Korvus Rook'shir

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PHASE 1

PHASE 2

Korvus Rook'shir
Portrayed by Steven Strait
Codename:	n/a
Affiliations:	X-Men
Birthdate:	July 14, 1993

Journal:	xp_korvus
Player:	Available for Applications

Born into an affluent Indian family, Korvus found himself at Xavier's after escaping slavery in Madripoor without family or a rupee to his name. Following M-Day, he returned to India to look for his family and help rebuild the the Imperial Guard.

Details

Character Journal: xp_korvus

Real Name: Korvus Rook'shir

Codename: None

Aliases: None

First Appearance: September 29th, 2011

Date of Birth: July 14, 1993

Place of Birth: New Delhi, India

Citizenship: Republic of India

Relatives: Rook'shir Family (Deceased), The Shiar Clan of Agnivanshi lineage by way of his father, Calysee Neramani-Khan (distant relative on father's side), Lilandra Neramani (distant relative on father's side)

Education: Autodidactic education in Philosophy during two years imprisonment, High School education until Senior Year at the hands of India's finest tutors.

Relationship Status: Formerly dated Meggan Szardos

Occupation: Student, Former Slave

Team Affiliation: X-Men

Biography

Childhood, India, and Madripoor

Korvus is the descendant of the famous Rook'shir family from the the Shiar Clan of Agnivanshi lineage. It has been said the first Rook'shir was an Avatar of Vishnu, armed with the Nandaki, capable of destroying evil in any way it presented itself. His father, a recently retired Lieutenant General, was preparing to openly oppose D. Kenneth Neramani's militaristic political stances and the formation of India's Imperial Guard after the invasion of Sri Lanka and upon gathering evidence of Nermani's direct orders authorizing genocide and siginificant links to the Sons of Bakr. The stirring opposition led to a private roundup and extermination of the Rook'shir line (a threat due to their popularity, even if legend is dismissed) and the public sentence of treason for Lieutenant General Rook'shir.

The 16 year old Korvus managed to escape the Imperial Guard's capture while spending his Junior year abroad as an aid worker in Darfur, Africa. Having been warned by post about his family's disappearance by a friend, Korvus returned to India covertly and contacted established local politically dissident mutants and organizations in an attempt to help bring to light D. Kenneth Neramani's atrocities with what he could gather of his father's evidence. Despite a non-violent philosophy of information distribution, after only a summer of little success, Korvus was captured by the Imperial Guard. With enough attention drawn enough attention to himself and the situation, D. Kenneth Neramani was unable to outright kill the young man for fear of making him a martyr for other mutants and organizations to rally behind. Korvus was instead said to have left for England in order to attend university early but was instead shipped to Madripoor to work under lock and key on dangerous and heavy machinery, leaving him available to be forced into an appearance should anyone probe into his departure officially but perhaps to avoid angering Vishnu by destroying one of his favored family lines.

It was as Korvus was captured to be shipped to Madripoor that his mutation manifested. Despite putting up quite a fight, Korvus was completely unaware of his mutation's benefits or limits and easily bested by one of the mutants running slaves from India to Madripoor. After recovering from the injuries sustained during his resistance, the young mutant spent two years confined to work shops where his owners felt his mutation was best put to work. Uneasy truce prevailed, Korvus was a very dangerous mutant that would not be easily beaten or abused by most of the slave masters however he was also aware that other mutants were about whom could kill him if need be. It was the instruction of D. Ken to keep Korvus presentable in case he was required to make an appearance and, as a slave, Korvus was well aware if he could not be presented and would not work then there wasn't a reason to keep him alive.

Korvus spent over a year unaware that D. Kenneth Neramani had been removed from power, hidden deep inside Madripoor's sprawling underworld. It was by providence that the Starjammers liberated a ship transporting a number of slaves, Korvus included, from work in the Bagka-Billitung Province back to Madripoor. Learning that the Indian government had been restructured with a sympathetic figurehead, Korvus secured transport to India with the Starjammers.

Phase 1

Living At The X-Mansion

After arranging a meeting, Korvus spent time with Lilandra. Sharing his story and passing along what was left of the the evidence his father had gathered against D. Ken (in case others were still hidden underground as he had been), Korvus left for America, having heard the X-Men intervened to stop the invasion of Pakistan.

Korvus settled in easily enough at Xavier's. His inability to comprehend idioms was a source of amusement to his fellow mansionites, but his personality allowed him to make friends quickly, and he even began dating Meggan Szardos not long after arriving, and in December 2011 he inherited the Nandaki - an heirloom sword.

Genosha and Moving On

2012 was a bit of a roller coaster for Korvus. It started in February when a peaceful rally turned into chaos when several anti-mutant protestors spontaneously developed mutant problems, and Korvus helped to subdue the new mutants. Things got worse in April when, while at a protest at the Genoshan rally, Korvus was among the group of Xavierites and associates kidnapped and brought to Genosha, where he was subsequently depowered. Korvus was kept in the Genoshan jail and interrogated about Xavier's, while helping to quietly plot their own breakout - which eventually succeeded. He went on to help take down the giant monster Moreau in the final battle.

The chaos didn't end there, of course. A field trip to a Renaissance Fair in July 2012 turned into an adventure of its own when a little girl's mtuation went out of control, making everyone think they were really in the Renaissance, with Korvus himself thinking he was a Dark Knight - he requested that nobody ever speak of that again. Somewhere in that time he became an RA after Jean-Phillipe stepped down. In August he accompanied an X-Men team to act as security at a pro-mutant concert.

In July 2013 he went with the New Mutants as a chaperone on a field trip and a cave came to life and tried to kill them. At the end of the year he was part of the team that went into faux Limbo to save a group of kidnapped people.

End of the World

Everything came crashing down in 2015, starting with Muir Island being destroyed and the subsequent disappearance of Jean Grey. When she was found in India, Korvus went with a team to try and rescue her. The team returned to find the mansion in ruins, and they went in to help save the survivors, but it was too late - reality fell apart, and those who were left alive - Korvus among them - were saved by Xorn and transferred to the new world.

Phase 2

Korvus spent a quiet year in the new version of the world, unsure of his place. In May 2016 he decided to return to India, to perhaps find his family and to help his country rebuild. He and Meggan agreed circumstances made continuing their relationship too difficult, and they separated amicably.

Physical Characteristics

Height: 6'2"

Weight: 190 lbs

Eyes: Brown

Hair: Black

Other Features: None

Powers

Enhanced Physical Traits:

Superhuman strength, enhanced speed, reflexes, agility, flexibility, coordination, balance, and endurance all theoretically five times that of current human records used to measure these attributes. Due to his inexperience, Korvus' actual capabilities are still significantly lower. Although he does not possess a healing factor, his body repairs as well as it performs in all other respects as compared to standard humans.

Equipment

Nandaki

Sword of Vishnu is a Khanda only able to be effectively used by a Rook'shir. Although rumored to be over one-thousand years old, the sword is a family heirloom verifiably dating to the mid 20th century and the first mutant Rook'shir. Without coherent explanation about mutations and the abilities he was experiencing, Rohan Roopak Shiar mistook the telekinetic energy he was absorbing and projecting through Nandaki (a previously ceremonial weapon oversized to be easily seen from inside large formations) to be produced by the sword itself. Fortunately aligning with family legend, Nandaki was actively used by Rohan to help provide stability to the region as the British Raj fell and the Republic of India was formed, ensuring the military influence of the Shiar clan. After Rohan's death in combat, an echo of his energy remained in the blade which had been inexplicably altered by it's use as a focus for years. The blade itself is capable of absorbing various forms of energy to function (its essence altered into that of a focus for mutant energies.) Energy from the weapon can be projected as a concussive telekinetic force capable of striking targets or shielding the user, though it only performs these tasks at the hands of a Rook'shir. Being only an echo of it's former strength, Nandaki can not withstand a continuous, direct attack nor can it project more than short pulses of energy capable of force equivalent to what a well trained human would be able to exert.

Trivia

Despite a family history steeped in Hindu mythology, and his own belief in Advaita Vedanta Hindu Philosophy, Korvus loosely meets the Sahajdhari Sikh criteria of "any human being who faithfully believes in One Immortal Being; ten Gurus, from Guru Nanak Dev to Sri Guru Gobind Singh; Sri Guru Granth Sahib; the teachings of the ten Gurus and the baptism bequeathed by the tenth Guru; and who does not owe allegiance to any other religion" though he does not self-identify as Sikh.

Korvus has studied a number of traditional Indian cultural arts under the direction of private tutors, including Yoga and Kalari Payat.