Name: Alexander Atreides
Gender: Male
Race: Human
Age: 42
Title/Nickname: The Wanderer
Kingdom of birth: Born to the dark forests inbetween kingdoms.
Worship: Sworn to the god Steel.
Appearance:
Magical affinity:
Primary: Steel
Secondary: Shadow
Skills:
Atreides is a cautious, methodical fighter who approahces each battle with care and focus. Never to underestimate and never one to waste time mincing words with his foes, the Wanderer has two very distinct styles of combat, but both have points that can be drawn from both. He is a strong and, facing single foes, deceptively fast fighter, able to bring overwhelming force upon single foes, and sweeping devastation against massed foes, and it takes several moments to move from one stance to the other, which can be a weakpoint if spotted. The man uses his shadow magic to create fear in foes, each blow they might land billowing black, twisted shadows rather than blood, only adding to the illusion of a juggernaut of inhuman nature.
When facing massed numbers of foes, Atreides takes his grand blade and wields it in wide, sweeping blows that carry great weight and power, carving swathes of damage with each blow. While this stance can keep large numbers at bay, this is a foolhardy approach towards fast, single targets as they can easily dance around the swinging blows. To further dissuade foes from trying to move in between sweeps, black shadows billow from the blade and armor of the Wanderer, creating a nightmare image towards common thugs and warriors. This stance cannot rightly hold off an army for too long, as it expends energy, both arcane and physical, at a sometimes alarming rate. The stance is as many parts scaring away the massed numbers of foes as it is killing as many, and one would therefore, perhaps rightly, assume he is more comfortable in a single fight then facing massed armies alone.
When facing a single, skilled foe, such grand theatrics and wide, sweeping blows are ill suited. When coming against such a foe, Atreides must arrest his momentum from such wild swings and shift into his other stance, a more deliberate and calculating stance, each blow far more controlled, and rarely equal in savage strength to the former stance, but far more reliable and safe for himself in the long run. This control and precision costs him when swarmed, and the moments it takes to get momentum up can be dangerous to the man within if taken advantage of. Enemies who are equals in skill that can last long fights also are dangerous, even in this stance, as it seems for each strong and controlled blow Atreides makes in this form, it is not unusual to see such duels last far too long, as the caution he holds in this stance might sacrifice chances at ending the conflict sooner.
Equipment:
Ancestoral Plate Armor: A family heirloom, or so Atreides claims, the armor has a far darker origin, having been worn at the time of his whole blood families death by something that the current owner refuses to identify, letting rumors abound.
Old Grandblade: Bearing no name, this weapon is older than its current owner by many generations, and has long become attuned with the shadows that are often en-scrolled around its blade, to the degree that only Shadow and Steel spheres of magic can be channeled through it, other magic failing to even manifest from its blade.
Favorite spells:
Shadow Form: Far more intricate then the name would give away, the form simply hides the injuries to flesh and blood, that punch through his armor, by issuing out blinding, disoreintating shadow, while each stroke of his blade painted inky shadows like paint on canvas. The man is indeed but flesh and bone beneath his armor, and the shadows may be but momentary distractions to the wise, but what foe needs to know that?
Steel Form: By taking the lost equipment of the dead, or rarely volunteered, he can reform the damage done to his own armor and blade, creating the illusion of this shadowy knight walking through a field of dead men, armor rotting away and restoring the form of the Atreides. Smoke and mirrors, maybe, but a battle lost in the mind is already lost before swords are crossed.
Character backround history: The black forests between kingdoms hold a many great secret, some hostile to the kingdoms of the realm, some not so much. The Wanderer Alexnader Atreides is one such enigma. Born to lordless natives within the forests, they survived by cunning and guile alone, walking the paths unwelcome to most. Such wanderers could stumble upon things better left undiscovered, and as a young Atreides would find out, the armor and blade that are his trademarks were such a thing. In a hidden, abandoned place in such lands, a decrepit keep was found by the Atreides brood, both father, mother, and various children of age were scouting for new paths to use between the kingdoms. Such hidden paths out of sight of the kingdoms were always valuable, as they could escape most common troops and thugs such ways, if the needs demanded it. Opening the place, against the warnings in place, the wanderers found an apparently decrepit suit of armor and ruined blade, both of which arose as if possessed.
The blade and armor claimed all he held dear at the time, his small family of wanderers all, in a fierce series of clashes that left the young boy injured but undaunted. He stood in the dark place, torch in one hand, blade in the other. His wounds were grave, but he refused to let his own hubris and mistakes free the shadows within. The torch did him no good, nor did the blade, leaving him with his own affinities of shadow and steel. Reforming his blade from the ruined equipment of his family, and hiding his own place with the shadows against those of the armor, the clash lasted far longer than it should have. The ultimate outcome was the man's survival, but the details are kept vague. Some might think Steel interceded on his behalf, against all odds as the only hope he had of survival. Others, that the armor accepted the grief stricken young man as its new keeper, a curse hidden as a blessing, or a reward costing too much. Whatever the truth may be, the Wanderer would not speak of it, instead cautioning those who would walk hidden paths to tread carefully, as some things were not meant to be found again.
Whatever the truth, as dangerous or harmless as it may be, Atreides eventually walked out of the dark places between kingdoms, crossing paths with the Order of Arcane Knights. He followed them back to their temple, where he swore service unending to the Order. Whether this was an attempt to atone for his failures, or to free himself prematurely in glorious battle, has yet to be seen. But whatever the task given, he would see it out to completion, regardless of the cost to himself or others. This has made him a mixed blessing when arriving somewhere. A blessing, as a situation would be resolved by the Order. A curse, as the resolution might not be as clean or kind as some might hope. But he follows his orders to the letter, and if that means violence or peace, it means little either way to Atreides. Or seems to mean little, his tales usually don't add up completely, leaving others to wonder how much truth is within that armor. Or, to some, how much man remains within that old armor.
By my knighthood I swear: On Steel and Shadow do I swear fealty until death and beyond its cold grasp.
