Name: Marik Anderith
Gender: Male
Age: 27
Nationality: Republic*
Zoid: Konig Wolf [Ref: Staffer Wish]
AIM: jadefalcon136

Personality

Avid fans of ancient Earth literature might find Marik's disposition similar to that of a certain leader of the Geats. Marik is generally even-tempered and very generous towards those he regards as his own or as allies. He distrusts others, although discreetly, and never forgets wrongs done to him or his until he feels that they have been taken care of. This has sometimes led to a few... differences of opinion with local law enforcement authorities over what constitutes "provocation" and "probable cause". By the same token, he dislikes being indebted to others and will seek opportunities to pay back that debt whenever he can.

If Marik has a serious personality flaw, it is that he is ambitious -- seeking recognition and status first among his peers, and then among strangers. That's how he first got on the track to become the Pack's alpha, and now that he has risen as high as he can within that tight group of pilots, he is moving on to bigger and better things. Only time will tell exactly how this will play out.

Background

Marik was born into the Pack, the proud remnants of the Helic Republic's Seventy-Third Light Strikers, a unit feared for its nearly-complete emulation of the animals on which their Zoids were based -- the wolf. Marik grew up in common with the other children born around his time, learning his position quickly through their informal rough-and-tumble play. From the first, Marik was always eager to take a dominant position and eventually won his status through many impromtu games of seek-and-find and alpha-of-the-hill.

When Marik was seven or eight, schooling and education began -- classes taught by older and wiser members who had taken it upon themselves to properly educate the Pack's young charges. This came somewhat less easily to Marik since he did not have a naturally academic mind, but he bent to his studies with a fierceness that matched his earlier determination to be recognized as first among the assorted young children. Over several years, he learned the tricks of schooling and learned how to do well on tests and oral examinations without, perhaps, all the study that would have been necessary before. And so as he came upon his very early teens, Marik began to grow lazy and content...

That contentment was shattered when the Pack brought in another young teenage male, a survivor from a settlement that had been destroyed close to where some members were running on patrol. The surviving boy, who gave his name as Tanith ("Tan") Antonov, proved to have a brilliant academic mind. His keen eyes and cool logic quickly picked apart how the Pack operated, and soon Marik found himself being displaced from the bright pinnacle of dominance that had once been so securely his.

Thus began a battle of positioning and politics that would last for five years. During this time, Marik and Tanith competed for nearly everything -- and even when their interests would not normally have conflicted, they went out of their way to ensure that they ended up on opposite sides. The older members of the Pack watched -- with approval in most cases. After all, they knew that one or the other would one day make a very fine and strong leader for the group, and that the constant conflict was keeping them both sharp.

When Tanith was nineteen and Marik eighteen, both were checked out for advanced qualification on their Command Wolves. Before then, they had only been able to pilot in simulator battles (guess who ended up fighting most of the time?) or in training models with reduced power to the drivetrains and paintballs for weapons. With both having "earned their paws", as the saying went, it was only a very short time before they declared their intent -- a Zoid duel to see which of them would receive a higher position upon their full initiation to the piloting ranks of the Pack.

To spare the reader a drawn-out description of the twelve-hour monster of an endurance test that was one of the most vicious and long-running battles that the Pack had seen for dominance at that point... Marik won. Instead of killing Tanith as he might have once, however, Marik had developed enough maturity and experience to freely let Tanith go from the throathold. It was here, perhaps, that Marik learned to enjoy the taste of being generous in victory and acquired his preference for having others owe him rather than owing others. And so both of the young hunters settled into their positions, gaining the respect of members old and new alike...

Marik, of course, was never satisfied and kept honing his skill, both in leadership and in piloting. Instead of challenging old Marcus for the position of alpha, however, Marik vowed that he would become so qualified and competent, with such wide support among his packmates, that Marcus would willingly step down to a position of honored elder. Indeed, when Marik was twenty-three and a very obviously capable beta male, Marcus did exactly this -- dying a year later of serious complications from a fall. Marik used his influence and position to begin moving the pack more towards a position that he had seen them taking back in his youth: with the ZBC reinstituting Zoid battles, perhaps it was time for the Pack to move more into public light and begin gaining recognition with their mighty victories in sanctioned battles.

It was a good thought -- but for the trial year where Marik presided, mighty victories were mighty hard to come by. Although the Pack showed excellent skill on all levels, their Command Wolves were modified for long-range patrols and lacked weapons that required ammo reloads -- and short-duration weapons, as well as overall quality of hardware, seemed to reign supreme on the ZBC battlefield. Thus, the Pack slunk back into the shadows as Marik drilled the most skilled and senior members of those who fought in the Command Wolves to new levels of proficiency and teamwork against enemy Zoids that would most likely be superior...

However, everything changed with Liam Alexander's announcement that Marik had won a Konig Wolf and the support of Reaper's Bounty for fitting their team for combat. Although Marik disliked being so deeply in debt, this was one debt that he was prepared to treasure. With the material to challenge some of the more prominent teams, it was time for the Pack to show its fangs to the world.

Appearance

At just barely over six feet tall, with short blond hair and light blue eyes, Marik is the kind of person that any military recruiter would want on a promotional poster. His presence and the way he carries himself are in many ways more imposing than his slighty larger-than-average size and moderately high weight of about two hundred and twenty pounds. Although not 'built' in the same fashion as one who trains with wieghts, Marik is in excellent physical form from his many romps on foot through the Pack's territory with his companions as well as the friendly wrestling and physical games that are part of the Pack's daily routine. ...and NO, not that kind of physical game. Usually. His heredity indicates that his hair is likely to go silver early, but so far he's shown little grey.

When at a 'formal' occasion, or when he just wants a little extra something to wrap up in, Marik wears a pseudoWolf cape over whatever clothing he is, silvery-grey blending into white around his throat and down the edges. Naturally, given the scarcity of actual animals on Zi, it has no relation whatsoever to actual wolves, being made mostly of recycled plastic bottles -- but hey, it's the symbolism that counts! These cloaks are personalized and awarded upon full induction into the Pack.

Otherwise, Marik's preferences tend towards long sleves over short, except in very hot weather, long pants in ALL weather, and pockets. Standard fare for him would be a durable long-sleve shirt in dark green with two large frontal pockets and an inside loop for carrying a... potato peeler... dark grey pants with many more pockets, and a pair of mid-cut leather boots that are thoroughly broken in. Since his feet have stopped growing since he was eighteen or so, and he's moderately careful where he steps, both of his pairs have seen quite a bit of use.

As far as weapons, it's hard to seperate Marik from his knives, and he insists on having at least one at all times. It's not a weapon, it's a utensil. Recently, he has grown to like a six-foot-five-inch ash stave presented to him as a gift by his alpha female Ranna. He refers to it sometimes as the "Disrespecting Stick" and has found it useful to break up scuffles and make some of the denser young pilots see a little sense.


*Due to the unique circumstances surrounding the Pack, this is the best guess anyone can come up with.

Wow, that's a long bio.

And despite my, er, irrational hatred for anything wolfy (long story), I have to say that not only is it very well written, I rather like the bio itself. I do have a few questions, though, since you seem to have come up with a lot of history behind the bio itself.

Is the Pack kind of a Sheriff-like organization, a sort of society separate from standard civilization? (Phonic alliterations for the win.) Moreover, are these "trials" life or death situations, as indicated by Marik's unwillingness to kill his opponent?

Yes and no on the seperate society part. The Pack generally holds itself apart from the rest of society -- not in an attempt to be secret, precisely, but because they view dependence on others as a weakness and enjoy the freedom to roam and do what they want without interference. Members do often trade for supplies, though, and if they're asked by a passerby "hey, why are you wearing that funny cape?" or some variation, most of them will be happy to give a short-form explanation. (Note, though, that there are some elements that would prefer to keep their existence a complete secret, but they haven't been in power for some time)

As for the contests for dominance, they're analogous to the BattleTech Clans' Trials of Position, Bloodright, Refusal, whatever in that they use live ammunition, sharp knives (in the case of hand to hand), and deaths do occur. Unless you believe that the Pack would be better off without your opponent, however, killing is not encouraged because it's wasteful. As in an actual wolf pack, however, such contests are very rare and most issues are resolved through a quick scuffle or, more often, the deference of one member to another.

Una problema: Animals aren't rare on Zi. From my best information, there're things like birds, wolves, dogs, cats, and all other varieties found on Earth. They did a good job of colonization. So it could actually be wolf pelt.
Other than that, approvaged. Nice job on the avoidance of the wulvescliche.