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Legacy Totemic Shaman
Viktor Makismov is the heir to a legacy of shamanic service to the White Tiger totem spirit of his native Siberia. Trained by 'Grandmother' to embrace the gifts of the tiger and the skills of a totem warrior, compelled to defend and protect the innocent and now on a hunt for his missing sister, he is a man on a mission. Or several, depending on how things are working out this week.
Personality[]
Viktor exudes a subtle aura of confidence to anyone that spends any measure of time around him. At first glance, he may appear to be another dumb brute. But those that get to know him will find a sharp, keen mind lurking behind his expressive eyes. Though he may appear aloof in many ways due to the nature of the path he has chosen, those that he lets in will feel the warmth he has to offer. If anything can be said of Viktor, it is that will stop at nothing to protect those he cares for.
SKILLS[]
ACROBATOCS[]
Expert
Acrobatic maneuvers such as those typically performed by gymnasts are also part of Viktor's repertoire. He typically uses them to enhance on his combat technique, but should the need arise he can also use them when giving chase or fleeing.
COMBAT[]
Expert
Years of training under his Grandmother have honed Viktor's martial prowess. He fights unarmed with the augmented ability granted by his spirit totem. Although not versed in any specific school of martial art, he has adopted a number of different styles and techniques to blend into a style of fighting that is unique to his superior talents.
CONSTRUCTION[]
Competent
Having to maintain a house in the middle of nowhere in the freezing wilds of Russia, Viktor has learned about all sorts of construction. Between what he picked up in Russia and some more practical knowledge he gained shortly after returning to America, he can hold his own in most construction jobs so long as they aren't specialized.
DANCING[]
Competent
Although he did not get much practice in Russia, Viktor has always enjoyed modern forms of dance. He is not trained in ballroom dancing or any particular forms such as salsa or tango, but can pick up the steps quickly to a dance form he is not even familiar with. He has natural rhythm and is especially excellent at b-boying, commonly called breakdancing.
HERBALISM[]
Novice
Though not as well versed in the subject as Grandmother, Viktor has learned a thing or two about natural herbal healing. He can identify most herbs on sight and knows their properties, both to mortals and to supernaturals. With the right assortment of herbs, he can concoct salves and balms that will assist in the recovery of minor injuries.
LORE[]
Competent
Viktor learned a great deal of lore on the supernatural from his Grandmother. He learned through her tutelage. She also had some thorough books on the subject he could study. The most he learned was from actual combat with the creatures she spoke of out in the wilderness. The end result was that by the time Viktor returned to America he was quite aware of the myriad dangers things that live beyond what mortal eyes can see.
TRACKING[]
Competent
As a result of his lifestyle, Viktor has learned how to pursue a party through any terrain including urban settings. Living in the wilderness, one of the most vital components of survival is the ability to track prey and enemies. Subtle clues left behind by a fleeing creature stand out to him easily and even attempts to hide where one has passed seem obvious.
POWERS[]
AGILITY[]
Enhanced
Viktor's totem spirit provides him an increase in agility which translates to a greater than human potential in terms of jumping, climbing and executing acrobatic feats. For all that his figure is imposing, there's a certain grace and poise to his movements.
CALL SPIRIT TOTEM[]
Enhanced
When manifesting the power of his totem spirit for combat, the astral image of a white tiger appears over Viktor's face. Spirit claws extend from his hands and feet, imbuing him with a heightened ability to inflict damage and injuries on a being. Unlike a shifter, none of these are true physiological changes. They are symbolic of a sudden increase in ability granted to the totem warrior by their spirit.
ENDURANCE[]
Enhanced
Viktor's spirit totem affords him increased endurance and the potential to withstand a certain degree of force. He is resistant to extreme temperatures as well as being more durable when it comes to shrugging off injuries. He is significantly more difficult to wound than a normal human would be.
REGENERATION[]
Enhanced
Viktor's spirit totem grants him regenerative abilities beyond what a normal human possesses. He is immune to disease and resistant to toxins or venom. A tiny would will be gone in seconds with a major wound taking at most forty-eight hours to mend. If several wounds are inflicted simultaneously, the restoration period is lengthened based on the number, nature and severity of the wounds.
SENSES[]
Enhanced
Viktor's spirit totem heightens his senses of vision, hearing and smell. He can see in dim light perfectly and in the dark as if there were dim light. His hearing is exceptional, able to detect a heartbeat through a concrete wall. His sense of smell is superb and he can distinguish distinct smells and identify them or recall them later to match.
SPEED[]
Enhanced
Viktor's spirit totem increases his speed on both land and in the water. He can sprint faster, swim faster and has more endurance than a typical human at both feats. Whereas most humans can either sprint a short time or run for long periods, he can combine the two.
STRENGTH[]
Enhanced
Viktor's spirit totem grants him superhuman strength. This translates to bending certain metals, crushing non-metals, lifting inanimate objects up to three times his weight and throwing a humanoid several yards away from him.
WHITE TIGER SPIRIT[]
Supernatural
Viktor is a totem warrior bearing the spirit of the white tiger. Through the power of his spirit totem, inherited through his mother's bloodline, he has been granted ability beyond the potential that a normal human can reach. He is stronger, faster, and more durable than a regular human. He also possesses heightened senses and the ability to heal injuries far more quickly than a human.
ADVANTAGES[]
MOTORCYLE[]
As a welcome home gift, Viktor's parents bought him a motorcycle. Specifically, he is the proud owner of a new 2014 Ducati Diavel Strada in Atlantic Blue. It's his only means of transportation as he has no car and he keeps it in excellent condition.
WEAKNESSES[]
ANNIKA MAKSIMOV[]
Viktor's younger sister by three years, Annika was studying at Berkeley when she disappeared without a trace. They had been out of touch due to his training in Russia, but their parents sent word to him as soon as she was reported missing. The news took a month to reach him, at which point he decided to return to America to find her. He is obssessed with finding out what became of her and will stop at nothing to complete his objective.
DUTY TO INNOCENTS[]
The chief duty instilled in Viktor by his spirit totem is protection of any innocents. He feels compelled to thwart any threats to those whom he perceives as incapable of protecting themselves from the things that go bump in the night. Should he ignore it, he will inevitably suffer consequences which he cannot anticipate the nature of.
OVERWHELMING INSTINCTS[]
With the power of the white tiger come the instincts of the white tiger. These instincts can be particularly difficult to ignore. Different altogether from the compulsions of the spirit, there are times when Viktor cannot ignore a certain zealotry. This intensity comes from the part of his brain that operates not on reason or logic, but on instinct. The old argument that humans being have no instincts is completely out the window for a totem warrior of the white tiger.
SUPERNATURAL ENEMIES[]
As a totem warrior, Viktor has a natural aura that distinguishes him from mortality. This aura is an attractor for the creatures of the night, all of whom call Viktor enemy. Given that their objective is to terrorize and destroy the very mortals he is compelled to protect, demons consider him a target to be eliminated. Essentially, Viktor has a target painted on his back.
TOTEM OBLIGATION[]
Although the primary compulsion instilled by the white tiger spirit totem is the duty to protect innocents, there are times when other things are asked of him. The nature of these demands, compulsions or requests can vary and may have nothing to do with Viktor's goals. He is, however, bound to obey them or risk a severe spiritual punishment should he ignore the unspoken directives.
Birth and Youth[]
Viktor was born in Topeka, Kansas from parents who were both of Slavic and Siberian Cossack heritage. His parents fled the U.S.S.R. because of the Soviet crackdown on their people, though they maintained close ties with their family back home by various means. Settling in Kansas, the Maksimovs quickly became a mainstay of their community and by the time Viktor was born, they were happily living in both their traditional culture and the American one around them. At 16, Viktor started having visions of a ghostly white tiger calling him to the snowy, shadowed forests of his ancestors. When he finally told his parents of those dreams, they knew he'd been called to his family's ancient heritage and duty, which was to be the totem warriors of the white tiger of their native homeland. And thus Vik ended up heading off to Siberia to study with the last Totem Warrior of his line.
Destined Path[]
The old woman was simply known as 'Grandmother', though there was a broad suggestion that she was two or three generations more removed than that. Iron-willed, as tough as frozen roots and yet surprisingly nurturing, the old shaman was both a healer and a guardian to her people in a remote village in the Sikhote-Alin mountains. It was a region that was undergoing one final battle for the control of the region, thanks to a Hellmouth buried deep in the untamed wilderness of the mountains. Viktor underwent a vision quest ritual which allowed him to speak with the white tiger spirit and it found him acceptable as a vessel for its power. And thus for the next four years, he trained all day, every day, learning to fight, learning to channel his superhuman abilities, learning the herbalism of his ancestors and the lore that he needed to recognize and fight the demons that plagued that land. And then, when he was ready, Grandmother took him to war. The two of them spent a year clearing out the mountains near the human villages and fighting their way to the Hellmouth. It was a brutal time, A time of true warfare that hardened and scarred Viktor. But, it also showed him the worth and purity of who they were, the service his family performed. When it was over, the Hellmouth was sealed under enchantments that Grandmother swore would last a thousand years. Peace returned to the land for the first time in living memory and the two totem warriors could catch their breath and recover.
Sister's Fate[]
Unfortunately, that peace was not to last. Viktor received word that his younger sister, Annika, had gone missing at college and the police and civil authorities were baffled. In her belongings and diary, there were hints that Annika (Anna to family), had been searching for a connection to the supernatural world herself and that search may have lead to her disappearance.
Thus, Viktor has come home and after six months of living and working, investigating and searching in the Bay area, he is still no closer to finding his sister. He believes, in fact knows on some level, that she is still out there waiting to be found. Along the way, he has uncovered some nasty demons and human cults. True to his duty to his totem he has done his best to fight those as well, making the world a safer, better place. That pleases his totem spirit who is content, for now, to let Viktor stay in America for as long as Grandmother still protects their home region from what few monsters remain. And to hear her tell it, she might have another good century before she's ready to retire.