The Winged Knight
Karitia
"Our strength is for protecting those who can’t fight."
BASICS
Name: Karitia - Kari for short
Gender: Female
Species: Avian - Angel subspecie
Name: Karitia - Kari for short
Gender: Female
Species: Avian - Angel subspecie
APPEARANCE
For the rather tall avians, 5’8” Karitia comes off as a little on the short and small side, especially given that she is of a warrior-class, preferring an odd choice of polearm in the Kurai naginata as well as a short recurve bow.
Of a slender but toned build, Karitia tends to keep her features covered by thick cloaks, for fear someone from the Halgian empire will recognize her. Her wings are pure white and are 12' from her back to the wingtip, which she keeps folded underneath the cloaks - her divine metal plate is built with these wings in mind.
The plate itself is rather simple in spite of being made of divine metal, befitting her cadet status when she left the Valkyries. While the pauldrons flare out somewhat in an up and outward sharp edge, little other ornate decorations adorn the otherwise glorious piece of platinum-like metalwork.
If someone manages to catch her without any obscuring headgear on, she prefers to keep her silver-white hair tied up in a loose ponytail low on the back of the base of her skull. Her eyes are a soft gray with a slight blue tint - often tinged with a hint of somberness as she loses herself to her thoughts. Her pale milky skin reveals just how few and far the times are where she will take off enough armor to expose herself to the sun.
For the rather tall avians, 5’8” Karitia comes off as a little on the short and small side, especially given that she is of a warrior-class, preferring an odd choice of polearm in the Kurai naginata as well as a short recurve bow.
Of a slender but toned build, Karitia tends to keep her features covered by thick cloaks, for fear someone from the Halgian empire will recognize her. Her wings are pure white and are 12' from her back to the wingtip, which she keeps folded underneath the cloaks - her divine metal plate is built with these wings in mind.
The plate itself is rather simple in spite of being made of divine metal, befitting her cadet status when she left the Valkyries. While the pauldrons flare out somewhat in an up and outward sharp edge, little other ornate decorations adorn the otherwise glorious piece of platinum-like metalwork.
If someone manages to catch her without any obscuring headgear on, she prefers to keep her silver-white hair tied up in a loose ponytail low on the back of the base of her skull. Her eyes are a soft gray with a slight blue tint - often tinged with a hint of somberness as she loses herself to her thoughts. Her pale milky skin reveals just how few and far the times are where she will take off enough armor to expose herself to the sun.
ABILITIES
- Martial Combat: Karitia is an adept fighter at any range, excelling especially at mid-range with her trusty naginata pole-arm as well as air-to-air ranged combat with her bow. Even when disarmed, she is decent at hand-to-hand. Her polearm skills were feared among her peers, and although she is inexperienced, even her former superiors among the Valkyries knew that a spar with her is not to be taken lightly.
- Magic: Karitia’s command of magic is mostly used to enhance her already formidable martial abilities. Her favored techniques involve channeling magic into her arrows, which help make up for her shortbow’s lack of punch.
- "Daama's Blessing": Her reiatsu is often channeled in brief Halgian chants to the Scion of Light, Daama, which she uses as a focus (although she will insist it’s Daama’s blessing). The prayer’s content determines what sort of enhancement she and her allies receive. Prayers for guidance give her arrows slight homing and allow them to make one sharp turn, and give focus and calm to others attempting to aim. Prayers for courage give her strength and agility in dodging and melee attacks, and boost morale for others. Purification eliminates minor curses, non-magical (and some minor magical) poisons and venoms, and minor diseases. Etc.
- Diplomat: Although Kari is not one to emphasize this strength, Kari treats others with a softer touch than she does the enemies of the Light. She speaks softly to victims, and possesses great bedside manner, which aids her healing techniques. In addition, she is a great speaker - even able to preach the word of Daama, so long as she agrees with what is being preached.
WEAKNESSES
- Flying Solo: Karitia hates working with squads. The fact that her magic is optimized for allies makes this a massive blow to her effectiveness. The problem is that Kari often thinks of her own life as expendable, to be sacrificed for the good of the team - to the point where even if her own life is the one that will save the team, she will still take the fall for others.
- All Work, No Play: While Karitia has social skills and grace to work through social situation, she does not engage in such frivolities unless she has to, often dedicating this time to improving her already rather impressive skills. This can be a liability if a group is ambushed, as she probably will not be properly rested for a surprise attack.
- Armor of Steel, Heart of Silk: In spite of her attempts to present herself as the perfect soldier, Kari’s psyche is surprisingly soft. Her perfectionism makes it hard for her to accept compliments, and someone with a clever or sharp tongue can often leave her feeling bewildered and doubtful. Furthermore, she may hesitate when delivering the killing blow.
BACKGROUND
Karitia’s father was the Seraph Imperial Valkyrie commander, Aragonius - a grizzled veteran in the crusades against the darkness. Her mother was an Angel priestess. As the offspring of two of Daama's devout disciples, Karitia grew up with starry-eyes about the nature of the eternal war against the darkness and grew up close to Daama's teachings as well as stories about the glory of hunting down corruption in the form of demons, the Fallen, and other such nasty monstrosities.
An accomplished agent of Daama and quite high-ranking for her age (possibly with the help of a little nepotism, though the degree of which is debated by her colleagues and enemies alike), Karitia has been on at least half a dozen Halgian operations to eliminate threats to the Halgian Empire. At least two of which have been as a Valkyrie.
However, on what would be her final mission as a Valkyrie, she ran across a man clad in a cloak who had been beaten almost to death, with many of his belongings stolen. Upon healing the man and helping him recover, she discovered she had aided a demon. Not wishing to execute a sick humanoid, no matter how dark-aligned, she asked him what was his intentions.
A refugee from Kurai, the demon simply sought solitude, and was a vagabond. She insisted on taking him to the nearest Halgian settlement so that she could refer to her superiors to find out what to do. To her surprise, he did not resist. On the journey to the settlement, the demon and her held many conversations. He professed he was surprised she stayed her blade given her kind’s hatred for his, and he was intrigued by the conflict in herself, which she denied.
Upon their last night before they would reach the settlement, she unchained him. With a bow and a promise that she would not regret this, he left - hopefully to never harm anyone. Praying to Daama, she attempted to justify her actions within herself, but realized her family and her kind would never see it her way. While she harbored no hate for the light or Halgians, she had no choice but to fly solo - apart from her brethren.
In Evylon and Felnova, there are recent rumors of a winged vigilante in Halgian armor who swoops in to defend the innocent, often leaving before they can catch a glimpse of its face.
Karitia has since become involved with the war against the Faction through a connection with Prince Arnus, the rider of Verridith. Thinking of herself as his "bodyguard," her constant vigilance can be taxing on the Prince, and his refusal to treat her as just a soldier is vexing to her.
Karitia’s father was the Seraph Imperial Valkyrie commander, Aragonius - a grizzled veteran in the crusades against the darkness. Her mother was an Angel priestess. As the offspring of two of Daama's devout disciples, Karitia grew up with starry-eyes about the nature of the eternal war against the darkness and grew up close to Daama's teachings as well as stories about the glory of hunting down corruption in the form of demons, the Fallen, and other such nasty monstrosities.
An accomplished agent of Daama and quite high-ranking for her age (possibly with the help of a little nepotism, though the degree of which is debated by her colleagues and enemies alike), Karitia has been on at least half a dozen Halgian operations to eliminate threats to the Halgian Empire. At least two of which have been as a Valkyrie.
However, on what would be her final mission as a Valkyrie, she ran across a man clad in a cloak who had been beaten almost to death, with many of his belongings stolen. Upon healing the man and helping him recover, she discovered she had aided a demon. Not wishing to execute a sick humanoid, no matter how dark-aligned, she asked him what was his intentions.
A refugee from Kurai, the demon simply sought solitude, and was a vagabond. She insisted on taking him to the nearest Halgian settlement so that she could refer to her superiors to find out what to do. To her surprise, he did not resist. On the journey to the settlement, the demon and her held many conversations. He professed he was surprised she stayed her blade given her kind’s hatred for his, and he was intrigued by the conflict in herself, which she denied.
Upon their last night before they would reach the settlement, she unchained him. With a bow and a promise that she would not regret this, he left - hopefully to never harm anyone. Praying to Daama, she attempted to justify her actions within herself, but realized her family and her kind would never see it her way. While she harbored no hate for the light or Halgians, she had no choice but to fly solo - apart from her brethren.
In Evylon and Felnova, there are recent rumors of a winged vigilante in Halgian armor who swoops in to defend the innocent, often leaving before they can catch a glimpse of its face.
Karitia has since become involved with the war against the Faction through a connection with Prince Arnus, the rider of Verridith. Thinking of herself as his "bodyguard," her constant vigilance can be taxing on the Prince, and his refusal to treat her as just a soldier is vexing to her.
CANON
- Unto Victory: Assisted in the events of the Battle at D'issan - assisted Aurelius in defeating the Faction, and helped slay an abomination that seemed to be a dragon made out of flaming tar. Won significant favor with the Vystrians. http://forums.btacdragons.com/index.php?showtopic=4627
- Currently in the Darklight Mountain Range, meeting with Arnus, Dragonrider of Verridith, Prince of Albronel
RELATIONSHIPS
- Aurelius is respectful of Kari's abillities and appreciated her efforts in the Battle of D'issan. Kari sees Aurelius as an accomplished veteran worthy of praise.
- Remeira finds Kari's moral naivete adorable, and relishes in the opportunities to mess with her head. Kari finds her presence infuriating, to say the least.
- Rafaloth is grateful, and considers her a good omen of the future.
- Aragonius still believes Kari to be dead - Kari knows what will come if he finds out she is still alive.
- Kari is Arnus's bodyguard for the moment, though they have opened to each other for brief moments.
EXTRA
Theme: Fake Wings - .hack//SIGN - a somber song expressing a little bit of regret and loss, with the title befitting her confused identity. In addition, the actual lyrics to the song act as a fitting metaphor for how she exists on the "edge of hell" and "gone much farther, too far."
Stories (alt-canon):
Legend of the Winged Knight (series) - https://jpg816.deviantart.com/gallery/65145614/Legend-of-The-Winged-Knight-BTACDragons
Forgive me Father For I Have Sinned - http://fav.me/dbvdi4k
Theme: Fake Wings - .hack//SIGN - a somber song expressing a little bit of regret and loss, with the title befitting her confused identity. In addition, the actual lyrics to the song act as a fitting metaphor for how she exists on the "edge of hell" and "gone much farther, too far."
Stories (alt-canon):
Legend of the Winged Knight (series) - https://jpg816.deviantart.com/gallery/65145614/Legend-of-The-Winged-Knight-BTACDragons
Forgive me Father For I Have Sinned - http://fav.me/dbvdi4k
CREDIT
Portrait commissioned by Verridith at http://btacdragons.com from https://serpentwined.deviantart.com
Arnus and Kari commissioned by Verridith from https://www.deviantart.com/pixel-latte
Portrait commissioned by Verridith at http://btacdragons.com from https://serpentwined.deviantart.com
Arnus and Kari commissioned by Verridith from https://www.deviantart.com/pixel-latte