Sheik Muhammad, Archon of the Inquisition
Affiliation: The Mage Council, Mundus Magicus; Istanbul Mage Association
Race: Human
Sobriquet: Master of Legions
Age: 26
Hair colour/ Eye Colour/ Height: Black/ Blood-red/ 177 cm
Favoured weapon: Quietus (Orichalum Daiklave; unleashes fire-bolts) & Celestial Fury (enchanted katana; stuns target when hit); Divine Solar Cannon pistol
Favoured Spell-Type: Infernal, Unholy
Description: Sheik Muhammad is a member of the Istanbul Mage Association, and is one of their more infamous members. Sheik is wolf-lean, and his body is toughened by years of wandering and war. He wields his enchanted broadsword, Quietus, and his katana, Celestial Fury, with a skill that only war can hone to perfection. He prefers durable, but comfortable, clothing and often has his nose poked in a book – which often leads to 'accidents'. He wears a suit of Orichalum articulated plate armour when in battle.
History: If there is one person the Holy Order wishes they could do away with, Sheik Muhammad would be their number one target. Had it not been for his excellent record of service to the Mage Council, they would have done so. The other reason is that no one in his or her right mind wants to deal with 12 angry Heroic Spirits who call the Battle-mage lover and companion – something that causes Sheik no end of embarrassment (it is true – all 12 Heroic Spirits are female, and all are bent on making sure that he turns his attention to something better than his duties to the Mage Council; they're succeeding, unfortunately!). Sheik's affinity to Infernal and Unholy Magic has antagonised the more puritanical members of the Mage Council, and Bayard would love nothing more than to see him dead.
Sheik is rumoured to have, during the Great War, made a Pact with one of the Fallen Angel Princesses of the Abyss. The stories about why are vague, but what could be uncovered through Clairvoyance was that it was done willingly, in exchange for a city being spared. That same Fallen Angel Princess, the mightiest of the ruling council of 12 next to the Morningstar herself, was not known to make Pacts with anyone – even if the one who summoned her offered his soul (and more...). Regardless, that story ended with Sheik being cast out of his homeland and taken in by a Blood Elf, who proceeded to turn Sheik into someone who would be of use to society.
The Master of Legions, while one of the Inquisition's most fearsome agents, is the one least trusted – a state of affairs which depresses the nonetheless loyal (and cheerful) Mage. He does not complain, but carries out his duties with a cold, clinical efficiency that reinforces the (already prevalent) view of him being an inhuman killer.
Rikku Darla Armisael, Adventurer and Treasure Hunter
Ministra Magi to the Master of Legions
Affiliation: The Morning Star Adventurers' Guild
Race: Human
Sobriquet: None
Age: 23
Hair colour/ Eye Colour/ Height: Blonde/ Green/ 167 cm
Favoured weapon: Jade Reaper Daiklave Avalanche; Solar Caster pistol; CAS-14 Automatic Combat Shotgun (from Red Faction 2 game)
Favoured Spell-Type: Wind, Water
Description: Rikku is a member of one of the most renowned Guilds in the Mundus Magicus. Curvaceous, with blonde hair and green eyes, the female treasure hunter is the daughter of the chieftain of one of the tribes that calls the forbidding (name of) Desert home. Her mother was – and still is – a merchant captain whose ships ply the trade routes between the Republic of Megalomesembria, the Hellas Empire and the city of Gem, one of (name of) Desert's twelve great cities. Rikku is cheerful, kind and mischievous, and her expression screams cat whenever a wicked scheme takes shape in her mind. She prefers durable and comfortable clothing similar to that worn by Tatsumiya Mana. Loves singing and games.
History: Like many girls, Rikku Darla Armisael grew up admiring the Thousand Master. Like all of them, she hoped she would be given the chance to meet the legendary hero who had ended the Great War and whose might had laid low an ancient evil. Her parents had trained her in both the mystic and martial arts before her mother called in a few favours and got her a place in the Morning Star Adventurers' Guild. Within a year of her joining, Rikku was elevated by the Guild's Maestro to the rank of captain and was allowed to lead an expedition into the one region of the Mundus Magicus few treasure hunters would go into without the assurance of a small army at their backs: Meru.
Located on the southern Borders of Hellas, Meru had once been the demesne of one of the strongest sun-blessed demigods of a distant age. The ruins of a hundred cities and strongholds dotted the region, all bespeaking of the grandeur and glory of that bygone era. The greatest of those strongholds and cities was Pinnacle, a vast metropolis that was easily ten times larger than that of China's massive capital. History and legend described the city as being the beating heart of an entire region's trade and industry. It had been a gleaming city of vice and virtue, of wealth and poverty, of faith and heresy and of fidelity and treachery. When the Day of Wrath came when the sun-blessed demigods were cast down, Pinnacle was among the last to fall. Its people supported their ruler and his armies defended him. The usurpers finally, in fury and spite, brought to bear the Thousand-Forged Dragons unto the city, decimating it utterly and killing the Prince who ruled it. Pinnacle is a mausoleum; a cursed, haunted place where the bravest and the foolish dared tread. An ignominious death was the fate of any and all who dared its interiors without due preparation.
But it was also a place where wealth and glory awaited those who could emerge from it alive. The Academy of Ariadne, upon hearing that the Morning Star Guild was sending a group into Meru, requested that they be allowed to join them. The Guild's Maestro agreed – for a price. That expedition would bring Rikku and her compatriots face-to-face with the servants of those who had brought about the Great War (and who desired the relics and artefacts that lain buried in the city) and opened their eyes to secrets that had lain hidden for thousands of years – secrets that the hidden rulers of the Mundus Magicus wished to keep hidden for all time.
Those secrets and mysteries would eventually lead Rikku to Ostia, trying to ensure that the powerful First Age relics that her contacts in Ariadne told her about would be kept out of the hands of the Devout and their masters. It was there she would meet the feared Master of Legions, the Mage Council's foremost assassin and his Ministra Magi. In exchange for keeping Rikku and her compatriots out of jail, the female treasure hunter and her party would act as the Master of Legion's field agents – a contract that had left every member (including those the perky huntress recruited later on) rich, happy and loyal. Who knows? Maybe in a few years' time, she would have saved enough to set up a restaurant and raise a family. Now, if only she could convince the Master of Legions to quit his job and run off with her, half the battle would be won. And never mind his Heroic Spirit retinue – she was more than willing to share!
Majikina Mina, Priestess of the Morning Glory Shrine
Ministra Magi to the Master of Legions
Affiliation: Kyoto Mage Association; Sheik Muhammad – Master of Legions
Race: Human
Sobriquet: Silver Princess
Age: 28
Hair colour/ Eye Colour/ Height: White/ Blue/ 170 cm
Favoured weapon: Long power bow Kamikaze (Star-metal Power bow); Kurohime and Shirohime (twin Jade short Daiklaves); Charms
Favoured Spell-Type: Ice, Lightning, Holy
Description: Mina is one of the Kyoto Mage Association's top exorcists. She is an intelligent, beautiful and aloof woman whose power is easily (almost) the equal of Eishun Konoe, the Mage Association's leader. Lean and well-endowed, with a fierce grace that reminds many of a snow leopard on the prowl, the head priestess of the Morning Glory Shrine in Kyoto has been mistaken on more than one occasion of being a model by the city's inhabitants. Mina prefers wearing the traditional clothes of her homeland when away from the battlefield. On it, she wears a suit of armour normally worn by the Night Elf Priestesses of the Moon.
History: Mina was born eight years before the Great War to Kazuya Majikina and Tomoe Asagami, both of served in the Republic of Megalomesembria as team leaders of its elite Paladin strike teams. Her parents, prior to their deployment to the front, had sent their daughter to live with their parents on Earth. Mina's grandparents sent their grandchild to the Morning Glory Shrine in Japan, where she was taught by the priestesses there how to conduct rituals and how to bear arms. The young, white-haired girl would prove to be an eager (and matured) student with a steely will and a strong mind. Her instructors were confident that, by the time she reached her 18th birthday, she would be ready to join the ranks of the Kyoto Mage Council's exorcist teams.
Her parents found joy and relief in the missives they received from their grandparents regarding their daughter's interest in her studies and in the path she had chosen to tread. Charms and gifts, crafted by their child for both her parents and their comrades, soon made their way around the unit. Mina became the de facto mascot of an embattled army fighting a war that was becoming bloodier and more senseless with each passing day. The commander of the battalion had asked Mina's parents if there was any chance if they could match-make their children. It would be, the two had thought, a wonderful step to ensuring their daughter's future.
Mina, however, thought otherwise. She wanted to find the one her grandmother, Emi Majikina, had told her was bound to her. Said individual, both the Asagami and the Majikina families found out much to their horror (and many years later), was none other than one of Sammael's Chosen. Equal in power to the dread Anathema, the Chosen served as the (mortal) generals of Hell's Five Sovereigns. So hated were the Chosen for their crimes against the inhabitants of both the Magic and Old World that the death of each was celebrated and the day of their death declared a holiday. They took comfort in the fact that the Chosen was the Mage Council's leashed dog (or demon, as the case may be) and that their daughter was the one keeping a close eye on him; the Master of Legions ranked amongst the Empress Sammael's most powerful (and favoured) generals. Should the latter get out of hand, there was no doubt in anyone's mind that the Silver Princess would put him down.
But doing so, however, would severely jeopardise the plans she has for him. Plans which will no doubt unnerve everyone who knows the cool and regal Japanese priestess (including the Master of Legions, should he find out!).
Next: The Master of Legion's Heroic Spirits – 1 (3 extra profile chapters planned).