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Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Fantasy Knight RP

See, Narcissa solves the problem by just making sure all the bandits she fights are dead, or otherwise corrects that issue.

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Fantasy Knight RP

Imagine being wed by a loli vampire paladin and priestess.

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Fantasy Knight RP

With the foliage density increasing and the increasing difficulty of traversing up the path, many of the knights in the column, including Narcissa, were getting ready to dismount. After that, according to the captain’s plan, they would split off the scouting party to search up ahead. That plan had been barely formalized when it was shattered; just before the group was going to dismount en masse, the wreckage of a small cart came into view, accompanied by a dead horse and a bloodied body alongside. Narcissa remained alert as she took the opportunity to dismount, but she wasn’t too concerned. If it was a man simply left for dead, they would just move on. If it was an ambush, they could easily fight it off. Either way, it was prudent to establish a small perimeter around the area before inspecting the wreckage, and Narcissa was about to open her mouth to give an order to that effect, the idea so obvious to her that she didn’t think the Knight Captain needed to deign herself with it.

That was, until the young captain literally jumped from her horse and sprinted up to the man, walking right into what was an obvious ambush after all. “Idiotic!” She muttered, watching as Fanilly barely dodge a volley of arrows and then a engage with a concealed bandit. The call to arms was sloppy, with no plan, but in a proper order like the Iron Rose, a well-trained group of knights didn’t need one to effectively respond and counter an ambush. Hastily adjusting her equipment as more bandits emerged from the forest, Narcissa quickly rushed forward with spear and shield to reform the van around the captain.

A man armed with sword and buckler got in her way before that objective could be achieved, but immediately sensing his disadvantage against the reach of Narcissa’s weapon, attempted to disengage. Not giving him the chance to run, she immediately jabbed for neck but was blocked by his shield. The bandit, forced back into an engagement, swiped with his sword, but bounced harmlessly off her kite-shield, and a second thrust downwards caught the bandit in his foot, causing him to stumble to the ground with a yell of pain. Not hesitating, she swung her spear down once more with another jab, delivering the coup de grace before charging in again.

One of the other noble knights, a Larette, had somehow made it ahead of her, rallying for a spear push. In a split-second decision, she agreed the decision was expedient, and pushed in towards her. “Larette. I’ll cover your rear.” Announcing her intentions, she engaged another bandit just off to her side, deflecting an axe before replying in kind with a skewer to the torso, only to be immediately engaged by another one immediately afterwards...

The battlefield was quickly getting messy, but Narcissa still remained fully confident of their superiority. She only had to take one look at the fear on their faces when they realized they were being engaged by knights.

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Fantasy Knight RP

Narcissa made a frown, the halting language of her inexperienced commander not lost on her. Still unconvinced, she was yet patient, and nodded at agreement of sending a forward scouting party. What she might lack in experience, at the moment she seemed to make up for it in listening to and taking good council. Even if she were green, those were still the qualities of a good leader, as long as they didn’t entirely lean on them as a manner of conduct. Hearing the words of another of the knights, Sir Renar, she nodded. Narcissa only had a passing knowledge of his background, but even if it was dubious, he was cut from the same cloth as her, and he also tended to have sound judgement.

Tactfully ignoring the Knight-Captain’s second stumble, she raised a gloved hand to volunteer. “I would not have made the suggestion without offering, and I can lead it, if that is your wish. I’m more lightly armored than the others in full plate, and I’ll be less noticeable in on foot and in the woods.” If anybody had noticed, she had carefully danced around directly referring to the fact that she was small, and short. There was no denying that those were advantages in a stealthier scouting operation, though. She considered her weapons in that case; with a fair bit of reluctance, she realized she would have to leave her lance behind with her horse. In the thickets and woods, it was unwieldy, and would also stand out, so she would have to default to sword and shield. She internally grumbled, making a small grimace as she made a brief glance to suss out who had also volunteered, before looking further on down the road. Druncarde's words were a bit long-winded for the scenario for her taste, but they did have merit. Being ambushed in the thickets was a very real possibility.

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Fantasy Knight RP

Does he have a John face?

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Fantasy Knight RP

Narcissa too belonged to the vanguard, trotting up on her endearingly named and trusted steed, Maple. She kept on the other side of Forina, just behind the Knight Captain. It was partly her own personality and a desire for glory in battle that she kept to the front as much as possible. She had a neutral, if not slightly bored expression on her face, but noticing her red haired cousin move alongside their new captain, she took up the pace and took the other side of Forina. Unlike her, Narcissa was unsurprised by the resurgence of banditry in certain regions; despite peace now being so prevalent, she knew full well that regions that had been depressed by war or sacked by forces on either side did not recover quickly. It was not entirely unlikely that inhabitants of such regions could be compelled into banditry.

Still, she was of like mind of many of the knights, surprised, if not mildly irritated by such a mundane use of the Order. Little glory could be had by crushing small-time bandits, and she was more of the opinion that the Kingdom’s regular troops must have been poorly commanded indeed if they fell to bandits.

And that brought Narcissa quickly to her chief concern on this sortie—the captain herself. She was green—barely still a child—and riding out to lead an entire veteran army of knights, many with commendable battle honors under their belt themselves. The Order had noble beginnings and traditions, she could admit as much, but she still privately questioned the expediency of appointing a knight with so little experience to lead. Narcissa could see her cousin shared the same reservations, although she felt that her chief concerns were over cautious.

In the meantime, the sole artificer in their group spoke up, offering an alternate solution. If Forina’s tactic felt overcautious, Elodie’s felt too chaotic and haphazard. Still, she didn't want to fall here, or risk botching a mundane thing, either.

“Lady Forina, Knight-Captain Fanilly, if I might interject. We have little in the ways of intelligence, so I would offer a suggestion to split off a small reconnaissance party rather than risk an immediate assault.” She glanced back over at Elodie, giving her a frown at her suggestion before turning back to Forina. “This will afford us some time to prepare, and see the lay of the situation. There may be potential hostages or civilians in the camp, so I would not advise a magical bombardment lest any innocents are caught in the crossfire.”

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Fantasy Knight RP

In other news, that short knight girl irrationally hates garlic, for some reason.

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Fantasy Knight RP

"parry this u casul"

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Fantasy Knight RP

I had a good candidate picture for a female axe knight, but ended up going with polearms instead since they're clearly superior~

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Fantasy Knight RP

Narcissa Rauthier

Lady

Narcissa Igliese Rauthier

25 | Female | Human

Appearance:

On the smaller side for an armed combatant, Narcissa standing at a petite 5’ 3.” She has dark hair, with a noble tint of blue, matching azure eyes, pale skin, and an impeccable, smug posture that seems to compensate for an otherwise diminutive frame.
Personality: Narcissa is a woman that is ambitious, conceited, and not quite humble at all. Nonetheless, she was raised well, and honoring the principles of noblesse oblige, offers an honorable and generous disposition when obliged, and otherwise shows an educated upbringing in her demeanor and manner of speech.

Although she carries the tainted name of her family house, she remains proud of her heritage and works hard to restore its name to its former standing. Despite her subtly grating personality and a preponderance towards self-promotion, her true intentions can be a tough nut to crack. It’s not entirely wrong to say that her allegiances and motivations are influenced more by political expediency rather than a true devotion to a cause or order. She is unafraid to use morally gray, although not necessarily evil, means to an end either in support of herself or even of the principals she serves to uphold, and when these cracks show through, does little to help the cause of restoring her good name.

Brief Backstory:

House Rauthier was an influential noble family that held a significant marquessate on the Thaln-Velt border. For hundreds of years, they were the stewards of this border region, known for their quality of their knights and the bustling trade city that was the seat of the Marquess of Rauthier. Born of high birth, Narcissa was the third child of the marquess; while she would not be heir to her father’s titles, she was still groomed as a knight and protector of realm, a tradition of the family in favor of simply just marrying off their daughters for political prestige.

In the War of the Red Flag, House Rauthier threw in their lot with Phoran Cal, lending their substantial forces to his cause. Some say the Marquess was tricked into aiding the rebellious lord, while others say or he was corrupted or blackmailed, but the truth was that the Marquess had simply been won over by promises of greater power and land. In the end, he and his family were crushed and destroyed in the closing months of the war, with his lands sacked and seized in the subsequent sieges.

Narcissa had always remained skeptical of the rebellion, preferring peace and the status quo, but pursuant to her father’s request, and initially won over by the cause, Narcissa fought with them against the Kingdom. As the war continued on, she became disillusioned by the breadth of the treachery involved within her family and the rebels and tried unsuccessfully to convince the rest of her family to cease their support. Seeing the writing on the wall, she defected back to the Kingdom and fighting on their side to the conclusion of the war. In the hopes of preserving the honor of her family name and titles, she entered the order of Iron Rose Knights to redeem both herself, the reputation of her family, and to restore the seat that would now be otherwise her glory. Although it is clear she has dubious motivations, she acquits herself well of the Order’s cause, and shows no reason for anybody to doubt her loyalties.

Equipment:

Narcissa holds a lance that ran in her family for many generations as her primary weapon. It is a thin spear made of a lightweight metal alloy that has, according to some smiths, since been lost to recent memory. It has a robust anti-magic enchantment that is able to temporarily disrupt any low to medium level magic that it touches, be it a magic shield, rune, or another magic enchantment on a weapon.

She also has a kite-shield, proudly adorned with her family crest. It has a similar enchantment as her lance, but is a mere facsimile of the original enchantment and only has a minor effect against magic.

Her sidearms of choice are an arming sword of good quality and a simple dirk hidden away, but they otherwise have no notable provenance or ability aside from their workmanship.

Given her smaller frame, her preferred armor is comparatively light compared to other knights for better speed and mobility, forgoing full torso and upper leg armor for a small breastplate over a gambeson and chainmail. This equipment is enchanted for durability and additional stopping power, providing a better approximation to full plate than it otherwise would.

She has additional, heavier armor to make up a full suit if the situation calls for it, but aside from respectable quality, is unremarkable in any respect.

She also has a horse, it’s white and likes maple syrup crystals.

Skills:

Narcissa is a respectably trained knight, with reasonable skill in wielding both axes and swords of most variety. Her true skill lies in the polearm, however, learned with impeccable technique and footwork and with a small flair for the dramatic. She’s a competent on a horseback, and while isn’t particularly gifted at magic, has a keen sense of detecting when or where magic has been used. She also fancies herself a reasonable stateswoman, but really hasn’t had much of a chance to put that to the test.