Character Name: Elias Horne
Aliases: Eli, Gerard Wilkins, Trevor Boulliard, Reginald Van Den Berg
Gender: Male
Profession: Rancher, occult expert and researcher, adventurer, and man of leisure
Apparent age: 38
Appearance: Elias is a nondescript, though ruggedly handsome man of indeterminate European ancestry. He dresses in plain though well-made clothing.
Personality: One of those quiet but intense men, Eli has a confident air and a piercing gaze. Educated and often aloof, he can engage with others, but tends to observe and learn as much as he can. More of a planner than an action person, he can take care of business as well as anyone when the need arises. His mind is full of plans, and he plays his cards close to the vest. He has many acquaintances but few friends, and wants it that way. He's a connoisseur of a variety of kinds of women, but rarely seeks for a more permanent relationship. He's walled off a lot of his deeper self behind his mysterious persona.
Recent history: Horne came to Onyx Landing some five years ago, after making himself scarce for two years before that. He'd served in the Union Army as a Major, and was at Fredericksburg and Gettysburg, the last of which he suffered serious injuries from an exploding shell on the third day of the battle. Left for dead in a hilly, wooded section of the battlefield, he was patched up by a local recluse who happened to share his interest in the occult. After that he avoided returning to his native Philadelphia, and worked his way out to California before settling in Onyx Landing and starting a cattle ranch from the ground floor.
Notable relationships: None as yet.
Strengths, talents, and points of pride: Eli is a decent shot, but no famous marksman. He's brave enough to survive leading men into the murderous fire of Stonewall Jackson's forces at the battle of Fredericksburg
. He has a long and detailed knowledge of the occult from various parts of the world, though it focuses on European and Asian histories. Coming from a well-off Eastern family of old money, he's set as far as money. He has a good head for numbers and manages his ranch efficiently. He's fair to his workers, if distant and aloof. He takes care of his health, and while he may indulge in a fair number of the ladies of the night, he's not come down with any serious illnesses since he was injured in the war. He's not above killing someone to get what he wants, but he's also not likely to waste human life if other means can get him what he wants. He holds no prejudices as far as race, sex, or economic status towards anyone, as he's an eminently practical person who seeks the best advantages for himself by tending to leave others to do as they wish, while they leave him likewise.
Weaknesses, detriments, and points of improvement: While he's curious and skilled in understanding the occult, his knowledge is by no means complete, but he can fall into the bad habit of overestimating his abilities in the area. He has no actual magical ability, but his hunger to achieve such can give him tunnel vision. Because he doesn't let anyone in to his more personal life, he has no close friends, and while his money can buy employees, he has no one at present who would actually do something for him because of friendship. Eli has a number of superstitious habits he follows, like tossing a pinch of salt over his left shoulder after every meal, or tapping on a wooden table when entering a building. With all that he's learned about the occult, he feels that it never hurts to be safe, but this can occasionally cross over into the range of obsession.
Eli Horne was born to a wealthy family of European descent in Philadelphia. He was privately tutored and did surpassingly well as a student, especially in history. He was also instilled with the motivation to succeed in life. He had a grandfather who was deeply involved in a mysterious sect called the Grey Ghoul Society, and while his parents did not know much about it, neither did they interfere with the elder Horne's pursuits. Elias was close to his grandfather, much more so than his parents, and it was no surprise that he ended up gaining his grandfather's abiding interest in the supernatural and weird. When his grandfather died in Eli's late teens, the old man left virtually everything in his will to the young man, and it was not just money. All of the elder Horne's books and artifacts on the occult became his as well. He quickly purchased his own home in northern Pennsylvania, and spent his time engrossed in studying and learning everything his grandfather had not had the time to teach him. In doing so, he also became a member of the GGS, and came into contact with many people of a sinister and less savory aspect. While he himself did not indulge in some of the darker behaviors of his acquaintances, it did color his personality and behavior ever after. At one point, he fell in love with another member of the GGS, a woman by the name of Alice Shrewsbury, some ten years his senior. While she returned his feelings, she was much deeper in the GGS than he, as well as dealing with far deeper and more serious aspects of the practices of the group, and when she mysteriously disappeared a year and a half later, he had some evidence to believe her disappearance was as a result of foul play from other members of the Society. The loss of Alice made a permanent change to his personality, and he became much more secretive and closed, almost obsessed with discovering what had happened to her. Further, he had reason to believe that because of his relationship with Alice, he was possibly a target of this other faction of the GGS. While he had resources far above the average American, there were members of the society that far outstripped even him in the way of connections, money, and power.
When the Civil War broke out, Eli decided to pull himself away from the GGS, and enlisted in the Army, able to procure the rank of Captain due to his ability to encourage other men to enlist and form a company under him. He served admirably and with bravery in several battles, but it all ended with his serious injuries at Gettysburg. His company was attached to the 29th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry Regiment under Colonel William Rickards. Under intense canonade before General Pickett's charge on the third day, Eli was seriously injured by shrapnel from an exploding shell. In their position among forested hills, he was unnoticed after the battle, but found later by a Josiah Epps, who took him to his house and nursed him back to health. By this time, the strain of war and his mounting superstitions had convinced Eli not to return to his unit, and when he discovered a similar interest in the occult from Josiah, the two struck up a friendship that lasted for several months. Eli went so far as to invited the man into his graces and own version of the secret society. For the next two years, the two made plans to work their way to California and start their own occult society, hiring others to transfer or sell much of Eli's estate in Pennsylvania in order to avoid suspicion or tracking of them to the western state. Unfortunately, before they set out on a train to their destination, Eli found Josiah murdered in his hotel room, and a calling card was left on his body, identifying his killer as working for the GGS. Horne left immediately by horse, destroying the two train tickets, and spent the next six months slowly working his way across the West alone, finally reaching California.
However, after living there only a few months, his sense of paranoia would not pass, and he again uprooted himself, selling all of his non-occult possessions and shipping them ahead to Onyx Landing, a place he had spent careful time searching for as somewhere he could truly disappear to and not be followed. He again traveled alone, and when he reached the mining town, he began putting into action his plans to identify as a new rancher from California, buying significant parcels of land far outside of town, and having a home and outbuildings constructed. He often used foreign labor, especially those who spoke Spanish, French, or Mandarin, so as not to attract any suspicion or leave traces or information that could be gleaned by loose lips. For the last five years he has built up his reputation in the town as a no-nonsense and private business owner. He often comes to town to visit the brothels or keep abreast of any information he might find useful as far as the occult, whether Native American, European, or otherwise.
What is your greatest love?
This would have been Alice Shrewsbury, but she's long gone, and he doesn't ever expect to see her again. Now he focuses on gaining more knowledge of the occult.
What makes your skin crawl? / What fascinates you?
The occult fits both of these. His obsession with it can both excite and horrify him, but he's far too deep into it to ever be able to withdraw from it now.
Are you rational or passionate?
Elias can be both, depending on his mood, but the majority of the time he's a rational man.
Are you sophisticated or superstitious?
While he can play the part of a jaded easterner at times with a heavy veneer of roadworn westerner, he's at heart a very superstitious man.
How strong is your faith?
With all of his study of the occult, Horne claims no religion as his own, although he does believe very deeply that there is something out there, regardless of what guise it takes.
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