Sylvan "Raven" Cruz (Cryomancer)

Character Appearance and Personality: A rising star in the snow-boarding scene, Sylvan has bagged a few contests and tournaments under his belt in the short span of 3 years. He always made it a routine to appear in tournaments either as a participant or spectator, no matter how far or mundane it was for the other more popular snow boarders. Those little deeds was what endeared him to fellow snow boarders and fans alike. However despite his successes and the facade he puts out of a man content with his lot. Sylvan is actually empty or rather he feels empty despite the successes he has had most especially after his family came from a long down time in it's spending capacity.

He appreciates where he is now, but there is a lingering feeling of emptiness like wanting to do something greater, reach heights that are higher. But Where? How? Why? Those were the questions that were always lingering in his head, every time he is alone, far from the company of friends and fans. Stemming from his existential problems that arose after a certain incident during his childhood. He would always try to surpass himself in regards to doing what he loves even though he is doing well, afraid that he may be considered a has been, or a person not taking his passion seriously. Therefore he tends to over-think and at times fence-sit as well on certain matters.

What fans rarely see is the distant and aloof Sylvan that only mostly his family receives from him. He may appear chatty but most of his thoughts and ideals are private, there are somethings he still does not say even when is asked on an opinion about something.

He can be generally rude if he knows people are mocking him or making fun of him. However there are times he pretends he doesn't know that he is being mocked but rides along with it. He can also be brooding and vengeful most especially if the wrong that was done to him was big. It may take years for him to trust or reconcile with the person. While he is an intelligent person, Sylvan would not go out of his way to prove it, as he prefers to be seen as a slacker so people won't expect so much from him and give him lots of workload. However he gives his all when it comes to snowboarding and his other hobbies and interests.

Being too poor once, Sylvan has a habit of treating people as he knows how it feels unable to get something that they want. He does this mostly to his friends as he treats them as family, unable to enjoy the real notion of having one.

Sylvan stands at an average height with a toned built just right for his semi-athletic frame. He has Raven black hair that he owes to his Fil-Chinese heritage. Which his friends call him "Raven" out of endearment of his hair color. He has enough color on his skin to not be called pale or white, but not too dark that he may even be called tan at the slightest. He has dark brown eyes that could be mistaken for black, gray and even hazel in certain lights.   Since he is mostly in cold places or snowy places, he is mostly seen wearing snowboarding gear, from the zip down parka to the cargo pants that come with it to keep himself sufficiently warm.

Character History: Coming from a Nouveau Riche family, it wasn't always easy being Sylvan no matter how he makes it look like he had an easy life. How Sylvan came to be is still unclear up to this day. Some of his relatives say his parents were supposed to be married but financial issues prevented it from happening. Or that his father only was to marry his mother as she was already with child, regardless of which of the two origins were true. His father still ended up marrying a different woman instead. And them ending up as the ‘outside’ family--being flung far away from the main house in Main Manila and into his grandmother’s place somewhere in the semi-provinces in Manila, Philippines. He won’t find out about this truth however not until he was around 15 or 16 years old.

   

While his father would support them monetarily and make effort when he makes rare personal appearances during his birthday and his sister’s: he would grow to be distant from his father as his father would be so strict that even the smallest of mistakes would be met with reprimand, sometimes verbal but mostly physical in one way or another. Fear would replace respect, Sylvan would dread the days when his father would come home; and then count the days until he leaves again only to disappear for months again. He would mostly follow things his parents told him because he feared he would get hurt. Even studying every night when he was in primary school.

And even when he was young, money was repeatedly swindled off his parent's hands as they kept mismanaging finances and were deceived by people. Despite their monetary problems their relatives would keep running to them for financial aid, and his parents--despite the crisis they are facing would still almost if not always find a way to lend them money, sometimes they pay it back, sometimes it is forgotten. Despite all this they still managed to send sylvan and his sister to private schools. 

However like all things it would tip over the balance when their house burned down along with four other houses in the community due to a drug addict nearby who was tripping and playing with candles. It would then throw their finances into further disarray, as they needed money to rebuild the house, while they were sent to school, not long after his grandmother would get sick and be sent to the hospital. Which would burden them even more in the midst of rebuilding.

One night due to the pressure and the problems piling up one after the other, Sylvan’s father beat him up and strangled him because he made a small mistake that piled up over the others. Sylvan thought he was gonna die, and he felt genuine fear, fear of death and with it a realization. There were no heroes.

He cried and screamed, but no one came to save him. Not even his mother, nor any of his aunts that were downstairs. They all simply cried because they were afraid of his father or because simply, they were powerless. Sylvan would survive the night physically, but he knew that night he died.

Sylvan’s grandmother would die a few months later, making him feel that he was alone in the world. He would then be introverted and withdraw from the world. He would subtly rebel, from not doing house chores when he is asked to, to not studying and not pulling up the grades of the subject he was bad in, preventing him from becoming a repeat honor student or to be an honor student up until Highschool. Much to his teachers and parent’s disappointment and chagrin. He would smile and act  civil with his family, trying to act out that "everything is alright". Little did he know however that those who were in their home on that fateful night, knew he was just acting and playing the role of "son". He would then take psychology for college and then find out the truth about people in general. He would grow distant and aloof to his family and relatives, all the while self-loathing. His course taught him about people and at the same he learned to hate himself even further because of it and because he knew himself even further.

With his mother retiring from work giving them the windfall they need, Sylvan takes this chance to get away from his family and fly to New York and stay with some of his distant relatives, He then would meet some old college friends and be introduced to the world of Snowboarding. Which he became a quick rising star in, He would excel in half-pipe and freestyle events. Earning the nickname “Frost bite” and “Sub-Zero”, in respect to his tricks and talent that keep the crowd rooted and asking for more, currently he is on a flight from New York to London for a quick vacation before participating in a tournament that would happen in a few weeks currently unaware of a journey that he would either regret or cherish forever.