CHARACTER
Name: Sigurd Biterweisse
Age: 19
Species and Gender: Human, Male.
Symbol: TBD
Occupation: First year student at Beacon Academy.
Appearance: Sigurd is 5'10, heavily muscled, and weighs in at 95 kilogrammes. He wears sandals or soft leather combat boots, and loose fitting fighting trousers tied with a red sash. As a muscle fanatic, when he's forced to wear a shirt they tend to be sleeveless and unbuttoned. When presented with the option, however, he prefers not to wear them at all, and finds them a nuisance when training or fighting. In cold weather or during rain he wears a sleeveless jacket, which he leaves similarly unbuttoned. Some people find that counter-intuitive. Sigurd does not.
Sigurd is unhealthily pale, and has fiery orange eyes and short straw blonde hair. His right arm and leg are an unsightly mess of scar tissue from when they were shredded, and the fingers of his right hand are a little crooked from where they have reset imperfectly. The rest of his body is covered in an array of small, insignificant scars from scrapes and cuts during training. He is rarely found without some minor injury or other, usually self-inflicted through over training.
Since his second trip into the wilds, Sigurd has taken to carrying on his back a life sized beech wood statue of a knight in armour. Sigurd claims that bearing this weight, approximately equal to walking around with another person on his back, is another part of his training. The origins and significance, or lack thereof, of the statue remain a mystery.
History: Sigurd hails from the isolated village of Aufjeben, in the far north of the Kingdom of Atlas. Cut off from the majority of modern society, the village is a frequent target for Grimm attacks. The people, caught between the Grimm and the bitter weather, which is cold in the summer and nightmarish in the winter, have become tough and bitter to adapt. Only the most rugged of crops can stand the frozen earth, and they lead lives of simple but backbreaking survival. For security, rather than the Hunters or military, none of whom stay long, they rely instead upon a ragtag but battle-hardened militia of volunteer residents.
As one of the northernmost human settlements, Aufjeben is often seen as a stopping point and trading post for Huntsmen intending to explore the northern territory. As such, although the village seems to model itself after a more archaic style of living, small signs of a more advanced civilisation can be found scattered about: scrolls, time-beaten televisions and radios, and the weaponry of the militia; which in contrast to most other things in the village, are never permitted to grow dull or tired.
Sigurd's mother, Sarina, was one of these passing Huntsmen. A golden haired Huntress of just 25, she was energetic, playful, and childishly fascinated by the nature of the world. Often described as the light of their group, she had within her a boundless enthusiasm for life, one which affected not just herself but all those who surrounded her.
Sigurd's father Erwin, the man to whom she was drawn, was her polar opposite. Older than she, dark in face and and darker in mind, he was the militia captain charged with the protection of the village. In contrast to her infinite optimism, Erwin was a world weary nihilist. Having suffered all his life and seen far too many friends and family, neighbours and acquaintances, fall and die, he dedicated himself to his duties with a self-destructive fanaticism. His taking charge of the militia coincided with one of the safer and more peaceful periods in Aufjeben's history, but the cost of such security was his health of mind and body.
Sarina arrived in his life as a lifeline, the beam of light which delivered him from himself and raised him from the depression into which he had fallen. He drawn to her light, she to his dark, the two fell instantly in love. After three passionate weeks Sarina departed with her companions, only to return six months later bearing his child.
The time in which Erwin spent with her was the happiest of his life. She was the crutch he leaned on, the one to whom he confessed his darkest sins and deepest fears, and the one who accepted his burden with neither complaint nor hesitation. The two spoke of their hopes, their dreams; their plans for their future together with their child.
These plans were never to be. More than a month earlier than anticipated, Sarina went into a premature labour, giving birth to a pale, sickly boy. She did not survive.
Titled Biterweisse by his distraught father, Sigurd was born with an undiagnosed sickness of the blood. The chances of his even surviving childhood, according to the resident doctor, were slim at best; and given the crippling nature of his disability, this was perhaps not such a bad thing. But Erwin would not relent, and survive the boy did.
Throughout his early childhood, Sigurd was in constant need of care. He had not the strength to move himself, struggled to eat even liquid foods, and was gravely intolerant of the cold. Had he been the child of another, this care might have been impossible; but Erwin was no ordinary man. Between his grief and burning hatred towards the unfairness of the world, and the single-minded determination which had once been the driving force of his life, he dedicated himself not only to his position in the militia and as carer for his bastard child, but to the search for a possible cure for his illness. He made numerous excursions into the larger cities, spoke with the most skilled professionals in the industry, and lost thousands of hours of sleep caught up in his own research.
After four years of ceaseless effort, his diligence paid off.
Whilst not a complete cure, experts from the Kingdom of Vale were finally able to produce a partial treatment for his sickness. With the help of this drug Sigurd was finally able to live a semi-normal life, albeit a fragile one. Whilst no longer life threatening, the remainder of his condition, coupled with his time as an invalid, left him in a weakened state where even normal levels of physical exertion could reduce him to unconsciousness.
This was not enough to faze him. Erwin often remarked that his son had inherited the best of both his parents, and this did indeed seem to be the case. To the newly healed boy, life was not just survival but adventure, excitement, the stuff of dreams. He shared in his mother's enthusiasm and optimism, and to him his frailty was not a burden, but a challenge to be overcome. It was to this end that he put to use the determination and perseverance inherited from his father.
To Sigurd, the answer was simple. If his body was weaker than others', then all he needed to do was work twice as hard to strengthen it. And surely someday, once he had trained it enough, he would find himself strong enough that even his untreated condition was a matter of no consequence.
Sigurd threw himself into his training with a reckless abandon. Day after day he pushed through his limits, breaking his body down, rebuilding it slightly stronger every time. He began to fixate upon strength and power, and his training slowly changed from a means to an end, turning into a passion, then lifestyle. In Sigurd's eyes strength became the greatest of virtues, and weakness the most pitiful of sins.
With his father the grandmaster as a martial arts tutor, and the hungry wilderness as a physical conditioner, Sigurd improved in leaps and bounds. By the time he was ten years old he had vastly exceeded any and all expectations, and few would have guessed at his previous invalidity.
As a boy, Sigurd had always been a ray of light in a land darkened by the harshness of the world. As the years went on, however, even he began to change. His ever cheerful step began to lose its spring, and sometimes he could be found frowning at his reflection. It was as though the liveliness of his youth was being leached away by the coldness of the world.
To his father, this was unacceptable. He had no intention of allowing his son to share in his fate, and wanted him out of the village before the changes became irreversible. The seventeen-year-old Sigurd had no complaints, claiming that he first wanted a year to explore the world, then that he would enrol at a combat academy in order to find greater opponents to challenge. After a brief period of searching, and based upon its closeness to the medical experts producing his medicine, the two opted for Beacon.
Having decided upon his course in life, Sigurd set out from the confines of his old home, eager to explore the rest of the world. He set off into the wilderness, periodically returning to civilisation to resupply but for the most part relying upon his survival skills to get by.
To begin with, everything went well. He was well trained enough to sustain himself, and the occasional fight with roaming Grimm allowed him to test his skills in serious combat. During this period he was able to improve his physical capabilities even further, and it was also during this time that he developed his semblance. In the tenth month of his exploration, however, everything went horribly wrong.
Headstrong and foolhardy as he was, it was only a matter of time before Sigurd bit off more than he could chew. One day, with a vain pride in his abilities, Sigurd found himself confronted by a pack of hungry Grimm. Head swollen with arrogance, he underestimated the threat they faced, and rather than escaping chose to fight them head on.
After a long and bloody fight Sigurd reigned victorious, but it had taken its toll, and his leg had been bitten down to the bone. Realising too late the fatal mistake he'd made, he began the long trek back to civilisation.
Trailing the scents of blood and fear, Sigurd became a target for more and more Grimm; and without the time to properly rest, soon even the weakest became a serious threat. With no other choice he entered a repeating cycle of running, hiding, and fighting.
After almost a month, Sigurd found salvation in a chance encounter with a group of wandering Hunters. His right arm and leg had been shattered and torn open, and further exacerbated by his running, and he was delirious with hunger and fatigue.
The group returned him to civilisation, and he spent the next four months recovering in a hospital bed, causing him to miss his enrolment date. He was subjected to psychotherapy upon admitting that his weeks on the run had been some of the best of his life, but no advancements were ever made.
Upon his release from hospital, it took Sigurd another six weeks to undergo a complete recovery. After this he returned to the wilds, but never strayed too far from the city again, and never again allowed his vanity to control his actions.
One year later than planned, at nineteen years of age, Sigurd began his time at Beacon Academy.
Personality: Sigurd lives to train and fight. Because of this any spare time he has is dedicated to one or both, and he often multitasks by incorporating one into his other activities in some way. He loves adversary, views problems as challenges, and telling him something is impossible is akin to daring him to attempt it. In his words, when the world pushes him, he pushes it right back; and if he doesn't have the strength to do so, he just trains until he does.
Sigurd is outgoing, enthusiastic, and optimistic to the point of idealistic. He loves action, and whenever something is happening he makes sure to be there in the thick of it. He is friendly towards others, although his upbringing means that he's somewhat lacking in social skills. He tends to speak without thinking, is blunt to the point of tactless, and intensely competitive, something which can sometimes drive others away. He also has trouble dealing with more complicated emotions than simple happiness and sadness.
Sigurd has a very fierce moral compass, albeit a skewed one where strength and weakness are just as important as good and evil. He has no problems with involving himself in others' battles, and his preferred method of conflict resolution is fighting. He has no fear of injuring himself or others, as he believes that being beaten is the best way to grow stronger, and so is just as happy to beat up someone weaker than him as he is to be beaten up by someone stronger. He values personal freedom and pays little regard to authority; meaning that he goes along with it whilst he agrees with it, but will rebel at the drop of a hat should this cease to be the case.
Despite his warm personality, his life in Aufjeben, and being raised by Erwin, has left a mark. In situations of extreme stress he changes dramatically, becoming bitter, sadistic, and brutally ruthless.
Semblance: Dragon Hunter
Named the 'Dragon Hunter' due to its resemblance to a dragon's scales, Sigurd's Semblance is a creation technique which allows him to manifest his aura as a set of translucent orange hexagonal plates. Sigurd connects these plates together to form a suit of armour, which he can then manipulate at will. By manipulating the motion of the armour he wears, he is able to move without having to rely upon his own muscles. At the current date the armour can be summoned in three separate phases.
First Phase: Hunter
The first phase is the weakest of the three, and the primary form which he uses for combat. In this phase, Sigurd relies equally upon his armour and his body to fight. The armour does not always manifest as a complete suit, but may simply be a boots/gauntlets combination. This phase of his semblance lessens the physical strain of fighting, allowing him to compete on equal terms with able-bodied warriors. The increases in speed and power are minor, but it offers additional protection against external damage.
Second Phase: Slayer
The second phase is significantly more powerful than the first, and Sigurd uses it as a trump card for whenever he finds himself outmatched or struggling. In the second phase he relies entirely upon his armour to move, allowing him to strike with inhuman speed and power. However, this power comes at a cost.
The second phase of his semblance is much more intensive, draining his aura at a much greater rate, and so he cannot use it for more than a few minutes without rest. Because of this intensive aura usage, he also loses the passive healing and shielding effects which it normally provides. Also, as his body is forced to operate beyond its limits, use of this phase damages him over time. Minor injuries such as sprains and small fractures are frequent.
In this phase the armour becomes more opaque, and begins to emit light. It provides much greater protection, although he no longer has the secondary protection of his natural aura.
Third Phase: Destroyer
The third phase of his Dragon Hunter is extremely powerful- more powerful than Sigurd can control. He has only attempted to use it once, when on the run in the wild, and the destructive force was such that the backlash from a single punch was enough to shred and shatter his own arm and leg. After this incident, Sigurd has done his best to forget about this technique.
In this form the armour emits even brighter light and an intense heat, and becomes even more opaque. The drain on his aura is such that he can only use it for a few seconds, after which he is rendered unconscious and violently ill for days afterwards.
As a side note, this technique exists for the sake of lore rather than actual gameplay. It's far too self-destructive, and considering that using it once put him in hospital for four months Sigurd has no intention of attempting it a second time.
Combat Behavior: Sigurd does not use a weapon, but is highly skilled in unarmed martial arts. He is of average speed, above average strength, and below average stamina. Although he has been trained in both grappling and striking, he much prefers the latter and tends to revert to it when he has the choice. In combat he behaves in one of two different ways, based upon whether he's his usual self, or been pushed into reverting to his bitter and sadistic state.
In most situations Sigurd is an aggressive onrush-style fighter. He specialises in closing the distance with his opponent, attacking them head on, and breaking them down with extreme force. He prefers attacking to defending, is more than happy to take a few blows in order to deliver his own, and likes nothing more than a slugging match or contest of strength. His attacks are relatively straightforward, and he doesn't tend to think much in combat. He has a bad habit of getting carried away in the heat of the moment, which can lead him to make mistakes or find himself in unfavourable situations, and is defenceless against ranged attacks. He also struggles with cardiovascular endurance, and quickly begins to weaken if he cannot close a fight early on.
When in his second mental state, Sigurd's style changes dramatically. He locks onto and focuses entirely on the enemy before him, meaning that there's very little they can do without his notice, but he's defenceless against any other combatants. Instead of rushing in, he fights defensively or advances slowly, avoiding damage whilst delivering as much as possible. Unlike his normal character he has no concept of a fair fight, and will win using whatever dirty tricks are necessary. He often draws out a victory for as long as possible, in order to prolong the suffering of his enemy. In this state he is difficult to reason with, and refuses to back down until his enemy has been destroyed. Aside from the fact that he has a different fighting style, his strengths and weaknesses remain essentially the same.
OTHER NOTES
Personality: Sigurd does not have a split personality or alter-ego. Viewed from a psychoanalytical perspective it is a buried mentality, the result of his upbringing in a vicious setting where the living are forced to stare death in the face on a daily basis, which is usually overwritten by his warm-hearted nature. Under extreme stress, when he is no longer capable of handling the scenario with which he is faced, this buried mentality kicks in as a subconscious self-defence mechanism.
As an additional note, when I say extreme, I mean extreme. Sigurd is an open person who tends to take most things in his stride, and it takes a hell of a lot to offset him this much. Eg. Being held down and forced to watch his friends beaten to a pulp, or something similarly severe. It's not the kind of thing to kick in during a normal argument, fight, or confrontation.
Physical Condition: Sigurd must take his medicine once every four hours, or else begin to revert to his incapacitated state. Because of this, his sleep patterns differ from those of normal people. He sleeps for multiple short periods instead of a single long one, and can often be awake when others are asleep or asleep when others are awake.
As his medicine is not a perfect cure, some of the effects of his sickness still remain. Sigurd cannot concentrate for long periods of time, struggles with fine motor skills, and has poor cardiovascular endurance. Longer periods of intense activity can still cause him to pass out.
Weapon: Sigurd is an unarmed fighter. He believes that nobility lies in relying upon your strength alone, and that using a weapon is borrowing power and therefore goes against this. However, for all intents and purposes his Semblance can be treated as his weapon.
Topic: Sigurd Biterweisse (Read 13744 times)