Marcus Cocceius Nerva
aka "Mark Avern"
Sunlit Alcoves
Caesar of the Cabiri
Description
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 182 lb.
Ethnicity: Caucasian
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Short simple brown and gray
Clothing: Black business formal
Comportment/Cadence: Reserved
Distinctions: An aging gentleman waxing his 60s, he walks with a proud and measured stride, a certainty one associates with leaders of nations, and though he's not a particularly handsome man, there is a gravitas about him
Supernatural Qualities: Whatever his past, he is easily written off as unmentionable
Accoutrements: Light jewelry
Traits: Appearance 2; Arcane 1
"Magna opera thwarted: but why do we always turn to another for the next hope?"
History
Date of Birth: November 8th, 30
Home: Narni, Etruria, Italia, Roman Empire
Family: Marcus Cocceius Nerva the Elder and Sergia Plautilla (parents), Cocceia (younger sister)
First Death: External Supernatural Trigger (noble birth into family closely aligned to Julio-Claudian Dynasty; always a quiet scholar and negotiator, making his marks as courtier and prized advisor, until finally his star briefly shined and he was anointed Caesar; but he read the chiseled writing on the wall and knew his time would be short like so many other emperors in that tumultous era, so while doing his job, and doing it pretty well, he also tapped into the secret research and lore that emperors and generals had been gathering from the realm and provinces for ages, and among those secrets he found the Spell of Life), 98
Mentor: Charon
The Test: Trial by Influence (when the end of his reign drew near, he initiated a small handful of loyalists into his plan who would assist with the arcane rite; he drank a poison that mimicked a natural death while the spell was completed; after he died, and his succession kept Imperial Rome chugging forward, he opened his eyes to uncertain success: in the Underworld, where Charon himself greeted the former emperor and guided him through the Shadowlands and Tempest, showing him the Far Shores of Elysium, and finally revealing that he was indeed Reborn Dead, not Restless, and thus not under the Reaper's authority)
Comrades: Isiemkheb Kephiri, Jahim Koray, Nebtawi Kosey, Persephone Maraki, Vadim Kolek, Jelani al-Houssam, Ravenna Grove, Eleni Stratea
Key Event #1: Awe & Wonder (with Charon helping him understand the basic metaphysics of the soul, he was able to "recharge" his body, reinhabit the flesh, and rise from his tomb, beginning his second life; he began his immortal existence by staying low profile from then on)
Key Event #2: Awe & Wonder (this first life was filled with quiet, secluded, and careful meditation and reflection on the long path ahead, for he was always a methodical man)
Key Event #3: Awe & Wonder (the other secrets in the imperial vaults intrigued him, and he began to tug on some of those threads, namely investigating and researching the "Kindred", and discovering the vampires very much dwelled among the living; he learned much of their nature and their Jyhad, quietly and incognito observing their nightly activities throughout the empire)
Key Event #4: Awe & Wonder (but he grew bored of their schemes that continued through, and likely contributed to, the fall of Rome, and he turned to researching the Restless ghosts under Charon's domain instead)
Key Event #5: Awe & Wonder (Marcus spent many ages in the Underworld, despite opportunities to return to life with a fully-recharged Psyche; he explored Stygia with Charon's blessing, who all but invited the Cabirus to stay permanently, but never attempting to force it)
Key Event #6: Awe & Wonder (when he did take up mortal lives again through the 4th to the 8th-centuries, he spent most of his time chasing leads on the so-called "Lupines", the Garou and other lycanthropic creatures; these subjects he kept a very safe distance away, given their savagery)
Key Event #7: Awe & Wonder (through such study, Marcus discovered and affirmed the existence of living spirits, which mystics called Umbrood; he could not interact with them much, but when the opportunities arrived, he always remained curiously respectful)
Key Event #8: Awe & Wonder (then he shifted his focus of study to those mystics and mages, and thus spent much more time in the land of the living, running his Psyche soul ragged over the centuries of the Middle Ages, approaching and exchanging lore with the equally curious Awakened)
Key Event #9: Awe & Wonder (in fact, Marcus lost interest in studying any other supernatural beings, especially since Charon had grown cold in the Underworld over time; he focused on studying magic and mages, especially the ancient Hermetic Houses)
Key Event #10: Treachery (he butted heads with the mages of House Tremere especially, finding them both surprisingly incurious and almost childishly greedy about lore exchanges, so he learned to simply avoid them, and he wasn't the least bit surprised when the whole House "Embraced themselves")
Key Event #11: Awe & Wonder (meanwhile, Marcus continued to keep the ancient Greco-Roman philosophies alive as guiding road maps for the way to best live his endless existence)
Key Event #12: Awe & Wonder (he always kept a precise chronicle of his observations and experiences, these journals his truest treasure)
Key Event #13: Awe & Wonder (as a master of diplomacy, he never had enemies for long if at all, able to de-escalate most problems; consequently, his insular and private lifestyle kept him from having many friends either)
Key Event #14: War (that solitude eventually caught up to the Cabirus, as an Ishmaelite heard of his existence and tracked him down to seize that hoard of journaled lore and secrets; Marcus evaded him for years through the Victoria era but the renegade mummy grew ever closer)
Key Event #15: Awe & Wonder (so he did what he thought he would never have to do: he turned to the Shemsu-Heru for aid; they agreed to help him in exchange for the very journals the Ishamelite wanted; Marcus reluctantly agreed, and Horus honored their faction's end of the deal by banishing the Ishmaelite's soul to Du'at perpetually)
Transition: Shift in Nature (now on "friendly terms" with the Egyptian mummies, he at least felt safe enough to dare to make and keep one dear friend, and from among the Shemsu-Heru, to his surprise and delight he found the secret daughter of Cleopatra herself, Isiemkheb, with whom he became close friends while accompanying her in her role as a watcher in New York)
Significant Other
Name: Isiemkheb Kaphiri, 2006
Nature: Companionship
Isiemkheb
Weakness
Emperor of Books
Marcus always was too scholarly to rule. Is he too bookish to survive? Two thousand years says otherwise, but two thousands are also about to peak with Armageddon...
Likelihood of Corruption
Low.
Marcus is very aware of and savvy to the hazards of the spirit worlds, while maintaining a solid and morally principled outlook on life.
Links
Character Stats
Character Profiles
Deus Ex Machina
E-mail me!
Main Character Hub
Back to Game Hub