Post by Lepa on Mar 9, 2019 13:04:32 GMT -8
Name: Arunos the Duskslayer
Gender: Male
Age: ~40
Race: Human
Date of birth: ?
Quote: "By the celestial light... You will face Judgement."
Home: Currently somewhere deep in the forest outside Aster City; formerly lived in Lightvale AKA "The Shining Kingdom"
Alignment: Lawful Evil
Family: None
Friends: None
Rivals: N/A
Enemies: The Kingdom of Duskfall, dark magic
Likes: Light, justice, honor
Dislikes: Dark magic, sometimes regular magic, Duskfall
Relationships: Formerly a high ranking knight from Lightvale, Arunos was one of the King's trusted men until the Prince inherited the throne and married the Princess of Duskfall. Arunos was exiled after attempting to assassinate her. Since then, he has worked and lived alone. Those who know of his hatred of Duskfall and dark magic users try to stay out of his way..
Personality:
A terrifyingly intense man of justice who thinks in harsh absolutes. From a young age, Arunos was taught that wielding dark magic was an evil thing, specifically because it was used by the neighboring enemy kingdom of Duskfall. So, when faced with someone who he believes is using dark magic, Arunos will immediately see them as his enemy, no matter how heroic or righteous they may actually be. He will give them no chance for them to speak or reason with him; Arunos will simply attempt to fight them with intent to kill. He believes his actions are just and noble, and that anyone who argues otherwise must be against him.
When not faced with a dark magic user or a Duskfaller, Arunos is surprisingly much more aloof and reserved, though he remains wary about other types of magic. He will attempt to help those in need so long as he can assist in a way that makes use of his strength or combat ability. Despite his black and white morality and the logic loopholes he uses to demonize all Duskfallers and dark magic users, the idea of helping others has remained instilled in him since his training as a knight. He's still rather intense however, so he often comes off as intimidating, even when he doesn't mean to be.
Powers:
Knighthood Training: Lightvale's training for their royal guard and men-at-arms. This includes the basics of weapon usage, honorable engagements, stamina training and tactical combat. The tactics primarily focus on fighting in urban settlements, such as towns, cities and fortresses. Not much strategy was taught in the way of fighting in the wilderness other than the basics of living off the land. Most Lightvale knights are powerful enough to brute force their way through unsettled areas, especially as a unit, but Arunos is somehwat at a disadvantage due to dealing with the wilderness alone. (This is despite living in the forest for 20 years, where his solution has remained the same by cutting down anything in his way. Obviously, this isn't always a viable option.)
Shining Arts: While training to be a knight of Lightvale, Arunos was taught how to channel celestial light energy into his attacks. Most of this is for enhancing his existing combat abilities, mentioned in the sections below. Additional uses of it include very minor healing properties, manifesting an energy shield of light, or manifesting an extension of light on Arunos' blade for further reach. This is not magic and is more akin to ki energy. That said, it does still require mental fortitude and discipline, so overuse will mentally fatigue Arunos.
Armor: Arunos wears white, gold trimmed armor that was forged with a special material that helps resists magic. This material actually holds enchantments exceptionally well; but if this material is not enchanted, it excels at resisting spells by "absorbing" and dissipating them somewhat. This armor can even reflect projectile attack spells, but Arunos must actively channel his celestial light in order to do so. He actually refuses to wear enchanted armor, so while his armor can still protect him from magical attacks, he's still susceptible to being afflicted by other types of spells, such as curses. Because of this, he tries to cut down foes before they can cast. He can also move surprisingly quickly for someone wearing at least 85 lbs of armor, though this is because he's had at least 10 years of training to carry it with ease. Should he lose his armor, he would definitely be much faster at the cost of being incredibly vulnerable.
Weapon: Light's Judgement
A special sword forged in Lightvale and shaped by Arunos' will. These special weapons are exclusively issued to their knights. Initially, all of them appear as a bladeless hilt called a Dull Grip. However, once trained in the ways of celestial light, knights are expected to channel that power to materialize their blade, displayed in this gif. This power is also used to "resheath" the blade. This makes it easy and efficient to carry around as a hilt.
All blades start out similar due to the knights' uniform training, but with strong beliefs or combat experience gained over time, the blade may be slightly altered each time it is called until it fully takes on a unique form of its own. Arunos, with his hatred of dark magic and intent of destroying it for light and justice, has developed his weapon into a blade he has christened "Light's Judgement," a sword meant to counter magic. It can physically cut through visible attack spells such as fireballs or water jets, but not abstract ones like hexes or healing. Arunos's blade can also absorb smaller spells to dispel them (both physical and abstract), but he must consciously channel his light power to do so, similarly to needing to channel light into his armor to reflect spells.
Arunos' blade, Light's Judgement.
Weaknesses: Arunos tries to fight honorably, giving his opponents fair warning by loudly announcing his presence and intent. This makes him susceptible to falling for trickery and underhanded tactics. The first time his foe uses this against him however, he sees it fair to no longer fight fair and will abandon any pretense of courtesy. He tends to start off with this honorless mindset against Duskfallers and dark magic users, as his experience with them as been nothing but cheating and trickery. This can also cause him to act rashly due to how terrifyingly single minded he can be when it comes to trying to kill one of his hated targets.
History:
Born into the Kingdom of Lightvale, young Arunos lived a decent life in a small village of plenty. Lightvale had plenty of resources and forces so powerful that no other territories would dare to attack the Shining Kingdom - all except the Kingdom of Duskfall.
Arunos had heard the stories of the dark magic users from the Twilight Realm, but they were nothing more than stories to him; not until he had witnessed it first hand at the tender age of 8. That day, a group of Duskfall Mages suddenly appeared and ransacked the village, burning everything and killing anyone in their path. Young Arunos had managed to hide away in a small crevice where no adult could reach, cowering in fear as he could only watch and wait for the terrifying monsters to pass. The child eventually passed out from fatigue and awoke the next morning to find his hometown gone and his family dead.
Arunos was discovered by a force of knights who had arrived to the scene too late. When they tried to ask him what happened, the poor child was in too much of a state of shock to answer. The group ended up taking him back with them to the castle grounds where they took care of him until he was well enough to retell what had happened. Once the knights learned Arunos' story, they were mortified and permanently took the child in.
Over the next decade, Arunos trained to be a Lightvale knight, vowing to purge the world of the darkness that took his home. He joined many expeditions with the other knights, fighting hard against any foul Duskfallers that dared to enter the Shining Kingdom. Though he fought in a unit with his fellow men-at-arms, his comrades couldn't help but laude his strength in battle. Arunos' superiors also took note of his zealous ferocity.
When Arunos was about 20, the King of Lightvale's son, Prince Soleil, inherited the throne. At the height of the animosity between Lightvale and Duskfall, Arunos was appalled to learn that Soleil's bride and Lightvale's new queen would be the Princess of Duskfall, Lady Belladonna. Angered and betrayed by his new King, Arunos attempted to assassinate her, charging at her out in the open in the throne room for all to see. He was quickly restrained by guards - both Lightvalen and Duskfallen alike. Arunos accused the King of treason, arguing for him to make a choice between him and Belladonna. The new King, of course, chose Belladonna. Both she and King Soleil desired to forge peace between both countries. Arunos could not see such a future - or refused to see it - and was exiled from Lightvale for his actions.
Forsaken by his own King, Arunos left in a rage. It was only shortly after he was gone that both reagents realized that he was likely making his way straight to Duskfall with intent to kill as many as he could. Both Soleil and Belladonna sent their forces after him, hoping to stop him in time from committing the very same atrocities he was forced to witness as a child...
Once on the border of Duskfall, Arunos eventually found his pursuers on his tail. He fled off the road and into the forest. There was something off about the woods, which he no doubt attributed to the Duskfallers using it for nefarious purposes. He was partially correct - while not necessarily used for evil purposes, a solitary clan had set up a hidden portal to another forest. In Arunos' attempt to escape, the man hadn't even realized he had gone through this portal.
As it turned out, this magical portal was set up by the Moonbay Clan, a small group of Duskfallen mages who left to find quieter lands to study in peace. This portal lead into the forests just outside of of Aster City. Arunos eventually realized that not only had he lost his pursuers, but land had changed (cursing the Duskfallers all the while), but he refused to return to his realm - not through magical ways, at least.
Since then, he has built himself a small, fortified home hidden away in the forest. He's been living there for two decades, mercilessly cutting down any magic uses that have unfortunately ventured his way. Recently, he's been scouting the area for the Duskfallen mages Moonbay Clan, as well as their druid comrades of the Hollowed Oak, believing they're plotting something evil after a strange, magical beast appeared at their grove...
Anything else:
- On average, most Lightvalers are physically strong. Arunos is no exception.
- As extreme as Arunos' beliefs may be, most Lightvalers shared a similar view about Duskfallers being evil. In actuality, unbeknownst to the average citizen, Lightvale's forces were so powerful that the kingdom abused it, taking money and resources from other territories through brute force. The bullied territories turned to Duskfall, the kingdom closest to Lightvale, and begged them to keep the Shining Kingdom in check. Duskfall knew it was unable to stand up to Lightvale through physical force, so they resorted to fighting them via dark magic and trickery. Lightvale did not take this well; as a Kingdom that takes pride in fighting honorably, they took great offense to Duskfall's tactics, leading to the belief that all Duskfallers were underhanded and evil, just as Arunos believes.
