Name: Darius Crow
Age: 25
Pantheon: Roman Pantheon
Divine Parent: Mars

Appearance: A well muscled man, covered in bronze skin, with a rugged face framed by wild brown hair. Darius cuts an imposing figure from afar. Belying the battle-hardened warrior, however, are a pair of clear brown eyes, shining with honesty. He normally wears a sleeveless, grey fur-lined coat with a leather vest for protection and black dyed pants, tying it off with steel tipped shoes. His hands are typically encased in steel gauntlets and he is generally seen clutching his signature shields, though on occasion he uses the shortsword strapped to his belt.

Personality: Darius is a simple person with simple values. He knows he won't know everything so he does what he can and doesn't worry about anything else. At times this makes him out to be a mature individual, moving on from tragedy quickly as he tackles his daily duties. At other times it gives him a child-like innocence as his attention is taken from one shiny thing to the next. He likes fighting and honing his skills but he doesn't seek it out on purpose. For Darius having food, water and a place to sleep are enough to settle for. With that being said, he does have some ambitions in life. Seeing his potential and being a good person are his chief goals in life, and ones he has promised to stray from. Darius is very much a person who lives in the moment, tied to neither a regretful past nor a weighty future. It's an attitude that gives him trouble every so often, but

History: Darius was born to a group of nomadic warriors who venerated the art of battle. He didn't know his parents but that wasn't uncommon in the 'tribe'. The group wouldn't stop their members from leaving, they saw it as a kind of calling. What would warriors do with no war? The group moved place to place on principle, they kept the purity of battle to prevent being tied down by politics and the like. But taking no sides means having little conflict, and it was inevitable that warriors eager to prove themselves would seek out houses to pledge their name to. They were the crows of the battlefield, moving from one to the next, and every so often they made their mark on history. They took techniques from all schools and collected all manner of weapons in order to hone the art of combat, but they took to secrecy, lest the sanctity of their art be tainted by outsiders. Leaving was a common occurence but not many were given the privilege of joining the secretive group, and not many came back after they left. They took in orphans, training the promising ones in their arts and the rest were used to cover their activities.

Darius's early life was marked by training. Training, training and more training. They taught to him every weapon of war, honed his body sharper than any blade, and drilled into his mind the knowledge of battlefield arts. They didn't stay anywhere long, they believed that true mastery of fighting couldn't be cultivated by sticking to one place. For Darius, despite the lack of a mother and father, it was a good life missing nothing. His trainers acted as his parents, his fellows trainees being his brothers and sisters. Food was not scarce in this day and age and there were plenty of good moments to be had. Still, he couldn't help but wonder what else was out there. Cut off as they were from the world at large, the few glimpses he got of it only magnified his natural curiosity.

When he came of age Darius received his birthright, and a meeting from his father. A man of military bearing came to the group one day. A total stranger to Darius but the elders of the group bowed to the figure. Ignoring them the military man approached Darius and bestowed on him a round metal shield, intricately etched with scenes of battle. He told Darius that it had been in the family for a long time. The man had given it its blessings a long time ago and he'd given it to a friend. The man told Darius that it had protected his mother, and now it was his turn to use it. Shortly afterwards the military man disappeared. The elders wouldn't talk about it but Darius pieced it together for himself. His father was Mars, the roman god of war. His mother had appeared one day with Darius in tow and dropped him off before she left again. They hadn't known the father until he'd appeared that day, but they had felt the man's godhood as they stood in his presence. More than that, they felt it in their warrior's blood. For the group to be blessed by the blood of a war god was an auspicious occasion, but for Darius it cemented his will to learn more about the world. He had been given his birthright on that day, but more than that, he'd realised how little he knew about himself. After more years of hard training Darius finally set off on a journey to discover his capabilities. The group were sad to see a specimen like him go, but what was a warrior without war? Darius headed out to fight his own war and not once did he look back.

Abilities/skills: Darius is well versed in anything that could be called a weapon, be that blade or gun. He's most familiar, however, with his own body, and focuses on unarmed combat. His main "weapon", if it can be called that, is his birthright, the shield given to him by his father. He wields the shield in his left hand and a smaller parrying shield on his right. He fuses the shield technique from a sword-and-shield focused style with the free-flowing movement of martial arts resulting in a strange acrobatic defense style focusing on survivability. What it lacks in lethality it makes up for in versatility, adding a suite of bashes, parries and throws to a diverse move pool, bolstered by his quick reflexes and knowledge of battlefield tactics. Darius innovated the style beginning from a certain shield-bearing superhero and added his own twists to the perceived formula. Aside from combat skills he has the ability to drive cars, but strangely bad at using modern technology aside from vehicles and weapons.

Supernatural abilities: Darius wields enhanced strength, speed and reflexes as gifts from his patron, sporting abilities not unlike what laymen would call "a supersoldier". Along with slightly enhanced natural healing and the capability to quickly learn combat techniques from fighting, it also makes him an excellent student of war. Finally, the blood of Mars gives him some skill in agriculture, though Darius himself hasn't pursued the field much.

Birthright: The shield of the war god, a shield belonging to an ancient warrior who performed great deeds on the battlefield. It has been reforged and changed hands over and over again, used in battle after battle, before it received its moniker from the blessing of Mars Ultor. The shield was given the power to protect and given to a man who sought revenge. It safeguarded the man until his retirement where it was passed down to his firstborn. The shield is near-unbreakable when faced with human weapons and will uphold the user's stamina so long as they fight for a cause. The shield cannot be lost by the current user until there comes a time the user decides on a successor.