Author Topic: Argus Venatus  (Read 1340 times)

Augustus

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Argus Venatus
« on: March 31, 2017, 08:17:07 PM »
CHARACTER

Name: Argus Venatus (formerly known as Agro)

Age: 17

Species and Gender: Rhino Faunus male

Symbol:  Outline of a saber with a quill as the blade and a king chess piece as handle.

Occupation: Beacon first-year

Appearance: Argus stands 6 feet tall exactly (excluding his horn) and weighs 180lbs, not an ounce of fat. His body is well defined and consists mostly of lean muscle, clearly valuing endurance over strength. Despite the extra weight on his head his posture rivals perfection, always standing full height. Obsidian black hair combed over behind his horn and indigo eyes that always appear to be analyzing something.

For clothing, Argus will wear what appears to be a full grey suit, complete with tailcoat and vest, with a dark purple tie, handkerchief, and in-lining and white shirt underneath. While the outfit may seem ordinary, it is far from it. The shirt and pats are made from an athletic material common among huntsmen attire meant to provide optimal comfort and mobility to the body while absorbing (and concealing) sweat. The jacket and vest however are made from tightly woven strands of plastic, analogous to real-world Kevlar, meant more so for defense/durability. Both his Handkerchief and tie are made of a highly elastic, absorbing material, allowing them to double as a tourniquet and gauze should the need arise.

Perhaps his most eye-catching feature is his horn. Rhino horns are not the most common to begin with and his can best be described as unique. Since it does not curve, it adds roughly nine inches to his total height (but he would never calculate this in if asked) and is apparently very thin, considering it is covered in black leather without adding width. This is because a year before he left for Beacon he ground his old horn down and cast it in aluminum oxide, effectively making it a blade, as a show of commitment and a symbolic gesture to his change in life (more on that later). The aforementioned black leather piece is nothing more that a sleek, modified scabbard to ensure he is not walking around with a blade drawn.

History: It can be said that Argus’ life changed when he took a downward haymaker. He was tough enough to take the hit, but bend forward as if he couldn’t. His assailant went for a follow-up, but was taken aback by a mass of bone slamming into his gut. He stepped back as Argus stood tall and hit his opponent with his own downward haymaker. The other boy fell to the ground, unconscious. As sweat dripped from his brow, he raised his reddened fists in the air as a ring of people cheered, “AGRO! AGRO! AGRO!” This, of course, was to be expected. Only rookies expected Agro to loose a match in the east side brawl pit (at least for his age group). Well, only rookies and the thugs that set this match up. They had “requested” that Agro throw the match. A request Agro had refused with both words and actions.

His life before the brawl pit or how long he hand been there had been a blur. “One to many suckers to the crown,” he would say. It was a simple life, if you could call it that. Just a kind going one fight at a time. He didn’t have much to worry about so long as he had his fist and his wits… and his horn, the horn helped. That was, of coarse, before he went against the men who would rig a brawl pit like this. So, one minute he is basking in victories’ glory yet again, next thing he knows blood is pouring from his stomach and he is struggling to maintain consciousness. He had no illusions of living through this. After all, this was the east side of Vaccuo. The chances of him getting any kind of medical treatment in time were slim to none. Sure, people loved his fights but at the end of the day they didn’t care if he croaked. And so his fight for consciousness would be his last. And he lost.

Turns out, slim to no chance of getting medical help was just enough, for as he awoke he was greeted by the painful white of a hospital room. When he asked the nurse explained that apparently a huntsmen in full armor had brought him in shortly after he lost consciousness. The man didn’t give his name but insisted on being called The Armorer. Apparently, he had left behind a book that sat on a small table next to his hospital bed. Agro, as one could likely guess, was not a book person. So, for the first week of his recovery the book sat there untouched. Then, approaching the second week before he could be released, total boredom had gotten it’s grasp on him. However reluctantly, he reached over and picked up the book. It wasn’t very large, likely able to fit in the pocket of most jackets. It was titled “An Armorer’s Guide to Etiquette”.  Agro’s first reaction was to scoff at the implied arrogance of just the title of this book. Yet he opened it anyway, having nothing better to do.

For some unknown reason, he found himself enthralled in the pages of this small book. It wasn’t just manners 101 as he expected but rather covered topic like verbal self-defense and the power of respect. Three days after picking up the book he finds himself reading a not left for him on the back page, inviting him to go to a specific address seemingly in the middle of nowhere for an offer. Checking out of the hospital the next day and digging up his stashed fight money he got a cab to take hit to the address. There he met this mysterious Armorer who offered to train him in the ways of the sword rather than the fist. Two week prior, her would have laughed it off. But now, after his old “life” had betrayed him and after reading that book, he took the offer.

The next three years were spent training in the ways of the warrior gentlemen. Proper stance and posture, speech, swordsmanship, philosophy,  mannerisms, the works. The Armorer’s unique teaching style allowed Agro, who had now taken the name Argus Venatus, to master these skills in no time. One day, after fully realizing how far he had come, Argus made a request to The Armorer to have his horn made into a blade. This was to truly signify the end of Agro the brute and the beginning of Argus the warrior. The Armorer accepted and even made him the “scabbard” he uses today. However, The Armorer urged Argus not to think of Agro as dead, but instead dormant and to keep Agro a part of himself. To this day Argus follows that principle.

Of coarse, there is only so much a private tutor can do. Thus it was understood that when the time came attending a combat academy would surly be the next step. Argus was reluctant however. He did not want to leave the tutelage of The Armorer, but he understood that in order to become a proper huntsman, the academy experience was necessary. If not for the training and education, then for the cooperation and environment. So when the time came for the entrance exam, Argus reviewed his studies, practiced his form, and steeled his nerves. However, the night before he was supposed to get his results, he had a strange dream that would change his view of the world.

The Dream:
   
Spoiler: ShowHide
In a great empty expanse, Argus finds himself standing victorious over the defeated body of a creature known as Means. The battle was long fought and both combatants were exhausted. However, Means knelt defeated while Argus held a blade to the creature’s neck. The beast looked up to eye his opponent one last time before beginning to fade away into ash in the slight wind. When nothing remained where the creature had been, Argus relaxed his guard and knelt, allowing his body to ease itself from the fight. When he finally caught his breath he looked out to see a place in the distance. It was the place he had been traveling to before he fought Means. The place called Ends. It was close, very close even, and within it held every desire one could fathom. Love, wealth, power, everything was there at Ends. As he looked he forgot the pain in his body from a long journey to reach it. He stared at the beautiful sight from a full minute before realizing he hadn’t moved. He began to stand and walk over to Ends when he realized he wasn’t moving off the ground. Something was holding him down. He looked and his eyes widened. The ash that had been Means hand reformed into two chains, attaching his arms to the ground. On his left arm was Law and on his right was Prejudice. Argus struggled against the chains but they seemed indestructible. He attempted to relax his arms to the point of sliding out to no avail. It was truly insulting, to have Ends so close yet to be tied down in such a way. Dejected, Argus looked down to the ground to notice that there wasn’t a ground at all. No, instead there was a what appeared to be a reflexive surface portraying himself in chains. Only, the reflection was different. It depicted Argus with no shirt and baggy pants, his horn was whole and his hands were bloodied. The reflection was struggling wildly against the chains, trying and failing to break them with pure brute strength. That is, until the reflection (now recognizable as his former self: Agro) too looked to what would be its ground to notice Argus. Argus and Agro stared at each other for a moment, as if communicating with their eyes, and came to an agreement. Separate, they could beat Means, but only together could they overcome Law and Prejudice. So, the two began to stomp their respective “grounds” until the surface cracked and shattered. At this point, a gloved hand grabbed Law while a bloodied hand grabbed Prejudice. Together they pulled and the chains snapped simultaneously. With no more obstacles, the now joined Argus and Agro walked off into Ends.


When Argus awoke from this bizarre dream, he instantly remembered what The Armorer said about thinking of Agro as dormant. Every so often he would remember the dream and think on how who he was before and who he is now are one in the same.

That day had been an exciting one for Argus. First, he found out that he had passed the exam within a high percentile (though his mathematics could use some work). Second, he had been both accepted and paid for to attend Beacon Academy. The third was The Armorer had vanished without a trace. The only acknowledgment that the Armorer left beyond their lack of presence was a gift on a table. A pair of purple bracers that complement the styles of both Argus and Agro (more on that below) and a note the simply read: “Your turn”. To many this quote seems odd but to Agro, who had spent many hours playing chess with The Armorer, it fit perfectly. Thus began his journey to become a huntsman. The gentlemen, with the alter ego of a brawler, who will not allow any means, laws ore prejudices stand in the way of what he wants.


Personality: Argus is a gentleman. That is not to be taken in the ‘he holds doors and says please’ kind of way. Being a gentleman is a way of life; one Argus follows to the bitter end. However, being a gentleman only has to do with how he acts, not necessarily what he does. In fact, as far a behavior goes, he is less of a gentleman warrior and more of a gentleman pirate. As mentioned before he will not allow any means, laws or prejudices stand in the way of what he wants at any given time. But regardless what he does, he will do it in a manor befitting a gentleman.
Argus view life like a real-time version of chess. He understands there are no turns in life however there is strategy, in simple terms.

Likes: a challenge, reading, metal music (surprisingly), playing the piano, strategy games

Dislikes: people telling him “no” or “can’t”, country music, an unsporting opponent, being dirty

Aura and Semblance: Much like the accents in his cloths, Argus’ Aura takes on a regal purple color and seems to have an air of wisdom accompanying it.

His semblance is, in essence, a third person view. It allows him to see his surroundings in one of two ways: bird’s eye view or video game third person view. These have been respectively dubbed “board view” and “piece view”. Originally, his semblance was just board view but piece view was brought about through training and concentration. As such, board view will come a bit more naturally at times. When active, he no longer sees out of his eyes but instead out of an imaginary camera in a position above or around him. Board view “sees” the word from an imaginary camera 100 feet directly above him at maximum. Piece view came be tricky as since the imaginary camera is so close, he can pan the view (much like the camera in a video game) in a dome shaped area around his upper body. There is no visual sign that he has activated his semblance, making it easy to gain a tactical advantage.

However, it does have its limitations. Having it active for too long will cause headaches, especially if board view is as altitudes 50ft or more. When using board view, just like if you move far away from something, he can see more area at the expense of details. He will need to retract his imaginary camera if he is in a single combat with an opponent using unpredictable and /or precise attacks. Also, board view’s bane in low ceilings for obvious reasons (unless he wants to see what is on the next floor up). Additionally, where factors directly affecting the eyes (dirt in eyes, blindfold, etc.) will not hamper vision with his semblance, mental effects (seeing stars, blurry vision, etc.) will affect his vision in either board or piece view.

Combat Behavior: 


WEAPON

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Tertiary Form: Sample Text

Dust Functions: Sample Text

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Axus Windico ~ "LET US SHARE IN THE GLORY OF COMBAT!"
Ace N. Thaholl ~ "Just what i want you to think..."

Kingnoname1

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Re: Argus Venatus
« Reply #1 on: April 01, 2017, 12:43:30 AM »
A good solid start Augustus I just have a few comments.

I'd state specifically how Argus's horn/sword sits on his head. Because a rhino's face structure is quite different from a persons I'm just struggling to see how it would fit. I think you have it on the top of his head but I'd bring the curve back and have in closer the the forehead. The gore is a very down then up motion on bulls, boars and rhinos and having it too high would make it very unwieldy in my opinion.

Also about his semblance I personally think the seeing through solid objects is a bit much. Maybe have it so he has less detail on things behind walls, so be can still see around most cover just not see almost every surprise coming.
No criticism is too harsh so hit me with your best shot.

Calen Shrike - ASTC - First Year Beacon.

Saffron de Cortez - SALT - Third Year Atlas.

Amarant Lovis - (formerly of)ACCE - Headmaster of Atlas Academy

Ramalia - RASB - First Year Shade