I'm probably going to start the RP tomorrow, but people can join after that. The Iron Rose Knights are large enough that not everyone has to instantly be present.
Name: Marianne V. Delacroix Sex: Female Age: 25 Race: Human
She has long raven hair as black as the night. Her skin is nearly as pale as snow in stark contrast to her hair, with deep dark-brown eyes. She stands at a height of 5'8 (177 cm) and weighs a solid 120 Lbs (55 kg). Her body is athletic and limber; hard won and earned from her rigorous training and conditioning from a young age.
Personality:
Kind, courteous, and empathetic to others; she is generally warm and compassionate to all who meet her. She treats those who are in positions of authority with high regard, being well-mannered and respectful. Dedicated to her family and to the People, she has a strong sense of duty, justice, and liberty instilled within her. In the face of adversity and hardship, she stands as firm and strong as a mountain. Noble blood giving her a confident and prideful bearing, she carries herself with the air and grace befitting of someone of her status. Although raised to be a lady, she can be somewhat headstrong and stubborn in her beliefs. Sometimes, her ox-headed ways can make her come across as one with an overbearing personality, openly speaking her mind on whatever comes across. She has a strong sense of what is right and wrong, good and evil, though sadly she is not well-educated to the ways and goings-on of the world. Having been sheltered and 'protected' during her youth.
Skills/Talents:
Fencing/Swordsmanship - Adept with the blade, she typically aims for vital spots and organs using a thrusting/stabbing style of fighting. If unable to strike an enemy down quickly, she'll attempt to whittle them down. Disarming them however she can or working reduce the opponent's combat effectiveness. Not a purely offensive fighter, she can nimbly evade and counter using parries and ripostes with the grace of a dancer.
Archery - Though not as adept as she is with the blade, she has basic archery skills. Not the best marksman in the world, she can generally hit her target most of the time. Be they moving or stationary and only relatively close targets. High speed targets and targets at farther distances being rather difficult for her to track and engage.
Hand-to-hand combat - Should she ever find herself disarmed, she is not at a complete disadvantage in combat. Though lacking in physical strength as she specializes in agility and speed, she uses a basic fighting style with simple kicks, punches, elbows, and knees supplemented by a simple understanding of counters. Should she encounter an opponent much larger and physically stronger than her, she can quickly find herself overwhelmed in a prolonged engagement. Heavily armored foes are the bane of her existence. This is her weakest area.
Horse-riding/Mounted combat - Taught how to handle and ride a horse from a very young age, she can even conduct battle while mounted horse-back. Though, to a much lesser and reduced extent of course.
Sorcery/Magic: In the Delacroix family's attempts to rear and raise well-rounded and versatile knights, Marianne was taught the basic fundamentals of mana and how to use mana to create and weave spell casts. Though she is fascinated with the concepts of magic and desires to learn more, her best efforts thus far have only allowed her the ability to use one of two spells. The first being a straight upgrade to her swordsmanship, imbuing her weapon with the power of Lightning to increase the lethal effectiveness of her sword attacks. The second spell collecting and coalescing her mana to create an electrical orb of lightning with which she can form into a javelin to throw at distance targets. Both spells taking her considerable time to use as she only currently has the skill to use them after reciting relatively long incantations as opposed to a single word.
Lightning Blade - Touching and drawing her fingers across the flat of her sword, Marianne can imbue the power of lightning to the metal. Though it then glows white-hot and becomes wreathed in crackling arcs of electricity, the metal of her sword does not actually weaken and become malleable. Rather, the metal retains its base strength. A flat boost to her sword attacks, it allows her to deal increased damage against armored targets by amplifying her sword's piercing power. However, the spell only lasts a few minutes and for some reason or another Marianne can only it cast it once per day. She can even empower one of her ally's weapons, but at the cost of casting it for herself. Cuts and wounds caused by her blade do not bleed as they are instantly cauterized. Anyone foolish enough to touch her weapon is treated to intense electrical shocks, whilst she and she alone remains immune to such effects and can handle her sword safely. Being run through by a stab is enough to end most foes.
Lightning-bolt Javelin - Summoning and collecting electrical power within her body, Marianne can gather said power into a bright orb of light in the palm of her hand. Tightly crushing the orb, she then forms a throwing javelin capable of punching through most if not all non-enchanted armor. The javelin has the added bonus of a slight tracking/homing ability on armored targets and whether it finds a home within an unlucky foe's body or not, explodes on impact for small area of effect. However, this spell is not without its downsides. As this spell is currently Marianne's strongest ability, she can only cast it a few times a day before completely draining herself of mana. To add, its cast time is rather lengthy and requires time for her to recite her incantation before she could control it safely enough for usage. Typically she reserves this spell for only the most difficult enemy and requires the assistance of her allies to distract and protect her while she weaves the spell.
Continuing the list of negatives, this spell is rather fantastical. Emitting extreme amounts of bright light, intense heat, and creating a loud cacophony of raucous crackles, snaps, and hums. When let loose, the air cracks and booms with a sound similar to a thunderclap. Simply put, an intelligent and observant foe could see it from miles away. There is no stealthy nor fast method of casting this spell. That's not to say it's easily avoidable as its flight time and velocity is near instant and travels a straight trajectory. The worst part of it all, is that once cast the spell can no longer be controlled by Marianne. It is indiscriminate of its intended target be they friend or foe. Even during the casting period, Marianne must not be near her allies because of the dangerous volatile nature of this spell.
As a hilarious aside, the spell also has the unfortunate side effect of lingering sparks and arcs of electrical current to remain within Marianne's body. Causing her hair to become a wild, frizzy, and static-filled mess. A veritable pain to tame afterward.
Lightning Arrow - A relatively new spell she crafted during her training with comrade and fellow Iron Rose Knight Sir Tiral, its power comes from its versatility and efficiency. Very simply, she imbues her bow and arrows with her mana to fire lightning-charged projectiles. Its advantages over her regular javelin spell being its ability to be aimed more effectively, increased range, and numerous casts. Its disadvantages however being they take the 'regular' trajectory of a fired arrow, traveling in an arc and its lethality a fraction of what her hand-thrown javelins can output. However, the arrows increased piercing power and minature discharge on impact are still able to defeat nearly all non-enchanted conventional armor.
Equipment/Weapons:
Side sword - A long and thin steel blade suited for thrusting and stabbing. Slashes with this sword typically leave only shallow wounds, though its edge is sharp. Due to its thin size, it's prone to bending and flexing under moderate force.
Buckler - A small steel shield on her left forearm used for blocking light attacks and strikes. Against foes wielding large, heavy weapons her buckler can crumple and fail. Forcing her to rely on her evasive abilities as it is unable to withstand against brute force.
Takedown Recurve Bow & Belt Quiver - Broken down and kept collapsed in multiple parts in a leather case is Marianne's cherished bow. Able to be reconfigured with different limbs and strings to fit the situation at hand in mere seconds. She often jests that any time she hits a target that it was due to the blessings of the Mayonite Goddess, but it in all actuality has no such enchantments. She has an accompanying quiver with various arrowheads worn around her waist as opposed to her back for faster nocking of shots.
Light Plate Armor - She wears thin and light, but strong steel plate armor protecting most of her vital spots and joints while allowing her full range of motion and mobility. Unhindering to her agility and speed, if only marginally.
Biography:
Raised from birth to be a proper lady, she tries to not let her noble lineage inflate her ego. She was trained to be an exceptionally skilled warrior with a true compassion for others and a thirst to serve her country and its people. With a desire to prove herself and bring honor to her family's name, she was born with an ironclad resolve. Having been raised in a loving and nurturing environment, it clearly shows in her daily interactions with others.
The Delacroix family being a rather eccentric and odd bunch, her family's order of succession is by competence particularly in general magical/combative skill, ability, and quality of character. Instead of by order of birth, age, or gender. Being the youngest of three, she has two older brothers who were unable to be held to the standard she set. Easily earning herself the title of 'Tet de la Croix' with the eventual passing of her father and mother, the Duke and Duchess of the Delacroix noble family respectively.
The noble Delacroix family has served the land of Thaln for generations, producing and providing honorable Knights from their bloodline to defend the people of the kingdom. A code of tradition is heavily upheld and reinforced within the family. Devout followers of Church of Reon, the Delacroix family heavily sides with the Iron Rose Knights and believe their existence completely necessary. Their current ways to remain unchanged and unchallenged. It was long ago decided that for the Delacroix family, to produce a Knight each generation that could be allowed induction into the Iron Roses was the highest honor. Once satisfied that a child of the family was of age and sufficiently trained, they would send them off on what they considered to be a pilgrimage in an attempt to be scouted by the Iron Roses and earn a chance to be knighted.
Oddities/Quirks:
The noble Delacroix family had long ago been established in the countryside of Thaln, she speaks with an odd throaty/nasal accent. Her speech punctuated with strange words from her native tongue that makes it difficult for some people to understand her dialect at times. The same going for her in her interactions with 'foreigners'.
Whenever she becomes emotional, she tends to lose a little restraint on her magical abilities and her body begins to collect and discharge large amounts of static electricity. Giving her a rather frightening appearance whenever angered as cascades of electrical arcs will travel erratically across her. It surely doesn't help that it also causes her hair to levitate, again a forsaken pain to deal with afterwards.
During much of her youth, seven lovely girls were raised alongside Marianne. As Marianne matured into a fine young woman, as did they. Trained and taught to be exemplary maids for Marianne, there is no task or no chore they cannot accomplish ranging from simple cleaning, laundry, sewing, cooking, and even basic equipment maintenance to name a few of their skills. Also known as Marianne's Seven 'Deadly' Maids, this group of chatty women are known for their feverish enthusiasm and energy in nearly everything, especially when it comes to gossip and general rumors. 'Socially deadly' to anyone unable to keep up with their rapid-fire chatter and ruthless character examinations. Other than their voices, different facial features, and slight body-type differences, the seven women dress exactly alike. Down to even the way they wear their own makeup and hair making it hard to differentiate the seven from one another, though somehow Marianne is able to tell them apart.
Loyal vassal and attendent to Marianne, he was raised alongside her throughout her youth as with nearly all her servants. Almost always by her side whenever able, he is fiercely protective of the young woman. To the point of snarling and growling at anyone who bears not the name and bloodline of the Delacroix to drive them away with the threat of consumption. Though, even some of the Delacroix family are careful to tread softly around Marianne and her companion. The knowledge of his war compaigns only serving to deepen their horrifying dread of the canine.
Though his tribe of Direwolves are not commonly known to the people of Thaln, Sir Ricard is officially a Delacroix Knight and Captain of his own Direwolf Pack. A seasoned veteran of combat, he is no novice when it comes to brutal close-combat. His sheer size, strength, and speed allowing him to shrug off many minor attacks and even spells, his fighting style is quite literally eating his foes. Crushing them under his massive paws and ripping them apart in his giant maw with his sharp fangs, or via throwing his body around for bone-crushing slams and flesh-rending claw swipes.
Curiously, Sir Ricard's body appears to store a massive amount of mana, though he is unable to channel it and make use of it as spells. Acting as a sort of 'mana battery' for his comrades. He does not speak in any form or fashion, and yet his deep connection with the Delacroix Duchess of Lightning allows the two to somehow communicate effectively. Sir Ricard commanding base knowledge of the spoken human language.
[All credit for the character artwork goes to Takayuki Tanaka!]
Name: Marianne Delacroix Sex: Female Age: 25 Race: Human
She has long raven hair as black as the night. Her skin is nearly as pale as snow in stark contrast to her hair, with deep dark-brown eyes. She stands at a height of 5'8 and weighs a solid 120 Ibs. Her body is athletic and limber; hardwon and earned from her rigorous training and conditioning from a young age.
Personality:
Kind, courteous, and empathetic to others; she is generally warm and compassionate to all who meet her. She treats those who are in positions of authority with high regard, being well-mannered and respectful. Dedicated to her family and to the People, she has a strong sense of duty, justice, and liberty instilled within her. In the face of adversity and hardship, she stands as firm and strong as a mountain. Noble blood giving her a confident and prideful bearing, she carries herself with the air and grace befitting of someone of her status. Although raised to be a lady, she can be somewhat headstrong and stubborn in her beliefs. Sometimes, her ox-headed ways can make her come across as one with an overbearing personality, openly speaking her mind on whatever comes across her mind. She has a strong sense of what is right and wrong, good and evil, though sadly she is not well-educated to the ways and goings-on of the world. Having been sheltered and 'protected' during her youth.
Skills/Talents:
Fencing/Swordsmanship - Adept with the blade, she typically aims for vital spots and organs using a thrusting/stabbing style of fighting. If unable to strike an enemy down quickly, she'll attempt to whittle them down. Disarming them however she can or working reduce the opponent's combat effectiveness. Not a purely offensive fighter, she can nimbly evade and counter using parries and ripostes with the grace of a dancer.
Archery - Though not as adept as she is with the blade, she has basic archery skills. Not the best marksman in the world, she can generally hit her target most of the time. Be they moving or stationary and only relatively close targets. High speed targets and targets at farther distances being rather difficult for her to track and engage.
Hand-to-hand combat - Should she ever find herself disarmed, she is not at a complete disadvantage in combat. Though lacking in physical strength as she specializes in agility and speed, she uses a basic fighting style with simple kicks, punches, elbows, and knees supplemented by a simple understanding of counters. Should she encounter an opponent much larger and physically stronger than her, she can quickly find herself overwhelmed in a prolonged engagement. Heavily armored foes are the bane of her existance. This is her weakest area.
Horse-riding/Mounted combat - Taught how to handle and ride a horse from a very young age, she can even conduct battle while mounted horse-back. Though, to a much lesser and reduced extent of course.
Sorcery/Magic: In the Delacroix family's attempts to rear and raise well-rounded and versatile knights, Marianne was taught the basic fundamentals of mana and how to use mana to create and weave spell casts. Though she is fascinated with the concepts of magic and desires to learn more, her best efforts thus far have only allowed her the ability to use one of two spells. The first being a straight upgrade to her swordsmanship, imbuing her weapon with the power of Lightning to increase the lethal effectiveness of her sword attacks. The second spell collecting and coalescing her mana to create an electrical orb of lightning with which she can form into a javelin to throw at distance targets. Both spells taking her considerable time to use as she only currently has the skill to use them after reciting relatively long incantations as opposed to a single word.
Equipment/Weapons:
Side sword - A long and thin steel blade suited for thrusting and stabbing. Slashes with this sword typically leave only shallow wounds, though its edge is sharp. Due to its thin size, it's prone to bending and flexing under moderate force.
Buckler - A small steel shield on her left forearm used for blocking light attacks and strikes. Against foes wielding large, heavy weapons her buckler can crumple and fail. Forcing her to rely on her evasive abilities as it is unable to withstand against brute force.
Light Plate Armor - She wears thin and light, but strong steel plate armor protecting most of her vital spots and joints while allowing her full range of motion and mobility. Unhindering to her agility and speed, if only marginally.
Biography:
Raised from birth to be a proper lady, she tries to not let her noble lineage inflate her ego. She was trained to be an exceptionally skilled warrior with a true compassion for others and a thirst to serve her country and its people. With a desire to prove herself and bring honor to her family's name, she was born with an ironclad resolve. Having been raised in a loving and nurturing environment, it clearly shows in her daily interactions with others.
The Delacroix family being a rather eccentric and odd bunch, her family's order of succession is by competence particularly in general magical/combative skill, ability, and quality of character. Instead of by order of birth, age, or gender. Being the youngest of three, she has two older brothers who were unable to be held to the standard she set. Easily earning herself the title of 'Tet de la Croix' with the eventual passing of her father and mother.
The noble Delacroix family has served the land of Thaln for generations, producing and providing honorable Knights from their bloodline to defend the people of the kingdom. A code of tradition is heavily upheld and reinforced within the family. Devout followers of Church of Reon, the Delacroix family heavily sides with the Iron Rose Knights and believe their existance completely necessary. Their current ways to remain unchanged and unchallenged. It was long ago decided that for the Delacroix family, to produce a Knight each generation that could be allowed induction into the Iron Roses was the highest honor. Once satisfied that a child of the family was of age and sufficiently trained, they would send them off on what they considered to be a pilgramage in an attempt to be scouted by the Iron Roses and earn a chance to be knighted.
Oddities/Quirks:
The noble Delacroix family had long ago been established in the countryside of Thaln, she speaks with an odd throaty/nasal accent. Her speech punctuated with strange words from her native tongue that makes it difficult for some people to understand her dialect at times. The same going for her in her interactions with 'foreigners'.
[All credit for the character artwork goes to Takayuki Tanaka!]
