Lincoln Renfield-Murray

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Lincoln Renfield-Murray

Relatives	Eleanor Abernathy (Sister, 30), Charlotte Abernathy (Niece, 9), Oliver Abernathy (Nephew, 9), Jacob Renfield (Father, deceased), Allison Murray (Mother, 65)
Languages	Noman, Oldfairen, Otherwherean
Affiliations	Candela Obscura - Investigator
Aliases	Linc, The Red Knight
Marital Status	Single
Place of Birth	Nawfaire
Species	Human
Gender	Male
Height	5' 8"
Weight	160 lbs
Eye Color	Brown

Lincoln Renfield-Murray is an occultist in the Qandela Obscura campaign. He is a member of the Circle of Mind & Marrow, operating out of Nine Irons. He owns a bookstore, Verbatim, in The Sidle where he lives in the top two floors above the bookstore.

Physical Appearance

Dawning a cool and slightly disheveled look. He sports chestnut brown hair; tousled and falling across his forehead in an unkempt yet intentional manner. The length is moderate, not too short but not overly long.

Lincoln is often expressive, sometimes conveying a weariness through deep-set brown eyes. He has a neatly trimmed beard and mustache.

His wardrobe is simple yet reflective of The Sidle's literary scene. He often wears earthy tones, such as browns, grays, and muted greens, in the form of sweaters, button-down shirts, and a well-worn woolen over coat. The clothing is practical and lived-in.

Branded into the palm of his right hand is a multi-faceted pentangle of circles and intersecting lines. A series of ancient characters line the inner ring of the pentangle.

Personality

Lincoln navigates the occult with a quick, nonchalant wit that often gives way to unconventional methods. He can be focused and determined to see things through to the end. Though, this is sometimes undermined by a sense of powerlessness in the face of larger forces that even he doesn't entirely understand. He often grapples with the existential questions and emotions that his work as an occultist has forced him to confront. In his mind, those who tamper with magick often do so from a place moral ambiguity and corruption, sometimes resulting a world-weary attitude on his part.

History

Prior to the winter of 1900, Lincoln had lived a boring life of selling books. This quiet life was disrupted when he received a letter from his younger sister, Eleanor. Ellie had married Thomas Abernathy and moved with him and their two children to the remote mining town of Emberfall. Ellie did not go into great detail in her letter, but she was concerned about her husband and had asked Lincoln to visit them since he and Thomas had been good friends in college. Upon his arrival in Emberfall, Lincoln discovered that his brother-in-law, an esteemed engineer for the Blackstone Mineral Company, had fallen under the influence of an otherworldly power

Thomas had become a puppet for a cult that emerged among the coal mine's workers with the mine's manager, Heath Keers, leading dark rituals in service to the power they had discovered when they dug too deeply. A power they referred to as, The Spark. Unraveling a sinister plot over the course of a day, Lincoln, Eleanor, and her children, Charlotte and Oliver, fled to Newfaire in an attempt to escape the clutches of the cult. Thomas could not be convinced to leave his newly found religion.

Ellie was distraught and sought the aid of Blackstone Mineral Company and the Periphery. Neither were of any help. Lincoln immersed himself in the rare book section of his store. An area that served a more exclusive clientele. In doing so, Lincoln discovered a ritual hidden within the pages of a small and ancient tome. This ritual would forge a covenant with a mysterious entity, granting Lincoln the power to confront the cult and the nameless power they worshiped. The nameless entity agreed to given Lincoln a portion of it's power. In exchange, he would need to answer it's call at times that it saw fit. Desperate to save Thomas, Lincoln agreed without hesitation.

Returning to Emberfall, Lincoln found the cult members transformed into creatures of cinders and ash. Lincoln would later find out they were known as Cindermen in many texts. A great fight ensued between Lincoln and the few Cindermen that were intact enough to fight. Heath managed to escape after Lincoln managed to seal the mine through a ritual he had learned from the same text in which he had discovered the covenant.

Despite thwarting the cult's plans to send tainted coal into outlying towns and cities to grow the Cindermen's ranks, Thomas was lost to the corruption of The Spark. His mind twisted into a vicious thing that desired only to consume those he loved in flame. His body consumed almost beyond recognition. Lincoln only had one choice. He put Thomas out of his misery and left Emberfall as it burned to the ground. Nothing more than a smoldering graveyard and a forever sealed mine - a prison for The Spark to seethe without release.

There was still the matter of the Entity that Lincoln had forged the covenant with. It was a master of gates and keys and only those that had it's permission should pass through a thinning. Those who dared to do so without such permission would need to be returned to The Flare. And Lincoln would have to make sure it happened. Orders for such work would come without notice, often through the presence of a stray cat. Disobedience, often bore... dire consequences.

The covenant with the nameless creature haunted Lincoln's every step, a constant reminder of the supernatural forces that had gripped his family.

Reluctantly, Lincoln would come to embrace his newfound role as an occultist and open Verbatim to those seeking assistance with supernatural predicaments. Clients like Isabella Hawthorne, Samuel Whitewood, and Lucinda Vale sought his expertise, each carrying their own burden of the arcane. Each offering their services in kind, if he should ever need them.

However, the death of Thomas created a strain between Lincoln and Eleanor. He couldn't bring himself to tell her that he has been the one to end her husband's life. The tension between them became a poignant reminder of the losses they endured.

After several years of resolving occult matters for various individuals in need, regardless of their status, the enigmatic Lady Seraphina Ravenscroft of Candela Obscura noticed Lincoln's talents and attempted to recruit him. He remained reticent, reluctant to involve others in his arcane struggles.

As Lincoln's solitary journey continued to unfold, he found himself escaping by the skin of his teeth more and more frequently. This, combined with a vague promise that Candela might be able to help him be free of his promise to the Entity, finally brought him to accept the offer to become a member of Candela Obscura and join the Circle of Mind & Marrow.

Languages

Halen, Otherwheren, Oldfairen

Powers and Abilities

Lincoln is well read and possesses a well rounded knowledge about the humanities. He is likewise a skilled researcher and investigator. He also possess occult powers through rituals. All of the rituals he knows require him to channel the magickal energy of the Entity through the pentangle scarred into his right hand. This can take the form of bleed detection or containment, warding and a number of other abilities.

Attacks and Weapons 

While Lincoln is not an inherently violent person, his work as an occultist has sometimes required him to get into the occasional scrap. As such, Lincoln keeps a baseball bat in his office that is inscribed with Oldfairen characters and the arcane sigil of the Entity that is also scarred into his right palm.