(Also spelled Oestaer so I don't have to bust out the special characters.)
Gender: Male
Age: 27
Appearance: 6' even, slightly muscular, tanned with mid-length dark brown hair and grey eyes.

Bio: Allant was the fourth son of a noble lord in Marrulah, a position oft considered worse than that of a serf. Though before the age of 10 Allant was able to learn and live in relative peace, as soon as he got past that age he was enlisted in the training of a retired Mirino, treasure seekers who ventured into the Dread Desert in search of riches. He had two blades placed in his hands and got to work. Dual Skill is a difficult martial art to learn, but it is also accompanied by difficult truths that the Mirino live by. Mirino know first hand the frailty of life, Allant's teacher being one of the only Mirino to live to 30; indeed he was only 37 and had been retired for 3 years.

The Mirino knights also place immense importance on the arts, considering they often recover delicate artistic artefacts from humanities past. All Mirino pick up a craft of their choosing, so they may live on past their quick deaths through their works. Allant inherited the skill of his mentor; painting. Allant's days were then filled with rigorous practice, and education in perspective and artistic theory. Near the end of his training he was paired up with another Mirino about to be sent out into the Dread Desert; Yuria. Mirino worked in duos and needed to be familiar with each other.

While getting to know Yuria, some of her beliefs rubbed off on Allant. Her family was aggressively against the old gods, believing them to have caused the Starfall and abandoning humanity for the fear that they would rise up from the gods tyrannical rule. Knowing the prosperity humanity used to live in from their golden relics and the danger and squalor he was being subjected to now, Allant couldn't help but agree with her.

Eventually, Allant and Yuria's training was complete. The two were sent out to the Dread Deserts many a time and they recovered quite a few impressive finds, all while Allant worked on creating a truly good painting, for he never really had grasped it. As the two saved each other time after time, Allant began developing romantic inclinations towards his partner, but she had passed not even from an attempt on her life, but from a sickness she had contracted out in the desert. Without a partner, Allant was unable to continue work as a Mirino, but had no interest in preparing other children like him to die. Instead he sent out to find a proper place for himself in the world, and discovered the Blood Rose Irregulars. With no skills but killing and treasure hunting to his name, Allant deigned to work for the mercenaries.

Fighting Style: Allant is highly trained in the Marrulah martial art Dual Skill, the use of two weapons at once to defend and counter in one swift motion. Since shields are largely useless fighting the powerful Orcs, Dual Skill fighters are adept at parrying rather than braving an attack head on. They also are trained to use both weapons to strike at once for a killing blow, and the use of throwing stars to both distract and kill. Orcs are often fought as pairs, where one would take the vanguard and the other would use those techniques to ensure a death before the vanguard was overwhelmed.

Equipment
Weaponry

• Main Gauche - A double-edged dagger ending in a sharp point with a large hand guard and two thin slits at the base of the hilt aiming to catch human blades.
• Estoc - A longsword with no edge, instead used to pierce thick hides or armors. Almost always paired with the Main Gauche.
• Arming Blades - Two one-handed blades meant to be wielded at once. One features a serrated edge made to get unarmored opponents to bleed heavily.
• Tri-Edges - Six throwing weapons kept on a belt, which can be used in many ways.

Armor

• Robes - Loose fitting cloth made of cotton that shields one from the sun and hides one's armor, trimmed with silk and animal furs.
• Breastplate - A cuirass and faulds that are slightly skewed to the left side to mitigate the losses of a failed parry. Also features a hauberk underneath.
• Mask - A steel mask used purely as shielding from the sun, since even a shielded blow to the head from an Orc was often enough to lead to a death.
• Chainmail and Footwear - The legs are covered in a light chainmail and end in leather boots.
• Gauntlets - Simple leather gloves that reach the elbow and as such the hauberk.

Miscellaneous

• Soul Stones - A collection of entirely unidentified Orc Soul Stones, acting as all of Allant's money.
• Supplies - A water skin, a few pounds of dried meats, and a tent.
• Pouches - Two free leather pouches to stuff treasure into.
• Orc Soulstone Ring - A ring with a refined Orc Soul Stone that can improve Allant's overall muscle strength when used, increase speed and power.

Skills/Abilities

• Combat - Allant is a skilled Mirino knight, a slayer of many orcs.
• Artistry - Allant is a decent painter, but an even better appraiser. He's able to tell without a shadow of a doubt how much a piece is worth if he has some time with it.
• Survival - Allant is familiar with deserts and how exactly to brave them.

Other Information:

Bio:
It is not quite known where The Apothecaries, the Vultures, call home. They seemed to become a more common appearance in recent memory, seemingly in line with new discoveries related to Soul Stone. They have the favor of many a noble house throughout the Empire and now walk freely among the scared masses. While typically there is no more than one in any major city, their presence is enough to bring a sense of dread to the populace. The Apothecaries are terrifying images of plague and death, with rumors abound of what they hide behind their bird like masks and what goes on in their charnal houses, but they always come bearing the greatest of gifts. A life saved, and pain spared. For this reason, they are accepted, even sought after, but always kept at arms length, and the Apothecary like it no other way.

Apothecaries exist as researchers, provisioners of magical substances, undertakers, and most importantly, hired doctors for the wealthy, and quarantiners for outbreaks of plague and disease. Their skills are second to none and many a noble felt the assassins touch but walked the next day, with nary a worry save the Apothecary's growing bill. They are open, but secretive, dodging questions and neither accepting nor rejecting any accusation against them. The imagination can be a powerful deterrent. They have grown in such power that they have their own code and structure of social order. This is where Pox comes in.

Born within the Guild, he was trained from a young age to become an Apothecary, and due to his particular talent and eagerness to please his parents, was chosen to become heir to the Guild, a position always reserved for the most capable of their number. The Guild could not ask for a better student. He would never ask more than once for anything he didn't want to do, and he would never make the same mistake twice, under the consequence of traumatizing pain. Such was the effectiveness under the tutelage of the Guilds Master Chirurgeon Typhon. For the Guild, there was no such thing as special treatment, even for nobles; only special training.

Through grit, intellect, and various chemical enhancements (and dependencies) he managed to live up to the lofty expectations of his family and guild, with the forgivable side effect of OCD, Neurosis, and potentially self harming phobias when when it came to the details and success. The ends always justified the means afterall, and the Apothecaries always did have a results first mentality. And with that, his final test had just begun, a decade long quest as a fully fledged Apothecary out in the field. He was expected to gain clients, acquire fame, favors and fortune, uncover arcane secrets, and come home to take his mantle as leader of the Guild with years of experience under his belt.

However while he is only a few years into his task, the Apothecaries would be remiss to find out just how unlike them Pox really is. Out from under their cruel thumb, Pox had learned just how effective a caring bit of bedside compassion could work more wonders than any draught or pancea. Pox learned to love people. Helping them, healing them, always willing to surround himself with those that may look upon him with fear and always trying to show them that there is nothing to fear. Still, he is an Apothecary, and thus still has a task to do and secrets to keep, thus as eccentric and opens he seems, Pox will avoid things about himself or his Guild, dodging the question or coming up with an explanation that seems a little too practiced to be taken at face value. There is no way he could abandon his own family... could he? The more he speaks, he teaches, he discovers, he becomes painfully more aware of just how isolated he is from the rest of the world, a world he can only see through lenses, and touch through thick leathers. His own kind only wants expectations from him, and the rest of the world wants him far far away. What is the poor prince to do? Perhaps traveling with wayword folks like himself. Surely the brave adventurers would understand, and appreciate what he brings.

In term of personality. Pox is a man of contradiction, much like his Guild but there is something about him that remains genuine. He wants to bring some light back into this dark world. He flatters, he encourages, he studies and shares, bringing a sense of child like wonder with him. He loves to laugh and loves to bring cheer and loves to always learn. His curious mind will allow for nothing else. At the same time however, his look and position as an untouchable makes that quite difficult and he is evasive at best when it comes to questions about himself or the Apothecaries. Indeed, he gets quite chatty when the conversation goes somewhere he'd rather it didn't, a tell tale sign that he's hiding something. His words are so prepared and reflexive that there is almost something uncanny about them, something unsettling. He can't help but sometimes giving into Gallows humor, considering how he is surrounded by pain and death for most of his life. Gotta stay positive in the face of horror.

Fighting Style:
Pox is no warrior. He has combat training, but this is merely to do procedures while on the battlefield and on occasion, keep his ward alive in the process. For those moments, Pox's mainly uses his intellect, calculating and attempting to size up the situation and find alternatives then attempting to over power his opponents. When diplomacy fails, he controls the battle field with afflictions and terrain denial in the form of various types of flask grenades that disperses gas or fire and darts that act as conduits for various physical afflictions such as temporary blindness, paralysis, or strength leeching effects. He's able to do this by physical touch as well if needed. Last resorts are cross bow at a distance, or his scalpels up close. He can enhance himself with a quick drug boost, but his is only so he has a moments strength for a quick escape, preferably with a smoke bomb covering his tracks.

With allies, his tactics change completely, enhancing them with similar consumables in the form of enhancing blessings and dispensing health potions or anti-venoms as needed. His entire purpose is keeping the group in the fight and will only attack if there's an opening or its essential.

Equipment:
Apothecary Encounter Suit - This is the uniform of a true Apothecary of the Guild. These enchanted leathers riddled with attachments, hinges, and tubes allow for its wearing to work in any fundamentally toxic environment, rending them immune to the effects of gas, spores, and other foulness. Additionally, the suit actually pierces the wearers skin with tubes that circulate the blood through various enchantments and filters, which flushes the system constantly, rending the wearer immune to hostile poisons and diseases. Indeed certain entrance ports allow the wearer to freely inject other drugs for enhancement and healing, but other methods simply fail. Most amazingly is that the suit repairs itself after damage, though this is mostly for the convenience and safety of their wards. The bird mask is part of the suit and can be opened slightly for eating purposes.
The Apothecary's Martial Arms - Apothecaries are expected to get into dangerous situations, and sometimes the best way to keep their clients from harm is to remove it. Darts, acid, poison, fire, and smoke flask (grenades), and Knives are their main defenses. Light, fast, and capable of being poisoned if need be. Pox himself keeps a crossbow as well, for long distance problems.
Field Surgeon Pack - Sutures, Bandages, Scalpels, Salves, Disinfectants, and Leeches. Everything the bleeding body needs!
Alchemists Kit - For all your chemistry and potion making needs.
Collection of Various Vials - Indeed, among the multitude of colors are enhancement drugs, healing salves, euphorics, pain killers, and poisons a plenty. He keeps a book on him that contains the recipes but by now, he knows most of them by heart. Alchemy research are one of his passtimes.
Camping Gear - Lanterns, rope, tent, and a bed sack. Its a real wonder how he's able to move around.

Skills/ Abilities:
Pox's magic is centered almost exclusively into the purview of Life, Enchantment, Entropy, and Death as the spells that deal with biology and chemistry touch on these magical disciplines. He can heal at a distance, curing light wounds and drawing poison from a victims pores, but actually potions and medical techniques are necessary for more mortal injuries, with magic coming to help the wound heal quicker once the victim is stabilized. Indeed, he is more likely to use alchemy and his mind for problem solving than any simple trick. Indeed he is actually quite brilliant when it simply pertains to factual knowledge. He has always been curious, and always eager to see how things work which has served him well in the past.

Offensive magics are always in the form of afflictions and diseases that are liken to symptoms of sickness, some of them being quite supernatural. Poisonous Cloud, Spell of Weakness, Strike of the Blind, Belly of Maggots, to just name a few. All of these spells are designed to not be permanent, and only effect a certain area. Pox is no fan of collateral damage.

He also knows a useful arcana spell of telekinesis. Without a nurse to aid him, he sometimes needs to do several small things at once. There are no excuses for being too slow and not having help when lives are on the line.

Additionally as actual, formal training, Pox is expected to lead the Apothecaries one day when he comes of age, and part of his job functions are to act as mediators to nobility. Pox is expected to uphold any culture mannerisms and social protocols. Despite his monstrous attire, he can kneel and flatter, and rub elbows with the upper echelons of society. In fact, Pox enjoys this facet of his life the most, as he's a regular social butterfly.

Other Information:

[ ⍚ ] A _{P P E A R A N C E :}
Octavia stands at 5'4. She is just a petite girl at first glance but upon closer inspection, she is visibly toned and strong due to her years of training. She has raven black hair which flows to her hips, but you will rarely see her without the signature braid. Thick, dark eyelashes frame her ocean-blue eyes; a contrast to her fair skin. Octavia is always clad in black, usually wearing the traditional garbs of the Starforge household.

[ ⍚ ] B _{I O G R A P H Y :}
Octavia comes from a bloodline of Dark Casters. These are mages who delve into the dark arts by extracting human soul stones and using them to amass great power. For centuries, the Crestkeep family has been discreet about their forbidden practices, laying low and staying in secret, but the darkness eventually consumed them and left them with an uncontrollable desire to kill others to fuel their powers; this was referred to as the Curse of The Crestkeep. The curse would physically show itself through their eyes, the usual shades of blue turning into red orbs. Word of their power and wickedness eventually got out, and the military took it upon themselves to hire powerful mages and assassins to execute the family.

The man who led the operation was Lord Starforge; a nobleman. He also belonged to a family of assassins who worked directly for the military. The operation was a success, but not without casualties. With the powers they have amassed from human sacrifices, the Crestkeep easily overwhelmed the other mages. After Starforge's team succeeded in the operation, they split up to investigate the house, confiscating many forbidden relics and soul stones. Alone, Starforge investigated the main bedroom, which eventually led him to find the secret room behind the large bookshelf. Laying there in a small crib, was the newborn child, Octavia. By orders, he was to exterminate every last member of the Crestkeep family, but he found himself unable to fulfill his duty, bombarded with the memories of his wife and son who died in cruel hands years before. With great hesitation, he decided to hide her from the rest and take her under his wing, keeping her identity a secret and raising her as his own.

When Octavia reached six years of age, Starforge found her in her room, practicing the art of magic. He felt a sudden pang of fear, and after days of weighing his conflicted thoughts, he finally decided it would be better to tell her the truth about her identity--afraid that she would end up on the same path as her ancestors. To his great surprise, young Octavia responded that she already knew, even claiming that she would often dream of her ancestors and hear their voices speaking to her. Upon hearing this, he lost his composure and cried, fearing for his child. He had always thought that Octavia would not inherit the Curse of the Crestkeep. After Octavia saw the fear in her father's eyes, she then realized that she, herself, was afraid. She promised her father that she would stay away from magic, and instead learn to fight with a sword, just like him.

Octavia spent years training with her father and his unit. She showed exceptional skills in combat, her small stature enabling her to be more stealthy and swift compared to the rest of the men. When she's not training, she occasionally spends her time practicing the flute. To this day, Octavia is still haunted by nightmares and the voices of the damned, but she has kept this a secret from her father, afraid that he would worry too much about her safety. However, as time went on, the dreams became more frequent and violent. She started to have cruel dreams of herself--killing her father. Throughout the day, she would hear the voices of her ancestors telling her to kill Starforge and avenge them. When she woke up one day with her left eye resembling fire, she knew it was time to leave. Octavia was afraid of falling deeper into the curse and losing her control. She covered her left eye with an eyepatch and bid her father farewell, with the excuse of joining a group of adventurers in order to gain real experience.

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[ ⍚ ] F _{I G H T I N G S T Y L E :}
Octavia fights with stealth and deadly precision. She is proficient in hand-to-hand combat and the use of swords and knives. She doesn't attack her opponents head-on but waits for an opening to land a strike at the perfect time, focusing on her opponent's weaknesses. As she falls behind in raw physical strength compared to others, she relies on her skills, speed, and accuracy.

[ ⍚ ] E _{Q I U P M E N T S :}
- A long sword that was given to her by her father
- Knives hidden under her garbs
- A rope

[ ⍚ ] S _{K I L L S :}

• Speed and Stealth - The ability to engage the target and deal damage before the enemy can realize it. She is hard to detect, which allows her to approach the target quickly and quietly. Fighting in an open field would be a disadvantage to her.
• Weapon Efficiency - She is well versed in many weapons, mainly swords, and knives, but she is also able to wield bows and lances, though she never has the reason to.
• Hand-to-hand Combat - Skilled at fighting with her bare hands, though someone who could keep up with her speed and accuracy will have no problems going up against her, as she does not possess as much physical strength.
• Photographic Memory - She has the ability to remember anything she has seen at least once. Octavia can easily memorize faces, places, and many other things, such as texts in books.
• Observant - As a trained assassin, she is able to notice the smallest details and movements. She is skilled at understanding the body language. With her heightened senses, it is almost impossible for others to approach her without her noticing.

[♪] Appearance: A lithe woman with black hair and blue eyes who extrudes a sort of mysterious but alluring aura, though many contribute her natural physical charms to having gotten from her father. Though she always dresses in flowing manners, even while in armor she has a long open skirt or in flowing short skirts while outside of it, mixing plain with the alluring.

[♪] Name: Nanami Sanada
[♪] Gender: Female
[♪] Age: 26

♫ Bio ♫
One of six children to the famous leader of the Blood Rose Irregulars, Nanami grew up as a bit of a black sheep among them all. Jing was and is still famous for being a strong, charismatic figurehead and most of his children followed suit in his footsteps, though Nanami had been more interested in knowledge than anything else, much like her mother who has passed away at childbirth. While all the others spent time playing outside and making fun of the youngest among them, Nanami stayed indoors and poured over myths and legends. Even with the fame of her father, not many knew her or paid much attention to the quiet child compared to the others, though her younger years were still spent in learning some measure of warfare like the others.

Some time into her young adult years, when she was in her teens, it was found out that Tsai - the youngest - had been playing a dangerous game with his father's politics by giving away secrets to the highest seller. Her father was furious and hurt by the betrayal and eventually exiled him from the family, leaving a bit of a gap in the once happy family. While Nanami stayed to her studies, Riou had decided he wanted to take up arms with his father in the Blood Rose Irregulars. However only a year into recruitment, he was hit by a stray arrow during an assignment that was strangely poisoned and lost his life. The tragedy stirred Tir, the closest to Riou, to join the Empire's military despite Jing's reluctance. Leaving Ce, the oldest to tend to the lands while Jing was away, Lorelai to tend to his castle and guests, and then finally Nanami herself.

After a few months of deep deliberation, Nanami came to her father and pleaded with him to let her join the Blood Rose - to which he stubbornly refused for a month straight. He did not approve of another child being in the same position as Riou, let alone one of only two daughters. However when she finally came to him with blade in hand and gave him a demonstration of a skill she had learned from delving into ruins, by herself, he softened to the idea - though there was quite the argument about her visiting such strange places by herself. Since then, it's been nearly six months and she's been nicknamed the Songbird for her talents and idealistic views.

[♪] Fighting Style: Nanami's style is more akin to a blade dancer than a traditional fighter, especially given she normally single-wields short swords for the dexterity and agility, however she is proficient in using bucklers and daggers as well as other blades as well.
[♪] Equipment: Custom tailored armor that includes flowing (mostly cosmetic) components as well as a well-made short sword attached to a belt with a pouch.

♫ Skills/Abilities ♫
Bladesong: A unique, forgotten practice of bardic magic in the form of blade dancing, bladesongs are a mix of swordsmanship and music that can produce beautiful and haunting tunes in the middle of combat for various effects. Usually with a swing of a blade of some sort, the wielder doesn't need knowledge on how to play or sing but instead needs some understanding of martial skills in order to make their blades sing. The source is mainly from their own soul stone, though not everyone has a naturally affinity for it. Those who use bladesongs are usually referred to as 'Songblades.'
𝄞 Blade March: With powerful strikes, the Songblade can produce heavy notes that reach out and cut their opponents, making it feel as if they've been struck several times by a single swing of the blade. (Heavy, powerful notes)
𝄞 Soothing Whirl: Swirling with blade in hand, the Songblade can design a song that heals their allies within a small radius around themselves. Though this mainly closes small wounds and gifts a small bout of energy - a dedicated healer is needed for much more. (Calming, soothing notes)
𝄞 Quickening Strike: Weaving the blade in a quick motion, the Songblade can speed their attacks up for a short amount of time or boon another ally with the same quickness. (Quick, catchy notes)
𝄞 Sharp Cord: Drawing the blade back into themselves with a fluid but sharp motion, the Songblade can produce sounds directed to an opponent that brings feelings of depair, though many won't succumb to surrendering, it still lowers their overall effectiveness. (Sharp, painful notes)
𝄞 Sense Song: A sixth sense for the Songblade, she can mentally 'hear' the song of another person, be it of good, evil, or neutral will though it must be focused on to work - meaning it simply helps her discern the matter of the heart and cannot stop things like being ambushed nor tell if someone is lying or what their true intentions are.

[♪] Other Information: