The Basics

Name: Nathaniel Ballard

Nickname(s): Nathan (never Nate)

True Age: 60

Apparent Age: Late 20s

Gender: Male

Sexuality: Heterosexual

Species: Vampire

The Physical

Height: 6’0”

Weight: 175 lbs

Physical Description: Nathan would describe himself as suave, though occasionally some silliness seeps through the elegance he tries to carry himself with. He is slightly taller than the average male, and his weight lends to his slightly muscular athletic build.  His hair is dark brown, long enough that it can hold a professional, well-combed look or a more playful windswept look. His light blue eyes and expressive eyebrows usually betray his emotions. He has a bit of stubble on his face. He typically wears a small smile, somewhere between a smirk and a full smile.

Whenever leaving the house, he always makes sure to be sharply dressed. He often can be found wearing a nice dress shirt and slacks, though he only dresses in a full suit when attending court. However, the almost playful way he carries himself detracts a bit from the professional way he typically dresses.

Distinguishing Marks: Nathan's self-proclaimed 'dreamy' blue eyes and expressive eyebrows would likely be his most prominent features. He also has a sizeable scar along the right side of his rib cage from the accident that led to his death.

Face Claim: Colin O'Donoghue

The Preternatural

Species: Vampire

Classification: Adept

Powers/Abilities:

• Agelessness - The vampire never ages and will always remain appearing to be the age they were at the time of their death and transition. Upon their transformation, vampires become immune to all conventional illness, diseases, viruses and infections.
  
• Preternatural Enhancements - The strength, speed, and senses are all enhanced far beyond that of a normal human. As a vampire ages they continue to become strong, faster, and more sensitive to their senses. Typically by 50 years of age they reach their full potential in these abilities.
  
• Rapid Healing - Vampires recover tissue from any form of physical damage to their bodies within seconds, though they still feel the pain of a wound before it heals. Vampires can snap their bones back into place after they have been broken and can recover from gunshots and stab wounds. However then cannot grow back any limbs that they have lose.
  
• Mind Compulsion - Vampires have the ability to influence and control thoughts, emotions, and behavior and can alter or erase memories. The older the vampire, the easier this is to perform.

Weaknesses:

• Loss - The loss of his wife and child haunts him and always will, making any reminders of them extremely painful and making him especially over protective of children.
  
• UV Sensitivity - All vampires display a weakness to the sunlight, particularly it's UV rays. Younger vampires who are exposed will often burn instantly and if they do not get out of the sunlight as soon as possible they wil burst into flames. Older vampires display more of a sensitivity to UV light and it takes longer for them to burn or combust, however most still avoid it at all costs. Vampires have found many ways to work around this weakness to still allow themselves to be out in daylight. The windows of most establishments run by vampires have special filters that block the UV light and these can also be found in some cars (although its quite expensive to install). Larger cities have built underground walkways for the UV Sensitive citizens that mirror the throughways found above ground. Some vampires also will hire Witches to make talismans that allow them to walk in daylight.
  
• Staking - A wooden stake through the heart is one of the one two guaranteed ways of incapacitating a vampire. It doesn't instantly kill one, but it will render them unconscious and make them appear dead. If the stake isn't removed the vampire will die, however the length of time it takes depends on the age of the vampire.
  
• Decapitation - Cutting the head off of a vampire will instantly kill them, there is no regenerating a missing head. The trick however is getting close enough to do it.
  
• Dead Man's Blood - Under no circumstances should a Vampire drink or be injected with blood that has come from a deceased human or animal. Doing so will make them violently ill and weak.

The Personal

Personality Description: Though there were some years where he struggled to find himself after the loss of his wife and child, Nathan's current demeanor is that of a mostly friendly, happy-go-lucky, sometimes playful individual, or, at least, that's how he tries to carry himself. However, this friendliness is of a reserved nature. While he is happy to share a smile, he doesn't go seeking the attention of others and has a hard time letting himself grow too close to others. Before, growing close to someone would mean watching them grow older and eventually dying while he remained, looking the same as he always will. Though, with the rise of preternatural beings over the last twenty years, he has found himself a bit more willing to connect with others.

After his transformation, Nathan had lost himself. He lost his world with the loss of his wife and son, and he felt like he lost his humanity as the desire for blood welled up inside him. He was filled with anger and rage. He was angry that he hadn't been allowed to die with his family. He was angry that he had to bring harm to others so that he could sustain himself. He was lost in the world. Eventually, slowly, over the years he found himself again, or at least bits of the silliness and joy that once felt so prevalent. Now the rage that he once felt is mostly reserved for those that try to bring any sort of harm to those he cares about.

Likes: Booze in its many forms (sometimes a little too much), jokes (both good and bad), a good story, card games, and good food (even if he doesn't need it anymore)

Dislikes: Having too much attention on himself, cheap liquor, sunny days (for obvious reasons), airplanes, and broccoli (gross)

Occupation: Lawyer (and a very successful one, thanks to his mind compulsion ability as a vampire)

History: Nathan had a fairly standard childhood, really. He was born in New Hope, Pensylvania to Debra Ballard, an English teacher at the local high school, and Matthias Ballard, the owner of a local hardware store. He was an only child, and, as such, was lovingly doted on throughout his childhood. In school, he was very much the class clown, his silly nature drawing laughter from his peers constantly. Unlike many class clowns, however, he managed to maintain a high GPA, much to his parents praise. Due to the small town feel of the town he grew up in, everyone knew each other. This close-knit feel to the community created a great deal of respect and admiration of others in Nathan.

In high school, he met the love of his life, Lily Peters. They grew incredibly close and, after graduation, they went on to attend the same college, with his aim to become a lawyer and her aim to one day become a novelist. Soon, they were married with a child on the way. After graduating college, Lily had their child, a little boy named William. William quickly became the center of Nathan's world and, though he went on to pursue his law degree for the next three years, he spent every moment he could caring for his child.

After three more years of study, Nathan graduated with his Juris Doctorate. To celebrate, they loaded up the car and took William, who was then three years old, on his first trip to Disney World. Driving was cheaper than flying, of course, and planes never seemed too terribly safe to Nathan. So they drove, starting mid-day and driving through the night. As the night wore on, though, Nathan's eyes grew heavier and heavier, until, eventually...CRASH.

A head on collision, destroying the car, destroying his life. He lived long enough to glance over at the lifeless husk that was his much beloved wife, and in what was once a backseat, his son...He still can't get the image out of his head to this day. He felt himself starting to drift away into the slumber his family now rested in, but then a woman approached from the distance, a young woman on a motorcycle. Nathan remembers the roar of the engine as it approached. She hopped off the motorcycle and, noting that he was alive, bit down into the left side of his neck, drawing a taste of his blood for her own sake before pulling back her sleeve and moving her arm over Nathan's head. She drew a pocket knife and sliced her arm open, leaving an open wound long enough for a few drops of her blood to fall into Nathan's open mouth. He tasted her blood before swallowing it down, unsure of anything that was happening. Then the woman sped off on her bike, and, instead of fading into that slumber, instead of joining his family, he changed.

Blood. He needed blood and didn't know why. His family was dead, and he knew why, but the blood lust was too strong for him to focus on that. Instead, almost unaware of what he was doing, he grabbed the still living occupants of the other vehicle, weak from the accident, and drained them both of their blood. Then he ran, unsure of where to go or what to do. He ran for the next few years, from place to place, adjusting to life as a vampire. The loss of his family filled him with rage, rage that he was able to, if nothing else, channel to drink the blood of humans when necessary. For those first few years, he dwelled in the shadows, away from people as much as he could, not knowing, really, who he was anymore. All he knew was the anger at himself and the world that so filled his thoughts and that ever present hunger.

He eventually found himself in Chicago, Illinois as he traveled from place to place and met up with a group of vampires. Not the friendliest of sorts, but kind enough to help him better understand how to manage his new life and how to control himself. It was here, with these individuals, he eventually became an Adept. As he became more comfortable and understood better how to live this new life he had been given, he began to realize he needed to move forward to make something of his new existence. With that in mind, he made his way to Elysium with plans to work as a lawyer and eventually start up his own law firm. More importantly, with plans on recapturing his old self and living this second life to its fullest potential.