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- Jan 31, 2023
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| NAME: Aaric Hall ALIASES: Eric , Father GENDER: Male. AGE: 63. PLACE OF BIRTH: England. CURRENT LOCATION: Enroute to T-7. EDUCATION: Bachelor's Degree in Theology | Combine Equivalent in Logistical Management | C.W.U Qualifications - Various. OCCUPATION: C.W.U Terminal Manager. Mental State: Healthy. |
Backstory: Aaric's story begins, not from his basic childhood, but from his teenage years, seeing much of the perversions and evil that humans were capable of, he decided to turn to God, he began devoting his life to study and religion, using it as a coping mechanism at first, before being drawn in completely. He went to university after school, studying for a degree in Theology, He had attended church for many years by this point, and often spoke with his local priest about how to accomplish this, spending many days praying alongside him.Through 5 long years of study, and prayer, Aaric got his Degree, and would go on to become a Diocesan Priest at his local church, he spent the remainder of his non-occupied life preaching to his parish, performing holy matrimony, taking confessions, and issuing guidance to those that came to his church, he'd witnessed many displays of the goodness inside his fellow people, a stark contrast to that of his childhood and earlier years, he remained in this role for many many years, never growing tired of it, by now his religion *was* him. Post-Black Mesa, and during the portal storms, Aaric continued to spend his time in the church, reassuring his people that God had not abandoned them, and that his plans worked in mysterious ways, anything he could to keep people calm in such a trying time, he performed more and more funerals as time went on, never questioning his devotion to God, never questioning his plans, as people he'd preached to were slaughtered by beasts of Xen. But all that changed once the Combine came, Following their ban on Religion, he decided not to entirely quit on it, like some others, but to hide it. Choosing instead to practice in private, and among those he knew wouldn't rat on him, though he chose the path of loyalism, by now he was already old, but decided to move into the Civil Worker's Union, perhaps to better hide his religious practices, due to his less than impressive physical skills, aligned himself with the Logistics side of things, where his ability to remain totally calm and collected worked to his advantage, he normally spent his time doing paperwork, assisting his foremen, until eventually he himself would be promoted up to that rank, by a Director that through a complete accident, discovered Aaric, praying in his office, instead of reporting him, the young Director asked the man about it, and took comfort from him as they prayed together sometimes when things got tough. In his management career, Aaric took a different approach than some of the other foremen trying to impress the Director with their work, and instead he took the time to always ensure his team were as looked after as possible, mending himself to a hybrid work-religion standpoint of keeping his team happy, so that they in turn would be more efficient, eventually he'd find members of his local union, back in city 12 - old Hong Kong, that also wanted to hear his words, eventually they'd either figure it out, or discover by accident, even the most Combine-loyal of them wouldn't turn him in, due to how much they respected him, they'd sit in one of the warehouse basements, listening to the words of God, transmitted to them by Aaric, under the veil of being a series of courses on effective logistics, they'd never spread word of it and operated like this in secret the whole time Aaric was there. Two years after his promotion to Foreman, Aaric was eventually recognised as an invaluable asset to the Director, and following a conveniently timed argument, would be promoted to replace a recently fired Manager, here he'd find himself in the upper echelon of C.W.U management, second to the Director, he was grateful for it, given that a completely paperwork based job, meant his age could be excused for much longer, and that he once again felt he was that young priest in the church, having so many people look up to him, he worked diligently alongside his Director, never forgetting his roots with the workers, as he continued his underground church going until the time came for him to relocate too. Now he finds himself on a train to Terminal Seven, a much smaller venue, but a fresh-start none the less. |
Likes: | Dislikes: |
The Church | Ban on Religion |
People | The Cardinal Sins |
Traits: |
Positive | Neutral | Negative |
 Pious - A man of God |  Honest - Except about his secret |  Frail - Like a bony pillow |
 Calm - Never tempted to anger |  Forgiving - Perhaps too forgiving | N/A |
Transcript from Sermon - 11/04/2019 |
| Aaric: "Welcome, welcome; take your seats my children, let us pray." Aaric: "Today, whilst we bask in the cold dampness of these sheltered walls, I give unto you, a verse I'd like for you to contemplate with me. Deuteronomy 31:6 - Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you." Aaric: "A verse that I convey unto you, this session; What does it mean?" Citizen 1: "God will love us no matter what, we shouldn't let our fear of the Combine overcome us?" Aaric: "Very good, anyone else?" Citizen 2: "The Lord forgives us for being scared to worship him openly?" Aaric: "Good good, anyone else have any thoughts?" *The sound of a shutter opening, a short silence and some quiet rustling can be heard, judging by distance, from the congregation* ???: "<:: Sorry we're late father, another incident in the slums. ::>" ??? "<:: Yeah, sorry 'bout that. ::>" Aaric: "Come in, come in, please, take a seat. We were just discussing one of my favourite passages - Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. We were just speaking about how we interpret it." ??? "<:: *Ahem* sorry, 'scuse me. ::>" *Quiet sounds of the Civil protection members sitting down can be heard, evident among the others* ??? "<:: It's a sign that we're never alone, no matter how oppressed we are, God will always be in our hearts and minds, that even if we don't confess our love to him openly, he knows that deep down we hold his light. ::>" Aaric: "Excellent. It is all of these, and more, for the Lord our God knows of our pain, and wants us to know that no matter what happens, he holds us close, and so it's our responsibility to keep his light burning in our hearts and minds - No matter what happens to us, the Lord is watching, his plan for us is always unfolding." *Some time passes, more preaching comes from Aaric, decoding the verse and helping those in attendance to interpret it, as well as a few prayers.* Aaric: "As our sermon comes to a close, I urge you to take a look around this room, see your brothers and sisters, all persuasions of life we have here, Those that wear the mask of our oppressors, but keep the faith, those of us, living our days out of the ration pack, surrendering all but our faith to those that'd see us crushed, those that take up arms against them, all gathered in peace and unity here, under the gaze of our Lord, this is *True* unity, coming together to exercise our faith. And so, take his light and go now, into the streets, remember to hold him in your hearts when times get tough, and he will see you through. Go in peace my children." |
Faction Opinions: |
CCA - Mixed Some of you have strayed from the path of God, serving only yourselves, and for you - God will cast you down on judgement day, some of you choose to carry his light in your hearts, trying your best to improve the lives of your fellow man, may our Lord accept you into heaven when the day comes. |
Overwatch Transhuman Arm - Empathetic Lost souls, taken from the flock and forced to wear the armour of the devil, forced to commit the atrocities that we all know, the Lord will forgive your sins when he casts judgement, you're unable to follow his word, I don't know the Lord's plans with you, perhaps you are a test, a reminder of our hubris, a reminder that power comes with a sacrifice, and that we should all be weary. |
Civil Protection - Mixed Our fellow men, that have lost their way, some are worth forgiveness, some are not, some have chosen to disregard the Lord's commandments, and sin against their fellow men, some embrace the cardinal sins, and those sinners will burn in the fires of hell, dammed for all eternity, but some of you are just lost sheep, rejected by the flock, and it is my task as one of the Lord's shepherds to guide you back to us, remind you of your humanity, and remind you that even though you have sinned, if you accept the Lord into your hearts, you can still be forgiven. |
The Citizens - Loved The flock, the Lord's children, each and every one of them, though some do sin, it is human nature, that is why he died for us, all are worthy of forgiveness for their sins, and it is my duty as God's instrument to save them from damnation, this I will do, until my dying breath, until the Lord is ready to take me. They must remember that God's love extends outwards towards them, all they need do, is accept it into their hearts. |
The Occupied - CWU|CMRU|MOE|MOC|ETC - Loved The workers, doctors, spokespersons, economists among us, those of us with employment among the flock, we are no different to our fellow men, sometimes we forget this, but we must remember not to misuse the positions we have been given over our fellow men, for the lord is quick to decide the selfish among us, the greedy, the lazy. These cardinal sins cannot be forgiven, and so we must remember to do the Lord's bidding, and to ensure our fellow men are looked after. I will guide us where I can, I hope only that you will follow suite, and follow in Christ. |
The Resistance- Mixed A clouded portion of the flock, many things follow you, death, destruction, life, kindness, malice. You are the fighters, giving your lives for a chance for humanity to be rid of the Combine, I respect your mission, you are brave, some of you however, egotistical, envious, subscribers to the cardinal sins, you mustn't forget the reasons you fight - It is the Lord's plan, you must open your hearts to his light, allow him to guide you in your mission, do not stray from his path. The Lord accepts some of you into heaven, but for some of you, only the eternal fires of hell await. |
The Vortigaunts - Loved Visitors from a world far beyond our own, perhaps another flock of the Lord's creation, made in another image. They speak of "The all-in-one" perhaps this is your visage of God, if so, it confirms their faith, you follow your God faithfully, so I know that now you're here, you will be granted passage to Heaven, or whatever our Lord's house for you. You preach so beautifully, perfectly captivating your fellow vortigaunts in the words of the all-in-one. Perhaps we aren't so different after all, we accept you as part of God's flock all the same. |
Personal Relationships: |
Unknown faith | Acquaintance:
Miss Layla Adkins: I believe this lady to be from the Ministry of Progress, she seems a nice enough young woman, though as one might assume from a person in her position, she's a busy body, not that there's anything wrong with that though, hopefully she can make it through the cold and perhaps we will speak more in the days to come.
Miss Layla Adkins: I believe this lady to be from the Ministry of Progress, she seems a nice enough young woman, though as one might assume from a person in her position, she's a busy body, not that there's anything wrong with that though, hopefully she can make it through the cold and perhaps we will speak more in the days to come.
Faithful | Friend:
Miss Ashley Valera: A tortured soul, I can see it in her eyes. Something about the loss of someone called Makin, it's torn a hole in the poor lady's soul. So much so it's forced her to question her faith, I will endeavour to comfort her, and restore her heart, while the Lord might not be able to bring back those we have lost, faith will help her accept it.
Miss Ashley Valera: A tortured soul, I can see it in her eyes. Something about the loss of someone called Makin, it's torn a hole in the poor lady's soul. So much so it's forced her to question her faith, I will endeavour to comfort her, and restore her heart, while the Lord might not be able to bring back those we have lost, faith will help her accept it.
Suspected non-believer | Danger:
Mister Noah Majors: A kind enough man, but that doesn't remove the fact he's an emissary of Campaign, I must be careful around this man, lest he suspect anything. Last thing I need is MCP investigating me.
Mister Noah Majors: A kind enough man, but that doesn't remove the fact he's an emissary of Campaign, I must be careful around this man, lest he suspect anything. Last thing I need is MCP investigating me.
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