[hider=Fleuri Jodeau] [u][b]Name:[/b][/u] Fleuri Jodeau [u][b]Age:[/b][/u] 25 [u][b]Gender:[/b][/u] Male [u][b]Race:[/b][/u] Human [u][b]Appearance:[/b][/u] [url=https://safebooru.org//samples/1916/sample_ab5ce3de7dcdd1cb5fd9f863f563e57eabbee799.jpg?1998483]Unmasked[/url]. [url=https://i.imgur.com/MM2icBi.png]Fully Armored[/url]. Fleuri stands 5'10'' without his armor. [u][b]Personality:[/b][/u] The Jodeau family is known for its devotion to Reon, and originally, Fleuri was no exception. Tutored by priestesses and paladins, he was brought up to be honorable, selfless, and devoted. During the last few years, however, he cast many of these values off, becoming proud, materialistic and glory-seeking, desiring above all else to obtain the fame and wealth that his family no longer possessed and to capture the glory that he missed by not being involved in the War of the Red Flag. After being humbled by his near-death experience, he has returned to his old ways as a faithful worshiper of the sun goddess, along with a few pangs of guilt of having fallen so far. He does, however, miss the friends he made in his tournament days, and even if he has parted ways with them and no longer shares their values, he hopes that they'll come to understand his decisions to rededicate himself to Reon and to join the Iron Roses. Those who have met him can attest that Fleuri is a man of action. He is hot-blooded and quick to act or speak, but not necessarily foolish or impulsive- his experience fighting in tournaments taught him the importance of quick thinking and decisive action when windows of opportunity appear. When he speaks, he never makes claims he cannot back up and never makes promises that he does not believe he can keep. As an Iron Rose Knight, Fleuri is fiercely loyal to the order, to its customs, and to its captain. Serving in the order is an honored tradition for his family, and he pays no attention to the criticism of the order or its traditions. As far as he's concerned, Fanilly was chosen the goddess just as Elionne was, and one need only look at the deeds and valor of the previous captain- a woman who be enshrined in history as one of Thaln's greatest heroines- as proof that the soundness of their means of selecting a captain. [u][b]Brief Backstory:[/b][/u] The Jodeau family is a once powerful, now minor noble family in northern Thaln. Over a century ago, its head at the time, Armand Jodeau, dedicated himself and his house wholly to Reon. As proof of his devotion, he gave most of his family's then-considerable land to the peasants that worked them as a gesture of piety and lack of materialism. Armand would go on to serve a Paladin of Reon and later an Iron Rose Knight before embarking on a quest which he never returned from. Ever since then, the Jodeau family has remained close to the Church of Reon, both to honor Armand and because in their considerably diminished state, they have become reliant on the charity of the church. Fleuri was the second child of the Jodeau family and was thus raised to become a knight. His family had little in terms of wealth or holdings, but the church provided that which his family could not. Consequently, Fleuri received an education from Reonite priestesses and was trained in knightly combat by Reonite paladins. While the rebellion raged, Fleuri served as the squire and later accompanying knight of a paladin of Reon, battling necromancers that sought to capitalize on the bloodshed and death. As noble as it was, and as important of a duty as it was, he was frustrated by the unsung nature of their behind-the-scenes quest while others were gaining fame and prestige on the battlefield. Their quest would last until shortly after the end of the war, with their final defeat of the necromancer coven taking place just a few days before the final battle. Fleuri was, at the time, greatly distressed at not having been able to participate in such a historical moment for Thaln, all because he was undertaking a quest that few people would ever hear about. After the war ended, he parted ways from his mentor, seeking opportunities for a knight to make a name for himself. During his travels, he began entering the tournaments in the lands he passed through, where, with many of Thaln's knights dead or disgraced as a result of the war, there was a shortage of contenders. Utilizing the training he had received from the Reonite paladins, Fleuri proved himself a capable tournament fighter, and as time went on, the "Flower of the North" had much success in the competitions. With the winnings, he was able to replace his hand-me-down armor and weapons, and considered buying back some of his family's ancestral lands. He pushed out the virtues and lessons of piety and humility that he had once been taught, and reveled in the attention and prestige of the competitions. He stopped aiding those in need, and became focused solely on gaining fame and money. While traveling to a major tournament, he fell deathly ill from a fever and sought aid from the Church. As he laid there, tended to by the priestesses, all he could think about was how he had fallen from his path, more concerned with gold and glory than helping others, and now faced the prospect of dying before he could make amends and correct his mistakes. When he recovered, he attributed it to the will of the goddesses. He renewed his vows and vigil at the church, rededicating himself to fighting evil and aiding the innocent, and wrote a letter to his former mentor apologizing for his actions and promising to make things right. Fleuri may not have died, but he was reborn. During the next tournament, he fought harder than he ever had before, and when the dust settled, he was the last man standing in the infantry melee. Hailed as a champion, and standing on the precipice of fame and glory, he proved himself a changed man when he donated the prize to the church and soon afterward petitioned to join the Iron Rose Knights, following in his ancestor's footsteps. Since ending his tournament career, Fleuri has served the order faithfully. [u][b]Equipment:[/b][/u] Fleuri's suit of armor is a dark silver plate harness, purchased with tournament winnings to replace his old hand-me-down armor, and accompanied with a white cape. His primary weapon is a two-handed sword, his preference for which he picked up as a squire, having come to appreciate its effectiveness at dismembering undead that'd otherwise shrug off stab wounds and shallow cuts. His other possessions include a dagger as a backup weapon and a gray warhorse for transportation and mounted combat. When riding into battle, he often additionally carries a cavalry lance and attires his horse with a white caparison, both bearing his family's livery. [u][b]Skills:[/b][/u] Fleuri has been trained in the use of a variety of knightly weapons, but he is most experienced and proficient in the wielding of greatswords. He employs an aggressive and surprisingly fast-paced fighting style not atypical for devotees of Reon, moving and attacking far more swiftly than his armor and heavy weapon would suggest. He is additionally skilled in horsemanship and in the use of a lance, owed to frequent travel and the many jousts he has participated in. While he lacks the fire magic of the Reonite clergy that mentored him, he will sometimes carry vials of Reonite holy water if he expects to face undead. [/hider]