Simon Kerrick

Simon Kerrick
Biographical information
Homeworld
Birth	unknown
Died	December 19, 2011
Family	currently none
Occupation(s)	mage, speculator, financier, scumbag Sovereign
Alias	Young Lich
Physical description
Species	Lich, formerly Human
Gender	male
Hair color	black
Eye color	brown
Height	5'10"
Statistics
Weapon(s)	spells, dagger, spear, poison diplomacy, ability to lie
Abilities	black magic, deceitful fighting, *LICH ABILITIES*
Affiliation	Kore, Bixia Yuanjin
First Appearance

""Simon Kerrick shall perish due to his own actions at the culmination of his plans. His soul shall be lost to the afterlife.""

—Reiko's Death Note

Simon Kerrick is a Sorcerer from another world who ended up in The House due to the meddling of another mage. He appeared in the House wearing fancy Robes, and appeared to be in his mid 30's. Simon was extremely charismatic, but was by no means a physical paragon: with balding black hair, a goatee, and a portly tendency leading towards overweight. He sometimes used wands, potions or other magical items on rare occasions or at times of great risk, but it seems most of his magic did not require the use of such focal components. His magic can also imitate other powers such as telekinetics. Simon took advantage of the unique personages and opportunities offered by The Hotel in order to successfully become a lich. His increased resilience, longevity, technical knowledge, and level of experience currently make him many times more powerful, compared to his initial abilities when he first arrived in Tokyo.

History

Since his arrival, many found him to be of dubious nature, and his reputation and mannerisms meant he was trusted by few. With the the exception of the one or two people he seemed to dote on, Simon seemed almost completely detached from the concerns and problems of others. He openly proposed alliances with known villains but was accepted by none, due to his tendencies to care for himself almost exclusively. He had no problem using spells to bring people under his control, or doing whatever he could to play a system.

He was extremely frustrated when he first came to the house, because the incredible technology and dangerous conversation partners made him feel powerless. Though he had no qualms about using his advantages to advance himself, he seemed completely unable to exploit his new surroundings. That all changed when he learned about the stock market. In a series of suspiciously-good trades, he successfully amassed a great fortune, using that capitol to relentlessly pursue his private goals.

Among the ways he advanced those goals was bribing otherworldly entities, purchasing massive amounts of status symbols to portray an alter ego of a wealthy businessman, enslaving Prinnies to his service, and buying large amounts of precious metals and jewels.

It was what he did with the latter that showed Simon was a competent (but not a master) jeweler, with the ability to imbue his creations with magical power. While he freely offered magically-enchanted jewelry as gifts to Kore, he demanded that anyone else who desired such wondrous items pay a significant fee. Though he thus offered his skills as a magical artisan to numerous people, mostly villains, he was commissioned by none.

Taking a suite on the 12th floor of The Hotel, he continued to pursue his private agenda. The sorcerer seemed completely amoral, and while he engaged almost anyone, including villains, in conversation, he rarely objects to actions most would consider heinous unless they threaten him personally (such as the incursion led by Brent Furlong).

Simon asked for Kore's hand in marriage on November 14, 2011, which was met with immediate concern as to his intentions, as well as forceful opinions on the part of particular people. Kore, however, seemed to be unaware of this. They were married on November 29, 2011 in a small private ceremony.

While this event cemented his kindnesses toward Kore, it did not affect his demeanor toward anyone else. Throwing himself deeper into his studies instead of into family life, Simon was sometimes found reading forbidden knowledge about "finalities of necromancy," "elements of sacrifice," and other unsavory things.

Death Note and Final Days

On the night of December 11, 2011, a girl from the future approached Simon with a book known as a Death Note, and offered it to him under the condition that he enter a specific name inside. Simon did not hesitate, and began writing names into the Death Note immediately, seemingly heedless of the price he would have to pay. He complied with Ikari Momo, and used the Death Note to seal the fate of the person she wished. Eitak Razal and Souldier were not at all pleased with these actions, and Simon defended both himself and the Death Note long enough to write several names into it, one of which was his own. After he did this, several House regulars threatened to strike Simon down on the spot out of spite for his callousness. With his fate in the Death Note, and the Bracelets of Life on his wrists, Simon showed no fear.

As of Mid-Late December of 2011, Simon's life apparently came apart. Having "harvested" from the stock market for months, he was placed under investigation and indictment, subpoenaed, and a warrant was issued for his arrest on charges of fraud, corruption, and embezzlement. Almost all of his public possessions were confiscated, and human servants left jobless, but he seemed to either not care about this, or actively expected it. It soon became clear that he had been stockpiling gold, silver, platinum, precious stones, and already had massive reserves of untraceable wealth and treasure hidden away to bribe new servants, which he utilized to finish his plans.

After a brief and vague chat with Kore, Simon commenced a forbidden ritual and disappeared for days at a time, during which time his wife became increasingly fearful for his well-being. The ritual seemed to be aging him rapidly but it seemed to be offset by his wearing the Bracelets of Life, which he borrowed from Kore at the time. The only problematic factor in this ritual turned out to be a wound he received from a Death Kouma, which caused his flesh to turn to blood and dust as the ritual progressed. Seeing him aging at an alarming rate and leaving a trail of blood or dust wherever he went, Raihosha seemed to understand what Simon was attempting, but after vehemently chiding Simon for his foolishness, he admitted that what was happening was completely irreversible.

"Success"

Simon succeeded in his quest to become a Lich in the early morning of Monday, December 19 2011, after a tense confrontation with several house members. During this confrontation, after seemingly taking a final plunge into the deep end of the morality pool, Simon bribed otherworldly entities, and set them about in a diversion through The Hotel floors. As genuine heroes scoured the building for him, he teleported away and covertly and quickly seized a large number of hostages through magical items he disseminated through Tokyo. A standoff ensued.

Since he ultimately freed the hostages he seized and surrendered to their custody, the formidable array of personages that had come to confront him decided to let him be as long as he ceased to be a threat.

These actions destroyed much of his relationship with Kore. Violently ending his own life in front of the one whose affection he'd called "his treasure," Simon rose to unlife before all that had gathered to stop him. All of the things he sacrificed and endangered to become a Lich did not seem to matter in the face of his accomplishment, and he still exults in his current state.

While he seemingly abjured his evil ways, he seems to actually take pride in undeath. On December 22, 2011, he rejected Bixia Yuanjin's offer to grant him oblivion as an alternative to the fate he has brought upon himself. Mentioning that all of time was now his to experience and enjoy, he refused her.

Satiation

After this success, Simon continued to dwell in the house in various guises. As what many would label to be an "unrepentant villain," he knew he had a long way to go toward being accepted by the heroic regulars of the House, and experimented for a time with different ways to conceal his lich form, which he concealed from most new arrivals.

Simon's presence was mostly tolerated due to his lack of committing obvious or open-faced evil and hurting innocents. Unfortunately, the memories of his previous adventures and lifestyle proved resiliant, and they made him very short tempered at timws. This caused him to provoke members of the Hotel was in kidnapping Jameson Atlas in a failed attempt to force Eilean to toughen up. The heroes raided Gunkanjima, and freed Jameson and other hostages. Mindful of the repercussions, Jameson and Simon agreed to let bygones be bygones, provided Simon would swear to never again interfere in the lives of Eilean, Jameson, or Amanda Sharlan. Simon agreed, and vowed to never do so as long as Jameson was alive.

Aside from that incident, Simon was rather well-behaved for a lich, and Raihosha even agreed to take him on as a student in a probationary relationship, viewing Simon as being *less* evil now than when has hell-bent (literally) on achieving undeath, and willing to harm anyone. Simon was unwilling to live in poverty or at the charity of other regulars, and through a specific misadventure in Africa during his journeys around the world, he stumbled upon a new revenue source. For months upon months, he would periodically show up at the Hotel with bloody rhino horns, tiger pelts with bullet holes, elephant ivory, and other trophies of animals that it seems could not possibly have been obtained legally, or without killing the animal. This practice was abhorred by almost everyone, but Kaelyn was willing to buy these items at fair prices, paying Simon fairly either in cash, or in *very* strange choices of goods. This behavior tends to cause nervousness in those who recall how Simon behaves after he hoards money.

While his negative and secretive tendencies proved reslience, Simon also proved he was capable of positive actions, and displayed friendship with Guyver Densuo after being touched by the latter's concern for him. He took Guyver to a different plane to throw rocks and catch up while they watched a dying reality break apart and perish. Guyver was touched, and Simon's charity was genuine, but he never told Guyver that the plane they were on was of his own making, and was in fact one of several trial runs to create a permanent one.

Simon then began drawing suspicions once more due to his increasing attention the to Dragonballs. He read the manga to learn what the public knew, followed Suu and company along and witnessed a wish being made first-hand. He even followed Suu on her quest to obtain them, casually assisting in killing any Free The Soul members who dared to resist their group. He spoke with both Yaijinden and Piccolo in order to acquire more information about them, and the rules of making wishes. After Suu made her wishes and restored countless victims of Hazenine to life, Simon approached Suu, and asked her to give him her Dragon Radar. It took a bit of work convincing her, but Simon eventually left with what he desired. Simon essentially stated that he was more than willing to wait until the next time the Dragonballs were active and then claim them, but as this was a year away, and they had just been in numerous battles together fighting side by side, the heroes did not press this issue.

On Sept 02, 2013, Simon interviewed The Shadow Architect. He flattered her, and then spoke of the dead Hazenine, the duties of a law-keeper, and how much she knew of his past. Then the talk quickly turned to menacing hypothetical territory about under what conditions her organization might be willing to make a deal with an extremely dangerous criminal. The what-ifs were rather tense, but The Shadow Architect seemed to stick to the old adage of "not negotiating with terrorists." Simon then bluntly left, and did not address one of the Magistra's rather damning observations.

Renewed Ambitions

""Remember this day, half-elf, because one of the two spellcasters next to you is changing the future.""

—Simon to Eilean, said while standing next to The Magistra

Eleven days after that discourse with the Shadow Architect, Simon became *extremely riled* while speaking with The Magistra, and repeatedly asked her if she wanted to take back anything she had said recently, and if she "knew what she was doing." Magistra indicated that she did not, and did, respectively--which was problematic because she had claimed in front of Simon that she could kill him. While he did not state his objection to Riyanna specifically, her refusal to take anything back riled the dead man to a ferocious intensity, and he then made quite the display, appearing to be throwing down the metaphorical gauntlet. Simon then recited a quote from Bixia Yuanjin regarding the tendency of death to lead to obsession. The lich paused for a moment to consider his inward doubts after reflecting upon this, but when Magistra then informed him that compared to The Necromantress, he was still very weak, and mentioned the upcoming Halloween as a chance to strengthen himself, Simon said that he at he "hoped for her sake" she knew what she had begun, and teleported off to advance himself once more. On that day, in that hour, Simon made up his mind that he would proceed with his new and audacious plan, and resorted to magic and strategies both sublime and vile in order to finalize the construction of Enclave as a direct result of this conversation.

Heavy is the Head...

<General Marianna> I truly am amazed. A scared lich. I suppose this is a first-time for things.

<Vermellia X. Rosso> he became a lich because he was afraid

<Vermellia X. Rosso> that's mever left him

Incredibly fortunately, at least for him, Simon's efforts were successful, and his incredibly dangerous gambit paid off. Simon now enjoys the benefits of being sovereign, but this has been a double-edged sword due to the ability of people to threaten the world of Enclave in order to get him to accede to their demands. This has actually proven successful, and Simon has at least seemed willing to put up with considerable tribulations as well as undertake acts he would almost assuredly never perform otherwise when others stated, either overtly or subtly, that his helping them was in his world's best interest. Simon's most difficult burden resulting from Enclave involved having to spend a great deal of energy convincing just about everyone that he was not staging an invasion force there to strike out with against various HOTEL regulars. Whether due to ego or pride or hidden embers of genuine compassion, Simon at least SEEMS to care about the future of Enclave and its citizens. Perhaps it is lucky for all involved that Vermellia X. Rosso allowed him to officially found and rule his own world, because for that world's peaceful--or at least continued existence, Simon has been persuaded to not learn time Travel, put up with staggering levels of insults without retaliation, mollify Gallifrey through mediation, ally with Egae, and even literally grovel and plead for forgiveness from another powerful spellcaster, when Filibert Wright's brokered peace demanded he do so. Currently, Simon has shown himself willing to barricade and lockdown his personal demesne when trouble arises that could harm it, and is now most concerned with something incredibly horrible (that he steadfastly refuses to describe) impinging from his native world and those closely connected to it. Simon has gone to considerable lengths to be accepted by various authority figures as of late, which either means he is either taking the long view of cooperation, considers them necessary, or both. However, he still a long road to travel--and many years of work ahead of him--if he wishes to climb back upward toward a status anywhere resembling trustworthy to a majority of those in the HOTEL.

Hopefully the reputation, tasks, and demands he has brought upon himself through his actions do not daunt him on his journey, which been made a considerably lengthy one, due to the fact that he will endure forever.

Arrest

[18:10] <Simon Kerrick> You will all forget I have done this for you, however.
[18:10] <Paisley Pythia Peinforte> WE're time active.
[18:10] <Paisley Pythia Peinforte> It's not that stupidly linear.
[18:10] <Simon Kerrick> Not for that reason. I meant because everybody hates me.

Although Simon managed to go four years without enduring physical destruction, in late June 2015, Solarchos' forces, on The Intern's orders, attacked Simon's starship without warning and Simon was obliterated in the explosion. The Intern attempted to find his body amid the wreckage, and was concerned over the possibility that he had been destroyed utterly. However, Kore brought a box into the Lobby a few days later which had a skeleton floating above it that was slowly growing larger and more complete.

After a visit from the Greek goddess Athena, it was confirmed that the object in the box that Simon's physical form was regenerating above was the Bracelets of Life. Though much discussion was had over whether to detain Simon or even destroy the contents of the box, Paisley Pythia Peinforte slowly discovered that Simon's deals had effectively made him immune to their prosecution.

This problem was solved by taking the matter directly to the goddess Athena, the deity of Law, who gave divine permission to try Simon in her name because he defiled a relic of her domain. Simon's regenerating form was destroyed again, and the regulars of the Hotel decided to detain and arrest him following his vessel's destruction, as he was finally helpless. Simon effectively ensured that he could not be held accountable for his crimes, but the heroes of Tokyo were able to gain a warrant for his arrest thanks to a key informant.

Betrayal

[18:50] <Simon Kerrick> Well Obsidian.... are you going to side with them, now that there is a Deity against me and I only have a few hours perhaps until she purges me?
[18:50] < King Obsidian> Well, I am a gambler by nature....

This key informant was none other than Obsidian, whom Simon had taken in and aided repeatedly--allowing him to rise to the position of king and planetary ruler. Obsidian seemingly fumbled repeatedly while speaking to Franziska von Karma about how he "promised not to mention" how he and Simon were plotting the downfall of the world in 2014, or how Simon said he "would kill him if he squealed," seemingly realizing as he did so that he had done the thing Simon had promised retribution for. Accepting the HOTEL's offer to place him and his family under protective custody, he gave vast amounts of ammunition for the prosecution while at the same time, the Bracelets of Life were sealed deep within the unreachable quantum bowels of the HOTEL where Chateaux Concierge assured Simon he couldn't get at them.

The Hotel regulars strongly considered the benefits of keeping Simon's phylactery firmly under their control to finally get a leash on him so he couldn't make trouble, but their ability to attempt this never came. Athena demanded and took possession of the Bracelets of Life, angered that Simon had adulterated them in order to make him Deathless. Knowing he could not oppose her will, Simon prostrated himself before the goddess and pleaded ignorance that the sacred treasures he had tampered with to enable his lichdom were part of her domain, and simply pleaded for her not to destroy him as part of her judgment. Athena did not destroy him, but she did--to his horror--have them stripped all the work Simon had done on them at great cost so he could regenerate after death, and they were returned to their original purpose.

It was at this point that Simon--captured, weakened, and under arrest, saw Obsidian again and asked for aid, refuge, and asked why he had let such damning information about him slip to those who would seek to punish him. King Obsidian, however, mocked the weakened Simon, and said that he had no compunctions about betraying the weakened lich because he never considered their alliance to be equal or non-exploitative toward him in the first place. In viewing this mockery and refusal, it casts doubt on the idea that King Obsidian was only an aid to the case against Simon due to loose-lipped incompetence. No help was forthcoming, but Simon believed that having an actual god wrathful at him was far more important a problem than the anger of the HOTEL heroes, and he tried futilely to regain the sacred treasure he profaned and acquired by breaking Kore's heart.

Simon sued Athena for peace---offering her a hecatomb of cattle, worshipers, wine, and pleaded in earnest for her mercy. Athena allowed him into tenple of her choice to make his case, but was only nominally moved by his tributes and grovelling, and cursed him to NEVER be able to disguise his hideous form again, crippled his ability to tell lies and falsehoods, for as long as her power lasted against him, and promised far worse punishment if the undead being EVER trespassed upon her pantheon's holy places again. To his great fortune, Athena did NOT strike down Simon after she revoked the ability of the bracelets to serve as a refuge for his soul. Simon realized how in spite of everything that had happened to him, he had gotten off fairly lightly. He knelt before her and praised her beneficence until she ordered him from her presence. Although Simon survived his trial without being destroyed forever, he never forgot what Obsidian did to him.

A King's Ransom

"My name is Simon Kerrick. You have taken from me and taken from me, and have backstabbed me. I may be about to be excised by a goddess, but I doubt my eternity will be any more unpleasant if I equal the books between us ere I depart this world. "

—Simon, to Obsidian

Simon's wrath at Obsidian's betrayal eventually reached a fever pitch. With everything unravelling, a deity after him, an angry Shadow Proclamation that Filibert had narrowly mollified into not searching Enclave due to Obsidian's testimony, Simon decided to demand reparations from his former ally. Simon stalked Obsidian for many days while the King laid low, but he eventually confronted him alongside his wife, Lady Matsumi--the mighty Queen of Nemesis. He laid out that he was outraged with Obsidian for taking his powerful magical gifts worth almost all of Simon's remaining personal fortune as wedding presents, accepting aid and support and advice, and then hanging him out to dry. Simon was furious and demanded that Obsidian take one of two courses of action which Simon said would absolve him. Simon said he expected Obsidian to either kneel before him and pledge himself as a vassal again to redeem himself in the lich's eyes, or he could hand over a specific one of the royal treasures of Nemesis that Simon had handled while he evacuated the palace during the Nemesis Crisis. A confrontation rapidly escalated where Simon, on one side, demanded the treasure of Nemesis--both from the king and queen. On the other side were a growing number of people who increasingly suspected that Simon's interest in the royal treasure he demanded were more than monetary. The confrontation quickly cast doubt on the idea that Obsidian was the only traitor in his alliance with Simon. Both sides became more and more insistent about their claims to the priceless treasure in question, and after much drama, including claims about the item being lost, Lady Matsumi finally told Simon that she would indeed give him the Nemesian Crown he desired so greatly. Simon agreed to her terms and absolved her husband of his debts to her, but then the Queen of Nemesis shocked him by sealing the crown inside a magic-proof box of Nth Metal---permanently sequestering any charms Simon may have treasonously placed upon it and denying it to him forever! Simon, having attracted vast suspicions and already in a weakened state, cut his losses and was forced to retreat with the Nth-Metal box containing the payoff he could never make use of.

Simon never truly recovered from the problems he encountered after his first physical destruction. Though Intern gave him another starship as a replacement, Simon's military forces have been permanently cut by 1/3, not to mention his hamstrung ability to regenerate or ever take human form again. Though Enclave was able to launch a chain of successful (though suspicious) stores to garner money for the realm as a whole, Simon was effectively destitute of a personal fortune since he had spent a great deal of his wealth enchanting powerful gifts to secure the loyalty of Obsidian.

Always full of bravado, Simon has taken these losses in stride and attempted to mitigate them. He has put his efforts into colonizing an uninhabited and unclaimed planet to expand Enclave into the physical world without breaking his treaty, and his close bond with Kailey Sunrise Ninegate netted him an offered gift of a billion dollars in cash. The lich certainly didn't protest his good fortunes, but as Simon Kerrick has learned better than almost anyone: Money cannot buy happiness.

It's Personal!

Throughout his stay in Universe 1337-A, Simon has mainly managed to slip out of the noose for the terrible and horrendous acts he committed--especially in worlds outside his new home, but that may have just come to an abrupt end. Recently, Simon has learned that an alternate-universe Actuary has been crossing barriers between causalities with an unimaginably powerful weapon which she employs to rid the multiverse of the two things she considers most problematic in it: The abominable race known as the Daleks, and one spellcaster named Simon Kerrick. Once again spurred to drastic action by a threat to his life, Simon attempted to waylay his hunter, quickly threw his lot in with the defenders, and has begun hurried scheming to survive what may easily be the most formidable adversary he has ever faced--a foe who by all accounts is able and willing to kill an entire galaxy to destroy him.