“I know that you are scared, my new brothers and sisters. You have been sent here as what you perceive to be a punishment. But the only true punishment there is in life is standing before Him and confessing that your flesh, your mind and your very soul were too weak. That you turned away from His unending love. See this as what it truly is. A chance to repent. A chance to break the chains of the mortal life and the vices that bind you to it.
At Heaven's command we will remove the rotten fruits of His creation that chose a blink of indulgence over an eternity of paradise.
You knelt down as outcasts. Rise as knights.”
Name: Serra Moris
Race: Angel (Aster)
Class: Master Artificer
Age: 31
Gender: Female
Realm Name: Order of the Knights of Our repentant Lady of the Eclipse/House Moris
Realm Info:
“We reap what we have sown.” - Motto of the Order
A knightly order which has been given dominion over a small island. As the order's grand master is always provided by the Moris family, its civilian population almost completely consist of vassals of the house. While the order consists entirely of angels human vassals are not unheard of, though belief in the one true god is necessary. It is located on one of the bigger-sized islands of the Fricannian archipelago, Melithes. Due to being chosen for its ease of being fortified the island has mostly cliffy coasts and an uneven inland with a lot of hills. Road construction had been difficult but doable, but most of its lands is used for agrarian purposes, concentrating most of its population in its capitol and the surrounding monasteries. The capitol, Azuras, is a heavily fortified harbor city (think Valetta
http://www.cc-advocates.com/images/officelocation/fortifications%20aerial.jpg ).
It's presence in the archipelago is often seen as an affront by the demonic and devilish nations living there, due to the history of the order. Even among angelic nations the continued existence of the order is a point of contention and diplomatic efforts disband the order or at least allow stricter control of its policies and activities are called for rather regularly, though the high council has not forgotten the debt it owes to the much maligned organization. Nowadays however the glory days of the order are over and it acts as a sort of penal colony for other angelic nations, the same that criticize its continued existence.
There are rumors that the order plans to further expand its operations in the archipelago, not content with its current state.
Ranking in the order follows a simple pattern:
At the top stands the Grand Master, Serra Moris. She answers directly to the High Council of Canaan, though due to the nature of the order a degree of autonomy is possible.
After this the other four Grand ranks follow. The Grand Commander who administrates most of the military. The Grand Samaritan who administrates the healers. The Seneschal, a member of House Moris who is, beyond this title, not involved in the order (and thus not even initiated) and rules over the financial and land distribution and the Grand Spymaster tasked with gathering intelligence, inside and outside of the order.
Below this are the Knight Chaplains for the healers, the Knight Marshals under the Grand Commander and the Knight Listeners of the intelligence. No personnel of the order per se acts under the Seneschal, but all businessmen, landowners and peasants have to answer to their inquiry and pay their taxes.
These lead groups consisting of regular Knights of differing ranks being trained in their respective fields. Knights adopt a new name after their initiation is complete, to mark a difference between their former and their current life.
At the lowest level of the hierarchy stand the initiates. Initiates are usually criminals of angel nations that have been sent to the other to repent for their transgressions, and through a harrowing series of training and initiation rituals they are steeled for the tasks to come. The fact that lowly criminals or even traitors are awarded knightly status is often source of discontent, and thus it is rare to hear an angel of another nation formally address a member of the Ecliptic Knights (as they are known in common parlance) with Sir or Madam. It is however known that, once they have risen to the rank of a knight, the members of the order are law-abiding to the point of madness, and the order sports zero members that have fallen to demonic corruption or have otherwise betrayed the order. Further there are no numbers on how many people actually pass the initiation rituals, conservative estimates however put the numbers at 1/4th of all initiates.
However this is not the only source of disrespect. It is also the secrecy of the order and its initiation rituals having supposed demonic roots (though any member of the order could tell you that this is a complete misunderstanding and misinterpretation of its practices) among other things make it not exactly the most popular of angelic nations. Among Devils and Demons that still know of the, by now obscure, order they inspire fear and respect.
Realm History:
Nowadays the angels of Hevhay live in a relative peace and security, to the point were many might forget the horrible things they had brought upon themselves. By the very nature of the order this was not something that was possible for House Moris however.
During the Leviathan Wars extinction seemed like a realistic outcome to the High Council, and a series of desperate measures were taken. The alliance was certainly numerous, yes, but to focus that power had been one of the problems of the angels. Sure, angelic warriors were zealous, sometimes even fanatical and could thus be used for high risk operations, but the impact this had on morale was devastating. If self-sacrifice had to be asked so readily and was taken for granted could anybody truly believe in victory?
Like many times before, the Angels grew desperate. And desperation was the best time for opportunists.
A small-time lady, owner of maybe a few acres, Prima Moris, proposed something that the High Council could not ignore. After spending months of his time and most of his savings the woman could propose what she had in mind.
The training of a highly skilled commando unit that could be sacrificed in high-risk operations, adorned by magical armor of quality that would normally be out of the question for mass production, and wielding weapons that would strike fear in the hearts of their enemies.
And all she asked for was criminals. Worthless, unfit criminals, who no sane commander would even want in their army. Discipline was the highest value to any angel in the military and those that committed crime proved that they could not be trusted with another's life.
The Council had nothing to lose and accepted the proposal if she could succesfully demonstrate the effecitveness of a unit. 300 criminals were given to the woman, and a time span of 2 months to prepare everything she needed. These two months still are the time it takes for an initiate to ascend to knighthood in the modern version of the order.
100 survived the ordeal of training them, and what the Council saw shocked them.
Adorned in black pikemen armor, wearing uncomfortable-looking underclothing woven from goat hair they stood before them. Their flesh scarred by flagellation and some of them wore metal cilice around their thighs even for presentation before the council. Their eyes were bound by black blindfolds and their wings had been dyed black in pitch. In their hands were combat scythes with blades as black as the rest of their uniform.
The woman ordered one of them to speak. To this day it is one of the most famous (and few) first-hand accounts of the order about themselves, and often invoked by the order itself before battles to raise morale.
“We are His will, nothing else.
Our lives, of no worth.
Our bodies, his instrument.
Our past, oblivion.
Our wings deserve not to take in the light, nor do our eyes deserve to perceive it.
Should we fall by his grace, we thank him.
For it means that our suffering has ended and we shall live once again, by His side.
Until that day, we purge the errors of the mortal, as our initiation purged our own.
We are Aster Moranth. The Angels of Death.”
Nobody dared to speak. Only the woman raised her voice.
“Kill yourself.”
Without hesitation, the angel used his own combat scythe to behead himself right in the front of the council.
They were approved for exactly one operation. A port that had been taken by the demonic hordes would soon launch attacks towards tactically significant tactics. The unit of only 99 angels would sabotage the launch of the ships and kill as many demons as possible with no chance of return.
According to tales of the order 1000 demons were killed in the ensuring battle and over 50 ships were burned to ashes. Official estimates run lower but the effectiveness of the unit and the small investment needed swayed the council and approved of Moris' plans. The ambitious woman made it clear that she needed more political pull to create and administrate an army that could produce more of these warriors than the first sample batch, and so she was granted founding privileges of a knightly order. Her methods were not questioned as she saw them protected as tricks of trade, and none of her fanatical followers would dare to speak of them.
Her Knights became distinguished warriors in the fight against the demons, undertaking commando operations that slowed down the unstoppable advance of the demonic hordes. Her son would take over the order and be the first of the line of Moris to be formally initiated, while her daughter would take over the position of a Seneschal.
As the war raged on the desperation of the angels increased, and with that did the numbers of the Ecliptic Knights. At their high point the Ecliptic Knights had grown to the size of the army of a nation and only answered to the Seraph directly, forgoing communication with the High Council. However, at their darkest hour the demons advance ceased. Peace had begun. With the black-winged angels acting as an awful reminder to how far the angels were willing to go, they had to be done away with somehow, and in a way that acknowledged their role.
An island, a colony in Fricannia was chosen and formally gifted to the order as their nation, far away from the homeland. Reinforcements were sent in prison ships, and trained according to the orders rules, prepared to fight for a war they would never see.
It was here that Serra Moris was born to the successor of the House, Kyria Moris, 31 years before the current happenings. Initiated like her mother she would grow to become the current Grand Master of the Order of Our repentant Lady of the Eclipse.
Background:
Serra was raised on the ideals of the order and absorbed them without question and with great thirst for more and more knowledge. Born blind like most members of House Moris, she had to depend on squires of the order to function in daily life. Her mother, Grand Master at the time of her birth, raised her as much as the rest of the order did. The strict discipline and absolute devotion to the one true God appealed to her originally lonely and reserved personality. Her initiation began with 15 years, and in a strange subversion of the usual process initiation had made her more open and interested in other people, and had turned her from a shy wallflower into a charismatic and well-spoken young girl. Since her birth she had great reverence for the methods and legendary members and leaders of the order. For her, the prospect of overtaking the order was a fulfillment of her greatest dreams.
However, the order being only a shadow of its former state put a dampener on her enthusiasm. Being raised alongside the knights who spoke oaths of honorable death in combat while dying of training accidents of old age made her strive for a higher purpose. To grant them their wish and their absolution would become her new goal. As her mother died 2 years ago that wish became stronger to the point of fanaticism. After all, her mother did not go down in the glory of battle as the oaths made her promise, but rather died of a common disease. To respect his daughter's status as Grandmaster and to not clash filial piety with rank inside the order her father retired from his rank as Seneschal and prepared her younger sister for the post.
Her first acts after the rites to recognize her as Grand Master were re-militarization of the order, especially in the naval forces sector and increased diplomatic contacts with the homeland with the eventual end-goal of having the knights only answer to the Seraph directly in the future. She had no illusions about the angels disregard of Fricannia, but she would make them care, sooner or later. She would raise the banners of heaven across its entire span. She would put a wharf on every island. She would have the population work day in, day out to create an armada so big it would redirect the currents of the sea.
And with it she would drive a stake through the heart of the demons and devils alike, cleansing this world for good. Hymns would be written about the knights again, and those that knew of the black-winged angels would speak of them again, in fear, respect and reverence.
Personality:
If she would think back before her time of initiation Serra would probably be unable to answer how she was like back then. She had no purpose, was simply aimlessly drifting and preparing for a nebulous succession of an order she was told she would really care about. The ideas of the angelic faith appealed to her, but some rumors and the appearance of the knights, even of her own mother scared her. The scarred flesh after mortification, the blindfolds and the blackened wings seemed like a horrifying distortion of the belief that talked about love to the one true God.
When the day of her initiation came she was almost ready to quit it all, to turn her back on the order and flee. But she did not.
What happened changed her.
The training was brutal. The pain of hot pitch running across her wings is to this day still fresh in her memory, as is the burning of her lungs and the ache of her muscles. And yet she felt what really could be achieved when the body was pushed to its limits. That the flesh that bound them to this world was nothing more than a weakness, an imperfect machine tempting the perfect soul residing inside. She sought more and more of this feeling of ecstasy, of trance, that came when her body was close to giving out, when it was deprived of what it needed and pushed beyond what it could achieve. When the flesh failed only the soul remained, and with that she came closer to perfection.
When she was only 18 she sought one of the most taxing trials of will the order had to offer. 60 days, in solitary confinement, with no food, only water. It was then when she was truly changed. It was then when she knew what her purpose in life was.
There was no sound. She never could see anyway, so the lack of light was no problem, even if it brought an angel natural unease. There was no taste in her mouth, and to intensify the conditions of the ritual she moved only in the rarest of cases.
After 55 days, God spoke to her.
She was absolutely sure, as much as she was that her mother talked to her once the ordeal had ended. It was something that, without a doubt happened, and it had happened to her for a reason. She was chosen for something greater.
Those that viewed the initiation and harsh training as a necessity for criminals did not truly understand. To reach the highest level of devotion, to truly forsake the passions of the flesh and live for the one true god there was no other way. The way of the order was the true one, and it had to be brought to all of creation. And this was her task. She would lay the foundation of the order. After all, all of House Moris' heirs had gone through the initiation, be they pure of heart or corrupt, and all of them were standout leaders, revered like true paragons for their peers. But to perfect creation was to rid it of its impurities, the cancer that spread across the world. The demonic and the devilish had to be brought to justice before she could spread the true gospel. It would be a test of her faith, to see if she was really fit. A task given to her by none other than the one true God himself.
Combining her being raised as a lady of high status, trained in speechcraft as much as she was in combat and empowered by zealous, fanatical devotion Serra is a peculiar individual. Her presence in a room is immediately felt as her natural charisma combines with her missionary intent and spirit. She is often seen as overly eager, but not without caution. Regardless her devotion to the cause often lets her seem inhuman and unapproachable, which is not helped by her smiling to the point of beaming whenever talking to somebody about anything related to the order or her faith. The same attitude also informs her approach to combat, however she tends to try to prevent bloodshed of non-demonic or devilish races and thus is often seen a bit more emotionally reserved in such situations. When fighting demonic or devilish troops however she reaches her boiling point, singing hymns or shouting litanies as she mows down the aggressor with righteous fury.
Appearance:
http://danbooru.donmai.us/posts/1551536
Usually wears the uniform of her order, black pikeman armor and a scythe. Even for diplomatic occasions the armor is never taken of. Contrary to most of her order she does not wear a blindfold as she was born blind, thus her eyes are seen as not being able to take in light.
HP: Hit Points. If they hit 0, the character is knocked out or otherwise incapacitated.
MP: Magic Points. Used for casting spells and using some special abilities. Complete depletion of magic may cause negative effects on stats.
STR: 25
DEF: 15
MGI: 20
MDEF: 15
AGI: 25
EVA: 30
Perks:
Chosen by Light [Angel Perk]
This character is one of the ‘Aster’, the ancient race of Light. The element of Light shall not harm them, and they are granted the gift of magic and flight. United as one race, they fight together for the greater cause that drives them, and no amount of stress may divert them from their righteous drive.
[Increases MGI, MDEF and a chosen stat (AGI) at the moment of character creation.]
[Angel Body: 75% Damage Reduction against light-based attacks and immunity to light-based status effects. However, takes 25% more damage from dark-based attacks.]
[Angel Flight: Allows flight. Grants immunity against (most) melee attacks if flying high enough, but can be forced out of flight if wings suffer enough damage.]
[Angel Discipline: Increases Discipline by 5 if commanding an Angel unit. Increases all stats by 2 when fighting alongside other angels against a single target.]
[Light Mastery: Creates two slots that can be turned into techniques or spells based on the use of the Light Element. Creates one slot of a similar nature that can be turned into an army-scale spell or technique.]
[Ancient Technology: Reduces the cost of increasing the Research stat by 1 point. Can’t go below 1 in cost.]
[Tuba Mirum] – Angel Army Spell Slot
Serra begins to chant an angelic hymn that lifts the spirits of her comrades. It grants upon them an ancient blessing of light, wrapping them in a protective coat of it that protects against magical interference. If enough of these light-wrapped troops stand inside a magical field it will become more and more difficult to maintain and might collapse.
[Benedictus] – Angel Spell Slot
Serra uses the traditional healing technique of „searing“, channeling a massive amount of light magic into a small number of targets. It inflicts intense pain on her targets but purges them from any negative effects like magical interference or poison. While her troops and other angels might be able to withstand the pain inflicted in this manner, other troops might temporarily be stunned. Causes damage to demonic and devilish units.
[Recordare] – Angel Spell Slot
Serra fancies herself a prophet from the one true God, and her belief is not entirely unfounded. Channels light into herself to grant herself a revelation from above, illuminating what could otherwise not be seen. Grants an instant vision of the near future.
Artificer:
[Increases the growth of two of the following stats: MGI, AGI. The two chosen stats see their upgrade cost reduced by 1 point (Min. Cost: 1).]
[Requiem] Master Artificer Perk + Artificer Army Equipment Slot
The traditional techniques of House Moris, first discovered by the founder of the order, Prima Moris it is a technique that most would call disturbing. Soul-forging.
It is the act of reshaping the very material foundation of an angelic body to produce a magical item and bind a soul to it for increased potency and strength. It is a sub-technique of light magic as the angelic body is receptive to it, allowing a fundamental reshaping of the body into the desired form. It is the reason for the order's more than 70% loss of recruits in training, as two-thirds of recruits are turned into sentient weapons and armor (called relics) that form a cohesive and remarkably efficient three man team with the body of one person. This technique allows the order to field single units that vastly outperform comparable units, however this comes at a massive cut to manpower. For every single combatant on the field, two people have to be sacrificed after all.
While it is a technique that might seem gruesome or even demonic, fundamentally it can only be employed by angelic warriors, after all it requires the subject of the transformation to be 100% willing to give up their life for the greater good.
Massively improves unit performance and adds two equipments to the army, but cuts manpower and reinforcements to 1/3rd. While it usually is used to create a close combat weapon and armor, multiple patterns are possible when Serra becomes more experienced.
[Lacrimosa] – Master Artificer Equipment Slot
A soul-forged amulet containing the soul of the first Great Samaritan of the order. It is a custom to fuse the body of a deceased Great Samaritan with the relic to keep its strength at its peak. It bestows a magical blessing upon the wearer that will automatically heal wounds and other ailments inflicted on them at a rapid pace. It is possible for the wielder to lay hands on someone else to temporarily transfer its healing properties to them. Further it is said to be especially effective against wounds or ailments inflicted by demonic or devilish sources.
[Lux Aeterna] – Master Artificer Equipment Slot
A relic forged out of the soul of the first Grand Commander. A black pikeman armor of excellent defensive parameters. It allows the “bending” of light in a radius around the user, rendering everything under the field invisible. The size of the field can be controlled to only envelop Serra herself and grant her longer-lasting, personal invisibility. It can also be used to explosively focus the light outward and create a blinding flash, however usage of this ability disables its invisibility usage for a while. It is a custom to reforge it with the body of deceased Grand Commanders.
[Requiem Aeternam] - Master Artificer Special
A relic forged out of the soul of Prima Moris. Legend has it that she performed the soul-forging herself, an act that is considered impossible by her successors. It is a scythe-blade usually wielded at the end of a pole, which is forged and reinforced from the bodies of deceased Grand Masters. Despite its bladed shape it is fundamentally not a weapon but a soul-forging conduit. It shares traits with other Requiem-pattern scythes, it allows Serra to perceive her surroundings and it is remarkably effective at the destruction of equipment. It cuts through most magical armor and protection as if it were paper. Its true strength however is the usage of its conduit powers on the battlefield. Contrary to the careful craft of soul-forging that is usually employed when creating equipment, the signature technique of the blade is rather crude. While soul-forging usually requires a consenting target, this technique does not.
As power is channeled into the combat scythe its blade grows larger and larger until it has reached its huge maximum length. After being swung it will forcefully soul-forge any unit it touches into a statue. Neither alive nor dead, these statues act as a reminder to the opposing army that what they are dealing with is someone empowered by the will of the Lord, and that there is only one way to face her. Drop your arms, and repent.
[Confutatis Maledictis] – Custom
While already a force of tremendous power when fighting against regular enemies, the fury of the Ecliptic Knights is unmatched when fighting demonic or devilish enemies. The orderly army moves more organically all of a sudden, reminiscent of a swarm of fish. It exploits every weakness present and coordination rises as commanders become meaningless. Hymns sung by every member of the army in unison fill the battlefield and strike fear into the hearts of those that fear nothing.
[Dies Irae] - Custom
Fielding a highly trained and specialized army the strength of shock-troop tactics, flanking maneuvers and other operations that require small teams is increased. Every member fielded is loyal to the utmost, full of zeal and knows how to accomplish the impossible objectives heaved on their shoulders. The wrath of god made flesh does not care for numbers.
Military Info:
Most of the military is composed of Knight Brothers, who are commanded in small units (consisting of 10 people usually). These answer to Knight Commanders, who in turn answer to Knight Marshals. Further a unit also usually carries a Knight Priest with them to perform healing rites. Wielding two pieces of soul-forged equipment and being trained to perfection, every single Knight Brother can be considered an elite unit.
Their standard (close combat) equipment consists of a combat scythe, pikemen armor and a blindfold. Sidearms are common but not issued per uniform.
Their scythe is soul-forged in the image of Requiem Aeternam, thus called Requiem-pattern. They can think and formulate plans and link themselves to their wielder, usually granting the wielder augmented processing capabilities regarding offensive maneuvers. They grant their blindfolded wielders perception by perceiving the “decay” of everything in the world as loss of light. Further they are able to destroy magical equipment, often easier than they do regular armor.
Their armor is fashioned after Lux Aeterna, thus called Lux-pattern. It allows not only good mobility as well as defense against magical and physical attacks, but also the ability to bend light around the user, rendering them invisible for a short time. Like their scythe-brethren they improve the defensive thinking of the user and allow fast and efficient reaction to enemy attacks.
Siege weaponry and unarmed ship crew are usually managed by vassals of House Moris. However any crew of them is usually also overseen by members of the Order when moving in enemy territory. While not employed at this moment siege weapon augmentation has been proven possible by other Grand Masters before Serra.
Commanders:
Seneschal Lucea Moris
http://danbooru.donmai.us/posts/1566259
Serra's younger sister. Somebody who does not see the Order with the same fervor as she does, but recognizes the necessity of her position for the sake of her ancestors. A very soft-spoken and reserved woman who talks gentle but is unshakable in her persistence. While she often questions her sisters motives she is very loyal and recognizes that her position is mostly administrative. Contrary to the members of the Order her wings were not dyed and are still white.
Grand Commander Danael
http://danbooru.donmai.us/posts/401475
A veteran Grand Commander who has overseen the training of many recruits and quite a number of mock and not-quite-so-mock battles. Almost always seen loudly screaming it seems his passion in life lies not in finding God himself but molding lowlifes into those that found Him. He is a brilliant tactician that has taught Serra as much as he could, and still an expert warrior. However, talking to him can be, due to his dominant personality and permanent bellowing, quite draining, so Serra prefers to enjoy his company in smaller doses.
Grand Samaritan Kinae
http://i.imgur.com/M5wNscC.jpg
Great-granddaughter of a man who committed a crime so atrocious his entire line was made the Order's property, from then until the end of times. He was an angel who expiremented with demon blood to engineer a terrible plague to wipe them all out. His results might have resulted in a catastrophe as he had decided to test his magical phial on the living object, but the madman could be stopped. It is said his line draws back to those fools of Kelvasteria that produced the scourge that is the Devils, but this might just be an attribution after the fact to make the man more of a monster.
His line has kept up at least the tradition of interests in the body of living beings. Kinae is an unusually jovial presence in the Order and enjoys her work as Grand Samaritan, overseeing training injuries and sickness of Order members. She is the inventor of the quickly usable battlefield healing technique called “searing” that most Knight Priests are taught in use. It is quite painful but remarkably effective. Some might say the fact that it inflicts so much pain is the reason Kinae loves her job as much as she does, but nobody would do so to her face. She loves teasing recruits, sometimes even older members and is in general a very unusual member, however her competence and unbroken loyalty make nobody doubt that she is the one most deserving of this post. Among the Order she is probably the only one who would be sad to see the Devil race go as one of their smaller nations brew her favorite brandy.
Originally Posted by Mooncake
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