Embodiment of Murder

Embodiment of Murder appears as a man in his early 60s, with white and wrinkles skin, pale blue eyes, and short brown (slowly graying) hair. He is described as having a 'piercing' gaze and rather cold demeanour (cold, but not rude). The fact that he appears nearly indistinguishable from humans is considered to be caused by him embodying a concept that's primarily human in nature - after all, while animals kill and eat each other, there is little to no mystery in that, and nothing to investigate.   This is considered to be something akin to an anomaly, as a god that appears so human and embodies a purely human concept should normally be an Ascendant rather than an Embodiment. This, naturally, leads to many question its self-identification as an Embodiment.

The exact scope of his abilities - aside from conventional investigation skills - remains unknown. There was never a serious attempt on his life, and Murder doesn't appear to be particularly hostile to anyone. He does appear to have at least some degree of a supernatural perception of the surrounding area and some degree of instant movement ability, at least judging from his tendency to appear out of nowhere.

He is always seen wearing bespoke three-piece suit and brown derby shoes, giving him a bit of an 'English gentleman' look.

No one knows where exactly did the Embodiment of Murder came from, however first confirmed sightings came in early 1970, with some unconfirmed ones in the second half of previous year. This leads some to suspect at least some connection between Murder and the Zodiac Killer, a particularly infamous serial killer that was active in the United States earlier that year.   However, if there really is some connection, it remains unconfirmed.   In the subsequent two decades, Embodiment of Murder appeared a handful of times. There were no direct confirmed contacts. He existed more as an urban legend among the initiates due to a man of similar looks being seen in recordings from the trials of several infamous serial killers of that era, such as John Wayne Gacy and Ted Bundy. In all cases, the man appeared invisible to non-initiates seeing the pictures and the people attending the trials themselves.   It wasn't until the early 90s that the Embodiment of Murder's existence was confirmed beyond any reasonable doubt. No one knows what exactly happened, but the US Government Department of Eschatology has officially confirmed his existence and more or less 'legalized' its existence, leading to the creation of the Unique Investigations Agency in 1994.   The Unique Investigations Agency is a personal organization of the Embodiment of Murder himself, composed primarily of its own warlocks (with a handful of more 'regular' employees, all of them mages). It has an office in the United States, in the New York City. The fact that it's the state with highest number of active serial killers in the past is probably connected to it. The fact that it's located in Pelham Bay area of Bronx, close to a place where the first shooting attributed to Son of Sam, another infamous american serial killer, strengthens the suspicion.   Most of the job there is performed by Murder's employees. Murder itself isn't even present there, due to that risking a murder attempt on Murder himself. It is, however, a bit of an official address for people to write to in order to request Murder's help. His organization is considered to be under protection of the US Government Department of Eschatology, Murder believed to occassionally help the Department in slightly less interesting cases.   He hasn't been since in a while, with certain stories claiming that he is busy investigating a rather particular and complicated case. Some claim it to be the hypothetical Smiley Face Murderer.

Embodiment of Murder is best imagined as an ideal crime investigator. He is superhumanly perceptive and intelligent while also having an in-depth understanding of humans psychology (which helps him understand the motives behind the killings that he is investigating. He also possesses an extremely wide understanding of more scientific side of crime investigation.

Embodiment of Murder is interested purely in discovering the secrets behind acts of murders (serial killers, assassinations and so on). The fact that he is repeatedly sighted at the court proceedings of serial killers doesn't mean that he intervenes in them, even if the suspect is innocent or if he knows that mistakes are being made by any side of the trial.   His followers at the Unique Investigations Agency are operating as a more conventional private investigation agency. Murder himself, however, does whatever he pleases. He can be persuaded to share his personal findings, but it's not exactly easy. The simplest way of achieving that is to offer him evidence for other mysteries. It works a bit differently when he is openly invited to participate in certain case, although expect him to give you a push in the right direction rather than explain things to you.