Poe Halman

About
Poe Halman was a young man, and son of the prestigious Halman family. Forbidden from marying his sweetheart, Kurara, due to class differences, Poe chose to enter the Toushin Tournament in hopes of winning and gaining independent status from his family.

Entering under the alias "Poe Sinclair," Poe soon found himself ill-suited for the life of a gladiator. Luckily, he befriended Custom, a rival in the opposite bracket, and the two were able to assist one another several times, either when it came to tournament challenges or obstacles in the nearby Trial Dungeon. Friendship aside, Poe's cause seemed doomed, especially as he neared a semifinal contest with Morris, a warrior who had defeated and humiliated him in the past. Determined to marry Kurara, Poe made a deal with the devil Cergy, who possessed him and helped him defeat his quarterfinal opponent, Lori, and then to publically humiliate Morris. Kurara, afraid of what was happening to Poe, turned to Custom for assistance. Custom was able to defeat Cergy by enlisting the help of Cergy's rival, Dalis. Unfortunately, the two devil's battle inside Poe's mind destroyed his body in an instant, and Poe was killed.

While deceased, Poe's fate was not yet over. With Dalis' assistance, Poe's soul transfered into Custom, where it took control of Custom's body with his permission and impregnated Kurara. The soul followed into Kurara to await rebirth as her child. Kurara then went into the wilderness to live this strange future in private.

Personality and Appearance
Poe was a sweet, and perhaps deeply naive young man, ill-suited for a life outside of his rich upbringing but determined to carve out success in spite of these limitations. Custom noted that he seemed unusually kind for a warrior, and his lack experience and general meekness soon sussed him out as poor for the job, as well. He was, however, very intelligent, able to defeat one of his opponents, Rafflesia Hood, by bringing a mask to the battle, similar to Custom's own tecnniques, and was happy to share information with Custom even after their first meeting. Unfortunately, his determination to win also led to his demise, leading him into a contract with Cergy and ultimately to his original death.

In his original body, Poe was a lean, blue-haired young man wearing a cape. His overworld sprite depicts him in full armor, including a horned helmet, but none of this is seen in close-ups.

Poe was afraid of deep water.

Abilities
Poe's poor ability has a warrior was evident from the start of the tournament, when he battled an opponent named "Tower of the Sun" for a whole three hours without either gaining the upper hand. His victory over Rafflesia Hood was more a matter of intelligence than skill, though the same could be said of many of Custom's victories. It is quite possible that Poe would have never reached the quarter-finals if his would-have-been third round opponents had not killed one another, giving him a "bye" for the third round. This said, Poe was able to able to navigate his way to and survive the 7th level of the Toushin City Trial Dungeon, marking him as certainly stronger than the average human being.

Under possession by Cergy, Poe was able to defeat Lori so soundly that Shuri remarked that she was "physically destroyed." His abilities did not increase from there, however, and he was not necessarily much stronger than Custom, who could have defeated him normally if not for Cergy gifting him with regenerative powers.