Crimson Paladin

Video Games: The General Discussion & Community Thread Number Two

store.steampowered.com/app/1873030/Wo…

ET is finally on steam, let's fucking goooooooooooooo

@Kuro

I was quite fond of Enemy Territory: Quake Wars, but I haven't played the Wolfenstein one.

Prophetiae Adventum: Envoys of the Pantheon

This is last-minute, but here's my submission

Sol Invictus!

Name: Sir Aurelian Asellius, The Last Knight of Nuniel

Race: Human
Age: 26
Envoy of: Sol
Description: |Armored| |Formal attire|
Alignment: Lawful Good

Skills:

Swordsman
Aurelian is a disciple of a Nuniel sword-and-shield school of swordsmanship. In contrast to his normally honorable behavior, this fighting style is ruthlessly pragmatic, using every inch of both the sword and shield, as well as the wielder's hands, as weapons.

Heavy Cavalry
Aurelian served as a heavy cavalryman in Nuniel's army and has become a talented equestrian and mounted combatant with either a sword and lance. He has enough tactical understanding to know the limitations of a heavy cavalry charge, and knows not to charge into a wall of spears or volleys of missile fire.

Sol's Magic
As a paladin of Sol, Aurelian is blessed with a small degree of divine magic linked to the sun god. He can heal minor wounds, burn away illness, summon a divine servant in the form of his old warhorse, and augment his weapon with fire.

Flaws:

Old-Fashioned Combatant
Aurelian clings to a the "old ways" of chivalric combat and thus hesitates to make use of ranged weapons such as bows or magiarms, or divine fire magic. If he wants to kill something, he will have to get up close.

Noble of Nuniel
The aristocracy of the Empire of Nuniel are, for good reason, quite unpopular with the other races, nations, or even the Empire's own lower-class citizens, and while Aurelian no longer has the love for his empire, he makes no efforts to hide his nature as a noble.

Deserter
The Empire does not take kindly to those who desert the military, and their military courts are unlikely to accept "technically I died so I'm released from service" or "I'm possessed by a divine servant and am technically a new person". As a noble, and as an Envoy who continues to use his host's real name, Aurelian's departure from military service will not go unnoticed.

Oath of Chivalry
Aurelian is bound by oath to uphold Sol's code of chivalry. He is compelled by his code to defend the innocent, keep his word, and treat both friend and foe with honor and courtesy, among other things. His code does not forbid him from employing nonverbal misdirection, however- tactical feints, sword-fighting techniques, and keeping his mouth shut when someone doesn't need to know something do not violate his code.

Background:

Aurelian Asellius was born to a noble family with a time-honored tradition of serving as knights of Nuniel. His family were long-time supporters of the Emperors and its able-bodied members were expected to serve in its military- anything less would be considered deeply shameful and would result in being disowned and disinherited. Aurelian did not question this duty, and from a young age was brought up to serve as a knight. Even at this point, however, it was evident that the future of the Empire's military laid not in noble knights, but in professional armies making use of new magical technologies currently being developed.

Aurelian, a squire at the time, began to be assailed by doubts and worries that becoming a knight was becoming less prestigious and less worthwhile. Even worse, he worried that perhaps he had wasted years of his life being trained for an obsolete role. He would overcome these concerns by finding faith in worship of Sol, where he was assured that the ways of chivalry were worth preserving. He dedicated himself to upholding the sun god's ideals, and began to walk the path of a holy paladin.

Upon being knighted, Aurelian enlisted in the Empire's military, determined to honor emperor and family. When Emperor Metiros Alland launched his invasion, Aurelian was at the front lines, battling against the forces of the Twin Kingdoms. While there was still a place for cavalry in the Empire's armies, it was was clear that his role in the battles were limited. With the newfound success of the Empire's invasion, made possible by armies of professional armies and fantastic magi-technology, it became a popular belief that the old chivalric ways were on their way out.

Initially, his relationship with the ordinary soldiers was strained, both because of their skepticism that he had any place on a battlefield, and because of the disdain for the lower classes ingrained in his noble upbringing. However, as time went by, as they lived and fought together, he learned to appreciate the low-born and non-human soldiers. Meanwhile, as Aurelian risked his life again and again to defend them, as he stabilized their wounds and purged their illnesses after the battles were over, they took a liking to him in return, and even gave him the endearing nickname "the last knight of Nuniel". The nickname wasn't literal- there were still other knights of Nuniel out there- but Aurelian was one of the few who still championed chivalric ideals.

Not everyone took a liking to Aurelian, however. The officers and other nobles scoffed at him associating with the lowly, expendable soldiers and the "outdated" morality that he constantly touted. Additionally, they did not appreciate him openly criticizing their tactics and their un-noble conduct. More than a few times, these squabbles nearly devolved into violence.

Aurelian's participation in the war would end with a large enemy counter-offensive on his position. Several officers were among those killed in the initial stage of the attack, and the remaining troops routed. Aurelian chose to stay behind and cover their retreat. He rode alone against the enemy, managing to push through a disorganized spear wall and charge directly at the enemy officer that appeared to be leading the attack. He never made it- his horse was felled by a barrage of arrows and he was surrounded and stabbed to death by spearmen. His only consolation was the hope that his attack had disrupted their momentum enough to allow his allies to escape and regroup.

Shortly after perishing, the Envoy of Sol descended and looked upon the fallen Aurelian, the last bastion of chivalry in the Empire. It beheld a foolish idealist who had sought to keep the sun god's ideals alive in a brutal, unjust war, even unto death. Was he even worthy of calling himself a paladin if he had knowingly and willingly participated in this terrible conflict, it pondered? Its ultimate conclusion was perhaps.

When the envoy rose to his feet, the battlefield was empty, the enemy having resumed its pursuit of his former allies. Fueled by his possessor's disgust of Nuniel's invasion, he summoned a divine doppelganger of his fallen horse and rode away, never to involve himself in this terrible war again.

Class & Gear:

Paladin
Aurelian is a holy warrior of the sun god, bound by an oath to uphold Sol's chivalric ideals. He is a skilled swordsman on foot, a skilled lancer on horseback, and has been blessed with some of Sol's magic. Among his powers include searing his foes with the power of the sun, minor spells of healing, and purging disease with fire.

Nuniel Plate Armor
Aurelian's full plate harness represents the apex of Nuniel's armor-smithing technology. In addition to providing fine physical protection, it is augmented to protect its wearer from arcane energies, and the cuirass in particular has been "proofed" against a magiarm carbine. The armor is adorned with the colors and iconography of Sol.

Paladin Mount
Aurelian was quite fond of his original horse which perished alongside him, and as a result, he now uses a paladin mount that takes the shape of his old horse.

Holy Arms
Aurelian's steel arming sword, lance, and shield are his primary weapons, both of which have been anointed with the blessings of Sol protecting them from being corrupted by rust or malign magic.

???

Prophetiae Adventum: Envoys of the Pantheon

@Click This We could both make Pegasus Knights, from two very different franchises.

Prophetiae Adventum: Envoys of the Pantheon

When I saw Pegasus Knights I was thinking of something completely different from Click and Frog. I was thinking more akin to Warhammer.

The Storm Cycle: Reclamation

Ethelred managed to spear one of the creatures on his lance and catch another beneath his mount's hooves. After charging through, he turned his horse around, and shook his lance to cast off the impaled Fomorian. He didn't have time to freeze his foe, but with such a large hole punched through such a comparatively small Fomorian, it probably wouldn't be walking away.

Ethelred's companions had joined the fray and struck at the Fomorians whom the Frozen Knight had missed. However, there was still one left, and it had decided to ignore the knights altogether in favor of attacking the child. Ethelred was aghast at this, that a creature would be so dedicated to inflicting pain and suffering on others that, upon being attacked and having their fellows killed just a few paces away, their only concern is trying to kill a child, with no sense of self-preservation. This Fomorian was clearly either extremely dedicated to its task of killing the child, or more likely, simply possessed by a mad, destructive depravity. In either case, it needed to be dealt with.

Ethelred galloped towards the Fomorian, swinging his lance like a sword at the Fomorian just as it prepared to strike the boy. He needed to kill or subdue the monster as quickly as possible, before it had the opportunity to hurt those children.

@Guy0fV4lor@Cu Chulainn@Rune_Alchemist

The Storm Cycle: Reclamation

It wasn't until after their meeting with the mayor that Ethelred had realized that Od was nowhere to be found. He hadn't had much concern for her, having assumed that she'd be fine. After all, with her martial skills and potent powers of healing, Ethelred was confident that Od would be able to handle herself against the Fomorians. Sadly, he was horribly wrong. During the battle, as far as Ethelred could piece together, Od must have been abducted by the Fomorians, no doubt to make use of her life-giving blood.

Ethelred wanted to go after her while the trail was still warm, hoping to catch them before her abductor could retreat back to whatever dark place they had crawled out of. However, their Reinhardt instead insisted on continuing their original mission. It didn't sit well with Ethelred to let the trail of her abduction go cold, but the queen had ordered him to follow Reinhardt's orders as if they were her own. Additionally, as much as Ethelred didn't like it, there was a cold logic in Reinhardt's course of action. It was very unlikely that Od's abductors would kill her, because she was worth far more to them alive. For now they needed to find Elnith and ensure that the destructive Fomorian that they were pursuing was neutralized before it could destroy another settlement.

As they left, they passed by another grim sight for Ethelred- the ruins of his family's castle. In the time that had passed since he had been thawed by Sorcha, Ethelred had only visited the site once before, prior to joining up with her. He had not set foot on the actual castle grounds since before he had been frozen, having at the time not been ready to face the discomfort of seeing the destruction up close. If it were not for the matters of both Od and Elnith's disappearances, and the urgency at which Reinhardt spurred the group on, Ethelred would have asked to have some time to walk among the ruins. Perhaps he would have the opportunity after the mission was complete.

The combined shock of losing Od and seeing his family's ruined castle had left Ethelred in a rather poor mood. Even with his helmet concealing his facial expressions, his mournful demeanor could be seen in the chilled but not frigid air surrounding him, the accompanying condensation almost akin to the shedding of tears. As they continued onward to their destination, Ethelred pondered on how they would break the news to Sorcha about losing Od. It was true that the life of a knight was a dangerous one and that they must be prepared to lose friends, but it was evident that Ethelred had not been mentally prepared for this particular possibility.

When they reached the burned village, it was largely what Ethelred had expected that they'd find. The entire settlement had been burned to the ground. Ghastly claw marks could be seen carved into the remains of some of the buildings, further evidence of the sheer violence that transpired here. Ethelred didn't anticipate finding any bodies aside from perhaps charred bones, but lying throughout the ruined town were the rotting, scorched corpses of Fomorians.

"Judging by the burns and state of decay, I'd say these Fomorians fell during the attack. I doubt that a village militia would have taken down even one of them, however," Ethelred spoke to the others, assessing the corpses. "I'd guess that this was Elnith's work."

Just then, Ethelred heard a scream coming from inside the ruined village. The Frozen Knight swiftly rode towards the source of the scream, where he found two human children surrounded by Fomorians. Most looked like the smaller variants that they had encountered on the road to Redwater Point, but one- possibly the leader- looked like the Fomorians that had attacked the town. From the look of everything, Ethelred figured that these children were probably from a neighboring village, trying to test their courage by visiting the site of the Fomorian attack. When he was a child, Ethelred was similarly adventurous. One of his childhood friends was the daughter of one of the family's housecarls, and had always insisted on playing the role of the young etheling's bodyguard whenever they snuck off to some place they shouldn't be. Fortunately, they never had the misfortune to find themselves in this much trouble.

Ethelred needed to act quickly to draw their attention. He charged towards the group of Fomorians, lance couched. He was aiming for the big one but would not pass up the opportunity to stab or trample any that were unfortunate enough to not get out of his path. He was certain that Marduk and Reinhardt would be close behind, ready to cut down any beasts that avoided the incoming lance, hooves, and horns.

@Cu Chulainn@Guy0fV4lor@Rune_Alchemist

The Storm Cycle: Reclamation

I see this elf's quite the charmer, Ethelred thought as he listened to the stranger's reply. He's right up there with that Unseelie I met the other day.

On the other hand, while Ethelred didn't like being casually insulted, there was a certain refreshing honesty in the elf's words. The fact that he was so blunt and devoid of tact suggested to the Frozen Knight that the elf was an honest sort, not used to leading others astray with honeyed words and false reassurances. Better a rude ruffian whom you knew where you stood with than a charismatic charmer whose motives and intentions were obscured behind diplomatic pleasantries.

There was also the matter of the reward that the mayor had offered. The mayor's impassive demeanor was strange to Ethelred- perhaps the man was simply numbed by grief or trauma, or perhaps he was just nigh unflappable. After all, back when Ethelred's family protected Redwater Point, it was important that the reeve overseeing the town was somebody that could remain calm even in dire situations. There was also the possibility, Ethelred worried, that the man was in great pain, either from the horror of the attack or perhaps having just lost a loved one.

"I'm afraid that I am bound by old oaths that prevent me from taking a material reward from you, good sir. Besides, I believe the town needs it far more than I," Ethelred replied to the man. By the ancient laws, the town was under his family's jurisdiction, thus it was improper to accept a reward for doing his sworn duty to protect it. The locals probably wouldn't see it that way, but Ethelred would not taint his conscience or credibility by taking what he'd consider to be an improper or discrediting act.

"However, I would be most grateful if you could provide us with information," he continued. "We're looking for a particular Fomorian with pitch-black skin and powers of fire, which we believe has attacked a number of villages. We're also looking for a knight named Elnith who was sent to stop it. She's not hard to miss- blonde hair, red eyes, wears black armor, and carries a large blood-red sword. Do you know anything about the possible whereabouts of either of these individuals?"

@Guy0fV4lor@Rune_Alchemist@Cu Chulainn

The Storm Cycle: Reclamation

Ethelred had only a moment to release his lance from the cyclops before it exploded, showering him and his horse with gore. His mount reared up in alarm and backed a few paces away, but the knight managed to maintain his seating, but fortunately the explosion didn't seem hurt them.

It looks like he was trying to use some sort of magic, and the elf's attack probably caused it to misfire, the knight guessed based on his limited knowledge of magic, as he surveyed the carnage. While he could normally see through his crystalline helmet, his vision was presently hindered by numerous flecks of gore now stuck and partially frozen to his helmet. Nonetheless, he was able to see well enough to notice that most importantly, the other two combatants were unharmed. He also couldn't help but notice the grotesque, unnatural state of the cyclops' insides.

Those are...hands? Hands, emerging from inside of the corpse? Ethelred observed, aghast at the revelation of just how wrong this thing was. It was a disturbing reminder of just how truly inhuman the Fomorians were- as malformed-looking as they were on the outside, what lay inside was even more bizarre. The mysterious elf was clearly just as curious, cutting open the fallen foe's neck to get a better look at the limbs within.

According to the elf, the cyclops was formed from many other beings, as evidenced by the hands and arms. Ethelred snarled at such a disgusting concept, to combine many beings into something like this, and even moreso if the victims were unwilling. It made him wonder, however, how many more of these things were out there. What if they were actively making these out of the inhabitants of the villages that were being attacked?

If they're making these things out of the villagers, it's all the more reason we need to put them down.

"You need not worry about us getting in your way, stranger," he assured the elf. "We are knights of Queen Sorcha, and have come here to put an end to the Fomorian attacks. My name is Ethelred. I apologize for not showing you my face, but ever since I was cursed by an Unseelie, this armor of mine has become impossible to remove."

He would leave the particulars of joining their forces to Reinhardt, not wishing to undermine his leader's authority.

"Speaking of which, I don't suppose you've crossed paths with a certain knightess passing through here, have you?" he asked the elf. "Blonde hair, red eyes, black armor of similar coverage to yours, bright red sword?"

@Guy0fV4lor@Cu Chulainn

The Storm Cycle: Reclamation

Ethelred was a bit surprised that the Fomorian replied to his taunts. It wasn't exactly fluent in its speech but it was at least smart enough to recognize the knight's unique powers and think of a mundane utility out of it. Ethelred wasn't fazed by its threats, although he was a bit peeved that he didn't have any breathing room to fire back with a retort.

As the Fomorian moved to strike at Ethelred, something struck its arm from behind, restraining it. It took just a moment for the ice knight to see exactly what had happened- Reinhardt had taken advantage of the distraction to toss a harpoon into the cyclops' arm. This gave Ethelred an opportune moment to strike, but he would still have to heed its other arm- injured as it was, their massive opponent had demonstrated that the limb was still quite functional.

As Ethelred assessed where to strike, there was a flash of light from behind the cyclops. Looking up, he saw the elf stranger from before atop a market stall and preparing a radiant spear. Evidently the elf was no worse for wear from the rough manhandling that the Fomorian had subjected it to, and he was ready to strike what Ethelred suspected was intended to be a death blow.

With the Fomorian's attention focused on the two knights, the elf may very well be able to pull it off, but only if the blow landed. Committing to make it happen, and to take some pressure off of Reinhardt, Ethelred spurred his horse forward, seeking to drive his lance into the orc's free arm. Assuming it struck flesh, the knight would channel his freezing powers through the polearm to freeze it firmly to the wound it had made. His goal was to restrain the monster's other arm, to help hold it in place alongside Reinhardt for the elf's attack. He wasn't sure how long he'd be able to hold it, but if the elf's aim was true, they only needed a moment.

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Fantasy Knight RP

Fleuri Jodeau

"You're probably right, we probably wouldn't have gotten anything out of him" Fleuri spoke to Kherun as he looked down at the corpse. "I apologize for my words, this ordeal has been quite frustrating." There was no excuse for being unwelcoming to one of the fellow members of the order in this manner. In the future, Fleuri would need to remember to mind himself even in times of stress.

Fleuri glanced at Fanilly and Veileena, still holding conversation. As annoyed as Fleuri was that there were still many questions that remained unanswered, they at least had some idea of what was going on, and they now had several leads to pursue. Given the urgent nature of this situation, however, Fleuri figured that this would be going straight to the crown, and it'd be up to them to determine exactly what role the Iron Roses would continue to play. He had no doubt, however, that they would be employed in this matter in some capacity- the kingdom could not afford to hold back as long as a potentially apocalyptic artifact was in the wrong hands.

Fleuri was ready to head back home. It had been a long day, and the sooner the crown received word of the Iron Roses' discoveries, the better. He remained silent, waiting for Fanilly and Tyaethe to finish questioning the Cal girl.

@Martian