Max "Dace" Kilcannon

=• History •=

=• Childhood •=

Dace was born on February 29th, 1976 in the sleepy town of New London, New Hampshire. Notable for the fact that it was America's Bicentennial as well as a Leap Year, it was often joked that Dace was 'special'. His father like to comment that Dace's Birthday could only be celebrated once every four years, making Dace age slower than everyone else. The irony of this joke, as Dace's hair grayed out at a young age, was not lost on him.

At six years old Dace had a notable playground accident while horsing around on the outdoor jungle gym and slides. A particularly rowdy game disturbed a hornet's nest and the hornets swarmed many of the kids on the playground. Dace was caught in the middle along with two other kids, suffering hundreds of stings. Both of the other children died at the scene whereas doctor's noted that Dace, while stung, suffered little to no allergic reactions. He was released later that day and the record was considered to over exaggerate the number of stings he must've suffered. It took six more years before another medical mystery manifested in Dace. Though his medical records only show that his mother had hospitalized him for "strange colors on skin, lips and fingernails". The report indicated severe blue discoloration on Dace's extremities, indicative of a severe reaction and/or blood flow problem. Off the record Doctor's were commenting that such discoloration only occurs when circulation stops. Dace was later released from the hospital with "severe allergies" listed as the root cause, but the discoloration disappeared leaving Doctor's somewhat clueless to the root issues. Years later his mother would nervously joke that it must've been a blue Popsicle, though she sounds hardly convinced as how Dace's toes would've gotten covered in Popsicle stains is unclear.

=• Teen Years •=

Dace was a Nerd. Geek. Dork. Outsider. Take your pick. He's fond of regaling folks with his love of all things Star Wars, Monty Python or other geek favorites like Star Trek. Computers were entering society and Dace was enamored by video games and digital entertainment. His teenage years might otherwise not be notable except for a few events that once again called out some things perhaps were not as they seemed.

In the fall of the year 1990, when Dace was 14, his mother was committed to an insane asylum. Dace rarely discusses this event, but all records show that she was never released. Leaving Dace to mature through his teen years with his Father and later, as his dad's work got more demanding, his grandparents. Medical records on his mother are mysteriously missing or otherwise absent. Some evidence implies that the records were wiped clean though by whom is not known.

Two years later, as Dace turned 16, notable for being a leap year, Dace made the news. News articles, as well as a few nightly broadcasts, covered a tragic Boy Scout camping accident in the Adirondack Mountains. Troop 55 had been on a week long expedition but had failed to return home. Search parties had been organized and the trail heads scoured for the missing boys. Some 26 scouts and 5 scout masters were missing. Bodies of the troop were later found at one of their campsites "Mauled beyond recognition by wild animals". Official park and police records indicate death by "Bear or Wolves" though witnesses to the scene describe far more ritualistic events. One such witness saying "Bears don't place body parts in formation". A few days later, over 50 miles away, Dace walked naked out of the woods to a nearby gas station where locals called 911. When questioned Dace seemed like he had no recollection of what happened. Psychiatrists and the public assumed he was too traumatized by the event to be able to talk about it. A brief case was opened to investigate if Dace was a suspect but later closed due to lack of evidence. Many of the parents held Dace's lack of any wounds or other marks as a sign of his guilt.

A year later, a small note is made in Dace's background files that he submitted and was approved for emancipation from his Father establishing his independence. When pushed on the subject Dace only speaks highly of his father, a notable professor at Cornell University, clearly unwilling to discuss details on the subject.

=• College Years •=

Dace graduated the State University of New York at Buffalo with a Computer Science degree in 1998. With the only other notable event being that he took a job for a company called "Sapient Corporation" right out of college. Templar records note that Sapient was a known front for the Illuminati, based out of Massachussets they were active recruiters for young, educated programming talent.

=• 2000 to Present •=

September 11th, 2001. Dace was consulting for JP Morgan via Sapient (both companies with strong Illuminati connections). His daily commute took him through the World Trade Center every day, as the towers collapsed Dace was inside, along with thousands of others. As the dust clouds rose, Dace walked out with a small crowd of survivors, none would talk about what happened, and Dace claimed he couldn't recall any events. Dace, however, never returned to work, resigning his position the next day.

In 2002 Dace started an online blog focused on independent game development where he ineffectively waxed prose on the trials and tribulations of software development and game design. His blog remained pretty much a tiny spec in the grand scheme of the internet until 2003 when Dace shipped his first title, "Thieve's Tales". The title, receiving better than average but not great reviews made headlines a few times in local newspapers by parents claiming that it had odd effects on their teenagers. Epilepsy, sudden bouts of extreme creativity, depression, anxiety and "on drugs like behavior" were reported. Templar documents show that the "game" had something in it where those with a strong affinity to Anima would react in many of the ways described. Official investigations by government agencies showed no adverse affects on people and the news was quickly swept into the flow of other details about video games and violence.

In 2004, a year after the launch of "Thieve's Tales", Dace made a final post to his blog, now significantly more popular thanks to a rather strong and loyal following. He announced he was pulling support for the title and releasing it to the public domain. Dace himself disappeared "off the grid". Templar records show one Agent "Cinder" had recruited him into a special Templar program focusing on new technology. Cinder's records indicate that through conversation, friendship and some hypnosis was able to get Dace to recall events both from his childhood and more recently, manifesting his latent Anima abilities. Dace doesn't talk publicly still about these events, and Cinder's notes indicate "These are stories best left told by Dace when he his ready".

Dace has spent the past 8 years as a Templar recruit, under Cinder's program which believed in letting candidates "find their own way" before pulling them further into the ranks. Records show that Dace sold most of his possessions and bought a motorcycle. He was reported checking in around the country, both east and west coast. There are notes on file that he has a strong distrust of those in power, both inside and outside the Templar organization. He tends to passionately engage in conversations the focus on the need to use power for the greater good. He clearly dislikes the existence of "secret societies" often voicing the belief all societies should let go their petty philosophical difference and his a strong supporter of the idea of the Council of Venice.

=• Official Proficiencies and Dossier •=

- Dace is a noted marksman. Showing strong aptitude for long range rifles and the ability to focus his anima around fast moving projectiles. - In combat Dace tends to take on a supporting role. - Practices daily with hammers and staves. - Focusing on latent chaos magic talents, though struggling with the higher aptitude abilities. - Potential Warlock candidate. - Extreme tolerance of pain. - Average programmer with above average intelligence, can handle many complex computing tasks.