Draken — Roleplayer Guild

Name: Father Ilya Bjornlie
Age: 21
Warband Leviathan

Height/Weight: 5'11", 197 lb. 
Race: Native Varyan

~

Appearance: Though not unattractive, Father Ilya Bjornlie seems to think he's handsomer than he is. His body has a definitively light tone and though not as burly as most other successful inquisitors, his physique is quite well toned below the layers of official garb he wears. Every piece of kit, identification, and medal is always present, but half of it is always at a slightly altered angle. The belt droops slightly on his left, his official sword is slightly loose in its scabbard, and his goggles rest haphazardly around his neck, yet his powerful rifle is perfectly secured in its strap on his back. 

Father Ilya stays carefully clean shaven, and less successfully keeps a mostly charming smile on his face. His hair is short and styled somewhat, as he attempts to play off of the asymmetry of his outfit and play up his blue eyes and strong jawline. The look is practical as well, since there is no chance hair being caught in the straps of his googles or being caught in the seal when he's aiming a shot.  

The image is ripped from deviantart. Apparently the character is from a show called Generation Kill? No idea, but he looks close to what I'm going for and has approximately the right level of projected cockiness.

~

Personality: It would be wrong to call Father Ilya Bjornlie an asshole. Yes, he can be abrasive, and yes, he mostly sees others as tools, but he's in truth a decent person. Well, alright. He's not a bad person. To most people.

Father Ilya is goal driven, and his life's goal is to be a great and successful hero. This means a number of things. First is to be exceedingly good at war, which is why he embraces the Red Seminary - learning combat, magic, and tactics from the best in the nation. Second is to have grand exploits, hence his barely restrained joy upon being chosen for this voyage. Third, is to recognized and loved for his achievements. This may be the most difficult part. 

Father Ilya does his best to project the image of a charming war hero, but that only applies to the general public. With his peers, he is far less concerned with appearances, and far more concerned with work and results. As such, he is often dismissive and irritable to people who insist on wasting time without something useful to offer him, and is a natural-born workaholic. He plans his days to the level of 10 minutes when he can, and in the pursuit of efficiency (in turn for the pursuit of glory), genuinely considered sleeping more productive than spending "free time" with other Inquisitors. As a result, the people he is closest to are not friends so much as business partners. 

The inspiration for Ilya's dedication comes in large part from Varya himself, as well as his chosen favorites over the centuries. However, one would be wrong to mistake his wrote memorization of the nation's grandest tales of conquest for pure devotion. He lies somewhere in between a fanatic servant and a lone wolf. He serves Varya because Varya is the greatest - everybody knows that, and to stand against such greatness is to guarantee ones failure. So instead, he works with this font of glory, because he is nothing if not practical in pursuing his ambition. 

~

Background: Poverty has never truly been known to Father Ilya Bjornlie, but that is not to say he has lived without want. Even before his time in the Red Seminary, Father Ilya was born into the wealthy Bjornlie family well above the surface of the ice surrounding Magnagrad. His father was a military man, and his mother the heiress to a booming ether business. However, both of them knew the dangers that lurked in cushy affluence, and wanted him to achieve a grand military career as well. As such, despite the wealth, Ilya's only tastes of natural foods were major holidays and when a sufficiently important guest visited that he was required to dine with his parents while they worked their social circles. Indeed, though he spent more time with servants and slaves than his parents, they were omnipresent in his life. Not one day passed where he did not have an assignment or five. Some days he was relentlessly drilled in marksmanship. Other days he was tested in melee against challenger after challenger his father's closest companion selected from the slave pits. Periodically, his mother would take him along to social gatherings, and even leave him with "friends" of hers who needed to be charmed, or have predetermined facts leaked on "accident." Such was Ilya's life until his strong etheric abilities emerged, and he was promptly sent to the Red Seminary, bringing another boost of honor and reputation to the Bjornlie name.  

Though Ilya had achieved some impressive feats with ether, he was not nearly the best with magic in the Red Seminary. Though Ilya had defeated some skilled foes from the slave pits, he was not nearly the best fighter in the Red Seminary. Though Ilya had charmed some cynical nobles in courts, he was seen right through at the Red Seminary. With all of his skills not holding him above the rest, there was only one option available to Ilya Bjornlie: Do Better. 

Practice, study, and planning became Ilya's life. In his second year a talent of his was revealed to be unique: marksmanship. Though forgone by most Inquisitors, Ilya's steady hand, keen eye, and years of practice found targets countless times more easily than his peers. None of the other students had been trained since childhood for the life of a soldier, and while they were learning how to load guns, Ilya was nailing the farthest targets arranged that day. He took this strength and promptly began pushing himself. Nowdays, he is by far the premier, if essentially only, marksman among the Inquisitors.

As it turns out, Ilya's eye was not only keen when it came to shooting targets, but also for strategic planning. Though occasionally thwarted by unexpected turns of events, the joke runs that Ilya could plan better and for more contingencies in an hour with a notebook than an army captain could with a day and a map. Though never put to the test, there are solid odds this is true. In the Red Seminary, he was initially praised for his capabilities. However, when they failed to push Ilya's brain by changing the situation, they began to change the rules. As soon situations - simulated or in practice, moved beyond his contingencies Ilya's actions began to break apart. Although practiced has improved this somewhat, Ilya still flounders when pressed for time and options. Indeed, instead of becoming more adaptable, his training has mostly increased his capacity to plan for a massive number of contingencies. 

~

Talents/Ethereal Abilities: Ilya is likely the best marksmen among the Inquisitors, which is, in truth, a relatively easy feat since nearly none bother learning more than the basics. Still, his aim is top notch, and he personally honed the ability to coat his bullets in a specialized paling, helping them to slide cleanly through the air and whatever winds it may hold. Thanks to this innovative technique (which he is attempting to teach to the army as "Father Ilya's Piercing Paling"), his range and precision are far above expected levels. Given a chance to aim, he can take out a target from nearly a thousand feet away. ((For reference, the shortest range of the modern top 10 snipers is ~4000 feet))

Some would argue that it's too much to call Ilya a tactical genius, but Ilya would disagree if it didn't mean going against his public image of moderate modesty. His plans are incredibly in depth - even if when they fall apart, they completely and utterly fall apart. If something isn't accounted for, its because he can't quite grasp the very idea of it happening and as such will flounder in the face of it. 

Ilya's spells officially revolve around the manipulation of water. He could, hypothetically, start messing with someone's blood, but to manipulate water so impure takes a major chunk of ether. In addition, the existence of a paling multiplies the enormity of the task, so that is almost never done. Indeed, the manipulation of water in the world is not what Father Ilya is known for - though he wears a tank of two gallons on his back beneath his cloak. Instead, its for his bullet paling, which he generally draws upon tiny slivers of his own ether for - unless he needs enough oomph to pierce a paling projected by his target. 

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Personal Seal:

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Character Relationships: ((Imma need a solid hour to reread everyone's CSs and make all this.))

Father Rodion Kuznetsov
Father Ilya Bjornlie has almost nothing but respect for the man. Respect, and a tiny bit of pity for his social life and his doomed talents in the military. As Ilya sees it, imposing the life of an inquisitor on Father Rodion suppresses his ability to grow and create truly great things, especially with the sheer amount of time being dedicated to training and such. That said, the work Ilya has witnessed in his visits to the foundry have been eye opening.

Though massive mechanical wonders are somewhat commonplace in the military industrial complex, Father Rodion's work on intricate marvels showed Father Ilya the sheer potential of the sciences. He is barely able to fathom how the Madrys functions or even exists, despite all of his schooling. However, what kept Ilya's eye was the second unique weapon the reclusive savant had developed: the Sniper Rifle. Though it quickly became apparent to Ilya that Father Rodion had no interest in making a second copy, he kept returning for a night every few weeks. Ilya would help with the manual work, such as lifting, measuring, poring. While doing so, he would ask occasional questions about how things worked, or ask for bits of advise with the ongoing customization of his own kinetic rifle, in contrast to the etheric wonder that the Sniper Rifle is. Indeed, without these exchanges, Father Ilya quietly doubts he would have perfected the "Father Ilya's Piercing Paling" and the various modifications which allow it to be used without damaging the barrel of his gun. Not in time to justify its use to his instructors, at least.

Mother Viveca:

Ilya's feelings toward Mother Viveca are mixed. He sees a sort of kindred spirit in their ambitions, but they point in different, if parallel, directions. In addition, her spontaneity makes her difficult to work with, and even though Ilya has long since overcome his older prejudices towards her after their countless hours toiling under Mother Indira, she seems to have refused to consider him in any light except for his heritage and his goals. Though he tried to not let it bother him, it does mildly annoy Ilya that she could be so quick to condemn so completely, and unrelenting in her judgement.

Mother Indira Al-Sayed

Within the first month of arriving at the Red Seminary, Father Ilya and Mother Indira Al-Sayed were silently at odds. She clearly did not like him, and though her name was known throughout Magnagrad, Ilya saw not much special. Indeed, he saw an Omestrian woman of poor character, who specifically burdened him with extra tasks and training which restricted his ability to develop his strengths and barred the usage of time to develop his connections with his peers. That these "extracurricular" activities continuously involved him being saddled with the two other Omestrian students in Warband Leviathan was not lost on Father Ilya. Though he kept a clean face, Ilya knew that a point was being made by his main instructor, he just wasn't quite sure if it was about his prejudices or hers. 

Father Ilya was reaching the limits of his willingness to put up with her actions when he finally saw how capable she was. It was at the annual Crucible Ceremony, where each warband in training was pitted against the others of its year in a "friendly" tournament, where instructors and students alike were able to sort out their rivalries and officials could see the growing fruits of their investment in the Red Seminary. The Leviathans placed a strong second, giving perspective to Ilya on just how well Mother Indira Al-Sayed's methods were working. However, more than that, his views were changed when she was needed in action. All matches were mediated by two instructors from warbands not in the current fight. When Indira Al-Sayed stepped in for a particularly lethal-looking blow, it was not with a blade or blast of magic, but with the most terrifying creature Father Ilya had seen by then, and has seen since. It was one thing to hear of the Summoner in city gossip. It was another to see her work first hand. 

Since then, Father Ilya has taken her tasks with no complaint, increasingly convinced that it was, in fact, designed to help chosen students grow. The direct exposure to the capabilities of his Omestrian peers forced Ilya to reevaluate his world view somewhat, and he has since sworn to judge the individual based on what they are capable of, not their heritage alone.

and another round as always, liberties taken get in touch if you want me to make any changes

Father Ilya Bjornlie@Draken
Astraea greatly appreciates Ilya on a professional level. His calculated attitude to war along with his impressive dedication to his own craft reminds her all too much of her own father. His disdain for other people and ego maniacal nature are a less welcome reminder of her childhood.  Ignoring her slight father issues Astraea has endeavoured to talk strategy with Ilya many times yet has struggled to make any headway with her abrasive colleague who is often far too busy enjoying the smell of his own gaseous emissions to take notice of her opinions. This deep wound to her pride forced her to look deeper at her counterparts work. Upon inspectin she noticedhe lacks the spontaneity and flair that separate good generals from great generals and so though she is willing to follow the battle plans he draws up like any good soldier she is also eagerly waiting for the day she can step in show her pompous colleague how a real Lanostraen general does it.@deathbringer

I only have one thing I’d like to note: Father isn’t an agressive asshole. No, it’s how he’s how dismissive he is, not in your face. He’s not one to to put down someone’s work (without reason), but he won’t bother noting it much at all unless it’s somehow exceptional and relevant to him.

That said, opinions are built as much on the lies we tell ourselves as the truths we see

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