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Enzo Azura

Started by Lion, June 12, 2013, 01:52:07 AM

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Lion

Prologue
+ NAME + Enzo Azura
+ ALIAS + Prince Azura
+ AGE + Unknown, Appears approx. between 30-35
+ GENDER + Male
+ STAR SIGN + The Saint's Scale
+ BORN + First day of Spring
+ ORIGIN + Vallaris
+ SPECIES + Vallarian
+ RESIDENCE + Severely Nomadic
+ OCCUPATION + Swordsman / Ex-Bodyguard / Wanderer
+ COUNTENANCE + Burgundy-violet Hair / Red eyes rimmed with gold
+ STATURE + 6'2" / 188 lbs.
+ SEXUALITY + Unknown


CH. I – Painting a Portrait
Enzo cuts quite an intimidating figure at six foot three inches, tall and well-built.  But where a mountain of a man might use his stature as a brute show of power, Enzo is much leaner and meaner, his power lying in his demeanor.  His eyes speak for themselves in a sort of starry brilliance, red in color with a golden ring around it, seeming to flux in an unknown turbulence.  Even his hair bears a deep rich burgundy, making his hair appear almost black in some lighting and violet in brighter settings.  He keeps it tied back in a ponytail with just a few rebellious strands loose here and there.

His face is slim with thin lips and a long pointed nose.  He has a high jaw with muscles protruding prominently.  While his features are youthful, his age is indeterminate, though he appears to be in his early thirties.  Enzo walks with a bold, confident gait, one not often found in those of his age.  Yet there is something heavy in his step, as if the very sky weighs him down.

+ NOTABLE MARKS +
On Enzo's left shoulder resides a rather large burn scar that slopes down from his collarbone, partly on his left breast and reaching all the way around to his shoulder blade, courtesy of his enemy.  The skin there is still raw and sensitive to the touch.

+ PREFERRED CLOTHING +
He still wears the robes and guard armor he did on the night of the siege of Castle Valar.  Though he may change into other clothes, he will always retain his armor as it has become a part of him now.  No matter what he may choose to wear, he always has on his side his sword and on his neck a gold talisman in the shape of a small dragon with wings unfurled and tail curling around itself and two small garnets for eyes.

CH II – Mental Make-up
Enzo is a man of high standards and carries himself with the strength of his persona.  Inside he bears a strong ethic and moral code.  He believes in a distinct line between right and wrong, in protecting the weak, innocent, and those that cannot defend themselves.  Nothing is stronger than loyalty, in his book, and when one swears an oath they must uphold that oath even until death.  And those that betray them can never be trusted again.

Despite his own code however, Enzo is self-deluded and believes that the soul of the Prince he once served lives on through him, guiding him from beyond, almost becoming him.  Enzo feels immeasurable guilt in failing his duty to protect him.  He has made it his duty to avenge the Prince and find the man who killed him so long ago.  He has a hard time seeing the shades of gray that exist between good and evil, that life isn't always so simple, and even more, dealing with the doubt that lingers in himself and all that he believes.

+ FAITH +
Enzo was a devout believer in the gods of his native realm and that the gods act through mortals, enacting justice and retribution in their proper order.

+ HABITS +
Enzo does not partake in excessive drinking or smoking.  He does meditate quite often to center himself, and does use herbs as a means to relax and reflect, usually inducing himself into a trance.  He prefers to keep level-headed about things and is not quick to anger, not showing emotion even if something strikes him deeply to the heart.

CH III – Social

+ RELATIONSHIPS +
  Prince Azura, Friend and Liege, deceased
Matakopas, Enemy, Alive

CH IV – Abilities / Skills
+ SWORDSMAN +
Enzo's was born into the life of a bodyguard, like his father and his father before him, and was Captain of the Vallarian Royal Guard at the age of twenty-three, the youngest ever to do so.  The Royal Guard were the most skilled warriors of the realm and the last line of defense.

+ IMMORTAL +
Taken from the very power of the mountain of his homeland, the energy was cultivated and cast into Enzo's form, combating the influence of Enzo's weapon during the siege of Castle Valar, the divine blade Angra'arda.  The energy fused his soul to his body, and his soul to the blade, when it was cast into the portal.  He is, almost quite literally, one with his weapon, capable of transferring his soul into his sword and use the energy provided by the Balendrung, to travel to different realms.  However, while he is immortal, unaffected by time and age, he is not invincible and may still sustain physical injury, much like an average human. 

Being of Vallarian descent does allow him some strengths over humans than most.  Sustaining higher gravity than earth, Enzo's body is nearly three times stronger than a human's, and his bones are much denser.  Life in Vallaris has adjusted Enzo to higher altitudes than most easily traverses between high and low ground.

CH V – Gear / Equipment
+ ANGRA'ARDA +
A katana of unknown origin but masterful design, it seems almost divine just by looking at it; not only in craftsmanship, but in the mere presence of it, one may feel their very wills affected by it.  It is approximately four fee and five inches long, with a white-bound hilt.  The folded edge itself is said to have been sharpened by diamonds, that even the residue can be seen on the edge to a keen eye.  It's exact origin cannot be determined, though it's power can certainly be felt by its weilder, as it bonds to them and reflects the one who holds it.  Passive abilities include allowing it's wielder to see more easily what others cannot, including illusions of the magical variety, the gift of anticipation, and to heal oneself by the blood of one's enemies.  Because of its keen edge, it never needs to be sharpened and possesses the gift for bloodletting – making wounds often gaping and never healing and if on the off chance they do heal, it takes much longer and often never heals properly.  Enzo had taken the blade from Prince Azura's personal armory during the siege of Castle Valar.

CH VI – Reflections of the Past
From birth to death, Enzo had been raised to protect the Prince of his realm.  He'd come from a long line of warriors all connected to the Vallarian Royal Guard, the most skilled of all fighters of the realm.  For centuries Vallaris had been in tension with its only other neighbor the kingdom of Azar, and it seemed impossible for the two powers to share a single realm, one on  high ground in the mountains, the other in a low wasteland.  As time progressed people had forgotten the source of their discontent, that Vallaris had neglected to act in time to send aid when Azar was in need, ravaged by an enemy they could only destroy by awakening their once dormant volcano, obliterating both their enemy and much of their own people.  Those that survived, resented Vallaris for its inaction; Vallaris in turn blamed Azar for its belligerence behavior and that invasion was imminent.  Those that took refuge in Vallaris were branded and cast out.  Travesty followed travesty, leaving both kingdoms wallowed in their bitterness and resentment.

Enzo was in his early twenties when he'd become captain of the Vallarian Guard, the youngest ever to do so and became close friends with Prince Azura, the ruling prince of Vallaris while his father, the king, having withdrew from power and living out the rest of his days in comfort.  Under Azura, the kingdom prospered, for he was a skilled diplomat and kept tensions with Azar at bay, promoting trade instead of the festering wounds between them.

But not all would settle into peace for in Azar, the king had fallen ill, and his sons began to fight for the right to rule.  Factions split and alliances clashed in a bloody civil war, all vying for the throne.  Amidst the unrest, fighting broke out on the border villages and towns of Vallaris, at the base of the mountain, and troops were deployed to those settlements caught in the fighting for protection and provisions.  One of the refugees pulled from the carnage was an Azarian mage by the name of Matakopas.  He was tired of the war, and sought asylum in Vallaris, requesting a meeting with the prince, that in exchange for asylum, he would offer his complete loyalty in return, bearing gifts the likes of which the realm had never seen.

Matakopas was a true master of magic, and technological ingenuity and helped transform Vallaris into a metropolis, tapping into the energy of the mountain to power the city surrounding Castle Valar, making it nearly completely self-sufficient.  Within a year the Azarian became the Prince's personal Magecrafter and soon a college was open to the public to promote education that hadn't been seen for centuries.  Yet while Vallaris was enjoying it's prosperity, Azar had fallen into a quieted chaos.  The civil war had ceased when the eldest son of the king won his claim to the throne and sentenced his two younger brothers and their families to death for treason, all save the wife of his youngest brother.  He took her as his own and crowned himself Emperor Darstrom of the First Azarian Empire, and set his eyes on Vallaris.  His people rallied behind him at the prospect of destroying the "Kingdom on the Mountain" ready for a new war, one that seemed inevitable.

Darstrom sent Azura an ultimatum, to kneel in submission, or have Vallaris be completely obliterated.  The Prince scoffed in response, for no one had ever taken the mountain.  Within a week, three forts were sieged and burned and soldiers were executed as a warning to the Prince.  But Azura could not be swayed so easily and refused to kneel.  He knew also however that he couldn't afford to take anything for granted and had his army at the ready.  Enzo doubled protection around the Prince, keeping an eye on anyone that posed anything suspicious, and in particular that of Matakopas, of whom he never trusted.  Tensions were high all around, and little did Enzo know all that would come could not have been prevented.

Emperor Darstrom grew increasingly frustrated at Azura's lack of response and unleashed a final warning, with the surety of getting his attention.  On a night most quiet, unbeknownst how or why, an assassin found it's way into the chamber of Azura's father and slayed the king in his bed.  The assassin was captured in the escape attempted and devoured a fail-safe poison, looking into the eyes of the Prince before he died, telling him that Darstrom's reach extended beyond the borders of Azar, no one was safe, not even the Prince.  Azura grew distraught and fearful that an assassin could so easily penetrate the walls of Castle Valar.  The message was more than clear; but Azura would be damned before he would kneel before the Emperor and let his kingdom fall.  The cost of all-out war would be too much for Vallaris to bear, and it was a loss that Azar would welcome if it meant taking Vallaris with it.

Enzo consoled the Prince in his distress, though there was nothing he could do to solve his dilemma.  Yet, he was there when Matakopas approached the Prince, with the offer of a possible solution.  He'd shown him his latest design, a creation not yet completed, but kept in secret since Darstrom's first warning, fearing spies or worse.  He revealed his creation, a massive machine he called the Balendrung, a powerful weapon that could obliterate Azar should war come to pass.  Prince Azura didn't know what to make of it, but it wasn't long before he came to the conclusion that it was his only option.  But nobody was to know and all were sworn to secrecy on pain of death.  Enzo was one of these few, but even he could not understand why Matakopas would make such a creation – a machine capable of mass annihilation using electricity produced by a dynamic gyro to jump from one target to another and back again until the charge continued to grow until there was nothing left to kill – effectively turning his people to ash.  But Prince Azura trusted him and the bodyguard was in no position to question his judgment.  He kept a watchful eye on the Magecrafter as he worked night and day on the Balendrung, making haste toward its completion.

But it wasn't long before the war had begun and Azar had attacked with cunning savagery.  Towns were incinerated, no prisoners were kept and despite all the Vallarian forces could do, Azar was gradually taking the mountain.  Vallaris surrounded the mountain, holding it as best they could, and halting the enemy advance just before the gates of the city.  For months, fighting proved a stalemate, and in all that time the Balendrung neared completion. 

When at last, it was completed, Matakopas instructed the Prince that for the machine to obtain full strength it must charge for a full day.  And it was the longest day in Prince Azura's life; yet little did he know that it was to be his last.  It all happened so quickly, so violently that even Enzo only has vague recollections.  Yet it was a day that he could never forget, when somehow the Azarian forces broke through the line and Castle Valar was under siege.  Enzo gathered the Prince and his family and what council members he could to head toward the secret tunnels.  But as they passed through the throne room, Enzo was surprised to find that Matakopas was waiting for them there.  The Prince pleaded for him to come with them, but Matakopas didn't move and instead stared at Azura with firey eyes.  "I'm afraid that won't be possible," he informed him.

"What do you mean?  The castle is coming down around us.  I won't leave you behind!" Azura cried out in disbelief.

"I mean," Matakopas corrected, "you will not be leaving this castle on this night!" 

At that Enzo drew his blade and ordered the Prince to stand behind him, knowing full-well that the Magecrafter would be hostile.  But he shot out a blast of lightning at Enzo, casting him aside and momentarily paralyzing him.  Enzo watched in horror as Matakopas incinerated the rest of the guard, Azura's family, and all his council with powerful magics, casting them left and right, until all that stood before him was the Prince.  Matakopas snatched Azura by his neck with surprising strength, producing a dagger in his free hand.  "Why should your kingdom live while mine should die?  Who are you to pass such judgment?  Because you are the Prince of the Mountain?" he asked, quivering with anger.  "No one will survive this night.  Those most worthy of life long since passed and it is time for you to join them!"  And he plunged the dagger into his heart.  Azura struggled for only a moment, until he stilled, and Matakopas drained him of his life, absorbing it into the dagger and dropping his body to the ground, before running off toward his alchemy laboratory.

Enzo fought against the last dregs of paralyzation until his limbs returned to him, and began to crawl toward Azura's body.  Anger filled him, betrayal, deception, knowing all of this had been the Magecrafter's plan all along.  Questions still swelled in his mind: why would he build the Balendrung?  Why pose as a faithful servant?  Enzo knew he was right never to have trusted the Azarian, but it had all been for naught, it was too late.  There was nothing he could do for the Prince now and stood, running after Matakopas.

His legs were still heavy, and they limped with weakness, dragging them as he trailed after the Magecrafter through Prince Azura's personal armory.  He dodged blasts of magic, throwing himself at walls until Matakopas barricaded himself behind the doors of his laboratory.  The castle was coming down all around them, stone falling, dust billowing out, screams of dying men echoing in the air.  As he moved toward the door, feeling his sword had been stripped from him Enzo paused, looking around the armory.  He looked and saw a katana on a weapon rack, displayed above all the rest. Taking the blade, he had but a moment to eye it's strange quality, feeling it adjust to his grip, testing its weight.  It would be a suitable replacement and soon Enzo was dashing toward the barricaded door, smashing against it, the wood creaking against his weight.  He backed away, taking another running crash against it.  And it was then that he felt something strange surge through him, a strength he'd never felt before and soon the wood gave way, allowing him strength where he'd never had it before, and crashing through into the room.

He cried out for Matakopas, seeing the Magecrafter standing beside his machine, clutching the dagger and plunging it into the Balendrung, the force of which sent a gale through the room, the swirling gyro gathering energy, electricity dancing at the tips, on the ceiling, coursing through the air.  It surged with power and Enzo felt the very ground behind to slide from underneath his feet.  "Matakopas!" he screamed over the roar of the machine.  "What is the meaning of this?"

"It's a shame that you could live to see your liege die for his lack of vision.  It's beyond your understanding, Enzo, you can't stop the machine.  It will destroy everything, and there's nothing you can do!"

"Why?  Why all this to destroy Vallaris!?  Why side with us and not your emperor?"

Matakopas just laughed and pulled his own weapon from his side, a retractable spear.  "Think!" he spat.  "After all, you're so smart, countering the Prince's decisions with advice of your own.  Don't think I never heard the whisperings from the shadows.  You were right never to trust me, Enzo.  In fact, it was almost too easy considering how little it took to get into Azura's good graces."

"Darstrom..."

"No, but that's the beauty of it!  Darstrom had nothing to do with it.  Neither did Azura.  You see I remembered what most of us have forgotten – the old ways, the old magics – that we are but a fragment in the greater tapestry of realms, a web woven by the gods themselves, petty pawns in their game of divine retribution.  And that all we know and love will be ash to the four winds."

"You betrayed your friends, your lord, you broke your sworn oaths!  You're a traitor and a murderer.  And all for what?  Because you no longer want to be a pawn in someone's game –"

"I am a combatant!  You cannot even conceive of the power I weild!  You're even more a fool than your Prince, if you believe at any moment he was my friend!"

"He took you in, in your time of need. Gave you asylum when your country was tearing itself apart!  If your Emperor had no connection to your betrayal then why –"

"Because it sickens me!" Matakopas spat, his eyes ablaze. "All of it!  Why else would I make the Balendrung!?  Because life in this realm is void of meaning, or purpose, and should have been destroyed centuries ago.  I am the rectification!"

At that moment of his rage, Matakopas sprung forth and thrusted out his weapon.  Metal to metal, the room sparked alive with both the fury of the fight and the surging electricity that tore out the mortar and stone and eventually broke through the tower roof of the laboratory.  Torrents of rain poured through the damage and the machine raged more furiously than either could manage in that room.  Enzo side-stepped and parried, feeling that same strange adrenaline that surged through him before pass through him again, and he saw more clearly Matakopas' movements, and came at him renewed.

Lightning tore at the sky and the night turned a violent red, as if the very energy of the Balendrung was lashing into the realm.  The ground shook and the castle fell to pieces as men screamed all around.  The dynamo spun faster, hotter until the velocity cast both of them off of the ground and crashing through the wall, plummeting down the cliff side below.  Still steel clashed to steel as the ground was breaking and shifting, swallowing bodies whole.  The sky too seemed to shift much like the ground, a tremulous ocean fluxing to the mass power the Balendrung.

They landed in a tumble at the base of the cliff, wind howling shrieking as a beam struck  open the sky, bleeding darkness into red.  "Neither of us will survive this!" Enzo cried out at the top of his lungs, though he was deafened by the howl.

"Oh, but I will, Enzo.  I think what you mean is that you will not survive."

There was nothing more to be said when the beam spread in all directions and Enzo felt the power course through his body, heating every limb.  It seemed conflicted however, counter-acted by that same unknown adrenaline.  He was crippled on the ground, watching with hazed vision Matakopas cast his weapon into a portal produced by one of the beams and with it himself.  But seconds before he vanished through, Enzo raised his arm, katana held high and vaulted the blade like a spear at him.  The portal swallowed the weapon and much like Matakopas, Enzo felt his body dissipate in fragments, pulled into portal as his realm collapsed.  His mind flashed in shapes in colors, senseless dementia pooled in black and white, glimpse of himself passing into another world, other worlds, until his consciousness bled back into tangible form, passing out from the sword that stuck in the ground.

He awoke in a crater, onto this realm of Earth, unaware of his surroundings or how he survived.  His realm was gone, his people, his home, and he dropped to the forested ground, eyes heavy with tears, hands digging into fresh soft soil.  Enzo knew he could not linger for long, and recalled his oaths, his allegiance and renamed himself Enzo Azura.  He did not know what realm this was, but he would find out some way.  But where had Matakopas gone?




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