[u][b]PILOT[/b][/u]
[b]Name:[/b] Lev Stremitel
[b]Nickname:[/b] The Black Baron
[b]Age:[/b] 35
[b]Height:[/b] 6 feet 2 inches
[b]Weight:[/b] 240 pounds
[b]Background:[/b] Drifter
[b]Character theme:[/b] [youtube]6dc0l9tkQPU[/youtube]

[b]Bio:[/b] 
Lev is perhaps the last surviving man who can lay a legitimate claim to titular nobility in Russia, in this case the title of Baron rightfully inherited from his father Ivan Stremitel II, known as the first Black Baron, on the time of his passing. Raised solely by his father, a stern military man, as his squire and eventual successor Lev has lived his whole life marked by the knowledge of the noble blood coursing within his veins and the simple phrase "noblesse oblige", which have continually exhorted him towards greater, loftier deeds to set himself apart from the common man while at the same time driving him towards trying to attaib position of leader and protector for the people.

Lev is both fascinated and disgusted by this world engulfed in chaos where the strong force a brutal rule upon the weak while those in power choose to remain isolated or engaged in petty, self destructive conflicts. Seeking to distance himself from the common brutes roaming the lands he carries himself in the dignified manner of a knight errant, travelling the world to provide aid to those who cannot help themselves and constantly seeking to test and improve his own skill at arms for the ultimate goal of creating a new order under which peace may be achieved.

[b]Description:[/b] 
Lev is a tall, fair-skinned, brown-eyed leonine man whose facial wrinkles and slightly greying hair betray the middle age his body, built like that of a heavyweight prizefighter, is far from feeling or otherwise showing. Lev carries himself in the dignified, powerful manner of a man bearing the weight of nobility and honor on his shoulders, taking great pains to not appear dirty or disheveled. He keeps his mane of greying black hair neatly combed back and his thick beard soberly trimmed and styled, while his clothes, which consist of an all-black three-piece suit, discreet black boots and a black trenchcoat with his personal emblem embroidered over the heart, always look immaculate and brand new.

A note on practicality, while the ensemble is indeed worn with the thought of appearences in mind, it's definitely not just for show. Lev's vest is actually an expensive composite materials armor which makes it all but impervious to penetration from small arms fire, shrapnel and assorted melee weapons, which is not to say that the impact is completely nullified, but it's certainly far better than most other alternatives that aren't hardsuits. As for the trenchcoat, it is full of hidden pockets, allowing Lev to conceal an assortment of portable weaponry which can appear on his hands in the blink of an eye should the situation call for it.

[u][b]FRAME:[/b][/u]
[b]Production name:[/b] HM Series B.Guard 004-RDL
[b]Current Name:[/b] Svyatogor

[b]Description:[/b]
[img=http://i.imgur.com/1W7XuFR.jpg]
Picture to be supplemented by the description below.

The Svyatogor is designed to be a sleek, elegant Frame which evokes the figure of a knight or a member of nobility decked in form-fitting black plate armor, modelled with sleek curves, flutings and ridges and decorated in gold spread throughout the whole outer armor in a style reminiscent of [url=http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/61/Emperor_charles_v.png]a certain painting of Emperor Charles V[/url] clad in renaissance plate, while the head remains undecorated save perhaps for the horizontal grid-like visor placed over the main cameras.

The unit itself, despite its basis in heavily armored figures, is a lightweight machine with little in the way of armor and unnecessary bulk that carefully integrates and camouflages its built-in flight system and network of thrusters to the unit's body in a functional and aesthetically pleasing manner. The machine also bears Lev's personal coat of arms on its right pauldron, a red heater shield emblazoned with two heraldic lions in gold holding up a white lance, with the inscription "The abuse of greatness is when it disjoins remorse from power" written on a scroll underneath.

[b]Weight Class:[/b] 3 Arms, 2 Armor, 10 Agility

[b]Weapons Descriptions:[/b]
[b]-Prototype Nanoforged Ethus Sword "Kladenets" (2):[/b] A highly advanced weapon from the time before the collapse of civilization, devised when it was realized that close quarters combat between Frames was not only a possibility but often a decisive factor in engagements. Resembling a schiavona (a type of straight bladed, double edged, basket hilted sword) with an iridescent silver blade, ivory grip and polished brass pommel and handguard, the advanced nanotechnology employed in the forging of Kladenets already makes it an outstanding solid sword, harder than diamonds and frighteningly, perpetually sharp, but that is not the weapon's sole function: by connecting straight to the Frame's generator via an especially designed interface built into the Svyatogor's body and OS, Kladenets' blade can channel power straight from the Ethus Powerplant, sheathing the blade in crackling energy that increases its power and allows it to pierce through defenses that would normally repel solid blades. Furthermore, its basket hilt construction is not merely for show, as it's forged in a similar manner as the blade and can thus serve as an effective makeshift bludgeon and somewhat less effective defensive measure should the situation call for it. Kladenets needs to be carried around in a specially constructed full metal scabbard, colored matte white, as even without the Ethus Channel active the blade is dangerous enough to warrant it.

[b]-"Udar Groma" Electrolaser Pistol (1):[/b] A peculiar weapon, rather than create an extremely high intensity continuous beam to "cut" through materials or a more traditional focused blast, what the Svyatogor's electrolaser pistol does is use its laser to create a plasma channel conduit down which a powerful electric current can travel down, essentially making the weapon a directed lightning gun. It's a low-efficiency weapon, not particularly good for dealing damage against heavily armored opponents, and its scaled down size means it lacks the power and range of larger guns. It shines, however, at staggering enemies: the combination of a sudden high-power electric discharge along with the resulting bright flash, sonic boom and the fact that an enemy craft just literally fired a bolt of lightning are quite effective at scrambling both pilots' and Frames' senses and knocking them off-balance for even a fraction of a second, enough for Lev to close in and finish the job with Kladenets. Externally, the Udar Groma is made to resemble a fancy dueling pistol made of ivory and brass, because it might as well match Kladenets in design, no?

[b]Additional Notes:[/b]
The Svyatogor is designed for high speed close range skirmishes, its lithe frame not only houses an impressive array of thrusters spread all over the body, which grant it spectacular speed and maneuverability, but it's also set up to allow for a full humanlike range of motion, rendering it surprisingly agile though all of this comes at the cost of armor. To further add to its strengths, the unit is equipped with a built-in flight system which grants it full aerial combat capabilities, making it perfectly able to swoop in from the sky, eliminate an enemy Frame and quickly take off again, dodging enemy fire as it goes.

Also of note is its dangerous means of control. Rather than a standard cockpit setup, the Svyatogor is piloted by a Direct Feedback System, a complete movement tracing system that sees Lev strapped to a large, armor-like bodysuit complete with a face-obscuring display-mounted helmet, which subsequently attaches itself to the cockpit's control interface. The system allows for a remarkable degree of precision in Frame movement down to the finest joints and motions, increases response time and returns feedback directly to the pilot's body, allowing for a greater degree of "sense" while piloting. 

Its benefits, while considerable, were generally believed to be offset by its drawbacks: the DFS requires a very physically adept pilot to start with, and even with active shock dampeners and life support systems it proved to be highly stressful on pilots' bodies, which combined with the lack of a quick escape method by the pilot should his craft be damaged to ensure a very high lethality rate during the system's trial run. Despite these shortcomings, Lev insists on retaining the system, claiming it's more personal nature, higher degree of control and "victory or death" element are particularly well suited for his craft and fighting style.

[b]Past Encounter:[/b]
The speeding black shade came to a sudden stop, and for the first time since the engagement had started the young man could admire the machine's knight-like design, sleek and strangely elegant despite the somewhat gaudy golden decoration, and the deadly weapons which had taken out a whole squad of CVFs and which turned out to be a strange sword, complete with a sheath, and pistol both designed to resemble weapons of old. Coupled with the unit's insignia, painted on its right shoulder, it was all so ridiculous that he might have laughed, were he not the last survivor of a wiped out combat unit staring down a blade that had already carved up his former associates.

The young man was a mercenary. One of many who had taken the job of hunting down the mysterious Black Baron, a drifter who had offended a bandit lord by killing all his men. And while some people would've taken that as a sign that this Black Baron was best left alone, the bandit lord wasn't quite sane, which meant he hadn't really measured the risk, but was definitely quite rich in both money and supplies, which ensured mercenary cooperation. Though he disliked his employer and his "comrades" it was either this or running out of ethus, so the young man took the job.

He had the time to regret his decision as he attempted to organize a defense from the panicking rabble that had survived the first foray into the abandoned city where the Black Baron was said to be hiding. The idiots had just charged in, hoping to flush him out from the maze-like ruins with numbers and had gotten themselves picked off one by one, their screams blaring through the comm along with the booming of thunder in the distance. The enemy pilot was skilled and his machine superior to theirs, too fast, too nimble for them to catch up. And eventually he was the only one left, disarmed and at the enemy's mercy.

"You are cut from a different cloth than the rest of that scum. You organized the group, you never tried to run or abandon your allies and when it came down to it, you fought well. I can respect that". The killing blow didn't come. The black machine sheathed its sword instead and knelt down, the cockpit hatch opening to reveal a large figure strapped to a hellish contraption of a control mechanism. [i]"The pilot of that thing must be insane"[/i], thought the young man, for he could only see a deathtrap with no rapid escape mechanism as the device slowly released the Black Baron. As it turned out, the Black Baron wasn't quite as massive as the device made him seem at first, but he was still a tall and muscular middle aged man, at least the greying hair and wrinkles gave that impression, dressed in a black pilot jumpsuit modified to connect to...whatever that thing in the cockpit was.

There was an imposing aura about the man and it wasn't just his size or the way he'd acquitted himself during the battle, but the way he stood there after a hectic engagement, not a hair out of place and completely unarmed, smiling earneastly to a defeated opponent who he refused to kill simply because he respected them. "Tell me, then" spoke the Black Baron and the young man listened "what is it that you fight for? Do you have a goal, a reason to be strong?". The young pilot smiled to himself as he began to open his cockpit hatch, damaged during the confrontation. The man standing in front him could be called insane, but he wasn't sure that was a bad thing, not in the crazy world they lived in.