be above vampire law (though he cares very little for human law, as he sees it as having no application to his life as a vampire). His visits to the Queen of Louisiana have him treating her with the level respect that is due to her, and his encounters with the vampire Magistrate have him on good behavior as well. When Bill kills Longshadow in his bar, for example, Bill commits a crime against vampire kind and Eric therefore brings him in front of the Magistrate, as is required by law. However, his sense of honor shows its head when Bill asks him to back him up on the point that Longshadow had been stealing from Eric and his bar, and therefore although Eric would not mind having Bill put out of the way, he ends up saving him from a much crueler sentence than the one Bill ends up serving. And after the state switches hands when Bill defeats Sophie-Anne and becomes the King of Louisiana, although Eric quite obviously has a rivalry going on with the other vampire he still recognizes him as the higher authority and follows his orders and command.
As a leader, he is also just and fair. This is coming in from his experience many many years ago of being a viking chieftain, but all the same, he is a kinder vampire authority than most. He gives the people under his command choices, rather than simply ordering them what to do, and he likes to negotiate and bargain rather than have his word be the final say. When he is carrying out punishment of humans, although the treatment of the people themselves would be considered "inhumane", for a vampire he is pretty lenient. When he kidnaps Lafayette for selling vampire blood, for example, he doesn't kill him right off the bat. He takes him in and questions him and yes, alright, tortures him a little, but he keeps him alive and lets him go when Sookie bargains with him to do so. Although he does like to appear imposing and frightening to humans, he does not scare people for the sake of being horrible. He likes to cut an impressive image, but when Sam brings Arlene's children to the bar he's fairly accommodating for them, despite his big bad vampire reputation. People recognize him for the authority that he is and come to him when they need help, as is the case with Alcide's father. When he falls into debt, he comes to Eric for a loan. Of course, this means that Alcide's family is now in Eric's debt, but he is not unfair with how he makes them repay it: with their loyalty to him. As Russell states, he has an "old world" politeness about him, which translates over regardless as to whether he's being manipulative or sincere.
Just because he is just and fair a great deal of the time, that does not mean he is not without his downfalls. Eric is possibly one of the most hardheaded vampires out there, who will do whatever it takes to get what he wants, even if it means doing something heartless, ruthless, is something that goes against what he believes in, or sets him back in other aspects. For example, Eric and Sookie were working toward having more of a trusting relationship thanks to their work together with saving Godric from the Fellowship of the Sun. Eric does save her from a bomb, taking the shrapnel for her instead. However, he tricks her into sucking the pieces of debris out of his skin so that she will have drank his blood and therefore have a bond with him. He knows that it's not something that she'll appreciate, but he wants it, so he finds a way to make it happen. This same drive is demonstrated later in the series when Eric is seeking to hurt Russell, the vampire who was the one to issue the order to kill his family so many years ago. Eric has sex with Russell's lover, and then stakes him, so that Russell will have lost something dear to him much as he lost something dear to him all those years ago. This goes against vampire law, which it is his duty to uphold, but it meets his end goal in getting Russell's attention and exacting revenge for his family.
Being so old, Eric grew up speaking a completely different language than any of the ones that are spoken nowadays. This means that he's had to adjust through the years and can speak a variety of versions of them, Old Swedish, Swedish, German, and English, to name a few. He's also good at picking out accents from one another, able to recognize a Mississippi accent from a Louisiana one for example. He's lived a very long time, and he's spread out across the globe, owning many different residences all over the globe. Because he is old, also, he has a vast knowledge of the different types of supernatural beings there are out there. Even Bill, who does not like Eric very much, comes to him for advice on what a maenad is and how he might track one down.
He has learned to adapt through the years, not remaining unchanging like some of the older vampires, but embracing the change. Which is why he is such a good businessman with Fangtasia, as well as a good leader. He can balance both the new and old ideals and maintain a certain level of dignity that new ideals just don't account for anymore while remaining innovative in a way that the older ones never could achieve. He is a very clever vampire, which also comes in handy for business; he knows how smart it is to have a network of people who are loyal to him and so any chance he can take he works it so that a person will be on his side. Which is manipulative, but it is also smart, and a tool that many of the older vampires use as well, although there is only one vampire that we know of who he has created and must follow his every word as he is her maker, which shows that he is also discreet in how he does this networking. He is old, and yet he lives with the knowledge that his surroundings will not learn to adapt to him, so he should learn to adapt to his surroundings. Again a technique that he uses not only in his personal life, but in his business strategies as well.
Eric carries with himself a lot of prejudices against humans and other supernaturals, especially werewolves. He considers vampirekind to be higher up on the chain than humans, which is a sentiment shared with a lot of the other vampires, especially the older ones. He likes to make remarks about how human Sookie is with her emotions and her impatience and her softer feelings. He remarks that it's humbling to have to ask humans for assistance on anything. As the Magister states, humans exist to serve vampire, and that is their only purpose in their eyes. Eric has the habit of referring to any human he does not know as "human", and in a somewhat condescending way. Despite all of that, he can himself become attached to humans, although it is once again a feeling that leaves him boggled. He doesn't understand feelings such as love and attachment very well at all, so every vampire that falls in love with a human he questions about what they find so fulfilling about humans, in hopes that he might better understand his infatuation with Sookie himself. He seems to think that the idea that they can grow old and sick somewhat disgusting, once again because vampires themselves are not capable of doing so. Even so, he does find himself being seriously attached to Sookie, in part because he can't have her, then because she intrigues him, and then because she has had his blood and he has a metaphysical bond to her emotions. He keeps her protected and informed, even if it goes against what he'd normally do otherwise.
Along with his prejudice against humans, he carries an extreme dislike for werewolves and shifters. He recognizes them as other supernaturals, and therefore a little more worth paying attention to than humans, but he still doesn't like them. He remains just and fair when dealing with shifters such as Sam, however. But with werewolves, that's where Eric really loses his cool. When he was human, his father, mother, and baby sister were all murdered by werewolves. Since then, Eric harbors an extreme dislike and wariness of were-kind at all. He and Godric stalked this faction of werewolves that killed his family through the decades and centuries, waiting for the right information and the right news. Even though he finally gets to have his revenge with those wolves and the vampire behind their actions, that does not do anything to better his opinion of werewolves in general.
Eric enjoys being a vampire, and he does not approve of mainstreaming, like Bill does. He doesn't want to live in a society integrated with humans, living under human law, nor does he want to reduce himself to drinking TruBlood like the other mainstreaming vampires. There are many who are willing to donate a little blood to him, and he can glamour them into thinking that it's one of the most pleasant experiences they've ever had, so he doesn't see what the harm is in taking the real thing directly from the source. He does lose his temper and when he does he's a dangerous man, because of his vampire strength. One man who had murdered some vampires had the audacity to put a silver cross to his face, so Eric mutilated the man in front of his other prisoners. But then he acted like it was no big deal to do something like that, turning to ask Lafayette if he'd ruined the work that Pam was doing on his hair. He's not a monster, his ideals just work in a different way than humankind's.
Abilities, Weaknesses and Power Limitations:
Eric is a vampire, and an old one at that. Vampires' strength and power grow with their age, and since Eric's over 1000 years old he's very strong. For example, once, when a man pushed him past the limit of reason, he ripped the man apart with his bare hands, and easily as well. As with strength, speed is another thing that vampires possess and grows with age. Therefore, Eric is really fast, and quiet about it too, able to sneak up on people at any time that he wants. Because he is undead and vampire, any injuries he receives will heal in a matter of moments. Unless an injury is severe, then he'll need blood to drink in order to heal himself.
Vampires need to drink blood, and Eric is no exception to this. However, the older they get the less they have to drink to sustain themselves as well, and thus Eric doesn't need to feed a lot all the time. Once a vampire drinks a person's blood, though, a metaphysical bond is established such that that vampire now knows how the person is feeling at any given time (the effects of which are stronger depending on how much blood the vampire has drank), and also is able to keep tabs on that person from a distance (feeling their fear, danger, happiness, lust, etc. from afar). Vampire blood on the other hand is a very powerful healing agent, and if someone who is injured drinks it, they will become well again as quick as vampires heal. It also gives them a supernatural boost, regardless as to whether they're injured or not. Of course, with this supernatural boost comes sexual dreams of the vampire whose blood the person has had it from. Regardless as to whether the person is initially attracted to that vampire, they will automatically have sexual dreams about them. Vampire blood is addictive, though, any sort of magical creature can be effected by it, and as such is treated as a drug that they call "V"; to vampires, the blood is sacred, and therefore dealing "V" is a heinous crime. However, giving of it freely to a person of their choice is another matter entirely, and one that Eric practices himself.
Eric also possesses the ability to "glamour" average humans. A vampire has to be looking the person in the eyes to glamour them, and when it works, it puts the person into a trance-like state and makes them entirely obedient to that vampire. It is primarily used for feeding, although it can also be used to make easy cover-ups for stories, get information out of someone, or just manipulate them in any way. It doesn't work on telepaths like Sookie, though. It is a learned skill, as is flying, which Eric can also do. Not every vampire is able to, but he has demonstrated the ability countless times in the show, whether it's straight-out flying, or hovering in place in the air. Additionally, his senses are very much heightened, such that he can hear, see, and smell better than the average human.
If Eric wanted to, he could convert a person into a vampire by biting them and draining them to near death, and then feeding them his own blood. He would then bury himself with his new "child" until they were reborn as a vampire, his "progeny". Eric is only known to have one "child", though, that being Pam, and it is unlikely he would make another, as the bond between maker and child is a great one. He can call his progeny to him at any time he likes and as his or her master, the "child" is obligated to listen to any command that he makes as a master, regardless as to how they feel about it. This can be demonstrated when Godric orders Eric to leave the roof when he wants to meet the sun at the end of his life.
Of course, being a vampire does have its downsides as well. He is unable to go into the sun, unless he has had the blood of a fairy, and a full-blooded one at that. During the day, he must sleep, otherwise he gets the "bleeds", which means that his nose, eyes, and ears will randomly bleed a little bit, since he is not meant to be up at that time. Eric, being so old, though, does not need to sleep as much, and so he's up usually before the sun sets fully. If he were to meet the sun, he's old enough that his body would burn much faster than a younger vampire's, as it would also do if he were to be set on fire.
Just because he is undead does not mean he cannot die, and a good wooden stake or wooden bullet to the heart will just about do it. Silver, as well as wood, is dangerous to vampires, as it instantly burns them, and regardless of how thick or heavy a silver chain is, the vampire can not struggle against it. Theoretically, the strongest of vampires can be held down by the thinnest of chains, if there is enough of it keeping him down. He is not immune to magic, nor is he immune to blood conditions or poisons in the blood he drinks, and so he must be careful with that as well. Also, being a vampire, he is not allowed to enter homes without being invited. This does not apply to public places or hotels, but if he were to visit someone's home, so long as it is not the home of another vampire, Eric must ask them for permission to enter before he does. That is not to say that he can't just glamour them for entrance, though, as has been done in the show before.
Last, but obviously not least, Eric has fangs, but they are retractable, so he can hide them in plain sight. These fangs protrude with a specific muscle movement as well as with the emotion that he is feeling behind it. If he is aroused or excited in some way, his fangs will involuntarily pop out, but he has enough control on himself that that is generally not the case unless he wants it to be. Unlike other worlds' vampires, Eric's fangs are not behind his canine's but behind the teeth before that, the maxiliary incisors. Unlike some other worlds' vampires as well, Eric can see his reflection and he does show up in photographs.
As for nerfing his powers, if it's necessary I'd be happy to do so, but as with Godric, I feel that - although he might show off a little more than Godric - he's still not all-powerful. Godric for instance, despite being a great deal smaller than him, is also older than him and his maker and he must follow any and all commands that he gives him. I trust Zee to not abuse that power, and as with his glamouring and blood-drinking and such, I will of course make sure that any player I'm interacting with is alright/in agreement with having that happening before I have Eric do anything ~vampirey~ with them.
Inventory:
1. A black tank
2. A pair of black jeans
3. A black leather jacket
4. A pair of black leather shoes
5. This necklace
6. His father's crown
Appearance:
Eric Northman is 6'4" tall Viking vampire. He's got blond hair and blue eyes, and is extremely pale, not having been able to see the sun in a very long time. He's very attractive and a lot of people want him, including people that don't even like him. He's built long and lean and was a Viking warrior when he died, so needless to say he's fit. Bonus fact, as Sookie says in the books, her favorite part of him is his butt, so apparently that's rather nice as well. He carries himself strongly, like the Viking chieftain that he was very long ago, and commands respect, being one of the older and therefore more powerful vampires around.
Age:
He is over a thousand years old, although the exact date of when he was actually born and the exact date of when he was turned remain vague, only speculated to be C. 900 and 930 respectively.
SAMPLES
Log Sample:
The first thing Eric notices as he wakes is the breathing tube, which he rolls his eyes at, despite being horribly disoriented and more than a little bit confused as to why he is suddenly suspended in goo when the last time he checked, he had been going to ground in his coffin. As the liquid drains and the panel opens and drops him unceremoniously out onto the ground, it puzzles him further that he is so disoriented, just barely managing to catch himself from plummeting face-first into the grating. He has not eaten for a few days, he knows that it cannot be an illness. But shifting to sit back against the wall for a moment, folding his legs in front of him, he takes stock of the situation.
He cannot feel Pam. If it were not for the fact that he couldn't feel any other links he had, he'd be raging at that fact. But there is nothing, no one humming at the edge of his consciousness, except for... Godric. His maker, who he knows he should not feel anything from since he met the sun perhaps a year or so ago. Clearly something is interfering with his perception, and that troubles him further. He does not know what could cause such a thing, and in fact he is not sure he has ever heard of a vampire losing the bond with all that he has formed one with, nor has he heard of one reforming that he knows to have been severed by death. It does not bode well, whatever this strange mechanical place that he has been stolen away to.
He can feel it, the hum of the engine underneath him. Hear it in the background, despite how much noise the rest of those spilling out of similar tubes around him seem to be making. Human, for the most part. He can smell their blood, hear their heartbeats. Some are calmer than others, and this too is curious. And then there are others. Shifters, some of them. And more still that he cannot identify. Which bothers him as well. For someone who is over a thousand years old, there are rarely that many surprises left, and certainly not this many all at once.
He does not let this puzzlement, this unease, this irritation get to him. 'A vampire is never at the mercy of his emotions - he dominates them.' He was taught that lesson long ago by Godric, and they are words he pledges himself to follow. Pushing himself up off the ground, he schools his previously neutral expression into the quirk of a smile, stepping forth through the throngs to find his answers, completely unashamed of the fact that no, he is not wearing any clothes at all.
Comms Sample:
[Eric sits forward in the chair as he looks at the camera, elbows on the armrests, his hands clasped in front of him, at once casual and nonchalant as well as confident and ready to make a move quicker than the blink of an eye. He smiles pleasantly at the camera - his 'audience' as it is. His presence on camera is attention-grabbing and he obviously knows how to make public statements to the general masses, appearing completely at ease with the fact that he's opened the channel for the entire ship to be able to tune in on him]
Ladies. Gentleman. [The corner of his mouth quirks slightly] Shifters. And the rest of you, whatever you are.
I'm looking for some voluteers. Donors, if you'd rather be specific about it. [He does not display his fangs openly, though one might be able to catch a glint of them here and there as he speaks. He quirks a smirk wider] I promise you. I'll make it worth your while.
