"It really wasn't that special. I just got lucky, that's all."Rudolf von Bergliez
Age17 Born the 7th of Ethereal Moon.
Country of OriginAdrestian Empire
Social StandingNoble of House Bergliez
CrestMajor Crest of Noa
Rudolf's Crest imposes a subtle compulsion on observers to ignore him. He's not invisible, just easier to gloss over, especially for those that aren't specifically looking for him.
Starting ClassMonk
Weapon of ChoiceDark Magic
StrengthsReason, Faith
WeaknessesBrawl, Heavy Armor
Starting SpellsMiasma Δ, Heal, Swarm Z
PersonalityA scion of House Bergliez must be the pinnacle of battlefield achievement, unparalleled in bravery and skill; a warrior so powerful that no man, army, or monster may meet him in combat and prevail. Rudolf von Bergliez is none of these things. He's diminutive, easily discouraged, and wants nothing more than to suffer a mildly debilitating injury that renders him unable to ever fight again, but won't significantly hinder his day-to-day life. At least then he could abdicate his title in shame and wouldn't jeopardize the entire Empire with the aftermath of his failures. He'd be useless in any position in the Ministry of Military Affairs, let alone the battlefield; all of his alleged magical talent is an overrated farce that will surely be exposed any day now; and no, he doesn't know what 'impostor syndrome' means, so quit saying it.
Rudolf is generally incapable of internalizing praise or positive feedback. He believes any commentary on his ability comes from mindless platitude and supernatural mental influence, and that if people would only pay attention to him, they'd see he's an inept failure unworthy to bear his hereditary honors. Glaring self-esteem issues aside, he's typically polite and inoffensive, though he can be quite forward at times since his subtle hints often go unnoticed by others. He does genuinely enjoy attention, though he's wary of actively drawing it to himself as he thinks it would inevitably lead to his exposure as a fraud. Naturally, Rudolf's a bit of a cynic, though he's notably more optimistic about circumstances that don't involve his input in any way.
HistoryIt was deemed a testament to the strength of House Bergliez's blood and the favor of the Goddess that three of the Count's five children bore Crests. Such hubris must surely have been at fault when the Count's firstborn son grew up sickly and unsuited to the warfare in which his House was accustomed. A rational man would have named another child heir to the County, but Count Bergliez was never a man who reconsidered his choices once they had been made. Rudolf, much like the other Bergliez children, was trained in the arts of combat alongside a typical young noble's education. Rudolf rarely excelled in such activities, and was met with little encouragement even when he did accomplish something. His siblings received genuine, targetted compliments, but his achievements were met with polite ambiguity, and only if he explicitly asked. Only feats with tangible, physical results were met with anything different, usually surprise. Clearly, none of the other praise was sincere; they hadn't noticed a thing, overshadowed as he was by his siblings' prowess. Rudolf came to believe that he wasn't receiving attention because there was nothing noteworthy about him; he was only commended out of pity and respect for his position as the next count. Once he had a better grasp on how his ability worked, Rudolf was all but assured of this. How could he be congratulated when he was the opposite of everything the House stood for? He was no peerless soldier, his silhouette didn't cut an imposing inspiration to lesser men against the horizon; he was weak and frail and would perish the moment he engaged the enemy. The Imperial Army demanded not just a competent leader, but a figurehead that rallied and inspired levied soldier and distinguished knight alike. No pitiful weakling whose very existence was an afterthought to those that gazed upon him would do. The Ministry of Military Affairs should be in the hands of someone strong like his brother, or cunning like his sister, someone that wouldn't fail their nation in a time of strife.
Still, Count Bergliez refused to budge. If Rudolf couldn't master a weapon, he'd just have to be given alternative methods of attack. Favors were called in and practitioners of the dark arts from some of the Empire's most elite magic corps were hired as tutors for the boy. If the Count could not raise a master warrior to lead the front lines, he would raise a sorcerer-general to rain destruction from behind them. The boy took to the education swimmingly, finding it far more agreeable to his physique than swordplay. Unfortunately, Rudolf didn't quite see it that way. Unused to his tutors' genuine evaluation of his progress and the ease at which magical instruction came to him, he assumed he'd fluked somehow and passed himself off as some sort of magical prodigy. His Crest concealed his shortcomings from his instructors' scrutiny for now, but one day, surely, he'd reach the end of his luck and be exposed as a third-rate caster with fourth-rate spells. Nevertheless, Rudolf persevered in his studies, if only to try and live up to the lie everyone believed in. The genuine attention he was receiving was something he'd sorely lacked for most of his childhood, even if it was misguided and built on deceit. Hopefully once the truth came out, his father would see what a horrible person he was and pass him over for inheritance.
Unfortunately, it never came to pass. The plague took Rudolf's father and two of his siblings, one of whom was another Crestbearer. Quite frankly, the boy couldn't help but think his family would've been better off if he'd been one of the victims instead. Worse, no one had the nerve to contradict a dead man's wishes and dispute Rudolf's claim to the title. Any protests on his part were met with deaf ears and false reassurances that he would live up to the expectations set before him. His mother took over as Countess regent due to Rudolf's age, but in the interim, he was to be sent to Garreg Mach in preparation to inherit County Bergliez. The boy accepted, both because he had been given no other options and because such a prestigious institution would doubtlessly expose him as a fool unworthy to be count, and his family would have to reconsider their choice in heir.
Trivia- Rudolf is ambidextrous and knows how to wield a sword in his right or left hand, not that he's particularly skilled with either.
- Stands at 5'6", but generally appears shorter to most people due to his unimposing physique.
- His favorite food is magically-chilled orange slices, which his tutor would sometimes prepare as a treat.
- Rudolf's Crest only applies to visual observation; he's still quite capable of calling attention to himself with sound, though an oblivious onlooker may be at a momentary loss as to where the noise originated.
- Reading his body language can be difficult without focused scrutiny, as his Crest typically dissuades the eye from catching his subtle gestures.
- The Crest of Noa appears indistinguishable from the Crest of Macuil on a Hanneman machine or other means of Crest determination.
Member
Kronshi
Izurich
Xiro Zean
xxjessicaxx
Asura
Vesnic
Phase
Obscene Symphony
Digizel
AlteredTundra
