[hider=Consumed by Candlelight][center][img]https://i.imgur.com/oJDwCVc.png[/img][/center][indent][H3][color=A15A60]𝙶𝙴𝙽𝙴𝚁𝙰𝙻[/color][/h3]———————————————————————————
★❜ [b][color=D4C9C4]ɴᴀᴍᴇ[/color][/b] ⊱ [color=2e2c2c]wub[/color] Harlow
★❜ [b][color=D4C9C4]ʀᴀɴᴋ[/color][/b] ⊱ [color=2e2c2c]wub[/color] Silver
★❜ [b][color=D4C9C4]ᴄʟᴀss[/color][/b] ⊱ [color=2e2c2c]wub[/color]Paladin
★❜ [b][color=D4C9C4]sᴇx[/color][/b] ⊱ [color=2e2c2c]wub w[/color]“Unimportant.”
★❜ [b][color=D4C9C4]ᴀɢᴇ[/color][/b] ⊱ [color=2e2c2c]wub w[/color]25
[H3][color=A15A60]𝙰𝙿𝙿𝙴𝙰𝚁𝙰𝙽𝙲𝙴[/color][/h3]———————————————————————————
★❜ [b][color=D4C9C4]ғᴄ ᴄʀᴇᴅɪᴛ[/color][/b] ⊱	[url=https://www.pixiv.net/en/artworks/72743082]ORIGINAL[/url] by [url=https://x.com/enaa97]Enaa[/url]
[indent][indent][b][color=D4C9C4]ʜᴇɪɢʜᴛ[/color][/b]	173cm		[b][color=D4C9C4]ᴡᴇɪɢʜᴛ[/color][/b]	--kg
[b][color=D4C9C4]ʜᴀɪʀ[/color][/b] 	Ash Brown	[b][color=D4C9C4]ᴇʏᴇs[/color][/b]	Hazel[/indent][/indent]★❜ [b][color=D4C9C4]ᴇxᴛʀᴀ[/color][/b] ⊱
[list][*]Harlow spends most of their time in their paladin form, oddly enough. That said, there aren’t many physical changes to their body in their transformation. When outside of their paladin form, they typically wear basic clothing provided to them by the order.
[*]One can tell when Harlow has recently been “reborn” because they’ll have a small tattoo of three trees on their right forearm. It disappears within the day.
[*]Disgustingly nice skin thanks to the nature of their power. Can’t be scarred (in theory) and never suffers from usual skincare malaise.
[*]Harlow’s weight varies depending on how long it’s been since a rebirth. They start at about 54kg, but will typically target a weight of 65kg through training and diet as per the recommendation of their trainers.[/list][H3][color=A15A60]𝙿𝙴𝚁𝚂𝙾𝙽𝙰𝙻𝙸𝚃𝚈[/color][/h3]———————————————————————————
[indent][quote=Mentor Albrecht]"Harlow’s a good student. He’s diligent and trains hard, rain or shine. He doesn’t complain about training or orders—or anything at all, thinking about it. It is a bit concerning, the way that he won’t [i]stop[/i] training without an outside force, but he may be taking advantage of the way his abilities work. Still, when it comes to effort, there’s nothing lacking from Harlow."[/quote]
[quote=Mentor Prentus]"She’s awfully quiet, isn’t she? I don’t think I’ve ever heard her say much on her own—usually just answering questions or asking them. Mostly the former, honestly. I’m not sure if Harlow doesn’t like people or thinks that conversations aren’t worth having. I imagine it helps her keep her distance from others, but I doubt that’s going to be a benefit long term. "[/quote]
[quote=Squire Wesley]"They’re a little intimidating… they’re always training and whenever other people approach, they usually back off. I’ve seen them fight and spar a few times, and I could swear that they’re just not bothering to avoid a blow. It’s… a little horrifying, actually, seeing the way they’ll pursue a target until they’ve finished their job or been told to stop by someone else. And they don’t even talk or join anyone at camp! I wonder if they just prefer acting alone or something.

…well, they did make sure that everyone had something hot to drink before they left the camp though. Maybe they’re not that bad…?"[/quote][/indent][H3][color=A15A60]𝙱𝙰𝙲𝙺𝙶𝚁𝙾𝚄𝙽𝙳[/color][/h3]———————————————————————————
[hider=La Sylphide]They used to dance.

Harlow didn’t know how much they liked it. They enjoyed the dance, certainly, but the stage didn’t want their presence. They’d known that for a long time as they starved themselves two days before the weekly weigh-ins for their school. The instructors would give a snide comment, and the other prima donnas would shout bitter venom in whispers hidden behind a hand, and Harlow would remain quiet as someone else told them they were born [i]wrong[/i] for the passion they wanted to chase. Too tall to play at being a girl, too small to play at being a man. Everything about them was wrong.

Surely, there had to be passion there before. Nobody would have lasted without it. Mika used to hum condolences as she raked short-nailed fingers through Harlow's ashen hair. She'd never say as much during practice, but Harlow liked to hear it.

They thought of her as they died, cold and alone in a storage room filled with things they’d bought together for a future Mika decided she didn’t want anymore. They thought of her despite their numb acceptance of heartbreak because they had no one else to think of, and to die with no one in their thoughts sounded worse than dying with memories of an empty relationship. When prayers to a god Harlow didn't believe in had failed, when their voice could no longer be raised in search of a miracle, at least they could keep themselves warm with that.

At least, that was what the bird watching them said as numbing chill started to settle in. It was… soothing, in a sense, to be sung into eternal slumber by creature with such vibrant plumage and such a gentle voice. Reassurances and sweet nothings to take the edge of the hunger and thirst away after the cold had long since turned into biting heat.

They woke in Ceosia shortly after the start of the cataclysm, told they were destined for greatness. A hero, of some sort, even. They even provided the training and education needed for this—well, they would have if Harlow’s situation hadn’t been “an anomaly” by all means.  Still, they trained as they were asked to, the same way they practiced their dances before. Over and over again until they were allowed to stop—it might have taken the mentors a little too long to notice what that actually meant.

They’d never really fought before, but they were better at controlling their body than most. It was probably the first time they didn’t feel morbidly out of place in a group effort.

In the past year, they’ve earned a reputation, and the mentors at least tell them it’s a good one. They don’t know if being a paladin is quite what they’ve wanted, but it seems like they’re… probably helping? They don’t really know, but at least they’re not alone.[/hider][H3][color=A15A60]𝚂𝙿𝙸𝚁𝙸𝚃 𝙰𝚂𝚂𝙴𝚂𝚂𝙼𝙴𝙽𝚃[/color][/h3]——————————————————————————— 
[url=https://gbf.wiki/images/7/72/Weapon_b_1040018100_note.png][color=D4C9C4]Glory[/color][/url]
Once, there was a phoenix. Wise, old thing it was. A streak of flame lit the skies then turned to embers in cycles until the day it decided it was time to choose an eternal roost. It lowered its head, a slender neck exposed for the sting of an executioner’s touch. If the paladins of that time knew what the blaze known as Glory sought in its sacrifice, they never spoke of it. One can only wonder if the human it chose might be able to learn.

Its new form is a white blade that gains a scarlet ombre the longer that Harlow has gone without releasing their bottled fire. The more that Harlow releases, the more the crimson fades from the blade. The white ribbon tied to the hilt can be considered like a wick—the shorter the ends have burned, the closer Harlow is to being born from ashes again.

Of course, the blade rarely, if ever, sees any actual combat, considering Harlow’s transformation into their paladin form necessitates plunging the blade into their body to absorb it to begin with. Due to the nature of their abilities, Harlow has always assumed they can only return to their natural state when their body enters a new cycle of rebirth. They have little desire to learn what happens if their wick burns out while they are not fused with Glory.

[hider=Flickering Light][indent][b][color=D4C9C4]CANDLELIGHT[/color][/b]
——————————————————[indent]Harlow compares themselves to a defective candle, the flame burning internally instead of externally. While in their paladin form, the warrior runs hot. So hot, in fact, that it could be considered agonizing to Harlow and uncomfortable, at best, to those around them. The longer the candle burns in its container, the stronger Harlow seems to be. Unfortunately, an inferno is ill contained in a human body. Too long without release, and their body ignites from the inside out.

Such self-immolation doesn't kill Harlow--at least, not permanently. Like the crimson-plumed Glory, Harlow's flames are regenerative in nature, and in this particular case, such healing is intensified. While the fire may turn the paladin to ash, from the ashes of their demise, Harlow is reborn, their body physically reset to the state they were in at the time Glory's contract was solidified. Some consider it a boon, for who wouldn't want a chance for an easy reset? But to reset their body means that the fruits of their labor have also been lost. Muscles have to be retrained, memories carved back into habit--even if the rebirth didn't hurt, Harlow would be hard pressed to want for it to happen.

To avoid such a grisly fate, Harlow need only maintain a balance by expelling the fires from their body. Unfortunately, such a balance becomes harder to maintain as time passes and Glory's radiance grows. With no interference, the ignition begins within two weeks of Harlow's most recent rebirth.[/indent]
[b][color=D4C9C4]SPARK OF LIFE[/color][/b]
——————————————————[indent]Fire burns in Harlow's veins, and it appears that the words may be taken literally. Whenever an open wound is inflicted on Harlow, a flash of fire spills from the injury. These flames are restorative in nature--at least, they are to Harlow. These injuries close quickly as a result and must be consciously kept open in order to release the growing blaze contained within their body. Once released, Harlow has a small degree of manipulation over the flames, though they don't think it's anything as grand as their peers. As of yet, it doesn't appear that these flames carry the same regenerative nature for anything that isn't Harlow themselves.

As one might expect, such powerful restoration makes Harlow incredibly difficult to kill while they are in their paladin state. While the healing process may be agonizing in the best of times, there's no denying that it has allowed Harlow to survive injuries that would put greater beings into their graves.[/indent]
[b][color=D4C9C4]CAUTERIZE[/color][/b]
——————————————————[indent]Minor, perhaps, to those whose abilities allow them to rend mountains asunder or to bring the moon down from the sky, but Harlow has always found the restorative nature of their flames to be convenient despite the pain they inflict. In their paladin form, it appears that Glory's searing light burns away pollutants and contaminants in Harlow's body at a rapid rate. They are nigh impervious to most illnesses and can even stave off the deterioration caused by overexertion or a lack of sleep for far longer than can be considered "healthy" by others. Even poison struggles to take root for long in such a hostile environment and is often purged in short order, though it would be wrong for Harlow to say they were immune.[/indent][/indent][/hider][/indent][/hider]