Name: Hassan I Sabbah
Item: N/A
Gender: Male
Age: Elder
Species: #65, Alakazam, the Psi Pokemon
Height: 4'09"
Weight: 105 lbs.
Pokedex Entry: While it has strong psychic abilities and high intelligence, an Alakazam's muscles are very weak. It uses psychic power to move its body.
Level: 34
Ability: Inner Focus
Nature: Calm
Characteristic: Often lost in thought.
Moves:
Teleport(start)
Telekinesis(lv. 34)
Psybeam(lv. 28)
Reflect(lv. 30)
History:
Life began for Hassan as it normally would for any Alakazam. He was born, and immediately left in the wilds to fend for himself. As a frail, young Abra, his chance of survival was small, even with the ability to Teleport. As the boy needed constant rest, it left him vulnerable, and even his psychic powers might not have been able to sense a threat in time for him to escape. Ultimately, this is what ended his stay in the wild, as he was captured while sleeping by a young man looking for his first pokemon. However, Hassan found that his life was much simpler, quieter, easier, when he was under the care of this man. This man called himself Mahkmud. Mahkmud was a monk in training for a nearby mosque.
Clearly, as his pokemon, as with many monks, the Pokemon was also instructed in their beliefs, not to make another convert, but simply to spread the good word. Mahkmud discussed with his Abra, who grew with time into a healthy Kadabra, his philosophies concerning Islam. The Kadabra, not having the power of telepathy, simply listened. With his high intellect, he eventually learned to read the texts his master quoted so frequently. He did not have to neccessarily believe what he was reading to find its poetry and imagery beautiful. However, as time went on, he quickly grew to profoundly believe what he read. He began to preach what he was beginning to understand to any Pokemon who would bother to listen. At the mosque he would offer other wild pokemon inside, offer them hospitality, and attempt to spread the word of his newfound faith. Many were skeptical, but eventually he had amassed a following of converts.
The mosque attracted more Pokemon than it did people, but the priests didn't mind. In fact, they simply began to hold prayer with the Pokemon, becoming an integrated society of like-minded people, even if they didn't share a common language. The Imam of the mosque, seeing how easily Hassan spoke to the masses of Pokemon, determined that he would be of even greater service under his experienced wing. Trading over his Kadabra, Mahkmud relinquised his right as Master. The Imam taught Hassan many other doctrines with which he was previously unaware, and taught him methods of prayer and spiritual growth that, while strange, actually seemed to work. Breathing excercises, the Dervish, meditation... all forms of spiritual awareness that were supposed to bring one closer to God. Hassan did listen. Trading evolved him once more, into an adult Alakazam, and with his now fully developed brain, there was no esoteric doctrine nor sacred text he could not decipher with ease.
His curiosity, as well as his ease at learning, prompted the monks to do something unheard of: They made Hassan a missionary. A pokemon a missionary! They met much resistance from the rest of the holy church upon hearing this, but the others did not understand how close Hassan was to these priests, and how he was perhaps more faithful to the religion than even they were. Hassan's pokemon followers came with him as he departed to spread the word. Normally such preaching would be done to humans, but the Imam was wise, and said to Hassan, "The words of truth are for all to hear."
Hassan preached, travelling from region to region through Teleport, spreading word to Pokemon everywhere he went. Not all converted, and some outright hated him and his preaching, and many a time he was chased away by those who rejected his word and worshipped the Legendaries as Gods. Hassan was saddened by this, but did nothing. Time went on, and he aged greatly. Eventually, he returned to the mosque that was his true home. Sitting back in the chamber halls, the monks who remembered him greeted him warmly, and were overjoyed at the following behind him. They need not understand what he said to realize he had succeeded in his mission.
However, his happiness was short to last, as many of his followers began to disappear. Hassan was deeply grieved when he heard news many were found dead, and he isolated himself out of shame and sorrow. Hassan believed himself to be a sheperd, and thus when members of his 'flock' died, he held himself responsible. One day, he was woken to the sounds of terrified screams, cut short by a horrible wet ripping, and snarling like that of demons. Indeed there were demons, just not in the literal sense. The Infected had arrived. Among these monsters he could recognize the horribly maimed and reanimated forms of his own followers. All in the temple lay dead, save for him. Such a burst of pure grief, and the terror that followed, prompted him to flee, teleporting away from the sight. Now all he does is flee. Dark words found themselves in his lips:
Nothing was true, for it was all illusion.
Personality:
He's deeply contemplative. An understanding, wise individual, he holds faith above all else. However, the Infected did shake his concrete beliefs, but it has not yet broken his ironclad faith. He frequently prays over even minute problems, as he finds that God is the ultimate answer, no matter the issue. When he isn't fleeing, praying, or fighting for his life, Hassan will be meditating somewhere elevated and quiet, where he can reflect upon himself and focus upon deeper understanding of his soul and the nature of the universe. Hassan i Sabbah grieves constantly for his fallen friends and followers, but does not strike at the Infected, choosing not to waste his old years on revenge. Those who strike the Infected with anger he pities, and he abhors violence and believes peace is the eventual answer, and that no amount of killing will solve this problem. His solution? Prayer. Being an Alakazam, he's already frail, but being elderly makes this worse, so he conserves his physical energy as much as possible, using Telekinesis to move himself whenever possible.
Appearance:
The ends of his mustache are a pale grey, and his fur is greying along the shoulders, back, and knees. He does not carry the traditional spoons of an Alakazam, but instead keeps with him a copy of the Quran, which he reads whenever possible. His eyes wrinkle along the edges, and he'll often be floating around with Telekinesis, legs crossed as though sitting.
User Notes:
-Based loosely upon Hassan i Sabbah, the peaceful missionary who founded the Hashshashins(Assassins), whose original duty was to spread Islam, and protect Iran from invaders. It was only later generations of the Order that corrupted the ideal and started killing enemies for power.
-Image is temporary, but I give thanks to NyraXerx for the contributional clean image.
-Technically a member of the Ismali Shi-ite faction of Islam, but I didn't think that was a big issue of importance.
-Taught himself to read, but not in English, as his texts are all in either Aramaic or Iranian.
Last edited by Gilgamesh on Sun Sep 01, 2013 9:52 pm; edited 6 times in total
