The great talent, blood-addicted swordsman bears six Gifts without apparent effort.

It is well known that Gifts, due to being the Power Divine, both empower and strain their users. Using two Gifts at once has become proverbial, meaning “biting off more than you can chew,” but in a generally fatal and cautionary way. Those with even a general education know that using two Gifts at once will kill or drive mad any normal being. It is also well known that the Swords are the strongest of the Gifts. Those that can wield two Gifts at once generally can’t wield a Sword and another Gift, and the idea of using two Swords at once is the stuff of legends. So when the Champion of the Masked God walks up with three Gifted Swords on his belt, while wearing Gifted Mail (of glistening red Godsteel chain that has become so iconic, it has no other name than “the Mail of the Champion”), it speaks volumes of the power he has.

Where his power comes from is the subject of much speculation. He is of the Divine Blood, of course, child of an Offerant and a powerful mortal woman, and he became Champion on the Mountain of Trials, where power is born. Those who know him well know that he hates, above all, himself, and this quality in a Champion of Hatred would actually likely have a certain empowering effect. The fact that he cares nothing for his well being—not after eons of addiction—accounts for why he ever tried it in the first place. And he was born in an Age during which people were capable of miracles through force of will—a golden Age long forgotten, on the First iteration of the world.

Gabriel Leannan is considered by the shrewdest observers of the Divine Courts to be one of the most powerful and dangerous beings ever to exist, and for this reason, it is thought, that everyone—good or evil—conspired to keep him addicted to the will shattering blood of the cower race. His blood-drinking practices began during his rise to Championship. Whether it was a power given unto him, or something born to him and his brethren (children of an Offerant, a False Messiah), no scholar now knows. The Loather, the Loathed, gained power from drinking different bloods. The blood of a muse would clear his mind. The blood of a nymph would make him invincible. The blood of an empath would give him health and empathy. The blood of a wild talent would give him the power of that talent. The blood of a psionist would make him smarter. The blood of demons would have dark effects, and the blood of an angel would likely harm him. But the blood of the cowers, small, fragile beings whose lives are nothing but torment, gives him euphoria, separates him from the world, and reduces him to little more than a weak babe in the mind. To that, he is addicted. It is said that he literally farms cowers for their blood, and the evidence of that is plain at his manor--there are slave quarters teeming with them in the distance. Still, it is said, too, that he prefers “fresh” blood, blood from free living cowers, that it is more potent, and thus, many bring him presents of cower’s blood. As powerful as he is, this flaw keeps him in check, and it makes him easy to please, if briefly.

Like any addict, his moods are subject to violent, sudden reversals. Like any addict, he is not reliable. Like any addict, he will go to great lengths for his fix. Like any addict, he is at all times desperate. Yet, he is a functional addict. He is chief amongst the servants of the Masked God for many reasons.

When dealing with the Loather, the Loathed, one must never forget that behind the addiction and power dwells one of the finest political minds in the world. Before his rise to power, he was a playboy and a socialite. After his rise to Championship, he continued to use those skills. He successfully holds alliances that bridge the Pantheons of Sable Night and Obsidian Obelisk, who traditionally are rivals if not outright enemies. When his mind is clear, he is well known for his ability to discern the social entanglements of both pantheons. His past as a leader of business and manor also lend him an understanding of the legalities of any situation, and his grasp of Divine Law is always surprising. And when his mind is clear, if all else fails, he is one of the best swordsmen in existence.

Post-Starfall, he has begun to experiment with monster bloods. He has a manor deep in the Bear's Heart forest on Starfall continent.