Blackbook
Sometime after, he was approached by a Skull member who promised him a future of opportunity and safety among numbers in the gang. With employment becoming increasing hard to find, Tae accepted the offer.
On the night of his Black Wake initiation into the gang, Tae felt drawn to a specific crypt and a coffin within. Prying open the coffin with a crowbar, he discovered a recently deceased corpse with a black leather book placed on top of the chest.
Whispers echoed into his mind; purportedly from the book, beckoning him to pick up the book with promises of power. When Tae touched the book's cover, a sharp pain flickered through his hand into his entire being. It was no ordinary book, it was a witch's grimoire filled with spells. Picking up the grimoire, he emerged from the crypt and fled when he heard the rest of the Skull recruits gathering.
Safe in his room, Tae immediately delved into picking the grimoire apart for answers. Within the leather book's crisp pages, he discovered incantations after incantations with effects ranging from simple divination to darker arts like necromancy and demonic invocation.
The grimoire whispered to him, claiming he was the one it was waiting for. It revealed that Tae descended from a bloodline with a propensity for the arcane and it also sensed that Tae would be willing to do whatever it takes to break out of poverty and hence it chose him. Tae locked himself in his room for days, learning as much from the book as possible. And when more privacy was needed, he left his family home and family behind.
Using an invisibility spell and an unlock cantrip, Tae snuck into an abandoned warehouse. In there he began practicing the darker magic and rituals. A particular page within the grimoire caught his eye: evocation of hellfire. Whispering the incantation, a spark of purple-reddish fire ignited in his right palm. The thrill of tapping into an otherworldly dimension was exhilarating and Tae soon developed an addiction to the infernal magic. This constant use of hellfire resulted in his right hand becoming charred and darkened.
Days passed and his cash ran out. Desperate for sustenance, Tae decided to steal from a supermarket. Sated and in a food coma, he did not notice the guard patrolling. He panicked and accidentally alerted the guard. The guard immediately gave chase and pounced onto the scrawny Tae. In the struggle, the grimoire whispered an incantation and Tae sputtered it out. His right arm that was trying to resist the guard glowed purple-red and suddenly the guard shrieked in pain. Tae watched as the man's facial features shriveled before combusting into hellfire. When the glow dissipated, the arm now had a dark purplish tint.
Tae continued squatting in the warehouse, surviving on theft and fueling his magic practice by preying on random unfortunate individuals. The practice of dark magic and solitary lifestyle changed him physically: the purplish tint on his arm was now a full-blown coloration, various bony growths now adorned the entirety of his right arm and he developed significant muscle growth from working out. By this time, he had already read the entirety of the grimoire and he wanted more.
He decided to turn his attention towards the fledgling magical heroes and the lower-leveled Hellions, Skulls and Circle of Thorns in the City. Tae would ambush his victims and magically torture them for information, magical relics or incantations; of which he would inscribe into the grimoire.
Then eventually, his thirst for knowledge and power overgrew his rationale. He stormed City Hall in an attempt to breach MAGI's vaults for the darker spells. Inevitably, he was foiled by the Heroes and he fled into the Isles with a teleportation spell - biding his time and targeting other sources of power there.
In the Isles, he adopted the name Blackbook - an ode to the enchanted grimoire that now guides his way towards the peak of power.
Dark Magic
The grimoire has unlocked Tae's inherent magical potency. He is now able to cast spells of various levels from non-somatic cantrips to complex rituals proficiently. With his spells, he has demonstrated these abilities from time to time: telekinesis, teleportation, invisibility, illusions and various curses and hexes.
Hellfire Manipulation
Tae's most destructive ability is to wield Hellfire; tapping into a mirror of Primal Earth plagued by perpetual hellfire. He is able to utilize hellfire in many different ways: projected blasts, calling down a rain of fire and even fashioning fel-fire weapons. Hellfire is addictive and the thrill of being a conduit for the power excites Tae immensely. Hellfire burns hotter than normal fire and scars his victims' souls leaving their bodies and lifeforce burnt. Hellfire is unable to be put out through normal means - magical methods work best.
The Black Grimoire
The Black Grimoire contains pages of spells that Tae uses in his arsenal. The book is sentient; often whispering to Tae and suggesting ways to improve his power. The book is also magically enchanted to have as many pages as needed, often creating empty pages for Tae to inscribe any new incantations.
Arcane Armaments
As Blackbook, Tae wears a chest plate and belt of his own design. The suit is made of an unknown other dimensional material that is resistant to blunt trauma and bullets.
- Is wanted in Paragon City for various crimes: murder, blackmail, theft.
- Is also wanted by the Midnighter Club - The Black Grimoire is something they want to keep in containment.
- Has stolen or harmed members of the NPC magical groups on both sides of the spectrum: Legacy Chain, Mu, Circle of Thorns etc.