[hider=Byssu, the Gunbreaker.] [SUB][U]ＮＡＭＥ[/U][/SUB] Venase Arda. Though she has discarded this name in favor of "Byssu" since she has been away from the forests for quite some time. [SUB][U]ＲＡＣＥ[/U][/SUB] Viera. [SUB][U]ＣＬＡＮ[/U][/SUB] Veena. [SUB][U]ＢＩＲＴＨＰＬＡＣＥ[/U][/SUB] The southwestern foothills of the Skatay Range, as all Veena originate. [SUB][U]ＯＣＣＵＰＡＴＩＯＮ[/U][/SUB] Mercenary. Dabbles in Glamour magick. [SUB][U]ＳＯＵＬ ＣＲＹＳＴＡＬ[/U][/SUB] Gunbreaker. [SUB][U]ＡＰＰＥＡＲＡＮＣＥ[/U][/SUB] [hider=Visual reference][img]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/218832049547509761/620351112427339796/20190908155055_1.jpg[/img][img]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/218832049547509761/620351111215185930/20190908155046_1.jpg[/img][/hider] Byssu's appearance is one of extremes. As a first observation Byssu is extremely tall. In specific, she stands at 191.4cm, not counting her ears. Her ears, naturally, are an additional foot or so. This makes navigating small locations quite tedious, as Byssu frequently has to duck under doorways and sit precariously within small vehicles. Beyond this, Byssu's other fairly extreme feature would be her curves, as she has developed extremely well. Many would think that she is a paragon of beauty among Viera, but Byssu chose not to have a life like that. Byssu's skin is quite pale, as is fitting of a Veena. Set upon her forehead is a red gem given to her as part of her coming-of-age ceremony. Tattooed upon her face are several marks that hold no meaning in particular, and were merely put there by Byssu to stand out. Byssu also applies black lipstick in order to keep her lips from chafing in the cold, and because she thinks it goes with her facial markings well. Byssu's wears the traditional garb of the Viera people, and any armor she gains is glamored to match this appearance. She also wears a helm made in a similar fashion, and naturally glamors non-matching helmets to appear as such. She does this to maintain some connection to her origin, and because she is so used to the traditional garb that wearing otherwise feels alien and restrictive to her. Byssu's hair is white in color with black highlights towards the ends of her hair and tips of her ears. Byssu does not know why her hair takes on this coloration, but doesn't try to resist it. When she did try to cut it to make it so that her hair was pure white she noticed that by the next day the ends of her hair had taken on a black coloration once more. Thus she doesn't really worry about it anymore. [SUB][U]ＰＥＲＳＯＮＡＬＩＴＹ[/U][/SUB] Byssu is protective and practical. She is equal parts ready to stand and fight enemies as great as dragons, but is equally ready to turn and run from a swarm of monsters that outnumber even a small army. With a team at her back, Byssu will happily lead the charge and is certainly more than willing to strive to keep everyone safe, but even she has moments where the dreams of glory turn sour and practical actions must take priority. Facing down the entire imperial army alone is a sure-fire way to earn a glorious reputation, but being alive to enjoy that glorious reputation is equally important. [SUB][U]ＢＩＯＧＲＡＰＨＹ[/U][/SUB] When the great calamity hit, Byssu felt the winds of change blow strongly. The world was irreversibly changed as a result of what was happening, and Byssu felt the need to experience the changes that were happening. The rest of the veena were not receptive to this idea, and Byssu had to make her transition to living outside of the wood alone and with little support. Byssu traveled the land of the far east for a brief time before she found that ships were frequently coming and going to areas affected by the calamity in Aldenard. Hoping to be of use, she boarded a ship and hoped she would be somewhere where she could help. Byssu ended up in Gridania. The abundance of nature was a familiar experience to the Viera, though she did briefly struggle with throwing off the attitudes imparted upon her by the matriarchal society that the Viera keep. Due to her skill with archery Byssu was quickly pulled into serving the watch and patrolling the forest. On her third patrol, something interesting came about. Byssu was checking out a particular section of the forest when the dense undergrowth suddenly gave way to a hidden path. Intrigued, Byssu signaled that she would be a moment to the rest of her team and chose to investigate the hidden pathway. The animals nearby were loud and unhurried, so Byssu did not feel like there was danger nearby as the animals would be quiet and eager to leave. Byssu followed the curve of the pathway to a clearing, and saw a small shrine nestled in the center. Surprisingly, this shrine was untouched by nature. Byssu approached it gently as this place was much quieter than the surrounding woods. Though Byssu felt that it was a peaceful quiet and not the quiet of a looming threat. Byssu examined the shrine gently, and found etched upon it a message for anyone that might find it. "Ye who find this shrine, I entreat ye to not disturb it unless needed. Long have I fought to defend those who could not defend themselves, and now I can fight no longer. If the world should be in danger once more, I implore thee to open the shrine and take up my duty in my stead." Byssu stood for a moment, pondering the shrine. The calamity was bringing about massive changes in monster populations, and surely what was contained within the shrine would help to combat their newfound aggression? Byssu nodded to herself, and then reached out and touched the shrine. It glowed briefly, before beginning to slowly shift. The shrine slowly opened, and within the shrine was a pile of nearly folded clothes, a strange looking weapon, and a yellow crystal. Byssu didn't have the time to examine it carefully, so she instead opted to scoop everything up into her traveling pack and return to her companions to finish their patrol. Later that evening Byssu made her way to the inn room that had been assigned to her as temporary housing and began to sift through the equipment she had gathered from the shrine. The clothing, while mundane at first glance, was actually rather tough to the touch. Byssu tried it on, but it felt overly restrictive to her compared to the traditional viera garb that she had been wearing thus far. Byssu changed back to her old clothes and made a mental note to see if something couldn't be done about that. Now Byssu picked up the strange weapon. It was sword like, but also held a revolving chamber of sorts. It was also incredibly heavy and unwieldy. It was clearly meant for someone else's hands. Byssu tried to swing it, but even a light swing nearly threw her to the ground from the weight of the sword. Setting it down, Byssu sighed. Perhaps the shrine had a target audience in mind? Byssu was sure that she wasn't a part of it. Now Byssu picked up the yellow crystal and began to examine it. Byssu was so caught up in trying to read the myriad of etchings upon it that she didn't realize the crystal had begun to glow. Suddenly, the various etchings began to highlight. Each individual story was highlighted, one after another, making the crisscrossing etching legible. Byssu began to read faster and faster, until the crystal was spinning in her hands so fast that she didn't so much read the stories as she saw them play out in her mind. Not only was Byssu reading the tales of the guardian that had the crystal earlier, she was learning. How to move with the sword, which she learned was called a gunblade, and use it's weight to an advantage. She also learned how to make use of the cartridges, and several unique moves that the special construction of the gunblade enabled. It was dawn before Byssu was able to finally put the crystal down. Yet, despite her lack of sleep, Byssu did not feel tired. Picking up the gunblade once more, Byssu now found the weight of it much easier to manage. Giving it a few swings, Byssu shifted herself around in order to maintain her balance. It came naturally to her now, almost as if she'd been using gunblades for years. Byssu tried on the armored clothing once more, but still found it too restrictive. Changing back to her traditional garb again, Byssu moved to visit the conjurers guild and inquire if they might be able to enhance her traditional garb to be more protective. However, the moment Byssu touched the door to head outside, exhaustion hit her. It would have to be later, then. Byssu slept and went out on patrol again that evening, as was demanded of her. The next day Byssu visited the conjurers and inquired about enhancing her gear to be more protective. It was there that she learned of a better way in the form of glamour magick. It would change a set of clothes to look and move like another set of clothes but provide the function of the original set, and it was such a basic magick that it would take no time at all to learn. Byssu spent the next few days of her free time learning this magic, and when she was confident she donned the armored clothing once more. It felt as restrictive as usual, but Byssu gave a wave of her hand and felt the clothing shift around her. Now she wore her traditional viera garb and had the mobility it provided, but she could feel a bubble of protective energy around her. Byssu nodded to herself, pleased at the result. Byssu began to take her gunblade out with her on patrol instead of her bow. She took the crystal too, as it only felt right to keep everything with her. On one fateful day Byssu's mettle would be tested. The squad had been split to cover a wider area. Byssu was moving to investigate some damaged trees when she heard someone start to scream. Sprinting, she found one of her fellow guardsmen beset by what looked like an animated tree as they hurriedly backed away. Their sword was stuck within the tree, and their uniform was ruffled in a way that gave the idea that they had been knocked to the ground by the a blow from one of the trees limbs. The crystal she had always carried started to glow. Byssu looked to it momentarily, confused, but she quickly understood what was being conveyed: This was the time for Byssu to choose between who she was and who she could be. Byssu hesitated for only a moment before she pulled the gunblade from her back and began to run towards the treant. She had chosen to become a gunbreaker and embrace the role of protecting others. In one fluid motion, Byssu opened the cylinder of the gunblade and inserted six shells. Bright blue magic began to glow within them before Byssu closed it. Leaping at the treant just as it moved to crush her companion Byssu Pulled the trigger embedded into the handle of the gunblade, firing one of the shells into the blade. With the gunblade now red-hot, Byssu sliced it's outstreched arm clean off. The treant recoiled in fear at Byssu, but quickly replaced its fear with anger. It charged at Byssu, who had placed herself between it and her fallen companion. Byssu answered this challenge with further swings of her gunblade. It was mere moments before the treant was little more than firewood. Byssu helped her scared companion to their feet and brought him back to Gridania to relay what had happened to the guard captain. The captain thought for a moment before he commended Byssu for her outstanding work, but also admitted that perhaps Byssu was being limited by just patrolling the woods. He relieved Byssu of her charge, and implored her to seek out a greater calling. Byssu nodded, but was lost. She returned to the inn, and only now spotted a recruitment flier for a company called The Blessed Twelve. Perhaps this was to be her greater calling ... ? [SUB][U]ＯＴＨＥＲ[/U][/SUB] Byssu's favored food is earl grey tea. Byssu uses glamor magick to make any and all armor she wears look akin to the viera traditional garb. Byssu also uses glamour magick to make all of her weapons appear similar to the [url=https://i.imgur.com/s5fImDW.png]gunblade[/url] that she got from the shrine. In her spare time, Byssu charges shells for her blade to ensure that she always has plenty to use should combat arise. [SUB][U]ＲＥＡＳＯＮ ＦＯＲ ＥＮＬＩＳＴＭＥＮＴ[/U][/SUB] Byssu walked quickly towards Gridania while carrying a hurt guardsman in her arms. He clutched his abdomen and grunted in pain as Byssu had to take a large step over a fallen tree. He'd been fine while Byssu was fighting, but the moment he got to his feet and the adrenaline had worked it's way out of his system he'd collapsed in pain. Apparently the ent had hit him harder than he thought. Another groan and some squirming came from the guardsman. Clearly this was getting worse. Byssu stopped for a moment, thinking on what she could do... Byssu looked down at the guardsman and spoke her plan plainly. "It will hurt, a lot, but I am going to sprint. Please be aware that this is to get you to medical treatment and shorten your overall suffering. Ready?" All Byssu got from the guardsman was a meek grunt, but Byssu could wait no longer. Leaning back slightly, Byssu leaned forward and began to sprint towards Gridania. The clawed tips of her heels dug early into the ground as Byssu propelled herself forward, gaining speeds that many would be surprised the Viera possessed. As it turns out, long and powerful legs were not just for looking at. A trip of ten or more minutes was turned into three with Byssu's speed, and she nearly skidded to a stop when she entered Gridania. Heading towards the Old Gridania district, Byssu made her way to the conjurer's guild promptly. Calling for attention, Byssu delivered the wounded guardsman to the caring hands of several attendants and told them that the guardsman was in need of prompt healing. They barely got the wounded guardsman in the door before healing magicks began to flow. Byssu gave a sigh of relief, knowing that he was now in good hands. Byssu was leaving to return to patrols when she heard a voice call her name. Turning to look for the source of the sound she saw the captain of the guard approaching. Standing at attention, Byssu greeted the commander. "Greetings captain, I was just about to return to patrol. What do you need of me?" The captain gave a nod and motioned for Byssu to relax before beginning to speak. "Byssu, I received a report about your actions today. Walk with me for a minute, please? I have something I want to discuss with you." Byssu was moderately confused, but gave a nod and followed behind the commander as they began to walk around some of the many paths through Gridania. As they walked, the commander spoke. "Ever since you arrived you've done fairly well. Slightly above average, but honestly not a shining star. Until today. Today you proved that you are more than just 'above average.' You proved that you are capable of some great things, and I have personally come to the conclusion that you are being held back by being in the guard." Byssu was stunned by this information and stopped walking before she quickly began to protest. "But I want to help! The calamity has brought about great changes and I want to-" Byssu was stopped by the commander raising their hand. "I do not mean this as a negative thing, Byssu. I mean this as a positive thing. I am not just kicking you off the guard, I'm placing you on a path where you can help [i]everyone[/i], not just Gridania. I don't know where you belong, but with your capabilities it's clearly not here on the guard. Just patrolling the woods isn't allowing you to hit your full potential. You took on an ent, alone, and came out just fine. And then, on top of that, you had strength left over to get a badly wounded guardsman back in time for their life to be saved. I saw him for a moment when they were beginning to heal him. If you'd signaled for a rescue party he wouldn't have made it back." Byssu was stunned to silence once again. The captain smirked, knowing that a good nerve had been struck. Taking a breath, they continued to talk. "Please, Byssu. I want the best for you. Unfortunately, the best for you isn't here. There's a higher calling waiting for you. Please, seek it out. You're dismissed." The captain walked away, leaving Byssu alone with her thoughts. Byssu made her way back to the inn to contemplate the future in private. She was about to enter her room when something caught her eye. A recruitment poster, freshly placed upon the wall. Byssu read over it carefully, but even now the seeds of an idea were planted within her head... [/hider]