Gabriel Kardos

Equipment

 * [Weapon: Two-Handed Broadsword] A heavyweight weapon, requiring (as the name suggests) both hands to wield it. A bit slower than lighter weapons, but it can also do considerably more damage-- especially in your hands.
 * [Shield: Offensive Gauntlets] Good not just for protecting your arms, but they also house concealed blades. Aren’t you the sneaky one?


 * [Head: Silk Headband] For keeping your head and ears warm as well as keeping your unruly fringe out of your eyes. Most of them poke through anyway, but it helps. Sometimes.


 * [Body: Insulated Armor] Light armor consisting of a chest-plate and shoulder-plates. Lined with padding and a few warmth charms, so no awkward cold-armor-sticking-to-skin moments.


 * [Feet: Pick-Toe Boots] Heavy, waterproof, deep tread and solid workmanship; these boots are great for clambering over the ice floes and not breaking an ankle. Watch out for the spikes on the toe-- they’re useful for breaking up or sticking to ice, but don’t get caught on the wrong end!


 * [Accessory: Face Shield] For use in the most difficult weather. It hampers your breathing, as it is all one piece, but much like a two-way mirror, this keeps others from seeing in and yet you can still see out. More importantly, it protects your face from frostbite-- and better than any scarf of hood could.

Items

 * Flask: Houses some of the best cheap whiskey in Royaume (which isn’t saying a whole lot). Still, it’s better than that poison from the party tents. Just don’t ask me to share. (Restores 7-10% of target’s HP, raises target’s ATK and CRIT stats. Successive use causes CONFUSION status for target.)


 * Plain Mask: It has hardly ever been used; after all, you try to avoid the raucous ramble every chance you get. Wear it at night-- if you feel like it.
 * Dried Jerky: Sometimes, one needs a little pick-me-up on the battlefield. Cured and flavored and just a little spicy; but that's how you like it. (Restores 5-10% of target's HP.)

Skills
Pending...

Profile
Gabriel is something of an enigma. A soldier for Royaume, he lacks the usual exuberance of the soldiers involved in the yearly contest. While he is an excellent fighter and one of the strongest in his division, he does not hold with fighting for what he views is absolutely no reason-- at least, not a good one. To him, the "war" is pointless... and perhaps that is true. However, his attitude leaves something to be desired, and this leads his superiors to keep him on only because of his required time. In Royaume, all young men are required to participate at least two seasons in The Contest; most do it yearly, once they come of age, so this point is generally moot. This puts Gabe at a disadvantage and he has been passed over for promotion several times not because of his lack of skill but lack of interest. Gabriel, however, if perfectly content with this situation. As this year is his last in the service, he will be leaving soon to embark on his own journey. His goal right now is to become a mercenary and travel the world; he hates being tied down to one place for too long and is much more suited to a wandering life.

Of course, a wandering life is all he has ever known. Gabriel's parents died when he was very young, and since then his brother (seven years his senior) has been the only family he has ever known. Cephas, a very powerful magician, dragged him from place to place as he sought new spells, new teachers, and recognition for his skills. Because Lavenna uses magic primarily for healing, Gabriel's brother felt he was being held back in their home country and that he could not reach his full potential while limited to this type of practice. One year, when Gabriel was still quite young, the two brothers crossed the ice flows during The Contest and entered Royaume. The journey was not easy, however, and the brothers were unprepared for the dangers-- not only did they have to avoid the Contes and get into Royaume without being detected, the weather across the frozen ground was unbearable and unpredictable. Because of this, Gabe lost all feeling in his left hand, and is partially deaf in one ear. No one is certain whether it was simply the cold, or if an accident happened that neither brother will speak of.

Gabe dresses in a casual manner, which is actually quite common among the Royaume soldiers. Because there is no real fight going on, most of them do not take anything about it too seriously, including their appearance. Unlike them, he likes his clothes to be tidy and does not risk getting it messed up in the drinking and drunken brawling that goes on every night during the contest. In fact, Gabriel stays away from the carousing entirely. He has nothing against drinking itself-- and he actually holds his liquor very well-- but the rowdiness is what he disdains and he will avoid it at all costs. As he is a loner by nature anyway, this suits him just fine.

The only true companion he has is his brother, and now-a-days even the great Wizard is too busy pursuing his own selfish goals than to spend time with his little brother. Despite their seemingly rocky relationship, Gabriel and Cephas are very close and both brothers love each other very much. Cephas has always looked out for him, even (at times) making sacrifices regarding his studies to take care of Gabriel. Gabe, in turn, has always looked up to Cephas and has supported him through the good and the bad. Still, he is more affected by this than he lets on, and dislikes being lonely even while, at the same time, he despises all company outside of his brother's. It is a little known fact that Gabriel is actually rather sensitive and intuitive. He is very much an introvert, but because he spends most of his time thinking and analyzing, he is a very good reader of people. People-watching is one of his favorite pastimes; most people find his staring to be unnerving and rude (and it probably is), but their opinions make little difference to Gabe.

Yet despite all of his social awkwardness, Gabe is an excellent fighter. His specialization is a two-handed broadsword, but any blade in his hand makes him deadly. He is also skilled with daggers and is not afraid to defend himself in bar-brawls, back alley fights, or other situations of the like. He relies heavily on his strength and, unlike his brother, is not skilled at all with magic. He often claims there is not a magical bone in his body, although Cephas constantly encourages him to keep trying. Gabe does so half-heartedly and only when no one is looking (even Cephas) for fear of ridicule and failure. This constant expectation from his brother is a heavy burden on his shoulders and he feels pressured to excel in something in which he has no skill, which often makes him frustrated and broody, lending strength to his already hermit-like nature. After all, no one wants to be around a dangerous, moody young man.

Which is fine: he doesn't want to be around them, either.