character profile | brightverse

[peacefullywreathed]

SOLOMON BIRTHDATE 27th March 1591 HOMETOWN Yellow Furze, Ireland SPECIES Human | Sorcerer FAMILY Parents: deceased | Two older adopted brothers LANGUAGE English, Irish, written Ancient Egyptian, various others OCCUPATION Irish Grand Mage OTHERS slight Irish accent RELATIONSHIPS SKULDUGGERY PLEASANT Solomon's older brother, adopted before Solomon's birth and his childhood idol in nearly every way. When Solomon was kidnapped Skulduggery moved heaven and earth to get him back, and in the aftermath Skulduggery was one of the first people to whom Solomon confided. Skulduggery deferred to Solomon with regard to the family inheritance and their magical clan crest even before his death. He is now Solomon's occasional employee. Also, a living skeleton. MICHAEL Solomon's 'middle' brother, rescued from Serpine. He was held in a warded room in Ailbe's townhouse attic while still under Serpine's influence, but Solomon visited him everyday and confided in him during his teenage years. When Solomon's Surge occurred at nineteen he was finally able to nullify Serpine's influence on Michael's true-name. Ever since, Michael has been Solomon's constant protective companion. More information on Michael is available here. ERSKINE RAVEL When Solomon was rescued from Serpine, Erskine was one of the men Skulduggery hired to help him. He stuck around after the fact, willing to help engage a traumatised little boy, and became one of Solomon's closest friends in adulthood. In modernity he reluctantly accepted a position as the chairman of the Sanctuary's Mortal and Magical Education Board, and is therefore essentially responsible for Hogwarts' funding and curriculum. HOPELESS Meritorious was Skulduggery's initial contact in the magical world, and with him came Hopeless. It was Hopeless's insight and ability to prompt others to unburden which helped both Solomon and Michael immeasurably, and they remained close with him up until his death. EACHAN MERITORIOUS Skulduggery found Meritorious while investigating Solomon's kidnapping as a child. As a prominent member of the landsmeet it was Meritorious who ensured Serpine's incarceration and Meritorious who gave Solomon's family an avenue into magical society. He was Solomon's mentor when Solomon was a boy, and grew into a close confidant and Solomon's Elder as a Grand Mage. INVENTORY SIGNET RING Family ring. This was given to him by his father after his Surge, and contains his clan crest: stars on a Celtic-woven cross. [ ✖ ] IMBUED CANE A family heirloom dating back three generations. Mortal-made but containing a hidden blade, as well as platinum and paladium in the handle, Solomon has modified it with sigils and uses it as an emergency store of magic. [ ✖ ] ANGEL DRAWING When Michael was still under Serpine's control, albeit imprisoned, drawing was initially the only manner in which he and Solomon could communicate. A drawing of Solomon with angel-wings was the first gift Michael was able to give. Michael insists he can draw a better one, but Solomon refuses to throw the first one out. [ ✖ ] WHITE SUIT Disdaining the traditional Grand Mage's robes, Solomon prefers tailor-made white suits, enchanted to be weather-proof, bullet-proof and wrinkle-proof. [ ✖ ] MOBILE PHONE Nearly always one of Michael's cast-offs, and frequently replaced due to Solomon's tendency to drop them in the sink when he's had enough of work. [ ✖ ]

This version of Solomon Wreath hails from an alternate version of the Skulduggery Pleasant universe, in which Solomon's father Ailbe adopted Skulduggery before Solomon came along, and the two were raised as brothers. Ailbe instilled in both men a desire for faith, hope and compassion with the philosophical directive to 'make their souls bright'. Thus when a young Solomon was captured by Nefarian Serpine while the family was in Dublin searching for magical tutors, Solomon noticed that Serpine seemed to enjoy emotionally torturing his personal bodyguard, and recognised in the bodyguard a victim. When Solomon was rescued he refused to let the bodyguard be dismissed as just one more of Serpine's lackeys, though the limitations Serpine had placed on the bodyguard using his true-name made communication difficult. The moment Solomon went through his Surge he used the bodyguard's true-name to release him from Serpine's control, and gained a brother by the name of Michael. In this universe Solomon's childhood has defined him as a man with a driving desire to see a unified world. Appalled by the walls erected between magical and mortal, and the distant uncommunicative nature of magical society, Solomon started in politics early by apprenticing under Eachan Meritorious. By networking among noble sorcerers he eventually gained funding from Liliya Artemis to build a school which accepted both magical and mortal children, with the intent that childhood without barriers would draw the magical and mortal worlds closer together. The school was named after Solomon's mortal father. During the war Solomon worked as a minor leader, coordinating efforts from behind the scenes. When most of the leaders were assassinated Solomon was forced to take a more active role, and eventually the unique effectiveness of his magic against both Mevolent and Lord Vile gained him his own reputation. Soon enough he was one of the foremost leaders of the war. That reputation was cemented for good when he killed Serpine on the field of battle near the end of the conflict, and when finally peace arrived he became the Irish Grand Mage. In the time after the war Solomon renewed his motion to unite the magical and mortal communities--to staggeringly effective results. By the twenty-first century the ó Maolomhnaigh Institute (affectionately known as 'Hogwarts') is widely regarded as one of the top schools in Ireland by both sorcerers and mortals, teaching magic and science side-by-side. Ireland's example has led to a subtle worldwide shift in perceptions, nation by nation, in which magic is an open secret--never discussed, but present. Solomon is affectionately known as 'King Solomon' in a number of circles, and is regarded as an 'anti-sorcerer' in others. This has left him with something of a polarising reputation among both sorcerers and mortals; the former regard him as either hero or traitor, while the latter view him as either prophet or heretic. Read more about how the world of Skulduggery Pleasant has changed in this alternate universe. PERSONALITY The traits Solomon shares with canon are his need for faith, intelligence, self-assurance, wittiness, sophistication, protectiveness and sacrificial nature. The only one of these that hasn't changed much is his sophistication, though even then, in terms of his clothes, he prefers whites and greens and blues to black. In brightverse his faith is Christian, but not overtly so; he's less concerned with the trappings and rituals than the spiritual effect his actions can have on others as well as himself. Being the baby of the family with two literally genius brothers, Solomon's intelligence is understated. He knows he's not on their level and is content to let others think he's even less intelligent than he is--it gave him an edge as a youth breaking into the political sphere and it gives him one as Grand Mage. Having learned young that his control is limited to himself and how he reacts to events, Solomon's self-assurance is far beyond what it is even in canon. In canon, he uses it to cover scars until it became ingrained. In brightverse, it's a deep-rooted understanding of himself, his choices and how he wishes to live his life, and it's rewarded him with an unconscious and endless security which wards off any fear his canon self possesses. Having been raised with a full family and support group, his humour is much more lighthearted than sarcastic, and at times unrepentantly immature. It's Solomon's sacrificial nature which has intensified, overwhelmed, defined the major changes between brightverse and canon. From a young age he's been taught that by helping others he can strengthen his own soul, and tackles this with a vengeance and a simple delight in the satisfaction of doing so. His overwhelming ambition is to change the world--rather than being concerned with what comes after life, as in canon, he seeks to better the now. Though idealistic by most standards, his security prevents him from becoming a doormat and his experience in war, though not approaching a marked level of pragmatism, means he has an understanding of the occasional necessities. Solomon's lack of learned pragmatism is also what lends a marked difference from his self in canon. Although he endured a number of traumas as a child, Solomon's support network has changed how he perceives the world in terms of 'must dos'. He isn't pragmatic because he doesn't need to be; the baby of the family, he's reliant upon his brothers and in many ways takes them for granted. Because of this he's far more emotionally open, willing to be immature and prone to irritability when things don't go his way. It also ramps up his protectiveness and makes him even more capable of coldly furious cruelties and recklessness--whereas in canon, Solomon's cruelties are usually about the practical. POWERS NULLIFICATION Solomon is best known for the nullification aspect of his magic. Using this, he creates an inverse field of magic which switches off all magic around him; people, objects, sigils, true-names, everything. He can manipulate the strength of this field to encompass only his physical body to anywhere within fifty feet. SENSING Thanks to his understanding of magical fields, Solomon can sense magic, no matter how small and to the degree of telling between 'types'--eg Sensitivity or time-related magic. It's made him an effective detector, especially during treaties and international meetings. It's a talent he hides, though it's decently well-known due to his efforts during the war. MANIPULATION This aspect of Solomon's magic isn't a secret so much as little-known and badly understood. It basically allows him to manipulate on a minor level, which means he can 'throw' a nullifying bolt or 'steal' someone's magic temporarily, or cast a low-level nullifying field around someone else, or even reverse his nullifying field so it deflects magic from around him without actively negating it. NAMES All sorcerers in the Skulduggery Pleasant universe are capable of influencing/controlling others using their given names. This ability is nullified if the target takes a new name or goes by a name other than the one they were given at birth. Solomon's magic first manifested as this, but since he has developed his skills elsewhere he is limited to a standard level of control--albeit on the high side of it. He avoids using it except under extreme duress. WEAKNESSES MUNDANITY Solomon's magic is tailored so emphatically toward controlling and nullifying magic that it leaves him extremely vulnerable to non-magical threats. Although he's aware of this lack and is a good fighter on his own terms, he prefers speech to violence and thus lacks a certain mindset necessary to be called a warrior or a survivor, and has a habit of forgetting that he can be caught by mundane weapons with relative ease. INTIMACY Though not opposed to intimacy necessarily, due to past experiences Solomon prefer not to engage in certain intimate activities unless he knows a person extremely well ... which has left something of a dearth of opportunity, given the war, his job and the fact most of the women he knows are either married or untrustworthy. ABILITIES DIPLOMACY Having learned from childhood to use words to make friends rather than violence to defeat enemies, Solomon very much prefers talking his way out of corners. He's especially adept at using compassion and humility as a weapon to defuse anger and come to compromises. ACADEMICS Having grown up with a scholarly father, Solomon has learned his talent and thirst for research, with a focus on sigils, sociology, and politics. ADMINISTRATION Solomon is experienced with regard to administrative duties thanks to his early start under Meritorious. By the point of becoming Grand Mage he doesn't exactly enjoy it anymore, but he's good at it.

( codes by whambam )