[hider=Paladin Elain][center][h1][i][color=92278f]Elain Lux[/color][/i][/h1]
[img]http://i63.tinypic.com/op1mc3.jpg[/img]
[color=92278f][i]"I swore an oath of loyalty to House Valens, until death releases me from it. If I join you, death most certainly will, again and again. But I will never break it."[/i][/color][/center]

[center][h3][i][color=92278f]Profile[/color][/i][/h3][/center]
[b]Full Name:[/b] Elain Vahrot Lux
[b]Titles/Nicknames:[/b] Paladin Lux
[b]Age:[/b] 22
[b]Race:[/b] Venatrian Human
[b]Gender:[/b] Male
[b]Sexual Orientation:[/b] Bisexual
[b]Combat Role:[/b] Guardian

[b]Hair Color:[/b] White
[b]Eye Color:[/b] Green
[b]Height:[/b] 5'10
[b]Weight:[/b] 156 lbs

[b]Appearance:[/b] Elain is rarely seen outside of his armour - a sign of how guarded he has become. However, when it isn't required - by [i]his[/i] standards, of course - he will wear simple clothes that are better suited for travel than fashion or formality. He stands proudly, but not arrogantly, and never makes an accidental move. Some have mistaken him for a mercenary, but he has quickly corrected them.

[center][h3][i][color=92278f]Personality[/color][/i][/h3][/center]
[b]Overview:[/b] Elain tends to keep to himself, speaking only a few words in conversation. Any more than that is only those he knows well - but he doesn't do it for hostility's sake, and opens up easily. He is loyal to Loreia Valens, given an oath he swore long ago, but he also tends to worry about her - and is determined to keep her safe. He is devout to his faith, and would take offence should someone slander his, or indeed, any, god/s. He can charm someone easily, but someone who looks might notice that it isn't always genuine. And no matter what, he is never too far from his sword.

[center][h3][i][color=92278f]Combat[/color][/i][/h3][/center]


[b]Strength:[/b] 6
[b]Dexterity:[/b] 6
[b]Intelligence:[/b] 6
[b]Cunning:[/b] 3
[b]Magic:[/b] 1
[b]Willpower:[/b] 4
[b]Endurance:[/b] 6
[b]Charisma:[/b] 5

[b]Weapons of Choice:[/b] A long-sword that can be held in both hands, or used alongside a shield. He also keeps a dagger behind his back should he be disarmed, or if drawing his sword would be too obvious. He may also use a spear, but it is not his best weapon.

[b]Armor/Combat Apparel:[/b] Elain’s armour is made from a light steel, typical of paladins, and thus it doesn't slow him down as much as a normal knight’s would. It guards the majority of his body, however, and so in the arena, to appease the crowd, he bares his arms and shoulders, and wears leather pants to guard his legs instead of steel, with only greaves to guard his shins and bracers for his wrists. He may occasionally forgo his helmet as well, to cast a winning smile in the direction of the crowd.

[b]Fighting Style:[/b] : Elain can fight offensively on the front line, or he can defend those who tend to be a little weaker. Either way, he always finds himself fighting those among the strongest of the opposing team. Thus, he needs to be quicker than the strong to avoid their crushing attacks, but strong enough to fend off the quick who can dart around him. But armour alone does not protect against magic, leaving him vulnerable to spells.


[center][h3][i][color=92278f]Background[/color][/i][/h3][/center]
[b]Place of Birth:[/b] Venatria, Apulum
[b]Social Status:[/b] Ex-noble of low status. Gave up his title in order to serve.

[b]History:[/b] Elain was born into a family of low nobility, not too far from Apulum, the lands of House Valens. As a child, he always had a talent for fighting, like his grandfather before him. And so, when his parents ‘gave’ him to Lord Lucius as a symbol of loyalty, he was entered into the Valens’ Gladiatorial School. Angry at the people he no longer called mother and father, Elain began to disrupt lessons, damage training equipment, and just generally make trouble in an attempt to get expelled and thus break the alliance. Eventually his antics caught the attention of the lord, who summoned him.

After some strict reprimands, the Lord Valens was called out on business. It was then, wandering in to see the strange boy in her father’s office, that Elain first met Loreia. At first hostile and brash, he eventually opened up to her about how he didn’t want to leave home, and he’d rather be defending people than fighting for some fat merchant’s entertainment. He mentioned the possibility of running away. Then, young Loreia, with some quick thinking, realised and told him that he could defend people just as well by bearing arms in the area as he could on the field – because a renowned gladiator’s name bears great influence, and the money earned could go towards helping as many people as possible. These words inspired Elain, and when he returned to the school, it was as a changed student.

Forswearing his title as a member of House Lux, he dedicated himself to the craft. He exceeded in his lessons, learning much of what it meant to be a gladiator and a warrior. His progress and talent was unrivalled by any of his peers, and while this success isolated him, he didn’t let his loneliness show, not even to Loreia, who visited occasionally. He eventually graduated the school early, and up to now, his last sight of Loreia was during the ceremony, not a word exchanged between them. And when he swore the oath of loyalty, it was with determination in his heart. He eventually departed from Apulum, with leave from Lord Lucius, in search of something – what, he couldn’t say. And then he found it – religion.

Elain had never been religious, but when he had begun his journey vastly under prepared, and had found himself starving and weak near the border of Markoth. To his surprise, he was ambushed by a trio of mongrels. Even in his weakened state, he was still capable, and managed to take down two of them before collapsing. He uttered a futile prayer to the Guardian, a last bitter hope, before succumbing to a deep sleep as the mongrel approached. He woke in a bed, being tended to by a priestess of the Guardian. When he asked if he was dead, she told him no. And when he asked why he was still alive, she told him that a Markothi Hobgoblin had brought him to the doorstep of the shrine. Believing that the Guardian had helped him in his hour of need, Elain began to recover his health and strength at the shrine, and eventually began a tutelage under one of the swordsmen there. He began to settle in his new life. And then, word reached them of the fall of House Valens after Lucius’ death. It all came rushing back. Most of all, his oath. With the blessings of the priestess, he packed up, and set out back home, to find Loreia, to honour his oath, and also to enter service as a Paladin of House Valens.

And along the way, he came across a group of Mongrels savagely attacking a group of Hobgoblins, with one sole defender, the rest barely trained. Thinking of what Loreia would do, and of the mysterious Beast who had saved him once before, he leaped to the aid of the Hobgoblins, aiding their defender. When the battle was said and done, the trained Hobgoblin looked at him curiously, and then asked him why he had helped. Elain told them why. The Hobgoblin looked to their companions, and then, asked if Elain would help escort his charges to safety. When Elain refused on the account of having to track down Loreia, the Hobgobliin offered his assistance in finding her, and unable to truly refuse, Elain accepted. Now, a full year after he left House Valens behind, he finds himself in the coastal town of his upbringing. He and his companion had heard rumours that Loreia had returned to Apulum, ones with substance, and they were here to find out if they were true.

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