Name: Dominic Ashton     Nickname: Ash, Dom

Gender: Male, Nonbinary     Pronouns: He/Him, They/Them

Age: 37     Race: Human

Height: 6'5" (183cm)   Weight: 220# (99.7kg)

Hair Color: Light Brown     Eye Color: Blue

Hand: Ambidextrous (trained)    Blood Type: AB+

Theme Song:
Get Ready To Die

Physical Description:
Ash is quite a human specimen, truth be told. They stand decently tall, well over six feet in height, and tipping the scales at over two hundred pounds. This body has been built over time, with rigorous training and dedication. A being of corded muscle and taut sinew, Ash can be an imposing figure when they need to be. They take great pride in their physique, viewing their body as a temple, and being careful of what they eat and drink. They have not marked themselves with ink, nor poked holes in their flesh.

This is not to say that the man is completely unscarred. Those marks on his body that show his past battles - wounds from bullets or shrapnel or a stabbing - those are worn with pride that he has come out the other side all the stronger because of it. Still, the scars are small, and only recognized as such upon careful examination, though Ash could tell about each one.

In an everyday setting it would be hard to distinguish them from anyone else, save for their height. Clothing tends toward what is fashionable, with jeans and tees, as well as sneakers or boots. Now and then, should the situation call for it, they own several very nice suits and do like to dress up and go out now and then. Otherwise, they blend in quite nicely and tend to not draw attention to themselves.

Besides their impressive athletic physique and height, they have light brown hair and blue eyes. They are not piercing eyes, but instead a deep blue like the open ocean. A masculine jawline matches their other features well. Their complexion is gently tanned, and that os someone used to spending time outdoors.





Alternate Form:
Technically Ash has no alternate form. He does not change, nor do they. However, there are times that they don what they feel is their "true" appearance. In these cases the facade that they present to the world as "Ash" is subsumed by "Dom".

This transition takes place when they dress themselves in their armaments. This consists of black body armor, usually tactical dress from head to toe - though in truth the most important piece is his "face" - a black ballistic mask constructed of Kevlar and carbon nanotubes and named "Grim Reminder". It is reminiscent of a black battle-scarred skull, and Dom actually owns several of these faces, some painted in various patterns and donned according to their mood.

When this mask is worn Ash is replaced by Dom and his demeanor and voice change. They become, at more than any other time, the Sidhe Knight of the Winter Court. The mask helps them focus their aggression and primal instincts.

Skills:
Even before taking up the Mantle bestowed upon him by Mab, Ash was a formidable man. His time in the military helped hone his focus and build routine. In addition to the regular schooling one would receive Ash has picked up the following from various training and his own desire to learn.

Highly skilled CQC specialist:
In close quarters combat Ash, but especially Dom, is especially skilled. Striking, grappling, knife work and gunplay. They're all in his repertoire. Swordplay is something he has started to learn since taking up the Mantle, and though he is a novice, his sheer aggression and regular knife skills make up for a lot.

Investigation Skills:
His time spent in the CID has honed his powers of observation and deduction. He is no Sherlock Holmes, but he is keenly astute. They have been trained in the following: Child Abuse Prevention and Investigative Techniques, Crisis/Hostage Negotiations, Protective Service Training, Advanced Crime Scene Investigation Techniques, and Special Victim Unit Investigation.

Highly skilled Marksman:
In addition to the hand-to-hand techniques that he has learned, there is a depth of expertise in the use of firearms as well. Having qualified as Expert in the use of both rifles and pistols, he is well skilled in a variety of weapons. This includes not only the ability to pull the trigger when necessary and to hit a stationary or mobile target, but also the care and upkeep and modification of firearms.

Powers:
Frostbite:
The Winter Knight causes frost to form on his opponent.  This high cold attack can cause nerve and skin damage.

North Wind:
A howling storm of thick snow and ice crystals appears.  The area is heavily obscured by swirling snow.

Winter's Lance:
A frigid beam of blue white light streaks toward the opponent.  This attack when struck causes frost to hit the opponent and spread into ice, chilling the very water in their cells.

Requiem's Enticement:
The Winter Knight can heal from most wounds provided they are not made from an iron blade.  Even then once the iron is removed, his body heals rapidly.  The Knight must maintain wearing the mantle in order to have the benefits of the speed healing.  Once removed- he heals at natural speeds and by natural means.

Aegis of Winter:
When wearing the mantle, the Winter Knight- while his body is damaged- does not register that damage or that pain.  This is both positive and negative- he is able to push through most battles, but if there is a significant injury he will not be aware until the mantle is gone.  There is potential for serious permanent damage.

Midnight Shroud:
Between the hours of Midnight and Dawn the Winter Knight has a natural armor bonus, making them even more difficult to hurt.


Vulnerabilities:
The effects of the mantle are lost when touching iron.  If the Winter Knight is bound or pierced by iron, his supernatural healing, pain barrier, legendary resistance, and legendary actions are lost.

If the pain barrier has been active for a great deal of time, it can wear out his body long before his mind realizes he's over exerted himself.

Like other Fae the Winter Knight is vulnerable to salt and running water; however, to his mortal component these are minor discomforts.

Personality:
To say that Ash and Dom are a bit of an anomaly might be an understatement. He is a man, but together they are something else. Ash was always a bit fragmented, but the addition of Dom and then the Mantle has only exacerbated his DID.

Ash himself is a decently affable man, if a bit quiet. He can be friendly and even outgoing at times. He's not the sort to party, rejecting both alcohol and drugs in that context, but he does have a small handful of friends that he treasures and likes to spend time with. Like most normal people he's a big fan of various kinds of music (though has no talent for making it), and he really likes video games. The cuter the better. Likely due to his own Real Life experiences. His favorites are Yoshi and Kirby.

Ash is sort of a "default setting", and Dom is always awake and watching, ready to take over if he feels Ash is threatened in any way. In this way Dom protects Ash, who keeps their more agreeable self from being destroyed.

Dom is far more quiet and less friendly. As close to a perfect candidate for the Winter Knight as could be. A killer, a murderer, a man who sees humanity as a plague and barely even values his own life. To Dom he worships Nature itself, sometimes Mab - as amusing as she might find that prospect. The only lives he values are those of animals. That is not to say he does not have friends. He does. But his connections are tenuous. Borne more out of respect than love. He values the few friends he does have, and will go to great lengths to help them if he can. If he finds that a goal of his, or a task given to him, is diametrically opposed to that of a person he considers a friend, then one can tell how much he values them as he will not, usually, directly oppose them. He will simply abandon them to their own devices and whomever succeeds by their own strengths is what has been decided by Fate.

Dom bears no particular grudges against people unless they have shown to be cruel to those he considers "innocent" - usually falling into the category of animals or possibly small children. For Ash the scope is much more broad, and there are areas in which both he and Dom agree.





Backstory:
Ash had a very difficult childhood. His father was in the military, which meant that Ash and his family moved quite a lot, from base to base. He had a younger brother that was three years his junior, but that passed away from SIDS at the age of two. This sent his mother into a horrible spiral of alcoholism and in turn affected his father. Try as she might his mother could not kick her alcoholism, and in fact, with his father bearing down on her in his military style, the household slipped into a cycle of abuse, both physical and mental. At first things simply trickled downhill, from his father to his mother, then from his mother to him. But over time his father and mother both seemed to focus on him - as if punishing him collectively for their misery. It was not unusual for them both to tell him that they wished he'd never been born.

One particularly pivotal event in his childhood, and which shaped him immensely, was the day that his father and mother picked him up from school in the third grade. This was unusual as he usually was left to walk home. At first he thought he was in trouble, but oddly they took him to eat and even brought him ice cream! The young Ash was taken in by this, and as most young children he desperately needed the love of his parents. It was the happiest evening of his life, and when they were back at home they presented him with a gift. A little labrador puppy! It was the cutest and sweetest thing that he had ever seen, the little tail whirring behind it as it licked his face. Ash slept with the puppy that night, then the rest of the week. He started learning how to clean up after it, and feed it. He named it Potato, just because it looked like one. The entire week was almost surreal, and even the weekend was wonderful. Then the following Monday came, and his father had had a bad day. His mother was on a bender so Ash was staying out of her way. Unfortunately Potato had evidently made a mess on the front porch and his father almost fell as he stepped in it, then yelled as he got back up, tracking it in the house - which Ash felt was his own fault but he dare not say. Grabbing the pup by the scruff of the neck his father had the baby dog crying as Ash screamed for him to let him go. His mother, passed out in a drunken stupor on the couch didn't stir a muscle and Ash was unable to stop his father from his enraged fit.

He drowned the pup in the bathroom sink while Ash watched, hitting his father with all his might, screaming and trying to pull him away... but to no avail.

It was in this moment that Dom was born, and he began to fill his heart with hate. Dom developed quickly over the next years. Through the beatings, the fights, the emotional abuse and verbal assaults. Dom became more and more present, Ash only getting small glimpses of his life. But Dom knew the truth, and hid Ash away from the worst of it.

When Ash was eleven his mom died. She simply passed away in her sleep, though Dom always felt his father had some hand in it. It didn't matter though, Dom already hated her for her complacency and uselessness. Now left with his father, the abuse dwindled quite a lot, and his father became a bitter lonely man. Dom could only wish he died a slow and painful death, and he got his wish when his father developed pancreatic cancer. Ash and Dom got to watch over the next years as his father withered away. And he celebrated it.

By the time Ash graduated High School, at the age of 18, he had already been halfway indoctrinated into military life, and he joined the Army. In this he and Dom were more attuned, and they both took to the training with aplomb. After a four year stint, and attaining the rank of E-5, Ash joined the Military CID (Criminal Investigations Division), and began his more specialized training in various skills. From the age of 22 until he was 32, Ash climbed the ranks and built his skills as a CID Special Agent.

However, on the side, he had taken up quite a mission. His own background, and seeing the effects of humans waging war on themselves, Dom became a vigilante, for lack of a better term. Some would call him a serial killer. Others a hero. Animal abusers, pedophiles, human traffickers, puppy mill brokers... There was a particular pattern if only the authorities would have placed the pieces together. He didn't focus on a particular ethnic group. Never took trophies, and most perpetrators were involved in several other illegal activities. The fact that most also ran drugs, or guns, or prostitution, helped to hide those that Dom was targeting.

Then things all over the world changed, and for the first time in his life Dom found someone he could look up to. Ethniu. He wished they'd been able to finish the job and exterminate humanity. Him along with it of course. But they failed and were locked away again. This only sped up Dom's malice and discontent with humanity, and this was when he started drawing the attention of Mab.

He now knew that such beings existed, and when she extended to him an opportunity - one that promised more power, a license to kill - he took it. It gave Dom even more focus, and his net began to widen with who and how he hunted. He had to change some of his tactics, now instead of steel he uses ceramic and polymer and all manner of materials that are not anathema to him now. Though he does have a growing love for the iron-studded brass knuckles.

Ash and Dom are very unusual for a Winter Knight, preferring guns and using his powers as the Knight to boost his already honed capabilities. In their mind, all of humanity deserved to be washed away, cleansing the planet. Everyone deserves what is coming to them.

Connections:
Mother Winter
Winter Queen- Mab
Winter Lady- Molly Carpenter
Various members of the Winter Court