Name: William
Age: 22
Gender: male

Personality:
Always smiling, day or night, good or bad. William is commonly taken light heartedly due to his seemingly clumsy nature and light hearted way of taking things, but he is always smiling and sometimes it seems there's something else beyond the smile.

Backstory:
"I ran away from my academy"
If asked about his origin this is the most one will get out of the smiling mage, some have pierced some information together over time from remarks William has made, some notes have been written down on his past;

Is a noble borne from the empire
Was at his 'academy' most his life
Holds a grudge towards the empire?
Ran away just before his graduation

As its been laid out so far no one knows much of before he chose to take up arms, maybe he doesn't know himself, but William does remind himself deep down why he chose the path he did.

For William this path is the only way to save the Empire from ruin, for being born into failing nobility he got to lay witness to the foul play of the aristocrats that hide behind the throne at a very young age.

His life felt like a blur for many years, from being sold by his family to take part in a military scheme to develop strong loyal soldiers, loyal to who though would probably be a good question.
After being sold off though, the boy was found to have an aptitude in magic, making him perfect to enroll in a strict magic academy that was quite bent on pushing and overworking kids to truly develop their magical abilities and force them into submission in the process.

Years William spent at the academy, studying, fighting, dreaming. Dreaming of the day he would escape, for the boy who was nearly a man at the time had never given in no matter the punishment. Planning for it took years, but it was accomplished, alone for William could not trust others.

With that William spent a few years on the run until he somehow ended back on the side of the empire, luckily due to the shadowy dealings behind his past if he was recognized its not like it could be acted on in public

Class: Pupil
Affinity: elemental
Inventory:

Abilities:

Spells/Weapon Arts: fire, wind, thunder

Stats (All stats start at E rank. You may choose 3 stats to start at D rank, and 2 to start at C rank)
END: C
STR: D
MAG: C
DEX: D
SPD: D
DEF: E
RES: E
LCK: E

Talents: Black Magic

Experience:

Support:

https://pin.it/lui4u4jxvdbb4e
Name: Trace Retloth
Age: 23
Gender: Male

Personality: Generally taciturn and shy, he prefers to simply let unnecessary conversations pass by him like the breeze. Patient and intense, he takes the words of others very seriously and holds hypocrites and liars in utter contempt. Ironically, while he takes words very seriously from others, he prefers to express his own feelings with actions and has achieved some small recognition for his lack of fear and hesitation.

Backstory:
Born the illegitimate son of a lesser Empire noble and a high class courtesan in the capital, he had a fairly comfortable childhood and even received some minor magical instruction. But, a rivalry between courtesans resulted in his mother's face being disfigured. She suffered a meteoric fall from grace and her son fell with her. His limited magical ability was barely enough to frighten a neighborhood bully but it allowed him to provide some little protection for his mother from the numerous small cruelties of their harsh new life.

But, this only lasted for a few short years. When he was 12, bandits raided the slum where Trace lived with his mother. He was out looking for work and only returned in time to see their shack collapse, one of many that were engulfed in flames. Soldiers had killed the bandits and were fighting the fire but their best efforts were barely enough to keep the flames from spreading to more wealthy parts of the city. The survivors were forcibly evacuated and the victims were buried in mass graves, too badly burned to be identified.

Trace never found his mother's body.

Trace felt that he had been running from the truth. He had failed to grasp the kind of power he would have needed to save his mother.
But, instead of wallowing in guilt, he focused his pain into a nearly fanatical desire for improvement. Rejecting the obtuse, abstract, expensive and time consuming study required for magic, he devoted himself to the path of the spear. It was a readily available weapon, cheap to acquire, and those who used it were in regular demand in many places. So, he sought out a small mercenary company that had recently suffered losses and used both his little savings and his determination to secure himself a position there.

Since then, his training was relentless. Others practiced striking wooden poles to improve accuracy. Trace practiced striking twigs, then leaves. But, he found that precise strikes were far more difficult when it came time for real combat.

He was 21. The job was simple, escort a low rank noble kid to an academy. The Pierced Shield Mercenary Company had never been large so the whole company came on most missions. This was no exception. They met with the client, took up formations and set out in the morning at a measured pace. The formation was simple since the vast majority of the members of Pierced Shield wielded swords or bows. When evening came, however, the young master in the carriage decided that he wanted to get to the academy early so that he could make a better impression on his teachers. He ordered the group to continue on through the night.

They were ambushed.

The battle was chaotic and the enemy were no mere bandits. They were trained assassins and soldiers, though their insignia were hidden. The majority of the attack's force struck at the front and the flank of the formation Several were archers while most wielded spears or swords. The archers began the attack with flaming arrows and the carriage was aflame in moments. The young master scrambled out the door only to be swiftly speared by the lances of the assassins who had charged in headlong.

Trace was positioned toward the rear and saw this clearly. The assassins seemed to be well prepared for much of what the Pierced Shield could bring to bear and the best of the Pierced Shield warriors were only able to bring down a few of the enemy before falling. The leader too, fell under attacks from two lance warriors. As the battle continued, it became obvious that the mercenaries were going to lose. The assassins divided their forces then, focusing their swordsmen and remaining archers on finishing off the veteran mercenaries who remained in the core of the formation. The rookies at the back were targeted by the remaining assassins who used lances.

All the rookies, except for Trace, wielded swords. Trace knew that they had no chance. He told them to run before taking a stand between the fleeing rookie recruits and the approaching lance assassins. There were six of them, cocky and bold with blood dulling the shine of their lances. Trace stayed on the move. Maintaining smooth footwork and keeping his balance as he moved let them engage him, but only one at a time. For the first time in his life, he fought with all his skill and he discovered something.

He was really, really good.

It was only a few moments before those six lances lay on the ground beside their fallen wielders. In that moment of quiet that followed, Trace looked around and found that none of the other enemies were looking his way. They were all focused on bringing down the last of the Pierced Shield veterans. Trace knew that he was good, very good, but there were more than two dozen swords and four bows over there. He didn't have a chance and neither did the veterans of the company.

He turned and fled, following the other rookies into the night.

Only a small handful of rookies from the Pierced Shield managed to escape that ambush and the group was dissolved with each going their own way, mostly to other mercenary companies that liked having recruits who had already had some training and experience but wouldn't command a high wage. Trace, however, knew that he might have attracted dangerous attention with his performance in that battle. He avoided mercenary companies and became a solo hired lance instead.

Two years later, after many poorly paid odd jobs and occasional caravan guard contracts, Trace heard rumors of war. It was time to see if he could do something more impressive than surviving. He traveled to where the young prince was gathering troops and signed up.

[Combat]
Class: Recruit
Affinity: Umbral
Inventory:
Iron Lance
Vulnerary

Abilities:
Spear Insight - +1 to STR, DEX, and SPD vs Spear wielders

Spell/Weapon Arts:
[Start] Heartstopper - A decisive jab that prevents counter-attack, but at lowered damage.

Stats:
END: E
STR: D
MAG: D
DEX: C
SPD: C
DEF: D
RES: E
LCK: E

Talents:
Spear

Experience:

Support: