Carter J. Halifax

[Carter Halifax]

[attr="class","bor"]

[attr="class","ctemp"]
CARTER J. HALIFAX
The Demon Lord Mammon.

[attr="class","con"]
FULL NAME: Carter James Halifax

NICKNAME(S): Do not call him 'Hal'. In the past he was the 'Saint' of Thieves, Dionysus

AGE: Ageless
BIRTHPLACE:  Divine Realm
CURRENT RESIDENCE: New York City / London England and a small Villa in Italy.
RANK/OCCUPATION: Entrepreneur, Auctioneer, Thief and Forger.
AFFILIATION: Himself.
FACE CLAIM: Hugh Dancy

LIKES

• Chinese Food and those stupid breakfast croissant sandwiches.
  
• The smell of Sandalwood 
• His pet Ocelot
• Fine wines, at least 200 dollars a bottle darling not the cheap gas station wine your mother gets.
• He likes making order in other people's lives, despite his being quite the mess.
• He adores artists, even the not so famous ones.

DISLIKES

• He's not a fan of overly sweet treats or sugar in general.
• He hates to be interrupted.
• People who don't appreciate the finer details in things, especially art.
• Stating what he feels is obvious is annoying.
• His stupid, fat heavy ugly garish bird wings.
  
  

 
MAGIK: His wings, seem to be slightly ruffled at all times, feather's kept in a poor condition from his constant fidgeting. As a result he is not that great of a flyer. The shade of his wings is the same color as that of a black raisin.  His mental manipulation, he honestly doesn't use terribly often, though sometimes when push comes to shove he'd rather not acquire things by his own hand a little 'push' is in order to get the job done. Finally his magic, his pride and joy the ability to manipulate shadows. He has taken much of his time to manipulate and learn how to use the shadows into objects and into himself, creating extra-dimensional spaces within himself. He can also of course, create threads of darkness but they are more like strings rather than whips or chains.

DIVINE WEAPON: N/A
PHYSICAL AILMENTS: He wears thick glasses his vision is terrible without them at distances.

WEAKNESSES:  Unfortunately anything larger than a nose bleed makes him queasy and he has fainted before. Also his Ocelot he'd do anything for the crabby thing. He is also secretly fond of the humans, as he created the basis for the scramble in their lives. His mother's creation became his grand experiment.

STRENGTHS:
Carter is at his core a businessman. Plain and simple. He's learned language, to understand art and architecture. But at the same time he is a criminal, and no one is a better thief than 'Greed' itself. He understands economics and the pressures of money, markets and the use of a credit card. He's made his bed with the rich and famous, delivering a quality of product renowned in today's world. He built the system the world runs on, the money it needs to function and he knows what buttons to push to make things get more interesting when he needs to. His talent with the shadows, and their more unconventional uses as well as the addition to the eyes he keeps using them to watch what he cannot like a living security system. A king in a land of information, his organization skills are unparalleled and asking him to find something, or even in some cases someone was a walk in the park for him.

PERSONALITY:
Carter, to most people upon first meeting him is a man whose life revolves around business speaking in rather curt terms to most everyone. Even his pleasures seem to be rooted in these things. His nature appears to make him seem slightly apathetic, even at times droll and speaking with a monotone when under peek periods of stress. Coupled with his unassuming nature, this man is one who is often overlooked by those around him. Like any good salesman, he blends into any lifestyle hitting on the high points only when necessary. These are the things that make him so effective. He's never one to back down out of a deal, a bet or a wager where something is to be made.

He is a man whose ways have become naturally paranoid. The Demi-God inside him fueling these feelings, at first as though he were being watched. In extreme cases he rarely comes out of his office. As he is a Demon and not a strong fighter he avoids confrontation whenever possible in almost every way possible.  This is something that keeps him at odds with himself at times, as the Demi-God inside him seems to despise Carter's cowardly nature. 


FATHER: N/A
MOTHER: I think it obvious
SIBLINGS: Angels and Demons
SPOUSE(S): A short affair with Leonardo da Vinci, the Daughter of King Midas stands encased in gold inside his treasure room.
OFFSPRING: Octavia A. Halifax, Olivier 
OTHERS: He has a pet ocelot that he really loves more than anything and he likes to keep it with him.

HISTORY:

Greed really isn't something most people think about, and that was the entirety of his design. Who could have known the experiment would be a complete success? But before we come to that, there is a story that must be told of a man who found disdain in most everything. But it wasn't quite disdain, he simply had felt his life lacking, uneventful. In fact when it comes right down to the matter at hand it was boring to the angel so used to being handed everything.  He had been made to fulfill a specific purpose, the greatest archivist the Realm had ever seen. If there was information to be had, stored or traded he was the man to see. A life of order, prosperity and rank would be awarded to him. Chief and Protector of secrets.

However even in occupation he was truthfully unhappy. He didn't like who he was, what he looked like, nor the wings upon his back. In the hours he would spend alone he would toy with the feathers, pulling on their tips while lost in thought, spilling over the information he was supposed to be cataloging here within their archives. He had never been the tactician or the warrior like his other brother's and sisters. He preferred the company of information to blades and even the art of war.

And then came the change, the shift in the balance of power between his brother's and sisters. He was possibly, in anyone'e eyes the least likely to be involved in this sort of thing. He watched their world change, away from the distant wars to make his assessment of the Demi-Gods who had since lost their mother's favor. And it was not until one day, that he felt the arrival of one to his side that the fight would come to his doorstep.

HE WHO HAS THE GOLD MAKES THE RULES 

His arrival on this rock was something of an experience. The dust that had settled in the world, his unhappiness had grown quite considerably. But the feeling of magic, of the Demi-God inside him soon counteracted these feelings. He loved his magic, the mental manipulation he seemed to gravitate to. It became a sort of diversion, studying the magic itself. He greatly enjoyed his new ability, the control over the shadows. He began to experiment, not so much with torture or physical manipulation but to cloak himself, to warp the light around him making him unseen. 

It was easy to observe the humans in their natural state of chaos. Everything was so unaffiliated with them, trading goods for other goods, shouting and grunting with their heavy sticks. Mammon felt the first sense of disgust sweep back over him, watching the primitive creatures in their dealings. What was needed here, was some organization, and they had the right man for the job. Him.

He decided that from the earth would arise the sand, small beads at first made from the freshly blown glass. However these resources were too abundant. It wasn't until the discovery of gold that he hatched his brilliant plan. He would give these minerals, gold, silver, diamonds and gems absolute authority over the realm of mortals and began to show them the idea, the concept that these rocks were more important, and that they could be held at a higher value than the simple trading of goods by weight.

This was how his career began, Mammon the Lord of Greed, in a way responsible for bringing the human race into the light.

KING MIDAS  

The first real test of his achievements, on one man. A closed trial if you would. This wasn't something he was going to take lightly. This was an entire Kingdom, all in the hands of one man with whom Mammon would share his secrets. It wasn't that Midas turned everything he 'touched' to gold. No that would have been a hack job. Under the guidance and manipulation of Mammon, now referring to himself by the name Dionysus, the god of wine and ritual madness. He told the king that he would grant any wish of Midas, which Midas as the story says asked for everything he touched to turn to gold. Though this was only the illusion. From the shadows Mammon did his work. Everything that the King would touch, as promised would turn to gold. Though soon the effects of this wish would be felt by the foolish King. For Mammon, like the Genies  from the legends further in the west he took this to mean quite literally.  Everything the King touched Mammon pulled into his shadows to be turned to 'gold' in the eyes of the King and his people. A cheap trick for a simple experiment.

It wasn't until the King foolishly touched his Daughter's hand that he realized the error of his wish. Mammon swept his daughter away and she would never be seen by the King who would renounce the golden touch. Mammon then simply told him to wash in the river, a fools remedy for a problem that had never really existed.  But it was here that he learned the limits for the potential of greed in the minds of the humans. Though there were still more experiments to be had.  He felt a twinge of grief in his heart, casualties were something he had never really thought about within human life. The soul inside his daughter had been removed by his shadows, taking the shape of one of her eyes. It was the least he could do for something he didn't intend.

THE GREAT HOUSE MEDICI 

It was the 14th century, the research of his little project demanded another test. On a grander scale he sought out the subject of his new affection. He sought to make a change, the Albizzi family had long since failed to capture his interest and Mammon moved on. And he moved onto the Medici's. Starting with the great shift in power.  In 1298, one of the leading banking families of Europe, the Bonsignoris, were bankrupted and so the city of Siena lost her status as the banking center of Europe to Florence. He sought out the son of the families founder  Cosimo di Giovanni de' Medici and began to share with him the grand design for innovation within the newly formed Medici bank. Things that were sure to lead this grand city into the golden age and with only a few snags along the way the change was a great success.

He improved the system the humans had been using for so long. A notable contribution to the profession of accounting was the improvement of the general ledger system through the development of the double-entry bookkeeping system for tracking credits and debits. These things lead the Medici Bank to become one of the most prosperous and most respected institutions in Europe. And of course, his newest crowning achievement.

However things were not to last, this 'Holy Father', the leader of their religion from Rome was not one to be trifled with. And the stench of the angels was fast approaching on the winds to the great city of Florence. It was Lorenzo de' Medici, who won Mammon's favor most of all. The man was a natural leader, though choosing to neglect the bank was not something Mammon took kindly to.  The Medici family falling out of favor with the pope meant that things would become increasingly difficult in the days to come. He would remain too long, nearly costing him his life when the e Pazzi and Salviati families decided to hold their uprising. This greatly angered the Demon, as Mammon would then nearly lose everything The death of  Giuliano and an injured Lorenzo were grave setbacks in the trials for the new practices in his system. He had come to love the city of Florence and it's artisan's though none he loved more than Leonardo Da Vinci. He had always loved the artisans' those who had become sculptors, painters and the makers of beauty. And this city was his crowning achievement. The city of Florence was a den for intellectuals, for artists and discovery. 

After the uprising was quelled, Mammon's sense of dread brought to him by his Demi-God began to grow and despite following Leonardo away from Florence to Milan in order to remove himself from the cause of stress the budding paranoia stayed with him for some time. He could not allow himself to become so close to the front lines, the Demi-God's power had made him feel invincible when  he had found himself in the center of a nest of Greed yes but in the end it had nearly cost him his life.

THE SKELETON KEY

The catastrophe of the Medici family kept him out of the public eye for quite some time. He would retreat from the public eye for some time, falling back on his magic to protect him and in a way open up new avenue's for himself. He would in those days become a thief, forger and the architect of many a great heist from the rich of this era. These conquests kept him decently occupied for many years all the while perfecting what would become his greatest asset, invention and quite the story to be told. It took 100 years of practice, and over three hundred iron keys before the creation was completed. The skeleton key, a key that could open any lock still spoken of today in passing. A key he still keeps on his key ring for purposes in his own work but the genius behind it was the idea. Being the sort of 'classical' man he was Mammon decided that perhaps there was a gain to be made here. 

In a time when people were desperate, when the world of industry was moving ever forward with the humans and their machines. Long gone were their ships, killing natives for gold and spreading disease this was something he could get behind. Necessity had become the mother of invention, things were on the up swing so why not change the game a little?

That was why he created the skeleton key. The key he still keeps on the key ring he wears on his belt, it's black iron strangely dark as if it were burned in the forge but in truth the key was made from the iron forged in the shadows, able to push the tumbler's of the lock, any lock with the simplest of ease. And he would rent out this miraculous device. The highest bidders often never said no to his prices, but what he wanted really, was their souls. It was clear after the incident in Florence that Money could not buy one thing, and that was loyalty. He wasn't going to risk any chances.

The first eye he slipped into his skin was the daughter of Midas. And he often wish he had taken one of Leonardo's. He certainly would have loved to see this world. Though her eyes were not the last. 

THE GREAT DEPRESSION 

It had been an unforeseen event that The Accords interrupt the greatest project of his own devising. Now that the parameters were in place it was time to see how far he could push them, their greed, ambitions...their devotion to the idea that any of these things had any real value than that of what society had placed on them. All because some time ago each he had spread the whispers. When men were finally able to trade with one another that any object could be one of value, and that the man who held them all would be the one that survived. He tried in earnest, to explain to the angel that had arrived on his doorstep that what was to come was a test of his system but Mammon, like some of his other siblings had become awfully comfortable with spreading the sins of Avarice through the world. And like it or not he has changed. The Demi-Gods paranoia leaking into his own life far worse than that of the corruption of the magic in his veins. 

It had changed him, placing him on edge for so many years and even in his pleas the angel would not be convinced that his little 'project' had the potential to change the human race. But in reality would anything have changed if Mammon was present? If he had been allowed to monitor the maximum limits for his own system perhaps he may have done some good for the humans he had come to tolerate over these last few centuries. 

But the first time Mammon would be right. And the side-effects of his errors would be felt long after he would be sent to sleep. A most ingenious place within the world of men he would sit himself inside the great bull statue, outside of the New York Stock Exchange. 

In doing so miss one of the greatest opportunities for acquisition of the age.

WORLD WAR 2 

If there was one thing that never failed to inspire it was that of a treasure hunter. Though not so much treasure hunting these days no. In the time Mammon was asleep the world continued on with its natural system, the very same he himself had set into motion. Human greed and ambition would not sleep just because their saint was gone, oh no. In fact one might say it became worse. With the rise of the Nazi party came the most devastating of ideas. The 'redistribution' of an entire culture, art and treasures beyond Mammon's wildest dreams. To this day he himself mourns the loss of the countless paintings, gold and other valuables looted. Though most has now been recovered, the most precious to him, the Amber room remains 'missing.' To the humans at least. He went to great lengths to find these pieces and secretly keeps them in an undisclosed location as the humans cannot be trusted with certain works of art after this display. 

THE MODERN AGE & THE WISTERIA WAREHOUSE 

The modern world they had arrived in was something to be had. Something to be inspired. Despite the setbacks of his work the humans had fought through the blunder of their 'Depression' and into a world far more grand than even the Demon could have hoped. The American's had proven to be by far his greatest achievement. Nothing like that of the English, they lacked the bite behind them. All crumpets and no teeth. And, like always the system he had placed before them had only expanded. They had dug his bed deeper into the very foundations of their own society and he hadn't even needed to life a finger.

Despite being forced into hibernation, his world was still as he had left it. In the capable hands of things such as the Federal Reserve, the Greeks and the Dow Jones Industrial Average his world had been saved for him to comfortably nestle back into. He simply had to show them, the man who ran the game had returned. And he held the keys to freedom in his pockets. Though the streets of Europe he had remembered had certainly changed, there was no time to waste with his next venture.

He called it the 'Wisteria Warehouse'. The large industrial chunk of a building converted into the large auction house. A place that would soon gain notoriety for it's rare and elusive artifacts, paintings and other material goods. If a man wanted something, they only needed contact the man himself, Carter Halifax. But this wasn't all the London Warehouse held, soon he would expand, catering to all types, those that were rich and those that wanted to feel rich. He spends his time here, working his magic in new and amusing ways. However the back of the warehouse, through his office and into the adjoining room is off limits to most human customers. He doesn't need anyone snooping about to the delights that lie behind closed doors. 

ALIAS: Haverdashum
YEARS ROLEPLAYED: ~10
WHERE DID YOU FIND US: Internet

 

[Leto]