Identity

Full name: Sigurd Stoneheart

Name used: Sigurd (The dragon slayer in some rare cases)

Age: 32

Appearance:

The only notable deviation from the image being that his entire left arm and part of his shoulder is encased in stone.

Height: 6ft 4"

Weight: 98kg

Weapons

Steel Longsword, fairly average in terms of length and weight.

Scaled Shield, an ordinary iron rimmed wooden shield covered with the scaly hide of a dragon. The shield itself is nearly impervious to flame, and can ward off most forms of physical and magical attacks as it still withholds the magical qualities of the dragon. It is roughly 100 cm in diameter.

Throwing Axes: Sigurd carries two small steel tipped throwing axes attached to his belt on his right hip, which he can throw with impressive accuracy.

Armour: As well as his shield and stone arm he wears fur and leather boots, leather and iron leggings and iron plated leather armour. He has a steel pauldron on his right arm, his left fends for itself. He wears an odd full iron horned helm (unique to his homeland) which will hopefully prevent him getting his brains beaten out.

Physical Stats: Sigurd is, outside of his stone arm, fairly mortal, though impressive none-the-less. He has a near peak human physique, easily able to bench 200kg and sprint at up to 15mph for a sustained period. However, his body is still fallible to all the weaknesses of humanity. The Stone Curse in its infancy does provide him some small resistance to poisons and other debilitations beyond that of an ordinary human, but not significantly.

Abilities: Trained from a young age in the arts of war, he uses a perfected Viking style of combat, in which he utilizes his sword and shield in equal measure in both offensive and defensive styles. Basically, he catches the opponent’s weapon on either his shield or sword, depending on the angle of the strike, and lashes out with his free weapon. Either one can cause incredibly damage. If his shield is lost in combat his stone arm can be used in much the same way, the only disadvantage being that he loses the larger surface area of his shield, and projectiles can target his head or unprotected right side. The advantage is with some luck he could grab the opponent’s weapon and snap it in half.

The Stone Curse: Sigurd’s left arm is made of marble, to put things simply. However, the arm has a few magical qualities which account for his prowess.

It does not encumber him in the slightest, which means he can throw the arm around with all its strength at no disadvantage.

It has no issue with lactic acid build up, and is near impervious to conventional forms of damage. The marble itself is incredibly thick, making up the entire arm, and has been shown to slowly repair itself if scratched or cracked.

It dulls the effect of magic which targets Sigurd or the arm itself. In theory, he could reach into the void and effect otherwise intangible opponents such as ghosts with his left arm.

It can apply massive amounts of force; his left arm is roughly three times the strength of his right, allowing it to roughly curl 240kg.

Sigurd's Story (So Far): Sigurd was born in the far north of his homeland, dragons scoured the earth and his people could do nothing. He grew to impressive fame after his fabled slaying of a dragon, the first to do so. The act in which he killed the beast was also notable, he apparently dealt a paralysing blow with his left arm, and chopped straight through the creatures skull with a long sword. The tales were not believed, until his first public appearance revealed a startling and controversial trait, his left arm and shoulder were encased in stone. Living stone which did not hinder him in the slightest, yet allowed him to place ridiculous force into his blows, and remain unscathed in the process.

His fame grew as he slew a number of dragons on his travels, though he grew listless and weary of trekking through the north. In an encounter that by all accounts should have been his last he was thrown into the dimension of the Liason's tournament, the Way of the Warrior, where he was forced into combat with a number of dangerous individuals. Despite being obviously outclassed the warrior known as Sigurd performed well, before coming unstuck against an undead opponent with power beyond anything he had ever seen. When all his attacks failed him he was stabbed from behind and suffered a mortal blow, forcing him to leave the tournament in second place, his prize being his life.

After returning to his homeland with the knowledge of his tournament victories and losses he encountered a small dragon that embarrassingly forced him to flee battle for the first time, and after doing so resolved to pick up throwing axes and practice with them for any future encounters of the sort. Since then Sigurd has mostly wandered, the few remaining dragons in his homeland managing to evade his pursuit and cause untold devastation.

IOLANTHE ADASTREIA
The Shining Hoplite

Background: Iolanthe's upbringing was a simple one, she was born in Athens, to a silk weaver of a mother, and a father who was an archer in the city state's army. War was commonplace in Greece, and engulfed much of the young girl's life. Even though Greece was solidified as a country before Iolanthe's time, frequent disputes between Athens, and its neighboring city states, such as Sparta, and Corinth, hardened the girl's outlook on life. At age nine, she lost her father, who died in battle during the Achaean-Roman wars, which ultimately resulted in a loss for Greece. During this time, Iolanthe was young, but she was much unlike the girls her age, many of which sought after boys, or tried their hands in the trades; perhaps it was because her father was Spartan, the desire to do battle ran deep in her blood, and vengeance was lustfully sought after. Young Iolanthe played stick fighting with the boys, and came home with many a bruise at the end of each day. Deeper in to the war, at age ten, Iolanthe realized she had a power unlike any other, the ability to see things that nobody else could, with a precision to mock the gods, she was blessed, and joined the Greek army as a scout. Iolanthe's teen years involved practicing swordplay with the local militia, who adored her spunk, and manning the country's beacon outposts, where she could properly utilize her vision.

Perhaps if Iolanthe was older, she might have been better able to help her country fend off the Romans. Word reached Athens of Corinth's fall, only years after the unity of Greek city states. She wanted to join in the army's march, but was not allowed, luckily, for they were defeated in battle. When the superpower that was Rome finally pushed onwards to Athens, there little the city could do. Iolanthe's teenage years were spent during Rome's domination of Greece.

At age twenty, Iolanthe's vengeful mind was mostly quelled, for life with the Romans wasn't so bad, love for the gods was shared across the empire, and there was little more than a language gap. Eventually, Iolanthe went on to become a priestess to the stars, assuming a religious life might quell her inner rage. She observed the stars, and marked many points on astrological charts, but years passed by in boredom, and she eventually fell in with old allies that fled the Corinthian war. The complete annihilation of Corinth caused enough backlash to give reason to the Greeks, to create a secret rebellion, of which Iolanthe joined, and fought back against the Romans.

During Iolanthe's third battle against the romans, she was met by a powerful adversary on the battlefield. She proved herself invaluable in battle, many a legionnaire flinched before her skill with the spear and aspis, however the Romans had a secret weapon, a man with a magic voice, who invoked this power upon the hoplites of Rome. Using his voice, he cursed and brainwashed the Greeks to serve Rome, and Iolanthe became the man's prize and joy. She was directly integrated in to the royal Legion, and her meddle was tested against the many artifacts seized by Rome - that is when they discovered the truth, she was Hyperion's champion.

Personality: Honour and virtue above all other things, Iolanthe's pride and pursuit of glory often compel and motivate her actions. In battle, she is tempered, but extremely analytic, her eyes of course being blessed by the divines. With ease, she can determine the motives of an individual simply by observing their physical gestures, making her seem very wise. Quick thinking has saved this hoplite more often than anything else, she is intelligent enough to convince hardened warriors of her usefulness, even in an age dominated by men.

Appearance:
Beneath her helmet, Iolanthe is a beautiful woman, with rosy cheeks & lips, her eyes are a dark brown, just slightly darker than her long chestnut coloured hair. Her complexion is often marred by dirt, sweat, or bruises from battle, and her thin nose tilts slightly to her left. Standing upright, without shoes, Iolanthe is five feet, and ten inches tall. She is musclebound, with very large thighs and calves, and oddly squarish shoulders. She has smaller than average sized breasts, and a wide hip ratio.

Equipment:
↳ Hyperion: The legendary sword-lance, named after a titan god who fathered the sun, moon, and dawn; its blade is six feet long, its handle two, with a bladed hilt on the back end. This weapon's shape and form changes depending on the time of day, and it is otherwise the most indestructible item in Iolanthe's armour. When the sun is high, the lance glows a bright gold, harmful to the naked eye if stared at for too long, in this state, the lance's blade becomes superheated, allowing it to melt through metals given enough time and force. Unlike most lances, Hyperion's spearhead is flat, and sharpened to act as both a slashing and piercing weapon. When the cowl of night looms overhead, Hyperion's Selenic form awakens, and it loses its glow, turning ice cold and invisible. At dawn, or dusk is when Hyperion is most deadly in battle, in its Eon form, the spear becomes ethereal; at dawn, it glows brightly, and burns whatever it passes through, at dusk, the reverse effect, anything struck by the incorporeal blade will be frozen.

↳ Aspis & Hoplon: Iolanthe sports two shields at all times, and incorporates them in a very defensive fighting style. The first, an Aspis of two feet in diameter is attached to her right shoulder, with room bored out of the top side so that it does not interfere with her head-space. The second shield, a larger three-foot hoplon, is often brandished on her left forearm, and attached tightly so that it does not fall off in battle - her hand is mostly free, however still hidden behind the shield, she has practice in wielding her gladius behind the shield's dome. Both shields are made of steel, and gilded with bronze, the larger of the two weighs about fifteen pounds, whilst the pouldron is just over half of that.

↳ Gladius: Two short swords are equipped to Iolanthe's hip, one on each side. The swords are made of steel.

↳ Panoply: A full set of armour, comprising of both Greek and Roman crafts. A signature muscle cuirass, uniquely crafted for her, allowing room for her breasts, unlike most Greek armours which are made for men. A Legionnaire's helmet, signifying her service to the Roman legion. Bracers equipped to both her wrists, and shins. A metal plated skirt protects much of her legs and waist. Iolanthe wears no smaller pauldrons, nor any plates for her joints, so her movements aren't that hindered.

↳ Cloak: A crimson red cloak is fastened to rings attached to the back plating of Iolanthe's armour. Fully aware that getting clothing stuck in battle can become a fatal mistake, the cloak is detachable if tugged on hard enough, or she may unhinge the rings with the hilt of her spear.

Abilities:
↳ Hyperion's Blessing: Like most Greek gods, Hyperion has a favored champion, Iolanthe, his blessing upon her is the power to brandish his legendary spear without being burnt or frozen.

↳ First Principle: Iolanthe's eyes were blessed at birth, and throughout her life, she realized her true power was not a martial art, nor in the trades or crafts, but a scholarly prowess. Her observational skills are beyond human, proven so during her city state's war against Rome, where Iolanthe was able to spot the Roman army on the horizon, and calculate exactly how many men marched, as well as exactly what kind of weapons and siege engines they brought to the battlefield. Her visual prowess goes even beyond distance, fog, smoke, and darkness only vaguely disrupt her line of sight, she is capable of staring at the sun without burning her eyes, and her mind is exceptionally quick to react to anything she perceives as an immediate threat.

↳ Physicality: Unlike many other champions, Iolanthe lacks the upper body strength to push boulders, or wrestle minotaurs, however she does have her qualities. Her thigh and calve muscles are immense, and she is fully capable of enduring powerful impact attacks, if she blocks them with her shield, and channels the kinetic energy through her legs. It is difficult for even the strongest of champions to break Iolanthe's brace, due to the sheer power of her lower body. Her dashing speed is formidable, however the weight of her armour is cumbersome, she is well known for her short dashes, which add tremendous force to lance thrusts.