Criminal Prodigy
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“He looked like a fallen angel, replete with all the dangerous male beauty that Lucifer could devise.”
— Lisa Kleypas
K A Z I M I R
Masculine |"Destroyer of peace" | Russian
E N G E L H A R T
Masculine | "Angelic strength" | DutchMasculine | Surname | Dutch
D E C O R T E -
BASICS
⎨NAME⎬
His full name is Kazimir Engelhart Decorte.
⎨ALIAS(ES)⎬
He usually goes by Kaz, only, and that's how he likes it.
⎨AGE⎬
He is 28 years old.
November 2nd, which makes him a Scorpio.
⎨NATIONALITY⎬
He is of Kerch descent.
⎨RESIDENCE⎬
He resides at Fifth Harbor in Ketterdam, Kerch.
⎨OCCUPATION⎬
He is a criminal, thief, and the leader of a gang named The Serpents that operates in Ketterdam.
⎨BUILD⎬
He is a darkly handsome young man, being tall and slender yet muscular.
⎨COMPLEXION⎬
He is slightly sunkissed.
⎨HEIGHT⎬
He measures 185 centimeters.
⎨EYES⎬
He has dark brown eyes that peer out from under thin dark brows and are framed by long, dark eyelashes. He has a slightly unnerving, dark stare which he likes to fixate others and a perpetual half-smirk that betrays all innocence.
⎨HAIR⎬
He has a mane of dark hair that he keeps neatly styled, parted in the middle and brushed back with care.
⎨TRADEMARKS⎬
He has a slightly unnerving stare with which he likes to fixate others and if only he'd loose that that perpetual half-smirk of his... He also carries a weapon disguised as a cane and wears black leather gloves almost all of the time; few have seen him without them.
⎨QUIRKS⎬
He is tall, with the self-acquired confidence that being the leader of the Serpents brings, the swagger and squared shoulders of arrogance, and the good looks and height of good breeding. He smells of leather, cigarette smoke, and masculine skin.
⎨STRENGTHS⎬
He’s a quiet sort, but he can be as charming as the devil if it suits him, confident, quick-witted, calculating– always has a trick up his sleeve, calm and collected, never lets people see what he’s really thinking.
⎨WEAKNESSES⎬
A sardonic smirk and a sharp, devilish grin, somewhat unreasonable and cocky to a fault, reticent, astute businessman, manipulative, secretive, conniving, holds a penchant for wrath and revenge, ruthless, and will do almost any job if he wishes, no matter how despicable or bloody it is.
⎨LIKES⎬
Being one step ahead and in control of a situation, teasing, solitude, ambition, the world after dusk, wearing business clothing just to mock respectable businessmen.
⎨DISLIKES⎬
Showing signs of weakness, revealing secrets, has difficulty expressing his emotions, regrets.
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BACKGROUND
“She’d often wished to chip away a bit of his arrogance, but she couldn’t bear the idea of seeing Kaz stripped of his pride.”
— Leigh Bardugo
THE BASTARD OF THE BARREL
SUB HEADLINE
Kazimir Engelhart Decorte was born and raised in the Barrel, also known as the entertainment and pleasure district of Ketterdam in Kerch, to a mother who worked as a prostitute at one of the Barrel's lowest brothels. They lived a poor life in Kaz' early years of childhood since his mother could hardly afford to take care of a child, let alone put food on the table for herself and her son; taking various requests and jobs just to keep the income coming.Kaz never found out who his father was because his mother wouldn't tell him, not even when she took her last breath; he only knew that she had him out of wedlock and that he was considered a bastard by law. Kaz grew up in the Barrel's streets, learning how to fend for himself at an early age. His mother was not around much, just enough to leave him scraps of food and clothes to cover him, leaving him alone and so he was left mostly to his own devices.
“I will tell you a story, one I used to tell to a little boy with dark hair.
A silent boy who rarely laughs, who listened more closely than I realized.
A boy who had a name and not a title.”
― Leigh Bardugo
Kaz' mother died when he was 7 years old during one of her shady jobs that went astray; one of her clients, a rich merchant, had was too rough and in a struggle between the two, she fell and hit her head so hard that she died from the impact. No one questioned the merchant, and as far as everyone at the brothel knew it was an accident. So Kaz' mother's death was swept under the rug. The brothel she had worked at could afford to do so because she was a nobody; just a prostitute and a poor one at that, alone and without family (or so they thought) and thus, they thought no one would miss her. Kaz found out about his mother's death a few days later, when he overheard someone from the Barrel run his mouth and somehow he knew it was his mother who they were talking about. She hadn't showed up like she used to, but he didn't think much of it until he heard she was dead, because he was used to her disappearing for days without warning. Kaz never found out who murdered his mother, and the brothel wouldn't let him in seeing as he was just a poor child. But he did know his way around the Barrel thanks to the time he was left alone, and so he had to sneak his way around the front. He had always had a peculiar talent for sneaking unseen into places, but maybe that was because he was just a starved and skinny child. Most people overlooked him with the exception of a few. Although Kaz never learnt about the identity of his mother's murder, he did learn that the murder was someone from the upper class of Ketterdam. Since then, Kaz began to resent Ketterdam's upper class.
“If you want to survive, you're going to have to learn to be ruthless.”
― Suzanne Lowe
After his mother died, Kaz was once again left to fend for himself until a guard from the Stadwatch found him and took him to the nearest orphanage in Ketterdam. However, his time at the orphanage was short-lived. The orphanage had spun a pretty lie to the guard who had left Kaz with them that they would take good care of him until they found someone to adopt him. What the guard didn't know was that the Headmaster dabbled in gambling and ran a shady side business where he sold the orphans to the highest bidders. The Headmaster tried to sell Kaz as well, but he ran away before that could happen. In order to survive the cruel streets of Ketterdam, Kaz ended up as petty thief to begin with until the leader of the notorious gang called the Serpents saw him steal. The leader recognized Kaz' talent for thieving and sleight of hand and recruited him right then and there for his gang. The Serpents itself was tightly knit, but that didn’t mean betrayal didn’t run free within the gang. Their trademark for traitors, the normal bouts of punishment for any sort of crime within the gang had all been revealed to Kaz after he was recruited and burned into his memory. There wasn’t any room for error because a single slip up in this world could mean the difference between living and death. Kaz was pushed towards a training that would last him a lifetime. He was groomed into a skilled thief and manipulator, and it was due to his natural hunger for knowledge and power that he had the high expectations of being the best.
Smart and cunning, Kaz was quick to learn the trade and hone his skills. His sharp mind, ruthlessness and timing make him a nightmare to work with, but even worse to work against. His gang is his life, and he’s only as loyal to each and every one of his members as they are to him. He always has a trick up his sleeve, is always several steps ahead of his enemy, and his temper’s rivals with the devil himself, and when he’s crossed; you can almost be assured that they won’t ever be found. People generally know that when he’s in a mood, stay the hell out of his way. While Kaz started out as a simple grunt, he quickly rose up through the ranks in the Serpents to become X's criminal prodigy, feared by many for his precise ruthlessness. It was due to him that the X Club, one of the Serpents' main source of income, was reestablished and the formerly scant Fifth Harbour now flourished with business. The Serpents gained power and reputation mostly due to Kaz, and he is viewed by many as the true leader of the Serpents.
“His whole life had been built around exerting control over himself, over the mask he showed the world, and now it was cracking.”
― Cassandra Clare
Full of masculine charm and low-hinged insults, Kaz is hard to read, and no one may ever really know what’s beneath the secretive and cold-exterior of his. Yet that doesn’t stop women from fawning over him, since he can be quite charming and persuasive when he wants to be, but he can also turn cold-hearted and ruthless just as quickly. He's the type of man who knows he is good looking and uses this for his own gain, simply because it can be useful in some situations. He is a skillful manipulator and liar who can manipulate somebody into getting what he wants. Thus, he is certainly not someone who can be trusted. Kaz is rarely open or honest with most people, and there have never been anyone who he actually cares about enough to treat them any differently than the flat sarcasm and endless torment of teasing that he usually throws people’s way. Once he’s under your skin, he’s quite good at staying there, picking away at the most intimate parts of your psyche until you either love him or hate him. He’s always had a certain special talent when it comes to intimidate others with his very own aura. A bastardborn and thief like him begs for nothing—not for money, not for attention, and certainly not for forgiveness, though not as far as he is concerned, he’s never truly needed the latter. Call him arrogant, but that’s how he has been groomed. -
CORE TRAITS
“With that obdurate set of his jaw, he looked exactly like the arrogant ass he had been the first time they’d met.”
— Lisa Kleypas
↬ A R R O G A N T
Adj. | ar·ro·gant | ˈer-ə-gənt
Having or revealing an exaggerated sense of one's own importance or abilities.↬ A S T U T E
Adj. | as·tute | \ ə-ˈstüt
Having or showing an ability to accurately assess situations or people and turn this to one's advantage.
↬ M A N I P U L A T I V E
Adj. | ma·nip·u·la·tive | mə-ˈni-pyə-ˌlā-tiv
Exercising unscrupulous control or influence over a person or situation.↬ C O N N I V I N G
Adj. | con·niv·ing | kəˈnaɪ.vɪŋ
Given to or involved in conspiring to do something immoral, illegal, or harmful.
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ASTROLOGY
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S C O R P I O
October 23rd – November 21st
Scorpio is the eighth astrological sign in the Zodiac. It lies between Libra to the west and Sagittarius to the east. It is a large constellation located in the southern hemisphere near the center of the Milky Way. In Greek mythology, the constellation Scorpius was identified with the scorpion that killed Orion, the mythical hunter. Scorpius was significantly larger and comprised of two halves, one with the scorpion's body and the sting, and one containing the claws. The latter was called Chelae, or 'claws' later turned into a separate constellation, Libra, the Scales.
P L U T O
Pluto is called 'The Great Renewer', and is considered to represent the part of a person that destroys in order to renew. A commonly used keyword for Pluto is transformation.
Greek deity: Hades.W A T E R
Each sign is associated with one of four classical elements. Scorpio's element is Water, associated with emotion, empathy and sensitivity. Water signs are also considered to be negative or introverted feminine signs.S C O R P I O N
Scorpions are thought to be rather cunning, sometimes revengeful, and are not afraid of getting their hands dirty. However, with their perceptiveness, they have the potential to see things more clearly than most people.
“This man was truly like a scorpion, a poisonous sting when one least expected it.”
— Anne Stuart
Born leader · Intense · Masculine Charm · Handsome · All sharp angles · Put together · Resilient · Bold · Confidence · Compelling · Brutally honest · Strong-willed · Independent · Loyal · Ambitious · Fearless · Stubborn · Resourceful · Manipulative · Reticent · Ruthless · Cold-hearted · Conniving.
He is a born leader, intense and filled with the strength of a mighty storm. His fierce heart, made from wild and flame, is genuine and filled with a masculine charm. He is handsome, sharp and put together, but his looks are not what defines him. The Scorpio man is resilient. He has a boldness and confidence that compels him to speak his mind. He is louder, wiser, more intense than ever. He is as tough as steel, with an even tougher heart. A hurricane.
He is all those things. And more. He is independent, fearless and ambitious. This man cannot be tamed. His stubbornness and resourcefulnes is what drives him forward. A powerful source. He may at times seem harsh, but he can be harsher on himself. He is serious, with little or no time for unimportances. Underneath his exterior he has a magnetism that fills you with desire. The Scorpio man lives to experience and express emotion, to fill his life with love. His vulnerabilities is what makes him magic and his loyalty is part of his charm. There is nothing tame, boring or vanilla about the Scorpio man. A challenge.
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POWER & ABILITIES
CRIMINAL PRODIGY
“He was deception steeped in elegance, from his sharp smile to his unsettling eyes.”
― Roshani Chokshi
Kaz Decorte is the leader of the Serpents, a notorious and prominent gang in the city of Ketterdam.
Kaz is skilled at lockpicking, card tricks, and sleight of hand. These abilities are so complex that Severine often calls him demjin, meaning demon. He is privy to information of just about anyone and anything in the city, due to Nahri, his right hand and spy's stealth abilities and his considerable influence over Ketterdam. He has outstanding intellect for someone his age and extraordinary memory, therefore being able to manage businesses such as the Serpent Club and Fifth Harbor.
Kaz is also known most prominently as the mastermind and leader of the Serpents. He devises the plan and directs the gang members, who all follow his orders without question, when the need arises. His plans are often extremely complex, having many layers that even those participating do not know the entirety of the plan.
In combat, Kaz favors his Serpent's head cane, which he adeptly uses to shatter bones and bring down opponents. He uses a cane, due to a broken leg that failed to heal properly when he was fourteen years old. The cane is lead-lined and Fabrikator-made to enhance the weight of its swing, allowing Kaz to use it as a lethal weapon. He also carries at least two knives, not including a small knife hidden in his coat sleeve. When unarmed, he is still dangerous, capable of holding his own with his fists or using improvised objects as weapons.
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SIGNATURE
“I like to have powerful enemies. Makes me feel important.”
― Leigh Bardugo
