| “ | By the blood of the fallen, by the bones of the slain.
|
„ |
| ~ Stirlat Gorestroker chanting to unlock Gorestroke |
Summary[]
Stirlat Kirsgrat Tirstal, later better known as Stirlat Gorestroker or (the) Gorestroker, is a minor character in Crestseal. He is a Collectee in Ser-Vasra's Collection and the most capable of Silver Collectees despite not being the physically strongest among them. He was made leader of Silver Collectees by Ser-Vasra and is allowed to operate on his own. He was previously a Nareptian soldier, the last leader of the Kirsgrat family, and a member of Tirstal House.
Origins[]
Stirlat is Nareptian, originating from the planet Sbam. Just 120 years before his birth, Nareptian Resurgence unfolded, in which disparate Nareptian peoples unified under one force and formed a planetary government in Sbam, naming it Nareptia and expanding to surrounding planets, which had other species unrelated to Nareptian living on them, which resulted in wars between rising Nareptia and forces and nations of species inhabiting five other planets in their solar system, often aligned one another, these wars were named Strife of Six due to involvement of six different nations.
Birth and Early Years[]
Stirlat was born to his father Drakan Kirsgrat Tirstal and mother Malin at a particularly tumultuous time, as Strife of Six had just started less than a hundred years before his birth and was still ongoing. Furthermore, he belonged to a military House, as a member of the Tirstal House with both his parents having served in the army before retiring and having children.
His first surname is Kirsgrat which indicates he is part of the Kirsgrat family, which is the name of his great-great-grandfather. Kirsgrat family itself is one of the families within the Tirstal House, the House boasts a membership exceeding a hundred thousand individuals, more than half of whom are involved in the Nareptia's Armed Force. The House was involved in the unification of Nareptian nations into one and contributed to the initiation of the Nareptian Resurgence. It is a House that values strength and combat prowess above all else. Tirstal House, like other major Nareptian Houses, is a complex collection of blood-related families originating from a progenitor, in this case, Tirstal, who lived centuries ago. Various families within the Tirstal House often feud with one another to gain more influence within the House and maintain their existing influence while also taking part in Nareptia's wars as part of their Armer Force.
The family feuds within the House are far more than petty politics that ultimately mean nothing, families with more influence may eventually attain the position of Head of Tirstal House, which not only gives them legal authority over all families but also gives them authority to control some of the most powerful artifacts and weapons that pass from one Head to another. This is one of the key reasons why Tirstal House values strength and combat capability, as the more powerful members a family has, the more likely they may produce a member that can be the Head. Once they can produce one, securing the position with the help of artifacts is already significantly easy. As families grow in power and influence, they may gain or inherit artifacts other than the ones that pass from Head to Head, another way in which they can boost the power of their members, and thus overall power and influence of the family.
From the moment Stirlat was born, Stirlat and his four siblings were trained to be integrated into the Armed Force, and take part in Strife of Six as well as other conflicts Nareptia might be involved in. Being the oldest sibling, he faced the most pressure and responsibility from the Kirsgrat family and the broader Tirstal House. As the oldest child and heir to the leadership of the Kirsgrat family, Stirlat represented the whole family most significantly at the moment and needed to be strong to secure his family's good standing amongst the whole Tirstal House.
The Kirsgrat family was made up of descendants of Kirsgrat, the great-great-grandfather of Stirlat and progenitor of the family as part of the Tirstal House. By the time Stirlat was in his youth, the family had over 200 members made up of descendants of Kirsgrat. His father, Drakan, was the strongest member of the Kirsgrat family and current possessor of Gorestroke - The main artifact of the Kirsgrat family the weapon forged and wielded by Kirsgrat himself, which he inherited from his granduncle due to his status as being the strongest within the family.
Drakan, despite being the strongest, could not wield the Gorestroke as a weapon due to a Confine Pact made by Kirsgrat while he forged it. He made a Confline Pact with the Gorestroke to make it so that anyone who is not his relative cannot wield Gorestroke and anyone weaker than him cannot wield Gorestroke in exchange for doubling Gorestroke's power. Kirsgrat effectively increased the power of the weapon he forged in exchange for massively restricting who could wield it via his Confine Pact. His efforts allowed it to be a powerful, noteworthy weapon and artifact. None of Kirsgrat's descendants, subsequent leaders of his namesake family, were strong enough to wield Gorestroke. This caused the Kirsgrat family to possess an artifact that is essentially useless as they failed to produce a member who could use it. The family was mocked by other families due to this, especially by those whose members could wield Gorestroke if they owned it.
Stirlat always dreamed of surpassing his predecessors, being able to wield Gorestroke, and eventually leading the Tirstal House as its Head. He felt the most pressure from his family but also cared for the most, compared to his siblings Akarlat, Masarlat, and Hatarlat, who were neglected. As years passed, Stirlat managed to best his father in a duel when he was only 17 years old, proving himself to be strong and impressing his father. This was much more impressive as Stirlat secretly made a Confine Pact with himself when he was 12 years old and ill. Confine Pact made it so that he would be restricted to 1/20 of his power at all times, in exchange for being able to grow 20x stronger when he stops the restriction, which he calls Unchained. He could stay in this form for 1/20 of the time he stood in his restricted form.
As years passed, Stirlat continued to grow and improve his arsenal. He liked using Chain Bindings in combat. He collected 100 Chain Bindings by the time he was 20, and made another Confine Pact with them so that they would be far less durable and would break after a couple of uses, in exchange for being much stronger and he could control their trajectory as if they were his limbs. He named them Bonds of the Passed, and started wearing them all over his body.
Conspiracy against the Kirsgrat family[]
Although things looked bright for the future of the Kirsgrat family, opposition existed. As years passed, Stirlat's siblings grew jealous and resentful towards their family for being neglected, and being in the shadow of their much more capable elder brother. Five years later, they conspired with several other families to frame Drakan and Stirlat of murder to have them executed, detrimental to their family but they did not care. A carefully planned plan was put in motion, Drakan and Stirlat were the only visible suspects in the murder of Akalshia Mesrana Tristal, an elder from the Mesrana family, a well-respected individual in the entire Tirstal House. Yet, she used her Method and sacrificed her life to frame Drakan and Stirlat as her murderers, all to raise the Mesrana family. She used her Method to have both Drakan and Stirlat attack her and die at the same time, unrelated to Drakan's attack on her.
Drakan and Stirlat were shocked and confused respectively. Drakan himself believed in the trick, thinking he just murdered someone, while Stirlat could see through it and could tell something was wrong. House politics made it so that they could not just run away, and other members of the Mesrana family arrived at the scene just seconds later. Stirlat and Drakan were arrested.
The trial was unanimous, as even Drakan himself could not bring himself to deny it as he believed he killed her, even though he did not understand why. Stirlat could tell something was wrong, he uniquely was not affected by Akalshia's Method and could sense Akalshia suddenly died on her own without a clear cause, but it was not his father. Regardless, Stirlat knew there was nothing he could do to change the outcome of the trial.
As the Trial started, Stirlat was shocked that he too was accused of murder, and evidence indicated his participation even though he never even moved. He could not believe it, he thought that his father attacked Akalshia, but Akalshia died to an unrelated cause, but everyone else saw it as both Drakan and Stirlat jointly attacking. All evidence showed Drakan and Stirlat as Akalshia's murderers, and the court relegated the punishment to the Mesrana family, who themselves declared imminent execution of Drakan and Stirlat.
Stirlat was beyond furious. Outraged and confused, he could not act. Even if he tried to prevent it, the surrounding individuals were much stronger than him, many of whom were dozens of Rank 8 with several Rank 7 individuals close to him. He could not stand a chance. Drakan's execution was to take part earlier, Stirlat watched it. Drakan, as customary to Tirstal House, had Gorestroke in his person while executed, and Stirlat was to be executed the same way as he would inherit it upon his father's death. Stirlat closed his eyes and numbed his senses, to not notice his father's execution, and remained unresponsive until it was his turn.
Unchained, Unleashed[]
He was calm, numb, unresponsive, indifferent. He was given Gorestroke and from the moment he held it, he felt it. The executioner swung his Axe at Stirlat's head, only to have it shattered to pieces as Stirlat blocked and broke it with his bare hands. Stirlat felt it, even when he was restricted to 1/20, he could wield Gorestroke somehow. He unleashed his rage, did not care if he would be killed by surrounding powerful watchers, and killed the Executioner. There was a moment of silence, a moment so long for him but short for everyone else as if he could see everyone else as frozen. At that moment, Stirlat decided to go all out, went Unchained, and chanted to activate Gorestroke. He attacked anyone and everyone whom he saw as a threat, at the same time unleashing Gorestroke's Pestilence, swinging it in tandem with the Bonds of the Passed. The scenery was chaos, and Stirlat was able to escape.
Attack of Vasra Fleet[]
Just hours after Stirlat fled and kept a low profile, a smaller fraction of the Vasra Fleet, the Congregation of Ser-Vasra, attacked Sbam. Several Vasra Fleet members attacked a weakened and exhausted Stirlat, and defeated him, imprisoning him and taking him, along with tens of thousands of others, with their ship as part of their small raid.
Like all other captives, Stirlat was to be used as a slave. Gorestroke and Bonds of the Passed were taken from him, and he was tightly restrained. Despite over a month of captivity, constant rebellions launched by him, and constant suppressions and injuries, Stirlat remained rebellious and untamed, Vasra Fleet understood that he would not make a good slave, but he was not executed.
Collected by Ser-Vasra[]
After less than two months, Stirlat was brought before the court of Ser-Vasra herself as per her request. There, Ser-Vasra was toying with Gorestroke, she told Stirlat that it was difficult to wield this weapon as if she wasn't meant to, even though she was wielding it. Stirlat was shocked, seeing an unrelated person being able to utilize Gorestroke. Before he could ask about how and why, Stirlat asked him if he still wished to wield Gorestroke, to which Stirlat replied with a quiet yes. Before his "yes" was over, Ser-Vasra raised her hand and collected Stirlat.
Just after collecting him, Ser-Vasra summoned Stirlat, who surprisingly retained many of his personality and traits, rare for a Collectee, still zealously loyal to Ser-Vasra regardless. Ser-Vasra was intrigued and gave Gorestroke to him. Stirlat was able to roam freely, his free demeanor made him interesting enough that Ser-Vasra never absorbed him again. He proved his power and capabilities to Ser-Vasra, proving himself to be the most capable amongst the Silver Collectees, even if not the physically strongest, prompting Ser-Vasra to name him the Leader of Silver Collectees, and giving him even more freedom, to lead his forces and fleet as autonomous part of Vasra Fleet.
Edict of the Free[]
Stirlat, alongside being one of the few Collectees to retain a lot of personality traits, will, behavior, and nature after being collected, is also the only one who wrote about the experience of being collected.
Freedom is a fickle thing. At what point you can be sure you are free? That you have control over your actions and it's you on your own volition choose to act? How can we know? We cannot. Looking behind, I always acted in ways that would be expected of me, my background, and my upbringing. It's like I was never free at all. Being a Collectee is interesting, it is a unique experience for all, meaning one cannot share it with others or have anyone that can relate. I still feel the sensation of being turned into a much smaller object and being swallowed, consumed by this woman, a woman I feel deeply, deeply loyal to at the moment. I am aware this feeling is due to being collected, being consumed by her. But so what? I have become a part of her, down to my core, I am Ser-Vasra. Before I felt immense pride and ambition, and desire to lead Tirstal House, now I feel immense loyalty and devotion towards Ser-Vasra, and a desire to serve her forever. Most importantly, for the first time, I feel free.
Powers and Stats[]
Tier: Low 7-B, higher with Locked Gorestroke. 7-B when Unchained, higher with Unlocked Gorestroke
Name: Stirlat Kirsgrat Tirstal, Stirlat Gorestroker (common name after being a Collectee), the Gorestroker (common nickname)
Origin: Crestseal
Gender: Male
Age: At least 200 years old
Classification: Nareptian, Collectee
Powers and Abilities:
- Phanon Control
- Superhuman Physical Characteristics
- Immortality (Type 1, 3, and 8; Collectees are tied to Ser-Vasra, cannot die as long as she is alive)
- Regeneration (Low-Mid normally; Collectees can regrow their limbs, torso, legs, and partial internal damage, Low-Godly over time, can reform their whole body after a few years)
- Self-Sustenance (Types 1, 2, and 3; All Collectees can persist without any sustenance, though can still get tired)
- Adept Wrestler Stirlat is a skilled wrestler)
- Weapon Mastery (Can use swords, Axes, rifles effectively)
- Sound Control, Instinctive Action, and Acrobatics (Hypermobility, All-Terrain Mobility, Self-Momentum, Surface Running; Mentalweavers can instinctively react to incoming attacks by dodging or blocking and launch a counter attack even when no longer alive, capable of performing hundreds of rapid jumps and flips both in-ground and in the air, move through any terrain and glide in the air with maximum efficiency, move in a way that is not affected by air friction to perform instant full-speed movement without acceleration, and move in a way that makes no sound.)
- Flight/Spaceflight (Stirlat can do battle in outer space and fly in it)
- Power Nullification (Stirlat has Bonds of the Passed, which are empowered versions of Chain Bindings, which can bind the Methods of those they can bind normally)
- Limited Body Control (Nareptians capable of freely controlling the size and shape of their tails, being able to expend it over 5 meters)
- Enhanced Senses (Nareptians are born with Innate Sense which allows them to see in complete darkness, and smell from kilometers away)
- Natural Weaponry (Nareptians have claws)
- Adaptation (Nareptians are born with Adaptation allowing them to develop temporary characteristics to survive in negative conditions)
- Law Manipulation (Stirlat can utilize Confine Pact. This Method allows him to invoke certain conditions and laws that cannot be broken, all involved are bonded to follow)
- Self-Sealing and Statistics Amplification (Stirlat made a Confine Pact with himself which restricts him to 1/20 of his power at all times, a state he called Chained, in exchange for the utilization of what he calls Unchained, temporarily getting 20x stronger than his unrestricted state when he stops the restriction)
- Body Control (Boneforgers have a degree of control over their own flesh and skeletal structure)
- Acrobatics (Runweaers can move with exceptional agility and precision)
- Statistics Reduction (Gorestroke's Locked Method, Sunder, can reduce the durability of its targets after repeated attacks, lowering it enough to cause damage after five connected attacks)
- Disease Manipulation, Status Effect Inducement, and Mind Manipulation (Unlocked Gorestroke's primary aptitude, Pestilence, exudes an odorless, tasteless, invisible gas that can inflict the target with a disease that stuns them and affects their mind, making it extremely hard to think)
- Existence Erasure (Unlocked Gorestroke's secondary aptitude, Erasure, allows it to erase its target from existence with one slash)
- Chain Manipulation and Power Nullification (Can freely control and use Bonds of the Passed, a group of hundred Chain Bindings empowered by a Confine Pact, they can not only restrain the target but also restrain their Methods for a brief time)
- Limited Invisibility (Cavil Rifle can produce invisible bullets)
Resistance to Subjective Reality (Able to prevent various users of Mindsculpt, a Method which allows users to influence the reality with their thoughts and desires to achieve different goals, affecting his person, including his equipment), Existence Erasure (Neither Stirlat nor his equipment is affected by Gorestroke's Erasure being reflected at him)
Attack Potency: Small City level (Stirlat, while "chained" by his Confine pact which restricts him to 1/20 of his regular power, is Rank 6++. Additionally, he is at least five times more powerful than Rank 6 [3.3 Megatons]), higher with Locked Gorestroke (Gorestroke, while locked, classified as a Rank 6++ and it is stronger than Stirlat himself), City level when Unchained (Stirlat can use Unchained temporarily when he stops the Confine Pact which restricts him to 1/20 of his power. Unchained further makes him 20x stronger on top of it [66.4 Megatons), higher with Unlocked Gorestroke (Unlocked Gorestroke with its full power allowed, is stronger than Stirlat's Unchained state)
Speed: Subsonic with Relativistic reactions and combat speed (Comparable to other Silver Collectees who can outpace Varlets)
Lifting Strength: At least Pre-Stellar (Comparable to other Collectees who can overpower Varlets and keep up with some Varlets), higher with Bonds of the Passed (Bonds of the Passed are far more powerful than regular Chain Bindings, which can momentarily restrain Stirlat himself)
Striking Strength: Small City level. higher with Locked Gorestroke. City level when Unchained, higher with Unlocked Gorestroke
Durability: Small City level. higher with Locked Gorestroke. City level when Unchained, higher with Unlocked Gorestroke
Stamina: Superhuman. Stirlat can stay active and combat for weeks nonstop.
Range: Extended Melee Range by himself (His tail can reach up to 5 meters when fully extended) and with Gorestroke, Tens of Meters with Bonds of the Passed (One of the Bonds of the Passed has a length of 20 meters, and can reach up to 60 meters when three of them combined into one), Hundreds of Meters with Cavil Rifle
- Gorestroke: Gorestroke is a weapon crafted by Karokk, the Master Blacksmith, and gifted to Stirlat for his services. Gorestroke is a Great Axe, and aside from that, it possesses aptitudes of its own. It has three, one can be used when Locked, while the other two require it to be Unlocked, which can be done with a chant.
- Anti-Healing: Gorestroke's strikes are significantly difficult to recover from, it can inflict permanent damage on Collectees who can recover their whole body from total destruction.
- Sunder: Gorestroke can lower the durability of an area of any target with each connected attack. After 5 attacks, the chosen area will be "less durable than wet paper" as Stirlat says. It is not needed to attack the chosen area, any part of the target's body counts and allows Stirlat to reduce durability. As it completes in 5 hits, each hit reduces about 20 percent of durability. This reduction only exists when Stirlat is landing a hit, and not always, though it is permanent.
- Unlocked: Gorestroke is normally a Locked weapon, hiding two of its aptitudes behind a chant. When the wielder chants it, it will be unlocked and its power will be increased greatly, though this is optional as it is possible to Unlock it and keep its power the same as Locked state. While Unlocked, the other two aptitudes of Gorestroke will be accessible
- Pestilence: Gorestroke exudes an odorless, tasteless, transparent gas around itself, active up to 20 meters in radius. This gas inflicts its targets with a disease. This disease is asymptomatic, meaning the infection cannot be noticed by targets until it's too late. The effects show after roughly a minute (from the perspective of the wielder) of infection. The disease will stun the infected, making it difficult for them to move physically. Additionally, the disease also makes it difficult for the target to think, the simple act of thinking and making decisions becomes extremely difficult as the brain is also stunned by the disease
- Erasure: Gorestroke can erase things from existence with one slash, regardless of how narrow it is. This can only be used once, and Gorestroke will be Locked again and cannot be Unlocked for 100 years.
- Cavil Rifle: A Cavil weapon higher grade than a Cavil Handgun, wielded by Conrals and Conjors. Like the Cavil Handgun, the Cavil Rifle can compress materials, generally air, to make bullets, making it nearly impossible for the wielder to run out of bullets.
- Unseen Bullets: Out of all 100 Bullet Cavil Rifle generates, 5 of them will be invisible. However, their order will be random.
- Bonds of the Passed: A collection of one hundred Chain Bindings greatly enhanced by a Confine Pact in exchange for each of them only being usable a couple of times before they break apart. They are a set of chains 20 meters in length, though their length can reliably be improved to 60 when 3 of them are combined into one. These chains are far stronger than ordinary Chain Bindings, which themselves are strong enough to momentarily bind Stirlat himself. Like regular Chain Bindings, Bonds of the Passed can bind the Methods as well as movement for a time. The Confine Pact that was made allows Stirlat to freely control the length, trajectory, and movements of these Chains, allowing him to use them as additional limbs. He can restrain enemies with them, have increased range, and use Gorestroke and Cavil Rifle with the chains. He can only use one chain at a time, which will break after a couple of times due to the Confine Pact restricting the number of times it can be used
Intelligence: Gifted. Stirlat is intelligent in the standard Nareptian fashion. He can learn foreign languages in a few days and can keep track of various details for extended periods even when not having seen them in decades. He's highly capable in melee weapons, especially Axemanship as his primary weapon is an axe and can fight off multiple similarly capable opponents. Despite not being a Precogazer, he is unseen to Precogazers and can hold his own Palovan soldiers up to the rank of Archantvers for some time. Took part in Ser-Vasra's invasion of Talith Congregation and survived despite being one of the weakest individuals being in there by keeping accurate track of his surroundings and hiding when he needed to.
Standard Tactics:
Stirlat is generally a close-range fighter wielding an Axe. He will initially try to get close and personal, and will not display his Rifle or any other ability other than ordinary Axemanship, giving his opponent the impression that he has no long-range options or any other specific ability.
Depending on how the battle goes, Stirlat will suddenly display additional abilities, causing a sudden increase in range and versatility to catch his opponent off-guard. To do this, he can extend his tail to utilize attacks with greater range, display Cavil Rifle and shoot bullets, or utilize Bonds of the Passed in unexpected ways. If he is immediately overpowered, he will run away and chant to unlock Gorestroke and use Pestilence and Erasure as a last resort.
Weaknesses: None notable
Notable Attacks/Techniques:
- Nareptian Physiology: Stirlat is a Nareptian and retains the characteristics of a Nareptian
- Tail: Nareptians have tails which they can control the size and shape of in a very precise manner. It is effectively a fifth limb for them, allowing them to even wield weapons with it. Their tail is also the strongest limb of a Nareptian, striking harder than their arms and legs.
- Adaptation: Nareptians can develop temporary, new features when exposed to harmful factors. Such as developing scales and skin that is resistant to heat when exposed to high temperatures, or cold. Developing insulated scales when facing electricity. Increasing internal pressure on their body to survive in a high-pressure environment that could otherwise crush them, and many other examples. These adaptations are temporary and will wane away once the harmful factor is removed, but can be developed much faster if the same or a similar effect is introduced again later on.
- Confine Pact: Confine Pact is a versatile Method. This allows users to invoke certain laws into reality, which all involved are bonded to follow and cannot break. This Method is primarily made to make deals and agreements all parties are bonded. In combat, it is commonly used to alter the conditions of the way Methods work. For example, lowering the damage output of a Method in exchange for increasing its damage or lowering its width to increase its height range towards a specific direction. Or sacrificing functions of an attack, or a Method, for a certain time, or forever, to attain an instant effect. Overall it is a very versatile Method with widespread usage.
- Unchained: Stirlat made a pact with himself, which "chains" him, restricting him to 1/20 of his regular power at all times. When he stops this, he returns to his unrestricted state and then is capable of using Unchained on top of it, which makes him 20x stronger than his unrestricted state. He can stay in his Unchained state for 1/20 of the time he spent while being "chained"
- Proficiency: Stirlat is a decently capable combatant and is a master of several proficiency paths in their basic forms
- Boneforger: Boneforgers have a degree of control over their own flesh and skeletal structure. They can move their bones and flesh somewhat without the need for their nervous system, or whatever else the character needs to move. This allows them to bend and squish their bodies to a degree without harming themselves
- Mentalweaver: Mentalweavers can effectively control their bodies like puppets guided by their mind rather than conventional movement. For these individuals, the thought of moving is the same as moving itself, and there is no delay between the mind and the body. This allows them to perform hundreds of rapid jumps and flips both in-ground and in the air, move through any terrain and glide in the air with maximum efficiency, move in a way that is not affected by air friction to perform instant full-speed movement without acceleration, and move in a way that makes no sound. They can also innately react to any incoming attack by dodging and launching a counterattack, even when no longer alive or conscious
- Runweaver: Runweavers have the ability to move with exceptional agility and precision, allowing them to sprint, jump, and flip constantly without the risk of falling or damaging themselves
Notable Matchups[]
Victories:
Losses:
GGesom (Various verses) GGesom's profile (Stirlat started as Low 7-B, GGesom was 7-B in the 'Full knowledge remembered' key and speed was equalized.)
Inconclusive: