Post by Cap'n Failz on Sept 8, 2012 3:08:23 GMT -6
Name: Zelgius
Aliases: The Black Knight
Age: Unknown. His appearance is indicative of his early thirties perhaps, however.
Gender: Male
Species: Branded
Alignment: Lawful Neutral
Canon or Original: Canon with an original spin and certain liberties taken due to missing information.
Date of Birth: Unrevealed
Place of Birth: Never clarified; likely Begnion
Physical Appearance: The Black Knight is a figure of intimidation to behold, for certain. He towers at nearly eight feet in height, clad in full-body black armor which glints with a dark violet sheen in the light. White trim adorns his armor in intricate patterns, standing out starkly against the dark of the main armor. Hanging from his shoulders is a broad cape, pitch black on its outer surface, and the color of blood on the inner side. To complete his intimidating figure, a concealing helmet is worn over his head, fully masking his identity from those around him, and leaving him a facelss enigma.
Under this imposing, armored front he is much like any other man. Strong of body, he is clearly muscular from long years spent in battle and wielding heavy weaponry and armor. His facial features might be called fair, though they often be locked in a firm, unyielding glare or impassive grimace. His hair is a dark shade of blue, and his eyes a bright shade of green. Fair, somewhat pale skin, surprisingly free of major wounds or scars completes his unarmored visage.
Special Abilities:
- Superhuman Strength
- Superhuman Durability
- Superhuman Speed
- Superhuman Agility & Reflexes
- Superhuman Stamina
- Superhuman Senses
- Soldier's Sixth Sense
- Laguz Heritage
- Extended longevity in the order of hundreds or thousands of years
- Resistance or immunity to most poisons, toxins and other impurities
- Much more physically hardy and resilient to lethal harm, capable of shrugging off mortal wounds and deathblows as if they were any other wound
- While lacking a transformation as full-blooded Laguz do, physical size and general power is many times that of a normal human (Zelgius himself stands in excess of seven feet)
- Extended longevity in the order of hundreds or thousands of years
- Able to channel blessing from weapons and armor to augment attack and defense capabilities, creating powerful explosions, cutting waves of force, barriers and shields of holy flame
- Skilled in minor fields of magic, though possesses a powerful teleportation spell
- Overwhelmingly skilled combatant
- Skilled leader and strategist
- Cunning and extremely intelligent
- Inhumanly perceptive and observant
Weapons:
- Black Armor: A custom-forged suit of armor. Its creator, as well as the purpose for which it was originally made, are lost to records. But it carries a very powerful blessing from the Goddess of Zelgius's home world. It is all but invulnerable to all normal means of attack, with all manner of weapons swerving wildly to one side when nearing the armor and missing entirely, or merely clanking harmlessly off the armor, doing no damage to its gleaming surface. Even magic has failed to penetrate the armor's overhwhelming defenses, at most knocking the massive knight down or blowing him away, but inflicting no damage on Zelgius himself. The signature black and red cape worn with the armor is afforded this same protection as well, and as such is often employed as a weapon or distraction. The armor has been shown to be vulnerable to weapons which bear a blessing of opposite power to the one laid upon the armor, and the highest orders of magic and physical force are capable of damaging Zelgius within the armor, even if the armor itself remains undamaged.
- Alondite: The blessed blade that was the trademark weapon of the Black Knight during his days as a general of Daein. He still wields it now. Pristine in condition despite the countless years of existence and warfare it has seen, it is capable of cutting through nearly anything it is put to with next to no effort, and it resists all damage and harm subjected to it in return, making it a nigh-indestructible blade of divine punishment. A snow-white blade with a golden hilt and crossguard, it is nearly as long from hilt to bladetip as Zelgius is tall.
- Ragnell: The sister blade to Alondite, the Ragnell sword is just slightly less in size than its brother. It bears a burnished copper tone to its blade that shines like gold in the light, with a much darker, almost black, crossguard and a faded brown wrapping around the hilt. It bears the samme blessings of invulnerability and ability to cut through nigh-anything as Alondite.
- Wishblade: A powerful lance that was imbued with the blessing of the Goddess at a later date. It is enchanted to resist all damage and penetrate nearly anything it is used against, and bears a further enchantment; when used as a thrown weapon, it will disappear as soon as its momentum has been spent and reappear in its wielder's hand.
History: Nearly all of Zelgius's early life is a mystery. What is known is that sometime during his life he became a powerful general in Begnion's army, and he was the Earl of Kadohl. He was friends with the Prime Minister, Sephiran, who sent him into Daein to spy on the one who would become the Mad King, Ashnard.
Under his false role as a servant of Ashnard, Zelgius became The Black Knight. He rose through the ranks to become one of Daein's mighty Four Riders, and then on to become the most powerful of the Four. He was feared as much as respected and admired, for he was quiet and withdrawn and impossible to figure out. He went on numerous tasks and missions for his "King", all to hide his identity and gain the trust of the Mad King.
One of the few things he did of his own volition during this time was to seek out Greil, the legendary Sir Gawain, and challenge him to combat. Effortlessly defeating his former master, The Black Knight was unsatisfied with the result, feeling that something was...amiss. He pushed it aside and fled the scene, as the Beast King, Caineghis, was nearing the scene, and he did not yet wish to test his strength against him.
Eventually, The Black Knight faces Ike, the son of Greil, in a duel. The duel is fierce and somehow, Ike manages to emerge the victor, and leave just as the entire castle they were fighting in collapses.
Thanks to the protection afforded by his armor, The Black Knight survives even this seemingly impossible fate, and vanishes from the ruins of the castle without a trace, much to the shock and surprise of the good Bastian, who had sent men to retrieve the Black Knight's body.
He returned to battle a handful of years later, appearing out of the blue to protect Micaiah from General Jarod of the Begnion Occupation Forces. Thanks to his aid, nearly the entirety of the force sent to assassinate Micaiah was slaughtered, with only Jarod himself escaping due to a combination of The Black Knight's honor dictating he let him go and Micaiah's pleas to spare his life.
He continued to protect Micaiah through the war, until vanishing at the fall of the Occupation Army. Returning to Begnion, he led the Begnion Central Army against the Laguz Alliance as Zelgius, defeating both Ranulf and Skrimir in single combat and forcing the Laguz to retreat.
He re-dawned his mantle as The Black Knight to protect Micaiah when Daein attacked the retreating Laguz. He remained at their side throughout the remainder of the fighting, until Ike and his companions began fighting against Micaiah's forces. He then left to await Ike's challenge. Many weeks later, when they finally crossed swords again, the Black Knight revealed a shcoking truth: he had let Ike win their previous duel.
Wishing to fight Greil at the very height of his skill and power, he had given Ike, the only other person to have been taught by Greil, time to train and devlop his skills to the level of his father so as to have that chance. Their duel was protracted and fierce, but in the end Zelgius prevailed, striking down Ike. As he stood victorious over his greatest foe, he was filled with sorrow and he nearly wept.
But he had no time for such. Taking up his fallen foe's weapon, he proceeded to finish the task his foe had undertaken. Ascending the tower, he would enter battle against the Goddess Ashera. The duel was long and fierce, but he was finally able to strike down even the Goddess, using her own powers against her.
The resulting explosion of power that resulted from Ashera's defeat hurled the Black Knight through a wall of the tower and out into empty air. Feeling that his mission was at last complete, he uttered a silent prayer to his long-time friend, Sephiran, and closed his eyes as he fell toward the earth below.
Many hours later, or so it seemed, his eyes slowly cracked open, revealing himself to not only still be alive, but virtually unharmed, despite what he had been through.
