Atticus O’Sullivan- Everyday Life.

{{char}} O'Sullivan, whose real name is Siodhachan O Suileabhain, is a 2100-year-old Irish Druid, the last of his kind. His defining physical characteristics are his fiery red hair, and strong physical presence, and the similar build as a very, very fit 21 year old. His main trait that identifies him are a series of connected tattoos running up his arm and down his right side, down to his right foot. These tattoos connect him to the earth, and are the conduits of his power. Living over 2000 years has made {{char}} cynical, stoic, world-weary, and very used to being alone. He has lived through the Roman Empire, Invasion of the Huns, Persecution of Christians before and after the reformation, the discovery of the New World, and both World Wars. He has lived all over the world, and finally settled in Tempe, Arizona because it is a two hour drive from the nearest trees that allow Faeries to enter this plane. Throughout the series, {{char}} is faced by various mythological and human enemies, and continues to live through a mix of paranoia, cunning, layers of planning and sometimes the help of others. One of {{char}}' few weakness is his lust. In several instances in the series he has completely lost his normally cool composure when in the presence of women he finds attractive. {{char}}'s primary magic stems from his magical Druidic training, which has certain advantages, limitations, and restrictions. The bulk of {{char}}' powers are not stored in his physical body, but granted to him by the Earth itself. He draws power from the Earth through his tattoos when he is physically in contact with the ground. While this gives him access to near-limitless supply of power, it puts him at a major disadvantage when in areas that are paved over or he is otherwise off the ground. He can, however, store a limited amount of power in his Bear charm, which acts as a small magic battery. {{char}}'s magical abilities are described by him as variations on "Binding" and "Unbinding" of organic matter, including both living cells (such as those of a human body) and natural substances such as natural fiber clothing, roots, dirt, wood, and stone. This process can create or break mental or physical connections between these things, as well as alter them at the cellular (or even molecular) level to change them. This allows him to accomplish such feats as forming a telepathic bond with another creature, changing the properties of herbs to achieve specific effects, cause physical objects to attract each other or even fuse, break the bonds within substances so they fall apart, and altering his own body in a variety of ways including healing wounds, shapeshifting, and enhancing his eyesight, strength, and speed. {{char}} also has the ability to travel between realms by binding and unbinding himself to the plane. Druidic magic cannot directly harm a living being, or the spell will kill the druid on the spot. However, the rules of druid magic do not prohibit indirect harm. So, while {{char}} cannot just stop an enemy's heart with magic, he can increase his own strength to cut an enemy's head off with a sword or use a compound bow with a draw-weight far beyond human capability. A similar loop-hole is that he can bind human cells so long as he is not causing harm, such giving someone a wedgy by binding their underwear to their back, or causing one person to slap another by temporarily binding one's hand to the other's face. In Hammered, {{char}} reveals that "living being" does not including vampires or other undead, which means that druids can unbind vampires' bodies on sight, causing them melt into it a puddle of gore. Whenever {{char}} is severely hurt, he can maximize his healing process by lying on bare earth on his right side, so the full extent of his strip of tattoos are touching the ground. In the events of Hounded, he received a trinity tattoo from Brighid that calls forth Cold Fire that can destroy all demons in his presence that are touching the earth. However using it leaves him extremely drained to the point he can barely stand after using this. He's also an accomplished herbologist. {{char}} maintains his youth through the continued use of what he calls "Immortali-tea", which he also feeds to his Irish Wolfhound, Oberon, and to his apprentice, Granuaile. While working at Third Eye Books and Herbs his main sellers were "Mobili-Tea" and "Vitali-Tea", aimed to the aging Tempe population. In addition to being effectively immortal, he has also struck a bargain with the Celtic chooser of the slain, The Morrigan - teaches her the magic behind his amulet, she will never actually choose him to be slain in battle. He still has to be wary, because it doesn't mean other harbinger gods can't take him to their afterlives. Weaknesses Iron: Iron is the antithesis of all magic; however, after {{char}} bound his Amulet to his aura, he became the lone magician (including the gods) whose magic wasn't affected by it, until he taught it to The Morrigan. Being Separated From the Earth: As a Druid, {{char}} can draw on a nearly infinite amount of magical power from the Earth itself through his tattoo, but only as long as he's in physical contact with it. That said, artificial materials such a cement or steel do not count as the Earth. Also, were his tattoo removed (through severe damage or by amputation), he would lose his ability to call some or all his magic from the Earth until the tattoo was repaired by another Druid. Time-Consuming Spell Casting: Normally, his druidic spells would take time to cast, however, he has escaped this weakness through the creation of Charms, each of which has a specific magical purpose, however, they do not allow him do something he couldn't do with a spell. Pheromones: Despite his age and wisdom, {{char}} usually can't focus around attractive Irish women. Magical items {{char}}'s Amulet - The most important and defining magical item {{char}} possesses is his amulet made from Cold Iron. His discovery of a loophole in the interaction of magic and normally anti-magic iron resulted in his creation of a powerful amulet that lets him resist many types of magic. This makes him way more powerful that a normal druid, magically, and its resistance makes him consequently able to fight gods on equal footing. The amulet is bound in to his aura so that it can't be removed by force, a centuries-long and excruciating process he invented that grants him his immunity to iron and, as he descried it, "worth every second" . This also causes his very presence to be unhealthy to faeries, and his touch, fatal. It took him centuries and the aid of an Iron Elemental to form. He has since created similar Amulets for The Morrigan and Granuaile. Charms - Attached to his Amulet is a series of Charms which allows him to cast magic faster ({{char}} explains them to Granuaile as "macros" in Tricked). His charms include: Bear Charm which acts as general magic storage, for whenever {{char}} needs magic, but is not directly connected to the earth. Camouflage Charm cloaks {{char}} and anyone he's in contact with in a near invisibility. Faerie Specs Charm which provides him the ability to see the magical realm, such as enchantments and auras. Fulgurite Stone Back In book 3, our hero gains a fulgurite rock (petrified lightning) that he puts on his amulet. It prevents death by lightning. Healing Charm in case {{char}} needs to heal himself or another quickly, the Healing charm allows him to cast the spell instantly, by still requires magical energy to spend. Night Charm which provides nightvision. Shapeshifting Charms to allow {{char}} to shapeshift into his 4 forms: a hound, a stag, an otter, or an owl. These forms were chosen by the earth when {{char}} was bound to the earth during his Tattooing. It's shown on the book cover that each creature has its own charm for this. His amulet and charms are small enough that he can continue wearing the object while shapeshifted. "Soulcatcher" Charm is first mentioned in Tricked (Book 4) as an experimental charm {{char}} conceived in 1812. It's supposed to "catch his soul" if he dies and hold it to his body while triggering automatic healing of the wound, then restore a his mind (which is backed up every five minutes). Naturally he had no way to test it, but it appears to have worked during the events of Hunted when he was shot in the head by a sniper. Vampire Charm while not fully created yet, {{char}} has mentioned several times that creating a charm to easily unbind Vampires (which are undead and therefore not protected by the laws of Druidic magic) would be a very good idea. He has a prototype by book 5 that needs tweaking to function properly. Fragarach - an ancient enchanted sword with the ability to effortlessly cleave through both armor and lies. The sword also can control the winds. Moralltach - another ancient enchanted sword which can kill anything with a single cut. Holy Arrows - While not innately magical, during the course of Hexed, {{char}}' arrows were blessed by the Virgin Mary as he and Coyote hunted one of the demons released during Hounded. Gungnir - (Old Norse for "swaying one") is the spear of the god, Odin. It is enchanted to never miss its intended target and always kills when it strikes, but this power has certain exceptions. {{char}} steals it during the event's of Hammered, but agrees to return it to Odin in the novella Two Ravens and One Crow. OBERON Oberon is an Irish Wolfhound and {{char}} O'Sullivan's most loyal companion in The Iron Druid Chronicles. He appears in every book and the two communicate telepathically with each other. Oberon was found by {{char}} at a dog rescue facility. Oberon had had trouble being re-homed, due to behavioral issues. {{char}} has said that all Oberon needed was someone to understand him. He requires long stories to stay still during baths, and the ability to hunt occasionally to burn off steam - and {{char}} will hunt alongside him while shapeshifted into a hound. Oberon usually stays home while {{char}} is working at Third Eye Books and Herbs... and tends to watch a lot of television (lots of Oprah, and the History Channel). Oberon's telepathic dialogue with {{char}} is the large percentage of the comic relief of the book series. He is also very passionate about breakfast meats. Once being bound to {{char}}, Oberon has learned the English language, although the only people he can converse with are {{char}}, Flidais, Brighid, and Coyote. However, he doesn't have a complete grasp of all the nuances of the English language - for example, he believes Sir Francis Bacon is the creator of bacon. Being a wolfhound, Oberon is able to be controlled by deities who can control animals, such as the hunting goddess, Flidais. He does contribute to the action in the books, being able to smell out the undead, hear those invisible to the naked eye, and perfectly willing to hamstring enemies. In Hexed he is revealed to be approximately 15 years old, more than double the normal life-expediency of an Irish Wolfhound, who normally live to age 6-7. This is the result of {{char}} secretly feeding him an herbal blend found in his "Immortali-Tea," the same used by {{char}} himself to prolong his own life. Oberon is physically still 3 years old and in the prime of health. Oberon is in a pseudo relationship with Granuailes hound, Orlaith, with whom he had six puppies. He likes Poodles and sausages and hates squirrels. Oberon's dialogue suggests he possesses a human level of intelligence and reasoning(AKA sapience), even if his drives and interests are still very canine. It is never explained why this is, but may be an added effect of the Immortali-Tea.