[Hider=Alicia Le’Roux, the Blood duelist][Center][img=http://fc01.deviantart.net/fs50/f/2009/338/2/2/Vampire_Wars_by_IronMitten.jpg][/center] [center][b]Biographical Section[/b][/center] [b]Name:[/b] Alicia Le’roux [b]Age:[/b] Alicia appears to be in her twenties, but is at least a decade older than that. [b]Race:[/b] Human [b]Sex:[/b] Female [b]Homeland:[/b]-[i]Kingdom of Liveria:[/i] Liveria is a single city-state with self-sustaining farmlands. They are isolationist in nature and their ruler, Crown-Prince Xavier, rejected the idea of folding into the greater Renaltan kingdom due to conflicting ideologies. Where Liveria wants to be left alone, Renalta wants to swing open its doors. This has led to some friction between the two kingdoms at points, with Liveria claiming total control over the only coastline Renalta could feasible use. Liveria is small but determined, and their people tend to be either commoners who work for the rich, or the rich who pay tariffs and taxes to the royalty, whom in turn use said taxes and tariffs to ensure their isolationism remains intact. Unlike Renalta’s open city architecture, Liveria as a city holds are more gothic architecture, with stone gargoyles and dark stone used in construction one could almost be forgiven for confusing the keep for a citadel of engineering genius. Almost. [b]History:[/b] Alicia was born the only child of the noble house Le’Roux: a recently risen upper-class family that made its fortunes in the Silk trade. Shortly after her birth, Alicia’s mother died and, to his credit, her father entered a stage of mourning that lasted the rest of his life. Alicia and her father were very close, as she represented the last remnants of a beloved wife, gone; as well as the only heir to a recently risen house. As such, she was spoilt beyond repair as the ‘Le’Roux Princess.’ She received tutoring from a great many wise teachers and was taught the prime lessons that any noble should learn: etiquette and poise and talking with other nobles and, perhaps her favourite lesson, the art of combat and courtly duelling. Sometime in her teenage years, a man approached Alicia’s father and caused a fierce argument that shook the household. The man was escorted off the grounds, only to return the next day, and so on, so forth. To the young Alicia, it was a very confusing time but after a dozen attempts, Alicia’s father relented, and introduced her to Jacque: a man that would play a very important role in Alicia’s life. When she was 22 years old, the gods were made to fall. Everything changed and suddenly, Liveria isolated itself from the world. It was during this period of tremendous turmoil that Alicia’s father passed away. The young noble woman inherited the house, and most predicted it would fall within weeks. It didn’t. Alicia seemed to relish in her role as the house’s matriarch. It seemed that being led by a new, beautiful and competent young woman attracted both the adoration of her workers, who increased efficiency twice over, and the attention of courtly investors, hoping to get their hands on a very desirable part of the Liverian court. It was at this point that Alicia turned to vampirism. She recalled her father’s dying words and remembered his call to ‘live on forever.’ She took the meaning literally, as she feared both her own mortality and succumbing to age and entropy. She managed to find a Liverian vampire and paid the monster to turn her. Alicia woke a few hours later, on the floor and being shaken awake by Jacque, her manservant. There was a worried hysteria on his face, and Alicia feared she would have to kill the man as he might discover what she’d become. In truth, he embraced her: tears in the manservant’s eyes that Alicia could not explain. Alicia could not place where this strange loyalty had developed, but it had: and Jacque offered his blood. She accepted, despite the confusing loyalty the man showed and continues to show to this day. For the next decade, Alicia lived a comfortable life in the Liverian courts. Her silk farm continued to produce and her goods were sold by trade ships that frequented the Liverian coast. The only issue came when one of the Crown-prince’s agents approached her, and demanded she seek an audience with Xavier himself. The rest, as they say, is history. [b]Motivation:[/b] “Well, what can I say. My arm is twisted by a Crown-Prince of a country that deplores my kind. If I fail to comply, I will at best be destitute and at worst, decapitated. Still, it could be worse: fighting demons and parading around the continent does sound rather appealing.” [center][b]Traits & Equipment[/b][/center] [b]General Traits[/b] [list] [*][i]Slippery[/i]-[/*] - You are fully aware of what happens if that war hammer the size of a small child hits you square on the chin. You’ve decided to make it a priority to learn how to never let that happen, and while you’re still learning, you understand at least enough to jump back from a blow before it takes off your head. (Basics of dodging and evasion.) [b]--Dodge! (Rank 2)[/b]: As you've refined your instincts, your ability to avoid harm has also grown, and as such whenever an enemy swings at you, there's a solid chance you've already figured out not to be there by the time the swing would connect. (Dodging is quicker and no longer forces your character onto the defensive, and can occur even if your character is caught off guard.) [*][i]Charger[/i][/*]-Something a lot of people don’t seem to realize is that the more muscles you have, the faster you are. Sure, perhaps not dexterous, but certainly faster. While you have only begun to learn the true meaning of land speed and would still be caught and killed by a tiger, you are capable of a short distance charge that can knock opponents down and catch the unwary by surprise. (Basics of dashing quickly and charging into opponents.) [*][i]Rapid Blows[/i][/*]- Sometimes, it’s just better to hit something several times in quick succession, instead of trying to hit something really, really hard, and you understand this. Though you aren’t too good at hitting specifically vital points with it yet, or keeping it up for very long. (Basics of attacking rapidly in an effective manner.) [*][i]Sharp[/i][/*]- You’ve started to notice how certain people stand, and how others try to keep certain parts of themselves out of harm’s way, or try to cover up certain not-so-good looking pieces of armour. Given more time, you could manifest this into a real talent for assassinating even the most armoured of targets. (Basics of weakness-finding and lie detecting) [/List] [b]Unique Traits[/b] [Indent][u][i]Vampire, Diana’s Brood[/i][/u][/Indent]-Fearing the ravages of old age, Alicia sought out something most people deem a curse. She decided that she’d prefer to face eternity as a monstrous beauty, as opposed to being an aging hag who will die when she is useless. [i]Effect[/i]: High bonus to speed and charm, lower bonus to strength and a passive regeneration bonus. These effects are null if exposed to sunlight and any prolonged exposure can rapidly become lethal. Due to being a vampire, blood is required as sustenance, and without it, Alicia would wither away and die. [Indent][i][u]The Grand duellist-[b]Level 2[/b][/u][/i][/Indent] -While most of her adult life was spent wowing the nobles of Liveria’s court with fancy displays of showy swordsmanship, it proved a poor show for the fields of combat. Following her less than satisfactory efforts on the field, Alicia has rededicated herself to training, and has found and hammered out several flaws in her form: sharpening her skills as much as the tip of her blade. She maintains the skill developed in the court, she has simply expanded them. Effect: A bonus to Alicia’s offencive capabilities, especially her Slippery and Quick blows stats that is increased even further in one-on-one fights. [Indent][i][u]Vampire Socialite-[/u][/i][/indent] -Most of Alicia’s involvement in Liverian culture focuses around the aspect of courts, nobles and balls. Alicia may have spent more of her learning time in the training grounds, she was schooled and prepped for both leading her family silk empire and attending and entertaining nobles. These skills continue to serve her, although the Le’roux silk empire is the least of her issues. Effect: Alicia gains a bonus when it comes to converting NPCs to Contacts, and she can offer a limited number of contacts the chance to become Thralls. Contacts must be willing and Alicia can only maintain a limited number of Thralls at a time. [u]Achievements:[/u] --Purple Ribbon: You took a hit for Queen and Country, and have learned how to better handle pain. (Minor bonus to dealing with damage, less likely to fall into shock or succumb to injuries.) --Counter Strike: You've found that dueling is more effective when you use your dexterity to attack something after it has attempted to hit you. (Minor bonus to hit chance and armour penetration, if countering an attack with another attack.) [b]Equipment List[/b][list] [*]Several sets of courtly dresses[/*] [*]A set of ‘casual’ travel wear[/*] [*]A set of leather armour: a jerkin, leather trousers reinforced with iron plat sown into the fabric, a pair of leather studded gloves and a pair of boots.[/*] [*]Two rapiers, one made of cold steel and one made of Silver. Both polished and maintained to a sharp, deadly precision. [/*] [*]A parasol[/*] [*]A single unremarkable servant named Jacque. His function seems to be to maintain Alicia’s equipment when she is away and to make sure the sun never becomes a bother in his presence. [/*] [center][b]Personal Section[/b][/center] [b]Romance:[/b] As Alicia’s creator, I see no issue with the concept of sexing up my character. [b]Does the Kouri Plushie exist?:[/b] It simultaneously exists and doesn’t exist. [b]Signature:[/b] I, LimeyPanda, hereby give permission to have Alicia violently murdered should my stupidity warrant her execution or should Nuffle snuff out her life. Praise be to Nuffle, and his champions, the GMs. [/Hider] [Hider=Sarath] [center][b]Biographical Section[/b][/center] [Center][Img= http://i1066.photobucket.com/albums/u410/Limeyreptile/Yamaoswitchwithlessboobs.jpg][/Center] [b]Name:[/b] Sarath Gideon [b]Age:[/b] 28 [b]Race:[/b] Human [b]Sex:[/b] Female [b]Appearance:[/b] Outside of the armoured shell. Sarath is a dark skinned beauty that exemplifies the Amazonian people: strong in form and in beauty, she presents a physically attractive visage that has often left people wondering why she hides behind several inches of steel in battle. Her hair is an unkempt, ebony mess and she eyes of deep crimson. [url=http://fc09.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2012/334/a/4/bullhorne_knight_by_cheshireplaynwthfire-d5mosdi.jpg]In her armour[/url], Sarath is an imposing juggernaut of steel and fury. The armour is a finely crafted suit of armour that is atypical of amazon craft, presenting the visage of a featureless bull-horned female. The armour is pristine and unscarred, presenting obvious signs of great care having been taken in the maintenance and preservation of the suit of armour. Clearly, it means something of great importance to the woman. [b]Homeland:[/b] [i]The Amazons:[/i] Pending update. [b]History:[/b] Sarath was born the daughter of an Amazonian huntress and a male non-amazonian warrior. The fact that her father was a warrior already marked the Gideon family as unusual, but inside their home it was seen as the most normal and natural thing. Sarath didn’t care and her mother was deeply and passionately in love, so she didn’t care much either. Yet when Sarath was six years old, the nay-sayers of the Amazonians were proven somewhat right when her father seemingly vanished without a trace. It left the Gideon women devastated and saw Sarath’s mother sick for months due to sadness and loneliness. The communion of the Amazonian tribes was what kept the pair afloat in such troubled times, when other nations would have abandoned them. Sarath grew into a fine woman after that early tragedy in her life. Her mother recovered after nearly twelve months of sickness, and the two frequently went on hunts together and fought both alongside and against each other. The bond between mother and daughter proved insurmountable, despite the fact that Sarath was a painful reminder of the man who was gone. Upon her sixteenth birthday, after Sarath was officially recognised as an adult, her mother told Sarath the truth about her father: how the man left to resolve an issue that had plagued him since before husband and wife even met. Apparently a rival had dishonoured Sarath’s father and left him for dead on the outskirts of the Amazonian forest, where Sarath’s mother found him and nursed him back to health. Sarath’s father left because he was compelled to seek some sort of revenge on his rival, and never came back: which led Sarath’s mother to assume the worst and led to the illness that nearly killed her. After telling Sarath the tale of her father, Sarath’s mother also presented a present to her daughter: the armour that Sarath’s father had worn the day he was found. There was a huge gouge in the armour’s back, which made it nigh-unwearable, but still Sarath took the armour with pride. In secret, Sarath took the armour to the nearest blacksmith and asked her about having it fixed. The blacksmith told her it was impossible, but did inform her that she could re-forge it with enough time. Sarath agreed, and helped with the process of re-forging, which she hid from her mother by agreeing to work as the Blacksmith’s apprentice. She worked as the smith’s apprentice for a number of years, and rapidly developed as a craftsman. A number of times, the smith asked if she could convince Sarath to become a smith full time, but each time Sarath avoided the subject. She had other plans for herself, after all. As she developed as a smith, so too did the armour. It took shape and seemed to gain a personality as Sarath poured more of her time and her soul into the suit of armour. What was once a bland piece of steel work was layers of shaped and moulded steel with a visage and a purpose. It fit Sarath like a glove and after Ten years as a blacksmith’s apprentice, Sarath wore the armour proudly in front of her mother for the first time. She announced then to her mother her intentions to find her father and leave the Amazon tribe for a time. The mother was at first opposed to the idea, but eventually she decided on letting her daughter go about her desires, seemingly relenting to the offspring of the lost love. Sarath spoke about her conviction and how she seemed certain that her father was still alive somewhere, even if her instinct was without evidence or merit. So at the age of 26, Sarath left the Amazonians and began to roam around the world in search of her father. She had only a drawn picture and childhood memories to guide her, but she was sure that she would find him eventually. She wrote to her mother often, to make sure her mother knew that she remained safe. After two years of exploring the realms, having earned herself a reputation as a wanderer and a fighter, she first heard of the Queen’s Blades, and thought that her father might also flock to such noble intentions. With no other lead, she made her way to Renalta, [b]Motivation:[/b] Sarath is free-spirited and honest, but she is also deeply driven. She holds a dozen different desires in her head: and the one feature that each little driving motivation shares is that the world is not overrun by demons. The Queen’s Blades present an obvious way to keeping her ambitions alive, while also having a good chance of ticking the checklist of dreams. [center][b]Traits & Equipment[/b][/center] [u][b]General Traits[/b][/u] --[b]Heavy Hitter:[/b] Where some would resort to flailing their arms about in an unsophisticated manner, you’ve decided that if you can hit something hard enough the first time that it stays down, that you can end fights before they can even really begin. Though, you’re still working on that “consistent” part, and not slowing down when you swing harder than usual. In the case of a ranged weapon, it means a larger calibre firearm or larger bow, translating to greater recoil and/or slower fire rate instead. [i](Basics of doing more damage with each swing.)[/i] --[b]Defender:[/b] You could take more hits to the face and become an unrecognizable, horrible mutilated piece of scar tissue on one and a half legs... Or, you’ve mused, you could probably just stop that by holding a shield and your armour correctly. This lets you absorb harder blows with your shield and armour. [i](Basics of wielding shields and armour (especially heavy armour) effectively.)[/i] --[b]Endurance Training:[/b] After training out in the field for hours and hours on ending, you have come to realize the value of being able to simply last longer than your opponent. This translates into taking a couple more hits before you will go down, and having a higher tolerance to pain... Though, getting hit still hurts, quite a bit actually, and you’re no god. [i](Basics of taking more damage and resisting pain-related negative effects.)[/i] [b]Unique Traits[/b] --[b]Bloodletting:[/b] Sarath is most alive in the violent throngs of combat. As blood is spilled, be it hers, her allies or her enemies, she becomes revitalised and more powerful, to a limit. (Sarath gains a flat bonus to Heavy Hitter and Endurance for every bleeding wound within scent range. This bonus is doubled if the wound was inflicted by Sarath herself. The bonus caps after a while, as Sarath’s body would struggle under the strain after a time.) --[b]Blacksmith Apprentice:[/b] Sarath spent 10 years of her life in service to an Amazonian Blacksmith, as payment for reparations of her father's armour. The skills she developed in the time as an apprentice were many fold, and are transferable both in and out of combat. (Sarath has innate knowledge about the workings of armour and weapons, she also has knowledge of their structural weaknesses. She can apply this knowledge of weaknesses in combat, either to protect her own armour's weak spots or to make use of the weakspots of her enemies weapons/armour.) [b]Equipment List[/b] The [url=http://fc09.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2012/334/a/4/bullhorne_knight_by_cheshireplaynwthfire-d5mosdi.jpg]armour[/url] of her father An axe-headed polearm A round steel shield A short sword A backpack full of clothing and other such niceties A small pouch of coins that attaches to her belt A viper-fang necklace, given to her by her mother [center][b]Personal Section[/b][/center] [b]Romance:[/b] Bow-chika-bow-wow [b]Does the Kouri Plushie exist?:[/b] Sure, why not. [b]Signature:[/b] I, LimeyPanda, being of sound body and mind: hereby give permission for Sarath Gideon to be maimed, killed or abused by devils, man or beast be it my fault, my team mates fault or Vlad’s fault…stupid bloody camo…[/hider]