Name: Icarus

Age: At first glance, he appears around seventeen. However, if one were to read his Palace files, one would notice that he signed his contract with the Palace over seventy years ago. Whether he is truly immortal or simply very slow to age is anyone's guess.

Description:
--Stats--
Height: 5'8"
Weight: 160

--Appearance--
Skin: White skin, as pale and delicate a shade as a porcelain doll. Glows faintly in direct sunlight or moonlight, as if absorbing the rays of the sun (moonlight is, after all, nothing but reflected sunlight).

=At Night=
Hair: A pale, pale lavender shade -- one might almost call it white with lavender highlights.
Eyes: A deep, deep violet -- the sort of dark purple that's nearly black.

=During The Day=
Hair: A brilliant, rich crimson -- not the conventional auburn of most redheads, but true red, with black highlights instead of the usual brown. Red hair that means he can actually wear red or pink clothes and look fabulous.
Eyes: Dark gold.

As can be guessed from the above, Icarus' coloring changes with the rising and setting of the sun. Nothing spectacular in terms of transformation; just a quiet color change that takes less than a minute to fully kick in. Cloud cover or bad weather don't affect him; the rotation of the earth and the positioning of the sun in the sky dictate the change, not atmospheric conditions.

Putting aside color for the moment, Icarus has a very full, thick mane of hair. He has it trimmed every now and then to keep the edge straight, but otherwise keeps it long; the tips just barely brush his ankles. Years of practice keep him from stepping on or otherwise abusing it. When working out, he ties it back in a no-nonsense braid -- during sex, he enjoys having it free. In all other situations, he likes experimenting with different styles, but abhors styling products. The same goes for makeup -- he doesn't wear it. Period.

Physique: Icarus is a dancer, and it shows. He has a slender, tight build, discreetly muscular with long limbs. He's stronger than he appears, due to his frequent athletic activity. One of the reasons he dislikes solitary periods and looks forward to getting a new Master is because he enjoys performing for his Master in the Palace salles and arenas, where he cannot go if he is unattached. His rooms are too small for any sort of extensive practice, and the pent-up energy often makes him irritable.

Unusual Characteristics: Due to some freak genetic accident, Icarus has a most unique sort of bodily adornment. As if nature tried to give him wings but couldn't and settled for art instead, he was born with giant feathered wings tattooed all across the back of him. Across his arms, his shoulders, all the way down his back and buttocks; the endtips barely brush the tops of his thighs. Beautiful and detailed enough (down to each individual feather) that they are clearly the work of no mortal artist, the wings are a brilliant, nearly metallic scarlet, outlined in silver.

Fueled largely by the wings and their color, as well as his affinity for sunlight, Palace gossip speculates that Icarus may be the halfbreed child of a human and a phoenix, but these rumors have never been confirmed, and Icarus himself has been heard to deny it.

Icarus has two holes pierced in each ear -- he loves earrings, and has a large collection. He also wears an anklet of black opal on his right ankle, but otherwise avoids jewelry.

Preferred Clothing/Look: Loose, flowy things. Icarus would fit in perfectly with the robes and togas of ancient Greece and Rome. He adores bright colors, and likes making his own clothes. He loves playing with fabric, and sewing is a favored hobby -- he's quite brilliant with a needle. He often makes clothing for Masters that he's especially fond of.

Personality:
--Temperament/Preferences--
Control. Icarus is always in control of himself -- although, *not* control in the sense of repression and emotional suppression. Icarus has a very finely maintained psyche, and is brutally honest with himself -- self-deluding is the one thing that he is not, nor ever will be. Therefore, Icarus' control is that of knowledge; he knows knows himself very, very well, and knows precisely his own reactions Very little, if anything at all, fazes him. As a result of this sort of self-knowledge, he also knows others very, very well. His knowledge of the human soul is almost uncanny; he'd make a very good psychologist.

This ability to determine others' minds helps him greatly with his Masters -- he's very good at knowing what they want, even when they don't know themselves. He's obedient nearly to a fault, and never hesitates to put aside his own preferences for those of his Master.

Icarus has a very calm, soothing sort of presence; he's unfailingly polite, and can be very gentle. He loves music, and plays several instruments, often playing for the pleasure of his Masters. He knows how to read, but often doesn't -- he belongs to the school of thought that one learns more through the experiences of one's own life, than from "being holed up in a room, unnecessarily straining your eyes and your brain." Oddly enough, he enjoys poetry, both reading and writing.

On the other side of the spectrum, Icarus is not easily angered, but when he is, he is not the type given to public displays or tantrums. Rather, he's the type to take several deep breaths, perhaps meditate a bit, then unleash everything quietly in the privacy of his own mind -- if he's especially infuriated, perhaps write an epic poem or two deconstructing the object of his anger.

--Quirks--
A stipulation of his Palace contract, Icarus will accept no Master who does not have long hair. It doesn't need to be as long as his, of course -- past shoulder-length is generally considered acceptable. The reason for this may be that it is Icarus' habit to take a 'souvenir,' of sorts, of each of his Masters -- the first day a new Master arrives, Icarus clips a lock of hair, keeping it in remembrance. His own personal history, of sorts. He keeps all the cut locks in a chest underneath his bed, each lock carefully separated into its own compartment.

--Experience--
As can be assumed from the length of his stay at the Palace, Icarus is *very* experienced. He is consummately skilled in all things sexual, having experienced just about every fetish or kink there is in his many years as a Key. In bed, he lives to please, and is unfailingly generous, often foregoing his own pleasure to better focus on pleasing his partner. He knows the human body as well as he knows the human mind (i.e., VERY well), and is shameless in using that knowledge. As a result, he's rather fond of being on the dominant end of bondage and domination games. He prefers not to employ sexual toys or engage in S&M, but is willing enough if given ample proof that his partner will enjoy the experience.

--History--
Almost completely unknown. He showed up in the Palace training center one day, asking to be admitted as a Key. His trainers found him already well-accustomed to the submissive persona, and well-skilled sexually -- his training was accelerated, and he was officially given a room within a few short weeks. Beyond that, nothing is known -- the rumors of his parentage appear to be unfounded, and Icarus himself is notoriously close-lipped when it comes to his past.

Room: Icarus lives in simple suite of four rooms in the highest of the Palace towers. The room can only be reached by a steel staircase that winds many stories around the tower, the door being set in the stone of the tower itself -- not a Key for the faint of heart, certainly. Those afraid of heights need not apply.

The suite is divided perfectly equally four ways -- if seen from above, it would be a circle perfectly quartered by perpendicular lines. The door opens into the living room -- soft white carpets cover the floor of the entire suite. In the living room, that carpet is almost entirely concealed by soft, furry rugs in vibrant shades of red, blue, and violet. A four-entranced hearth is the central hub of the suite -- no matter which room, there is a stone fireplace in the central corner.

The living room is colorful and alive -- overstuffed leather sofas lie against the walls, and a baby grand piano sits in the far corner. Instrument racks line the walls, and two extremely intricate, abstract stained-glass windows done in shades of green, blue, and silver, one on each side of the door, suffuse the room with beams of colored light.

Going clockwise, an open archway leads to the kitchen, starkly done in black and white marble and tile with two plain, clear windows. Icarus prefers to do his own cooking and cleaning (he's ... dare I say it? a very domestic person at heart), and to the right of the fireplace is a dumbwaiter through which he sends requests for ingredients, supplies, toys, etc. to the Palace staff, receiving them the same way.

Still going clockwise, the next archway leads to the bathing room. The majority of the room is taken up by a large pool of heated water. It is flanked on the left by a large shower stall, and on the right by a counter comprised of a sink and cabinets containing body and massage oils, a first-aid kit, and various medicines. The motif for the bathroom is sea colors of blue and green and silvery-gray, with the two stained-glass windows set above the pool done in panes of brilliant scarlet, deep blue, and dark purple.

Finally, another archway leads to the bedroom. Rather than windows, the entire wall of the bedroom is clear, thick glass, giving a breathtaking view of the rest of the Palace and the surrounding environment. The room is dominated by the large bed set opposite the fireplace up against the glass, the sheets, pillows, and blankets of which are all black. Other than the bed and the fireplace, the room is bare.

A final archway leads from the bedroom into the living room, completing the circle.