[hider=Ciern Perlion]
Name: Ciern Perelion
Age: 23
Gender: Male
Race: Human

Appearance: 

[hider=Armour]
[img]https://i.imgur.com/dRaYYcG.jpg[/img]
Art by guastavosasquatch
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Often seen in armour, full-clad and training, many are surprised by Ciern's voice and androgynous appearance, having no facial hair, and sharp facial features. He has short red hair and a rough complexion, with large blue eyes, steady but often seeing far beyond.
Ciern's build is on the shorter, thinner side. He bears a quite a few bruises and scars, particularily burns along his left arm from abusing his fire magic too much. He does his best to cover it up with bandages and give off a clean look, trying to live up to the finer standards of the Iron Roses. It's unclear if it is really effective at hiding, or if his real reason is that he cannot bear the sight of them himself.
He smiles often out of courtesy, and his default expression is a peaceful but sombre smile. But careful observers will realize that he rarely does truely smile, and from time to time Ciern can be seen spacing out and looking off into the distance. Despite so, he insists it's nothing to worry about and simply that he is tired from travelling around.

Personality:
In a contrast to his past reputation, Ciern is a passive and soft-spoken knight. He reserves judgement and deliberates in many decisions in favour of listening to all opinions first. He is careful to not offend anyone, and generally avoids confrontation with allies or peers. Fiercely loyal to the Order and even more so to the Knight Commander, if pressed, Ciern is willing to fight to protect the Order and serve his purpose. 
Ciern also suffers from a near debilitating levels of low self-esteem, and rarely rises to defend himself from insults, abuse or accusations. He can't take compliments and will have no idea how to respond to affection or praise, becoming confused or ignoring it entirely. His sense of guilt and inadequacy often prevents him from taking the initiative and acting out of line, and he feels it's best if it stays that way.
Others could mistake Ciern for someone with a weak will, but it's quite the opposite. Having survived several battles and years on the run, Ciern's determination and zealous pursuit is unrivalled; akin to a fading fire, dying but never fully extinguished. He believes that if life was hell, then he must live it to repent for what he had done, no matter how much hardship he must endure.
Otherwise, Ciern likes coffee and muffins, and thinks it's sacrilege to put raisins in any muffin, especially if it's the chocolate kind. 

Brief Backstory:
Former knight of an smaller, lesser known order called the Order of Obsidian Judgement. The Order mostly kept to itself, fighting for the protection of a sacred mountain shrine. Although Ciern was still an initiate, not used to the Order's strict rules in his profoundly young age of 14, he was spoken of as a prodigy for his prowess as a spellsword, wielding both close combat and arcane spells with devastating efficiency. 
But for unknown reasons, the Obsidian Judgement ceased to communicate with the outside world. After a while, a scouting party was sent to investigate the silence; and found the Judgement's keep destroyed in a catacalysmic battle with no survivors. Further investigation found one note - that Ciern had set the keep on fire and destroyed the Order "to make an example", and that he was still alive and had escaped the battle.
After a few years, the former knight as captured. Although his sins were grave and Ciern refused to discuss his motivations for his actions, his skills as a fighter and genuine regret let him a special condition for the Order. In exchange for a life of fealty to the Iron Roses and pious repentance, Ciern was granted a shaky membership in this Order, though it was still a controversial decision viewed on many as too trusting of a former criminal.

[hider=Secrets]
The truth is that Ciern never actually commited the crimes he claims he did. The Obsidian Judgement was secretly running a highly dangerous and morally dubious blood ritual that went awry and drove most of the participants insane. The insuing battle to contain the chaos set off a chain reaction within the keep's explosive storages, destroying the Keep and all its members as a result. 
Ciern, knocked out of the battlefield from a prior blow, became the sole survivor of the explosion. Unwilling to let the world know that the Obsidian Judgement was corrupt, Ciern made himself a scapegoat to preserve his order's honor.
Ciern agreed to servitude under the Iron Roses on the condition that this secret is never revealed. Only the previous Knight-Captain who took him in knew about this truth, and is Ciern's most jealously guarded secret.
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Equipment:
Ciern's armor is a combination of a knight's plate armor and a mage's leather tunic, sacrificing outright protection in favour of a stronger affinity to magic and higher mobility. Its silver gleam and simple red decorations are devoid of any flair, save for the Iron Rose crest on its breastplate. It is polished and clean, if not scratched and well-worn from long term use. His left gauntlet is replaced with a glove with indents and channeling runes to serve as a focus for his spells, as well as handle more delicate objects. Ciern also carries a standard-issue sidesword and estoc on his horse with no outstanding modifications, save for inscription "Paramortis" scratched on the wood of the hilt.
He also carries a dagger for general purposes. 
Though Ciern has memorized the incantations for his spells, he keeps a tough parchment and pen to note down new incantations he comes across.

Skills:
As a spellsword, Ciern is trained extensively in both swordsmanship and arcane arts - and weaving the two together in one fluid style, he is a devastating, chaotic combatant and lends credance to those who considered him a prodigy. Ciern's fighting style is a mixture of both observation and aggression. Although he will attempt to learn and study his opponents before making committing moves, he has no trouble switching quickly to an aggressive style once he had adequately learnt his opponent. He will relentlessly pressure his opponents with quick parries and ripostes, attempting to outmaneavour his enemies and give them no time to retaliate.
Ciern's spells focus the chaotic spectrum of magic, specifically, fire and lightning. High in pure destructive power but also carrying risks of self-injury and mana upkeep, Ciern mostly limits himself to small-scale projectiles in conjunction with his swordplay to further add pressure to his opponents. However, Ciern is reluctant to use offensive magic and has since abstained from using magic unless truly desperate.

Other than battles, Ciern is fantastic at cleaning and general housework, having put on household duties several times when he was a part of the Obsidian Judgement because of his magic having the tendancy of being a little too destructive. He seems a little embarrassed of this, but will not object if asked to employ his skills. 
[/hider]