LUCETI: Application
Mun
Character
Name: Aether Brandier
Gender: Male
Age: Physical and mental: 19. Chronological: unknown.
Wing Color: Blue with white highlights.
Physical Appearance:
Ether appears as a man in his late teens, a little taller than six feet. He has the slim build of a swimmer or an acrobat, with narrow shoulders, pronounced muscles and powerful limbs and fingers. His features are slender, but not too sharp, and his large eyes provide a rather feminine appearance.
It is fairly easy to notice that Ether isn't fully human. The most obvious features are his hair and eyes. His hair is a distinct sky-blue color. It is short and often messy, with a small braid dangling to the left of his face. A silver cross adorned with a teardrop-shaped crystal is normally woven into the tip. His eyes are the same cerulean colors, with their pupils being a darker shade of blue that gives them a glazed over appearance.
The other features are shimmering scales located in areas of his body. There are thin scar-like patches on the sides of his neck that serve to protect his gills from hazard, as well as trails down his spine and and along his sides. All of them are accentuated with thin lines of circuitry running under his skin and disappearing after several inches.
To conclude the reptilian features, there are two thin lines of blue silver membrane running on the sides of his back, where wings would be.
His clothing tends to be simple and mostly black. At casual times, he can be seen wearing loose and comfortable clothing. When he goes into combat, he can be seen wearing a tight-fitting black suit with blue decorations. Worn over it, is a coat of the same colors as the suit under it. It fights tightly around the top, creating an armor-like appearance, and fans out widely at the bottom.
History:
According to old legends, the world came to an end during a great war seven centuries ago.
Back during that time, the universe was ruled by an insane god. In order to control humankind completely, this god created a puppet from the soul of a wandering knight i befriended back when it was human. At first, this puppet seemed to have been created in order to bring hope. Every generation, it would emerge in the part of the universe where conflict and despair were at their heaviest, wandered the world and performed great deeds that restored the world to peace. Then, in the end of its journey, it would meet a violent end at the time when its demise would hit the hardest.
Thus, the insane god used the puppet intended for hope in order to propagate despair.
But the mad god's reign didn't last forever. Thanks to the efforts of comrades he made back when he was a wandering knight, the puppet rediscovered the memories of his past lives and regained his true strength. Then, with the help of his friends, he has rebelled against god itself and began an era now known as the Great Divine War.
It is said that this was has cost the puppet knight and his comrades numerous things on their way to the core of the universe. There, in the midst of a great battle, the mad god was slain and the universe shattered into myriads of pieces. In order to keep it from fading away completely, one of the puppet knight's closest friends sacrificed herself. She used a powerful song to usher all the numerous shards to one small, empty world that remained whole. There, these shards took root and reshaped themselves into the landscape, the people and monsters. Little by little, they all turned into a single whole.
Thus, a new patchwork world emerged from the one that has been destroyed. The cost of its creation has been incredible - the puppet knight and his comrades were scattered across this new world, their memories and identities gradually fading away. At that last moment, all of them made several promises...
The first one was that someday, somehow, even if they were no longer who they were before, they would all reunite in this world born of their sin. This promise having given them strength, they made another one - to go on another adventure and recover their comrade who had sacrificed herself and came to be sealed somewhere in this new world. This promise having given the girl hope, she had smiled and vanished into the place where she would wait for many centuries. Finally, now that he remained alone on their final battlefield, the puppet knight came up to the mad god's fading form and made one final promise...
This was the legend of how Dead End, the city on the edge of the universe, came into being.
This particular youth didn't know how he came to exist in this world. One day, he merely awoke and found himself in an abandoned flower garden hidden atop a half-ruined tower. At the time, not a single memory remained in his mind. Although he had come to know his face through reflections in the water, he didn't know what he was doing in this old tower amidst a vast and empty city outside. There was no one to ask. As he explored the city, he discovered that the only inhabitants were him and ancient ghosts that sometimes appeared in the corner of his vision.
At first, he didn't mind. The trees in the garden provided food, and the pool deep in the garden provided water. For the first two weeks, he enjoyed a quiet and simple life of wandering the streets and spending time in the garden he had learned to call home.
But one day, all of it changed. On that day, he met a phantom of a girl with turquoise hair standing on the rooftop outside the tower.
Although he couldn't hear her voice, the youth realized that the girl was familiar to him. His memories may have been empty, but his instincts provided a sensation of familiarity and forced upon him a realization of his life having a greater purpose. Somewhere out there, beyond the streets he had come to call home, someone was waiting for him in this vast and empty world. It could have been this girl, or someone else who was hidden deep within his currently blank memories. Perhaps, he could discover the truth behind his birth, or maybe even a reason to live for. And maybe, just maybe, he wouldn't have to live alone anymore. With these thoughts in mind, he took his weapon and followed the phantom deep into the city.
The youth soon discovered that the empty city was far from uninhabited. The further he moved away from his tower, the more clear and powerful the phantoms around him became. Most were peaceful creatures who sought a quiet existence in their empty city. Some of them were willing to talk to him. They taught him things about the Song of Creation, which governed all the magic in the universe, and they explained to him that his body is the same as living machines who were created many centuries ago. Finally, a certain kindly ghost came to like him enough to give him a name.
Thus, the youth has become a wandering knight by the name of Aether Brandier.
The more Aether traveled through the city, the more he encountered not only peaceful spirits, but malicious, destructive monsters of various shapes and sizes. According to what he was told, these have existed for numerous centuries and not a soul knew where they came from and how they came to be. In order to find his answers and make this place, Aether needed to venture beyond this city and into far more dangerous parts of his new world. Having already bet all of his future on discovering the answer, he began his journey.
His first destination was an old, abandoned highway infested by the Silhouettes, as the monsters in Dead End have come to be called. According to older ghosts, there was another part of the city beyond that highway. There, impossible to reach for all but the strongest few, lived a powerful witch who guarded an incredible secret and attacked all who came near. Curious and urged by the phantom that remained by his side, Aether decided to search that area first of all.
What he found wasn't an answer to his numerous questions, or even the source of the monsters he had run into until now. No, what he found was a person... the first living being he had met in this world since awakening several months ago. Her name was Saya Wielant, known to the ghosts of the dead city as the silver witch who guarded the end of the world.
Saya may have been the first living being Aether encountered since he set out on his journey, but she didn't share in his curiosity. Instead, she met him with a barrage of powerful magic spells and enchanted traps positioned everywhere on the streets she turned into her domain. There were many times when the wandering knight came close to critical injury, and it was only his persistence and curiosity that forced him to keep going forward. No matter how hostile this witch was, she was the first human being he encountered in this world. Surely, she knew something he didn't.
Having cornered her on the main street of the widest street of the district, Aether engaged Saya in combat. The battle was devastating, with several buildings turning to dust from the witch's powerful spells, and the wanderer soon found himself overwhelmed and forced to defend with all his might. The tide has changed, however, when one of the lightning bolts struck his right arm and forced an unexpected change in both his body and his weapon. A powerful surge of pure magic energy has erupted from his hand and, in a single charge and a powerful blow, Aether managed to force Saya down to the ground.
It was a costly victory. As Aether rose to his feet, he realized that he could no longer control the tides of magic around him as he did before. Still, his curiosity driving him onward, he made his way past his opponent and toward the end of the street.
There, he was confronted with nothingness. Some powerful force has blown away a part of the city, leaving behind an enormous crater painted pure white. All these months that Saya spent on protecting this area, she didn't protect anything valuable or dangerous. Having woken up like him, with her memories turn to shreds and only a few small hints to rely on, she had come to protect the place that strongly reminded her of home. Much like him, she had completely dedicated herself to a single cause... and, much like him, she found solace in that.
Aether understood those reasons and the feeling of loss created by the empty city both of them lived in. He helped the defeated witch rise from the ground, took her hand and offered her something like a promise.
"You are not alone anymore."
On that day, Aether and Saya decided to travel together. The companionship they found in their meeting affected not only their emotions, but also their memories. Have they known each other before? As a surge of memories rushed through Aether's mind, he had flashes of fighting in a great war many years ago. He had also recovered the knowledge of his true nature and the true reason behind his abilities. An ancient bio-machine created from a dragon's blood to fight in a great war...
Was he connected to the black puppet knight from ancient legends? Aether wasn't sure, but Saya reassured him that they would find out eventually. By using his ability to see weaker spirits, they consulted the ghosts of the district Saya inhabited for so long. Between their story of a vast desert in the east, where ancient machines have supposedly come to life and built their own society, and their shredded memories, they had a new destination to travel to.
It was three weeks after the beginning of that new journey, that Aether found himself returned to Luceti. And so, the adventure of life continued on.
Personality:
As a person, Aether is a rare case of someone who can be easily understood without words. More of a doer than a talker, he is relatively quiet and intentionally limits his speech for the sake of a broad range of gestures and expressions. In the cases when he does need to speak, he reveals himself as a fairly reasonable and professional individual with a dry and sarcastic sense of humor. He can easily explain complicated things and can keep up with long discussions, although he tends to come off as someone who would rather not talk that much. He is borderline incapable of sounding angry and abrasive, if only because his manner of speech is too soft and level-headed. When it comes to extreme emotions, he would sooner show them through words and actions.
Despite his short-spoken behavior, Aether is very emotional and earnest. He is quick to show how he feels through his actions, quick to attack when angered and not ashamed of tears when upset. His smiles and tears can be shocking in their honesty and can be used to understand his mood and opinions without them being voiced. He could be described as someone easy to read, although his intelligence and approach to things keep him from being predictable.
Aether is noble, proud and rather short-tempered. He is incapable of ignoring people in pain and often tries to help people even when they are complete strangers. He respects power, but has very strict opinions on its use. He is easily drawn to strong-willed and emotional people, but loathes the misuse of strength. In Aether's eyes, power is something you use to protect something things important to you and achieve your goals. Those who use their power to harm others and seek material gain, are worthless and deserve to be ruined. He is quick to side with those too weak to protect themselves or unable to achieve something on their own, and proves to be fiercely loyal once he chooses sides.
Although he is intense in his actions, Aether is a daydreamer and a bit of a poet. He can seem absent-minded in peaceful times, and comes off as more interested in watching the sky and composing stories than bothering with the world at large. He is obsessively curious, a trait inherited from his bloodline, and has a powerful imagination that can find meaning in everything in this world, no matter how small and insignificant it might seem to others. The world is a maelstrom of life in Aether's life, and everything in it is worth being appreciated and protected
Despite those traits being ones inherent of an idealist, Aether is far from one. He can be fairly cynical when confronted with the harsher aspects of life, and his sense of humor is rather dark. He is romantic, but he has seen enough in his life to understand that the world is not a happy place and not everything will go the right way. That is, unless he helps it.
Indeed, Ether's pride and confidence in his own abilities are strong enough to come off as arrogant. He is confident that even if everything around him goes to hell, he is strong and skilled enough to turn the tide in his favor. In the end, he is a rogue as much as he is a knight, and his nobility and kindness are only emphasized by his readiness to do anything to force the world toward the direction he considers worthwhile.
Strengths:
Ether is a karakuri - an android created by bonding an organic life form to an artificial skeleton. Due to the sheer diversity associated with their genetics, karakuri are known to be closer to magical creatures than regular machines. They are much stronger and faster than humans, and most of them are being capable of superhuman feats on both physical and magical level. Ether is no exception, having been created with the blood of an aquatic dragon as a base. Dragons in his universe are exceptionally rare and are often considered primordial deities, with each of the small number having a specific name and abilities. The one used in Ether's creation is Ryujin, the oceanic god from the far east. Unfortunately for him, this association gives him as many weaknesses as strengths.
As a karakuri, Ether is considerably stronger than a normal human being. He can easily lift things almost three times his size and weight, and can jump as high as fifteen feet into the air. He is also an excellent swimmer and an acrobat, and can effortlessly pull off even the most complex maneuvers. His association with the ocean has granted him gills, making him capable of staying underwater for indefinite amounts of time. Although he has no wings like a proper dragon would, he does have organs on his back that can increase the density of magical energy in the air and suspend him in mid-air or even propell him forward by short distances.
In order to understand Ether's magical abilities, first let me go on a tangent about how magic works in his universe. All magic in Dead End is based on the concept of the Song of Creation, a lengthy singular piece that resounds through everything in existence. The Song is divided into separate verses, with each verse creating a different effect and being analogous to a magic spells. Most magical creatures and certain rare humans are born with a subconscious memory of certain pieces of the Song, giving them access to certain spells. By studying and recording these pieces, humans have learned to invoke certain parts of it and thus use magic without a natural talent. This profession has become known as wizardry.
Ether was born with two specific parts of the Song inscribed into his memories. The first one is related to his bloodline and consists of the very first seven verses of the song. This part of it is commonly known as the Origin and is known for being impossible to be invoked due to being incompatible with human vocal cords. More of a complex system of sonar sounds, the Origin is said to tell about the primordial ocean and invokes the emotions of comfort and nostalgia. It is based on the concept of flow and, unlike most specific verses, can invoke most elemental magics in existence. However, because its use requires for mana to flow, its output cannot be shaped into specific forms. As such, Ether is incapable of using proper magical spells and relies on weaving the elemental energy into his melee fighting style in order to produce the desired effect. Although he can temporarily freeze the area, ignite his sword and electrify his body, he is completely incapable of things such as casting fireballs and summoning lightning.
The other part of the Song is a combination of verses that identifies Ether as his role in his universe. Born and acknowledged as the Black Knight, Ether is born to fulfill the specific purpose of a wandering knight who is destined to eliminate threats to the world that are beyond a normal human's capabilities. As a result, he is given a specific ability to aid him in this quest.
Commonly known as the Armageddon Field and nicknamed La Vie En Rose by Ether himself, this ability alters his perceptions to the point where he can perceive and properly evaluate the tactical value of everything in his surroundings. This effectively gives him the ability to wield anything as a weapon, be it a proper weapon or a part of the scenery, and correctly calculate how to use the mechanics of his enemies' abilities against them. On practice, this ability boils down to his eyes developing the ability to see alterations in the magical flow and highlighting points of interest whenever the ability is activated. Of course, this requires incredible concentration. Ether's mentality developed accordingly - his levels of patience and mental fortitude leave him near unbreakable under pressure, and make him capable of maintaining self-control even under effects of drugs and mind-altering magic
Despite his ability to wield anything as a weapon, Ether does have a preferred one - a heavy black axe wielded with one hand that he discovered by his side when he awoke. Commonly referred to as the Black Label, this weapon is incredibly sharp and virtually unbreakable. Although it might have other special attributes, none of them are available at this point in time except one.
By activating his La Vie En Rose and channeling a large amount of magic energy through his body at once, Ether can double his physical and magical output for a short period of time. In this form, a pair of thin horns sprouts on the sides of his head, his skin illuminates in a hexagonal pattern of clear blue, and a pair of energy wings manifests behind his back. His axe unfolds into a scythe in this form, this being its only special function, and the wings enhance his aerial dashing to the point of limited flight. This ability lasts a mere seven minutes and is intended as a final resort. Once the time runs out, the short period of tension will culminate in exhaustion and leave Ether dazed, unfocused and sometimes even immobile for a period of time.
Weaknesses:
The large number of abilities that comes with Ether's nature, also grants him a number of weaknesses. As an aquatic dragon, Ether is incredibly young and not yet adapted to outside environment. His body will gradually begin to lose warmth if left unsubmerged for more than eight hours and will become completely cold after about two days, forcing him to weaken and even hibernate. He needs large amounts of heat if he wants to properly function, and often can be found curled up next to any source of warmth when not traveling. His skin and especially gills are extremely sensitive to dehydration and require regular application of water, and might even hurt him if burned or dried too quickly.
Although his magic abilities are considerable, he cannot perform anything except for powering up existing motions with magic energy. Thus, from an outside perspective, his magic abilities are nothing more than reinforced physical attacks and basic projectiles. He is not capable of proper magic and, as a Black Knight, is completely banned from using healing magic of all forms.
As a Black Knight, Ether is also forced into an agreement where he is incapable of leaving a mark on history. Although he can perform heroic feats, all of them will be recorded as nothing more than deeds of a nameless wanderer and his name will not be recorded. In fact, Ether is merely an alias - his real name remains a secret and even if spoken, will be instantly erased from the memories of anyone who would acknowledge him as a warrior, a knight or a hero. His name will be deleted from all papers containing it after a few days, and the photographs of him will decay and fall apart at an accelerated rate.
Despite his immense mental fortitude, Ether is very fragile emotionally. He cannot handle senseless cruelty and strong emotional shocks, and will often collapse soon after a fight, even if he seemed perfectly fine during it. He will often sleep an entire day after intense situations, and up to three days if it was particularly bad. The long time he had spent without human contact did not help this weakness in any manner - although subconsciously aware of how to deal with other people, Ether is very wary of them and easily made awkward or scared by social situations.
Character
Name: Aether Brandier
Gender: Male
Age: Physical and mental: 19. Chronological: unknown.
Wing Color: Blue with white highlights.
Physical Appearance:
Ether appears as a man in his late teens, a little taller than six feet. He has the slim build of a swimmer or an acrobat, with narrow shoulders, pronounced muscles and powerful limbs and fingers. His features are slender, but not too sharp, and his large eyes provide a rather feminine appearance.
It is fairly easy to notice that Ether isn't fully human. The most obvious features are his hair and eyes. His hair is a distinct sky-blue color. It is short and often messy, with a small braid dangling to the left of his face. A silver cross adorned with a teardrop-shaped crystal is normally woven into the tip. His eyes are the same cerulean colors, with their pupils being a darker shade of blue that gives them a glazed over appearance.
The other features are shimmering scales located in areas of his body. There are thin scar-like patches on the sides of his neck that serve to protect his gills from hazard, as well as trails down his spine and and along his sides. All of them are accentuated with thin lines of circuitry running under his skin and disappearing after several inches.
To conclude the reptilian features, there are two thin lines of blue silver membrane running on the sides of his back, where wings would be.
His clothing tends to be simple and mostly black. At casual times, he can be seen wearing loose and comfortable clothing. When he goes into combat, he can be seen wearing a tight-fitting black suit with blue decorations. Worn over it, is a coat of the same colors as the suit under it. It fights tightly around the top, creating an armor-like appearance, and fans out widely at the bottom.
History:
According to old legends, the world came to an end during a great war seven centuries ago.
Back during that time, the universe was ruled by an insane god. In order to control humankind completely, this god created a puppet from the soul of a wandering knight i befriended back when it was human. At first, this puppet seemed to have been created in order to bring hope. Every generation, it would emerge in the part of the universe where conflict and despair were at their heaviest, wandered the world and performed great deeds that restored the world to peace. Then, in the end of its journey, it would meet a violent end at the time when its demise would hit the hardest.
Thus, the insane god used the puppet intended for hope in order to propagate despair.
But the mad god's reign didn't last forever. Thanks to the efforts of comrades he made back when he was a wandering knight, the puppet rediscovered the memories of his past lives and regained his true strength. Then, with the help of his friends, he has rebelled against god itself and began an era now known as the Great Divine War.
It is said that this was has cost the puppet knight and his comrades numerous things on their way to the core of the universe. There, in the midst of a great battle, the mad god was slain and the universe shattered into myriads of pieces. In order to keep it from fading away completely, one of the puppet knight's closest friends sacrificed herself. She used a powerful song to usher all the numerous shards to one small, empty world that remained whole. There, these shards took root and reshaped themselves into the landscape, the people and monsters. Little by little, they all turned into a single whole.
Thus, a new patchwork world emerged from the one that has been destroyed. The cost of its creation has been incredible - the puppet knight and his comrades were scattered across this new world, their memories and identities gradually fading away. At that last moment, all of them made several promises...
The first one was that someday, somehow, even if they were no longer who they were before, they would all reunite in this world born of their sin. This promise having given them strength, they made another one - to go on another adventure and recover their comrade who had sacrificed herself and came to be sealed somewhere in this new world. This promise having given the girl hope, she had smiled and vanished into the place where she would wait for many centuries. Finally, now that he remained alone on their final battlefield, the puppet knight came up to the mad god's fading form and made one final promise...
This was the legend of how Dead End, the city on the edge of the universe, came into being.
This particular youth didn't know how he came to exist in this world. One day, he merely awoke and found himself in an abandoned flower garden hidden atop a half-ruined tower. At the time, not a single memory remained in his mind. Although he had come to know his face through reflections in the water, he didn't know what he was doing in this old tower amidst a vast and empty city outside. There was no one to ask. As he explored the city, he discovered that the only inhabitants were him and ancient ghosts that sometimes appeared in the corner of his vision.
At first, he didn't mind. The trees in the garden provided food, and the pool deep in the garden provided water. For the first two weeks, he enjoyed a quiet and simple life of wandering the streets and spending time in the garden he had learned to call home.
But one day, all of it changed. On that day, he met a phantom of a girl with turquoise hair standing on the rooftop outside the tower.
Although he couldn't hear her voice, the youth realized that the girl was familiar to him. His memories may have been empty, but his instincts provided a sensation of familiarity and forced upon him a realization of his life having a greater purpose. Somewhere out there, beyond the streets he had come to call home, someone was waiting for him in this vast and empty world. It could have been this girl, or someone else who was hidden deep within his currently blank memories. Perhaps, he could discover the truth behind his birth, or maybe even a reason to live for. And maybe, just maybe, he wouldn't have to live alone anymore. With these thoughts in mind, he took his weapon and followed the phantom deep into the city.
The youth soon discovered that the empty city was far from uninhabited. The further he moved away from his tower, the more clear and powerful the phantoms around him became. Most were peaceful creatures who sought a quiet existence in their empty city. Some of them were willing to talk to him. They taught him things about the Song of Creation, which governed all the magic in the universe, and they explained to him that his body is the same as living machines who were created many centuries ago. Finally, a certain kindly ghost came to like him enough to give him a name.
Thus, the youth has become a wandering knight by the name of Aether Brandier.
The more Aether traveled through the city, the more he encountered not only peaceful spirits, but malicious, destructive monsters of various shapes and sizes. According to what he was told, these have existed for numerous centuries and not a soul knew where they came from and how they came to be. In order to find his answers and make this place, Aether needed to venture beyond this city and into far more dangerous parts of his new world. Having already bet all of his future on discovering the answer, he began his journey.
His first destination was an old, abandoned highway infested by the Silhouettes, as the monsters in Dead End have come to be called. According to older ghosts, there was another part of the city beyond that highway. There, impossible to reach for all but the strongest few, lived a powerful witch who guarded an incredible secret and attacked all who came near. Curious and urged by the phantom that remained by his side, Aether decided to search that area first of all.
What he found wasn't an answer to his numerous questions, or even the source of the monsters he had run into until now. No, what he found was a person... the first living being he had met in this world since awakening several months ago. Her name was Saya Wielant, known to the ghosts of the dead city as the silver witch who guarded the end of the world.
Saya may have been the first living being Aether encountered since he set out on his journey, but she didn't share in his curiosity. Instead, she met him with a barrage of powerful magic spells and enchanted traps positioned everywhere on the streets she turned into her domain. There were many times when the wandering knight came close to critical injury, and it was only his persistence and curiosity that forced him to keep going forward. No matter how hostile this witch was, she was the first human being he encountered in this world. Surely, she knew something he didn't.
Having cornered her on the main street of the widest street of the district, Aether engaged Saya in combat. The battle was devastating, with several buildings turning to dust from the witch's powerful spells, and the wanderer soon found himself overwhelmed and forced to defend with all his might. The tide has changed, however, when one of the lightning bolts struck his right arm and forced an unexpected change in both his body and his weapon. A powerful surge of pure magic energy has erupted from his hand and, in a single charge and a powerful blow, Aether managed to force Saya down to the ground.
It was a costly victory. As Aether rose to his feet, he realized that he could no longer control the tides of magic around him as he did before. Still, his curiosity driving him onward, he made his way past his opponent and toward the end of the street.
There, he was confronted with nothingness. Some powerful force has blown away a part of the city, leaving behind an enormous crater painted pure white. All these months that Saya spent on protecting this area, she didn't protect anything valuable or dangerous. Having woken up like him, with her memories turn to shreds and only a few small hints to rely on, she had come to protect the place that strongly reminded her of home. Much like him, she had completely dedicated herself to a single cause... and, much like him, she found solace in that.
Aether understood those reasons and the feeling of loss created by the empty city both of them lived in. He helped the defeated witch rise from the ground, took her hand and offered her something like a promise.
"You are not alone anymore."
On that day, Aether and Saya decided to travel together. The companionship they found in their meeting affected not only their emotions, but also their memories. Have they known each other before? As a surge of memories rushed through Aether's mind, he had flashes of fighting in a great war many years ago. He had also recovered the knowledge of his true nature and the true reason behind his abilities. An ancient bio-machine created from a dragon's blood to fight in a great war...
Was he connected to the black puppet knight from ancient legends? Aether wasn't sure, but Saya reassured him that they would find out eventually. By using his ability to see weaker spirits, they consulted the ghosts of the district Saya inhabited for so long. Between their story of a vast desert in the east, where ancient machines have supposedly come to life and built their own society, and their shredded memories, they had a new destination to travel to.
It was three weeks after the beginning of that new journey, that Aether found himself returned to Luceti. And so, the adventure of life continued on.
Personality:
As a person, Aether is a rare case of someone who can be easily understood without words. More of a doer than a talker, he is relatively quiet and intentionally limits his speech for the sake of a broad range of gestures and expressions. In the cases when he does need to speak, he reveals himself as a fairly reasonable and professional individual with a dry and sarcastic sense of humor. He can easily explain complicated things and can keep up with long discussions, although he tends to come off as someone who would rather not talk that much. He is borderline incapable of sounding angry and abrasive, if only because his manner of speech is too soft and level-headed. When it comes to extreme emotions, he would sooner show them through words and actions.
Despite his short-spoken behavior, Aether is very emotional and earnest. He is quick to show how he feels through his actions, quick to attack when angered and not ashamed of tears when upset. His smiles and tears can be shocking in their honesty and can be used to understand his mood and opinions without them being voiced. He could be described as someone easy to read, although his intelligence and approach to things keep him from being predictable.
Aether is noble, proud and rather short-tempered. He is incapable of ignoring people in pain and often tries to help people even when they are complete strangers. He respects power, but has very strict opinions on its use. He is easily drawn to strong-willed and emotional people, but loathes the misuse of strength. In Aether's eyes, power is something you use to protect something things important to you and achieve your goals. Those who use their power to harm others and seek material gain, are worthless and deserve to be ruined. He is quick to side with those too weak to protect themselves or unable to achieve something on their own, and proves to be fiercely loyal once he chooses sides.
Although he is intense in his actions, Aether is a daydreamer and a bit of a poet. He can seem absent-minded in peaceful times, and comes off as more interested in watching the sky and composing stories than bothering with the world at large. He is obsessively curious, a trait inherited from his bloodline, and has a powerful imagination that can find meaning in everything in this world, no matter how small and insignificant it might seem to others. The world is a maelstrom of life in Aether's life, and everything in it is worth being appreciated and protected
Despite those traits being ones inherent of an idealist, Aether is far from one. He can be fairly cynical when confronted with the harsher aspects of life, and his sense of humor is rather dark. He is romantic, but he has seen enough in his life to understand that the world is not a happy place and not everything will go the right way. That is, unless he helps it.
Indeed, Ether's pride and confidence in his own abilities are strong enough to come off as arrogant. He is confident that even if everything around him goes to hell, he is strong and skilled enough to turn the tide in his favor. In the end, he is a rogue as much as he is a knight, and his nobility and kindness are only emphasized by his readiness to do anything to force the world toward the direction he considers worthwhile.
Strengths:
Ether is a karakuri - an android created by bonding an organic life form to an artificial skeleton. Due to the sheer diversity associated with their genetics, karakuri are known to be closer to magical creatures than regular machines. They are much stronger and faster than humans, and most of them are being capable of superhuman feats on both physical and magical level. Ether is no exception, having been created with the blood of an aquatic dragon as a base. Dragons in his universe are exceptionally rare and are often considered primordial deities, with each of the small number having a specific name and abilities. The one used in Ether's creation is Ryujin, the oceanic god from the far east. Unfortunately for him, this association gives him as many weaknesses as strengths.
As a karakuri, Ether is considerably stronger than a normal human being. He can easily lift things almost three times his size and weight, and can jump as high as fifteen feet into the air. He is also an excellent swimmer and an acrobat, and can effortlessly pull off even the most complex maneuvers. His association with the ocean has granted him gills, making him capable of staying underwater for indefinite amounts of time. Although he has no wings like a proper dragon would, he does have organs on his back that can increase the density of magical energy in the air and suspend him in mid-air or even propell him forward by short distances.
In order to understand Ether's magical abilities, first let me go on a tangent about how magic works in his universe. All magic in Dead End is based on the concept of the Song of Creation, a lengthy singular piece that resounds through everything in existence. The Song is divided into separate verses, with each verse creating a different effect and being analogous to a magic spells. Most magical creatures and certain rare humans are born with a subconscious memory of certain pieces of the Song, giving them access to certain spells. By studying and recording these pieces, humans have learned to invoke certain parts of it and thus use magic without a natural talent. This profession has become known as wizardry.
Ether was born with two specific parts of the Song inscribed into his memories. The first one is related to his bloodline and consists of the very first seven verses of the song. This part of it is commonly known as the Origin and is known for being impossible to be invoked due to being incompatible with human vocal cords. More of a complex system of sonar sounds, the Origin is said to tell about the primordial ocean and invokes the emotions of comfort and nostalgia. It is based on the concept of flow and, unlike most specific verses, can invoke most elemental magics in existence. However, because its use requires for mana to flow, its output cannot be shaped into specific forms. As such, Ether is incapable of using proper magical spells and relies on weaving the elemental energy into his melee fighting style in order to produce the desired effect. Although he can temporarily freeze the area, ignite his sword and electrify his body, he is completely incapable of things such as casting fireballs and summoning lightning.
The other part of the Song is a combination of verses that identifies Ether as his role in his universe. Born and acknowledged as the Black Knight, Ether is born to fulfill the specific purpose of a wandering knight who is destined to eliminate threats to the world that are beyond a normal human's capabilities. As a result, he is given a specific ability to aid him in this quest.
Commonly known as the Armageddon Field and nicknamed La Vie En Rose by Ether himself, this ability alters his perceptions to the point where he can perceive and properly evaluate the tactical value of everything in his surroundings. This effectively gives him the ability to wield anything as a weapon, be it a proper weapon or a part of the scenery, and correctly calculate how to use the mechanics of his enemies' abilities against them. On practice, this ability boils down to his eyes developing the ability to see alterations in the magical flow and highlighting points of interest whenever the ability is activated. Of course, this requires incredible concentration. Ether's mentality developed accordingly - his levels of patience and mental fortitude leave him near unbreakable under pressure, and make him capable of maintaining self-control even under effects of drugs and mind-altering magic
Despite his ability to wield anything as a weapon, Ether does have a preferred one - a heavy black axe wielded with one hand that he discovered by his side when he awoke. Commonly referred to as the Black Label, this weapon is incredibly sharp and virtually unbreakable. Although it might have other special attributes, none of them are available at this point in time except one.
By activating his La Vie En Rose and channeling a large amount of magic energy through his body at once, Ether can double his physical and magical output for a short period of time. In this form, a pair of thin horns sprouts on the sides of his head, his skin illuminates in a hexagonal pattern of clear blue, and a pair of energy wings manifests behind his back. His axe unfolds into a scythe in this form, this being its only special function, and the wings enhance his aerial dashing to the point of limited flight. This ability lasts a mere seven minutes and is intended as a final resort. Once the time runs out, the short period of tension will culminate in exhaustion and leave Ether dazed, unfocused and sometimes even immobile for a period of time.
Weaknesses:
The large number of abilities that comes with Ether's nature, also grants him a number of weaknesses. As an aquatic dragon, Ether is incredibly young and not yet adapted to outside environment. His body will gradually begin to lose warmth if left unsubmerged for more than eight hours and will become completely cold after about two days, forcing him to weaken and even hibernate. He needs large amounts of heat if he wants to properly function, and often can be found curled up next to any source of warmth when not traveling. His skin and especially gills are extremely sensitive to dehydration and require regular application of water, and might even hurt him if burned or dried too quickly.
Although his magic abilities are considerable, he cannot perform anything except for powering up existing motions with magic energy. Thus, from an outside perspective, his magic abilities are nothing more than reinforced physical attacks and basic projectiles. He is not capable of proper magic and, as a Black Knight, is completely banned from using healing magic of all forms.
As a Black Knight, Ether is also forced into an agreement where he is incapable of leaving a mark on history. Although he can perform heroic feats, all of them will be recorded as nothing more than deeds of a nameless wanderer and his name will not be recorded. In fact, Ether is merely an alias - his real name remains a secret and even if spoken, will be instantly erased from the memories of anyone who would acknowledge him as a warrior, a knight or a hero. His name will be deleted from all papers containing it after a few days, and the photographs of him will decay and fall apart at an accelerated rate.
Despite his immense mental fortitude, Ether is very fragile emotionally. He cannot handle senseless cruelty and strong emotional shocks, and will often collapse soon after a fight, even if he seemed perfectly fine during it. He will often sleep an entire day after intense situations, and up to three days if it was particularly bad. The long time he had spent without human contact did not help this weakness in any manner - although subconsciously aware of how to deal with other people, Ether is very wary of them and easily made awkward or scared by social situations.