[hider=DANTE]
[center][img]http://i.imgur.com/uqT2BQe.png[/img][/center]

[b]Name:[/b] Lucian Dante

[b]Alias:[/b] The Angel

[b]Race:[/b] Vampire

[b]Sex:[/b] Male

[b]Class:[/b] Paladin

[b]Equipment:[/b] Death Mask of Saint Belarius: A golden mask, sculpted artfully to display the serene expression of one of the founders of Dante's paladin order. He wears the mask in combination with his paladin's robes to shield himself from the sun.

Glaive Encarmine: Dante's sidearm, a heavy sword that a normal man would need two hands to even pick up. It is inscribed with Dante's personal heraldry, and is constructed specially to withstand Dante's strength. Its crimson blade is of special construction, and cuts through steel as easily as flesh.

[b]Abilities:[/b] Ancient even among vampires, Dante has centuries of experience in battle. As such, he is a warrior that can be matched by only a rare few, and true to his fame, he has never been defeated in personal combat.

Given that he is an immortal vampire, he is imbued with superhuman strength, and vitality, and his life cannot be claimed by age or disease.

As a veteran of hundreds of military campaigns, Dante is a master strategist. Frequently given command of the Empire's entire military forces, he is as adept in planning warfare as he is in personally fighting in it.

Lastly, Dante is a renowned practitioner of holy magic, considered a master of the school by many. He combines the standard practices of divine magic with the inborn power of his vampiric blood to create an entirely unique magical style. This fusion of light and darkness gives him the strength he needs to smite his foes, as well as support his allies. His magic can be used to give himself arcane wings upon which he may take flight, shields to protect himself or his allies, scourge his enemies with blasts of holy white fire, or blast them apart with lances of divine lightning.

[b]Fighting Style:[/b] Dante is a force to be reckoned with on the battlefield. His great size and vampiric strength are both used to his advantage, giving him the momentum of a locomotive as he charges his foes. Though his power is tremendous, he is far from unskilled, and can expertly strike the weak points of his foes with overwhelming force. To give himself the edge over a physically stronger or more numerous enemy, he wields divine magic to imbue himself with flight, protect himself, empower his comrades, or attack his foes at a range.

[b]Personality:[/b] By most standards, Dante is a reserved and withdrawn fellow. He speaks little, though when he does so, his words are utterly profound. Personal glory matters little to the Angel, as he has been honored enough for several lifetimes over his many years. Quiet professionalism and dignity surround him, but he is not standoffish. Though to many he is a legendary and unapproachable figure, he cares strongly for those under his command, and is a calm and patient listener. Humility and composure are his hallmark traits, as his many years have brought him great wisdom and inner strength.

However, one should not mistake his reserved nature for submissiveness. Dante holds his honor and his values strongly and uncompromisingly, and woe befall those who threaten his faith, his king, or his country. He is not afraid to speak out against convention or authority when he knows he must. Though his vampiric nature is vicious and bestial, Dante keeps his darkest urges well-contained. Even in the heat of battle, Dante's fury is cold and tranquil; viciously rending his foes without undue malice or enjoyment. That is not to say that his inhuman instincts are easily ignored, as they press against his mind at all hours, and it is his supreme willpower that allows him to retain control.


[b]Bio:[/b] Born a vampire, an unnatural and unholy creature that must feed on the lifeblood of the living to survive, Dante has been tormented since birth by his violent, bestial instincts. In his youth, he looked up to such heroic figures as the mighty soldiers of Aquilonia, his native province of the Eternal Empire. Disguising his true nature, he joined the Legion, hoping that its discipline would help him control his baser urges. This worked to a point, until a fateful battle against a demonic horde that nearly wiped out his entire regiment, leaving him the sole survivor. So embittered and enraged, he lost control to his blood-rage, and slaughtered what remained of the enemy host single-handedly. Though this feat promoted him to Commander in the Legion, he saw that he needed a better solution to keeping his darker nature under control.

He turned to faith, taking up the vows of the paladin and training in holy magic. Though his nature as an inherently evil creature corrupted his magic at first, he learned to adapt his divine magic to better accommodate his inhuman blood, and thus came away from it with a unique and powerful style. For hundreds of years Dante fought for the Empire, studying and training under many heroes and scholars, and earning countless honors and accolades. The Empire eventually learned of his vampirism, but so great was his service that he was awarded status as an honorary human. So grateful was he to the Empire for essentially granting him status equal to normal men, that he dedicated the rest of his life to them as a Lord-Commander, the highest rank attainable in the Empire's military.

[b]Wish:[/b] Dante wishes to rid himself of his vampiric urges once and for all. Though over the centuries he has sustained himself by feeding on those condemned to death by the Empire's courts, the Beast of his immoral hunger presses at his mind constantly. So that he may become a perfect paragon of service to the Empire and to the Gods, he seeks after the same cure that had only been found by one vampire in history: the legendary Blood Dragon of eons past.

[b]Echo:[/b] The Basilica of Martyrs, where Dante undertook his vows as a paladin, and spent long hours training in magic, learning the holy scriptures, meditating on the divine, and praying to the Gods. A tremendous and ornate church, the most famous aspect of the Basilica are the waterways that run through it like small streams; the iron in the building's structure colors the water blood red, which has given rise to the legend that every drop of blood shed for the Empire runs through the church.
[b]
Appearance:[/b] Dante is an implacable and awe-inspiring figure. A tremendous man that stands nearly seven feet high, he is never seen in public unless clad in ornate regalia. Such is the might of Dante's magic that he seems eternally cloaked in the light of his Iron Halo, and he is known to soar on angelic, ivory wings that ceaselessly bleed through their feathers. In private company, Dante wears simple robes of red and white, and keeps his face uncovered. His many years are clear in his features, as his long, fine hair has turned completely white, and the lines of centuries of warfare are etched into his face. Even so, he has an ethereal, otherworldly beauty with chiseled features, ivory skin, eyes like rubies and long, white fangs. Dante often adorns himself with writings of scripture, golden medallions, mementos of his fallen comrades, and other such trinkets, and displays his personal heraldry (a drop of blood framed by alabaster wings) on many of his belongings.

[b]Frenzy:[/b] Dante becomes one with the Beast within him, and descends into a pitch-black inhuman rage. He flings his helmet, off, exposing his fangs as he seeks to drink the blood of his enemies. His vampiric nature comes to the fore of his magics, as holy light fails him and he uses both his own blood and the blood of his enemies to fuel his monstrous rampage; either imbuing himself with even further inhuman power, or viciously tearing his foes apart.

[b]Inventory:[/b] Phylactery.[/hider]