Alaric Gräber

Name: Alaric Gräber Species: Human Age: 29 years Height: 190 cm Birthday: November 1st Rank: First Class Sorcerer Nationality: German Occupation: Thanatopractor and specialist in the funeral rites of sorcerers Affiliation: Kyoto Metropolitan Technical College of Magic and the International Association of Sorcerers.

Alaric is a man with an unsettling presence, the kind who fills a room the moment he crosses the threshold. His skin is pale, with that ivory hue reminiscent of the marble statues in mausoleums. His long, dark blue hair, tinged with violet, falls in disheveled strands that frame a serene, almost solemn face. He usually ties it back with a black ribbon when working on bodies, to prevent it from touching the bandages or the formaldehyde. His eyes are golden, with a faint glow that seems to emanate from some inner fire; there is no aggression in his gaze, but a disquieting calm. He always dresses discreetly: dark shirts, leather gloves, long European-style coats.

At first glance, Alaric gives the impression of being a gloomy man, almost emotionless, with a soft voice that never rises. His dark humor and comments about death often disconcert those who don't know him. He enjoys making people uncomfortable, but not out of spite: he does it to test their sensitivity, to see if they are capable of facing what everyone fears. Deep down, he is a kind, rational, and profoundly empathetic man, even if his way of expressing affection is strange. He treats corpses with the same respect as the living. He believes that the dead retain a dignity that must be protected, and that even curses are born from a pain that was once human. Alaric doesn't fear solitude. He seeks it out, in fact. His relationship with death has taught him that human noise sometimes buries the truth. He prefers the silence of the basement where he prepares bodies or the echo of marble in the crypts to the trivial chatter of the living. Despite his calm demeanor, he has very clear boundaries: he detests disrespect towards the dead, sorcerers who desecrate bodies for selfish purposes, or those who deny the nature of death. Although he won't admit it openly, he feels a silent frustration with the way the Association treats fallen sorcerers as mere casualties of war. For him, every soul deserves closure. In combat, he maintains an almost terrifying composure. He rarely shows anger or haste; even when blood splatters his gloves, he continues to move with the precision of a surgeon.

Born in Leipzig, Germany, Alaric grew up surrounded by the smell of formaldehyde and farewell prayers. His family ran an ancestral funeral home where the profession was intertwined with an older wisdom: the spiritual handling of bodies and souls. His grandfather, a mortician by profession, taught him the art of preserving bodies with an almost artistic devotion. His grandmother, on the other hand, harbored a secret: she had been a retired exorcist. It was she who perceived in the boy a particular sensitivity to malevolent energy. From an early age, she taught him the fundamentals of Jujutsu: protective prayers, the use of incense, sealing symbols, and prayers to guide spirits to their final resting place. When he was twelve, during the wake of a child who had died violently, a curse manifested itself within the funeral home. The candles went out, the corpse rose, and screams mingled with the creaking of bones. His grandmother tried to seal it, but she was wounded. Then, Alaric repeated from memory a ritual she had taught him without fully understanding it… and the curse was cleansed. He didn't remember the exact gestures or words, only the feeling of absolute calm, as if death itself had recognized him. That episode marked the beginning of his life as a sorcerer.

Years later, his grandmother sent him to the European headquarters of witchcraft, where his talent was both admired and feared. His affinity for residual energy led him to develop his own cursed technique, Totenweise, inspired by the funeral rites of his lineage. Although many considered him an impure sorcerer, Alaric defended his art as an act of restitution. His reputation grew, and he soon became known as the funerary sorcerer, responsible for preparing the bodies of fallen sorcerers and sealing the residual curses they left behind. When bodies went unclaimed, he performed a private ritual: he separated the remaining soul, purified it, and infused it with cursed energy to create bone puppets. He called these servants Schattenknochen (“Shadow Bones”). On rare occasions, he used the remains of murderers or criminals, considering that serving in the hunt for curses was a form of spiritual karma. He currently works as a funeral consultant at the Kyoto Metropolitan Magical Technical College, where he teaches how to handle cursed bodies and release trapped souls. Some fear him, but they respect his work: under his care, no corpse ever becomes a curse again.

Forged from silver, consecrated bones, and engraved with funerary runes, “Nachtruf” is no mere spear. Alaric uses it to open tombs or pierce stubborn curses. It is an instrument that can measure, cut, and consecrate with equal precision. When it plunges the point into the ground, it reacts with the residual energy of the environment, awakening bones buried meters deep. During the rituals, he places the spear on the chest of the deceased and pronounces a prayer, sealing the corruption.

-Totenweise (Path of the Dead): Alaric's art is based on controlling the cursed energy present in human remains. His spear, called "Nachtruf" (Night Call), is engraved with funerary runes that channel his technique.

-Knochenruf (Call of the Bones) It allows you to summon and manipulate reanimated skeletons created from human remains. Each one retains a fragment of the residual soul, making them autonomous to a certain degree. They can fight, protect, or perform specific tasks.

-Totenschrein (Sanctuary of the Dead) It creates a funerary circle imbued with cursed energy, where no body can decompose or be possessed by external curses. It is used both to protect the bodies of fallen sorcerers and to prepare rituals.

-Seelenpfad (Path of the Soul) It allows Alaric to briefly communicate with the residual soul of a body, obtaining fragmented memories or near-death visions. This power serves him both for investigations and for identifying curses that devour human spirits.

-Fluch der Ruhe (Curse of Rest) An offensive technique in which he infuses stabilizing cursed energy into the enemy, causing progressive paralysis: the body begins to slowly “die”.

Each time Alaric summons a soul or manipulates human remains, a part of his own life force is drained. The line between his energy and that of the dead blurs, and the echoes of the souls he uses begin to whisper to him when he is alone. If he pushes his limit, he risks becoming an empty vessel himself: a puppet within his own army.

-He usually wears leather gloves; he also uses his spear as a ritual support to mark the death circle. -He owns a black cat named Lüge (“Lie”), who senses curses before him and sleeps by his side while he works with corpses. -Before each funeral, recite the same phrase: “Ruhe in deinem letzten Dienst.” Rest in your last duty. -Her relationship with her grandmother was so strong that she still communicates with her through small mediumistic rituals. Part of her technique comes from that constant spiritual bond. -He has a deep respect for Shoko Ieiri (the doctor at the Tokyo academy), with whom he exchanges professional correspondence on body preservation techniques. -She suffers from recurring insomnia and has very pronounced dark circles under her eyes. -See the beauty in decay: withered flowers, moss-covered mausoleums, objects that time has forgotten. -His workshop-morgue is full of amulets from different cultures: Hebrew seals, Nordic runes, Shinto talismans… each one represents a different way of honoring the dead. -During their rituals, the air around them cools slightly, and their breathing becomes visible even in warm environments. -The color of his cursed energy is violet with bluish tones, like a funeral flame.