Illuminati Jericho "Iwo Jima" Blake

Jericho is tall and athletic, with the build of a prizefighter. He has sandy hair, blue eyes, and a fair complexion which turns ruddy if too often in the sun. His features are handsome but rugged, and his demeanor is usually serious. His icy blue eyes are thoughtful but somehow hard, but are usually concealed by dark glasses. He has a single tattoo (Semper Fidelis) high on his left shoulder. He does bear a few scars from bullet, blade, and more recently, claw wounds.

Jericho is best described as a driven man. He is goal oriented, and strives for perfection in all he does. He is not a braggart, taking quiet satisfaction in a job well done. Stubborn when he thinks he's right. Basically decent, but cold and ruthless when the mission demands it. He dislikes inefficiency, sloppy work (wet or otherwise) and those who can't keep a secret. Tends to become withdrawn when angry, often to explode later. Although he follows orders, he bridles at times, and his conscience nags at him if the mission puts innocents at risk. Socially he is a loner, stoic to a fault.

One of his few weaknesses is the fairer sex, and he has had to learn the hard way that in his new line of work chivalry and lechery can both blind you and get you killed if not tempered by a bit of paranoia.

He is quite fond of nature (and now understands why), with a penchant for camping and backpacking in the middle of nowhere. He likes horses and dogs, but his lifestyle usually leaves little room for pets.

Background: Jericho grew up in rural Iowa. His father was an agricultural engineer, and his mother a sheriff's deputy. His childhood was fairly normal, but he was always withdrawn, with few friends. He did love camping and other outdoors activity from a very young age. He went to Iowa State U., where he majored in Chemistry and History. He was planning to specialize in Environmental Chemistry, but early on joined the ROTC and graduated with a commission in the Marine Corps

He was assigned and Infantry MOS, and planned to serve the compulsory 2 years in active duty, then transfer to the reserves and go back for his PhD. But two months after his commission, 9/11 happened. The young patriot just couldn't leave, feeling he had to do his part. He went to as many different combat schools as he could. He spent the longest time in Spec-Ops, both Force Reconnaissance and MARSOC. He saw action in the Middle East as well as in other hotspots, and learned a lot about covert operations. He even spent two years in embassy service, working closely with CIA operatives. Upon his honorable discharge, his superiors assumed he would go on to join the Company. But Jericho Blake vanished off the grid.

The world of black ops is a violent one, a war fought below society's radar. And war is one of man's most primal states. During his decade in the service, Jericho slowly but inevitably saw glimpses of the Secret World. Spirits possessing combatants in the battle field, making them do terrible deeds. Persian and Arab sorcerers using ancient wisdom against their enemies, if subtly. Evidence of secret societies vying for control of the world powers, all but unseen. And of course, the occasional inhuman monster. Knowing there was something more, threats greater than the average person suspected, are what kept him from testing to become a senior officer, and resigning before achieving the rank of major. Instinctively, he knew there was another role for him in this war.

It all became clear a few months after his retirement, in the form of a bee. And of the Illuminati recruiter who soon followed. Knowing the truth, and having the right weapons is all Jericho needed. He now knew what was at stake. And what he had to do.

As a Chosen of Gaia, Jericho has the basic abilities provided by his bee, namely enhanced speed and fast healing.

His magical aptitude is minimal. He has learned very basic use of Chaos Magic, and for it to be effective he has to channel it through his martial arts. In combat, he can use it to make simple weapons and shields, as well as distractions, but he rarely carries a focus.

He can channel Anima through weapons. Through firearms, this effect is modest. So he can either increase the potency of his rounds, or enhance them to affect normally immune creatures, eg, he can harm vampires and werewolves with normal bullets. If he can carry appropriately hexed rounds, he will.

The same is the case for most other melee weapons, with the exception of blades. It is through swords and knives that he can really channel, and perform feats that are truly supernatural: Enhanced speed, Anima shields, and Anima attacks, among others. He only uses these sort of techniques when at true need, or when fighting supernatural foes, preferring to trust in his own skills and training in most situations.

Blake was in the Marine Corps from 2001 to 2011. Over half of that with special operations.
-Any one who was involved with SOCOM or the CIA might have met him or heard of him.
-This also may apply to those involved with US allies' spec ops soldiers (British, Australian, Spanish, etc) due to joint ops.
-Anyone working Russian or Middle Eastern intelligence may also know about him, at least through his code name, in an adversarial fashion.
-He's been an Illuminati agent since 2012. Mostly black ops, but also openly in the field during the big events. His reputation is that of a standoffish, unfriendly, but consummate professional. He does a lot of jobs for the CoV, so agents from any of the societies could have gotten to know or work with him.

Feel free to ask!