Ported over from Interest Check.


[hider=Templar Serov "Leo" Leonidovich][CENTER][h1][COLOR=Silver]Serov "Leo" Leonidovich[/COLOR][/h1][/CENTER]
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[b][color=GRAY]Serov "Leo" Leonidovich[/color]
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[color=GRAY] Male [/COLOR] | [color=GRAY] 29 [/COLOR] | [color=GRAY] Rodion
Templar[/COLOR] [color=BLUE][b][/b][/color][/CENTER][CENTER][SUP]_______________________________________________[/SUP]
[color=GRAY][i]"For some people, war is war and politics is politics. For Leo, they are forms of art and he was always a skillful student." [/i][/color]
[SUP]________________________________________[/SUP][/CENTER]
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[center][h3][i][color=GRAY]"The line between arrogance and confidence is measured only by success. That just means in order to avoid being an arrogant fool I must always succeed."[/color][/i][/h3][/center]
[b][color=GRAY]Appearance[/color][/b]
[color=FFFFFF][indent]As pictured, except with blue eyes. His left arm bears a series of tattoos from his wrist all the way up to his shoulder of various iconography including gang markings and religious script. Additionally, a series of scars encircle his torso, leftover marks from intensive training and combat.[/indent][/color]
[b][color=gray]Personality[/color][/b]
[indent]Unsurprisingly given his national origin and his nickname, Leo is a proud man that pushes himself constantly to become a better templar. He radiates a sense of calm confidence as he truly believes there is little in this world he cannot accomplish, should it be asked of him. For his companions, he is quick to offer advice, even when it is not asked for, but just as quick with a bit of humor or a well-meant compliment when he causes offense. [/indent]
[b][color=gray]Biography[/color][/b]
[indent]Born in Rodion as the youngest of four brothers and two sisters, Leo grew up in fierce competition not only for the attention of his family, but also their limited resources. Among the lower class, the rules of trials by combat were frequently abused by those who could simply afford to eat a little better or could afford even the most basic of weapons or armor. This meant that if Leo wanted to survive, he needed two things: allies, and an edge in the trials that would come his way.

Allies were easy enough to come by if one's morality wasn't much of a barrier. Leo spent his younger teen years joined up with a local gang of thugs, extorting protection money and stealing what he couldn't afford. Leo did his best to keep the rest of his family from finding out about his illegal activity, but inevitably he would slip up and end up cast out of his own house. He still feels a pang of shame for how things turned out, but in the end he threw himself into training rather than allow the shame to fester inside of him. He trained hard and seemingly endlessly, running the back streets laden down with smuggled goods, fighting opponents that could push his skill set, and picking locks and pockets alike. 

Fate, or maybe just bad luck, has it's own sense of humor though. One day a back alley thug gets caught cutting the wrong purse and ends up issuing a challenge to combat to the wrong man. A retired soldier of noble birth with church connections of all things. Despite the sound beating that was then put into Leo, the older man offered Leo a choice: rise above the muck and blood he had thrown himself into, or die amongst it here and now. If Leo had known the hellish training that awaited, he might have chosen the latter.

Years passed as Leo trained in weapons and eventually battlefield tactics. He learned the art of swordplay through surviving the edge of the blade that punished his missteps. He learned archery and stealth through every night he starved in the cold when he could not catch any game. He learned how to tolerate pain and not let it affect his movements, even as he learned how to inflict it if neccessary.

When his patron grew too old and was challenged by younger nobles and fighters looking to claim his resources and influence for their own, it was Leo who stood in as the man's champion. When assassins came for him, it was Leo who threw their broken bodies back out into the cold. When something went missing from the man's property, it was Leo who went out and brought it back. And when his patron finally died, it was Leo that was offered up to the Church as a potential templar. His faith was tested, his body pushed to exhaustive limits, and his skills were constantly refined under the Church's watchful gaze as he was all but reborn for the third time in his short life. 

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[b][color=GRAY]Weapon of Choice[/color][/b]
[indent]As a Templar of limited magical ability, Leo has devoted an obsessive amount of his time to combat. His preferred weapons are a longbow for ranged opponents and magic users, though he carries a shortsword for more close range problems.[/indent]
[b][color=GRAY]Misc.[/color][/b]
[list][*]Nerds out over fighting styles and weapons from other nations
[*]Has a weakness for romance novellas, but would rather cut out his own tongue than admit it in front of his colleagues. He can also be found attending concerts and musicals that employ a large number of wind/string instruments when recreational time permits.
[*]Has a poor tolerance for spicy food, he tops out at medium-heat salsas.
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