Agent B52

The Aesteria Chronicles (Fantasy Adventure, Steampunk Elements)

Appearance:


Name: Sofia Lost
Age: 19
Guild Band: Applicant Red Hawk

Archtype: Boisterous Bruiser

Backstory: Tel Avon, oh how the glorious have fallen. One of the first cities in the path of the Varisie Empire. A city of bright lights and low restrictions, it was a hub of commerce and more prominently vice. Everything was available here, for a price. However as the ruling families found to their detriment, gold is not a good defence against siege engines.

Plenty of noble scions fled the city in wake of the conquest as they sought to escape the new, stifling imperial rule. As a rule, they are blowhards with little to no concept of consequences, passable combat skills and no experience with the true hardships of the world.

Fortunately, this is not a story about them.

Tucked away in an alley near the largest barracks of Tel Avon there used to be a small Zehist temple. Here, the armour of the Unknown Soldier was kept, the material form of all those of Avon who fell unburied and unremembered on far away fields. A conglomerate spirit formed in the distant past, before Tel Avon was even Tel Avon.

It was here Sofia was ‘born’ for want of a better word. The specifics are lost to time, fire, and a really really big explosion. It is presumed that Sofia was a new priestess of the Shrine. Or perhaps a random worshipper. She does not know. What she does know is that she somehow found herself in a crater where the temple once stood, donned in strange metal plate, the neighbourhood on fire and chaos in her head. Somewhat understandably, she ran away. She ran until she no longer could. That took her about two days to her surprise, a feat she was fairly certain she was previously not capable of.

While she rested and meditated, she was able to establish some coherent timeline for herself. For some reason, the Unknown Soldier and herself had rushed into a pact. Bound without even the barest of preparations in place her own spirit and that of the Unknown Soldier mixed in a maelstrom of thought. Almost nothing of Sofia’s original memories remain as thousands of years of soldiering experience was forced through her mind. The spirit did not come out unscathed either. What was once a synchronised harmony has become distorted, shattered and incomplete. A diminished shadow of it’s former self, albeit with still very potent capabilities.

It was at this point that a band from the Guild found her. Forlornly staring into a stream, lost in thought. Largely through the efforts of the friendly and boisterous Red Hawk member known as Fornston, Sofia started to find her centre once more. With a need for murder, a stable income, and information she joined with the Guild as soon as the group reached civilisation once more.

For the moment her goals are somewhat vague as she is still piecing together what happened exactly that fateful night she and the Unknown Soldier bonded. She knows that the armour is incomplete as well, and wants to find out where the remaining pieces went.

Skills and Abilities:
Archaic Weapon Proficiency: Due to the failed binding, enough thoughts and memories were shunted into her brain to cause it to metaphorically leak out of her ears. This came with some perks too. For one, Sofia is proficient with any weapon invented roughly a century before. However she has trouble with more modern weaponry, though it remains unclear why exactly.

"I Cast Fist!": Sofia utilises a mixture of a vast array of different styles based on the thousands of years of experience that blasted her mind. However, these skills were honed by bodies not her own and as such she occasionally trips up, downgrading her to a ‘mere’ expert rather than a grand master.

Diamond Will: Sofia, now that she has her centre again, has a burning will that could put a gargantuan to shame. It is suspected to be the reason why Sofia was selected by the Unknown Soldier in the first place. It is confirmed to be the reason she even remembers her name and why she is frankly ridiculously resistant to mental effects.

Rookie Pilot: Sofia is still training with piloting, in order to meet the requirements to become a proper Red Hawk. While theoretically capable, she needs to gain more practical experience.

Equipment: Sofia usually wears the armour of the Unknown Soldier under a cheap white cloak. When it is not active, the armour reverts to a worn leather armour with a black undersuit serving as extra padding. When not at work, Sofia prefers to arm herself solely with a staff and a set of daggers strapped to her hip. For adventures, she comes more prepared. Slung over one shoulder is a quiver with a short yew flatbow, over the other a bag with common travel supplies. At her hip rests a plain steel longsword.

Spirits:

The Unknown Soldier

Appearance: It resembles a worn leather armour in its inactive form, you can see it in Sofia’s normal picture as the black underneath the robe. Active form currently looks like this, assuming no form changing special features are active:


When not worn:


Name: The Unknown Soldier

Age: The true age of the Unknown Soldier is lost to time. Supposedly the original is the spirit of some fellow called Mmugh from over 10000 years ago.

Backstory: An amalgamation of the spirits of soldiers lost unburied and unremembered. It rested in a small out of the way shrine in the city of Tel Avon in the physical form of plain worn leather body armour. Normally the Unknown Soldier only bonded with warriors worthy and willing to bury the bones of the lost, and only when a solid lead is uncovered on their whereabouts. Otherwise the armour rested and dispensed advice based on the collective memories of thousands of lost souls. The Unknown Soldier was universally well liked among the military of Tel Avon because of the military adages and pearls of wisdom it would frequently dispense to those who sought it’s council. It was a constant thorn in the eye of the Church of Aer, as they believed only unworthy dead spirits would linger in this world rather than seek salvation in the next. Thus lingering spirits like the Unknown Soldier were actively leading people away from the light by their very existence. Fast forward to the time of invasion and sacking of the city, the Unknown Soldier like any proper squaddie looked out to save its own hide first and foremost. With the temple on fire and none of the preparations for a proper binding in place, the Unknown Soldier bound itself to Sofia in a messy rush job that left the both of them a thorough wreck of their former selves.

Skills and Abilities:
Adopt Adapt Improve: The primary and most powerful ability of the Unknown Soldier. Supposedly the motto of a long dead order of knights, the name refers to the Unknown Soldier’s ability to mold features of a simple spirit and adapt them in a way useful to it’s wearer.It can only have one special feature active at any given time. To adopt new features, the Unknown Soldier needs a spirit to hold still for anything between a few moments to several hours, depending on how much it resists, how powerful it is, the strength of it’s will and how much power the Soldier wants to drain for it's new feature.
Current special features:

• Maximum Speed: Enables Sofia to catch arrows, outrun thoroughbred race horses and grab that last piece of cake.


• Maximum Strength: Boosts strength by a massive degree, it allows Sofia to pick up and throw fully laden horse carts (horse included), benchpress small airships, and generally makes her Stronger Than You.


• Maximum Armour: Encases Sofia in a thick layer of granite-like material that does not impede movement. However weight increases proportionally. This feature cannot be maintained for longer than five minutes as it is airtight and comes with a limited supply of internal oxygen.


• Maximum Bird: Turns her arms into wing like airfoils and her legs into swallow tail like projections. She has no means for thrust but she can glide well enough to ride the summer thermals. She can also function as a parachute for one person hanging or sitting on her midriff.


• Maximum Fire: Sets Sofia’s fists and feet on fire. Said fire does not harm her, however it ignites anything she punches or kicks alight with non-magical fire.

Composite Warrior: The Unknown Soldier functions at the peak of human ability and adds these capabilities to it’s wearer no matter his or her stature. Note that it adds to the baseline of the wearer rather than bringing it up to a specified point, hence a trained, athletic person would have more benefit from the Unknown Soldier compared to a fat scholar.

Heavy Metal: In active state the Unknown Soldier serves as steel full plate armour, even if the helmet appears to be missing.

The Aesteria Chronicles (Fantasy Adventure, Steampunk Elements)

It is 1 am here, and I am only halfway done. I am also weak and need sleep.