[list][*][u][b]Name:[/b][/u] Derrick Errance
[*][u][b]Age:[/b][/u] 21
[*][u][b]Gender:[/b][/u] Male
[*][u][b]Appearance:[/b][/u] [url=https://safebooru.org//images/3227/b0b173bcf7e3d7f1629ae69d488070066371d54f.jpg]"Nope, not here."[/url]
[*][u][b]Personality:[/b][/u] Preferring to take a more methodical approach to problems, Derrick tends to sit back and observe before acting whenever possible. He is rather reserved when it comes to dealing with people and tends to be rather blunt, which can occasionally come off as standoffish or rude to those not used to dealing with him. With that said, he cares quite a lot about those close to him, often prioritizing their health and well-being over his own (and occasionally even those of others).
Interpersonal relationships aside, though, Derrick is intensely curious about the wider world, and has a non-insignificant number of documents and books scrounged up from traveling around in his room. This has given him a surprising amount of knowledge that one might not expect for someone with his upbringing, and maybe even less so someone of his profession. With that said, his own curiosity may rarely override his tendency towards analysis, which... May or may not be a good thing.
[*][u][b]Brief Backstory:[/b][/u] Derrick was born to a young Embrian woman in the midst of the war; he never knew who his father was, but the bitter look on his mother's face whenever he had asked gave the young child more than enough reason to stop asking eventually. The town where he would have grown up—Kalan—had been razed to the ground by the invading Alvadians, which left a young Derrick next to no time to be a child. He spent much of his childhood away from the ruins that were slowly being rebuilt; few of the survivors (if any) wanted to have anything to do with him, and though the village had since begun to be rebuilt, Derrick had been left with little else besides his mother and the clothes on his back.

As the war finally drew to a close, Derrick found that the gap between himself and the rest of the townsfolk had only widened. More than a few seemed to dislike him—for what, though, he could only wonder. His mother seemed to receive only pity where he found scorn, but the fact that she continued to give him her affection despite all of this only further question his place here. If it was any solace, though, the young boy found a few books to keep to himself, hidden away from judging eyes in the safety of his home

Things changed, however, when a wanderer passed through the region. Most of the other townsfolk seemed to pay him no heed, but the young Derrick could not help but be intrigued by the odd-looking case he kept with him. When he collapsed on the side of the road, it was Derrick who acted out to help, if only out of sheer curiosity; though his mother disapproved of the wanderer's presence, she could not well refuse the earnest (if not somewhat self-serving) desire of her son to help.

Said wanderer, as Derrick would soon learn, was a man by the name of Arden. He introduced himself (however hesitantly) as a researcher from Alvad to the young boy. He explained that he had escaped from his home country once his heart could not in good faith help the war any longer, and that he had taken his equipment with him to assure that he could prevent it from continuing further in what little way he could. Though Derrick's mother seemed less than pleased with that sort of information, the young boy, curious about what that equipment was and about the only other person who treated him with something other than disdain, begged for him to stay—at least, for a while. He wanted to learn, and if nobody else would teach him, then a stranger and a refugee could at least help bridge that gap.

Eventually, if only through sheer perseverance, Derrick succeeded. Arden had initially been less than receptive to the idea (he would have liked to have sought asylum with what he had and left as soon as he could have), but a few days of rest was probably for the best, given that he had collapsed on the road. Those days soon began to extend, though, as he learned of Derrick's aptitude for knowledge.

Days turned to weeks, weeks into months; before long, Arden had become more than just a stranger to Derrick; he was a teacher, someone to look up to who he had never had before. But those days soon came to an end; news of a group of hunters seeking him eventually met Arden's ears, and the researcher knew that what time he had left was fleeting. To the young man who had insisted on keeping him around, though, the researcher gave unto him one thing before leaving: the Air Grid, the tool that Derrick had been so curious about until now. There was no guarantee that his work would make it out, and given that it was [i]him[/i] they were after, losing the Grid for all the goodwill he had been shown was not much of a loss.

Arden leaving meant that Derrick was once again left with just his mother, who would continue to work herself to the bone trying to make ends meet. Meeting the researcher had changed Derrick, though, and the young man found himself working to try and understand what it was that had been left in his hands. He succeeded eventually, if only through sheer force of will; understanding everything.

Having been long since aware of his status as a pariah, Derrick chose to leave Kalan and pursue work elsewhere once he came of age. A single letter to his mother was all he had left behind as he travelled to the border, and the young man eventually found himself employed as a mercenary at Wild Rose. Even if he didn't have any direct combat experience, the group accepted him so long as he was willing to put in the effort—something he was more than willing to do.
[*][u][b]Skills:[/b][/u] Rather than being specialized for combat like many of his peers, Derrick has placed more of his effort into making sure that everything remains running smoothly. In other words, things like gear maintenance and medical work are a part of his usual activities. As a result of using the Air Grid, Derrick is also uncannily apt at multitasking, leaving him able to flick between multiple jobs at once without losing track of himself in the process.
[*][u][b]Abilities:[/b][/u] Derrick's spells mostly focus around supporting and reinforcing his allies, mitigating the damage they take and keeping them alive enough to continue fighting. The method for doing so—the Air Grid—allows him to use Cure and Protect where it might prove dangerous for most other medics, though it may take up his concentration in the process. He can also cast Ruin with the Grid, but as it is not optimized for offensive spells, doing so may put unnecessary strain upon its equipment.
The number of Conduits from the Grid that he uses to cast spells also affects their output; while a Cure may be cast with one, for example, two would be optimal; similarly, while he could cast it with two Conduits, three would be optimal for a Protect.
[list][*][u]Limit Break — Aegis of Heaven[/u]: Derrick overclocks the Air Grid, pushing it beyond its usual capabilities to create a massive barrier in front of him. This barrier is able to protect him as well as anyone behind him, and is able to deflect or absorb an absurd amount of damage before faltering. This ability is not without drawbacks, though; the barrier is incredibly taxing upon the Grid, and the heat damage that they sustain can outright put Conduits out of commission if not damaging the mechanisms within.[/list]
[*][u][b]Equipment:[/b][/u]
[list][*][u]Air Grid[/u]: A prototype tool 'relieved' from Alvad in the years prior to their collapse. The Grid itself consists of five 'Conduits', prism-like structures with a refined Lumo core at their center. Each Conduit is able to fly about according to it's user's commands independent of any physical command, and unlike most other magitech objects, does not need to be refueled with Lumium to function. Conduits can also be used to cast spells—a function that would have in theory made Alvadian combatants all the more problematic should the project have reached fruition.

With that said, the Grid itself is not without faults; in exchange for not requiring Lumium to function, each Conduit requires a near-constant stream of mana when in use, and that amount only increases when used to cast spells (hence the term 'Conduit'). Despite the high barrier of entry to being able to use the Air Grid, its versatility and maneuverability allows Derrick and any of his allies a lot more breathing room in the heat of battle.

The Air Grid can, in theory, be upgraded, and the Conduits increased in efficiency and power; that would, however, require finding someone who could create the components necessary to do so. Derrick himself understands the fundamentals of how the Grid works and has learned to use it effectively (enough) in the decade or so to be able to maintain and repair it, but the possibility of him screwing something up in the process has given him enough pause to at least find someone who has more 'professional' experience before attempting anything.
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