[OOC] Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

[Richard Horthy]

Did a Relationship Chart for Katerina:

---

Fanilly: Fanilly isn't even the youngest person that Katerina has had to take orders from -- Lauren has her beat by a few years, though she isn't interesting in making it into a contest anytime soon. Most of the ritualism of selecting the Captains of these Knightly Orders flies right over Katerina's head: She never really understood much of it. Fanilly seems fine, if young and -- perhaps understandably -- quite nervous. The latter might not be the greatest trait to have in a Knightly Captain, but Katerina mostly thinks that she just needs some time to come out of her shell.

Tyaethe: Now, Katerina's not a laywer by any stretch of the imagination, but when she joined the Iron Rose Knights, she didn't know there was a statute of limitations on vampirism in Thaln. More you know. She supposed that when you're in a knightly order for so long that she gets seniority over those types of affairs...though on that note, Katerina's not sure what it really is that Tyaethe really does around here either, except for maybe boss people around.

Cecillia: A wandering mercenary. With a special enchanted bow. That can talk to wind spirits. Forgive her skepticism, but something about all of this just doesn't add up to her. Maybe Katerina's overthinking this, maybe she isn't. But after a war and a job collecting things like wyvern's blood and orc mushrooms, the sorceress-knight has learned to always suspect things and expect the unexpected. Considering the fact that she can shoot a gold coin out of a trader's hand over the walls of Aimlenn in the heath over, Katerina's got the suspicion that she was an assassin or something not too long ago. But that sort of stuff's just nonsense -- the Iron Rose Knights wouldn't let them in if that was true, right?

...right?

...eh, who's she kiddin'...

Renar: Katerina sympathizes with Renar's upbringing and circumstances (as much as her mirthless commentary can portray, at any rate) in regards to being born of two vastly different worlds, and ultimately, belonging to neither of them. There's a certain respect she has for him having to make his own path in life, and it's a path that she's all too familiar with. She hasn't really talked too in-depth on the topic with the bastard -- she isn't his mom and he can very well take care of himself, no amount of life commentary is going to do much of anything about the situation, except maybe for commiserate together.

Fionn: Finally. At least one person who can understand her. At least, she thinks. Katerina generally likes Fionn's presence, if mostly because he exudes a certain confidence in how unabashedly he goes about his business that she finds a bit charming. It does periodically give her headaches, though, but at this point it's so common that it may as well be Stockholm Syndrome -- which Katerina does genuinely wonder is the case sometimes.

Shanil: And Katerina thought that she was a real sourpuss...every night, before she goes to bed and out of sight from anyone, Katerina prays to Mayon and thanks the Lady above that Shanil is here so Katerina doesn't look like the most dour of the bunch. She's still somewhat careful to not make her opinion too well-known around her -- she'll probably get dissolved into shade by sunrise. Now, she heard a great quote somewhere she can't remember for the life of her, but Katerina feels it summarizes her feelings on Shanil perfectly: "I don't blame you for being you -- but you can't blame me for hating it".

Gerard: Gerard doesn't seem to talk much to Katerina -- whenever she makes a comment or tries telling a story, all he seems to do is politely nod and listen. She gets the impression that he doesn't like her very much, but as for why she's constantly drawn a hard conclusion to it. Maybe he's got something against elves, or magic-users, but Katerina can't put a finger right down on any of it.

Lucas: Oh Lucas, you strapping young lad. The romantic tale of the farmboy off to make a name for himself, a blank canvas, with only his wits, his will, and a dream. What Katerina needs to tell him about that is that you have to be asleep to think that believe a dream is real. She can't really fault the guy for having a dream and sticking with it to this point -- I mean, she was doing the same thing more or less at about his age. But he needs some more time to figure out how the world really works. And Katerina figures that either he'll get broken in after a few years and make a good fighter, or she's gonna need to go explain to his folks in a few months how their son is dead in a ditch somewhere in the Back-o-Beyonds of Thaln.

Fleuri: Probably the most dedicated of the whole lot of them. In spite of everything she knows about Fleuri, Katerina will admit that the man's still something of a mystery to her. He seems like someone that she should know more about, that she should think so much more -- or so much less -- of. But there's just a nothingness there about her final opinion on him that just ends up irking her in the most bizarre kind of way.

Serenity: Katerina is entirely convinced that there can only be one of two possible outcomes for this beef with Fanilly: The two are either going to end up as absolute best friends, right as rain, two peas in a pod. Or Serenity is going to be the main catalyst for some stupid-ass power struggle that boils over into a civil war in a couple of months. Given how seriously Serenity takes most things, if she gets signs it's the latter, Katerina's already decided that she's changing her name and getting as far away from this place as she humanly can. The sorceress doesn't have any problems with Serenity, but she's sure to keep out of the drama. Katerina was a teenage girl not too long ago -- and she knows that angry teenage girls are more cold-blooded than an orc shaman hopped up on blood-spice.

Morianne: Speaking of cold-blooded, what we have here is a Grade S, Board-Certified, Stone-Cold Bitch. And she doesn't even have the same excuse for being a teenager like some of the other members do. But she plays like an angel! So with all that in mind...Morianne is kind of just an average musician -- and Katerina's met quite the number. She'd probably be a bit nicer to Katerina if she stopped "seasoning" her food with cigarette ashes, but she started it, anyway.

Hope: Convinced that his name isn't actually "Hope". And if it is...let's just say that Katerina would think that would explain a few things. He's a nice enough fellow for her, and is pretty handy with summoning, too. Though, Katerina has her boundaries and needs her space from time to time -- he's come awfully close to interloping upon those boundaries, and he might find out the hard way that Katerina has her set of rules that most people seem to get. Hope won't win over any favors with her with this mother hen-ing.

[Rin]

• Name: Alodia Farohildis
• Age: 50, which comes as a surprise to most due to her magically slowed aging and her general demeanour.
• Gender: Female
• Race: Human
• Appearance: Stands at about 146cm/4'9"
• Personality: A good natured witch who tries her best to help others. Alodia is generally cheerful, although she finds it difficult to talk with others due to the vast majority of the social activity in her life being with a single old lady in the middle of the forest. Not to say that's she particularly shy, she just has trouble filtering her thoughts whenever she talks and often says more than she really should or something she really shouldn't have. There's rarely any actual malice behind what she says, it's just she doesn't really think properly before she says it. Despite witches still being the subject of taboos and prejudice, Alodia is proud to declare herself one and is quick to try and share Granny's words of wisdom... Even if she sometimes mangles what Granny actually said. Even though she's generally a good person, Alodia has a tendency to get a little overenthusiastic when it comes to destructive spells, and may need to be lectured on the concept of "collateral damage" at some point in the future.
• Brief Backstory: Alodia was an unwanted child.
  
  The full identities of her parents have been lost to time, but what is known about them is that they were minor nobles from the north of Thaln. The birth of a child should have been a time for celebration, but any joy to be had in her birth was immediately deflated as soon as her parents looked at their baby girl. Even a brief glance was enough for anyone to realize that she did not look at all like her father; those who had been serving her family for the past year would instead notice that her appearance was far more like that of a foreign diplomat who had been staying with them, one whose departure for his homeland was soon followed by her mother discovering she was pregnant. In order to prevent a scandal from breaking out, everyone present at the birth was ordered on pain of death to claim that she had been a stillbirth and that she would instead be raised in secrecy, never to leave the mansion's walls until something to do with her was figured out. For eight years, this state of affairs was kept in place, until the day of her eighth birthday arrived; her father, who had been incredibly distant from her since the moment of her birth, came to her chambers and asked her if she'd like to see the outside world. For a sheltered girl who had been denied her parents' affections, this was all she had ever dreamed of and without even thinking about it answered in the affirmative.
  
  Her father had decided that the best way to deal with her was to simply dispose of her, leaving her lost in the middle of a forest full of wolves and worse so he could at least claim that he wasn't the one that killed a child. Once he had led her there, he asked her to wait for him like a good daughter, before proceeding to head home with no intention of ever returning to her. It didn't take long for her to realize what was going on, but by that point she was still hopelessly lost and unable to find her father, and the only thing she could do was just sit and wait for the beasts of the forest to devour her.
  
  At least, that's what both she and her father had assumed would happen. Whilst he had heard rumours of a witch living in the forest in addition to the ravenous beasts, like everyone who knew of her he had heard she was a horribly grotesque and wickedly evil hag who loved nothing better than eating the flesh of children. Thankfully for the young girl, such tales were little more than the results of superstition and prejudice, for the woman who approached her was a kindly, grandmotherly woman who was disgusted to learn that someone had left a child in her forest to die. Without even a second thought, the witch took the young girl back to her home, and although it took a while for her to realize that the old woman wasn't going to eat her she eventually came to see her as her true family. "Granny", as she came to call her, renamed the girl "Alodia", for she felt her birthname had been tainted by the actions of her father, and due to the young girl's curiosity she soon began teaching her the secrets of witchcraft. Time passed and Alodia grew into a young woman, whilst Granny's age began to catch up to her. Whilst she could have used her magic to extend her already considerable lifespan even more, she had started to regret living so long, wishing to peacefully return to the earth rather than be corrupted by agelessness like some of her fellow witches had become. Despite her initial reluctance, Alodia eventually realized that it was Granny's right to choose her own fate, and that whilst her physical body would be gone her spirit would always be with her.
  
  It still took her a while to get over it, though.
  
  With Granny having left the mortal coil, Alodia decided that she wanted to at least make sure her name was remembered for the good witch she actually was, and thus began visiting the villages and towns around the forest. From this, she found out that her former family had long since fallen into ruin and obscurity... Not that she really cared what had happened to them, mind you. Soon she became known as the Witch of the Deep Forest, growing in popularity amongst the commoners for providing cheap medicines and taking on various oddjobs and monster slaying requests. However, many years living alone with Granny had led her to not realize when to stop talking about something. One thing Granny had passed down to her in addition to the teachings of witchcraft was her religious beliefs, an animistic system that claimed that the world was governed by elementals and spirits, and that even the so-called "gods" were nothing more than simply exceptionally powerful spirits; that mighty though they may be, they were no more divine than any other being in the world. What got her into trouble was that this included the goddesses Reon and Mayon, and her talking too much about this ended with her being arrested for heresy.
  
  Thankfully, the judge was somewhat lenient, and knew about Alodia's acts of charity amongst the community. However, this did not change the fact that she was not only a witch but her words (however clearly misguided they may have been) were still heresy. After much contemplation, it was decided that she would atone for her sin by providing magical aid to the Iron Rose Knights, since not only would it allow her to continue positively contributing to society but would also help teach her the truth about the goddesses. Thus, she is currently attached to the knights for the time being, even if some of the more religiously devout or superstitious knights aren't too keen on having a heretical witch hanging around the order.
• Equipment: Alodia possesses two magical artifacts inherited from Granny. The first of these, the Staff of Sureban, is a staff of blessed wood topped by the skull of a powerful demon; not only does Alodia use this as a catalyst for casting spells but it also amplifies her magical power. The second is an ancient tome of magic, The Malveillant Grimoire, which contains many powerful spells within its pages. However, not only are many of these spells too powerful for Alodia to properly control, but some of them are of the darkest magicks and cause horrifying and unspeakable things to happen to not only the target but also the caster themselves if they are not properly prepared. Due to Alodia's nature, she is very reluctant to even look at the pages detailing these spells.
• Skills: Alodia has studied witchcraft for several decades now, and whilst there's always something new to learn she's rather adept at it by this point. She is extremely skilled in the arts of medicine and potion making, and is able to easily identify plants and fungi that can be used in making various different concoctions. As for combat skills, Alodia shows great skill at magic utilizing the four elements of earth, fire, wind and water, and is able to weave any of them into powerful spells. However, she shows a notable (and somewhat alarming) preference for fire magic, or more specifically explosion magic; the way she sees it, if she has to use offensive magic, she'd rather make sure the target isn't getting back up again than hold back and risk letting them get away.

[VitaVitaAR]

@Rin: Accepted.

[VitaVitaAR]

We have unfortunately lost two players. As I result, I'm reopening the RP for two replacement applications.

[VahkiDane]

Hiya, new kid on the block, ran this by a few buddies already playing but hoping this guy's good, he's been in my head rent free.

Sergio della Gherardesca

Age: 24

Gender: Male

Race: Human

Appearance: Armoured I Unarmoured

Sergio stands at around 5'11", certainly taller than a lot of his compatriots, but his figure is more so enhanced by his armour, which tends to make him look more imposing. He has an interesting demeanour outside of combat that can't be masked by plate armour, an elegant and emotive style of body language that is still tinged with a trained and experienced sense of alertness. He also makes a point of keeping strong eye contact in conversation, even if armoured. His eyes are a fiery orange, and his hair a blazing red, and he tends to keep his hair long and in a bushy ponytail when not concealed in an arming cap. While not egoistic, Sergio takes pride in his looks, and this shows in his clear skin and well kept hair, where other Knights would have servants pretty them up, Sergio has always taken care of his appearance when out of combat. He has a few scars, but his most notable is a large dark red diamond shaped mark across his abdominal region, rarely seen due to his tendency to use battle wraps.

Personality: About as flowery in demeanour as he is practical in mind. Sergio is a warrior above all else, admiring strength and ingenuity, as well as honour. He also values presentation and appearance, believing a Knight’s duty is to look the part, as well as act it. Pious but by no means preachy, he follows the codes set by his religion and order but does not let them enslave him. Contrary to the more strictly defensive doctrine used by some Mayonite zealots, Sergio believes that the best way to protect the good from the evil is proactivity - put simply, the best defense is a good offense. This attitude and his appearance earned Gherardesca his title of “Knight of the Harvest Moon”, which he embraced in kind. However, his thirst to prove himself as a teenager left a chip on his shoulder that, whilst not visible from an onlooker, affects him in his downtime. He notably dislikes communal meals and prefers to eat alone.

Brief Backstory: Sergio della Gherardesca was born in Southwest Thaln, the first and only son of a family belonging to a minor noble house of the same name. He speaks little of his childhood, only with a fondness and sadness in his eyes when of his father. What is known is that he made an excellent impression on other noble families as a teenager, charming them with his humour and presence, but his mettle was truly tested during the War of the Red Flag, where he was called into action as a squire for a noble of a house of a much higher standing. During his first battle - inside a fort in which they were being besieged he was shocked to realize that the Knight he served was utterly ill equipped and trained, refusing to make plans of attack and resorting to playing passive - a decision that cost their forces heavy losses when the enemy began to cut their supply chains off. Half starving, Sergio disregarded his orders and assembled a sortie of men to raid the enemy camp, the troops in question gladly accepting an actual point of authority. The raid was a huge success, routing the camp and buying enough time to receive proper reinforcements. However, although the troops applauded Sergio’s lead, he was given no commendations for the battle, and to his utter disgust, his actions were credited to the Knight he served. Upset, but now emboldened by the knowledge of his purpose as a warrior, the young man fought tooth and nail during the war, often ignoring the wishes of his useless master and earning the love and admiration of the men he served, his natural charisma raising the morale of the troops massively.

The war forged a strong and fierce leader out of the growing man, and even though he was never awarded a Knighthood for his actions during any of his battles, at the end of the war, he was finally given some minor lands around his ancestral home, and became a landed Knight in turn. After the war he continued his efforts to protect the people that other hand-me-down nobles had failed to, and often led militia to destroy slaver rings or defend against Orc raiders, slowly but surely gaining a true reputation, and sometimes even working with Reonite Paladins to achieve the same goals.

A few years later, his great service to the Kingdom earned him the eye of the Iron Rose Knights, and he was extended a formal invitation, to which he gladly accepted, seeing it as the fruits of his hard work.

Equipment: Sergio wears plate armour into battle, which consists of dark silver metal and some leather elements to help with flexibility, as well as a red fabric tabard across his shoulder. He generally carries a dark silver heater shield, two painted crimson horizontal stripes across the front, with him along with his favoured weapon, his warpick/axe. One side is bladed while the other end is pointed, and he wields it in one hand along with his shield. As a backup he carries a rondel dagger for close quarters.

Skills: Excellent in both one-on-one and general skirmishes, and excels further with crushing weapons in particular. Generally he can use anything bladed, but two handed weapons pose a challenge for him, and he is wholly inexperienced with ranged weapons. He can also play piano proficiently.

[VitaVitaAR]

@VahkiDane: If he's natively from Thaln he probably wouldn't have an Italian-based name, as Thaln is intended to be similar to Germany culturally. So, he'd probably have a Talderian(quite a few characters have Talderian names due to setting history) or Thalnen name.

I do also want to stress Reonites attack Mayonites protect isn't a hard and fast rule, just a very generalized idea of how they operate, especially from the perspective of people outside of the clergy.

Finally, paladins are clergy knights. They're something you need to train to be, given the full authorities of the clergy and either capable of magic(specifically divine magic associated with the Church) themselves or at least wielding blessed weaponry. Even if they can't do the former, they've always got the latter.

Also, Mayonite colors are blue and white, so the Rose would be either blue or white accordingly.

[VahkiDane]

Edits made in turn, thanks in advance!

[VitaVitaAR]

@VahkiDane: Okay, think this is all cleaned up now, going to let a co-GM take a look just in case to make sure I didn't miss anything.

[HereComesTheSnow]

free my ninja

[The Otter]

italian emancipation

[VitaVitaAR]

@VahkiDane: Co-gms think he's good too, accepted.

[VahkiDane]

Thank ya kindly, boss

[The Otter]

Let's finally do this, shall we; enjoy my rambling.

Cecilia: Fionn had a bad experience once where one of the company archers almost shot him by mistake. This made him, perhaps, immediately biased against the fire support from the rear ranks from the beginning; but Cecilia's lack of anything that Fionn would recognize as devotion, discipline, conscientiousness, or the like didn't do her any favours there. At least she's a far better archer than he's dealt with in the past, which is progress of some sort. If it weren't for the fact that they're comrades, not just random acquaintances, he might appreciate her personality a bit more, as her general sense of humour is something he'd probably enjoy quite a bit more. He does have other reservations about her, however, beyond just his thoughts on her work ethic—while some might say (perhaps rightfully) that he is lacking in sense, Fionn strives to be very socially conscious and perceptive of the people around him, both for their moods, needs, and anything else that comes across, and he can recognize the purposeful omission that comes out when Cecilia talks about herself, and the uncertainty with which she carries herself. He just hasn't yet decided if he wants to reach out and see if she needs help with anything, or if he should just continue to keep an eye on her.

Renar: One of the first that Fionn met of the order, by virtue of their being inducted around the same time, Fionn found a fast camaraderie with Renar. He appreciates the man's abilities, both in purely physical prowess and also when it comes to his skill and his mind, viewing them all as equally valuable assets, and, at least when they fight together, he trusts Renar implicitly. Off the battlefield is a different matter. He fears that Renar may put too much stock in the circumstance of his birth, and has too harsh of a view of the world, either because of or in some relation to it. While he can't deny that Renar's ruthless practicality gets results, Fionn would rather see a bit more idealism and focus on proper conduct creep in than just a focus on pure effectiveness, if only for Renar's assured long-term wellbeing. Luckily, the friendly interactions he's had with Renar—alongside some of what he's observed with Renar interacting with others—gives him hope in that regard, and for that he's willing to call the man a friend.

Tyaethe: Fionn certainly respects Tyaethe, her skill, her abilities, and her place in the order—it's impossible not to—but the first feelings to come to his mind regarding her aren't just those of respect, but of sympathy, though he never intends to voice them outright, as he doubts it would go over well. Still, even with having been alive for barely over a tenth of the span the First and Youngest has seen, he's had his fair share of farewells to both friends, simple acquaintances, comrades, and the like, and has felt each one keenly, whether the parting itself was a good or a bad thing; Fionn is a firm believer that such things weigh on a person, and he can't imagine the weight that such has left on Tyaethe. As such, at least in that regard, he can understand her choice to seemingly hold all the rest at arm's length most of the time, though he feels that is the worse decision to make when faced with the situation she's in. One of his primary goals is to befriend her, to help warm her demeanour and raise her general opinion of each new group of knights, as he would rather she be able to keep finding and making connections beyond the captains, rather than let the faces slip on past and disappear along with each passing year.

Gerard: Surprisingly enough, for as friendly as he tries to be, through most of his tour of duty Fionn didn't particularly like most of the mercenaries he worked with. He respected them, certainly, and made sure to learn what he could, but the majority of them were either too cutthroat or too self-centered for him to want to get to know them as anything more than coworkers. A hazard, perhaps, of being a mercenary who aspired to greater than the next paycheck. It was fortuitous, then, that he met another former mercenary with similar ideals and goals. He quickly moved to pull Gerard into the center of his personal circle of acquaintances within the order, as their shared experiences, complimenting skills, and very similar outlooks and ideals made for a bedrock on which Fionn felt he could build a very solid friendship—not to mention that being able to bring in a bit more idealism to counter some of their more cynical fellows would be a good thing. Now, if he can manage to help Gerard relax, come out of his shell more, and stop thinking of himself as the completely expendable nigh-suicidal vanguard, he'll be very happy.

Lucas: Lucas doesn't worry Fionn...but Fionn worries about Lucas. While the younger man has his skills, they're ones that Fionn considers wholly unsuited to taking to the melee of a battle; and yet, whether it be pure youthful foolhardiness or some attempt to prove himself, Lucas seems intent to do so. While he appreciates the gymnast's humour and antics he would rather see Lucas's mind put to use for the benefit of the order, or use his skills in a different way than letting him rush into something that he has not been trained for or had experience in. Maybe he'll be able to convince Lucas of such, or get Gerard to do so. Hopefully before Renar or Serenity lose their patience entirely with Lucas.

Fanilly: To some extent, Fionn views their fresh-faced Knight-Captain in the way he might view a little sister, though he strives to remain careful not to let that lull him into undermining her authority where it counts. He has a great respect for tradition and the way it helps to establish identity, and in that regard fully supports Fanilly's place amongst the Iron Roses; there's enough of a wealth of knowledge and experience within the order that he doesn't fear her lack thereof. More important to him is keeping her protected and giving her the guidance and time needed to truly grow into her role and flourish, a view that he thinks quite a few of the others would be well-suited to take on and he isn't afraid to say as much if his opinion is ever asked—or if other opinions are being freely given. Much like with some of the others that he is closer to, he wants to help grow her confidence and surety, but he also thinks she is caught a bit too strongly between who she truly is and who she is expected to be, and as part of her growth wants to see her—help her, if able—find a way to combine both facets into a healthier, happier identity.

Serenity: Fionn's views on Serenity are similar to those on Fanilly, although Serenity worries him quite a bit more. Anybody who has as large a chip on their shoulder as she does—large even compared to Renar's, who sometimes makes Fionn wonder if he's carrying the entire block rather than just a chip—can't be doing entirely well, and he takes the extreme levels of independence she tries to cultivate as a symptom of the larger problem. To his mind, she seems to be caught worse in the tug of war between the self and the role than Fanilly even is, a growing identity almost entirely subsumed by the demands and expectations of her family; he would pity her, if it weren't for the fact that she is still, like most of the batch of knights he interacts with most often, quite young. He hopes that the distance from her family will help her grow into herself without as much effort needed to soften her edges as Renar might need—but he can't help but feel some trepidation seeing the two of them together. As it is, though, he's well aware that she has chosen to keep him a bit more distant, and perhaps use him if either of them make an effort to get closer to the other; if such should pass, he hopes he'll be able to turn the tables and make some progress. For now, he keeps a close eye on her interactions with Renar and Gerard, and gives her more leeway than he would the others with some of her comments about the captain, knowing that neither of them really had any opportunity to choose who they were forced to become.

Fleuri: If there's anybody in Thaln, or just past the borders, who hasn't heard tell of the Flower of the North or his equally-famous ancestor, Fionn will be amazed. More important to him than Fleuri's reputation, though, is the man's actual personality, and the faith and humility his rededication fostered in him. While Fionn would never deny that he's always willing to test himself against such a prominent tournament champion on the training yard, it's the way that Fleuri recognized his own faults and failings and moved to better himself—rather than simply give in—that makes him a respectable, even admirable figure, and the fact that Fleuri is so straight-forward to interact with and similar in his views only makes it all the better.

Sergio: Fionn appreciates the Knight of the Harvest moon for similar reasons to his appreciation of Fleuri; his skill, his devotion to action, and his honourable demeanour are all points that earn Fionn's respect, as well as Sergio's generally elegant, well-put-together demeanour. The knight is an easy one to be friendly with, and though their tools are different, their shared view on how best to serve Mayon makes it very easy for Fionn to count Sergio among those knights he's willing to put quite a bit of trust in. However, the way that Sergio draws away from the others during downtime, even to the point of taking meals entirely solitary, gives rise to some concern and makes him take pause from trying to bring Sergio too deep into his circle, at least until he can figure out a bit more of why Sergio pulls back and how best to address it. Fionn has too many other "projects" within the order to constantly add to the list.

Morianne: She likes the colour green, so she can't be all bad; beyond that, Fionn's heard worse than she's ever dished out, so her bluntness and wit don't bother him. She's not the first young elf he's met, and every single one seems to blend both the best and worst aspects of human youths and elders. He respects her magical abilities, though his musical tastes and hers don't seem to align, and is perfectly willing to be friendly with her—though given their differing specialities, their paths don't tend to cross much beyond the field. Perhaps it's better that way; from what he's gathered of her past, he'd be hard pressed to resist adding her to the list of people he specifically wants to watch out for and try to help when he's able.

Katerina: Finally, someone who speaks a civilized tongue! That alone merits appreciation from Fionn, even as much as he worries about Katerina's lungs. While she's certainly a bit more grim and standoffish than he is, he can certainly recognize aspects of their personalities that overlap quite a bit—though as with Morianne, their paths don't always cross much, given that their skills lie in utterly different areas. He hopes she's growing to appreciate her current position well and isn't too tied to her past—and if she ever asks and somehow hasn't yet, he'd likely suggest cutting her mother off, just for her own peace of mind.

She gets bonus points for being willing to make lamb far more often than most others he knows cook among the group.

Alodia: He appreciates her skills as well, more magic users rarely being a bad thing, and her cheery, helpful disposition. What he doesn't appreciate is the utterly disarming nature of how her magic has slowed her growth and aging, something he found much easier to accept with the literally-undead Tyaethe, and her penchant for overenthusiasm with the strength of her spells and the collateral damage that can cause. Collateral damage is never a good thing in his mind, and that's enough to make sure he keeps at a safe distance and not in the direct line of fire from Alodia. The accusations of heresy, however, are a non-issue to him; as much as he does care about his faith in the Godesses, Mayon in particular, he understands that Alodia was simply misguided, not actively malicious. To take persistent issue with her over that when it was seen fit to assign her to the Iron Roses as "penance" would be simply ridiculous.

Lein: If Fionn's relationship with Renar can be considered a bubble waiting to pop as a result of their differing views on chivalry and proper conduct, then his interactions with Lein may well be a powder keg. What makes it hard is that he does appreciate the young Hundi's mischievousness, humour, and sense of loyalty to the others on the group, as well as the skills he has to offer, bias against archers aside; he'd greatly appreciate if Lein and Cecilia could pull Lucas aside and induct the boy into their ranks and put his skills to use in their area, for example, and he likes Lein and Lucas's personalities for similar reasons. However, the arrogance that shines through at times, as well as the fact that it seems Lein almost purposefully strives to act, not only not as a stereotypical honourable Hundi, but just dishonourable in general, greatly rubs him the wrong way. He tries to ignore it as much as possible, but Fionn has little doubt that at some point, something will happen that brings things to a head between him and Lein, and hopefully it won't be an unsalvageable mess after all is said and done between them.

Fionn: He's based, clearly.

Fionn makes sure to remain well aware of both his strengths and his weaknesses, and how best to ameliorate those, either through work or through the enlistment of his various companions in the development of a sound strategy. As much as he makes a point to stay keyed into the wants, needs, strengths, and faults of his various companions, he's not so foolish as to think he's without his own; however, with himself as with the others, he's much more forgiving of faults of personality than he is faults of action or duty. Even then, one that progresses to the point of a fault, though he may never realize it as such, is how strong his drive to help or guide others is. Even as much as he starts to worry if he's bitten off more than he can chew with the company he now surrounds himself with, he feels so comfortable with himself and his place that he sees it almost as another duty to help them if he's able, and just to try and be a good example if not. As much as his personality can veer from one extreme to another very quickly, it still remains to be seen whether or not he can keep that under control enough to avoid causing more harm than good.

One thing to his credit, though, is that he doesn't harbour any doubts to his fitness as a member of the Iron Roses or as a new knight in general; he doesn't let it feed his ego or grow into any sort of foolhardy behaviour, but his confidence is very secure, both in himself and those he chooses to be confident in, if only he can make some of them see it.

[ArkmageddonCat]

I see this is still marked as ‘apply’, but I just wanted to check and see if that second reopened slot was indeed still available.

[VitaVitaAR]

@ArkmageddonCat: It is.

[ArkmageddonCat]

Not exactly happy with this, can't figure out why. Was getting reluctant to share, but I figured it'd be better to get some eyes on it before I pull out my hair over this fuggin dood.

Halgard Raddatz

Name: Halgard Raddatz
Age: 24
Gender: Male
Race: Human
Appearance:

Face

Armor

Personality:
As boisterous in battle as he is in a tavern, Halgard is an unassumingly easy-going individual that is truly difficult to put in a dour mood. He believes that joy should be had where it can be found, though he has come to learn that not everyone can appreciate such an outlook on life. Halgard is often drawn to whatever is most exciting or intriguing at the moment, a trait which often results in him partaking in reckless activities on and off of the battlefield without much thought given to safety. He is quick to celebrate victories, no matter how small, and is eager enough to engage with all manner of challenges presented to him.

There are those whom find his mannerisms to be disrespectful or distasteful, and others whom simply view him as an annoyance and a source of aggravation. Halgard is even considered by some to be a liability and a danger to those fighting beside him. Certainly, his foolhardy thinking and occasionally borderline suicidal disregard for his own safety have rubbed more people the wrong way than even his near maniacal joy and brash taunting in battle have. The way Halgard sees it, however, is that it is better for him to act in such a way as to draw the ire of his foes in order to protect his allies. Once someone has made a friend out of Halgard, it’s not a bond that will be broken lightly.

Brief Backstory:
Halgard was born of the union between Garran and Giana Raddatz - his father a noble from a minor house at the head of a merchant guild, and his mother an adept blacksmith whom had been afforded an opportunity to apprentice with a dwarven smith. As a young child, Halgard would watch his mother toil away and help her with any task she requested of him, and when he came of age Halgard joined his mother in the forge. He quite enjoyed the work. There was a certain magic to it. To take one thing and turn it into something else, something better. Then came the War of the Red Flag.

Halgard had, as any child, grown up hearing stories of great heroes of war. Stories that likened those wars to crucibles of the forge, and those heroes to ores for smelting into weapons of legendary order. He wanted to become something greater than he believed he was, and he believed that joining the war would accomplish this. His parents, however, did not view things the same way. They forbade Halgard from marching off to war, reasoning that they had important enough jobs to fulfill and that they needed their son to stay and help with the increased demand at the smithy. Halgard insisted he be allowed to fight, and eventually the two parties came to a compromise - he would help out at the forge and accompany the shipments of weapons and armor as a caravan guard. Fine. It wouldn’t be the crucible he expected, but Halgard figured that maybe he could still get lucky and get to see some proper action.

One day that dark little desire of his was fully realized. The caravan that Halgard was with got attacked in an ambush orchestrated by rebel soldiers, and plenty of blood was shed on both sides. The other members of the caravan would later recount that Halgard disregarded orders, and several would blame his recklessness for a few of the casualties and injuries suffered on their part. All Halgard can remember is the rush. That and, somehow, he had resorted to using his ‘lucky’ smithing hammer as a weapon. From that day forth, though, he never again considered it ‘lucky’ to see battle. Instead, he considered himself to hold luck’s favor, and sought to protect others by using himself as a shield.

By the war’s end, Halgard’s parents had arranged for him to study under an arcane blacksmith, hoping that in learning the art of rune smithing their son might forget about his more dangerous urges to fight. The training went well enough, despite several hiccups. Halgard’s master remarked that he was overeager and hasty, but surprisingly competent at his core despite his shortcomings. After a few months, though, it wasn’t enough for Halgard to be content with. He joined up with a local mercenary band for some side work and excitement, but was ultimately and primarily tasked with maintaining their gear as assistant to their quartermaster. Halgard did still see the occasional battle, and collected souvenirs from fallen foes, but for the most part he didn’t partake of too much fighting. Just enough to keep his limited combat training fresh in mind.

Halgard’s stint with the mercenary band would soon come to an end, however, when he tried to experiment with arcane smithing at their camp. The process backfired and ended up exploding, injuring quite a few people and giving Halgard a nice scar across his cheek. Despite being forced out of the mercenaries and receiving a good scolding from his smithing master, the event only seemed to strengthen Halgard’s resolve to be a shield for others. He expressed this desire to his master and, after some reluctance, she suggested he consider joining the Knights of the Iron Rose. She could refer him, of course, but only if he took his apprenticeship in arcane smithing more seriously and trained with a ‘proper’ combat instructor, for he would also need to accomplish a worthy task. Halgard agreed.

A few years on and Halgard caught wind of his old mercenary group preparing to move against a suspected bandit hideout. If the rumors were correct, then the hideout belonged to the “Red Reavers” - whom were led by a man that called himself the “Butcher Baron”. These cravens had been ambushing travelers and caravans traveling through the area for months, with increasing frequency and severity. The Butcher Baron started out just slaughtering the horses and livestock, but then he moved on to butchering their victims at random. By now, he would rarely leave any witnesses and was suspected of cannibalism, as well as of possibly encouraging it, and his men were becoming bolder and more daring by the day. Halgard rushed to meet with his old band before they set out, requesting to join them as a fighter and offering them some weapons and armor bearing minor enchantments - longer lasting sharpness, lighter weight, increased durability, and the like - in return. They accepted, hesitantly, and together they travelled to the hideout.

The ensuing battle was a bloody one, as the Red Reavers wielded cleaver-like swords and a manner of other chopping and hacking implements. It would’ve been far worse, though, had the mercenary forces not been better equipped than that band of thugs preying upon the unarmored. During the fighting, the mercenary captain was ambushed by the Butcher Baron and became separated. Halgard did his best to reach him, just barely managing to save the man’s life and finishing off the Butcher Baron alone. The captain had been seriously injured, but according to the healers would make a nearly full recovery. Satisfied with the knowledge he had saved the captain’s life and put an end to a rising threat, Halgard pressed on.

Equipment:
Eisenhaut armor: Slightly lighter and more resilient armor.
Wall Shield: A scutum-type shield that can magically expand to the size of a tower shield and be placed down like a pavise.
Trick Hammer: A one-handed warhammer with a warpick spike on the back of the head, and a haft that can be magically extended to transform the weapon into a two-handed maul.
Additional gear: His ‘lucky’ smithing hammer and a rune etching chisel, a few medallions and trinkets of felled enemies, and a dozen or so failed or incomplete projects.

Skills:
Generally proficient with one and two handed weapons, though certainly not extraordinary by any means. He is passable with a crossbow but struggles with traditional bows, and sneaking, roguery, or anything requiring stealth or tactfulness are out of the question.

Halgard is trained in both mundane and arcane smithing, allowing him to create regular weapons and armor as well as etch runes to make enchanted ones. The process of rune etching is prone to various extents of failure, however. It may take a decade or more before Halgard is able to avoid such complications, but for now his rate of success is at a level considered to be acceptable - that being roughly about half of his attempts.

[ERode]

Ah, I see why you’re not happy with this.

It’s because you didn’t make him into a beeg lady. ;3

[ArkmageddonCat]

I think making him a beeg lady would’ve been the right call.

But instead I removed the force magic stuff I tried to tack on and I feel a bit better about him, now.

[HereComesTheSnow]

It’s still not too late

[VitaVitaAR]

@ArkmageddonCat: Hey sorry about the delay I'll handle this in a bit.