ThreeA ~ Adventure Kartel : Rehel Dragos Eraphis.

"Buboes, phlegm, blood and guts! Boils, bogeys, rot and pus! Blisters, fevers, weeping sores! From your wounds the fester pours."


A (mis) interpretation:

Name: Antonius Frusciante.

Age: 22 years old.

Alias: Rehel the Dragos Eraphis.

Affiliation:  The Adventure Kartel (former); Champion of The Apostles of Contagion (current).

Std. armaments: "The Judgement of Carrion" - daemon weapon x 1.

Abilities: "Zombie Plague" - zombie inducement; consumption healing; apathy; containment immunity; disease immunity; enhanced strength; enhanced durability / invulnerability; enhanced endurance; oxygen independence; pain suppression; pressure resistance; self-sustenance; thermal resistance; anatomical liberation; enhanced senses; killing instinct; necromancy; semi-immortality.
 

Antonius Frusciante is a former childhood pal of Tommy Mission, both growing up and forming a close brotherhood bond in the Olive Creek orphanage. Sharing the same interest as Tommy, he is a former founding member of the Black Rainbow, which include Tommy, and later, the Red, Hot, Chilli Pussy. Both bands are short lived, and it is the formation of the Cloven Heart, a death metal band, that Antonius and his band members find a cult followings. Antonius's stage name in the Cloven Heart is Rehel the Dragos Eraphis.

Antonius is a self taught bassist, encouraged by Tommy to pick up bass at the age of fifteen. His techniques are influenced by the likes of J. Myung, M. Miller, J. Pastorius, L.Claypool and G. Lee. Antonius favourite form of playing is two or three fingers picking or plucking style, although he also incorporates slapping, popping, tapping and harmonics in his playings. He uses a six string, fretless bass guitar. The cult success of the Cloven Heart leads to an opportunity to open for his favourite band, the Nightmare Cinema which features one of his bassist idol, J. Myung on the Oceania's annual Reading Festival.

Excited with the prospect for greater success, Antonius and the Cloven Heart plays at the Slaughterlambs with Missionary Position, Tommy's own band. That night, the indie circle bar is subjected to an un-relentless attack by a Zomb Horde. Majority of the audiences are killed or taken back to the Necropolis to be fed to the Heart of Darkness deep within the bowels of the Carrion City. Antonius and Tommy survives, and after the formation of the Adventure Kartel, Antonius serves as an on and off members of the anti-Zomb Horde bounty hunters/protectors group.

Unfortunately, while defending District 12 from a Zomb Horde attacks on one occasion, Antonius is crippled and captured alive by the Zombs and bring back to the Carrion City. Seeing the Adventure Kartel's signature hoodie worn by Antonius, the Zomb MD is delighted. Instead of feeding Antonius's brain to the Heart of Darkness, the Zomb MD had Antonius tortured with a myriad of diseases over a period which broke his mind and body. He finally gave in to the Carrion Lord's will and swore allegiance to him and the Plague God Nurgleth. Over the course of the change, Antonius blames Tommy for his plight. To mock Tommy, Antonius continues to wear the Adventure Kartel's hoodie.

Within the pestilence infected, claustrophobic tunnels of the former ruins of Andria, Antonius slowly gains the favour of Zomb MD and he eventually rose amongst the ranks to become a champion of the Zomb Horde, leading a group of elite Plaguebearers known as the Apostles of Contagion, after a series of successful attacks on New Andria. Apart from having absolute resiliency and endurance against all forms of pain since his nerves are numbed to the point of zero sensation, as well as regenerative ability, Antonius possesses absolute mastery over the dark arts of necromancy known as the Zombie Plague, a powerful, sorcerous warp power which inflicts incurable, highly infectious virulent disease which slowly turns the infected into bloated, rotting, re-animated corpses. Worst of all it corrupts the soul of the infected into new walking dead, and the dying living energies of the victims are fed to Nurgleth. Upon summoning it, Antonius could re-animate each fallen Zomb, bringing them back again and again until their bodies are totally destroyed. He is known to have infected so many New Andria populace that a mega swarm of Zomb Horde would overrun the defences of the city. Antonius could also awaken dead corpses which littered the outer defence perimeter of the city, further spreading the vile corruption of the Zombie Plague amongst the humans.  
Antonius is gifted with a daemon weapon in the form of an axe known as "The Judgement of Carrion". The plague axe is forged and bathed in the Great Cess Pit, a pool of putrid filth and pus within Necropolis. It is covered in a film of poisonous pus likely to kill any it infects who don't die from the initial strike. A single sratch from the axe can bring about full outbreak of the Zombie Plague. It saps the will of its victim, causing them to give in to the blight of Nurghleth. The edge of the axe is lined with monomolecular teeth, which can tear through any armours, flesh and bones with ease. As the Zombie Plague only afflicts biological organisms and organic matters, Antonius fight the robot protectors of New Andria, the ANKOUs, using a combination of his plague axe and supernatural physical strength. Apart from the resiliency and endurance against almost all forms of melee attacks, Antonius could tear apart a robot or cyborg with ease using his bare hands.

One of the greatest threats ever faced by the protectors of New Andria, Antonius had nearly kill Lil Shadow, whose own dhampir regenerative ability is easily negated by the Zomb champion. The Fighting JC once come close to being overpowered by Antonius in a combat. JC  finally defeated Antonius only through his divine intervention power, power of cleansing and the Exegesis of which caused the plague champion and his horde to flee before the blinding light and psionic, cleansing blast. Superior mages whom possess magical and sorcerous knowledge such as Tommy could protect and counter Antonius' plague power such as invoking the hymns and incantations of Ninurta, which releases the stranglehold of the deadly disease through its healing power. Although Antonius could counteract healing, he is not powerful enough to negate the will of Ninurta.

Currently, Antonius is referred to exclusively as Rehel the Dragos Eraphis, a champion of the Zomb Horde. Fortunately for New Andria, members of the Adventure Kartel and few selected others still possess enough abilities and knowledge to stop him and his Apostles of Contagion from totally overwhelming New Andria in each renewed attacks. But for how long?

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Needless to say, this figure,  my very first and perhaps the only Zomb, sans the Zombkin, I may have in the ThreeA collection, curiously reminds me of Anthony Kiedis, the lead singer of the popular funk rock band, the Red Hot Chilli Peppers, of all real world people. The posturing of the fingers curiously suggest playing a musical instrument, but I am just guessing. It looks like a bit of plucking technique of a bass guitar. Dragos is the 3AA membership variant of the standard one which has white hair. Loves the Adidoi :P inspired sneakers, an Official perhaps, not a Superstar as I initially suspected. I armed him with an axe from Hot Toys Royce figure from the movie, Predators. Would love to see him with a 1/6th bass guitar but currently there's none available in the market. All ideas, as usual, are courtesy of Games Workshop WH40K universe.