Azure (TLKW)



"Some souls have died so many times, they have forgotten who they once wished to become. Such is true Death- not cessation of the heartbeat, but of the memory. All everyday people really wish for… is to be remembered.

So, I fill the night with stars. So, I come to the places and times that cry out for meaning. So, I tell them ‘I will remember you.’ That… I believe, is who it is I wish to be. I wish to be one who sees that each and every life in this world matters.

That is why I have no right to choose death over life… because, with me, the world is remembered. With me, the world matters… it defies death, forevermore."


 * -|Summary=

Azure is a Risen King who received her power upon the advent of the Cycle of Kings itself. As the individual who chose to bear the world's burden as it strove to heal from the wounds it sustained during the Cataclysm, she reincarnates alongside each new iteration of the world as it is created by the Cycle, accumulating experience and knowledge of its inhabitants' struggles and of the dangers that skulk its core and fringes alike. In addition to leaving subtle impacts upon the world that follows from each of her deaths, Azure has made a raison d'etre of ultimately finding a way to create a world not burdened by the sins of the past. For countless millennia has this persisted, each cycle ending as the world's clock is spun back, yet even her will slowly, gradually eroded, as more and more revelations regarding the actual nature of the Cycle she had a hand in created: and of the primeval god-like beings Soul and Null, whose eternal conflict brought about the Convergence and thus the Cycle's creation: made the world's suffering seem more and more insurmountable, woven into the fabric of the world itself. Yet, at her lowest point, Azure finally met the final Petitioners, and came to understand that this current Cycle was her final chance, before it all came undone, and reality returned with a vengeance...


 * -|Backstory=

(As of now, lost in a fog. Will be expanded upon greatly as the real-world players discover more of it.)


 * -|Appearance=

Slightly taller and more athletically built than average for her physical age, Azure retains the silver-white hair of the elven half of her heritage, cut to shoulder length and usually kept tucked away from the eyes. Both eyes are a violet-grey mauve hue, and continued use of curative magic and exposure to Soul has left her entirely free of scars or physical wear the majority of the time (she notes, with some distress, how unnatural it makes her seem relative to the 'normal' people she wishes to continue to be.) She does tend to accrue heavy scarring over the course of extended sojourns when traveling alone, however, due to her natural recuperative abilities not being rooted in tapping Soul.

Her typical ensemble, while out on the job, is reserved and meant to communicate a regal, stoic austerity, consisting of a mithryl cuirass, vambraces, half-mask over the top half of the face, and greaves, all with dark lacquer to preserve it, worn over a white three-tailed surcoat. The underclothing of this ensemble- a black undertunic and leggings, a chainmail-gambeson combo, and thigh-length soft leather boots- are meant to fulfill the dual functions of being protective, in case the first layer of armor is breached, and protective/breathable for long stretches of time spent traveling the road, whether on the Material Plane or some other, distant horizon. The whole of this rather drab get up is sharply punctuated with the streak of color afforded by her royal blue hooded cloak, more so than by the faint golden accents to her armor.

Most of Azure's other get-ups, apart from the signature "default" outfit, share a similar sort of solemnity and practicality-based approach, tending towards cold and neutral tones. Though very seldom offered the chance to due to the nature of her own world and of the overriding paranoia it has afflicted her with, Azure nonetheless does enjoy exercising a more visible feminine side when downtime permits. A light pink hair dye, visibly worn flowers, and more prevalent whites and lighter blues in an outfit are non-verbal cues she might use to express the rare spell of positive temperament, if it can be reasonably assured to not be exploited by some potential adversary.


 * -|Quotes=

"I bleed because the path I leave is all that will shine crimson in the blackness of our future. I die, and try again, because that is all the hope there is for this world. If you can't trust anyone to want to make the world a better place... then be that person yourself."

"Know that, should you continue to follow the path I tread down, that you will sink with me into the mire of confusion and uncertainty that constitutes this world's foundation. We were given not stone to build upon, but the primordial mud of life- mankind continues to slip back down into its depths. Know that, if you follow me, your lot shall e'ermore be as a stepping stone. The price of their happiness is your freedom. The price of peace is pain, the muteness of the unavenged left to find comfort in only the quietude of your hands lifting them out of Hell again. That is my purpose, my Paradise. You will find no fairy tales, no happy endings here with me."

"WHY?!? I... I can't begrudge your wanting peace, but... you'll just stand idly by, and ask for a savior to take them away from you?! I... I'm not a hero. My face, my voice will never... Once this is over, if you believe in anything I say at all... what I want you to do is take up that sword of yours, and be the savior you want to see in this world."

"...you'll do me a favor? If you ever meet God face-to-face, ask him why my prayers weren't good enough."

"Am I meant to be afraid of you? ...there is nothing... you could possibly do to me... that I haven't already endured."


 * -|Personality=

Taciturn and reserved, Azure is an individual of deadly serious and impassioned commitments, and no commitment in her life has been more lasting or necessitated by the nature of her world than that of the pursuit of justice. Often, this brings her into direct conflict with whatever local authorities are present, even decent folk who cannot boast to be in any position to enact the merciless, often less-than-legal vengeance that many of her most vile marks are deemed deserving of, and so Azure largely shies away from any kind of public engagement whatsoever. Acclimation to this state of affairs, in combination with a myriad of unresolved regrets and past traumas for which no adequate support has ever been present, has in turn contributed to a level of emotional stunting that has persisted in spite of her immense age and experience. Ultimately, this results in an outward demeanor akin to a spiked shell, seemingly cold, aloof, and unfeeling for want of understanding how one associates ordinarily with others in times of peace, or within the context of ordinary day-to-day life: the world consists, in this ordinary mode of being, only of those who escape punishment, those complicit in their escape, and those willing to bring them to justice. If one works, even unwittingly, to impede this pursuit in any capacity, their transgression is deemed near-unforgivable, and Azure reacts with corresponding bitterness.

Yet, it is not as though she lacks self-awareness in her ancientness regarding her short-comings, and these have over time led to the development of chronic self-doubt. In combination with the aforementioned traits, self-loathing, and a martyr complex borne of the simple truth that she will, one day, return to fight again, she tends towards a persona in many ways precisely the opposite of her usual demeanor in the company of either those that seem obviously innocent of any wrongdoing, or those that can persuade her of their justice. In such company, the overall level of restraint and politeness she maintains approaches the level usually expected of a servant, apologetic and people-pleasing under the functional pragmatic mantra of "if this is the right thing to do, then it must be done- if I am the only one who will do it, then I must do it."

Individuals who are both kind and outgoing enough, and that survive long enough, to receive a more full and confident version of this Sweetheart act are exceptionally few and far between within her home verse of origin- though, a turn of fortune seems to have finally brought one such individual into her life. The process of such a frozen heart slowly thawing has at last begun in recent times, though learning how to be human again is an uphill battle, to be certain...


 * -|Personal Stats=

Date of Birth: September 15, 1916

Birthplace: Marseilles, France

Height: 1.74 meters/~5'8.5"

Weight: 62.5 kg/~137.8 lbs.

Likes: Tea, Sweets, Mystery/Detective Novels, Cats, Petrichor, Being Left Alone/With the Company of a Small Group of Trustworthy Allies

Dislikes: Feeling Weak, Blind Eyes Turned to Atrocity, Most Religions, Being Embarrased

Hobbies: Cooking, Counseling, Researching New Spells

Values:
 * The most important thing is that the innocents of this world are spared the corruption of their innocence, or the exploitation of their naivete.
 * Those people that would come to propagate such crimes are monsters that exploit the social code to pressure law-abiding people into ignoring the everyday evils of their lives; such people deserve to be treated as such.
 * My own dignity and well-being is worth nothing, as I am cursed and debased and stained with the blood of a thousand crimes; certainly, at the very least, it is secondary to the happiness of the rest of the world.
 * Therefore, I must be willing to suffer whatever is necessary to right the world's wrongs.
 * There is no room for honor in a world this unforgiving; in battle, it is the one who emerges alive who continues to change the future...
 * ...and if a better future does not lie on the horizon, then the whole of human suffering is meaningless. That cannot be accepted.

Martial Status: In A Relationship (with Brave)

Status: Alive (Currently captured by the Blades of Dawn)

Affiliations: The Wings

Alignment: Varies from Chaotic Neutral to Neutral Good

MBTI: INFJ

Color Identity: Blue, Black, Silver, Gold

Powers and Stats

 * -|Early Adventures=Tier: 6-C | Varies from 6-C up to 5-C

Name: Azure (formerly Robyn)

Origin: The Last Kingwar

Gender: Female

Age: Several thousands of years old (physically 18-19)

Classification: Half-Elf, Magus, Risen King, Bearer of the Black Blade

Powers and Abilities:

Attack Potency: Island level (Capable of defeating Plasma Oozes, and even more threatening monsters) | Varies from Island level up to Moon level (Even as a newly Risen King, would be capable of contending with an Aurii at the height of her potential)

Speed: Transonic with FTL reactions and combat speed (Has kept up with pewter drakes, which in turn outpace vampires faster than the eye can track and have been compared in-verse to "oversized bullets"- can entirely evade Call Lightning and similarly powerful spells, and keep pace easily with Oma)

Lifting Strength: Class 5 (Can grapple with ogres and giants), Class K with Telekinesis (Pushed aside the maw of a 200 ton crimson worm); Varies from Class 5 up to Class T with Mythos Empowerment

Striking Strength: Island Class | Varies from Island Class up to Moon Class

Durability: Island level | Varies from Island level up to Moon level

Stamina: Superhuman (Has a massively reduced need for rest even without a Ring of Sustenance; can perform feats such as fending off an orc incursion upon a city gate without letting a single one past for hours on end, carry a wounded child over a field of burning coals without falling, and tear off her own finger, using other fingers on the same hand, without making substantial noise from the pain.)

Range: Extended Melee Range with the Black Blade, Varies from several dozen to several hundreds of meters with Offensive Spells, Hundreds of Kilometers with Teleportation

Intelligence: Genius (Possesses several lifetimes of years of accumulated adventuring experience, much of which is still readily available for recollection with the help of her Black Notebook)

Standard Equipment: Includes a wide variety of weapons, armor, and gadgetry:

Weaknesses:
 * Various past traumas and regrets have stained her spirit, and if known can be exploited to massively undermine her otherwise seemingly insurmountable willpower.
 * In relation to the above, Azure is quick to mistrust and assume the worst about any given individual; possessing a memory that far outstrips other adventurers has alienated her from ordinary experience. Often, this only exacerbates otherwise-inconsequential mistakes and faux pas' in relations with other people.
 * She furthermore has difficulty expressing herself openly and honestly as a result of being closed off to the outside world, often seeming cold, indifferent, or unmotivated to outside viewers. This has resulted in unhealthy coping mechanisms for resolving new issues as they arise.
 * Though she has fought and won without them, a substantial amount of her power is derived externally from augments via her equipment, and depriving her of it can leave her relatively vulnerable.
 * Only has a limited amount of magical power with which to cast spells, before requiring rest to recharge it.
 * The power of her spells is proportional to her intellectual capacity and sharpness of mind- this is a double-edged sword in that effects that reduce her ability to think or concentrate clearly can negate her ability to cast spells.

Feats:

Notable Attacks and Techniques
- -

Key: Normal | With Mythos Empowerment


 * -|Main Game (Pre-Convergence)=Tier: Low 6-B; At least 5-B, likely higher with Glimpse of the Akashic; Unknown, potentially up to 2-A with Will of the World | Varies from Low 6-B to 5-B; At least 5-B, likely higher with Glimpse of the Akashic; Unknown, potentially up to 2-A with Will of the World

Name: Azure (formerly Robyn)

Origin: The Last Kingwar

Gender: Female

Age: Hundreds of thousands of years old (Physically 18-19)

Classification: Half-Elf, Magus, Risen King, Bearer of the Black Blade

Powers and Abilities:

Attack Potency: Small Country level (As a CR 22, should be comparable baseline to godlings like Yzaerda, with whom she directly fought); At least Planet level, likely Far higher with Glimpse of the Akashic (Tapping the Akasha itself renders her in a state of being comparable to that of an Incarnation); Unknown, potentially up to Multiverse level+ with Will of the World (As a miracle power granted by the Cycle of Kings itself, Will of the World- though heavily restricted and difficult to use- should theoretically be capable of replicating, at the peak of its potential, an event such as Nymrell's myriad timeline-splitting) | Varies from at least Small Country level up to Planet level (As an Ancient Risen King, should be comparable to the likes of the World Serpents); At least Planet level, likely Far higher with Glimpse of the Akashic; Unknown, potentially up to Multiverse level+ with Will of the World

Speed: FTL (Possessing the Mythic Power "Impossible Speed", she should be at least somewhat comparable in raw speed to Oma, who can travel this quickly through space); Likely Higher via Glimpse of Akasha | At least The Same

Lifting Strength: Class 5, Class K with Telekinesis | Varies from Class 5 to Class Z (Slipped from Father Chains' grasp)

Striking Strength: Small Country Class; At least Planet Class, likely Far higher with Glimpse of the Akashic | Varies from Small Country Class up to Planet Class; At least Planet Class, likely Far higher with Glimpse of the Akashic

Durability: Small Country level normally; At least Planet level, likely Far Higher with Glimpse of the Akashic | Varies from Small Country level up to Planet level (Directly took the majority of the hits during the battle against Yzaerda, Father Chains, and so on); At least Planet level, likely Far higher with Glimpse of the Akashic

Stamina: At least Superhuman (More potential for endurance than before)

Range: Extended Melee Range with the Black Blade, Varies from several dozen to several kilometers with Offensive Spells, Hundreds of Kilometers with Teleportation

Intelligence: Extraordinary Genius (Over one hundred times the overall level of experience relative to before; capable of easily picking out the answer to complex puzzles at a rate on-par with high-tech computing processes developed by Horizon Forge Robotics, and of using knowledge of the mundane properties)

Standard Equipment: Includes a wide variety of weapons, armor, and gadgetry:

Weaknesses:
 * Various past traumas and regrets have stained her spirit, and if known can be exploited to massively undermine her otherwise seemingly insurmountable willpower.
 * In relation to the above, Azure is quick to mistrust and assume the worst about any given individual; possessing a memory that far outstrips other adventurers has alienated her from ordinary experience. Often, this only exacerbates otherwise-inconsequential mistakes and faux pas' in relations with other people.
 * She furthermore has difficulty expressing herself openly and honestly as a result of being closed off to the outside world, often seeming cold, indifferent, or unmotivated to outside viewers. This has resulted in unhealthy coping mechanisms for resolving new issues as they arise.
 * Though she has fought and won without them, a substantial amount of her power is derived externally from augments via her equipment, and depriving her of it can leave her relatively vulnerable.
 * Only has a limited amount of magical power with which to cast spells, before requiring rest to recharge it.
 * The power of her spells is proportional to her intellectual capacity and sharpness of mind- this is a double-edged sword in that effects that reduce her ability to think or concentrate clearly can negate her ability to cast spells.
 * Glimpse of the Akashic, while immensely powerful, will not only damage the Dreamscape while in use, but will also leave Azure vulnerable for a time after its effect expires.
 * Related to this, but on a broader scale, both the rules of Azure's home verse cosmology and her own moral compass prevent her from abusing many potential spell combinations in-character, under ordinary circumstances.
 * Mythic Power is very slow to recharge, requiring several weeks to recover if fully expended. It is not to be expended lightly.

Feats:

Notable Attacks and Techniques
Key: Normal | With Mythos Empowerment

Other
Notable Victories:

Notable Losses:

Inconclusive Matches:

Trivia

 * Originally, this character was intended to die very shortly after being introduced, with the Player Characters left to deal with the ramifications of an important story character permanently gone from the campaign. However, the character remained alive for far after her primary Story Arc was completed, in large part due to active player effort to keep her that way (which took me quite aback, being that these PCs have been largely merciless prior to such.)
 * This essentially granted her Ascended GM PC Status as time went on, to the point that today the character is closely associated with me, and with The Last Kingwar in general both within my IRL friend group and without.
 * Azure was, entirely honestly, originally just something between a expy of Saber and Guts in earlier iterations of her characterization: she was elaborated upon once it became apparent that the character was here to stay.
 * The absolute earliest iteration of Azure's character, from which The Last Kingwar version was originally developed, was a Dragon's Dogma character I briefly played during the initial 2012 release of the game on XBox 360.
 * Azure's adoptive mother, being a vampire, owned large quantities of First (real) World literature and culture that she kept within her Midnight Manor Kingdom. Though their relationship has been complex, and very often rocky or strained due to events early in her childhood (prior to her transition), Azure nonetheless has had enough contact with this material to be highly versed in the culture and history of our own real world, dating all the way up to the early 20th century (when the events of the plot take place.)
 * The above statement, regarding her "transition", is in relation to the fact that Azure was born a biological male: in other words, that she is transgender. That her old identity is the subject of an ongoing manhunt has led to her keeping this the most deeply guarded of all her secrets; only three other characters within the setting have ever known of this. (This point of conflict has yet to come up in the various crossover RPs she has been played in, due to not being made relevant within them.)
 * More stat tabs coming in the future; the game is not yet finished. Formatting is also subject to change.
 * More artwork coming in the future.

Gallery
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