Malcolm Rowland- 13 years old
Describing Malcolm Rowland in a single word is easy. That word would be: jerk. Malcolm is a hard person to get to know, and a hard person to like. He is violent, self important, precocious, arrogant, and spoiled. The young man is blunt and to the point, it doesn't matter who he's talking to. He also only gives respect to people he feels have earned it. When faced with something he doesn't understand his first instinct is to usually provoke it. He gets into fights quickly, often too quickly, and his ego is large enough that it routinely clashes with everyone around him. It probably also doesn't help that killing is his first thought process, something ingrained into him by his upbringing. Malcolm isn't afraid to kill. He just tries to make it a last resort, due to his family's wishes.
At fourteen Malcolm has yet to grow to his full potential and is quite short. It wouldn't be nearly as infuriating it it didn't subject him to Trip's constant arm resting side hugs. Often being described as 'cute' by adults, Malcolm has black hair and forest green eyes. His skin is dark, speaking of a mixed ancestry. Facts are very important to Malcolm. Emotions and people are not quite as important. This boy does everything based on logic. He's not going to put his emotions into his actions. He also doesn't understand why people put so much stock in emotions either. Which is mildly ironic considering he has a lot of anger issues, and will lash out without any warning at all. Because of his somewhat…erratic tendencies people find it difficult to be around him. He shows affection differently than the average person. He also works hard to put into practice the things other people want him to do, to make them proud, which is why he works so hard to show restraint when fighting. When Malcolm is frightened, and it actually happens more often than he likes to let on, he reacts by becoming more of a brat. He will lash out, act incredibly immature (in a deadly way), and pick fights with everyone and anyone. A very good example of this was when he first came to live with Jonathan. He was incredibly disrespectful to Nathaniel, his uncle, Rosetta, Ashton, and Trip because he was afraid of their rejection. Acting callous is one of the ways Malcolm hides his fears, especially his emotional ones. Like an animal, Malcolm puffs up when he feels threatened. So, if he's acting more obnoxious than usual, it probably means he's anxious. Battle situations rarely make Malcolm as nervous as social situations. Because of the way he was raised Malcolm has problem dealing with people on a personal level. Almost everyone he meets has to fit into a specific category: enemy, rival, mentor, or partner. Because of this his friendships are strained, almost curious experiences. He obviously wants to be like others, and make friends, but he's not entirely sure how he ought to go about doing this. He's managed some strained relationships with patient, outcast children like his brother Trip, but anyone who wants a friendship with Malcolm generally has to push for it. Malcolm does have his moments where his innocence and immaturity shine through. He might have been raised in a situation where he is no stranger to violence, but there is still a lot about the world he doesn't totally understand. It becomes fairly obvious in these instances that a lot of his bravado is a cover for insecurity. Somewhere, under all the spikes and quills, is a little boy that simply wants to be accepted. A lot of the things he does is because he is afraid that his uncle won't love him, or the people he calls friends won't want anything to do with him if he doesn't measure up. |
"God, are you daft? We need to go there now! Not later. Later as it implies, is when a considerable amount of time has passed. Hence, later is not now. We need to go now!"
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- Due to his upbringing he is really not caught up on the social norms of society and often his siblings tease him about things he does not know.
- Loves ice cream, given a choice it is all he would eat. Although he never admits it to the others. - Refers to Trip as 'Lawrence' because he finds nicknames to be distasteful. He also balks at anyone who calls him 'Mal' (no one but Trip even dares) - Favorite color is blue, any blue. - Is wary, cautious, and a bit hostile towards anyone he meets. - Listens to instrumental music and dislikes any songs with vocals. "Voices over melody is completely absurd." - He can actually draw quite well, but is ashamed as his father consisted artistry as a "woman pastime, unfit for a warrior" He carries around a small sketchbook, and secretly draws in it. (he's unaware that all his siblings know he draws and are very curious.) - Has a hostile relationship with Rosetta, he distrusts her while she doesn't want to deal with him. Would want to get rid of Nathaniel if he wasn't so important to their missions. Actually is quite fond of Ashton. Love's Trip, and he is the only one Malcolm really trusts in the whole family. - "Family movie night is ridiculous, what was Lawrence thinking? Ashton and Rosetta are always trying to kill one another so we always have to sit: Rosetta, Me, Lawrence, Ashton, and Nathaniel. Sitting next to Lawrence proves problems in of itself, and Rosetta is always salting my popcorn!" - Hates salt - Hates being alone, at night he sleeps with Trip. - Loves animals, especially big, predatory mammals. His favorite animal would have to be a toss up between a wolf or a snow leopard. - Trained from birth to be a deadly fighter. - Sometimes he complains for the sake of complaining. - Light sleeper - Likes to wake up and train in the mornings - Is afraid of spiders - He is enrolled in an online school that allows two classes to be transferred to a private school. Thus he has to take Spanish II and Trigonometry with actually children. Malcolm finds it to be a living hell. - In eleventh grade, skipped one year. - Legally he didn't exist before Johnathan adopted him. That is while although he is Jonathan's nephew, everyone in the family calls them their brother. He is legally Jonathan's son, blood wise he's not. - Takes cold showers to wake himself up - Pretends to hate when Trip ruffles his hair, he loves it. - He was the youngest to ever take up the mantel of Vigil at Nine years old. - Loves bright, sunny days - Longs for a pet - Is often very scared his 'family' will cast him out and he'll have to return to his father |
Malcolm Rowland is the Vigil who became Vigil in the shadow of no less than three Vigils before him. He trained under the ghost of Ashton Wilson, the mentorship of Rosetta Reynolds and the pressure of living up to the legacy of Trip Lawrance. Not to mention the fact that he was blood kin to Jonathan Rowand, Reckoning himself.
Malcolm's story doesn't really start with him. It begins with two little orphans, Teresa and Jonathan Rowland, when the two children were labeled as such. The two were split when their father abandoned them and their mother left them at the city orphanage. Johannan was three while Teresa six, when they were handed off to different foster homes and never had a second thought about each other. Jonathan actually remembered Teresa later in life, but though she was the imagining of a child who needed someone to share his suffering, a kind of imaginary friend and mother. While Jonathan, moved on, struggled, and eventually became Reckoning, Teresa’s life would take a different turn, one to crime. The girl left foster care at the age of fourteen, and became involved with one of the gangs of Vlostock. Iron Gate. She lived a hard life, the low of social classes, but relatively happy. She was safe because she could manage to take care of herself and often wondered about the brother she left behind. At twenty nine Teresa's life as a gang member was turned upside down, when a new foe calling himself Reckoning swooped into the scene and took out Iron Gates leaders. Without any protection for their territory, a more ruthless gang called Heaven's Door claimed it, and wanted everyone's allegiance or death. Over time Reckoning's tactics worked and only Heaven's Door remained in the city. But the constant prosecution had led to a stronger more unified gang, as well as more cruel and unhinged leaders. The main man of Heaven’s door was known only as Parliament and he committed many heinous crimes including having his way with all the female Heavens Door members. Teresa escaped notice at first, searching for her long lost brother in hopes of finding him in a situation to help her. It took years but eventually she found him, Jonathan Rowland not the helpless little boy she recalled but a mysterious, man with a huge secret. The find was bittersweet though, as the day she first contacted Jonathan was when she found herself pregnant with Parliament's child. It took a lot of convincing, but Jonathan took her in, and Parliament couldn't care less about her disappearance. Her brother was hospitable, but to someone who stayed alive by reading people's emotions Teresa could tell that he was hiding something. Jonathan had a son, his name was Howard but everyone called him Trip. The boy, fourteen at the most, was much more open than her brother and she found herself in sort of a mothering role to the child. He and Jonathan would disappear for hours on end, and Teresa began to pray that her brother was as upstanding as he seemed to be. One night, there was a loud commotion outside of her room. Trip looked dead on his feet walking back to his room. The boy was battered, bleeding, and had a fearful look in his eyes and Teresa prayed that Jonathan wasn't abusing the child. “What happened?” She asked and his eyes grew wide as he noticed her. Soon she began to piece together the puzzle, Trip's lapses when he almost called Jonathan something else, the late night wounds, the disappearing at night. Trip and her brother where Vigil and Reckoning! Once the discovery of the secret had cleared the air they began to bond as a true family. Soon, Malcolm was born and Trip rejoiced while Jonathan quietly smiled. But the peace was not to last. Parliament reached out to Teresa threatening her if she didn’t return. Fearing for her new family’s safety, Teresa ventured to strike a deal with Parliament - but he wouldn’t take any less than her and the child’s return. One day, whilst Trip and Jonathan were on patrol, she and Malcolm slipped away. What happened to Teresa is unknown, but Malcolm was raised by his father. For the next nine years, Parliament trained Malcolm as his heir pitting his against his half brothers and sisters to see who was worthiest of inheriting Heaven's Door. Time and time again Malcolm won, impressing his father and his peers. His martial art skills rivaled that of full grown masters and his knowledge of weaponry unsurpassed. Yet, the young boy felt something was missing. Something from the first moments if his life. But he kept these feelings to himself. One day Parliament tasked Malcolm with bringing down Reckoning, his final task before he was deemed worthy to rule his father's empire. However instead of completing this task he found his uncle and his real family. He betrayed Parliament in hopes of earning a place where he always desired to be. The young boy took on the mantle of Vigil and learned from his brothers and his sister, though grudgingly. Raised by a gang he had no knowledge of rules or the family's core values. But overtime he came to learn. He had found his place, but once more his world was thrown into chaos. This time by the death of Reckoning. |
Jonathan Rowland AKA “Reckoning” - “ Uncle, you were a good man. We will avenge you and protect what you have built.” Malcolm wanted to please Jonathan more than anyone. He felt a great debt and kinship towards the man, and was unwavering in his loyalty. With Jonathan gone Malcolm is unsure if he still has a place in the family.
Howard “Trip” Lawrence the third AKA “Euchre” - “Lawrence is… the most tolerable of my adoptive siblings. He is annoying to say the least, but does have his appeal… In certain situations of course, and his cheerfulness is something that is better experienced in moderation.” For all of Malcolm's harsh words he is closest to Trip more than anyone in the family. He loves him, though never admits it, and would gladly die for his older brother. He opens up to Trip the most, and Trip often finds an angsty little boy on his hands (not to his disliking of course) Ashton Charles Wilson AKA “Venger” - “I can identify with Ashton's anger. He is useful in a fight, a good ally… He doesn't pry as much as Lawrence does...” If Trip is gone Malcolm turns to Ashton. The two know how to keep a comfortable silence around each other, and Ashton has enough problems that Malcolm can feel comfortable and not like he has to prove himself to Ashton all the time. Rosetta Reynolds AKA “Phoenix” - “Sister. Criminal's daughter. Threat? ” Malcolm is wary of Rosetta. It may stem from his lack of experience dealing with women, or the fact that she is the most socially awkward with him. But he doesn't trust her, and never takes her words at face value. Nathaniel Larsonn AKA “Matrix” - “Nathaniel is detrimental to our missions succeeding. Lawrence trusts him, I must as well. ” The youngest member of the family tolerates Nathaniel. Despite being the closest in age the two don't really bond all that well. Malcolm, well he's still a little undecided in how he feels about Nathaniel, but he would like to gain the approval of what he deems the most intelligent part of the family, besides himself of course. |
VIGIL - The mantel of Vigil has had many holders and the basis of the vigilante has always stayed the same. Vigil was developed to be a partner to Reckoning, to aide him in any way the older man needed.
Thus Vigil became a colorful sidekick to Reckoning. The suits various colors are to provide a distraction and a target while Reckoning takes perpetrators down. Trip, Ashton, and Rosetta all held the mantel before Malcolm and left their mark and take on what Vigil should be. Malcolm's Vigil is an unrelenting fighter and a deadly opponent, who provides just as much of a threat as Reckoning. He dives headfirst into dangers and acts as if it is his job to protect Reckoning, not the other way around. The Vigil suit had undergone many changes throughout it's owners, so no one can claim that any two holder's suits are alike. Currently, Malcolm has taken all of his predecessors current suit colors and blended them into Vigil's suit. A hint of green lacing the coat for Euchre, a red felted interior for Phoenix, and the most prominent change would be the added hood for Venger. His own spin on the coat color is blue, leading to many nicknaming him "The Patriot" due to all colors of the suit. He sports the trademark \/ shaped off white mask, obscuring his face. The coat allows him to store all of his needed weapons, and the suit's underlying Kevlar protects from bullets. The boot's contain thrusters that allow easier rooftop chases and his mask has a built in comm system so he can hear Matrix's orders back from base and communicate with the rest of the family. |