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[b]Eric Wormwood[/b]
[indent]Eric is an uppity fellow, one of those scholarly types that you see in libraries buried in a book all day. He's prim, proper, intelligent and tidy to a fault, yet he's also quite sociable, if not blunt and impersonal at times. Through his time spent in Oakridge, he picked up many things, one of which is how much the job of being a Guardian entails having the utmost focus and dedication to the craft. As such, his time spent training has honed his focus and willpower solely into being one of the best Guardians ever to be seen, even though this has yet to be proved.

Of course, being fully Elysium-born and bred has had its disadvantages. Not understanding the suffering of those born on Libra, Eric is aloof towards their problems or habits, and as such treats usual displays of their personal habits or traditions as shows of being uncouth or rough-and-tumble. Yet, through all this, the years he's spent next to Libra-born has given them a soft spot in his heart, and though he still does not fully understand them, he tries his best to accommodate them. As such, as much as he is a little blunt or aloof, he knows this and always tries to not be so.
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[b]Appearance[/b]
[indent]Eric stands 6' tall and weights roughly 150 pounds, so he's not exactly a heavyweight. With a head of scruffy brown hair and green eyes behind his brown-framed spectacles, he isn't a looker either. The way he dresses is sharp and distinct, having a penchant of wearing, at the very least, a waistcoat and tie over a shirt and slacks and dress shoes, if he's not wearing a suit jacket or a coat over that. Occasionally he gives in to his more radical urges and wears sleek leather fingerless gloves alongside his sharp ensemble, or switches out the dress shoes for more comfortable sneakers.[/indent]

[b]Weapon - Fayth[/b]
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[indent]- His weapon is a high powered railgun in a casing in the shape of a lean, thin cross. One side bar is the grip and magazine housing; the other, a collection of various zoom lenses and sights. The rifle barrel itself is the long end of the cross and the other end at the top of it is the shoulder butt. The special thing about the gun is that it's also modular: almost every part on it is able to be moved or shifted around in some manner. When he's not using it as a weapon, he regularly uses Faith as a cane, not like he has a limp or anything, but it looks fancy.

-- Battle Configuration: Fayth's standard and default combat form, it is simply a battle rifle. Ten round magazine. 

-- Marksman Configuration: Eric releases the foregrip from its housing within the charging handle on the bottom of the long end of the cross, unclamping it and popping it open into a bipod, after which he unclips the top bar and fits it horizontally onto the top of the long end, slotting it into place where it becomes the zoom scope. The ammunition he uses stays the same, except the rifle's power is amplified for this configuration. Used in conjunction with his spirit Shock.

-- Armour-Piercing Configuration: Eric pushes the charging grip forward and clamps it into place, starting the transformation of the barrel. It lengthens, pushing out a section of the front casing to form an expanded gas release and heat sink, while the barrel itself also widens to accommodate a larger, mass-reactive round that he loads. Used in conjunction with his spirit Awe.

-- Bludgeon Configuration: For close quarters combat, Eric switches his grip from the normal pistol grip to the butt, which lengths and sheds the outer white casing aside to reveal a proper sword handle. The pistol grip and sight bar click back several degrees to form a regular-looking hilt guard and the barrel assembly lengthens. It's not a gunblade, but it's an effective bludgeoning tool to use alongside his spirits.[/indent]

[b]Biography[/b]
[indent]Born on Elysium to a pair of scholarly parents, Eric picked up the same interest in books and learning from a very young age, one that followed him into his early youth. However, because he was so impersonal and buried in his books all the time, his folks decided to send him to Oakridge in the hopes that the exposure to people of many different races and nationalities would open up the boy from his pursuit of knowledge, which it did, very slowly. His quest for knowledge and inherent curiosity led him to investigate and learn more about his friends that were born on Libra, like Selene. She was his first real friend in the Academy, and for that he was very grateful. Though he has yet to overcome the hurdles that being Elysium-born present, like being unable to understand the hard times those on Libra went through in life, he still maintains his friendship with her and those others within their squad.

What he was never told about his parents though, specifically his mother, was that she was a weapon designer that worked in the U.D.F. Through a little executive meddling, she was able to give him Fayth as his eighteenth birthday present. Her most experimental creation, Fayth was a handheld, multi-function railgun that surpassed any handheld battle rifle that the UDF possessed, yet it was still experimental so there were bound to be bugs with the magnetic rails that sat within the hard, non-magnetic densplast housing, bugs that, well, bugged Eric through the latter three years of his time in the Academy, time spent ironing out said bugs and earning more than a few black eyes and bruises during his time practicing with it. Eventually he gained a sort of expertise in her use, and although he still has a few more kinks to iron out, Fayth has rapidly become Eric's best piece of equipment in the Academy. Of course, with his mother's help, she was also able to help provide his squadmates and best friends with the unique weapons and equipment they have as well.

Now that they're Guardians and bound together in a squad, Eric keeps his friends close by, quite protective of them as he should be, even though he's not the squad leader. He excels the most in single-target focus and takedowns with his rifle, the spirits within him aiding him in this.[/indent]

[b]Spirits[/b]
[indent][b]Flash Freeze[/b]
[u]Element:[/u] Water
[u]Ability:[/u] Swiftness
[u]Status Effects:[/u] [color=red]Slow[/color]
[u]Description:[/u] Flash Freeze is an Ice spirit that imbues Eric's bullets with the ability to instantly freeze the target it hits. This ability affects all the rounds in Eric's current magazine and does not transfer over to new magazines. When Faith is in Bludgeon mode, the ability transfers to her blade instead, giving him the ability to freeze anything he whacks. The spirit, which he has taken to naming Frost, usually manifests as a spectral feral wolf that appears from within him and follows him around. Flash Freeze represents his patience, intelligence and smarts.

[b]Armour-Piercing Configuration/Shock[/b]
[u]Element:[/u] Air
[u]Ability:[/u] Shroud
[u]Status Effects:[/u] [color=00aeef]Might[/color]
[u]Description:[/u] Shock is a Lightning spirit that imbues Eric's bullets with harder impact force and penetrating strength, way harder than a regular railgun can hit. This ability only affects the currently loaded magazine and nothing else. When Faith is in Bludgeon, the ability is instead translated to an electrified weapon. The spirit normally manifests as a faint electrical field that sparks and arcs around his arms and hands, though occasionally it shows itself as a fuzzy elderly humanoid being made of electricity. Shock represents his more impulsive side, the former half of ingenuity under stress.

[b]Marksman Configuration/Awe[/b]
[u]Element:[/u] Holy
[u]Ability:[/u] Vigilance
[u]Status Effects:[/u] [color=red]Weakness[/color]
[u]Description:[/u] Awe is a Holy spirit that weakens a single enemy target and makes it highly susceptible to physical damage. It changes one magazine's worth of regular rounds into devastating mass-reactive explosive shells. In Bludgeon mode, this ability instead is cast as a single slashing attack that is able to cut the target despite Faith being blunt. The spirit manifests itself typically as a pair of wings on his arms, although he also has seen it as a winged angel every now and again. Awe represents the desire to help by hurting, of protection through harm and safety through slaughter, his desire to help as much as he can.

[b]Bring the Noise[/b]
[u]Element:[/u] Air
[u]Ability:[/u] Provoke
[u]Status Effects:[/u] [color=red]Dispel[/color]
[u]Description:[/u] Bring the Noise is an Air spirit that taunts and provokes a single enemy target to attack Eric, and at the same time it dispels every buff or debuff cast on it, making it an ideal ability to set up a takedown. This spirit likes to manifest itself as an array of small speakers on his chest and sleeves that amplify his voice, though occasionally it does like to also manifest as a goofy-looking clown that Eric has taken to naming as Jester. Bring the Noise represents part of his opportunism borne in combat, the latter half of ingenuity under stress.

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[b]Relations[/b]
[u]Selene Palamecia[/u]
[hider=Best Friend, Confidant and trusted Comrade-in-Arms][indent]Eric has nothing but the utmost respect for Selene; being the first ever Libra-born person he ever talked to, she essentially was the one that opened his mind to the wide, wide world. It began when they were a lot younger, when Eric saw her struggling on academic subjects during the more boring classes in the academy. Fighting past her insistence that she didn't need any help, he helped her out where he could, and in return she helped him out of his shell by talking to him on a regular basis, slowly breaking down the anti-social walls that surrounded the boy. Back then, it didn't seem like much, but when he looks back on it, he has many reasons to be grateful for her help.

The constant get-togethers with the rest of their little gang helped him to grow as a person, and thus his interest in the more sociable, more human citizens of Libra grew. He especially spent several times alone with her when she grew homesick, along the lines of "hey, well, I'm here, if you wanna talk about it". Nothing too close, but where no one else would keep her company, he at least gave her someone to confide in. He, in fact, appreciated the time she spent to organise each and every gathering and meet, even though he hasn't said it to her face just yet.

The dynamic between these two is one of unspoken trust. During the heat of (simulated) battle, Eric regularly supplements Selene's guerilla tactics with fire support; raining down bullets (and trying his best not to hit her) and provocation to distract the enemies from their greatest threat: her gunblade. In return, of course, she prevents anything from reaching him at his usual spot at the back of the fray even though, should anything come to that, he is more than capable of fending for himself with Fayth.

They still bicker and argue sometimes, almost like a married couple would, but there is no doubt that Eric does trust Selene with his life and vice versa. He still struggles to fully understand what goes on in her head, but to say that these two are not best friends and true comrades is a white-faced lie.[/indent][/hider]

[u]Aurelia Rosenfield[/u]
[hider=Childhood Friend and Playmate, Trusted Companion, Grateful for her help][indent]Eric has known Aurelia ever since they were children. When his mother began work at Rosenfield Munitions, he had seen the young Aurelia around several times when he'd followed mum to work. Then, at a company-sponsored function, he'd met her for real and made fast friends with her. Their friendship followed them through their enrollment into Oakridge, where he soon discovered her more angry and zealous side in her outbursts and social floundering. Not intent to let their friendship sour because of that, he continued to stick by her while, through the years and the classes, the rest of their ragtag bunch of misfits slowly grew together as friends.

In fact, it was Aurelia that had first encountered a struggling Eric in the throes of his first Spirit possession: freezing cold, badly shivering and in dire need of heat, she'd saved him from being almost killed by the brooding, intelligent Ice spirit he later called Frost. He is slightly indebted to her as a result, of course, and never fails to help her if she does need help. He even has a pet name for her: 'Aurey', just a shortened version of her first name. He's the only one that she allows the use of that name, no one else.

During battle, the two work very, very well in tandem. If he isn't supporting Selene, he's doing the same with Aurelia; drawing enemy attention to himself to let her get the advantage in positioning so she can blow them away with fire or what have you. Where Selene has a gunblade though, Eric knows that Aurelia's spear is a little more unwieldy and opens her up to attacks from her blind spots, so he takes it upon himself to be closer to the action than normal, either supplementing her attacks with gunfire or melee fighting in tandem with he, the sight of which is something else entirely.[/indent][/hider]

[u]Wren Valkyrie[/u]
[hider=Blue to her Red, Advisor, Childhood Friend][indent]Having known Wren ever since they enrolled and even before that, just like Aurelia, Wren and Eric are pretty much best buddies, and the trio of childhood friends have gone through thick and thin together. Getting used to her temper and her hot-headed nature took quite some doing, but Eric did manage it after several years, even slowly matching fire with his cool-headed demeanor. He also owes his current state of person partly to her, as without her constant peppy nature that regularly got them into trouble or elicited laughs made him open up more to the group as a whole.

With their differing personalities, it's no wonder that Wren and Aurelia argue and bicker often. And it's also no wonder that Eric steps in the resolve these arguments without a cat fight or the two young ladies breaking their friendship. In a way, he is the glue that holds these two wildly different personalities together.

In battle, Wren and Eric share the same dynamic as do Aurelia and Selene; she charges in to deal damage while he supports from afar. What makes them unique is the certain synergy their spirits share: Shock is regularly paired with Electric Frenzy to create a dastardly, wicked and very strong one-two punch of electricity that oftens sends enemies flying, or worse. She also regularly uses Clap of Thunder to help him line up those perfect shots on targets she's engaging.[/indent][/hider]

[u]Ito Ishioka[/u]
[hider=Friendly Rival, Vitriolic Buddy, Trusted Friend and well-respected Comrade-in-Arms][indent]The rivalry between Ito and Eric was evident from the very first day they met. The two boys argued about almost everything and agreed on next to nothing, but it was the fire of this rivalry that set the foundation of their friendship. For if it were not for Ito, Eric would not be the excellent shot he is today, since is nowhere near as good as Ito in terms of marksmanship. He, in return, helped Ito a little to bring him out of his shell, mostly by just engaging in idle chatter with him.

Eric knew that Ito would be the loner of their group, but that hasn't stopped him from trying to be better friends with him. The rivalry is only one part of their vitriolic friendship, the other being the simple fact that they almost share the same combat role of the long-range support. As such, the two are often competing against each other in tests of accuracy, though these are always friendly duels, never anything too serious.

In combat, their dynamic is one of absolute trust in the other's abilities and is a complete reversal of his usual combat dynamic. Where he normally supports melee-oriented fighters like Selene or Wren with his railgun, he is the one being supported by Ito when it comes to absolute long-range superiority. Eric will readily admit that Ito's sniper rifle is a far better firearm than his own, and knowing that such a competent and accurate marksman wields such a precision instrument of death keeps him at ease in his role nearer the front line.[/indent][/hider]

[u]Cassandra Jurico[/u]
[hider=Study Buddy, Blue to her Red, Respected Comrade and Weaponsmithing Buddy][indent]Like Wren, Eric is usually the one that keeps Cass calm when she's about to explode or do something stupid, which she's regularly prone to doing. Often, when she gets injured doing another one of her crazy 'live life to the fullest' stunts, he usually just so happens to be nearby when she inevitably gets injured or screws up. Thankfully he's decent enough not to pour sarcasm onto open wounds, instead merely keeping quiet to help her back on her feet. And, just like Wren, he also owes her a fair bit in helping him to not be an anti-social jerk.

Also, Cass is also usually the one that drags him off when she's gonna go do something stupid, mainly because he's also usually the only one who sticks around not to watch her fail, but because he's concerned for her wellbeing. What would happen if she suddenly got mortally wounded doing something silly and no one was around to help her? Eric simply cannot banish the thought.

With her penchant in weaponsmithing and general proficiency in weapon maintainence and modification, Eric regularly goes to her for help if Fayth's having a technical hiccup, or if he needs advice on a certain modification or on how to better keep his weapon in tip top shape. He doesn't share her considerable enthusiasm in the art of making weapons, unlike his mother, but he still has the interest.

In battle, Cassie's spirits in conjunction with his are an extremely deadly combination. Shock combined with Push equals an extremely fast and deadly projectile, and if Push is combined with Shock and Awe, more often than not instead of his explosive shell deonating within his target, it explodes in a shotgun blast after it's punched through said target, hurting anything behind it. Collateral damage at its finest.[/indent][/hider]

[u]Trivia[/u][list]
[*] Eric has a penchant for dressing in suits and ties, no matter the occasion. Some call him a stuck-up, snobby person. He prefers calling himself classy. He even has a set of formal dress for combat, can you believe this guy?!
[*] Eric's very bookish, and spends a fair bunch of his time reading, if not socialising.
[*] He has a very weird taste in music that doesn't suit his image. You'd wouldn't expect such a prim and proper person to enjoy metal, would you? In fact he says that the genre helps him think.
[*] Eric loves a vanilla milkshake any time of day. No questions asked.
[*] People also ask if his spectacles are for show and for style. He legitimately has  a vision problem; not a serious one, but his vision is reduced to slightly blurry shapes when he takes them off.
[*] He prefers to roll out of bed on the left side rather than the right.
[*] Eric has had a lifelong dream to visit Libra to better comprehend and understand what people like Selene and Ito have had to live through on the planet as compared to the richer, well-off people like himself, Wren and Aurelia.
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