Diamondback Profile #005: Levi "Phoenix" Sykes
rating: +6+x

Name: Levi Sykes

cowboy.jpg

Levi Sykes, Age 33

Age: 26 (Current Body)

Date of Birth: January 5th, 1850

Aliases: The Phoenix, The Undying, The Fifth

Status: Awaiting Deployment

Accolades:

Battle of Queen’s Harbor - One of the first recorded battles that Levi Sykes took part in as part of the Diamondbacks. Queen’s Harbor, a temporary base of operations for the Diamondbacks, found itself under siege by a sect of the Devout. Sykes was able to reach the enemy commander and eliminate him, at the cost of his left arm and leg.

Siege of Mireworth - Mireworth, a key foothold for the Kingdom of Leredil, was under siege for two years until Syke’s arrival with three other Diamondbacks. Under their instruction, the army was able to open the portcullis from the inside after travelling unseen through Mireworth’s sewers. The taking of Mireworth would ultimately lead to a shortage of supplies for Leredil and eventually their defeat.

Gildhel’s Last Stand - Gildhel, who once held the seat of Second in the Diamondbacks, sided with our enemy who shall not be named. Over the course of his two year rebellion, he lost nearly all support from his allies and his numbers dwindled to a handful of soldiers. Sykes led the charge on Jericho Hill that would ultimately lead to Gildhel’s capture and subsequent execution.

Battle of Marne Forest - Marne Forest, located within the far northern reaches of the Library, came under attack by Bookburners from various realities that had banded together. Sykes, along with the rest of the original Diamondbacks, assisted in defending the Library and stopping the encroachment of Bookburner forces. In order to cease the flow of enemy forces, Sykes was forced to detonate a magical explosive without the use of a detonator. The resulting blast immediately killed Sykes, but dealt a crushing blow to the Bookburner invasion. It would be seven years later that the Diamondbacks found his next reincarnation.

Lankford Hollow Bloodbath - The Diamondbacks, while part of King Harlowe’s retinue, were ambushed en route to a neighboring kingdom. Outnumbered twenty to one, King Harlowe proposed they surrender in hopes of keeping their lives. However, Sykes would instead offer an alternative means of survival that included using the natural caverns under Lankford Hollow to circumvent the enemy and escape. Leaving a small force behind to act as decoys, King Harlowe and the Diamondbacks returned with reinforcements and swiftly crushed the enemy.

Knowles and Declaine Incident - Two thieves, now identified as Knowles and Declaine, escaped the Library with forbidden texts they intended on selling to the Jailors or next highest bidders. After five days of tracking them through several different realities, Sykes and his partner Howell were able to corner the pair in an abandoned factory. The ensuing gunfight lasted two days, during which Sykes took a bullet intended for Howell. The incident was resolved when the thieves attempted to utilize the forbidden texts, resulting in the cessation of their existence.


Biography:

Levi Sykes was born in Dripping Springs, Texas to Thomas Sykes and his wife Haley in the year 1850. His father, who was devoted to the Confederate cause and willingly signed up, was killed in action shortly after the secession of Texas. He and his mother made a living thereafter doing odd-jobs until he reached the age of sixteen, upon which she fell ill and passed away. With no other living relatives, Sykes was forced to provide for himself and eventually joined a local gang by the name of the Kelley’s Rangers. He proved himself to be an excellent gunman and quickly rose in the ranks, eventually becoming Sarah Kelley’s right-hand man.

cowboys.jpg

Levi Sykes on assignment with four other Diamondback agents.

However, Syke’s involvement in Kelley’s Rangers would come to an end in the year 1873 after they accidentally stumbled upon a skirmish between Diamondbacks and Bookburners in possession of the Tome of Sarcavo. All of the Kelley’s Rangers, save Sykes, were killed when the Bookburners invoked one of the forbidden spells held within the tome and scorched the area. Felix Gildhel, who at that time held the rank of Second in the Diamondbacks, recruited Sykes after a Shard of the Creator on his person reacted to his presence. For the next three years, Sykes underwent training in the magical and divine arts under the tutelage of Gildhel. Upon reaching his 25th year of age, Sykes was officially inducted into the Diamondbacks and became the Fifth.

Sykes passed away peacefully in his sleep at the age of 67 and was interred at a specially made tome in Marne Forest. The title of Fifth was retired in honor of his many years of service not long after. However, this would prove to be very temporary as only two years later Diamondback agents would come into contact with a young woman whom Varm, Syke’s partnered shard, reacted to. Nearly immediately after she claimed to be Levi Sykes and that she’d suddenly regained all of her memories of her time with the Diamondbacks. Since then, Sykes has perished in the line of duty over twenty-nine times and successfully reincarnated each time.

Partnered Shard: Varm

Compatibility Assessment: Over Syke’s tenure as a Diamondback, their compatibility has proven to be excellent. While Sykes did experience the sickness all Diamondbacks have upon making their contract with a Shard, there have been no recorded issues between the two since.

Weapon Ability: Sykes becomes able to utilize a form of short-range teleportation for a short intervals of time. Overuse of this ability can lead to fatigue, delirium, and eventually unconsciousness.

Unless otherwise stated, the content of this page is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License