Name: Jared Thael Conrad
Birthday: May 12th

Appearance:


Thael is a towering 200cm tall, and weighs something in excess of 200 lbs. He is an imposing presence to his enemies, but a reasuring one to his friends. Thael’s hair is a sandy blonde colour, and he has blue eyes set in a strong face.

Thael is usually dressed in uniform: others might rush to change into civilian clothing the instant they can, but Thael is perfectly comfortable remaining in uniform. When he does don civilian clothing, he keeps it straightforward and functional: jeans and a plain t-shirt. Part of his choice of clothing is the fact that it’s very hard to find clothing that properly fits his large frame.

Personality: As one might expect from a man of his size, Thael is a loud, exuberant person. He has an infinite supply of boldness and bravery, but often acts without thinking, which can land him in difficult situations. He is generally very cheerful and enthusiastic, and he wears his emotions on his sleeves. Thael lives by the adage "Give it 110%" and is very hard working.

Thael’s greatest weakness is that he’s stubborn, or at least not a very flexible thinker. Once he’s formulated an opinion or taken a stand, he is extremely reluctant to back down. This is exacerbated by his deeply seated sense of right and wrong. While Thael has memorized every ‘by the book’ maneouvre there is, he reacts poorly to changing circumstances and is bad at improvising. Thael is very self-conscious about this shortfalling; he worries people think he's stupid. Thael is also concerned that despite his best efforts, he won't be selected for command positions.

To his credit, Thael is a very compassionate, caring individual. He believes in protecting the weak and standing up for what’s right, and he’s extremely loyal to his friends. Thael is unfailingly optimistic. He sees the best in everyone and everything, and he never loses hope. Sometimes he can be a bit blunt or tactless. Fittingly enough, his astrological sign is Taurus, the Bull.

Biography: Thael’s childhood was fairly normal. His parents were loving, he was well looked after, and generally lived the carefree existence of a child. His father served in the military, while his mother worked for a public health agency. Thael idolized his father, and always wanted to grow up to fill the old man’s shoes. Thael met Sam and the others at a young age, back when people still called him Jared. From the first day, Thael was in awe of Sam. Thael was always bigger and stronger, but he could never command attention the way Sam did. When the kids played games together, Thael liked to opt for the direct approach, but Sam’s keen mind worked out complex strategies and pulled them off effortlessly, a trait Thael still wishes he had.

The calamity brought about big changes in Thael’s life. His father died 6 years into the First Contact War; the man’s remains are still out there, somewhere in the wastes. His mother had to drop her work in health policy and return to actively practicing medicine, so she was keeping very late hours, often leaving 14-year old Thael to take care of his 3 younger siblings. The death of his father made Thael all the more determined to fill his shoes, and the boy was thrilled when he discovered he had the makings of a Guardian.

This determination drove him through his adolescence and especially through his years at the academy. Thael wanted to become the ideal Guardian, and he put everything he had into that dream. Both his room and his person were always imaculate, ready for inspection at any time. He spent hours in the gym, perfecting his combat techniques and improving his physique. He spent just as many hours at the library studying, and has maintained an impressive GPA. Despite all this, he still found time to be there for his friends. With graduation approaching, Thael hopes that he'll be selected for a command role, the last thing he needs to become that perfect Guardian.

Weapon: Spear and Shield Both are made of a military grade carbon-titanium alloy. Thael is extremely proficient at using both weapons, and spends long hours practicing with them. He is also well trained in hand to hand combat.

Limit Break: Hope Will Never Be Silent!: Holding aloft his spear, Thael and his companions are bathed in blinding golden light that heals their wounds and lifts their spirits, as well as making their enemies flee in terror. Allies fight with extra vigour, run faster, and are more resistant to damage for the next few hours, and they even faintly glow a warm golden colour. Terrified enemies can take days to recover. Thael's limit break is triggered by concern for his loved ones, so either when his allies are wounded and all seems lost, or when someone he loves is in mortal danger.

Spirits:
Light: Sunspear: Thael throws his spear at an enemy, and a number of lances of blinding light appear to strike multiple enemies or focus on a single target. Unfortunately, the spear does not magically return in any way, and Thael must retrieve it.

Light: Golden Aegis: Thael raises his shield which projects a barrier of light much larger than the shield itself. The barrier protects Thael and any allies behind him from most attacks, though the barrier does have limited endurance and can be overwhelmed by powerful attacks or a large number of weaker attacks.

Protection: Guardian Leap: With superhuman strength, Thael leaps to a nearby ally's side. The force of impact is directed to nearby enemies, who are thrown to the ground and temporarily stunned. The height and distance this leap can achieve is considerable, even for a Guardian.

Courage: While I Draw Breath (Passive): Thael is not easily incapacitated. He suffers wounds like any normal guardian, but he refuses to succumb to them; he feels less pain and is less crippled by his wounds. Thael won't go down until he is near death. Unfortunately, the spirit that provides this resistance can not sustain Thael indefinitely; no more than a few minutes when he is badly injured. Another disadvantage is that when pushed to it's limits, so many of Thael's spirits are devoted to keeping him alive his other abilities diminish in strength or even fail. Once Thael is out of danger and can relax, the injuries take their toll, and Thael takes longer to heal naturally than other guardians due to the strain this ability frequently places on his body.

Name: Olivia Celestine
Birthday: 18 June
Height: 1.64m

Appearance
Olivia often wears differently colored homemade, knitted scarfs—a personal hobby of hers—that are loosely tied around her neck, with both ends swaying freely on her back, reaching her waist. When not required to wear a uniform, Olivia wears a distinctive, black leather jacket, usually unzipped, that was originally her father’s. He left it with her, as a memory, before he was shipped off to die in the First Contact War. These identifying pieces of clothing are complemented with white tops and t-shirts, tight jeans of marine blue coloration, and extremely white sneakers. Olivia has a thing for white sneakers and freaks out when they become dirty.

Personality—“Rules are not always morally right”
Olivia is a sturdy vessel sailing against the wind in a stormy ocean, never losing her grip of what is the right thing to do even if it means going under. Her philosophy is unique to her person and her stubbornness will never change it for anyone or anything. Though her internal conflicts and struggles may be heavily romanticized, ideas and thoughts may run amuck inside her mind, Olivia is very a cerebral character. She has a natural magnetism and allure, perception, sophistication, and adaptability to her, but she is also incredibly self-critical, moody, and introspective. Olivia can philosophically muse on the circumstances that brought her to this point in time for hours on end. She is altruistic, caring for the well-being of others more so than her own. This makes her extremely passionate about whatever cause she might involve herself in, with strong personal beliefs that often conflict with the perceived better judgment of other leadership figures. This can often make her seem turbulent and defiant, but her intentions are always genuine.

Biography
The town was to Olivia what it was to everyone else: home. It did not have the grandeur of a massive city, but what it lacked in size and wealth it made up for in family and community. Everyone knew everyone. The people who lived there knew that Olivia was raised by her aunt instead of her biological mother—whom passed away when giving birth to her child. There was no shame in it, and they did not mind speaking about it when someone asked. Olivia’s biological father shared his life with her and the aunt. The two adults did not engage in a romantic relationship even though they were the same age, of which Olivia was eternally grateful.

Olivia’s father passed away in the First Contact War. It happened a few years into her education at the military academy. But before he died, he taught his daughter everything he knew and had learned about swordsmanship. He was a natural talent and learned in just a few years what masters learn in a lifetime. Olivia was not as talented as her father, but he did not give up on her. A few months after Olivia received word of her father’s death, the military shipped all of his belongings—including his sword—to Olivia’s address at the academy. To this day, Olivia uses her father’s sword in combat.

...

Weapon
Olivia’s weapon is a sword, or what some would call a ‘Gunblade.’ They were originally designed by soldiers to function as a single ranged and close combat weapon, but over the years in the war, the weapon turned more and more into a melee weapon rather than a hybrid. The Gunblade is a sword with a pistol or revolver action built into the hilt, the barrel usually running inside the length of the blade. Olivia’s Gunblade has some issues when it comes to firing a projectile—her father was not an engineer to say the least. The weapon is old and the Academy has recommended Olivia to use it for ceremonial purposes only, but she will not back down. Olivia is determined to use her father’s sword, no matter what.

Limit Break—“Tempest”
Olivia transforms into a violent storm that causes the skies to darken, rain to fall, and thousands of lightning bolts to strike the enemy. The intensity of Tempest increases if Olivia unleashes it inside a building or otherwise finite area. Her consciousness during this phenomenon takes the form of a gale-force wind that she can freely control and direct. However, the lightning strikes of Tempest are largely random and out of her control, which means that team members must seek shelter in order to avoid being struck.

Spirits
Olivia has a natural attraction to spirits associated with wind and lightning, and they to her. There may be several reasons for it, but none of which Olivia cares to investigate. While the spirits are many, only a few of them mount to useful combat applications.

“Ride the Lightning”
Olivia disappears in a flash of lighting and instantly reappears at an enemy. The impact does not cause noteworthy damage to the enemy, but has the potential to stun and blind them. The area of Olivia’s reappearance may suffer structural damage depending on material—soft materials should definitely be damaged somehow. This spirit must have an idea of where it is going, a point of reference—a target. This means that Olivia cannot use this spirit to ‘teleport’ herself in the surroundings. During the process of being transported by the spirit, Olivia and the spirit meld in the physical world. Though the duration is less than a millisecond, rapidly repeated instances of the process will take its toll on Olivia and she will eventually become fatigued to the point of being knocked-out.

“Thunderclap”
A massive lightning bolt descends from above. The spirit will severely harm anything or anyone caught within its radius, which is considerable. Bystanders may suffer momentary blindness and deafness due to the bright light and booming sound. Due to the size of the bolt, this spirit should be used with extreme caution inside buildings or otherwise cramped areas, as it may harm the caster herself or team members.

“Gust"
This spirit causes a relatively bantam, but powerful gust of air to move in a desired direction. It is harmless in itself, but depending on the direction in which a target is pushed, the spirit can cause fatal damage. For example, it could push a person off of a precipice or into an electrified fence.

Name: Kimberly Rene “Fuzzy” Faye
Birthday: July 19th
Height: 1.99m
Appearance: Kimberly's appearance had always daunted those around him. Maybe it was his hollow dark eyes that observed the world with an intense glare so powerful that it might as well have the ability to disintegrate people with a simple glance. It might have been because his facial muscle was as flexible as granite, usually showing no other expression other than grouchy and a homicidal smile. Or maybe it was just because he was a giant. Something about him made little children cry, women take out their pepper spray, and keep the emergency line busy with calls pertaining to a suspicious individual. Kimberly has been questioned by the authorities, numerous times, on the basis that he looked like a(n): gang member, escaped criminal, terrorist, serial killer, and wild beast. Not many believed he was innocent on all counts.

His unkempt long wavy hair, initially grown in attempt to make himself invisible and less threatening, has been Kimberly's trademark; the reason why he would come to be known as “Fuzzy”. Now that he is capable of growing facial hair, Kimberly has a beard that his equally as long and untamed as his scalp hair, further cementing the name “Fuzzy”. Fortunately or unfortunately for him, Kimberly's family tend to play with his hair so often that it is not rare to find Kimberly walking around with braided hair and beard ornamented with hair clips and ribbons.

Ever since he joined the academy, Kimberly has maintained a muscular body so that he would be better equipped to protect and support his friends and remaining family members from the brutal world.

As for attire, Kimberly has never been picky. He would wear just about anything as long as he was comfortable in them: even if the clothing did not actually match or look good on him.

Personality: Despite the stoic-henchman looking appearance, Kimberly himself is a kindhearted innocuous gentleman who has trouble expressing himself. For those who have no idea what kind of person Kimberly is, he may appear phlegmatic or even impassive, but he is far from both. He is more loquacious in his mind than he is in reality and he is much more emotional than his face allows him to be. Mild emotions only appear like Kimberly feels nothing. Extreme emotions make Kimberly look like he is about to cast a curse on someone or has severe constipation. Any positive emotions make Kimberly present that infamous homicidal smile of his. Kimberly rarely gets angry, but once he is enraged, it is difficult to calm him down. If he ever hurts someone, Kimberly always ends up regretting what he had done, regardless of how justified it may have been.

Kimberly is honest, loyal, and values his friends and family more than anything in the world. He is usually cautious, but can be credulous when it comes to his friends and family: a trait he attained ever since Samuel believed Kimberly when no one else believed Kimberly's father was innocent of the murders.

While having a talent for sports, Kimberly is the most skilled as an artist. Influenced by his mother's side of the family, Kimberly loves nature and various realms of art. When there was still plenty of uncontaminated nature to spare, Kimberly would take walks or simply stare at the scenery as a pass time. Kimberly's current dream is to resurrect green parks so that his daughter and her children would be able to play in it like he did when he was younger.

Though Kimberly would claim that he is over the traumatic events of his childhood, ever since the suicide of his mother, Kimberly has been suffering from chronic hallucinatory psychosis. Symptoms include various sensory hallucinations, the most prominent symptom being auditory hallucinations, which can be either a harmless or terrifying experience for Kimberly. Kimberly is usually aware if what he experiences is a hallucination or not, but occasionally he cannot tell the difference between reality and imagination. Kimberly often hallucinates about a man named "Ghost", a cynical and sarcastic individual who does not always share the same opinion as Kimberly.

Biography: Kimberly was born as the only child between Lee Faye, an ex-convict, and Joyce Evette Appleberry, a photographer. Though they were not financially wealthy, the Faye family lived peacefully for the first three years of Kimberly's life. That was, until Kimberly's father was arrested for murders that he did not commit. For two years, Lee and Joyce tried to prove Lee's innocence. For two years Joyce and Kimberly were harassed by the media and those who were convinced Lee was the culprit. For two years they fought and failed. When Kimberly was five, Lee Faye was executed. A few days later, out of a moment's disappear, Joyce committed suicide. She had attempted to take her son with her, but Kimberly survived the whole ordeal.

Kimberly was sent to live with his heterodox grandparents, “Mrs.” Clair Appleberry and Mrs. Michaela Appleberry, in Helston. “Mrs.” Clair Appleberry, Kimberly's biological grandfather, actively worked as a botanist while her wife Michaela ran a coffeehouse. Moving to Helston was supposed to be the new beginning that Kimberly desperately needed, but unfortunately for him, everyone in Helston knew Kimberly as the son of a murder. Wherever he went, Kimberly was greeted with cold stares and whispers that he pretended not to hear. Rumors were what people knew of Kimberly. No one got close to him more than necessary and Kimberly kept his distance away from others. It would have stayed like this for the rest of Kimberly's life if he had not met Samuel. Samuel opened the world for Kimberly: he would go places he would never go to, do things he would have never done alone, and become friends with those who would have been simply acquaintances. Samuel's death devastated Kimberly, but like the others, he managed to move on.

In middle school Kimberly met his future wife, Nancy April Rose (a surprise even to his friends). Nancy entered the same academy as Kimberly, as a mechanic. Being extremely talented, and a year older than Kimberly, Nancy graduated before Kimberly did. However, she was forced to take maternity leave when she discovered that she was pregnant. After giving birth to a baby girl, Samuela Jolee Faye, Nancy worked as a mechanic for active military troops until she was found dead after a sudden attack by the abominations. Some say Nancy was just unlucky. The creature must have managed to slip deep into the facility without any soldier or security noticing. Some say she was murdered... by a human. Why else would only one mechanic be found dead in the middle of one of the best military facilities humanity had to offer, while everyone else in it were, for the most part, unharmed? Did a creature really breach the security? No one knows.

Since Kimberly's academy training often prevented him from going home, Samuela was usually under the Appleberry's care. Kimberly did try his best to spend time with his family as much as possible. When Kimberly was unable to go home for awhile, the Appleberry's visited the academy with Samuela to check on Kimberly and his friends.

Weapon: Kimberly is proficient in hand-to-hand combat. Since his fighting style requires direct contact with his enemies, during missions, Kimberly is covered in armor specialized for close combat from head to toe.

Limit Break: With his “roar” Kimberly’s limit break allows him to summon forth a spirit of a wild animal or plant to attack his enemies or to grant him the ability to transform into the beast which he summoned. This limit break, unfortunately, has a catch: Kimberly must give up something as payment. The more powerful the foe is, the higher the value of the payment must be. If he fails to make a satisfying payment, Kimberly will go berserk for a few minutes to a couple of days. Not even his allies are safe from him if this should happen.

Spirits:
Kimberly is naturally attuned to the spirits of (or related to) sound, plants, and animals.

The spirits are often used for...
Sound -Magic: Makes all sounds Kimberly produce undetectable for a few minutes.
Sound -Magic: Allows Kimberly to mimic other sounds.
Sound -Passive: Enhanced hearing.
Plant -Magic: Minor healing.
Earth -Enhancement: Increases defense for a few minutes as long as Kimberly and/or his target are touching the earth.
Sun -Passive: The presence of sunlight (and moon light, which is technically the sunlight reflecting off the moon) enhances Kimberly’s healing abilities.