James Sterk
From Inga no Kusari wiki
| Sterk, James ♂ | |
|---|---|
| Date of Birth | 17th March, 1987 (25) |
| Place of Birth | Norfolk Virginia, United states |
| Bow | Havik |
| Player | James Sterk |
| Quincy | |
Contents |
Appearance
James stands at 5 feet 11 inches tall and weighs near 250 pounds. He's usually seen wearing the clothes in the image, though he sometimes wears a different vest that has a cross on it in place of the star.
Personality
With a touch of arrogance and narcissism accompanied by an abundance of self confidence, James whole heartedly believes there is nothing he can not accomplish. Intelligent and a bit headstrong James rarely listens to anyone but himself. Generally in a grumpy mood for little to no reason it doesn't take a whole lot to make him angry. However, unlike most, simply being angry isn't enough to make James lose his composure. James has very few friends and rarely seeks out the social interactions required to obtain them. Despite all this James tends to come across as a calm, respectful individual, usually because he keeps his mouth shut. He has no love or respect for "the common herd" and treats non soul inclined beings, Especially those of high rank, as nothing special. Beings who aren't worth his time. He's never been one to start fights though has no qualms about finishing them. He has the same pride and honor as most quincies, though he doesn't go making vows upon it. He does feel a small sense of comradery with other Quincies and usually won't hesitate much when it comes to helping out one of his fellows. He has no hatred of Shinigami, having deciding the past needs to stay in the past and while they may have wronged the quincy before, no shinigami had ever wronged him. Despite his flaws James tends to keep his word, when he makes a promise you can almost count on the fact he'll do as he said he would.
History
Born the first son of a middle class family, James life started about average you could say. They lived in a fairly large house and the boy had no needs, only wants. There was joy, there was laughter. It wasn't until he turned 6 and became old enough to start school and leave the house by himself that he realized his father and mother were different from the parents of the other children on his street. Their parents were gone almost all day, returning home only an hour or so after their children did. His parents on the other hand were asleep all day and out all night. It was the same thing every day. His parents would enter his room early in the morning to wake him for school before groggily wandering towards their room. James would ride one bus to school but ride a different one to the home of his Uncle every afternoon. His uncle was always at work when he arrived, leaving him to stay with his two cousins and their grandfather. James had once asked his grand father why he was living with his uncle. To which his grand father mumbled something about eviction. The uncle would return from work a few hours after the children got out of school. He would mumble some stuff about "The office" and how it was getting "Crowded in there" before slinking off to his room and telling his father to "call him if he needed him." The night would generally pass with nothing happening before his Grandfather returned him to his house several hours before school was to start.
Being older then his two cousins, James would often end up sitting alone watching television with his grandfather for a few hours each night. It was during times like this his grandfather would tell him stories about fantastic noble warriors who would strike down evil spirits with arrows of holy light. James greatly enjoyed these stories, each night he heard a different tale from his grandfather, though all of them revolved around a hero named Peter and his companions on their never ending quest to save the mortal world from the evil spirits. One day while in his uncles backyard he asked his grandfather how the warriors could use such a weapon. His grand father smirked at him before reaching into his shirt and removing a strange 8 pointed charm attached to a chain.
"With this." His grand father said as he removed the chain from his neck and handed it out to the boy. James blinked at it. He'd seen this type of jewelry before. His parents wore similar things....though this somehow felt different. It was as if the strange charm was alive. The boy stared at it for a moment, the charm seemed like a huge daunting thing towering above him...something he could never grasp. As if understanding his grand sons hesitance he pulled the artifact away. His grandfather tied the chain around his wrist so that the charm rested squarely in his palm. James watched as his grandfather moved the arm with the cross out in-front of him, the other hand taking up a position of holding something just behind it.
"This little charm." His grandfather said as he pretended to pull back on something. "Allows them to focus ambient spirit power in the air around them into the shape of their bow." James grand father said opening the fingers on his hand that was drawn back. For a split second James could see it, faintly, but he could. A bright yellow strangely shaped bow of light with an arrow leaving the string. James glanced towards the tree his grand father had been aiming at as it vanished. A bit of surprise suddenly raced across his face. There was now a very narrow slit like hole in the tree.
"How'd you do that Grandpa!?" James shouted as he dashed up to the tree. His grand father chuckled as he removed the charm from his wrist before placing it back around his neck.
"Not everything I've told you was all fables..." His grandfather said before turning to go back in the house. James stared for a few more minutes before making his way back inside to speak with his grand father once more. his grandfather avoided answering his questions while in the presence of his cousins or uncle. Once they had went to bed as per usual his grand father once more removed the charm.
"Let me ask you..." James grand father said as he tied the chain around his wrist once more. "Can you see this?" He asked holding his hand out to his grand son. James raised an eyebrow at his grandfathers empty hand. The boy stared at his grandfathers hand before once more seeing the bow for a split second. like the first time however it simple vanished from sight.
"No sir...." James said wondering what this was about. His grandfather smiled before taking the charm off. "You're not yet ready....." his grandfather said.
"How do you do that?" James asked.
He never got that answer...at least not in enough time. A few days after the conversation with his grandfather the cycle of his life suddenly changed. No longer did he travel to his uncles house after school. Instead he was instructed to come straight home where a babysitter would meet him and keep watch on him during the day, in addition he was not to leave the house except to go to school. Restricted from leaving the house he rarely saw anyone other than the baby sitter. Time passed, enough time for James to relegate what he had seen his grandfather do to a dream. He forgot about the stories his grand father used to tell him. He'd never had many friends and the babysitter made it painfully obvious she didn't like him, the feeling however was mutual. With nothing better to do the youth focused on his studies. His grades climbing higher and higher. Though there was no one around to notice. In time james simply stopped speaking to anyone at school, he had nothing relevant to say to them and they never had anything relevant to say to anyone. He spoke only when called upon and usually ignored everyone else. As time passed he stopped working, spending most of his school days simply staring at the clock while waiting for the dismissal bell to ring. His grades took a plunge due to his non participation. However he always surprised teachers by acing whatever test they threw at him, making it perfectly clear to them that just cause he wasn't looking at them didn't mean he wasn't listening.
It was only two years later when he was diagnosed with SPD or Schizoid Personality Disorder. A personality disorder characterized by a lack of interest in social relationships, a tendency towards a solitary lifestyle, secretiveness, and emotional coldness. Further more James had developed a mild sense of superiority accented by a bit of narcissism.
"If I am superior to others, if I am above others, then I do not need others. When I say that I am above others, it does not mean that I feel better than them, it means that I am at a distance from them, a safe distance. It is a feeling of being vertically displaced, rather than horizontally at a distance." James had told his doctor on more than one occasion.
While it was merely the ranting of a young man it did seem to hold true. It had been quite some time since the babysitter had quit to move onto bigger and better things. James now sat alone at home all day with nothing to do except read various comic books. He liked these kinds of stories. The hero would always rise to the challenge regardless of what physical or emotional things were wrong with him and save the day, even if it cost him his life. This kept up for some time. 5 years seemed to fly by for James. His situation hadn't improved in the slightest, nor did he seek to make it improve. Every once in a while he chose to forgo the bus ride home, preferring the quiet of walking the mile home himself compared to the over cramped and overly loud school bus. The peace and quiet was worth the physical effort. He didn't tell his parents this, on the rare occasions when he saw them they made it perfectly clear that any change in what he was doing was forbidden. However on one particular day the peace was shattered by loud wails. It didn't take James much time to locate the source. A girl crying out in-front of a store. As he glanced he wondered how the people around him could ignore such loud wails. James stopped after the 16th faceless person walked past the crying girl. Normally he would've kept walking, let idiots solve their own problems, but for once he felt drawn to another person.
"Whats wrong with you?" He asked as he approached. The girl stopped crying and stared blankly at james as he came to a stop infront of her.
"You can see me?!" She asked in what seemed to be stark amazement. James half closed his eyes and turned around. "Nevermind. I don't want any part of this idiocy." he said as he walked away. He figured it was a television show or something. There was probably a camera hidden somewhere.
"Wait!" The girl shouted before James had taken more than three steps. The human stopped in his tracks, ignoring his better judgment and turned around. As the girl moved towards him he noticed she had some weird thing attached to her chest. Like a plug of some sort with a broken chain that reached to her knees attached to it.
"The hecks that thing supposed to be." James asked quizzically as he reached down and grabbed the chain. It was the strangest feeling he'd ever had. The chain was cold...colder then ice, yet touching it felt his body with a warm sensation. James dropped the chain in surprise and looked up to the girl whom it was attached to. "Look, if this is some show or something you need to back off me and find someone else to mess with." James said taking a step backwards.
"I'm not messing with you!" The girl shouted quickly. "I woke up like this two days ago and no one reacts to me...and these....THINGS....keep chasing me."
"Things?" James asked raising an eyebrow. Immediately lowering it as a loud roar filled his hearing. It was like something out of those old godzilla movies they played on TV. James craned his head up, finding a strange, gargantuan, creature had seemingly appeared out of nowhere. It's body was black as night.....except for it's bear like white face. .....Or was it a mask? He couldn't tell. The creature took a step forward, James taking one back in surprise at this things sudden appearance. It's large hand wrapped around the girl, hosting her into the air, before tossing her in its mouth. James stared wide eyed at the sight. The creature took a look down at him when it was done with it' meal, taking another step forward. It had moved a whole three steps before someone else simply appeared. A man he'd seen before, dressed in white. "You should run....." his uncle said as he raised his hands, in mere seconds a neon orange bow of some sort was in his grip. The beast screeched something James couldn't understand before swinging at the armed defender who seemingly vanished. He hadn't seen much more than that since he'd taken off running as his uncle suggested. James ran, afraid to turn around and find the beast was after him. The image of that thing standing there, mouth working as it chewed the girl, was burned into his retina. As he neared his home he slowed down, he went over the beasts appearance in his head; Causing a strange feeling of deja vu. He'd seen....or heard about something like that before. But where? Upon unlocking and entering the house James found his grand father sitting in the living room along with his uncle, still dressed in white.
"Grandpa......how'd you get in here?" James asked. He knew the only people with keys were he and his parents.
"I will ask you one more time." His grand father said as he showed james the charm. "Can you see this?" This time James eyes widened in surprise as the golden bow extended from his grand fathers hand. Not only could he see it...he could hear the noise it made upon being created.
"Yes...." James mumbled.
"I told you he could see it." his uncle said as he reached into his pocket. He retrieved what James thought was a chain. It reflected what little bit of sunlight was coming in through the door. He smirked and tossed the object to James, who caught it and stared at it. It was a cross of some sort......though it didn't have the usual shape.
"Make sure you always hold onto that thing." his uncle said before leaving the house. James turned to watch him move down the front lawn, only to lose him as he vanished.
"What is all this grandpa?" James asked glancing once more at the cross he'd been given and then at his grand father.
"My boy." His grand father said as he placed his charm around his neck and hid it in his shirt. "You are one of us now. All you lack is the training..."
"He's not one of us!" Came the voice of his father. James jumped slightly and turned to see both of his parents walking in. Both were awake and wearing some weird white clothes. "I told you he was going to be raised differently......where's the cross?" His father stated before posing a question about crosses. James had jammed the thing in his pocket, the fingers on his left hand tightened slightly.
"....I didn't get to that part yet." His grandfather lied as he pulled his charm out of his shirt.
"Leave....RIGHT NOW." His mother shouted. James' grandfather frowned slightly before walking past the two, stopping only a foot from the door. "You can't keep him from it forever..." He said before walking out. James mother spun and slammed the door shut behind him.
That night there was a long conversation had. When it had ended James found himself in his room pondering over these quincies and how he was apparently one of them. Their purpose was the defense of mortals from evil spirits called hollows. He'd learned the girl he'd seen earlier was a spirit, one who apparently didn't know it was dead. As he lay in the darkness he removed the cross from his pocket. That part had been left a mystery. The creation of the bow made of light seemed to center around charms such as this one. James tied the chain around his wrist, as his grandfather did with his charm, before placing it in the palm of his hand...nothing happened. James frowned as he climbed out of his bed. His parents wanted him to have no part in this quincy business, they'd made that quite clear. They also made it quite clear he was kept isolated from the outside world for a reason. All it had taken to shatter their plan was one decision from a thirteen year old boy....Had he not walked home that day, he may have never have found out about the quincy or his spiritual awareness. A sudden tap on his window snapped james from his thoughts. Bathed in the moonlight and standing on the roof just outside his window was his grandfather. James quickly hopped off his bed and rushed to the window, opening it quickly.
"Your parents may not be willing to teach you....but I am." His grandfather said before dragging him out on the roof. He forced James to agree to two conditions before teaching him anything. One: He was not to ever let his parents find out his grand father had trained him, even if he learned to use his quincy powers he was not to use them unless he had to. The second condition was that he was never to give up on his education in order to hunt hollows. James agreed to the conditions eagerly. His grandfather explained the rest of the quincy history. About hollows. About shinigami. About the never ending war between the two in which quincies were something like a side army. When the history lesson was over his grandfather sent him back to sleep. They continued to meet like this, once a week, for the next two years. After only eleven after dark meetings the boy had managed to form a bow, though it wasn't very strong; Snapping when he attempted to pull the string back. After twenty after dark lessons he was able to make a bow that could fire arrows, though his arrows were lacking power enough to actually pierce anything. When all was said and done James had obtained the power to create a bow and use it to fire arrows capable of piercing things. Now in high school, he and his grandfathers training meetings transferred from his rooftop to a church out in the middle of some woods, while also decreasing in frequency. They met once a month now. Giving the boy enough time to fool his parents into believing he had joined a club or something that met after school one day a month. It was the usual drivel his life had always been for 29 consecutive days. Sitting in a class room with beings who were deaf to the spiritual happenings around them. On the 30th day he walked towards his home before taking a detour down a side street. When he reached the end of this street he would hop over the guard rail at the end and walk through the woods for 10 minutes before coming across a rather beat up old church. It was here other Quincies stayed, and it was here he met his grandfather. The purpose of these meetings was usually to increase James' effectiveness in combat.
The crosses they made them practice with were best likened to guitar picks. It cut the launching power of the bow in half while everyone used arrows that seemed to have no point. Delivering only physical force on impact. With the prior training he'd received his grand father had only taught him how to make a bow and form arrows, he did not practice hitting moving targets. A weakness James realized soon after his third meeting with his grand father. The other quincies had usually dodged by the time he'd fired, or he'd fired wrong and missed them by a few inches. As he went to these meetings he began to note other things about the other quincies. They were fast and jumpy, while he tended to be a lot slower and less agile. They were physically weak and frail, while James had the ability to take several of the practice arrows before he felt he could no longer fight. He wasn't the only one who noticed these traits. Several other quincies had made jokes about him being the first quincy in their chapter who'd be better off using a 'seele schneider'.
James began to lift weights and run laps around his neighborhood in an attempt to improve these traits. He formed his bow when he was alone and looked for ways to improve it. 3 years passed, the effectiveness of his training becoming apparent during the final session with his Quincy brethren. During this exorcise the quincy were allowed to use their own crosses. It was during this that james displayed his bow to the others. A recurve bow, golden in color as was his grand fathers. Using his bows semi unique shape in conjunction with his physical strength to send arrows traveling at high velocity. His speed had increased to the point he was able to dodge the arrows of other quincies if he needed to. The greatest contribution to his fighting style however was his non reliance on his bow. He used wide kicks and low punches to take out anyone who got too close to him. Using his bow only when someone was too far away. His grand father concluded he had learned all he could teach him at this point, and to return to him when he had mastered the lessons he had taught. With that James life returned to what it was before. That of a high school student with nothing better to do. Whenever a hollow made itself known out in the open the boy always had to fight the urge to join in the battle. His grandfather had made him swear he would not use his powers unless he had to. As he paid more and more attention to the outside world he realized there were always quincy on duty, the likely hood he'd have to use his powers was slim.
This held true for five years, until James' graduation. Deciding to hold true to his other promise, James decided to study abroad. Leaving home with his grandfather telling him to send him a letter if he ever needed anything. He began his trip by wasting his vacation in various parts of the world, ultimately winding up in Japan for the last 2 weeks of it. He had a hotel room for a week and a half in some place called okumichi city...
Combat
Strengths
- Physically stronger than most humans and other quincies.
- Exceptional physical fortitude, able to take several blows before going down. Stronger foes will be able to take him out in fewer hits
- James is a multi-tasker, having the ability to focus on several things at once without missing too much information.
Weaknesses
- Has horrible aim when compared with his quincy brethren
- Bar his reflexes, James is very slow moving
-A bit head strong, James tends to ignore the words and warnings of others, oftentimes putting himself against foes he has no chance of beating.
