13org's characters

[13org]

Mayet Ibn Raif Kadir

---

Mayet Ibn Raif Kadir ☥ 22 ☥ Female

---

Appearance

1,57m (5'2") ☥ 50kgs (112lbs) ☥ Hazel eyes ☥ Black hair ☥ Almond skin ☥ Heterosexual

• Hair Length/Texture: Neck length, braided (often adorned with golden beads and jewelry. The golden headpiece not only is Mayet's favorite, but due to the fact that she is rarely seen without it, it quickly became almost a symbol representing her).
• Facial Details: Her skin is often said to be impossibly smooth and spotless, mainly due to the daily milk-and-honey baths she takes.
• Distinguishing features: Many people often compare her to the sacred cats of their religion, be it due to the ornate headpiece she always uses or her hazel, almost golden eyes, but those who see her sparring or fighting on battles quickly understand that she is closer to a tigress than a cat.
• Clothing preferences: Mayet often wears simple dresses, often short and focused more on being practical than to be beautiful, despising loose dresses, frills and anything that might hinder her movements. Such dresses, more often than not are tighter than the usual clothes wore by the nobility, which only further accentuate her figure and her body. The contrast between her almond skin, the golden jewelry and the black, simple and practical dresses she use give her quite an unique charm.
  
  That said, she still cares a lot about her appearance, which is made obvious by the golden jewelry she is rarely seen without.

---

Psychology

Likes

• Battling/Sparring... Conquering.
• Jewelry/Luxurious lifestyle
• Freedom to do whatever she wants
• Dangerous animals (Big cats in particular). Especially her pet, Nala, a huge tiger that is often seen near Mayet or in her room. The golden choker it wears is a clear warning that it is a royal's pet.
• Being respected/feared/adored/loved/worshiped
• Layla's company. Mayet is closer to her than any other of her siblings.
• Weapons. Especially the exotic ones. As long as they're still effective, that is.

Dislikes

• Responsibilities
• Being stuck inside a castle like the rest of the nobles or caged like a bird.
• Not being able to get what she wants
• Boredom
• Losing. She is very competitive.
• Being underestimated. Both in battle, court or anywhere else.
• Being ignored/not being acknowledged. Both regarding her position and talent.
• Being ordered and following orders.
• Those who have the audacity to think they're better or more important than she is.

Hobbies

• Training and moving her body. Fighting, sparring, running, training gymnastics & etc.
• Taking care of Nala and taking her to hunt... Sometimes not just animals.
• Taking care of herself (skin, beauty and her own body).

Life goals/Dreams

• A luxurious lifestyle. Power without responsibilities or strings attached.
• Know more about the world and the other kingdoms... And make them know and respect both her name and the kingdom of Alidasht.

Personality summary

Mayet was born and raised as royalty, knowing she is better than the rest and always having everything she wanted. Due to that, Mayet is not someone who is used to waiting for things to happen and will instead, act to make them happen the way she wants them to happen, not being afraid to use her beauty, her honeyed words, her authority or even force if necessary.

Whimsical and impossible to tame, Mayet is known as someone who will always, simply do whatever she wants no matter what other people tell her, despising following orders and those who would dare to order her to do something. Deeply curious, she will stop at nothing from sating her curiosity if something or someone draws her attention. Regarding romantic advances, Mayet isn't the type of woman who lets herself be conquered. She will either approach them first or she won't let them approach her at all.

Rebelling herself against the pointless rituals and rules of 'nobility' and throwing away the image of a 'prim and proper lady' others wanted her to have, Mayet made her own image for herself. An image that even though might be considered shameful for a princess, became a symbol of her free-spirited nature and her unique 'charm'.

While her personality is often compared to a cat, curious and independent but pleasant to be around with, she shows those who incur her wrath or don't give her the respect she demands that she can also be a wild and vicious tigress with sharp fangs.

Despite her incredibly proud and somewhat self-centered behavior, to those who are lucky to be considered as 'equals' to her, friends and those she consider to be her allies will realize that Mayet is someone that can be a surprisingly kind, caring and loyal.

---

Background

• Current occupation: Shehzadi
• Relatives: The rest of the shahzade/shehzadi of Alidash
• Skills: Hunting, proficiency in 'exotic' bladed weapons (specializes in the ring-blade), superb control of her own body and flexibility, stamina.

History Summary

As one of the youngest children of the Sultan Raif Kadir, Mayet wasn't something new to the court. Due to his rather... 'active' love life, Mayet was merely one of the countless princes and princesses on the court. That also meant that she was graced with much more freedom than the rest though.

Having inherited her father's fierce temper along with a whimsical personality made Mayet someone very difficult to control. Which, coupled with the fact that she simply hated following orders made her a terrible student and made the royal tutors have quite a hard time with instructing her at first. With time though, they learned to use Mayet's deeply curious and inquisitive nature to make her interested on subjects they were trying to teach her. Unfortunately, those same traits meant that if Mayet got something on her head, she would find a way to have it. Thanks to that and her boundless energy, she quickly became bored of the life a shezadi was supposed to have, as a lady inside the palace, and instead, turned her eyes to the activities the men usually did. Such as training with weapons, hunting and even exercising her body.

After much insistence on her part and after the royal court realized that if they didn't let her, she would find a way to do it anyways, Mayet was allowed finally be able to train with weapons. The first time she was allowed to hold and train with a wooden blade, she quickly surprised the instructors with a seemingly innate talent in handling weapons and how well she was able to control her own body. After only a few months of training, Mayet was not only showing an unbelievable progress but she also seemed to enjoy the physical training a lot, which further contributed to her growth and much to her instructors dismay, one more thing that would feed her ego.

Thanks to how successful and proficient she became with weapons, Mayet was allowed to accompany her older siblings to one of their hunts when she made 12 years and was considered to already be able to defend herself well enough. It was on her first hunt that she was able to deliver the finishing blow to a female tiger the group was hunting, which ended up leaving a small, newborn cub behind. As a reward for her courage (and after much insistence from her part) she was allowed to keep the cub, which she ended up calling Nala and would later become her inseparable companion.

Growing older, Mayet would not only become a beautiful woman, she would also come to develop quite a presence after proving herself to be a fierce and independent woman. Despite that, her future was still uncertain. Much to the dismay of some of the members of the court, Mayet never shown much interest on the throne, despite her imposing presence and her strong personality. But perhaps that is for the best, as Mayet's personality didn't make it impossible for her to follow her father's footsteps and resort to fratricide in order to claim the throne... should she really put her mind into it.

After all... She always found a way to get what she wanted and so far, she was always able to...

Trivia

- Mayet means "The Cat" in ancient Egyptian. It is the name of an ancient Egyptian girl buried in the mortuary temple of king Mentuhotep II. Buried along with other five royal women (who were Mentuhotep II's wives), there was no title inscribed on her sarcophagus or her objects. It is assumed she was Mentuhotep II's daughter.

- Nala's name is a reference to the movie "The Lion King".

- Mayet's height is actually the average height for ancient egyptian women.

Questionnaire

Questionnaire

Optional(in POV of your character)

History
Did you grow up nurtured or neglected?: Definitely nurtured. While father didn't really have that much time for me after mother died, I was still raised receiving only the best of the best. From education to clothes.
When you were upset, where was your sanctuary?: Outdoors. Either hunting, running, sparring or training. Moving my body helps me to clear my head.
What were you like in your teenage years?: Defiant, proud, independent. There is no need to change that which is already perfect.
How close are you to your parents?: I was closer to mother. As close as one of the youngest could be. Before she died, that is. Father was closer to me before but he rarely has time for me now though.
Do you have any trauma that haunts you?: No.
What advice would you give your younger self?: Never settle to being what others want you to be. Do not care for what others think of you. Raise your head and teach them to respect you and your name.
Were you an obedient child or defiant?: I was never one to bow to others. I am not ordered, I order.
What is your biggest regret?: None. Both my failures and my successes made me the woman I am today and I am proud of who I am.

Romance
Have you ever been in love? : Not yet. It is hard to find someone interesting when they all treat you like if you are some precious glass doll. Afraid to approach or even touch you. Most importantly, it is hard to find a partner fitting for someone of my status and position.
What is most important in a partner to you? Describe your dream partner.: It would only be fair for them to be as perfect as I am, wouldn't it? I wouldn't have it any other way. I won't settle for someone who is inferior to me.
How do you display affection? What is your love language?: Hm... Skinship, kisses, hugs... Maybe even a few bites... Even a lioness needs to know how to pamper her partner from time to time...
Have you had your first kiss? What was it like?: I wonder who will be the lucky guy. I certainly didn't meet anyone worthy yet. Besides... Whenever that happens, he'd better be ready for it. I'm not one to let go of my prey once I catch it...
Do you believe in love at first sight? Why or why not?: Difficult. Love at first sight is not love. It's simply attraction.
What does marriage mean to you?: Marriage is what happens when a woman finds a worthy partner, a man good enough to stand by her side and isn't willing to let go of her catch.
Are you currently crushing on anyone?: Who knows...
Do you ever consider having children in the future?: In the far future? Perhaps... Who knows. It is still too early to think about it.

Personality
Describe your ideal Sunday morning: One of my attendants bringing me my breakfast. On my bed of course. I don't want to get up and get myself ready just to go downstairs and eat something. Oh, and they shouldn't forget about Nala. She gets grumpy in the morning if she doesn't eat her breakfast.
What kind of person do you aspire to be?: Someone impossible to ignore. Someone whose name is spoken with either fear or admiration. Someone who bows to no one.
What bad habits do you have?: I have the bad habit of expecting my attendants to be able to follow my orders without giving them overly detailed instructions on how to do so... Sometimes I forget that not everyone can be as perfect as me...
If you could go back in time and change anything in your past, what would it be?: Once again, I wouldn't change anything even if I could. I have no regrets. Every single choice I made, wrong or right, made me become what I am today.
What is your greatest fear?: Losing my freedom... Losing my position in the court would be a close second... I can't even imagine myself as a plebeian. Me? A plebeian? Hah...
What are your pet peeves?: Ignorant people. I can't stand them.
When you are in a sour mood, do you like to be alone or with others?: Mostly alone. Saving some very few exceptions such as Layla. And Nala, of course.
Are you more likely to fight with your fists or your tongue?: Hostility works if courtesy fails. Some people are incapable of learning with their mistakes. In those cases, pain will be the best teacher.

[13org]

Catherine Blackwood

---

Basic Information:

Name: Catherine Blackwood
Age: 21
Nicknames: 'Walking Disaster'
Height: 1,75m
Gender Identity: Female
Civil Status: Unmarried
Occupation: Alchemist and Adventurer
Reason for accepting this task: Any capable scholar or alchemist would immediately jump at the chance of studying the unknown. The implications of the potential discoveries far outweigh the risks. Both that and after Gremarre's royalty not only allowed her, but specifically requested her to do so.
Place of Residence: Gremarre Kingdom, Gremarre

---

Appearance:

If gods are real, they definitely blessed Catherine with her beauty. Standing at an above-average 1,75m, Catherine has a lean, athletic and elegant body. Blessed with perfect bodily proportions, from her hair, often kept in a slightly disheveled braid, to her long legs, calling Catherine a beauty is often an understatement.

Catherine seems to have a very unique style of clothing, often favoring more function than form, as it is evident by her signature, red overcoat, which seems to be custom tailored to her own needs, with dozens of places to hold potions, vials as well as internal pockets for ingredients and reagents.
Interestingly enough, Catherine's taste for clothes seems to fit her perfectly well. Her functional and elegant style complement her height in a beautiful manner and even the red overcoat seems to give her an unique 'touch' in her appearance. Other than that, despite her rather... 'unique', fashion sense, she is not oblivious to the beauty she was graced with, which is shown by how silky and well taken care of her hair is and the fact that her skin is always perfect (undoubtedly, thanks to her knowledge in Alchemy. Rumors are that queens would definitely start a war if they knew the tonics and skin care products Catherine is able to create and has been using for some time).

Underneath her elegant looks are hidden quite potent muscles though. Due to her unique physiology, result of years of self-experimentation with poisons, potions, tonics and many other things, the muscle fibers in her body became compressed and reinforced, giving Catherine enough strength to compete against a bodybuilder, while keeping her body lean and elegant. The rather unique mix of potent muscles with a light weight frame give Catherine rather unique physical capabilities.

---

Personality:

Most of the times, Catherine is an enthusiastic and very energetic person. Her wild personality and unruly behavior does make her quite at home among many adventurers, whom, despite how infamous she is, often enjoy having her for a drink.

Catherine shows interest to those who share her views, are interested in her work or those she considers her 'friends'. Despite her quirks and being somewhat hard to deal with, she still values friendship and camaraderie (even though it is rare for others to approach her enough to become more than 'drinking buddies'). That said, she shows a complete lack of interest on people who dont share her views, often outright ignoring them should they not have anything worthwile to say to her. Most of people in Gremarre find her hard to deal with, both because she openly despises those who speak ill of her regardless of their status, but still come to her when needed and because she accepts no interference in her job nor any 'suggestions' regarding her methods.

Being rather infamous for her dangerous research and experiments, unorthodox (and unethical) methods, Catherine often finds it very hard for her to get her hands into materials for her research, both due to their rarity and due to petty reasons from half of the academic society, which still dislike her after she wounded their pride when she arrived on Gremarre. Due to that, she has taken this 'supply' problem into her own hands, which wasn't exactly hard, since she was already an adventurer before arriving in Gremarre.

In combat situations, Catherine shows herself to be rather difficult to control. With little to no regards to collateral damage, the chaos she created in combats quickly became a nightmare to both enemies and allies alike by making unrestricted usage of poisons, explosive mixtures and some even worse compounds she created. While she is definitely a force to be reckoned with when by herself, she doesn't make any effort to work as a team and if the party she is working with does not know how to deal with her, they might find it easier to just stay out of her way and let her take care of things by herself.

---

Biography:

Little is known about Catherine's origins before she arrived on Gremarre as an adventurer other than the infamous record she holds in the Adventurer's Guild and the nickname she received, the "Walking Disaster". While she claims to be the daughter of a famous adventurer and an alchemist which had connections to the academic society in Gremarre, it's unknown if her claims are true or not, since both the adventurer she named seems to have either disappeared or be dead and the alchemist, while indeed having been once a promissing student from one of the academies in Gremarre, died from a contagious disease a few years ago after she left Gremarre.

Despite the unclear origins though, almost immediately upon arriving in Gremarre, Catherine estabilished herself as an unparalelled genius after openly and publicly interrupting and debating with scholars in the middle of an academic conference, disproving and debunking the theory that was being discussed while revealing the errors in their research. While that little stunt did earn her the enmity of half of the academic society, it did attract the attention of many eyes, including Gremarre's royal family, which saw great potential in such a genius, despite her rather... 'dangerous' personality and the complaints regarding her experiments and the methods she used, coming from both the Adventurer's Guild and especially the staff members that are tasked to cleaning up her mess afterwards.

Even though she was unfit to occupy any seat of importance due to obvious reasons, the royal family still considered her to be too valuable to throw away and at the same time, too dangerous to not keep an eye on as long as she was in their city, thanks to the trail of destruction and chaos she often left on her wake due to her recklessness and the 'experiments' she often made. Instead of labeling her as a dangerous individual and not allowing her to stay in the city, they made a small proposal to Catherine. As long as she agreed to provide them consultation and assistance in case her talents were needed and agree to periodically research and study subjects the royal family was interested in, they would not only give her complete freedom to make her own research and experiments, but would also provide a particular laboratory near the borders of the city, along with an yearly research funding to help her finance her studies.

---

Abilities:

Hand-to-hand combat:

What started only as a hobby of practicing martial arts in order to keep her body healthy, ended up evolving into an unique fighting style thanks to her body's unique constitution and became incredibly useful once she became an adventurer. Catherine makes use of not only punches and kicks, but her entire body in combat, including acrobatic moves, choke holds and even using her anatomy knowledge to strike joints and other weak spots.

Unique Physiology:

Years of using herself as a guinea-pig for testing potions, tonics, poisons and venoms due to the lack of willing subjects gave Catherine a rather unique body physiology. Her muscle fibers are both compressed and reinforced, giving her enough strength to compete against a bodybuilder without changing her body mass or flexibility and agility... As long as she is anchored on the ground in order to make up for the weight difference.
In combat, most of her strength doesn't come from her body weight, but instead the explosive acceleration she is able to produce when punching, kicking or her mobility, being able to both easily jump over and use acrobatic moves in order to reposition herself and move herself in a very quick and agile manner.

This unique physiology also gives Catherine an incredible resistance to most venoms, poisons and toxins, along with making her skin resistant to corrosion and burns.

The tradeff to that is that most beneficial potions and tonics that are normally used to heighen one's physical capabilities or senses to have a minimal effect on her, with the exception of healing potions. Her dulled sense of pain also means that she can fight despite being wounded, although it can be rather dangerous for Catherine, since thanks to that, she can reach the point of overexerting herself enough to tear her muscles apart without realizing if she doesn't pay enough attention.

Combat Alchemy:

Catherine makes use of a myriad of potions, venoms and mixtures while fighting, both throwing vials and making use of special gloves she had made for herself. From paralyzing venom and liquid nitrogen to explosive and incendiary mixtures to corrosive acids.

Miscellaneous Facts:

- Catherine often likes to play pranks on people that are unaware of her unique 'physiology', such as challenging them to drinking contests, arm wrestling or even races.

- While most of the staff-members from the Adventurer Guild really dislike her, the adventurers herself often enjoy her company, as she seems to identify herself with the most 'rowdy' type of adventurers.

- Catherine started learning martial arts as a hobby in order to keep her body healthy after extended periods of time stuck inside of her lab when researching left her with recurrent cramps and stiff muscles.

[13org]

Klara "Sanngridr" Weiss

---

Klara Weiss	General Information Name - Klara Weiss Age - 23 Height - 1,55m / 5'08" Hair Color - Platinum blonde Classification - Ex-officer and ace pilot from the Ruviyane Empire. Captured and then defected to the 'allied' forces.

Detailed Appearance

The first impression most people have upon first looking at Klara is of a petite, delicate girl with a doll-like beauty. Such impression is only made stronger by her long, platinum-blonde hair, the particular hairstyle she mostly always use and most importantly, her usual choice of clothes, often preferring a gothic-Lolita style, going as far as asking for a custom uniform to be made to her liking. Despite her frail and delicate appearance, Klara had formal military training by the empire of Ruvyiane, meaning that despite the size and weight disadvantage, she can still hold her own in a combat situation by using her stamina and agility.

Apart from her appearance, the other thing that seems to immediately draw attention on her appearance are the cybernetic arms she has, one black and one red. A quick look is enough to tell that these seem to be very technologically advanced, despite their appearance. The fact that their design make no effort to make them similar to human limbs seem to be intentional, as it's evident by the fact that both arms are not only painted but decorated with patterns on the surface, indicating that the reason for their design might be other than just purely cosmetic...

While it does blend quite well with Klara's usual style of clothes, the black collar she wears on her neck is a actually a device that is able to immediately incapacitate her via electric shock. Only the captain of the Phantom Brigade can activate it.

Personality

At first glance, Klara is not much different from other members of the high-nobility of the Ruviyane empire. Polite, intelligent, proud and delicate. Thanks to her good upbringing, Klara was taught everything she needed to be a perfect lady, despite her mischievous and somewhat whimsical personality. Her impeccable manners and dignified air, despite being rather conceited, only make her 'porcelain doll' charm even more apparent.

A deeper look at her personality, past the initial impressions quickly reveal that Klara might be more dangerous than her appearance or her behavior might show. Very logical, cunning and calculating, Klara shows little to no remorse in manipulating others to attain her goals, as long as the benefits outweighs the consequences for her actions. Saving those she consider being very close allies, she also doesn't seem to care at all about others, having no problems in saying exactly what she thinks to other people or even let them know she doesn't care about them.

It is only in the battlefield where one can have a real grasp of how dangerous Klara really is. Cruel, sadistic, heartless, bloodthirsty and terrifyingly ruthless, Klara goes beyond just showing a 'cold efficiency' on the battlefield. Where many soldiers would simply perform their duties, Klara seems to enjoy the carnage on the battlefield, the chaos and the violence. Her extreme brutality on the battlefield and the modified Lancer frame she used when she was fighting for the Ruviyane empire, stripped of most of it's heavy armor and armed with a heat lance, gave her the nickname 'Sanngridr', the name of a mythological Valkyrie, roughly translating to 'very violent, very cruel'.

Despite having such a terrifying personality, Klara shows herself to be surprisingly approachable, always receiving those who wish to talk to her with a polite, dignified smile. To those she is close with, Klara often is more friendly and amicable instead of simply polite, showing an unexpected outgoing and rather cheerful side. Her twisted sense of morals and lack of respect towards human lives often show themselves a bit more frequently, be in her words or actions, to those she is close with, since she doesn't seem to be as concerned as she normally is with hiding her true self.

ed1c24

Bio

Despite being born into a family famous for it's extensive military history, Klara wasn't originally raised neither to be a soldier nor a pilot, instead being raised to be a perfect noble, being taught everything she needed to thrive in Ruviyane's society by the best tutors. In the beginning, her sharp, cunning mind and how easily she could manipulate others made her father immediately think she had all the right talents to thrive in role he had chosen for her. Due to that and the fact that Klara was the youngest daughter, not having a claim to the title of family head like her elder brother and the only woman of the family after her mother died a few years after her birth she had little choice in the role she would perform in the family. After all, the family needed a woman to marry into other powerful families and forge connections to other families to further expand their influence.

Surprisingly enough, as Klara grew, she began showing an increased interest towards a military career, particularly towards the huge battle-frames the knights piloted. Both the tales of her father's feats on the battlefield and the few times she was invited to watch her older brother in the training battle-frame slowly made her drift away from the role her parents had set for her, until her interest was solely focused on a possible military career as a pilot. It was only after a considerable effort and insistence from her part that her parents gave in and allowed her to enroll into the military academy, under the condition that she should have satisfactory results or go continue focusing her teaching on the ways of the high-nobility, economy and politics. At first, neither her family nor the instructors believed she would be able to do anything other than being an officer on the intelligence department, which required only intellect instead of physical prowess. After all, there was no way a delicate noble lady like Klara was fit for the military.

In the first few months of military academy, Klara was able to surprise everyone with how well she was able to perform under pressure and deal with the harsh training. Despite her small body, she was fast and agile on her feet and most importantly, had an unusually sharp and quick mind, even when under pressure. As the first sparring sessions in battle-frame simulator began, all the remaining doubts regarding Klara were immediately cleared, both by her family and the instructors. Whenever Klara was in a combat situation, even if it was a simulated one, she turned into a completely different person. The unbelievable ferocity, efficiency and ruthlessness she displayed, even on trainings was enough to quickly overwhelm and knock down all the other cadets and give even a few of the instructors a hard time, despite her preference towards using melee weapons.

Thanks to her performance, Klara graduated from the Military Academy quite early, with only 17 years, being assigned into the same armored division her older brother and father were. Even as a beginner pilot, her ferocity on the battlefield quickly made her known as a very promising talent. Performing better than some experienced pilots despite using only a stock Lancer frame, Klara's contribution only grew as the battles continued, as it did her infamy due to her cruel fighting style and the seeming excitement she felt when in combat. The blood curdling giggles, laughter and humming that could be heard from the radio as she mercilessly pierced enemy battle-frames with her Lancer and broke their formation, despite being unnerving, was enough to boost the morale of ally pilots and soldiers.

Unfortunately, even for such a naturally talented pilot such as Klara, there was only so much she was able to do with a stock Lancer frame. Especially given the fact that her unique fighting style didn't really match the frame. In one of the combats, the poor match of her frame with her combat style finally caused an incident when she was unable to dodge out of the way from an explosive shell from an enemy long-range battle-frame, which exploded just before piercing her frame. The pressure from the explosion was enough to immediately send her unconscious, even before she noticed that shrapnel fragments from her own battle-frame's armor cut both of her arms. Fortunately, she was quickly rescued by her allies and immediately sent to a hospital. Due to the strong shock of the explosion, Klara would end up waking up only a few weeks later, already having her arms replaced by highly advanced, custom made cybernetic arms, provided both by the army and her family.

Even though Klara didn't receive any psychological trauma for seeing her own arms being torn to shreds, due to being unconscious, the rehabilitation still took a decent time, including getting used to her new arms. At first, when Klara stated her intention to go back to the military to her family, there were some protests, but they were quickly silenced by her father, a hardened veteran which stated that not only it was right for her to go back to the military, but it was her only choice, as she had chosen the military career herself. Regardless of her father's rough words, which were in part expected, given how famous he was for not being exactly someone to openly show his feelings, it was still evident that she had his support, especially with her receiving from him, a modified Lancer frame, including an upgraded heat lance and focusing more on agility instead of armor.

Armed with a modified frame and her new cybernetic arms, Klara's return to the battlefield was nothing short of terrifying for the enemy. With a frame that was able to keep up with her quick thinking and move itself in the way she wanted, Klara's contribution on the battlefield, was enough to rise her status from a mere pilot to an ace. The quick, lightning offensives commanded by her father and led by her brother had an immense success whenever she was included on them, always followed by devastating losses for the enemies. The battles after her return to the battlefield were the ones responsible for giving her the nickname 'Sanngridr'.

Unfortunately, despite the many years of service her family had dedicated to the empire and even hers and her brother's achievements in combat, something neither Klara herself nor her family was expecting. While neither one of them were oblivious to the tactics the empire used, which saw both equipment, pilots and soldiers as mere 'numbers', willing to abandon an entire platoon if the loss of units and resources was considered to be acceptable when taking in consideration the result, they had never expected such fate would befall them instead of mere low-ranking, volunteer soldiers...

Despite the repeated successes in the quick offensives Klara's division had recently, on that particular day, they encountered an unexpected resistance from the enemy. The initial plan was to quickly infiltrate behind enemy lines and attack a convoy of transportation units before they reached the front-lines carrying ammunition and resources. According to the data they received from scouts and surveillance, the convoy should have been escorted only by a few enemy battle-frames and in the beginning, everything was going on according to the plan. But on the very moment they made their attack on the convoy, the transport vehicle opened up, revealing another unit of battle-frames, ready for combat. Being quickly surrounded, Klara's unit did her best to retreat, but having been caught off-guard by the reinforcements, there was little they could do but to ask for support, which according to the report they received from the headquarters, would take a few minutes to arrive.

Despite the numerical disadvantage, Klara, her father, her brother and their unit continued slowly retreating while waiting for the promised reinforcements. Focusing only on maintaining a tight formation and avoid being flanked, they continued slowly retreating, but for every two enemy battle-frames that they damaged and incapacitated, one of theirs was completely destroyed. This grinding battle continued until there was only Klara, her brother and her father remaining. At that moment, a radio transmission was received on their radio. Relief was clear in their expression, believing the reinforcements had finally arrived. Much for their dismay though, instead of the contact from friendly units and battle-frames, they received a single message...

"Klara Weiss, Alexander Weiss and Maximilian Weiss, thank you for your years of service for the empire. May the emperor's grace be with you."

The moment they finally understood the meaning of that message, it was already too late as the artillery shells began bombarding their position, immediately annihilating both the enemy battle-frames and theirs at the same time. The empire had decided that mobilizing an entire unit as an emergency measure to enter in direct combat with the enemy forces and rescue their unit was simply too much of a waste of resources to rescue them, so instead of ending that confrontation in a total loss, they calculated it would be more beneficial to send long range artillery to bombard their position as there would be much bigger losses for the enemies than for the empire themselves. The last thing Klara remembers was the deafening explosions as the shells impacted the ground, before her battle-frame was almost tackled by her father, Maximilian and her brother Alexander...

Klara woke up hours later with the alarms of her custom Lancer unit exploding into her ear. The cockpit, albeit cracked and damaged, was still functional and the upper limbs seemed to have retained at least part of their movement, but the lower part of her battle-frame was completely gone, exploded to bits due to the bombardment. The moment she turned on the monitor again, much to her own despair, she could clearly see the reason for her survival... Above her own battle-frame, there were the contorted remains of her father and her brother's frames, having shielded her before the explosions. Enraged, Klara got out from under the scraps of her former family, dragging her broken battle-frame back towards the front-lines. During that time, there was only one thing in her mind... She wanted to know why... Who was responsible for such decision. After all the years her family dedicated to the empire and they still treated them like mere numbers.

Before she could reach her destiny though, she was stopped by a squadron of scout frames from the enemy forces, searching for survivals in the smoking crater that was once the place where the ambush convoy was. Unarmed, exhausted and with a broken frame, there was little Klara could do but to surrender herself... Oblivious to the events that led to her capture, she was considered a high-profile prisoner, due both to her status as a noble and her achievements as a pilot. It was only during her time captured that they came to know about what really happened and made Klara an offer... If she volunteered to fight for them in the Phantom Brigade and agreed with their conditions, they would not only give her a chance at revenge, but they would also consider give her political asylum and protect her, should the empire come after her after considering her a traitor. For Klara, the answer to such proposal was an easy one. Not only she would be able to go back to the battlefield, she would have a chance to get revenge on those who betrayed her.

Skills

Cybernetic arms: Klara's cybernetic arms, despite being incredibly advanced, weren't designed to make them look like human arms, instead they were designed with the sole purpose of being effective on the battlefield. Be it while piloting her battle-frame or in close combat.

Military training: While Klara is definitely at disadvantage regarding size and weight, her military training made her very fast and agile, playing to the strengths of her petite frame. Additionally, it gave her an incredible stamina in order to deal with extended periods of time piloting her battle-frame. Her cybernetic arms, due to their enhanced strength ended up covering for her previous disadvantage in close quarter combat.

'Sanngridr': Klara is incredibly proficient at piloting light, agile battle-frames on the battlefield. While she is capable of using an aggressive combat style focusing on melee weapons and heavy disruption, she is also very proficient at using her battle-frame's agility and mobility for stealth and infiltration. Her capability of moving quickly and unnoticed in the battlefield, position herself perfectly before beginning a violent carnage is what gave her such nickname.

IRISU-002X - Wraith

---

Battle-Frame Name - Interception, Reconnaissance, Infiltration and Stealth Unit number 002X (Experimental)

Description

This experimental unit was developed with the intention of being a very lightly armored, extremely fast, agile and mobile unit focusing on infiltration, interception and reconnaissance. Fitting to it's name and purpose, this frame is and incredibly light one, lacking the bulky armor that most frames have and instead focusing only on shielding the most vital components, doing as much as possible to keep it's overall weight low. It's low weight and the excessively powerful Therranite reactor, normally used for heavy-units, allow this battle-frame to have an extreme mobility and speed, despite not making use of auxiliary booster systems.

Due to the extreme weight and size restrictions in order to maintain maximum speed, mobility and to keep it's radar signature as low as possible, the Wraith is completely devoid of any auxiliary or backup weapon systems and has no ranged capability other than throwing it's knives, which is only effective at medium range at best It's tail can also be used as a weapon due to the blade on it's very tip, which heat-up similarly to it's knives and is also capable of generating and discharging a powerful electric current to temporarily deactivate or even fry the electronic systems of frames which it enters in contact with.

The multiple arms and the auxiliary, thigh mounted arms not only make it a devastating frame in melee combat, but also allows it to climb and latch itself even upside-down if necessary. The shoulder-mounted harpoon system also give it quite an incredible mobility, being able to even be used as weapons if necessary. Having an almost exclusive focus on melee-combat, the Wraith frame is also equipped with a multitude of disruptive systems, such as a cloaking device, smoke and chaff area systems and the ability of producing EMP pulses.

Despite how incredibly complicated and difficult this frame is to pilot, when in the hands of an experienced pilot, it is an undeniably terrifying frame, being capable of extreme mobility, disruption and extremely effective at melee combat. It's capability of creating chaos on the battlefield after infiltrating the enemy backline only to disappear soon after was exactly what gave it's particular model name "Wraith".

Primary Systems

Upgraded Heat Knives: Given this particular frame's extreme dependence on it's melee weapons, it was provided with the most advanced model of heat knives, able of piercing and cutting through even the thickest armors either instantaneously or if given a bit of time, depending on the armor's thickness.

Flexible Anti-Mech Weapon System 'Stinger': The characteristic flexible tail is armed both with the capability of discharging a potent electric current in order to temporarily stun, disable or even fry the electronic systems from battle-frames that enter in contact with it and is armed with a heat-blade similar to the ones present in the heat daggers the frame uses. Aside from that, it can also be used to restrain and trip other frames or in a multitude of other ways.

Secondary Systems

Disruption and Counter-measure System: The IRISU-002X - Wraith frame is capable of deploying a wide area smoke and especially heated chaff made of a thermally reactive material in order to either serve as a countermeasure to guided weapons or in order to counter other frames' visual and detection systems. It is also capable of generating strong EMP pulses or even maintain an EMP field around itself.

Extremely small radar signature: Due to the way this Battle-Frame was designed the materials and even the special coat of paint used, it's radar signature is extremely small, being quite hard to detect via radar.

Advanced Radar and Detection System: In order to avoid being blinded by it's own EMP and countermeasure systems, the IRISU-002X - Wraith Battle-Frame has especially designed, strong radar and detection systems in order to prevent interference and jamming. It's capability of accurately identifying enemy units in an area around itself, by using either conventional radar systems or even special types of detection systems such as thermal vision, infrared & etc. also allow it to directly relay this information to allied units inside it's range.

Prototype System

Wraith Active Camouflage System: This experimental system, developed especially to this particular battle-frame generates an electromagnetic field with a special, very specific frequency. This electromagnetic field coats the battle-frame almost as a second skin, allowing it to bend light waves, essentially turning it virtually invisible even to infrared based detection systems. While it still works when moving fast, it's effectiveness is heavily reduced, with the frame being able to be detected as a rather noticeable 'light distortion' when observed carefully.

[13org]

Nellara

_{Name | Age | Race | Occupation
Nellara, 23, Tekeri, Castigator for the Order of Magisters}

Detailed Appearance

Standing at about 2,30m (7'4"), Nellara's appearance, unlike some Tekeri, can be considered to be more elegant and beautiful than outright feral. Even with the two pairs of ferocious, sharp looking eyes, the dangerous claws, talons and her hooked, serrated beak, Nellara's beautiful, black feathers, her tall, lean and elegant body and the beautiful crown of feathers adorning her head make her quite a majestic creature to look at. The gold dye adorning her face and crown of feathers only give her an even more 'dignified' appearance, matching the gold decorations on her chitin armor which extend until her talons and claws.

With one look, it becomes clearly evident that Nellara is as dangerous as any other warrior though, despite her elegant build when compared to other, more 'feral' looking Tekeri.

Much like many other Tekeri, Nellara doesn't use weapons, instead preferring to make use of the natural weapons and her physical prowess. Nellara in particular seems to focus on using her legs and talons as weapons, supported by her speed and Lightning Magic.

_Personality

As a result of both her training and upbringing, Nellara was taught to be ruthlessly efficient, cold, logical and practical in everything she did. Hesitation, both in acting and fulfilling orders was a sign of failure. Showing one's emotions while fulfilling her duty, a sign of weakness and through all Nellara's training, repeated failures were always answered with punishment.
Since she was young, these values were always carved into her mind by both harsh training and education. Staying true to that, Nellara is nothing but cold and ruthlessly efficient when performing her duties as a Castigator.

Be it both for the gold marks in her feathers, the dark armor she wears or the imposing almost regal presence that demands respect, it is hard to ignore Nellara's presence. Exuding both elegance and danger, Nellara carries herself with the pride of someone who has earned the title of Castigator for the Order of Magisters.

In the rare moments where Nellara is not officially on duty as a Castigator, one might find that she isn't as hard to approach as she seems to be nor is she as cold as she normally is when on duty. While definitely still an intense and fierce woman, her curiosity is a good way of earning her interest and striking up a good conversation with her. Despite her rather 'fierce' personality, Nellara still takes care of her appearance, cleaning and maintaining both her feathers and dying them whenever the gold paint starts to fade.

_Backstory

Bio

Unlike many Tekeri, who were raised in commoner families without many resources, Nellara was born as the result of the union of two mages, one of which was a life mage and thus, highly valued by the Ascendancy. Thanks to her lineage and the expectation that was put into her awakening into a powerful mage, she was able to receive the best education and training one could, with her childhood been largely spent studying and training.

Unfortunately, awakening one's magic isn't something that can be forced and is largely left up to fate. Regardless of how much Nellara trained while she was younger and how much she prepared, magic only came to Nellara very late and with great difficulty. Even after awakening as a lightning mage, manifesting her magic was always difficult for Nellara, to the point that her parents started losing their hopes on her and instead focused their attention on her siblings.

Despite having lost favor with her parents, Nellara didn't give up. While having been tossed aside by her family did wound both her confidence and her feelings, it only made Nellara even more determined to show them that they were wrong. Instead of focusing her efforts on magic, she decided to train her body as much as she could. Soon it became evident that even though Nellara seemed to lack talent for magic, she more than made up for it with her physical capabilities. She was fast, agile, strong, deadly. Few were the ones who were able to dodge her kicks in the sparring sessions, even fewer were those who were able to come out unscathed after being hit. Despite being considered as a waste of resources by her family, despite the lack of talent for magic, for a moment, Nellara thought that she was going to make it... That was until she decided to try applying to the position of a Castigator for the Order of Magisters...

As soon as the selection process began, all the confidence Nellara had built by showing her superiority against other Tekeris was simply crushed. Even though she was still physically superior to many applicants, the lack of magic showed to be a huge disadvantage. Even by trying her hardest, Nellara was only able to barely pass to the second phase of the selection process. On this phase, the applicants would be dispatched to a location where the Ascendancy has some interest in, adistant territory beyond the Ascendancy's borders in order to deliver report about it an and resolving any issues along the way.

The place Nellara was dispatched to investigate was a small village in an arid, desert-like territory. Assailed by wild beasts and the harsh, arid climate, the trip to the village was an arduous and harsh one. The wild beasts, despite being small, were still dangerous, due to many of them either hunting in packs of being venomous. More than once, Nellara saw herself having to flee or avoid crossing the path of giant ants that made their home near the deserts.

After three days, Nellara finally arrived at the village. Tired, exhausted and with her body covered with cuts and scratches, she was received in the village by one of the families there, who took her in, fed her and took care of her wounds in exchange for a few pieces of silver. At first, Nellara thought that it was just one family, but as soon as she regained her strength and went to investigate the village, she noticed that all the Tekeris that lived there had immaculately white feathers, something that was incredibly rare back in Arcaeda.

Her first meeting with the elder of that village wasn't a very amicable one. The strange, albino Tekeri, had his body, feathers and claws decorated with gold, forming lines that connecting them in a complex pattern. Despite his advanced age, his first words were as harsh as his eyes were as he asked Nellara for the reason for her visit.
After Nellara finished giving him a brief explanation, mentioning she was acting under orders of the Magisters, the elder simply sneered, showing his discontent. Despite Nellara's insistence, the elder, who introduced himself as Aibiq, didn't seem to believe her. Arcaeda had abandoned him and his village for years, to assume they would suddenly send someone to make a report was simply preposterous and immediately ordered Nellara to leave.

Upon Nellara's refusal, Aibiq's patience had visibly started to run thin and even before Nellara could try and explain herself the elder approached her and with a surprising speed, especially taking in consideration his age, he extended his hand and approached Nellara's forehead with the tip of the claw on his index finger. The moment the gold painted claw touched her, before Nellara could even act, a strong electrical current ran through the elder's body jumping from one golden line to the other in dangerous arcs of electricity. The moment the electricity was about to reach her and the Elder's claw was just about to touch her, a strong spark of electricity suddenly jumped, coming from Nellara's own body and met the Elder's claw, repelling both of them and sending them flying to separate sides of the room.

As Nellara opened her eyes, after suffering a strong impact, she was met with Aibiq's surprised expression as he stood up again. Before Nellara could open her mouth, he simply raised his hand, asking for silence. It was then that Aibiq made Nellara a proposal that would change her life. In exchange of interceding for that village when reporting to the Order of Magisters, Aibiq would teach Nellara about their unique way of using Lightning magic, which greatly differed from how the Magisters taught. At that moment, Nellara was met with a choice she had to make... She could go back to Arcaeda and complete the second phase of the selection, only to fail when competing with the other applicants... Or she could give up from the selection process and stay to learn the Tekeri nomads' way... In the end, she chose to take the chance and stay on the village.

Nellara would stay in the nameless vilage for eight months, where she would learn that she wasn't suited for how the Magisters taught Lightning magic and instead, learned the ways of the Tekeri nomads. From the usage of iron sand, magnetism, iron spheres to how gold could be used as a conductor for their lightning magic. In the end of those eight months, Nellari, having been taught everything she could learn, underwent a ceremony where she was taught the gold patterns and the markings which now adorn her feathers, body and claws.

Her return to Arcaeda was unsurprisingly met with the disapproval from the Order of Magisters and her family, for having failed the second part of the selection. Despite such reception, Nellara was unfazed by the harsh, judgemental stares. Using what she learned with the nomads, she once again volunteered for the seat of Castigator and unlike the first time, Nellara crushed the competition. Unlike her previous self, she didn't doubt herself or her skills anymore and with renewed determination and confidence, she shattered previous records, earning the title of Castigator with a frightening speed. In the end Castigator Nellara stood proud of her accomplishment, having reached such position with nothing but her own blood and effort.

_{Magical Affiliation}

Lightning Domain Proficiency: Nellara uses her Lightning Domain magic in a rather ingenious manner. While she is unable to use lightning as projectiles or summon it from the skies, she is able to use magnetism to control iron sand, using iron spheres as projectiles or even create a strong electricity current linking one iron sphere to another. The gold markings in her claws can also serve as conductors, allowing her to electrocute enemies as she strikes them.

_Skills

Unarmed Combat: Like some Tekeris, Nellara prefers to use her claws and talons as weapons. While skilled with both her hands and feet, her specialty is the usage of deadly kicks, coupled with her speed and her lightning magic.

Wilderness Survival: All Castigators are required to know how to survive by themselves in the wild as they are frequently required to take long trips in order to fulfill their duty to the Ascendancy.

Unconventional Lightning Magic: Nellara can use magnetism to control iron sand, iron spheres and use the gold markings on her claws and talons to conduct electricity when striking her opponents. While she is unable to summon electricity from the skies or use ranged attacks just with electricity, she can fire iron spheres as projectiles (one at a time) or use iron spheres on the ground to conduct electricity from one to another to electrocute enemies nearby these spheres or prevent them from running.

_Equipment

Darkened Chitin Armor: Armor made of darkened chitin plates. While it's not as strong as a metallic armor, it's much lighter and has the added benefit of being resistant to lightning mages.

Pouch of small iron spheres: A pouch containing a handful of small iron spheres with a centimeter of diameter each.

Pouch of Iron Sand: A pouch of heavily concentrated, black iron sand Nellara takes with her in order to use with her Lightning Domain magic.

[13org]

Klara "Sanngridr" Weiss

---

Klara Weiss	General Information Name - Klara Weiss Age - 23 Height - 1,55m / 5'08" Hair Color - Platinum blonde Classification - Ex-officer and ace pilot from the Ruviyane Empire. Captured and then defected to the 'allied' forces.

Detailed Appearance

The first impression most people have upon first looking at Klara is of a petite, delicate girl with a doll-like beauty. Such impression is only made stronger by her long, platinum-blonde hair, the particular hairstyle she mostly always use and most importantly, her usual choice of clothes, often preferring a gothic-Lolita style, going as far as asking for a custom uniform to be made to her liking. Despite her frail and delicate appearance, Klara had formal military training by the empire of Ruvyiane, meaning that despite the size and weight disadvantage, she can still hold her own in a combat situation by using her stamina and agility.

Apart from her appearance, the other thing that seems to immediately draw attention on her appearance are the cybernetic arms she has, one black and one red. A quick look is enough to tell that these seem to be very technologically advanced, despite their appearance. The fact that their design make no effort to make them similar to human limbs seem to be intentional, as it's evident by the fact that both arms are not only painted but decorated with patterns on the surface, indicating that the reason for their design might be other than just purely cosmetic...

While it does blend quite well with Klara's usual style of clothes, the black collar she wears on her neck is a actually a device that is able to immediately incapacitate her via electric shock. Only the captain of the Phantom Brigade can activate it.

Personality

At first glance, Klara is not much different from other members of the high-nobility of the Ruviyane empire. Polite, intelligent, proud and delicate. Thanks to her good upbringing, Klara was taught everything she needed to be a perfect lady, despite her mischievous and somewhat whimsical personality. Her impeccable manners and dignified air, despite being rather conceited, only make her 'porcelain doll' charm even more apparent.

A deeper look at her personality, past the initial impressions quickly reveal that Klara might be more dangerous than her appearance or her behavior might show. Very logical, cunning and calculating, Klara shows little to no remorse in manipulating others to attain her goals, as long as the benefits outweighs the consequences for her actions. Saving those she consider being very close allies, she also doesn't seem to care at all about others, having no problems in saying exactly what she thinks to other people or even let them know she doesn't care about them.

It is only in the battlefield where one can have a real grasp of how dangerous Klara really is. Cruel, sadistic, heartless, bloodthirsty and terrifyingly ruthless, Klara goes beyond just showing a 'cold efficiency' on the battlefield. Where many soldiers would simply perform their duties, Klara seems to enjoy the carnage on the battlefield, the chaos and the violence. Her extreme brutality on the battlefield and the modified Lancer frame she used when she was fighting for the Ruviyane empire, stripped of most of it's heavy armor and armed with a heat lance, gave her the nickname 'Sanngridr', the name of a mythological Valkyrie, roughly translating to 'very violent, very cruel'.

Despite having such a terrifying personality, Klara shows herself to be surprisingly approachable, always receiving those who wish to talk to her with a polite, dignified smile. To those she is close with, Klara often is more friendly and amicable instead of simply polite, showing an unexpected outgoing and rather cheerful side. Her twisted sense of morals and lack of respect towards human lives often show themselves a bit more frequently, be in her words or actions, to those she is close with, since she doesn't seem to be as concerned as she normally is with hiding her true self.

ed1c24

Bio

Despite being born into a family famous for it's extensive military history, Klara wasn't originally raised neither to be a soldier nor a pilot, instead being raised to be a perfect noble, being taught everything she needed to thrive in Ruviyane's society by the best tutors. In the beginning, her sharp, cunning mind and how easily she could manipulate others made her father immediately think she had all the right talents to thrive in role he had chosen for her. Due to that and the fact that Klara was the youngest daughter, not having a claim to the title of family head like her elder brother and the only woman of the family after her mother died a few years after her birth she had little choice in the role she would perform in the family. After all, the family needed a woman to marry into other powerful families and forge connections to other families to further expand their influence.

Surprisingly enough, as Klara grew, she began showing an increased interest towards a military career, particularly towards the huge battle-frames the knights piloted. Both the tales of her father's feats on the battlefield and the few times she was invited to watch her older brother in the training battle-frame slowly made her drift away from the role her parents had set for her, until her interest was solely focused on a possible military career as a pilot. It was only after a considerable effort and insistence from her part that her parents gave in and allowed her to enroll into the military academy, under the condition that she should have satisfactory results or go continue focusing her teaching on the ways of the high-nobility, economy and politics. At first, neither her family nor the instructors believed she would be able to do anything other than being an officer on the intelligence department, which required only intellect instead of physical prowess. After all, there was no way a delicate noble lady like Klara was fit for the military.

In the first few months of military academy, Klara was able to surprise everyone with how well she was able to perform under pressure and deal with the harsh training. Despite her small body, she was fast and agile on her feet and most importantly, had an unusually sharp and quick mind, even when under pressure. As the first sparring sessions in battle-frame simulator began, all the remaining doubts regarding Klara were immediately cleared, both by her family and the instructors. Whenever Klara was in a combat situation, even if it was a simulated one, she turned into a completely different person. The unbelievable ferocity, efficiency and ruthlessness she displayed, even on trainings was enough to quickly overwhelm and knock down all the other cadets and give even a few of the instructors a hard time, despite her preference towards using melee weapons.

Thanks to her performance, Klara graduated from the Military Academy quite early, with only 17 years, being assigned into the same armored division her older brother and father were. Even as a beginner pilot, her ferocity on the battlefield quickly made her known as a very promising talent. Performing better than some experienced pilots despite using only a stock Lancer frame, Klara's contribution only grew as the battles continued, as it did her infamy due to her cruel fighting style and the seeming excitement she felt when in combat. The blood curdling giggles, laughter and humming that could be heard from the radio as she mercilessly pierced enemy battle-frames with her Lancer and broke their formation, despite being unnerving, was enough to boost the morale of ally pilots and soldiers.

Unfortunately, even for such a naturally talented pilot such as Klara, there was only so much she was able to do with a stock Lancer frame. Especially given the fact that her unique fighting style didn't really match the frame. In one of the combats, the poor match of her frame with her combat style finally caused an incident when she was unable to dodge out of the way from an explosive shell from an enemy long-range battle-frame, which exploded just before piercing her frame. The pressure from the explosion was enough to immediately send her unconscious, even before she noticed that shrapnel fragments from her own battle-frame's armor cut both of her arms. Fortunately, she was quickly rescued by her allies and immediately sent to a hospital. Due to the strong shock of the explosion, Klara would end up waking up only a few weeks later, already having her arms replaced by highly advanced, custom made cybernetic arms, provided both by the army and her family.

Even though Klara didn't receive any psychological trauma for seeing her own arms being torn to shreds, due to being unconscious, the rehabilitation still took a decent time, including getting used to her new arms. At first, when Klara stated her intention to go back to the military to her family, there were some protests, but they were quickly silenced by her father, a hardened veteran which stated that not only it was right for her to go back to the military, but it was her only choice, as she had chosen the military career herself. Regardless of her father's rough words, which were in part expected, given how famous he was for not being exactly someone to openly show his feelings, it was still evident that she had his support, especially with her receiving from him, a modified Lancer frame, including an upgraded heat lance and focusing more on agility instead of armor.

Armed with a modified frame and her new cybernetic arms, Klara's return to the battlefield was nothing short of terrifying for the enemy. With a frame that was able to keep up with her quick thinking and move itself in the way she wanted, Klara's contribution on the battlefield, was enough to rise her status from a mere pilot to an ace. The quick, lightning offensives commanded by her father and led by her brother had an immense success whenever she was included on them, always followed by devastating losses for the enemies. The battles after her return to the battlefield were the ones responsible for giving her the nickname 'Sanngridr'.

Unfortunately, despite the many years of service her family had dedicated to the empire and even hers and her brother's achievements in combat, something neither Klara herself nor her family was expecting. While neither one of them were oblivious to the tactics the empire used, which saw both equipment, pilots and soldiers as mere 'numbers', willing to abandon an entire platoon if the loss of units and resources was considered to be acceptable when taking in consideration the result, they had never expected such fate would befall them instead of mere low-ranking, volunteer soldiers...

Despite the repeated successes in the quick offensives Klara's division had recently, on that particular day, they encountered an unexpected resistance from the enemy. The initial plan was to quickly infiltrate behind enemy lines and attack a convoy of transportation units before they reached the front-lines carrying ammunition and resources. According to the data they received from scouts and surveillance, the convoy should have been escorted only by a few enemy battle-frames and in the beginning, everything was going on according to the plan. But on the very moment they made their attack on the convoy, the transport vehicle opened up, revealing another unit of battle-frames, ready for combat. Being quickly surrounded, Klara's unit did her best to retreat, but having been caught off-guard by the reinforcements, there was little they could do but to ask for support, which according to the report they received from the headquarters, would take a few minutes to arrive.

Despite the numerical disadvantage, Klara, her father, her brother and their unit continued slowly retreating while waiting for the promised reinforcements. Focusing only on maintaining a tight formation and avoid being flanked, they continued slowly retreating, but for every two enemy battle-frames that they damaged and incapacitated, one of theirs was completely destroyed. This grinding battle continued until there was only Klara, her brother and her father remaining. At that moment, a radio transmission was received on their radio. Relief was clear in their expression, believing the reinforcements had finally arrived. Much for their dismay though, instead of the contact from friendly units and battle-frames, they received a single message...

"Klara Weiss, Alexander Weiss and Maximilian Weiss, thank you for your years of service for the empire. May the emperor's grace be with you."

The moment they finally understood the meaning of that message, it was already too late as the artillery shells began bombarding their position, immediately annihilating both the enemy battle-frames and theirs at the same time. The empire had decided that mobilizing an entire unit as an emergency measure to enter in direct combat with the enemy forces and rescue their unit was simply too much of a waste of resources to rescue them, so instead of ending that confrontation in a total loss, they calculated it would be more beneficial to send long range artillery to bombard their position as there would be much bigger losses for the enemies than for the empire themselves. The last thing Klara remembers was the deafening explosions as the shells impacted the ground, before her battle-frame was almost tackled by her father, Maximilian and her brother Alexander...

Klara woke up hours later with the alarms of her custom Lancer unit exploding into her ear. The cockpit, albeit cracked and damaged, was still functional and the upper limbs seemed to have retained at least part of their movement, but the lower part of her battle-frame was completely gone, exploded to bits due to the bombardment. The moment she turned on the monitor again, much to her own despair, she could clearly see the reason for her survival... Above her own battle-frame, there were the contorted remains of her father and her brother's frames, having shielded her before the explosions. Enraged, Klara got out from under the scraps of her former family, dragging her broken battle-frame back towards the front-lines. During that time, there was only one thing in her mind... She wanted to know why... Who was responsible for such decision. After all the years her family dedicated to the empire and they still treated them like mere numbers.

Before she could reach her destiny though, she was stopped by a squadron of scout frames from the enemy forces, searching for survivals in the smoking crater that was once the place where the ambush convoy was. Unarmed, exhausted and with a broken frame, there was little Klara could do but to surrender herself... Oblivious to the events that led to her capture, she was considered a high-profile prisoner, due both to her status as a noble and her achievements as a pilot. It was only during her time captured that they came to know about what really happened and made Klara an offer... If she volunteered to fight for them in the Phantom Brigade and agreed with their conditions, they would not only give her a chance at revenge, but they would also consider give her political asylum and protect her, should the empire come after her after considering her a traitor. For Klara, the answer to such proposal was an easy one. Not only she would be able to go back to the battlefield, she would have a chance to get revenge on those who betrayed her.

Skills

Cybernetic arms: Klara's cybernetic arms, despite being incredibly advanced, weren't designed to make them look like human arms, instead they were designed with the sole purpose of being effective on the battlefield. Be it while piloting her battle-frame or in close combat.

Military training: While Klara is definitely at disadvantage regarding size and weight, her military training made her very fast and agile, playing to the strengths of her petite frame. Additionally, it gave her an incredible stamina in order to deal with extended periods of time piloting her battle-frame. Her cybernetic arms, due to their enhanced strength ended up covering for her previous disadvantage in close quarter combat.

'Sanngridr': Klara is incredibly proficient at piloting light, agile battle-frames on the battlefield. While she is capable of using an aggressive combat style focusing on melee weapons and heavy disruption, she is also very proficient at using her battle-frame's agility and mobility for stealth and infiltration. Her capability of moving quickly and unnoticed in the battlefield, position herself perfectly before beginning a violent carnage is what gave her such nickname.

IRISU-002X - Wraith

---

Battle-Frame Name - Interception, Reconnaissance, Infiltration and Stealth Unit number 002X (Experimental)

Weight Class - Light

Description

This experimental unit was developed with the intention of being a very lightly armored, extremely fast, agile and mobile unit focusing on infiltration, interception and reconnaissance. Fitting to it's name and purpose, this frame is and incredibly light one, lacking the bulky armor that most frames have and instead focusing only on shielding the most vital components, doing as much as possible to keep it's overall weight low. It's low weight and the excessively powerful Therranite reactor, normally used for heavy-units, allow this battle-frame to have an extreme mobility and speed, despite not making use of auxiliary booster systems.

Due to the extreme weight and size restrictions in order to maintain maximum speed, mobility and to keep it's radar signature as low as possible, the Wraith is completely devoid of any auxiliary or backup weapon systems and has no ranged capability other than throwing it's knives, which is only effective at medium range at best It's tail can also be used as a weapon due to the blade on it's very tip, which heat-up similarly to it's knives and is also capable of generating and discharging a powerful electric current to temporarily deactivate or even fry the electronic systems of frames which it enters in contact with.

The multiple arms and the auxiliary, thigh mounted arms not only make it a devastating frame in melee combat, but also allows it to climb and latch itself even upside-down if necessary. The shoulder-mounted harpoon system also give it quite an incredible mobility, being able to even be used as weapons if necessary. Having an almost exclusive focus on melee-combat, the Wraith frame is also equipped with a multitude of disruptive systems, such as a cloaking device, smoke and chaff area systems and the ability of producing EMP pulses.

Despite how incredibly complicated and difficult this frame is to pilot, when in the hands of an experienced pilot, it is an undeniably terrifying frame, being capable of extreme mobility, disruption and extremely effective at melee combat. It's capability of creating chaos on the battlefield after infiltrating the enemy backline only to disappear soon after was exactly what gave it's particular model name "Wraith".

Primary Systems

Upgraded Heat Knives: Given this particular frame's extreme dependence on it's melee weapons, it was provided with the most advanced model of heat knives, able of piercing and cutting through even the thickest armors either instantaneously or if given a bit of time, depending on the armor's thickness.

Flexible Anti-Mech Weapon System 'Stinger': The characteristic flexible tail is armed both with the capability of discharging a potent electric current in order to temporarily stun, disable or even fry the electronic systems from battle-frames that enter in contact with it and is armed with a heat-blade similar to the ones present in the heat daggers the frame uses. Aside from that, it can also be used to restrain and trip other frames or in a multitude of other ways.

Secondary Systems

Disruption and Counter-measure System: The IRISU-002X - Wraith frame is capable of deploying a wide area smoke and especially heated chaff made of a thermally reactive material in order to either serve as a countermeasure to guided weapons or in order to counter other frames' visual and detection systems. It is also capable of generating strong EMP pulses or even maintain an EMP field around itself.

Extremely small radar signature: Due to the way this Battle-Frame was designed the materials and even the special coat of paint used, it's radar signature is extremely small, being quite hard to detect via radar.

Advanced Radar and Detection System: In order to avoid being blinded by it's own EMP and countermeasure systems, the IRISU-002X - Wraith Battle-Frame has especially designed, strong radar and detection systems in order to prevent interference and jamming. It's capability of accurately identifying enemy units in an area around itself, by using either conventional radar systems or even special types of detection systems such as thermal vision, infrared & etc. also allow it to directly relay this information to allied units inside it's range.

Prototype System

Wraith Active Camouflage System: This experimental system, developed especially to this particular battle-frame generates an electromagnetic field with a special, very specific frequency. This electromagnetic field coats the battle-frame almost as a second skin, allowing it to bend light waves, essentially turning it virtually invisible even to infrared based detection systems. While it still works when moving fast, it's effectiveness is heavily reduced, with the frame being able to be detected as a rather noticeable 'light distortion' when observed carefully.

[13org]

Amaris Mallory (alt)

---

Amaris Mallory	General Information Name - Amaris Mallory Age - 85 Species and Gender - Sarkaz / Female Mana Pool Type - Container Hair Color - White Affiliation - Order of the Golden Sun - Prisoner

Detailed Appearance

While Amaris lacks the characteristic horns that most Sarkaz usually have and most of the visible traits are hidden by her robes, her striking appearance is usually more than enough to mark her as someone incredibly suspicious. At first sight, her red eyes and sharp teeth already contribute to the rather sinister aura she has, but if one pay enough attention, the white, demon-like tail is still able to be seen. Aside from the obvious physical traits, what perhaps contribute even more to the sinister appearance Amaris has is the robe and veil that she is forced to wear by the Order.

The aptly named Robes of Penitence were initially a magical artifact made with reinforced fabric and dark colors, but after being worn by Amaris, the robe changed to be filled with sharp iron spikes. While the rather violent and hostile design was not exactly intended, it ends up working quite well to warn that the one wearing it is both dangerous and undergoing punishment... or 'penance'.

If one is able to see past these sinister and dangerous appearance, Amaris could easily be considered quite an attractive woman. Standing at 1.82m with beautiful, long white hair, it doesn't take much to imagine how different she would look if she wore different clothes and perhaps had a more amicable, gentle smile... Similar to the ones she is sometime seen with when talking to Sarkaz children.

Personality

Most know of those who have heard about Amaris' 'sins' and what she was responsible for see her as a monstrous, sadistic witch. A walking disaster that was responsible for the massacre that happened on the border town between Varenheim and Westernant. At least partially, those people aren't exactly wrong. To her enemies, Amaris shows herself to be a ruthless, sadistic witch that doesn't hesitate in slaughtering those responsible for her people's suffering, but there is much more to her than just the stories that are told.

While it is true that Amaris is cruel, ruthless and sadistic to those whom she consider either her enemies or 'guilty' of committing injustices, her rather strict moral code shows itself quite clearly when innocent people are involved, be them Sarkaz or not. This very moral code seems work almost as a failsafe, limiting her cruelty to prevent her from crossing a line she shouldn't.

Since she became a prisoner of the Order of the Golden Sun, Amaris learned to control her fiercely rebellious spirit, teaching her at least some patience and restraint. This time spent as a prisoner also did quite a bit to calm Amaris down and make her behavior less explosive and destructive.

Surprisingly enough, she seems not to show that much hostility to most members of the clergy, with the notable exception of the Inquisitors... Often the targets of acidic, sarcastic comments and provocations about them being the church's 'hunting dogs', eager to show service and 'condemn' whoever they are told to, regardless of the crimes they committed. Even though Amaris isn't stupid to directly attack an inquisitor, she seems to shows a habit of not particularly minding about collateral damage to them, if she is ordered to attack an enemy with them nearby.

The few times Amaris was allowed to meet the children of the orphanage, she has also shown herself to calmly and kindly answer to inquiries made by the braver ones among them that weren't afraid by the stories, as long as those were polite. While she shows little to no patience to rude and unruly children, she seems to have a soft spot for polite and innocent ones.

Bio

It is hard to forget—and even harder to forgive—the hatred and the old wounds left open after decades of war. For some, time does not heal all wounds. Even after the city of Dagorlad was built as a symbol of peace, the scars of the Sarkaz genocide, inflicted by the Elves during the cruel reign of Serensiel, remained fresh in their memory. The Sarkaz people, once proud nomads, now suffered the stigma of that dark history. Many still saw them as untrustworthy outcasts, regardless of their attempt to rebuild their shattered pride and culture.

Amaris Mallory, the third daughter of a prosperous merchant family, saw in Dagorlad little more than a gilded cage. It was a fragile city... Built on a promise coexistence and a new beginning, while lacking the mutual respect from other kingdoms to sustain such coexistence. A place where the Sarkaz slowly attempted to reclaim what was stolen from them, even as those responsible for their suffering walked free. The Elves who had committed unspeakable atrocities thrived in lands taken by blood, while the Sarkaz were left to pick up the pieces, their pain ignored.

To Amaris, the bustling marketplace in Dagorlad’s merchant district, filled with colorful stalls and traders shouting their wares, felt like a cruel joke. The very city was build as a result of years of Sarkaz suffering, and yet people still lived as if the past didn't matter anymore... As if all their problems had been solved, ignoring the Elves, in their prosperous kingdom, built on stolen lands. The noise of the crowd only made Amaris' heard tighten. The peace their city offered was impossible to trust. Their so-called nation was small and vulnerable, constantly overshadowed by the power of the Elves and Humans.

Day after day, Amaris wandered through the district, her heart heavy with the burden of unspoken anger. Merchants who traveled to Human land spoke of their experiences... The stories were always the same: polite smiles masking condescension, whispered insults calling them scavengers, wanderers, or worse. The Sarkaz could build cities, they could carve out a place for themselves, but they could not erase the past.

While many in Dagorlad tried to adapt to their new lives, Amaris felt suffocated by it. While coexistence could be possible, the past had first to be acknowledged. The crimes of the Elves under Serensiel's reign could not simply be buried and forgotten. Most importantly, the Sarkaz would never be truly respected as long as their past grievances weren't solved and the crimes committed against them, repaid. For Amaris, there could be no true peace without retribution.

As she grew older, Dagorlad became more and more suffocating. Her family, unlike Amaris, had adapted well to the changes. Her father, a merchant through and through, saw opportunity where she saw injustice while her mother, believed that time would smooth over the rough edges of their history. Both of them did little to understand her discontent. To them, Amaris was wasting her potential and her magical talents, on rebellious thoughts and dreams of a different world.

In the end, Amaris decided to leave with the excuse of "learning about the world". Unsurprisingly, her family didn’t resist. They had already grown of her dissatisfaction and rebellious spirit and maybe they believed that leaving Dagorlad might finally open her rebellious daughter's eyes and get rid her of her rebellious streak. She chose Westernant as her destination, where she hoped to find answers to the questions that gnawed at her soul... How could her people heal if their past was ignored? How could they move forward when the those responsible for their disgrace still walked free, unrepentant, their hands stained with Sarkaz blood? And perhaps even more importantly... seeking some respite from the suffocating feeling of impotence and the hatred that burned her chest.

Truth be told, Amaris had no grand plan as she left for Westernant, no certainty about what she would find or how exactly would most humans treat her. Only a burning, smoldering anger. A belief that justice, true justice, could not be bargained for or bought. It had to be taken, to be earned. As long as the Sarkaz let the humans look down at them or the elves believe they can just ignore what they did in the past, they would never be respected.

At first her the one thing she noticed in Westernant was while there was indeed the prejudice she heard about from other merchants, not every human was like that. While there were only some that didn't view her with prejudice, those that didn't only shown curiosity as she looked at her. While that curiosity could be another way to earn the human kingdoms' trust and respect, Amaris was far too quickly shown the dark side of human society the moment she stepped into one of the first settlements in the border between the kingdoms...

In one of the first border towns Amaris visited, the first thing she noticed were the suspicious, harsh stares the moment she arrived. Unlike the others, those went beyond simple curiosity or prejudice... The people's stared had a mix of nervousness, fear and hostility to them. Every step she gave, Amaris felt she was closely watched. Strangely enough, it felt almost as if every person looking at her was a hair's breadth away from jumping at her. Under such strict surveillance, not only there was no possibility of her finding out what was going on, but the threat of having a dagger plunged into her back was tangible. Due to that, Amaris quickly left the place.

It took quite a bit of questioning the rare merchants that passed on the nearby roads and observing who entered and exited the settlement from a distance, but when Amaris finally realized what was going on, she felt her heart drop with shock, before it lit up in anger and wrath. While it was well disguised, it was obvious that that small settlement was a front for a group of slavers. Amaris watched, in horror as a bound sarkaz was hurriedly escorted inside the settlement by a group of rough looking men, before it was taken inside a building.

In silence, Amaris returned to the slavers' settlement, her eyes burning with anger as one guard came to stop her. They knew... They all knew what was happening in that place. The guards, the merchants who were staring at her earlier, even the authorities on that place knew... and they did nothing... Raising her hand, a chain of interlinking, symmetrical, iron spikes began slowly forming as she looked towards the guard... There was no negotiation, no warning or accusations, there was just a one-sided massacre. The humans that escaped quickly alerted the authorities, with desperate tales about a Sarkaz witch and the storm of bloodied chains and spikes that followed her.

Rushed by the urgency of the reports given by the fleeing survivors, the Order of the Golden Sun arrived almost an entire day later. Only to encounter the small settlement completely destroyed. Bodies impaled by huge spikes of iron appearing from the ground or entangled in a sea of chains made of interlinking iron spikes. In the very middle of the destroyed settlement, a single Sarkaz woman stood kneeling on the ground, wounded and exhausted, but still alive. Surrounded by a a few dozen of the symmetrical iron spikes embedded on the ground, almost the height of a human and dozens of bloodied chains spread through the ground in a sea of blood, corpses and debris. The almost nightmarish scene of iron obelisks, chains and spikes seemed to be something straight out of a horror story, some of the iron structures already starting to oxidize, rapidly decaying due to the exhaustion of the Sarkaz witch, the red rust color mixing the the blood of the corpses on the ground...

[...]

Reminiscing about the past was... Unpleasant for Amaris. It's been almost 9 years since the massacre of the slaver settlement. 9 years since she was saved from being executed in the very spot she stood by some of the Sarkaz slaves she had freed before the massacre, interceded for her and explaining what had happened. Many times she had thought if she could had done something different... of how she could have dealt with that settlement in a better way... But in the end, those thought went away as quickly as they returned. It was useless to think about what could have been.

After she was captured, it took almost two years of interrogation and sermons (many which were completely ignored by Amaris) until the Order saw Amaris worthy of the smallest bit of trust and allowed her to work with inquisitors in order to repay for what she had done, reducing her sentence. After nine years, Amaris knew well that there was more to that slaver settlement than what she thought, as the truth behind it had not yet made public. Now, she worked to the order as a somewhat begrudging ally. Every mission completed without any 'incidents' was another step, another reduction to her sentence and another promise from the Order that when it was all over, the truth would finally be told and her name, cleared... Working with inquisitors was still as unpleasant as it was in the beginning, but if there was anything Amaris had learned in those nine years was that it paid off to be patient.

Passives

Blood-iron Thorns: Amaris is able to materialize iron chains made of interlinking, symmetrical iron spikes and control it freely either from a distance or as whips from her arms. Her control over said chain is enough to move it almost any way she wants to in a range of 15m, including wielding them just like a normal whip would. Only one chain can be materialized and controlled, with additional chains being materialized as Amaris is able to score hits on enemies with normal attacks or by sacrificing 10% of her health per chain. Can only control four chains at a time. Always has one chain with her.

Blood-iron Magic: Amaris' magic is one of blood and iron, an old ritualistic magic based on blood sacrifices. As long her chains are able to absorb blood, be it her own or others, she gets progressively stronger.

Agile Caster: Due to the almost instinctive way Amaris' magic works, she is able to move herself freely as she uses it. The rush of adrenaline and excitement as she continues using it made her develop a fast, agile and aggressive fighting style. Not wearing armor also contributes to her agile steps in the battlefield.

Spells

Sacrificial Chains: Spends one of her chains, sending them towards an enemy, slithering and coiling around them before tightening, making the thorns dig into their skin, causing severe bleeding and slowing both their movements and attacks. If three Obelisks were summoned, more chains appear shooting from the ground, piercing the target and holding them in place.

Blood Iron Curtain: Spends one of her chains, making it burst into individual thorns, orbiting Amaris, creating an aura of 5 meters around her where projectiles have a high chance of being deflected. After three obelisks were summoned, this area extends to 10 meters, also protecting her allies and completely stop any projectile.

Bloodforged Obelisk: Spends three Blood Iron Thorns, sending them burrowing into the ground, wall or any solid object. The chains move underground to make a blood iron obelisk, bound by chains to erupt, impaling any enemy unfortunate enough to be above it and knocking away those nearby. The obelisk will remain on the battlefield as long as Amaris wills it or as long as she remains conscious. When three obelisks are summoned in the same battlefield, the chains binding them break, with each individual thorn flying outwards and start orbiting an area of 15 meters around each obelisk, causing persistent damage and bleeding to anyone who stays in the area. Subsequent casts of this skill after three obelisks were summoned will only cost a single chain and will instead, simply relocate one of the previous obelisks.

Equipment

Robes of Penitence: A cursed artifact made by the Order of the Golden Sun to control highly dangerous and powerful prisoners. Takes the form of a black robe, made of reinforced fabric. Offers little to no protection, but it's nigh impossible to destroy, thanks to self-repairing enchantments. Due to how tricky it is to seal or prevent powerful prisoners from using their powers, this artifact makes use of the caster's own powers against them. In the case of Amaris, it became filled with iron spikes, thorns and chains. Can be activated from a distance by any high-ranking member of the Order of the Golden Sun or by whoever was given the responsibility of being Amaris' 'handler'. Upon being activated, the thorns grow inwards, piercing Amaris' skin and causing a great deal of pain while the chains tighten, both cutting and immobilizing her. It was designed to cause as much pain as possible and immobilize without killing, but a special command can be used solely by a high-ranking member of the Order to immediately execute the wearer.

Mundane Skills

A Merchant's daughter: While Amaris isn't exactly good at bargaining or negotiating, she knows how to handle money and numbers quite well. Despite her lack of enthusiasm with her family's business in Dagorlad, Amaris is actually a very competent accountant.

First Aid: Due to the obviously dangerous nature of Amaris' magic, more than once she cut or wounded herself while learning to control it. Due to that, Amaris learned how to disinfect, clean and close wounds quite effectively.

Light steps: Years of dodging her responsibilities to the family, running away from chores & the like made Amaris quite adept at sneaking around and moving silently.

[13org]

Alice Bellerose

_{Name | Age | Species| Occupation
Alice Bellerose, 54, Voidhanger, Combat ethereologist for the Intransigence.}

Detailed Appearance

Even at first sight, Alice's race as a Voidhanger is quite evident. Her skin is of a translucent blueish-violet tone, enough to see her bones when in well lit areas. A quick examination makes it clear that her bone structure is considerably reduced when compared to a normal human, with most, if not all the bones below her hips being completely absent.

Due to her the particular fleet of Voidhangers being one of ethereologists, focused on expeditions to the Oneiric Chasm and the Abyssic plane, the mutations shown in her body are quite unusual when compared to some other, more common Voidhangers. One such example is Alice's complete lack of legs and instead, taking a tail-like form in order to aid on void movement, similarly to how her arms have a thin, sleeve-like membrane around them.

While all these mutations can maybe give her an unsettling appearance to some other humans, they also give her an ethereal-like beauty according to some, especially due to her white hair and completely white eyes, adapted to be very sensitive to light. When coupled with the way she usually moves, by using a small anti-gravity, ether-generated field to float, have made some people compare her either to an angel or to a ghost (to those who feel more unsettled by her voidhanger appearance).

Aside from her unique physiology, Alice stands at around 1,68m and mostly uses custom protection equipment when on missions due to her body's unique shape, which often requires special adaptations to adjust to her legs and arms.

_Personality

Alice is, most of the times, a very tranquil woman. Very rarely raising her voice, her calmness and gentle voice is often said to be tranquilizing even to those around her, even though it might make her look a bit distant. Even while on missions, Alice's personality doesn't change much, which ends up being quite a boon when paired with rookies or those prone to get nervous or let their emotions take the better out of them. Strangely enough, she seems to often enjoy taking the role of a gentle, caring big sister in a team, particularly by taking a supportive position as a sniper for her team.

While she is gentle and kind to her allies, Alice still fulfills her duties on the battlefield without hesitation. While normally it would be hard for someone as gentle as her to shoot an enemy, Alice believes that every enemy she can incapacitate, means one less ally that is wounded or dies. With that said, she has a strict rule that she refuses to break: Never attacking anyone that has either surrendered or is unarmed.

_Backstory

Bio

With the fires of war and conflict ever burning through the galaxy, neutrality often becomes an incredibly dangerous choice to make... Especially when some of the powers would rather destroy the resources and information they can't secure for themselves. In such cases, those who claim neutrality on the ongoing conflict are often targeted, if they are considered to be too valuable to be lost... or worse, secured by the enemy.

This was the case of a particular research and exploration ship, consisting mostly of voidhangers, tasked by the Black City Conglomerate in exploring the applications of Ether, the Abyssical Plane and the Oneiric Chasm for the usage in wars. After refusing to produce more weapons to be used in the war, it's captain and crew became fugitives, having to flee to the corners of the galaxy to avoid the eyes of the eyes of either one of the sides of the war. Interestingly enough, there aren't many places where an entire ship can hide from the eyes and influence of either one of the three great powers and those running away from them often end up meeting each other. Due to the proximity to places with a high concentration of ether, more and more voidhangers in similar situations ended up together, slowly forming an entire fleet. It was exactly on this fleet Alice was born.

Due to the almost inhospitable place they chose to live, taking advantage of their unique physiology, the conflict and wars were, for a good deal of time, a distant threat for the fleet Alice was raised in. Due to the isolationist politics of their fleet, they subsisted mainly by trading with the few ships they could trust that wandered to the far corners of the galaxy and especially by hunting creatures from the Oneiric Chasm. Having been raised by two other Ethereologists, Alice grew up fascinated by the Ether, the Oneiric Chasm and it's mysteries. Since the first time she asked her father to take her with him to a hunting trip, she began taking every opportunity she could to go to expeditions to the Oneiric Chasm. Going even as far as learning how to shoot with her father and becoming quite the good marksman, securing her a place on the hunting party, only so she could have more chances to go to expeditions to the Oneiric Chasm, only to further satiate her curiosity and research.

Life, albeit simple, was free from the horrors of war... until the location of her fleet was discovered... Leaked by someone to the Black City Conglomerate... Whether they did it for profit, to protect their own lives or maybe on accident, it didn't matter. What did was that after so many years having forgotten about the wars, their fleet was not ready for the arrival of the forces of the Black City Conglomerate. Within a single day, their fleet was completely surrounded by the Black City Conglomerate forces. With nowhere to escape, they were forced to surrender. Immediately upon boarding, the BCC forces went through every single bit of data they had, old ones and even the new researches on the Oneiric Chasm they made on their time of isolation. Unfortunately, having their scarce possessions looked at and whatever interesting data they had stolen wasn't everything the BCC forces wanted. In times of conflict and war, having soldiers and extra hands to work was always necessary... and the BCC saw Voidhangers in particulars as being very useful...

At first, the BCC forces offered them a deal. They would offer them protection from the other powers, funding, resources and everything they currently lacked. In return, they only wanted their help in developing their own research on Ether. Despite the rather aggressive arrival, the BCC forces painted themselves as 'seekers of knowledge', unfortunate and unwilling participants on the current war. The initial offer seemed to be quite decent and so, the fleet decided to accept.

In the beginning, the BCC fulfilled their part of the agreement, but as time passed, the BCC required more and more 'help'. It started with simple research data regarding the Oneiric Chasm and the applications of Ether, but as the voidhangers' trust on the BCC grew, so did their greed and sooner than they had noticed, they were almost fully integrated into the BCC forces. Researchers and ethereologists working on the BCC research and development departments and the ones that were part of the hunters on the old fleet, used as scouts and soldiers in localized conflicts with the other great powers. But as the Black City Conglomerate's greed grew, so did the Voidhangers' dissatisfaction. Pressured to deliver more and more results with ever shorter deadlines, with their hunters being treated more and more like common BCC soldiers, a revolt was something that was bound to happen...

The breaking point was when the BCC, after overworking the voidhanger hunters by sending them to continuous scouting missions, ended up causing one of them to die of qillatu poisoning. Outraged, the voidhangers that were members of the old fleet united, staging a revolt, just like the one they did many years ago in order to break free from the inflience of one of the big powers. This time, it was the BCC.
Unfortunately, the BCC didn't prove to be as hesitant to use violence. The revolt was mercilessly crushed. Most of the voidhangers that picked up on weapons ending up either dead or enslaved, the few who were able to escape, did so by using the old escape pods from the ships in their old fleet after running from the BCC forces when their loss became evident... Even if that meant leaving their allies behind, as Alice's parents did, trying to save at least their child's life. Unfortunately, BCC enforcers were already expecting such outcome and ended up intercepting the group. The last thing Alice saw as she was pushed into the escape pod was her parents being shot by the BCC enforcers, before the escape pod finally closed.

For months, Alice survived drifting through space only by eating the old emergency rations before someone answered the emergency beacon from her escape pod. By a stroke of luck, the ones that rescued her didn't have any connection to the Black City Conglomerate. Instead, they were part of a group called the Intransigence. At first, Alice found it hard to trust them. Not only the isolated fleet she lived in had little idea of the political state of the conflicts from outside, but trusting others had already went terribly bad for them, as it was the case for the BCC. But slowly, she began warming up to the group, in part thanks to the kindness from the people who rescued her. With time, they ended up making an offer to her, motivated by her talents and her motivation to fight against the big powers that tore the galaxy apart with their greed.

Since then, after she received formal training from the Intransigence, Alice participated from a number of skirmishes and battles, both against the BCC and the other powers, hoping to be able to find and rescue members from her old fleet... If they were still alive.

_Etherealism

Alice's Etherealism focus on the raw application of ether to her surroundings. From powerful force-waves to the usage of ether limbs to crush enemies and her surroundings, she is capable of a frightening destructive power, in exchange for a high ether-signature left behind when she uses her powers. Alice is also capable to taking dives into the Abyssic plane, repositioning herself while she gathers ether, exploding in violent force waves as she emerges from it.

Due to her powerful Etherealism, Alice also developed quite a high tolerance to Qillatu. With that said, the symptoms of qillatu poisoning tend to be very dangerous when they finally happen. From immediately falling into shock, unconscious or in more dangerous cases, causing her to lose control over her powers and forcing her to either be incapacitated to stop the ether outburst.

While Alice's ether signature is quite easy to distinguish once she uses her powers, she learned some tricks on how to use it to her advantage in her time working for the BCC. One of those is extending her ether signature to form a large field around herself, masking her own ether signature by extending it outwards and flooding a large area with it instead. This area is virtually harmless to most living beings, being only useful against those trying to track her position by using her ether signature and helping her to track the position of anything with an ether signature inside said area. Whenever she uses her powers while this 'field' is active though, a pulse of ether is emitted, which can allow those who are able to track ether to triangulate her position after a few times.

_Skills

Ethereologist: Alice spent years studying about ether, the Oneiric Chasm and the Abyssical Plane. Her knowledge can be incredibly helpful when dealing with situations involving such matters. Studies about the biology of void creatures also gave her a good understanding of how their bodies work.

Hunter: Both her experience in hunting void creatures and the time she spent working for the BCC made her a very good shooter and able to mover herself incredibly quietly, without being seen. Her being rather fragile on close combat makes it quite fitting for her to take a supporting position on the backline.

Ether-sensing: Due to her experience in dealing with Ether, Alice learned how to track and sense ether signatures, being able to track other Etherealists without the use of specialized equipment if necessary.

_Equipment

Light-weight scout armor - Adapted: Lightweight suit of armor. The model Alice use was adapted to her unique physiology. Focuses on mobility and agility rather than offering any meaningful defense. The hood and skirt are made from a flexible, fabric-like polymer, which can change it's color when Ether is injected into it. Assists the armor user to hide themselves by taking similar colors to their surroundings. Works better when completely immobile, crouching or lying down. Based on the color-changing characteristics of a few specific types of creatures in the Oneiric Chasm and the Abyssic Plane

Extreme-distance precision rifle: Precision bolt-action rifle boosting impressive precision and range, but limited ammo, low impact and destructive power, but outstanding penetration. It's focused more on penetrating a single point with special, needle like tungsten rounds. It can also be loaded with syringe-like rounds to administer tranquilizing substances, paralyzing venom or even helpful mixtures like adrenaline, antidotes, painkillers or even mixtures to help dealing with Qillatu buildup.

Standard Intransigence sidearm: Standard pistol issued to intransigence agents.

[13org]

Amaris Mallory

---

Amaris Mallory	General Information Name - Amaris Mallory Age - 85 Species and Gender - Sarkaz / Female Mana Pool Type - Container Hair Color - White Affiliation - Order of the Golden Sun - Prisoner

Detailed Appearance

While Amaris lacks the characteristic horns that most Sarkaz usually have and most of the visible traits are hidden by her robes, her striking appearance is usually more than enough to mark her as someone incredibly suspicious. At first sight, her red eyes and sharp teeth already contribute to the rather sinister aura she has, but if one pay enough attention, the white, demon-like tail is still able to be seen. Aside from the obvious physical traits, what perhaps contribute even more to the sinister appearance Amaris has is the robe and veil that she is forced to wear by the Order.

The aptly named Robes of Penitence were initially a magical artifact made with reinforced fabric and dark colors, but after being worn by Amaris, the robe changed to be filled with sharp iron spikes. While the rather violent and hostile design was not exactly intended, it ends up working quite well to warn that the one wearing it is both dangerous and undergoing punishment... or 'penance'.

If one is able to see past these sinister and dangerous appearance, Amaris could easily be considered quite an attractive woman. Standing at 1.82m with beautiful, long white hair, it doesn't take much to imagine how different she would look if she wore different clothes and perhaps had a more amicable, gentle smile... Similar to the ones she is sometime seen with when talking to Sarkaz children.

Personality

Most know of those who have heard about Amaris' 'sins' and what she was responsible for see her as a monstrous, sadistic witch. A walking disaster that was responsible for the massacre that happened on the border town between Varenheim and Westernant. At least partially, those people aren't exactly wrong. To her enemies, Amaris shows herself to be a ruthless, sadistic witch that doesn't hesitate in slaughtering those responsible for her people's suffering, but there is much more to her than just the stories that are told.

While it is true that Amaris is cruel, ruthless and sadistic to those whom she consider either her enemies or 'guilty' of committing injustices, her rather strict moral code shows itself quite clearly when innocent people are involved, be them Sarkaz or not. This very moral code seems work almost as a failsafe, limiting her cruelty to prevent her from crossing a line she shouldn't.

Since she became a prisoner of the Order of the Golden Sun, Amaris learned to control her fiercely rebellious spirit, teaching her at least some patience and restraint. This time spent as a prisoner also did quite a bit to calm Amaris down and make her behavior less explosive and destructive. In another hand, this made clear that Amaris is a dangerous woman in many ways, showing herself to be a very cunning and scheming woman especially now after she learned how to bide her time instead of acting solely on her impulses.

Surprisingly enough, she seems not to show that much hostility to most members of the clergy, with the notable exception of the Inquisitors... Often the targets of acidic, sarcastic comments and provocations about them being the church's 'hunting dogs', eager to show service and 'condemn' whoever they are told to, regardless of the crimes they committed. Even though Amaris isn't stupid to directly attack an inquisitor, she seems to shows a habit of not particularly minding about collateral damage to them, if she is ordered to attack an enemy with them nearby.

The few times Amaris was allowed to meet the children of the orphanage, she has also shown herself to calmly and kindly answer to inquiries made by the braver ones among them that weren't afraid by the stories, as long as those were polite. While she shows little to no patience to rude and unruly children, she seems to have a soft spot for polite and innocent ones.

Bio

It is hard to forget—and even harder to forgive—the hatred and the old wounds left open after decades of war. For some, time does not heal all wounds. Even after the city of Dagorlad was built as a symbol of peace, the scars of the Sarkaz genocide, inflicted by the Elves during the cruel reign of Serensiel, remained fresh in their memory. The Sarkaz people, once proud nomads, now suffered the stigma of that dark history. Many still saw them as untrustworthy outcasts, regardless of their attempt to rebuild their shattered pride and culture.

Amaris Mallory, the third daughter of a prosperous merchant family, saw in Dagorlad little more than a gilded cage. It was a fragile city... Built on a promise coexistence and a new beginning, while lacking the mutual respect from other kingdoms to sustain such coexistence. A place where the Sarkaz slowly attempted to reclaim what was stolen from them, even as those responsible for their suffering walked free. The Elves who had committed unspeakable atrocities thrived in lands taken by blood, while the Sarkaz were left to pick up the pieces, their pain ignored.

To Amaris, the bustling marketplace in Dagorlad’s merchant district, filled with colorful stalls and traders shouting their wares, felt like a cruel joke. The very city was build as a result of years of Sarkaz suffering, and yet people still lived as if the past didn't matter anymore... As if all their problems had been solved, ignoring the Elves, in their prosperous kingdom, built on stolen lands. The noise of the crowd only made Amaris' heard tighten. The peace their city offered was impossible to trust. Their so-called nation was small and vulnerable, constantly overshadowed by the power of the Elves and Humans.

Day after day, Amaris wandered through the district, her heart heavy with the burden of unspoken anger. Merchants who traveled to Human land spoke of their experiences... The stories were always the same: polite smiles masking condescension, whispered insults calling them scavengers, wanderers, or worse. The Sarkaz could build cities, they could carve out a place for themselves, but they could not erase the past.

While many in Dagorlad tried to adapt to their new lives, Amaris felt suffocated by it. While coexistence could be possible, the past had first to be acknowledged. The crimes of the Elves under Serensiel's reign could not simply be buried and forgotten. Most importantly, the Sarkaz would never be truly respected as long as their past grievances weren't solved and the crimes committed against them, repaid. For Amaris, there could be no true peace without retribution.

As she grew older, Dagorlad became more and more suffocating. Her family, unlike Amaris, had adapted well to the changes. Her father, a merchant through and through, saw opportunity where she saw injustice while her mother, believed that time would smooth over the rough edges of their history. Both of them did little to understand her discontent. To them, Amaris was wasting her potential and her magical talents, on rebellious thoughts and dreams of a different world.

In the end, Amaris decided to leave with the excuse of "learning about the world". Unsurprisingly, her family didn’t resist. They had already grown of her dissatisfaction and rebellious spirit and maybe they believed that leaving Dagorlad might finally open her rebellious daughter's eyes and get rid her of her rebellious streak. She chose Westernant as her destination, where she hoped to find answers to the questions that gnawed at her soul... How could her people heal if their past was ignored? How could they move forward when the those responsible for their disgrace still walked free, unrepentant, their hands stained with Sarkaz blood? And perhaps even more importantly... seeking some respite from the suffocating feeling of impotence and the hatred that burned her chest.

Truth be told, Amaris had no grand plan as she left for Westernant, no certainty about what she would find or how exactly would most humans treat her. Only a burning, smoldering anger. A belief that justice, true justice, could not be bargained for or bought. It had to be taken, to be earned. As long as the Sarkaz let the humans look down at them or the elves believe they can just ignore what they did in the past, they would never be respected.

At first her the one thing she noticed in Westernant was while there was indeed the prejudice she heard about from other merchants, not every human was like that. While there were only some that didn't view her with prejudice, those that didn't only shown curiosity as she looked at her. While that curiosity could be another way to earn the human kingdoms' trust and respect, Amaris was far too quickly shown the dark side of human society the moment she stepped into one of the first settlements in the border between the kingdoms...

In one of the first border towns Amaris visited, the first thing she noticed were the suspicious, harsh stares the moment she arrived. Unlike the others, those went beyond simple curiosity or prejudice... The people's stared had a mix of nervousness, fear and hostility to them. Every step she gave, Amaris felt she was closely watched. Strangely enough, it felt almost as if every person looking at her was a hair's breadth away from jumping at her. Under such strict surveillance, not only there was no possibility of her finding out what was going on, but the threat of having a dagger plunged into her back was tangible. Due to that, Amaris quickly left the place.

It took quite a bit of questioning the rare merchants that passed on the nearby roads and observing who entered and exited the settlement from a distance, but when Amaris finally realized what was going on, she felt her heart drop with shock, before it lit up in anger and wrath. While it was well disguised, it was obvious that that small settlement was a front for a group of slavers. Amaris watched, in horror as a bound sarkaz was hurriedly escorted inside the settlement by a group of rough looking men, before it was taken inside a building.

In silence, Amaris returned to the slavers' settlement, her eyes burning with anger as one guard came to stop her. They knew... They all knew what was happening in that place. The guards, the merchants who were staring at her earlier, even the authorities on that place knew... and they did nothing... Raising her hand, a chain of interlinking, symmetrical, iron spikes began slowly forming as she looked towards the guard... There was no negotiation, no warning or accusations, there was just a one-sided massacre. The humans that escaped quickly alerted the authorities, with desperate tales about a Sarkaz witch and the storm of bloodied chains and spikes that followed her.

Rushed by the urgency of the reports given by the fleeing survivors, the Order of the Golden Sun arrived almost an entire day later. Only to encounter the small settlement completely destroyed. Bodies impaled by huge spikes of iron appearing from the ground or entangled in a sea of chains made of interlinking iron spikes. In the very middle of the destroyed settlement, a single Sarkaz woman stood kneeling on the ground, wounded and exhausted, but still alive. Surrounded by a a few dozen of the symmetrical iron spikes embedded on the ground, almost the height of a human and dozens of bloodied chains spread through the ground in a sea of blood, corpses and debris. The almost nightmarish scene of iron obelisks, chains and spikes seemed to be something straight out of a horror story, some of the iron structures already starting to oxidize, rapidly decaying due to the exhaustion of the Sarkaz witch, the red rust color mixing the the blood of the corpses on the ground...

[...]

Reminiscing about the past was... Unpleasant for Amaris. It's been almost 9 years since the massacre of the slaver settlement. 9 years since she was saved from being executed in the very spot she stood by some of the Sarkaz slaves she had freed before the massacre, interceded for her and explaining what had happened. Many times she had thought if she could had done something different... of how she could have dealt with that settlement in a better way... But in the end, those thought went away as quickly as they returned. It was useless to think about what could have been.

After she was captured, it took almost two years of interrogation and sermons (many which were completely ignored by Amaris) until the Order saw Amaris worthy of the smallest bit of trust and allowed her to work with inquisitors in order to repay for what she had done, reducing her sentence. After nine years, Amaris knew well that there was more to that slaver settlement than what she thought, as the truth behind it had not yet made public. Now, she worked to the order as a somewhat begrudging ally. Every mission completed without any 'incidents' was another step, another reduction to her sentence and another promise from the Order that when it was all over, the truth would finally be told and her name, cleared... Working with inquisitors was still as unpleasant as it was in the beginning, but if there was anything Amaris had learned in those nine years was that it paid off to be patient.

Passives

Blood-iron Thorns: Amaris is able to materialize iron chains made of interlinking, symmetrical iron spikes and control it freely either from a distance or as whips from her arms. Her control over said chain is enough to move it almost any way she wants to in a range of 15m, including wielding them just like a normal whip would. Only one chain can be materialized and controlled, with additional chains being materialized as Amaris is able to score hits on enemies with normal attacks or by sacrificing 10% of her health per chain. Can only control four chains at a time. Always has one chain with her. Chains can be broken with strong enough attacks.

Blood-iron Magic: Amaris' magic is one of blood and iron, an old ritualistic magic based on blood sacrifices. As long her chains are able to absorb blood, be it her own or others, she gets progressively stronger.

Agile Caster: Due to the almost instinctive way Amaris' magic works, she is able to move herself freely as she uses it. The rush of adrenaline and excitement as she continues using it made her develop a fast, agile and aggressive fighting style. Not wearing armor also contributes to her agile steps in the battlefield.

Spells

Chains of Resentment: Spends one of her chains, sending them towards an enemy, slithering and coiling around them before tightening, making the thorns dig into their skin, causing severe bleeding and slowing both their movements and attacks. If three Obelisks were summoned, more chains appear shooting from the ground, piercing the target and holding them in place. Allows the usage of the Reckoning ability if three obelisks are summoned.

Reckoning: Can only be used against enemies affected by Chains of Resentment. Makes the chains that are already slowing the target's movements and attacks start tightening even more, grinding against each other and the target's flesh, digging further and further into it. Against enemies who are already held in place, summons a smaller spike from the ground, slightly behind the target, impaling them and raising in the air, with the chains binding them to it.

Blood Iron Curtain: Spends one of her chains, making it burst into individual thorns, orbiting Amaris, creating an aura of 5 meters around her where projectiles have a high chance of being deflected. After three obelisks were summoned, this area extends to 10 meters, protecting her allies, completely stop any projectiles and working together with the obelisks' chain links, causing bleeding to enemies inside the radius.

Bloodforged Obelisk: Spends three Blood Iron Thorns, sending them burrowing into the ground, wall or any solid object. The chains move underground to make a giant iron spike, bound by chains, to erupt, impaling any enemy unfortunate enough to be above it and knocking away those nearby. The obelisk will remain on the battlefield as long as Amaris wills it or as long as she remains conscious. While very durable, can still be destroyed. When three obelisks are summoned on the same battlefield, the chains binding them break, with each individual chain link, each individual thorn, flying outwards and orbiting an area of 15 meters around each obelisk, causing persistent damage and bleeding to anyone who stays in the area. Subsequent casts of this skill after three obelisks were summoned will only cost a single chain and will instead, simply relocate one of the previous spikes. If all three spikes are destroyed after they are 'activated', the storm of thorns ceases, with Amaris needing to invoke the obelisks again. As long as a single obelisk is still standing after being 'activated', Amaris needs only to spend a single chain to summon the others.

Equipment

Robes of Penitence: A cursed artifact made by the Order of the Golden Sun to control highly dangerous and powerful prisoners. Takes the form of a black robe, made of reinforced fabric. Offers little to no protection, but it's nigh impossible to destroy, thanks to self-repairing enchantments. Due to how tricky it is to seal or prevent powerful prisoners from using their powers, this artifact makes use of the caster's own powers against them. In the case of Amaris, it became filled with iron spikes, thorns and chains. Can be activated from a distance by any high-ranking member of the Order of the Golden Sun or by whoever was given the responsibility of being Amaris' 'handler'. Upon being activated, the thorns grow inwards, piercing Amaris' skin and causing a great deal of pain while the chains tighten, both cutting and immobilizing her. It was designed to cause as much pain as possible and immobilize without killing, but a special command can be used solely by a high-ranking member of the Order to immediately execute the wearer.

Mundane Skills

A Merchant's daughter: While Amaris isn't exactly good at bargaining or negotiating, she knows how to handle money and numbers quite well. Despite her lack of enthusiasm with her family's business in Dagorlad, Amaris is actually a very competent accountant. The years she passed observing and seeing her father working also taught her to be quite cunning and scheming. Traits she had not shown before, due to her previous tendency of letting her emotions run wild and cloud her judgement.

First Aid: Due to the obviously dangerous nature of Amaris' magic, more than once she cut or wounded herself while learning to control it. Due to that, Amaris learned how to disinfect, clean and close wounds quite effectively.

Light steps: Years of dodging her responsibilities to the family, running away from chores & the like made Amaris quite adept at sneaking around and moving silently.

[13org]

Marie Louise Saint-Saens

---

Marie Louise Saint-Saens	General Information Name - Marie Louise Saint-Saens Age - 25 Species and Gender - Human / Female Hair Color - Blonde and Brown Reason to join - Partially by chance and partially curiosity about what is hidden inside the Land of Twilight.

Detailed Appearance

Standing at 1.58m (5'2") Marie Louise's appearance often has a rather strange effect at most people, almost as if it was a carefully laid trap. At first, the striking, complex and intricate design on her clothes demands attention, especially when coupled with petite, yet beautiful figure. Both the vibrant mixes of colors ranging from gold and red to white and black and the soft, delicate noise made by clinking coins and small bells sewn on through her clothes, demanding attention.

The moment one's eyes meet her though, it is as if they had already fell for the trap, making it only harder to look away. Every glance, every moment one's eyes spends exploring her appearance, the more secrets and details it rewards them.

On the hem of her cloak, a multitude of golden coins are sewn, each one of them bearing a different image. From actual coins, both old and new to decorative coins bearing many different symbols and images, all of them polished to perfection. The intricate patterns and decorations through her outfit, most of them made using real gold threads. Her hair sporting both blonde and brown doesn't seem to be dyed and instead being completely natural. The jewelry adorning her and her outfit, from pearls to rubies and the liberal use of gold, both in the jewelry and all the golden decorations in her clothes make her entire outfit more expensive than one can imagine. It is only then, after all this that they realize how beautiful the woman hiding beneath those clothes really is.

Bio/Personality

Often people speak of children born under a star, whether its a prodigy born under an auspicious star... Or a cursed child born under an ominous one. Under hushed breath and whispers, some claim that these children were chosen by gods, some believe in the power of the stars while others, in a mocking tone claim that such fates are mere whims of the heavens.

In Marie Louise's case, all of them are true. Marie's birth was a strange case. Under the dark, starless night of her birth, no crying could be heard, only silence. Although perfectly healthy, Marie was born completely silent, unable to make a single sound. Even as she cried, no sound came out. Worried about her future, her parents, both artists and musicians from a troupe of itinerant artists, took the young Marie to the troupe's old fortune teller, in order to divine her future.

As wise as she was old, the fortune teller had been with the troupe longer than most had been alive. Old enough to have personally lived and known a number of tales that were now told by the troupe around the fire, the secrets she hid, knew and could tell seemed to be as numerous as the silvery strands of hair in her head. Whenever the old fortune teller spoke, none dared to interrupt as her words, just like her cards, had never once lied.

What transpired in the old fortune teller's tent wasn't of much help to alleviate the worries about Marie Louise's future. Three times the old fortune teller shuffled her tarot cards, Three times she laid the standard five cards on the table. And three times, just as she was about to flip them, a sudden gust of wind swept through the tent — scattering them all, save one... The Eighteenth major arcana, The Moon. Shaking her head with a solemn expression, the old woman simply gathered her scattered cards in silence, for there were some secrets not even the light of the stars were able to unveil. Whether it was for good or for bad, the child's future was not something for their eyes. Obscured by some hidden force, what would transpire in Marie's future was only between her and the mysterious force that guided her. The best they could do for the child's future was to let her free. Her life would be dictated not by fate nor family, but only by her own hand, and whatever unseen power moved beside her.

She would live only by her choices and the force that guided her.

Despite the great concern that overtook her parents in her early life, Marie Louise would soon show that there was little to no reason for concern as she began growing up. Not only she showed an almost supernatural, prodigious talent for music and the arts. While she wasn't able to speak nor produce a single sound, her performances were able to capture her audience in a very unique way, from provoking a deep, primal fear on those who listened to the darker tones she played to make them cheer and celebrate with bright, animated melodies as she danced among the crowd, her smile and graceful steps further lifting the atmosphere. Through her early years, her disability didn't seem to be a problem for her. Friendly, outgoing and quite expressive, she always found a way to communicate herself and socialize with others.

But for all the beauty she brought, there was something in her that unsettled even those closest to her.

The words of the old fortune teller didn't seem to be mere superstition. Marie walked through the world as through a playhouse, sometimes stepping on the stage, sometimes watching from the shadows, smiling as joy and sorrow danced before her, neither puppet nor puppeteer. Celebrating joy and tragedy alike, intervening when needed, watching in silence when not — unburdened by the weight of life itself, whether her own or others. As such, Marie decided whether to spare or to slay with the same calm grace as one would decide the fate of a character in a book, having both the means and the power to do so.

With steps as fleeting and light as the night breeze, Marie moved as if she danced to the wind's soft whispers as her fingers glided and jumped through the strings of her instrument like a playful swallow's flight and whenever Marie played a song, both the world and the stars seemed to listen with bated breath.

As Marie Louise grew older and expressed her desire to wander the world by herself, the words of the old fortune teller once again proved to be accurate. Although she was weak and old, the old fortune teller was always fascinated by Marie Louise. To say Marie Louise saw her as her own grandmother was not far off the truth, having learned a multitude of things from the old gypsy woman. Even now, she wasn't entirely sure of what the force that guided and favored Marie Louise since birth was. As she herself had said many years ago, Marie was special. To keep her caged would be inviting disaster. Marie's fate, Marie's story wasn't only her own. Whatever it was that was writing the girl's fate together with her, didn't seem to care about any opinions other than it's own and Marie herself.

So came the day when Marie left them and even though her parents wept with pride and sorrow, Marie met their eyes with a playful smile and a theatrical bow. At last, the time had come for Marie to step away from their stage, into her own. And so, Marie celebrated with them all — the old fortune teller, her parents, and the entire troupe — in the only way she knew: with songs, with dances, and with her radiant smile.

---

In just a few short years, Marie Louise’s name spread like wildfire across cities and courts. Before the silks and jewels she’s now known for, she was little more than a wandering artist with a strange, haunting instrument — a hybrid between a lute and a theorbo. Back then, the tales were gentler and softer: a beautiful wandering artist who appeared without warning, played unnaturally beautiful melodies, staying only for as long as she wanted and disappearing afterwards, never uttering a single word.

Nobles and travelers, enchanted by her music, showered her with gifts — not gold or land, which she had no use for, but elegant clothes, fine jewels, and anything that might maintain or enhance her beloved instrument. But as her legend grew, so too did the darker tales whispered in her wake.

In the beginning, there were only a few mysterious whispers... Tales of bandits found headless on the roads. Their weapons laying in a pool of their own blood and their heads separated from their body with a single, clean cut. But soon, the rumors became much darker and frightening. One noble, arrogant and entitled, forced her to perform at a private gathering. No one remembers what she played that night. What they do remember is the silence that followed. When the music stopped, so did every heartbeat in the room — guests, guards, even servants beyond the walls. All were found dead, untouched, their faces frozen in silent awe or terror, and not a single wound among them.

From then on, stories about her became in equal parts terrifying and enchanting. People still spoke of her beauty and talent, but more often, they whispered of those who had tried to own her, use her, silence her… and paid dearly for it. Among those, fortunate were the ones who were graced by the kiss of her scythe while others had a much worse fate... Lost within their own minds, left screaming at shadows having seen and heard things no human should.

Fueled by these many tales and the manner which authorities seemed to never be able to capture or even find her, Marie Louise became something more than human in the eyes of many, her existence compared to a fairy or a spirit, sometimes leaving behind unnaturally beautiful music… and the others, a trail of silence far too complete to be natural.

Passives

The Moon and The Fool: For good or for bad, Marie is not the only one writing her own story. Whatever it is the mysterious force that favors her, it offers Marie more than just powers. It guides her and makes sure she will eventually arrive exactly where she needs to be, as The Moon's light illuminates the dark path and guides The Fool in his journey, for as long as it continues walking forward.

Danse Macabre: The graceful and agile movements Marie uses to dance and perform while playing her songs do translate surprisingly well to combat situations. Her skill allows her to uninterruptedly play a song while still using her instrument to attack as she dances, jumps and twirls through the battlefield. As the chords from her instruments vibrate, so does the blade at it's end, causing it to cut even hard materials with incredible ease... leaving behind unnaturally clean cuts.

Spells

Temperance (XIV): Similarly to the Tarot card of the same name, Marie's music can be used either to bring balance or to break it. By using songs, Marie can either bring balance to the emotions or feelings of those hearing or evoke a particular one to the extreme.

Sforzando: The uniqueness of Marie's instrument, coupled with her powers allow her to concentrate the vibrations caused by the songs and chords she play to a point that once after every music played, she can cause a sudden loud burst of noise, with enough pressure to be used to attack. Such sound can either be used in a radius around her or directed in a cone or line. Additionally, it can also be a high or a low tone. A low tone has physical impact and explosive pressure while a high sound can internally affect those hit by it, either causing internal wounds, rupturing eardrums to affect the balance or cause pain.

Totentanz: Unlike other songs, this one is not technically difficult nor complex, instead being the most simple and primal metaphor for death and mortality. The droning sound accompanying the melody as Marie uses a bow to play her instrument evoke a powerful, primal sense of foreboding and dread. When playing this song, Marie has to completely focus on the performance, not being able to attack and only being able to dodge. If not interrupted in some way, the moment the droning sound ends in the end of the melody, all those who heard the melody will simply fall to the ground, dead. Due to it being a very long performance, it needs some time to be completed. If interrupted, Marie needs to start the entire performance from zero.

Equipment

Custom musical instrument: Projected and made with the help of both the old gypsy fortune teller and other musicians at the troupe, it is a mix of a theorbo and a lute. A small hole near the end of the neck hides a bow that can be also used to play the instrument. By tuning the many different chords, it is capable of producing a multitude of different songs. At first it was merely an instrument. It was reinforced and transformed into a weapon with the addition of the scythe blade by Marie herself after some time.

Leather Satchel: A small almost imperceptible leather satchel she keeps strapped on her back beneath her cloak. Carries only a few things she consider important, such as tarot cards, a handful of golden coins for emergencies,

Mundane Skills

Wandering Artist: While Marie cannot speak, she is a prodigious musician and dancer. Skills such as acrobatics and other skills used for entertainment such as knife throwing, sleight of hand and even how to move unnoticed and unheard are almost second nature to her.

Sewing: Clothes sometimes get damaged and being a wandering artist means being ready to deal with such problems. Despite being made of extremely fine materials, Marie not only has enough skill to sew and fix her clothes herself, but also keeps a few spare pieces of fine silk of each color of her clothes to fix them, if needed.

Luthier: The musical instrument Marie uses was crafted with the help of her troupe, but she knows enough about it to know how to maintain and repair it, including how to sharpen and take care of the blade on it's end.

Tarot Reading: Marie learned how to divine the future and read tarot cards with the old gypsy from her troupe. While she cannot read her own future, nor anything directly involving her, it is still useful in some situations.

[13org]

.

[13org]

Shirakawa Miwa

---

	General Information Name - Shirakawa Miwa Age - 18 Species and Gender - Human / Female Hair Color - Black Reason to join - Financially helping her temple and try to restore it's influence, respect and glory.

Detailed Appearance

Standing at 1.58m (5'2") Miwa's is mostly seen using a traditional clothes. The predominantly blue upper part with light blue, flowing motifs give Miwa a bright, jovial appearance while the black and gold skirt, sporting the same flowing motifs and the traditional geta she uses give a more traditional touch to her ensemble. One noteworthy point of her attire is that it's quite different from the more traditional clothes from others from her temple, being the closest she can use that is still considered to be proper for a Miko while not restraining her movements. Despite being a young woman, her hairstyle and young face do give her a rather childish appearance, which does somewhat fit Miwa, given her jovial, cheerful and extroverted personality.

Backstory

While the Shirakawa temple is now considered to be a minor, less known temple in Miwa's country, it was once incredibly important and powerful, particularly in times of war and turmoil. Unlike other temples who often refused to take part in wars and conflicts, the Shirakawa temple was not opposed to this idea, often step forward both to bring order and restore balance to the land. Despite that, the Shirakawa temple was known to rarely, if ever take an actual side in any war, instead intervening only if innocent lives were in danger. Tales of a small group of Shirakawa priests stopping an entire army using their powers and martial arts were not uncommon and perhaps the most noteworthy fact about those tales is the fact that while they weren't opposed to the idea of wounding and incapacitating enemy soldiers, they rarely if ever killed them, fighting in a strictly defensive manner.

Their traditions, deeply rooted in actual combat, paired with the powers that were bestowed to them by the spirits from the sacred river made both male and female priests from the Shirakawa temple fearsome combatants. The Shirakawa faith believed that balance was important and necessary in all things, meaning that sometimes, uprooting some weeds was necessary for the rest field to prosper.

But as the times of war and civil unrest ended, the presence and importance of the Shirakawa temple gradually faded. With the arrival of times of great peace, the Shirakawa temple was gradually forgotten as other temples rituals and beliefs more adequate to times of piece became more famous. While peace was something the Shirakawa temple always fought for, it was inevitably leading it to it's own demise.

Miwa, the sole daughter of the Shirakawa family's main branch and the one who was being trained to be the next head Miko of the temple, despite having been born in a time where the temple still had a semblance of it's former glory, could quickly perceive how difficult the times ahead would be for the temple.

Despite loving and respecting the temple's rich history, Miwa knew that it was necessary for the temple to open it's eyes to the present instead of living in the glory of it's past. Her suggestion was simple: to take jobs as adventurers. While most elders saw her suggestion as greatly offensive, viewing adventurers as nothing more than mercenaries, Miwa had a different view. By not accepting payment and merely asking for donations, they wouldn ot only they would still be helping people, but would also keep the martial heritage of their temple alive.

It took a lot of time for Miwa to convince the elders of her temple to even allow her to go on a pilgrimage to undertake adventuring jobs under the name of the temple, but after a few years and a lot of discussion, she was finally allowed to go under one condition: Should she be successful in her endeavor and bring positive results, both in the form of donations to the temple and recognition without staining it's image, history or honor, the elders would agree to let Miwa have more influence on how the decisions regarding the temple's future. If not, she would be immediately lose the position of Miko.

Passives

Shirakawa Ko-ryū: Traditional fighting style from the Shirakawa temple, focusing mostly in wielding spears and naginatas. It is famous for seamlessly flowing between defensive moves, counter-strikes and offensive moves in a continuous flow. Miwa's signature weapon makes the Shirakawa Ko-ryū even more dangerous, being able to easily deflect blows or hiding her next attacks by opening her wagasa.

Ame-yu: Miwa's techniques and skills are able to create water by gradually rising and condensing the humidity in the atmosphere. After some time, the humidity rises to a point that rain begins to fall, covering the battlefield in a unnaturally calm water mirror, allowing Miwa to use her 'Mizukagami Tsuki' skill and enhancing her other skills. Her training and powers as a Miko from the Shirakawa temple also allows her to effortlessly move through water, be it the layer of water created by this passive or not, going as far as making her able to walk above it.

Spells

Mizukagami Tsuki: Opening her wagasa in front of her, Miwa momentarily obstructs the enemies from seeing her in a brief, spinning dance. Attacks directed at her as she is doing this ritualistic dance are parried and redirected by her wagasa. The dance ends with the wagasa spinning in front of her before Miwa disappears and it falls to the ground, completely sinking into the water mirror created by her passive and disappearing. A moment later, appearing high above her target with her weapon, she dives down in a powerful thrust. The moment the tip of her weapon pierces her enemy and touches the water mirror, making a single ripple disturb the water mirror before her and her enemy sink into it, reappearing high above the battlefield before crashing down. Should Miwa miss her target with the initial attack, this skill fails. It can only be used if her passive has completely activated.

Shizuku Ugachi: Using the rear end of her wagasa-spear, Miwa jumps high in the air, where she can chose to either to immediately diving towards her target in a precise and powerful thrust or open her wagasa and float for a brief moment before deciding either to strike or cancelling her skill, simply gliding down to the ground. Should her passive have completely activated, if she chooses to glide down, she can spin her wagasa, creating water needles and making them fall on her enemies from above.

Suigetsu no Kaeshi: A counter-attack using Miwa's signature weapon. By opening her wagasa and spinning, she is able to easily parry melee attacks and redirect projectiles as long as they don't carry enough impact to knock her down. After parrying a melee attack she can swiftly sweep the opponent's weapon to the side and pierce them with the back of her weapon. If her passive has completely activated, the moment she spins her wagasa to parry an attack, she disappears from behind it, leaving a copy of her weapon to fall down and quickly turn into water as she appears behind her enemy, piercing them. In this case, if she redirects a ranged attack, as long as it's not too far away, she can still teleport behind her enemy.

Equipment

Ama Matoi: The signature weapon of the miko of the Shirakawa temple, a hybrid between a wagasa and a spear, it is a weapon believed to be sacred by the Shirakawa temple, being passed down to the Shirakawa temple's Miko of each generation. It is an incredibly hard weapon to use effectively even by Shirakawa Ko-ryū users. Barely useful as a weapon to those who are not trained in the Shirakawa temple's martial arts.

Mundane Skills

Prayers and rituals of purification: Despite the emphasis on martial arts, the Shirakawa temple is still a religious temple and Miwa, as a Miko was trained in traditional rituals of purification.

Glossary

_{Miko - Medium or priestess
Shirakawa - White River
Ko-ryu - Old Style
Ame-yu - Rain approaches
Mizukagami Tsuki - Thrust into Water Mirror
Shizuku Ugachi - Piercing Raindrop
Suigetsu no Kaeshi - Counter of the Water Moon
Ama Matoi- Shrouded in Rain}

[13org]

Daikaku Kōshin

'D a i k a k u K ō s h i n'
'D a i k a k u K ō s h i n'

A g e: 22 | R a n k:
???

^{P e r s o n a l i t y} :
Much of Kōshin's personality was shaped by the teachings he received on the Daikaku Buddhist temple. When he was taken in by the Daikaku temple, the anger and violence of his youth were tempered into unwavering discipline, perseverance and unshakable resolve. These teachings not only made him an unshakable pillar of faith, but also instilled in him a detachment that can make him seem distant and unapproachable, especially due to the Buddhist beliefs of detachment, which he follows with a fierce determination.

Despite being silent, reserved and judged harshly due to his intimidating appearance, Kōshin is always willing to offer advice and words of wisdom to those who seek his help, showing himself to be very approachable. Like Acala, one of the wrathful deities Kōshin felt most admiration for, along with Yamantaka, he can mostly be described as a wrathful protector.

While Buddhism teaches non-violence, Kōshin developed a unique interpretation shaped by his experiences. Through his master, Kōshin met demons who sought nothing but peaceful coexistence and at the same time, humans consumed blind hatred, capable of acts of cruelty rivaling demons. Over time, Kōshin came to realize that good and evil transcended species. Unlike the more fanatical slayers, he does not condemn demons. He doesn't hunt them, he seeks to eradicate cruelty and evil, wherever they might lie.

On the other hand, while Kōshin believes even evil deserves a chance at redemption, he also knows that some evils are beyond redemption.
When there is no remorse or hope of change in this life, Kōshin's does not hesitate to act.
His blade, not a hateful one, but at the same time, nor it is kind... It simply is. A blade that does not act, but reacts. One that bearing the weight of their own karma to strike them down, severing evil and ignorance, returning them to Samsara in a final act of compassion so even the damned can be reborn free of their past, their karma and their sins.

^{S h o w a S e c r e t} :
Tales of demon hunts and their survivors are not rare in Japan. Since ancient times, many have lost everything to these creatures. Having their lives twisted by grief and vengeance, many of these survivors are put into a path of ruin and self-destruction. Some become troublemakers or criminals, the impotence and hatred they felt festering and causing them hate the world itself while others are thrown into path of self-destruction and revenge. The few who are either lucky or skilled enough, happen to become members of the Demon Slayer Corps... Many of which still face an untimely death, either sooner or later.

For Kōshin, his story might have followed any of these paths, but by a whim of fate, before his hatred set him into a path of no return, a meeting with an old monk who took care of an incredibly old Buddhist temple would set him into a new path.

In his youth, Kōshin was a delinquent. Angry, aimless, and fueled by hatred for demons. Stealing to survive, venting his anger and frustrations with violence were just a few examples of what he used to do. Marked by the violent demise of his parents, for Kōshin, the world was a miserable and violent place and the ones responsible for all that were the demons, cruel beasts that fed on lives, despair and pain.

The turning point came one Friday afternoon. Kōshin had heard a rumor: a local shopkeeper was supposedly a demon sympathizer. For the young, misguided boy, a rumor was all it was needed to stoke the hatred in his heart. Grabbing a rusted pipe from a dumpster, he invaded the store with grim intent, smashing windows and displays in a blind rage. The old monk found him there, his eyes like a wild beast's, just as he advanced on the terrified shopkeeper. The monk stepped between them without fear, calmly asking Kōshin to stop and think before acting. Being beyond talk or convincing, Kōshin simply charged. But the monk moved with quiet precision, effortlessly dodging every wild swing before striking the weapon from Kōshin’s hands with a single, sharp strike of his staff. Struck by both fear, surprise and the sharp pain of the monk's strike, Kōshin fell backwards, waiting for retaliation for his actions. Surprisingly enough, the monk simply looked at Kōshin with sadness in his eyes before turning and walking away.

In the days that followed, Kōshin felt lost. He had expected to be beaten and punished, just like all the other times he was caught stealing or causing trouble. But the monk had shown only a deep sadness in his eyes. Curious and confused by the monk's puzzling reaction, he began trailing the old man from a distance. Eventually, swallowing his pride, Kōshin approached and asked to be taught how to fight, only to be met with a swift and sharp rejection. Having seen the hatred in Kōshin's heart, the monk refused to aid in his destructive path. But Kōshin persisted. Only after he showed a true willingness to change did the monk finally accept but on one condition: that Kōshin would study Buddhism and help care for the temple alongside his training. From that day on, Kōshin became both student and caretaker, walking the temple’s ancient halls not as a lost boy, but as someone seeking purpose.

Years later, the reckless boy Kōshin once was, had faded into memory, replaced by a man shaped by discipline and devotion. Kōshin’s hatred cooled into clarity. He learned to wield not only a sword, but also compassion, patience, and understanding. The old monk taught him to see beyond the surface—beyond species, beyond rage and when he finally was deemed ready, the true story behind the Daikaku temple, it's connection with the Demon Slayer corps and the reasons and the reason why they chose to follow a separate path.

Eventually, the temple elders recognized the strength and balance Kōshin had attained. Though once a stray with no future, he had become a pillar of Daikaku. In time, he was named heir to the temple. Not because of bloodline, but because of spirit. A wrathful protector who would defend not just humans, but peace itself.

_________________________________________________________________________

'K o k y ū'
'K o k y ū'

^{F l a m b o y a n c e} :

無我輪廻の呼吸 — Muga Rinne no Kokyū | Breathing of Egoless Samsara

The origin of the Breathing of Egoless Samsara lies in the flowing aspect of the Water Breathing. By meditating on ideas that formed the Water Breathing style, the earlier Buddhist monks came to the realization that many Buddhist teachings and concepts could be incorporated to it.

The first part of their meditation led to a concept that could be easily correlated to the already existing Water Breathing style, the concept of non-permanence. A blade that flowed like the waters of a river, ever-changing, flexible and adaptable, mighty but fluid.

By further meditating into this state of permanent change, the concept of Samsara was incorporated. For even in an ever-changing blade, the eternal cycle was still present. From stillness, to motion and then stillness again. While in motion, every movement leads to another, even failure leads to rebirth through adaptation. Thus the breathing style became an ever-changing cycle, simultaneously formless and with a form. Ever-changing, but still defined. Form is emptiness and emptiness is form.

But even when incorporating these concepts, both the blade and the breathing style were still, inherently, instruments of harming, killing and even when used with the purest intentions, every cut left one vulnerable to the inner demons that corrupted and perverted. The answer, the final realization the monks had was the incorporation of the concept of non-self. By erasing one's self, the user does not decide when to strike, they simply allow it to happen. Without self, there is no ego, no pride in victory or grief in defeat, no love or hatred. Thus the breathing style became one devoid of the self. A blade that does not carry hostility, emotions or intentions. Not a threat but a void, calm and endless. Not a being, but a blade moving without owner, carrying the weight of karma as the world balances itself.

Shapeless, formless—
Unity of blade and soul;
One cut, samsara.

Thus the Muga Rinne no Kokyū, the Breathing of Egoless Samsara was created.

---

The Muga Rinne no Kokyū, being loosely based in the Water Breathing, retains its flowing nature, but sheds its aggressive nature. It is not a dance or display, it is absence given form, defined by an extreme economy of actions and movement. The user, like a water mirror, move only when disturbed. Every slash is preordained, flowing from stillness like a ripple across a pond and immediately returning to stillness once the moment has passed. Every attack is just as fast as it needs to be, moving just enough, with just enough strength and speed to be lethal. There are no wasted movements, no excess, no flair.

Being fundamentally a reactive style, the Muga Rinne no Kokyū user never rushes or initiates an attack. It merely waits and react. If the opponent moves, the user moves just enough to react to the attack. Offense is born within defense, merely a redirection of karmic force.

Staying true to the concepts of non-self and impermanence, when wielding a blade, the user of this style isn't enforcing their will into the world through it's blade, but simply allows the cut to happen. Even if a user of this style may appear to be overwhelmed by a torrent of attacks, they are merely waiting for the exact moment. When the blade finally moves to strike, it is as if the blade seems to guide the consequence to its inevitable conclusion. Fuid, but exact. Gentle, but absolute. Inevitable.

Despite all that, differently from other reactive styles focusing on counter attacks, in it's core, the Muga Rinne no Kokyū is not a deceitful blade. It does not aim to deceive with it's swift movements. With that said, the lack of self, hostility or killing intent in the user's blade, coupled with the adaptable, 'formless' nature of this style, often makes it particularly difficult to follow and react to it.

✧ First Form, Ichi no kata: Muku Kiryū | Innocence Returns to the Stream: The first form of the Muga Rinne no Kokyū is the foundation of the style, a stance that embodies stillness, the concept of Muga, no-self and the principle of non-violence. Strictly defensive it is a stance without being a stance, a form without a form. Can be performed with the blade still in the scabbard or even with the prayer beads Kōshin carries with him. When in this stance, the user deflects, dodges and parries attacks with little to no effort, always with as little movement as possible. Every move is met with the appropriate reaction. When violence meets non-violence, only ripples remain in the water mirror.

It is the base stance of the Muga Rinne no Kokyū. All other forms are performed after this one.

✧ Second Form, Ni no kata: Setsuna Sazanami | Momentary Ripple: A fleeting instant between the ripples in a water mirror after disturbed. A strictly non-lethal move. Using the openings created by the first form, the user performs a swift strike, often superficial, aimed to disable but not kill. It usually targets to cut tendons and muscles, a blunt strike to joints or even aiming at the opponent's hands or weapon. A strike born out of compassion, aiming to disable and disarm rather than kill.

✧ Third Form, San no kata: Ruten Shōgyō | All things flow and fade: Lit. Flowing of all actions.
What began as a ripple, now became a wave. A single transient cut, ending and fading as quickly and calmly as it came. This form aims at decisively ending a combat, without leaving any possibility of retaliation. While still technically non-lethal, it aims to cause grave wounds, such as completely severing a member or cause too great of a wound for the battle to continue.

✧ Fourth Form, Shi no kata: Mugetsu no Nagare | Flow Beneath the Moonless Night: Lit. Flow of the Moonless Night.
The wave after running it's course, comes to a quiet and silent end. A final cut, devoid of any hostility or intention. A particularly difficult form to defend or perceive, being a move embodying the concept of non-self and detachment. A formless blade that moves without an owner.
The first lethal form of the Muga Rinne no Kokyū, aiming to end a life. Painlessly and cleanly. A single precise cut, sending one's soul back into the great cycle of Samsara.

Despite the decisive nature of this move, like all other moves from the Muga Rinne no Kokyū, it does not take the form of a mighty or an exceptionally fast strike, instead being calm, effortless strike, focusing on precision above all else.

✧ Fifth Form, Go no kata: Enmei Hōrin | Wheel of Dharma, Eternal Clarity: Lit. Radiant Dharma Wheel.
The perfect culmination of everything the Muga Rinne no Kokyū embodies, when stillness, compassion, detachment and non-self have become one. Can only be performed if the user is in a state of perfect Samadhi.

A strike that transcends self, carrying the full weight of karmic equilibrium, the weight of the world as it balances itself. A strike that follows no path, yet all paths. Impossibly fast yet at the same time, impossibly slow. One's perception of time seems to dilate as the user performs a circular motion resembling the ensō (Zen circle), before raising the blade. For a brief moment, the blade hangs over the user's head. A single moment that seems to extend to eternity before the blade finally comes crashing down, the convergence of all cycles, all rebirths, all causes and effects, everything that led one to this moment. Upon cutting, the user cuts more than just flesh and bone. Those who fall to this strike have their karmic bonds cut and their souls, severed from the cycle of Samsara, sent to Naraka for purification through suffering, until rebirth.

✧ The price of Dharma

The Enmei Hōrin is not a strike born of self, but of the world balancing itself through the user. The more impure or corrupted is the soul he severs, the heavier the toll, as the karmic burden flows through him before dispersing into nothingness. In other words, by offering oneself as both the vessel and the axis through which the Wheel of Dharma turns, the user becomes temporarily one with the Wheel. But as a consequence, everything that resists this impermanence is gradually grounded away with each turn of it. This means that every time the Enmei Hōrin is used, a part of the user is sacrificed. This takes form of more than just the memories and feelings the user has, but the memories and feelings the world has for him. This means not only the user can forget both memories and feelings he might have for companions and allies, but they will also forget about him. When there is nothing more to ground but the user's own self, compassion becomes impossible and thus, the act carries only detachment. Without compassion, what was supposed to be the ultimate act of mercy becomes true annihilation.

True annihilation, completely removing a soul from the cycle of Dharma is an impossibility, breaking the rules of Dharma and in order to correct itself, the Wheel of Dharma erases the contradiction. Not back to Samsara, but into pure nothingness.

The final use of Enmei Hōrin, when the Wheel has nothing to grind but the Self, becomes a paradox. The very act of surrendering the self is still a conscious act, becoming, at the same time, the ultimate assertion of self as the user negates their own 'Self', their detachment perfecting itself into nonexistence. Resulting in true annihilation, dissolution.

_________________________________________________________________________

'N i c h i r i n'
'N i c h i r i n'

^{B l a d e W o r k} : Staying true to the philosophy behind the Muga Rinne no Kokyū, the blade Kōshin wields is simple and devoid of any embellishment or decoration, being merely a shirasaya, lacking even a proper tsuba. When unsheathed, it seems to almost completely lack any change in color like most other Nichirin blades, being only distinguishable as such due to an incredibly faint golden light which seems to mix with the natural reflection of the blade. A reflection of the countless monks that inherited this sword through the ages as heirs to the Daikaku temple, the weight of their vows and the detachment to self and desires.
_________________________________________________________________________

^{U n i q u e T r a i t s} :

Samadhi: Years of meditation, training and studying the Buddhist teachings allow Kōshin to temporarily attain the state of Samadhi. Intense concentration allow him to reach a state of mind where he eliminates the self and is, essentially one with it's blade. Merely an empty vessel, through which the world restores its balance. Unclouded by fear, urgency, pain, hesitation and freed from the interference of all six senses, sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch and mind, Kōshin attains perfect perception. Every second is experienced and known in it's entirety. No minor detail or movement is left unperceived, allowing him to dodge and counterattacks with uncanny precision, making any attempt to deceive or misdirect, useless. With the elimination of self, there is essentially no reaction time, as Kōshin's body moves before the mind intervenes. More than a trait, the Samadhi is the very essence of the Muga Rinne no Kokyū.

It does not come without a risk though, as it is very taxing on the user's brain, especially if fighting against multiple foes. If forced to focus in multiple targets at the same time, this state of Samadhi can only be maintained for a few minutes before it becomes dangerous to continue further, causing the brain to overheat and finally, shutting down completely, essentially incapacitating Kōshin for the time being.

Reinforced Prayer Beads: The long prayer beads that Kōshin carries with him, while not exactly a weapon, were especially made to be very strong and resistant to cuts, given Kōshin's tendency to use these prayer beads to sometimes stop attacks or bind enemies.

[13org]

Zarha

C H A R A C T E R S H E E T T E M P L A T E

^{———————}

Zahra Appearance Standing at 1.72m, Zahra's lean, tall body and elegant posture give her a regal beauty which is only accentuated by the crown of feathers in her head. Despite that, a closer look hints at her dangerous, predatory nature. From sharp claws and talons to eyes that seem to watch every move, a quick look is all it takes for one to realize the danger that lies beneath her elegant appearance. Mostly wearing shawls and robes of light fabric, Zahra often favors practical clothes, suited both to protect her from the elements but also do not restrict her movements be it for flight or fight. The warm, sandy hues help both in avoiding excessive heat and unwanted attention due to her plumage. While Zahra was taught to travel light, she often carries a small knapsack on her back with some essential utilities for survival in the desert, including a leather waterskin for emergencies. Personality & Reputation Life in the harsh deserts of Verja taught Zahra to be always alert and vigilant. Her few words and sharp gaze give the impression of an aloof and distant woman when in reality, both life and her elders taught her that to trust too easily is to make oneself vulnerable, especially in the unforgiving lands of Verja... A lesson that has not yet failed in keeping her safe and alive. While her reputation as a guide and guard to those seeking to cross the Verjan deserts did earn her quite a bit respect and even some admiration, the stories told by some of how she seems to show no hesitation before swiftly dealing with bandits and raiders also made many treat her with a great amount of caution. Despite this somewhat mixed reputation, those who approach Zahra with good intentions, given enough time, often find to be a rather warm and approachable woman. After earning her trust, her cold demeanor warms and gives way to genuine interest and care. Only when Zahra finally shows to genuinely enjoy their presence and companionship that she finally starts opening herself in order to learn more about those she considers close. History History Zahra's family history can be traced back to the first great massacre the Eidola suffered under the hands of the Huma. Many Eidola chose to isolate themselves into the mountains, but Zahra's ancestors, doubting the Humas' greed wouldn't find a way to follow them there, chose a different path, taking refuge into the dangerous and conflict ridden lands of Verja. The first years were tough. Adapting to a completely different land and style of life wasn't easy for an Eidola. From the scorching heat to the lack of water, to brush was an almost daily occurrence for them. With time and thanks to the merchant caravans they worked for as helpers and sometimes scouts, they learned not only the tricks to navigate the scorching heat but how to navigate the land. From animals and creatures that could be hunted even in the scorching desert in an emergency and how accurately find oasis to replenish their supplies of water to even techniques to conserve as much water as possible when traveling, all this knowledge acquired via good connections and valuable, albeit passing, friends. Years passed and through the generational knowledge left by her elders, Zahra has more than earned her place among the small community of Eidolas who made the harsh deserts their new home. With a reputation of one of the best guides of the region, she has earned the luxury of being selective with her contracts. Some of this is due to the connections her family built over the years with merchant caravans, who provide her with privileged information regarding safe routes, where bandits and raiders are least active. This relationship with the trading caravans also made it possible for both to plan their routes and specify a temporary 'checkpoint' of sorts, where the merchant caravans can sell their wares to the group Zahra is guiding and both of them can trade both resources and information. In the other hand, keeping neutrality regarding the ongoing conflict between the Aquus and Ceir clans allow her, much like most of the merchant caravans, to avoid the worst consequences of the civil war. With that said, the bloodstained sands of Verja, while being considered by Zahra as her home, began feeling rather suffocating. With the civil war starting to become fiercer and the desert more dangerous, keeping neutrality has began to get increasingly harder, not only for Zahra, but even the merchant caravans. Her knowledge about the desert and the trade routes, shared with the merchant caravans began being considered as valuable knowledge... Both for each one of the clans, seeking to steal resources and hinder the other but also for the bandits and raiders, who also feel the relation between both clans getting more tenuous. In a short time, the Verja desert began feeling like a barrel of powder. Tense relations between both clans meaning a single spark was enough for an all-out war to break out and the silent, always present threat of the dormant Mount Atyunnata risking making the metaphor of a 'barrel of powder' more than just a metaphor. With risks far beyond what Zahra could predict or prepare for, and a target slowly being painted on the back of anyone who refused to choose a side, leaving Verja became not a desire, but a necessity... even if only temporarily. Strengths & Limitations Strengths Skirmisher Zahra's fighting style is heavily based on agility and mobility. Her agility and speed, both in the air and the ground, allow her to excel in sudden attacks, ambushes or hit and run tactics. She also makes ample use of tactics such as using her wings to blow up sand or dust to either create openings for attack, disorient or even allow her to run or reposition. Her great stamina, thanks both to her light equipment and her physiology allow her to employ attrition tactics with great efficiency or at least makes it easier to run away if outnumbered or outmatched. Natural Weapons Being trained to use her claws, talons and sometimes even her beak in melee combat make her strikes unpredictable and quite dangerous against cloth or leather armor. While she can still aim to strike between the plates of an armor or use pure impact to try and deal damage, she has no means to 'pierce' any kind of heavy and metallic armor. Her kicks, even when not taking in consideration her talons, still are deceptively strong due to her long legs and can cause substantial blunt damage. Thrown weapons Besides being useful in a myriad of ways for survival, Zahra carries a number of throwing knives with her, hidden in many pockets and folds of her cloak and robes. While having nowhere near the range of a proper ranged weapon, their effective range is still enough to allow her to use them quite effectively at short to middle range. Survivalist While most of her knowledge about survival is specific to the arid and desert regions of Verja, Zahra still has enough knowledge to allow her to survive almost exclusively of the things the land can provide, given enough time to familiarize with the region. While graver wounds are still dangerous, her knowledge also allow her to quickly perform first-aid in order to treat minor to medium wounds and at least stabilize graver ones, allowing her to seek proper care. Connections - Merchant caravans Thanks to her and her family's close relation with the merchant caravans passing through Verja, they have come to respect and trust and respect her to quite some degree. Calling in a few favors or asking for assistance in times of need are much more likely when dealing with said caravans. Information and trust are the most valuable things a merchant can trade. Sharp senses Zahra's senses of hearing and vision are particularly keen. In the other hand, her sense of smell is relatively poor when compared to the other races. Heat and cold resistance Generations living in the Verjan deserts allowed Zahra and those of her lineage to physiologically adapt to live in such harsh environment, allowing her to more easily deal with both the scorching heat of the desert days and the freezing nights. She is also able to survive with reduced water intake when compared to normal Eidolas. Limitations Agile Fighter While her attacks, especially kicks, can have a surprising amount of strength behind them, Zahra's fighting style is still mainly based on speed and agility. She is not fit for direct contests of strength and if restrained, by any means, become quite vulnerable. Code of honor Nothing is forgotten. Favor or grievance, trust or betrayal. Light traveler Traveling light is more than just a preference. It is a necessity. Carrying more than necessary does more than just slow her down. It affects her traveling speed and even her fighting and flying. Humid environment Despite her resistance to cold and heat, Zahra is not suited to humid environments. A hot and humid environment can affect her stamina and movement as feathers retain humidity. Cold and wet environments risk hypothermia and freezing, despite her cold resistance. Grace fails against steel Zahra's inability to deal with heavy armor means that outside of relying on blunt damage with her kicks, she is not able to pierce heavy armor. Armored targets and especially shielded formations are especially dangerous and should not be engaged if there is a choice. Miscellaneous Her name, Zahra comes from the Arabic root ز هـ ر (z–h–r), which is related to to brightness, blossoming, shining and radiance.

____________________________________________________________________________ ◤ “Warmth, like water, is not freely given. It is earned.” Full Name: Zahra ibn Mālik Age: 20 Voice Claim: Nika Futterman as Asajj Ventress Race: Eidola Birthplace: Verja Occupation: Guide Affiliation(s): None

^{———————}

[13org]

Miya

---

^{Wings are, most of the times, hidden beneath the stitches on her back, only beginning to show when under severe emotional distress or danger.}

#11

S I G I L L A T A
^{"The Sealed One"}

• P h y s i c a l A g e •
18

• G e n d e r I d e n t i f i e r •
Female

• D e s i g n a t e d L o c a t i o n •
Russia

---

• P s y c h P r o f i l e •

+ Quiet + Friendly + Playful
- Cunning - Temperamental - Morally Detached
* To know why she was created and which one among them is the real one. * For the hunger and the pain to stop. * To be treated as a person and not a weapon or an object.

---

• U n i q u e T r a i t s & A b i l i t i e s •

Verbum Sigillatum — The Sealed Word|

#11 seems to be able, in some way, to mutter words and sounds that seem to be impossible to comprehend, record or even be heard by mortal beings. Such words can be clearly heard by all beings in a radius of 2km from her, even if the are merely whispered. A few select people of profound faith who hear those, claim to be able to hear the words and mention as them being the forbidden language of angels while others merely hear a profound rumbling along with the sound of a far away bell.

The first word ceases all sound inside the area, causing an absolute and complete, deafening silence, making any kind of verbal communication impossible. Heartbeats of all those inside seem to beat in unison, being the only sound that can be heard. #11 seems to also know the location of every living being inside this area being able to read their emotions and intent.

"Sathariel"

The second word causes a blinding light to shine down from the heavens. All darkness is washed away by a flood of divine light and ethereal feathers. Deception becomes utterly impossible inside this area, be it trying to hide or conceal oneself, lie or deceive. Masks — magical, physical, emotional — shatter. #11 seems to be able to move in flickers while inside the area. Like light glancing off a mirror she seems to appear just where attention isn’t, seeming to vanish between glances and making targeting, hitting or even keeping up with her as she moves very hard.

"Raziel"

The third word causes all other miracles or supernatural abilities that are not born of true holiness or pure intent to be severely weakened or simply fade, according to how far away from #15 they are. Those with strong link to the divine claim to feel a tremendous spiritual weight upon hearing the word, a reminder of their origin. Those of unholy or unclear nature are compelled to kneel. Stronger ones are able to resist this effect, but are still impacted by it, becoming slower and sluggish. All those who dare defy the divine law inside the area and move with ill intent will find their actions reflected back to them.

"Phanuel"


___________________________
A p p e t i t e L v l :: 4

Israfil

---

#11

R E S I G N A T A
^{"The Unsealed One"}

• P h y s i c a l A g e •
18

• G e n d e r I d e n t i f i e r •
Female

• D e s i g n a t e d L o c a t i o n •
Russia

---

• P s y c h P r o f i l e •

+ Fearless + Determined + Devoted
- Cold - Merciless - Arrogant/Self-Righteous
* To herald the beginning of the end.* To be released from the seals and the girl she is trapped into. * To punish humans for their defiance.

---

• U n i q u e T r a i t s & A b i l i t i e s •

Sigillum Fractum — The Broken Seal|

Due to it's destructive power and uncontrollable nature, a restriction was put into the last form of this ability. When said restriction is lifted by #11's handler, at the cost of inflicting a crippling, almost incapacitating state of hunger into #11 when the battle ends, The angel which is trapped inside #11 is forcefully unsealed. Marked by the sounding of a deafeningly loud trumpet, the wings beneath Miya's skin painfully burst from below the stitches in her back, tearing skin and flesh as she takes a completely different persona, Israfil. As the angel of apocalypse incarnate, Israfil does not differentiate between allies or enemies and can only be suppressed by the usage of another specific relic by #11's handler, which forcefully seals Israfil again, leaving #11 incapacitated for the time being.

While on this form, holes are tore open on firmament, caused by the sound of the trumpet. From these tears, a torrent of holy, aflame blood flows, flooding the battlefield below, causing agonizing pain and severely burning those who touch it. Israfil is able to control this holy aflame blood as she sees fit, from hardening it to form spikes and thorns to be used in a a myriad of ways to creating a spear made of this hardened blood, which she uses to fight.


___________________________
A p p e t i t e L v l :: ??