Definitely reserving this spot for character creation. Now how do I use hide tags...

Finished!

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Name: Auric Oranthar

Age: 24

Race: Human

Sex: Male

Appearance:
[URL=http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y269/jaik/princexanderfull.jpg]Auric[/URL]

Like this except with blue eyes instead of the golden(?) eyes.

Homeland: Rheinfield (Rheinfield Republic)

History: Auric grew up in a small village close to the Rheinfield capital of Heiligen Stuhl. Born to a crusader father and a priestess mother, he was trained from an early age to follow in his father's footsteps and join the Templar Order. Perhaps because of his divine ancestry, he was predicted by many of his mentors to have a great future in store, serving the gods. He was taught in the ways of etiquette and combat, in preparation for serving the Order. Auric, for his part, thought himself lucky and attended to his duties faithfully.

Suddenly, at the age of 14, he found the capital in a large commotion over something. When he asked somebody nearby, he was told that the gods had been banished, good and bad. He was absolutely shocked by this, and initially chewed out the man who claimed this. However, he found that it was all too real. When tensions exploded between the Papacy, the commoners, and the Templars, Auric and his father fled to the Templar Order; his mother Sal was nowhere to be found. As soon as he was able, Auric joined the fight against the Republic and the Papacy, and enjoyed a good career there for about two years. His ancestry gave him a fair bit of prestige, and he was trusted with many important assignments. However, as time went on he began to have his doubts about the Order's goals. He started hearing stories about the Kingdom of Renalta, and how they supposedly lived in a "near-paradise". Having been taught to obey authority unquestionably, he initially dismissed these thoughts.

That all changed when he turned 21. A few days after his birthday, he was assigned under the command of a regiment that was bent on taking the Republic down in a blitzkreig. Everyone there expected the assault to go smoothly, after all, the Republic was simply a band of misfits. While this underestimation ultimately proved their undoing, they initially had great success and captured several key locations along the border. After this initial part of the assault was over, Auric was charged with leading a company of men to escort prisoners further inside the borders for questioning. He accepted the assignment, and gathered up the prisoners for evacuation. Among these prisoners was a rather mysterious old man named Tahl, or Master Tahl as he heard some call him. 

One night during the travel, he decided to take a watch guarding the prisoners. Naturally, most of the prisoners looked at him with scorn, but he noticed Tahl had a more curious look to him. Tahl, seeing that Auric was alone, and with only other prisoners watching, started to chat with Auric. The man looked at Auric in the eyes and said "I see great sadness in your future, young lad." Perplexed, Auric asked him what he meant by that, and the old man said that something bad was likely to happen, and that Auric would see the tragedy with his own eyes, if the Templars did not stop attacking the Republic. Figuring that this was just a trick, Auric ignored the man. Only a few days later, Auric and his comrades were dumbstruck when they noticed that all the jail cells were empty, the prisoners had somehow escaped!

Months passed, and he returned to the front, only to find to his dismay that the Republic had managed to push back the relatively meager number of soldiers the Order had sent there. In one desperate attempt to bring back some kind of victory for the Order, Auric's commander ordered an assault on a certain key fort that would allow the Templars to harvest some wood for siege machines, before they were inevitably driven back home. The assault went horribly awry, and casualties on both sides were absurdly high. In desperation, the commander, rather crazed by this point and slowly going rogue, told some of his hired mages to concoct a spell to destroy the fortress! Once the spell was prepared, the fortress was instantly destroyed by an earthquake, along with the vast majority of both armies. Auric was stunned that such a measure would be employed, and horrified by what he saw next. 

Among the bodies killed by the quake was a priestess by the name of Sal...the name of his mother. She had tried her best to relieve the suffering of those wounded in the fight, only to be cast aside. Furious at the Order for commanding such a reckless act, he lashed out at his former comrades, but between his injuries and those sustained fighting his brethren, he found himself unable to move and left to die. He probably would've died there, if it weren't for Tahl, having come at the aftermath to witness his vision, taking Auric to his home and nursing him back to health. In Auric's mind, the military dictatorship of the Order had become tyrannical, even though in truth the commander was summarily executed for his brazen actions.

In time, Aruic fully recovered, and came to live in the Republic. Initially, he was seen very poorly by the townsfolk, thanks to his past as a Templar. He found himself trying to atone for his time in the Order, and did manage to garner some sympathy among the town. In the meantime however, Tahl took Auric as something of a pupil, teaching him in the ways of holy magic.

However, the town itself was beset by another problem that they were ill equipped to deal with. A large group of bandits had moved to an area near the town, and had started making raiding runs. One day, they had decided, to kidnap some of the children in the village, intending to sell them off. The village was furious, but none of them could agree about how to fix the problem. Enraged, Auric rallied the town to arms to take the children back. It took some time to get past his reputation, but after managing to save several children from a few of the camps, he managed to get enough support to take down the bandits. 

The battle was a rather long fight, with the village militia and bandits fighting, then one side withdrawing before being chased down and fighting again. Eventually, the bandits started losing, and victory seemed assured. Unfortunately, their leader, known as Unthor, revealed a dastardly secret once his men had either died or fled, he was a lycanthrope! In just a few minutes, he managed to tear a hole through the militia going straight for Auric. A fight ensued, but after suffering some wounds, Unthor had fled into the woods to recover, with Auric in pursuit. He eventually caught up with the lycanthrope, but as one last action of spite against the ex-Templar, Unthor bit him, infecting him with the disease. 

Auric, in a state of panic and confusion, soon turned and found himself drawn to the blood of the battle. Perhaps as a form of luck, or perhaps because of a vision, Auric was stopped from heading out to the field by Tahl. Auric never really knew how Tahl stopped his rampage, but when he came to he found himself in his familiar home. Tahl, feeling sympathy for the man, told Auric all of his secrets. Tahl was also a lycanthrope who had decided to become more civilized after murdering someone he deeply cared about. Auric asked whether or not Tahl knew of any way to cure the lycanthropy, to which Tahl simply stated that one could only control it using a magical artifact. Unfortunately, Tahl himself had run out of these artifacts after he gave his last one to Unthor, another apprentice of his. Some days later, Tahl gave a letter to the grief stricken Auric and told him to head to the Mage's Tower in Tuleria and give them this letter, as he had some connections there. He told Auric not to go to the guild in Renalta, as the people there with lower morals might end up hurting him for his celestial heritage. Auric thanked the man, and made the arduous journey to Tuleria. Along the way, he gained a reputation for helping everyone he met, and was regarded by many as a hero. Eventually he did make his way to Tuleria's Magi Tower and was given a pair of bracelets that would help him control his lycanthropy.

Some days after his return, he was given a mysterious note. He opened it, only to find that it was an invitation to an odd company called the Queen's Blades, rumored to be set up by Kouri herself. He gratefully accepted the information, and grabbed a ride to Renalta from one of his friends.

Motivation: To help make an actual difference in the world, not just in his hometown. Additionally, he wants to see the Republic succeed, and will try his best to strengthen their position via influence or other means. If he can find a cure for his lycanthropy on the way, that would be an excellent bonus as well.
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Strength: 5/10
Agility: 3/10
Charisma: 4/10
Magical Endurance: 2/10

Fighter: 3/10
--Spears and Polearms (Two-Handed)
Sniper: 0/10
Leader: 5/10
Seducer: 0/10
Sneak: 0/10
Mage: 2/10
--Holy Magic

Experience Traits
--My Hero!
--Barbarian

Conditions
--Holy Bloodline (Aasimar)
--Unbreakable Faith
--Lycanthropy

Unique
--Of Sound Mind (Tentative): Through several years of training his mind as well as his body, Auric has learned how to read the subtle movements of those talking to him and when someone is trying to control his mind. For this reason, he has a good chance of knowing when somebody is trying to seduce him towards wrong or control his mind, and has a bonus to knowing when he's being deceived and resisting mind altering effects. However, this isn't perfect, and somebody with suitable talent can get past this mental block.
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Personal Section

Romance: I tend to avoid it myself. I don't mind shipping, but I don't like it going too far. (So basically, no going to bed with this character.)

Play style: I tend to prefer a linear progression, though I'm more than happy to make some interesting choices every now and again. I also like a good mix of action and dialogue missions, leaning towards dialogue based. Unfortunately, my writing skill isn't always up to snuff, so please be a bit lenient. :)

Missions can be complex or straightforward, just don't make them horribly complex and I'll be fine.

Does the Kouri Plushie exist?: What is this I don't even...aww it's so cute and huggable! :D

Signature: Maxim
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