Name: Athos Lyell
Nickname/s: Lyell
Species: Human
Age: 23
Gender: Male
Hometown: Truro, Cornwall
Current Residence: Arling House, Reading
Studying: Arabic and Middle Eastern Studies
Employment: Territorial Rifleman (Lance Corporal – L/Cpl)
Family: Father; David Lyell. Mother; Elizabeth Johnson. Sister; Amelia
Friends: Rifleman James; his oppo
Relationship: None
Player: Henry
Contact Email: hhallett@fsmail.net
Model: Warren Brown
Background
Athos was any old kid from his parents, his appearance and his surroundings until he started at school. The oldest one of his class, having been born in early September he was more mature than his peers even at that age. Several days went past as the other children settled into these new settings, the teachers began reciting the alphabet and encouraging what Athos would now call “the rugrats” to glue raw macaroni pasta on card. Then things began to get sticky; Mrs. Treble, the over-enthusiastic teaching assistant began to notice how Athos would always sit back and watch as others went about their daily lives, keeping himself to himself.
By the October of 1988 the whole class had noticed, not to mention some of the smarter pupils from other year groups. Children whispered and giggled but began to keep more and more of a distance between themselves and the boy who seemed so dark-minded. He became a disturbance, not only to the children but to the worrying teachers.
One particular morning, Mrs. Treble again tried to force him to engage with the others. Losing patience, she took his wrist and made to lead him over to the mat for “Story time”. No sooner than her hand closed around his arm he had bitten her.
His parents were called. Reports went into his school file. Again and again the headmaster said those same words; “This is not acceptable in my school, I will not have it!”
After a while Athos was forgiven by his parents, his actions now defended as “a naïve reaction of an intelligent child, not to be pressured like that again”. So another year passed with seclusion and peace. Teachers and students alike now left Athos well alone and he appeared to calm. He read books beyond his years, made friends with children twice his age and matured.
At age five his parents encouraged him to join the scouts, which kept him out of trouble at least one night a week. The leaders often spoke highly of him to the delight of David and Elizabeth. It seemed that keeping him occupied was all that was needed to keep things running smoothly. He excelled at teamwork when it involved a constructive task and he found his place in the group, settling nicely into a new group of children.
To their shock, a fortnight later he asked his parents if he could go with a friend he had made in scouts - Samuel James - to his weekly evening class where they would learn Ken-Shin-Kenjutsu, i.e. Japanese Swordsmanship. Taken aback, they worried and of course called the instructor, although with reassurance that it was safe and started with a bokken (a wooden sword), they gave him their permission.
With this, he began to find his feet after struggling socially. He became welcomed at school having learnt how to interact with people in those nights spent sparring and learning survival skills. He even made some friends in his own class, although for the rest of his childhood it was clear to everyone that he had deeper thoughts than he ever expressed.
Reaching Secondary School with exceptional grades, he increased his social circle and left the scouts for the Army Cadets. The teachers were impressed with his quiet, studious approach that granted him so many good marks. Athos began to take an interest in the sciences and even when learning maths he remembered methods as if by a second nature.
By the end of year 7, he was a L/Cpl in the cadets and had begun to lead groups of younger children in the Scouts. By year 10 he was a Colour Sarjeant and was studying Separate Sciences, Arabic, Electronics and Modern History at GCSE level, all on top of the core subjects of the school.
College naturally followed school, with more high standards met during his Year 11 exams. His A Levels focused on his strongest points; Maths, Physics, Chemistry and Electronics. Then came decision time; work, or uni? Could such a constructive person stand being in a classroom for yet another 3 years? He certainly didn’t think so. The British Army would be his classroom. He was 17 years and 10 months old when he signed on the dotted line and swore allegiance to Queen and Country.
During the next 4 years he received one promotion, went on ops once in Iraq and twice in Afghanistan and learnt that he was an adrenaline junkie, addicted to the heart-racing moments of firefights and CQB (Close Quarter Battle). He would forever be the bloke who was there when the **** hit the fan. As such, what else was he to do he learnt of the darkest secrets of the world? Who wouldn’t want to be the guy who fought back?
It was Iraq that held the secrets from L/Cpl Lyell. A routine search was tasked to his fireteam; Himself, Rfn Harvey, Rfn Davies and Rfn James, the scout and martial artist who had always been by Athos’s side. They entered the compound expecting insurgents, possibly even ammo dumps for the bomb-makers. Never did they think they’d find a vampire drinking from its broken human.
That was May 2007. It opened his eyes. Open-mindedly he watched the news and collated information on new species, different murders and caught glimpses of what he could only describe as the enemy whenever the mask slipped. When his 4-year service contract ended, he left in July 2007, to seek the hardest kills. These must be the most exciting creatures to track, to fight, to kill. He would be a hunter, forget the risks.
Athos spent the summer with a friend in Bristol St, Manchester. Some ridiculous amount of that time was spent on his laptop, researching and updating himself on the myths and legends let he had discovered. Too much was fictional and a lot of coincidences or flukes had been turned into stories of the supernatural by paranoids. Looking back, he now mocks the things he thought he knew and understood these short months.
He wasn’t subtle and his tan, his personality and his skills were noticed by a group of hunters taking up residence in the city. Athos didn’t see what was right in front of his face for looking so hard; they tracked him for days before knowing for sure that he knew of the three mutant species. Then they sought a place where they could confront him.
It was the 7th August when they came. He was sat up in bed, alone in his friend’s house, unaware of his surroundings as his bloodshot eyes blinked off sleep and strained to read reports from his laptop screen. The trap door to the attic above his head opened suddenly and a woman dropped down, someone or something holding her feet as she grabbed his shirt and arm. Pulled into the air, both were then dragged back into the attic and a hand clamped over Athos’s mouth.
If they wanted him dead, he would be. He didn’t struggle, but looked around in the way he naively thought was a rare kind of awareness. He saw the woman who had lifted him crouched by another holding a weapon. Both were breathing heavily. Behind them a hole had been torn in the roofing – their method of entry.
That night had stayed fresh in his mind ever since. The following discussion with who he later found out to be Charlie Macintosh had opened his eyes on a situation he thought he had already known a lot about – how many times can you have a revelation about the same subject?
Slowly he began to train with the team of hunters. He learnt a lot and they took him under their wing – not a feeling he was used to. Not long after they moved location to hunt in Reading and he was told to make a cover for himself. He enrolled at University in Reading, studying the only course he could pass without it consuming all of his time (or so he thought); Arabic and Middle Eastern Studies. He also enrolled in the Territorial Army (TA) as a source of income. Having left the regulars so recently, he skipped the training and had his rank restored.
To his irritation, he was “too inexperienced” to be involved with the three killing that happened recently, but is eagerly training in entry skills and low-level team tactics.
Now, it was Fresher’s week at the Campus, his birthday was fast approaching and he had targets to meet. He was still the newbie and had a lot to prove, to himself, to his fellow hunters and to the enemy.
(Rfn James now hunts in Cornwall, Rfn Harvey passed away on the day described above and Rfn Davies was killed in action several days later.)
Physical Appearance
Although he is Caucasian, his skin is still darkly tanned from his recent tour, Athos is dark haired, with dark, hidden eyes. Shaving in a rush every day for four years has pockmarked and aged his face, although there is now a growth of stubble across his chin.
He was never focused on being the best at press-ups, but focused on speed, agility and reaction times. It has given his 5’10”, 12 stone build a layer of sinewy muscle that is reliable and strong, if a touch less attractive than the Gym Jockey’s arms.
He wears loose fitting denim jeans and a simple t-shirt, normally supporting a squaddie joke or an op tour design. His hair is still cut short and he shaves every few days, so constantly has an appearance of a rough neck line. Tattoos of friends remembered friends and lost comrades spiral down his left forearm and the Rifles cap badge takes pride of position over his heart. When hunting he is never without webbing or weapons and often takes a Katana (a two-handed Japanese sword) with a circular guard and a little more curve than most. His weapons tend to be more hygienic than himself, as they are constantly kept battle-prepped.
Personality
Athos is very focused on constructive, active behaviour. He is energetic and constantly leading the way, putting a good pair of feet on the ground. He has turned this into an effective fighting attitude and is determined to prove his worth against all races. Every fight is one that he will take a side in. This is also reflected in his thoughts. He is very opinionated, but is quiet, always considering his words. As a result, they seem to hold more power on those around him. Vampires can control minds all they like; winning an argument by saying just the right things is much more Athos’s style.
Interested in academia he was an odd kind of squaddie, but the settings of this university have inspired him to absorb as much useful information as possible whilst continuing to look for the kill.
Talents & Weaknesses
Athos is physically strong, in the prime of life and in good health, but his mind can let him down. He needs to learn to take time to assess a situation. Despite this, he has trained to be the best for years, is quick to react and quicker to kill.
A potentially fatal weakness is his fearlessness. He is over-eager to the point of dangerous, scaring his previous commanders. This is something that he will have to struggle against should he want to survive the hunts. As such, he tends to be an excellent tactician but a poor strategist.
Yet these are all principles to be developed over years of training – something all soldiers have to do. Athos suffers from his trigger-happy attitude. It is not subtle and is sure to make him known among the various races of Reading. He has continued his training in martial arts and is now at a black belt 5th Dan level in Kenjutsu, well accomplished with a katana.
He is stealthy, calm and efficient in the methods, making him a good student, but he often aims to high. His choice of subject is unlikely to be as much of a doddle as he thinks, as his new career path looks bad on paper. He is certainly no super-human, although he refuses to accept weakness in himself or those around him.
As an unfortunate balance to his military abilities, he has several traits that make him, if not unpopular, at least hard to work with. He is very rebellious and quick to snap, already having had a go at another, lazier fresher. He is also ignorant enough to believe that anything that will get the job done is the right thing and rarely takes the high road. His copying of others work may eventually be noticed. His frequent spontaneous actions also make people more wary around him; it’s seems like his social skills are not quite as perfected as he might like to think.
