Aureus

Name

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Magician
A Magician of the Egyptian tradition, haunted by past mistakes and on a quest for atonement.
Player	u/Dice-Mage
Metatype	(Human)
Street Cred	0
Notoriety	0
Public Awareness	0
Titles and Awards	0
D.O.B.	April 15th 2057
Folder	Aureus
Sum to Ten	Metatype - E Attributes - B Magic/Resonance - A Skills - B Resources - E

Character Information

Summary

Aureus is a mage following the Egyptian tradition, who was raised outside his country of citizenship, and only recently returned 'home' to Seattle. His specialties are alchemy, spellcasting and summoning; giving him a variable skillset that makes him an asset to any team of runners.

He's made his fair share of mistakes over the years, but he's also trying to learn from them.

Goals

• The eradication of as many Toxic mages, adepts or spirits as he can find. Aureus' history with TerraFirst!, combined with his guilt over turning a chemical processing plant into a hazardous wasteland, motivates him to fight the spread of polluted magical threats as a form of penance.

• Initiate into the high art of divination, the spiritual art of invocation and the thaumaturgical art of advanced alchemy.

• Gain a Power Focus.

Background

James Hyland was born and raised outside of the country he was considered a citizen of. His father, Stephen Hyland, was the UCAS ambassador to Egypt, and his mother Jessica was a doctor. He was born shortly after his parents moved overseas, and spent his childhood growing up in Egyptian cities.

James was always brilliant and willful; difficult for his parents to understand and control at the best of times. When they discovered he was a Mage in his early teens, they paid for him to attend a private boarding school catering to Awakened students, taking him off their hands until he grew out of his teenage rebellion phase. Unfortunately, this led him down a darker road.

During his high school years, James fell in with a crowd of other kids affiliated with TerraFirst! His status as a mage led to him being identified and groomed by members of the organisation's Egyptian branch for recruitment; a process that happened slowly but surely. He did small jobs for the group here and there, coming to see himself as a part of a noble cause. After he graduated high school, during his university studies, TerraFirma! made their move. James was asked to take part in a major sabotage campaign against a number of Saeder-Krupp chemical processing plants.

The operation ended up backfiring. James' attempts to sabotage a Volvox Industrial Chemicals power plant was discovered and interrupted by local security, and erupted into a violent firefight. During the fighting, several of James' conjured fire spirit ignited not only the small explosives he and his friends had set, but also the plant's chemical supply and power reactor. The ensuing destruction, which James narrowly escaped, destroyed a swathe of infrastructure, killed over a hundred people and contaminated a dozen square miles of the city of Perth's outskirts.

Fearing he would be arrested by Egyptian authorities or killed by SK security, James fled overseas after the event back to the UCAS in order to escape retribution. His parents, for their part, effectively disowned him once the truth emerged.

With no family to rely on, and with any opportunity for a legitimate career ruined, James started working as a street mage in Seattle. Wherever possible, he tried to take jobs that helped to improve the lives of the community over trying to make himself rich. Shortly after he started doing so, he encountered the Fire-Bringer; a spirit that came to him in a dream one night, attracted to his guilt. His soul could not heal, the spirit said, except by doing penance for his past mistakes. It offered to help him redeem himself by serving as his spiritual advisor, an entity that would keep him on the right path. James accepted, and a partnership was formed between spirit and runner.

Narrative Significant Qualities

Positive

• Magician: A Mage following the Egyptian tradition. Magical rating of 6; uninitiated.
• Mentor Spirit (Fire-Bringer): The Fire-Bringer appears before James in the form of a human man with a hazy, blurred face; his features are completely shrouded except for two small burning fires in the middle of his face for eyes. His voice is always kind and calm, and urges James to keep on helping people. The Fire-Bringer also often sends James visions of alchemical or sorcerous projects, inspiring him with ideas and innovative solutions.

Negative

• Big Regret: In August 2076, Aureus took part in a TerraFirst! attack in the Egyptian city of Cairo that laid waste to a number of Saeder-Krupp facilities and the surrounding area, killing over a hundred people in the process. The result was almost the complete opposite of what he had originally intended to accomplish, and he deeply regrets the part he played in it.
• Wanted (Saeder-Krupp): A bounty of 50,000 nuyen is currently on offer for Aureus' capture, dead or alive. He was identified by Saeder-Krupp investigators as one of the individuals responsible for the TerraFirst! attack on the Cairo-based chemical plant that killed over a hundred people and contaminated the region.

Affiliations

Contacts

• Alessa P. - Connection 4, Loyalty 1 - Fixer (Networking)
• Dr. Miles Thurston - Connection 4, Loyalty 1 - Talislegger (Swag)

In Character Information

Symbols and Signatures

As a private form of signature or heraldry, Aureus has been known to inscribe a personal symbol onto several of his belongings, such as his magical lodge materials and some of his alchemical preparations. This symbol is the characters Au79 (the periodic table's representation for the element of Gold) enclosed within either a Shen ring or Cartouche (symbolizing good luck and the protection from evil).

Matrix Search Table

Threshold	Result
1 hit	Latin. lit. 'Golden'. Also refers to an ancient Roman coin, equivalent to 25 pure silver denarii; it is highly sought after today by collectors for its purity, value and historical interest.
2 hits	Aureus of Mainz, a 5th Century Roman Catholic Saint. Vitulus Aureus, an alchemical text written by a Dutch physician in 1667. Canis aureus, the golden jackal of South-East Europe and South Asia.
3 hits	Several Emerald City local grid message boards and datahavens contain records of a persona using the name 'Aureus' discussing alchemical preparations and asking advice about where to buy reagents.
4+ hits	A regular client at the punk rock bar The Daze, Aureus is the alias of a street mage known for doing odd jobs here and there. He is affiliated in some way with TerraFirst!

Shadow Community Table

Threshold	Result
1 hit	A brand new Shadowrunner operating out of Seattle.
2 hits	A Magician and regular at The Daze. A member of the ShadowHaven Host.
3 hits	An Egyptian Mage with strong talents in alchemy, spellslinging and summoning. Fixer is Alessa P. Has a history with TerraFirst!
4+ hits	A former asset and member of the Egyptian wing of TerraFirst! A suspect in the 2076 Egyptian terrorist attack on Cairo, and is the subject of an active 50,000 nuyen bounty by Saeder-Krupp.

SINs

James Hyland; UCAS, University Student - Bachelor's of Thaumaturgic Arts. Legal SIN. Burned.

Nicholas Moore; Manadyne, Astral Security Officer (Driver's License, Private Investigator License, Mage License, Summoner's License). R4 Fake SIN.

Appearance

Clothing

While working or making his way around the city, Aureus normally wears semi-formal clothing; shirt, tie and vest. His bearing is that of a man who wants to be taken seriously as a professional. When he is expecting to get involved in combat, he adds an armoured jacket and ballistic facemask over the top of his regular clothes.

Astral Appearance

Aureus is like a burning beacon when viewed with astral perception, almost impossible to miss. He looks similar to his physical world counterpart, but glows with incandescent light and exudes wisps of smoke from his form, as if constantly threatening to erupt into flames.

Matrix Persona

A robed wizard, complete with hood. Any devices he bears generally resemble magical foci, such as staves, wands or amulets.