Zacharias Lightninblade's CS

**Name:** Zacharias Lightningblade

**Description:** Zacharias is a man in his mid twenties. He is quite tall, with a slim, yet muscular build, often hidden under leather armour and a white robe with black trim he wears when not on duty. The right side of his face is heavily scarred, and an intricately carved sphere made out of bronze rests where his eye would be. His healthy eye’s colour is a penetrating green. He has a sword, which is kept inside an electric blue holster tied to his armour.

**Backstory:** Zacharias is the son of Arthur Lightningblade, a well-respected independent mercenary, just like his father, and his father’s father, and his father’s father’s father. During his childhood, Zacharias was trained into the ways of the family. He learned how to wield a sword, how to properly haggle prices, and how to decide whether or not to accept any sort of non-standard payment. The day he came of age, he was gifted a sword, with his family’s Totem incrusted in the pommel. However, that very same day, he ran away from his home.

For Zacharias did not like, did not want, the life of a free-roaming mercenary. Sure, the swordfights were exciting, and he couldn’t deny that the pay, if you were skilled, or your surname known, was good. But he hated the way his father would disappear for months, roaming around the land, not knowing what would be his next job, or even if he would find one. He hated that every time his father returned he had a new scar, a new mutilation. But most of all, he left because he was curious. Zacharias had always wondered about the Totems, how and why they worked. He had heard of a contingent, in a nearby city, dedicated to studying the Totems, and so he headed there.

The scholars were... reticent to accept him. He was part of a family of mercenaries, and because of this, they thought of him as too uncivilized to properly take part of scientific investigation at best, and a brainless brute who was only useful to hold a sword and point it in the direction money told it to at worst. However, he quickly proved them wrong when he began his work. He caught up to his partners at an outstanding speed, and while he didn’t manage to achieve any important breakthroughs, neither did anyone else. However, he asked many important questions, many of which no one else had thought of asking.

One day, however, the warning horns were sound. Barbarians had invaded. Zacharias was one of the few scholars who had gathered to defend the building where they had been living for years. He stared at the oncoming horde, drew his blade, and attacked. However, they were a failure. The laboratory fell into the hands of the barbarians, who destroyed it all. However, he did not give up. He continued to fight, his sword against those of hundreds, if not thousands. When the White Guard arrived, he was almost completely exhausted, his back against a wall, the barbaric forces attacking nonstop. He was rescued, and offered a position in the Guard. At first he refused it, explaining his experience with mercenary life. However, after being explained the difference between his father’s life and what they were offering, namely the fact of having a long-lasting contract, and being promised he would be allowed to continue his research work, he agreed. He has served in the White Guard for four years now.

**Goals/Fears:** One of Zacharias’ greatest goals is to discover the true nature of Totems. Some of his more minor goals are the eradication of barbarians and, of course, surviving whatever mission he is currently in. His greatest fear is to die alone while on duty, having simply left one die, never to come back.

**Mastery:** Zacharias is extremely skilled when wielding a sword. He would also consider himself a scientist and, while he is a bit rusty, he definitely knows how to haggle prices.

**Equipment:** Zacharias tends to wear leather armour while on duty, disliking heavier apparel, since his fighting style relies on, as he says, “fast defence and even faster offence.” The only weapon he wields is his family sword. Aside from combat equipment, he tends to carry a bottle of ink, a quill, and two notebooks: one containing his ongoing research on Totems, and one in which he keeps track of expenses.

**Personality:** Zacharias is curious by nature. He loves to learn everything about how things work. Show him a bit of information, and he will attempt to pull and pull until he knows all you can tell him. He has a particular fondness for Totems, and as such, he will continually ask anyone who has one whether he can take a closer look, seemingly not caring about the owner’s opinion on the matter. Since very young, he was taught to be very wary about money, and as such, he has grown to be quite stingy. Finally, Zacharias loves to fight, and when in a duel he can easily lose track of everything else. However, if you ask him about it at any other time, he will completely deny it.

**Totems:**

**The Lightningblade:** Zacharias’ surname doesn’t come from the name of a sword, as one would expect. Instead, it belongs to a Totem, usually crafted with a ruby, which is incrusted into the pommel of a sword. The Totem itself looks like a normal cut ruby when incrusted, however, if it is removed, a spiral can be seen stretching under the ruby-shaped top. A Lightningblade incrusted sword is given to every member of the family in their coming of age. Its effects are simple: Anyone who wields the sword in which the Totem is incrusted will become lighter, allowing him to move faster, but becoming less resistant to attacks. The wielding arm, in particular, will move at an astounding speed, almost faster than humanly possible, as it becomes incredibly light. The downside to this is that anyone not used to the weapon will most likely use too much strength, throwing himself off balance or even causing injury to himself.

**The Totemic Eye:** Once, in the Totem laboratory, Zacharias was working with a pair of extremely volatile Totems. A young scholar, probably very new, barged into the room he was in, and accidentally pushed him. Zacharias, who was leaning very closely in order to observe one of the Totems, lost balance and fell face first into it. The Totem burned most of the right side of his face, and caused him to lose his eye. Since that day, he began to develop a very intricate Totem to replace his lost eye, based on two of the Lab’s commonplace Totems. While he was a scholar, he didn’t have the resources to attempt to carve it, so he limited himself to designing it. It would be a spherical Totem, carved with intricate, extremely small designs, which would glow light blue whenever the eye was "open". After joining the Guard, however, he could finally spare enough money to make it, and surprisingly, it worked... To some extent. The Totemic Eye allows Zacharias to see as though he had a right eye. Most of the time, the eye can only see in shades of gray. However, for some reason, the Eye can see Totems in full colour, and will even show a small tinge of colour if a Totem is behind a thin opaque layer, such as cloth or leather.

Did anyone ask for a >1000 words long CS? XP. I'm sorry, I got kinda... Carried away... With the backstory there...