Application: Soul Campaign

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[ PLAYER INFORMATION ]

Player Name: Sami

Age: 21

Timezone: GMT -6/CST

Personal Journal:
sami_fire
Contact Information: SamiFire on Plurk, PMs okay.

Current Characters:
Hiro Kageyama (Devil Survivor 2)
Links to Activity Check: Here.


[ CHARACTER INFORMATION ]

Name: Zelgius

Age: His true age is unknown (he ages more slowly due to being a Branded), but he appears to be somewhere in his early 20's.

Gender:
Male
Canon:
Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance/Radiant Dawn
Timeline: Just before he dies after his battle with Ike in the Tower of Guidance.


Background:

Backstory link.

Zelgius was born in Daein. From his birth, he had a mark on his back- a "brand"- that signified that he had some Laguz blood in his ancestry somewhere. According to him, someone on his father's side was with a Laguz. (For reference, the Laguz are a race of people that can turn into various animals, while humans are called Beorc.) People with this mark are shunned by both Laguz and Beorc; neither side wants anything to do with them. As a result, Zelgius grew up hated by his family and as a source of shame for them. To escape this treatment, he joined the Daein army and served under General Gawain, studying swordsmanship under him as well. He developed an immense respect for his general, to the point that his dream was eventually to fight with him personally.

During his time as a soldier, he encountered Sephiran, the Prime Minister of Begnion. He showed his brand to Sephiran and asked if it could possibly be removed. He also mentioned that, due to being a Branded, he was aging more slowly and would have to leave the army to avoid detection. Sephiran and Zelgius made an agreement that, after he left the Daein army, Zelgius would seek out Sephiran and join him in his task. When Zelgius left the army, he did as he was told and joined Sephiran, becoming one of Begnion's top generals in the process.

When Path of Radiance begins, Zelgius has become one of Daein's Four Riders under the guise of the mysterious Black Knight. He finds Gawain (now known as Greil, Ike's father) and kills him in a fight, becoming Ike's enemy in the process. He spends most of the game aiding Ashnard's efforts to spark war across Tellius. He does appear to Ike's group as Zelgius when he asks if Begnion can aid Ike's army, but his offer is refused. Later, he duels with Ike as the Black Knight before disappearing for the rest of the game, thought to have been killed in the collapse of the castle he was in.

In Radiant Dawn, Zelgius (again as the Black Knight) assists Micaiah in various ways, such as saving her from being assassinated. He fights on the side of Daein until he is called back to Begnion to fight the Laguz Alliance. The war progresses until the goddess Ashera unleashes her judgment and turns all the people to stone. Then, Zelgius waits in the Guidance Tower for Ike and his army. Zelgius loses his final battle with Ike and dies satisfied that, in facing Ike, he fought General Gawain at the height of his power. However, just before he truly dies, BREW drags him to Death City.



Personality:
Zelgius is, above all, incredibly loyal to his masters. He rarely strayed from Sephiran's orders during the whole storyline; the only thing he did that wasn't ordered by Sephiran was seeking out and killing Greil (Gawain). One could say that he was utterly devoted to Sephiran after he joined him, and such devotion makes sense considering their relationship. Sephiran was the only person that Zelgius ever trusted enough to get close to and show his brand to. That gesture alone implies a massive amount of trust from Zelgius and perhaps justifies his loyalty.

The ones Zelgius places his loyalty in are people he admires on a deep level- and even then, there must be some sort of special element in place in order for him to perform what he considers the ultimate act of trust: revealing his brand. As much as Zelgius worshipped General Gawain, it's not likely that he would actually show him his brand. The only reason Sephiran even got to see Zelgius's brand was that Zelgius thought Sephiran might be able to remove it. Nonetheless, Sephiran clearly had something special about him that made Zelgius decide to risk scorn and reveal his brand.

Zelgius can also be something of a strength seeker. He idolized General Gawain and longed to equal and perhaps exceed him. It can be taken to mean that perhaps he sees his strength as the one thing he permanently "has." People betray him and nothing else in his life seems permanent but his strength and his brand, which is more of a loss than anything else. The way he was so consumed by his desire to fight his general implies a bit of an obsessive or singleminded quality to him.

Being one of Begnion's top generals means he has some great tactical smarts. At one point, he refuses to pursue the Laguz Alliance into the Kauku Caves because he knows how dangerous the caves are. He is also quite perceptive; in a cutscene, he notices that a chunk of the Laguz army is all going to a certain spot, something a less perceptive person may not have noticed. Also, he had the people-insight to know that Skrimir would not turn down his challenge to fight.

In most cases, Zelgius remains composed and confident. Even when he's about to duel Ike in the Tower of Guidance, he doesn't seem excessively excited. He keeps a cool head and begins the duel ready to fight. When he dies, he shows no signs of losing his composure and is even sure that his life had meaning. Earlier, when members of the Laguz alliance approach him, there's even a slight smile on his face as he anticipates the challenge. Also, he possesses extreme loyalty and discipline; his loyalty to Sephiran is so unwavering that killing Greil/Gawain was the only move he made on his own.

On the note of his brand, Zelgius is a man who is very much defined by his status as a Branded. A life of being looked down upon and scorned by others has given him rather low self-worth. He never gets close to anyone for fear of discovery and subsequently being the subject of hate and shame once more; Sephiran is the sole exception. The fear of being scorned once more is a gaping vulnerability in this otherwise powerful man's defenses. He lived a sad life alone... or at least, he was alone until he met Sephiran.

That fear of discovery seems to be his one dominating fear. He doesn't even fear death as much as he fears seeing shame or hatred in another's eyes. That may be partly why he joined the Daein army in the first place; the scorn from his family rendered his self-worth so low that he didn't care if he died in battle. The fear defines many aspects of his life, such as his persistent loneliness and his refusal to get close to people.

Under his composed exterior, Zelgius is very vulnerable. He avoids trusting or getting close to people out of fear of being discovered as a Branded. This behavior can be taken to mean that, to an extent, he fears personal scorn. He said that he "comes close to despair" when he imagines seeing the same hatred and shame in another's eyes as he saw from his family. That makes hatred and shame his one deep weakness. His loyalty could also be seen as a weakness; this makes him easily used as a tool by Sephiran to accomplish his own ends. He does have a conscience, but he is such a soldier-type that he regularly casts it aside to do some fairly nasty things by Sephiran's orders (such as kidnapping the one remaining Heron princess to make her sing the Galdr of Release and release Yune).


Why is your character a good fit for the setting of Soul Campaign, and what will they do once they are in the game?
Zelgius is a soldier at heart. When he hears there's a war going on, he's going to want to participate. He doesn't exactly consider himself a hero of any sort, but he knows he's good at two things: taking orders and fighting. He might be a bit concerned about having to actually partner up with someone, but he will most likely accept the idea due to the role of Meisters. In a sense, he already sees himself as a weapon to be wielded, much like what Sephiran did to him (though it doesn't seem to have occurred to him that he was "used" in that fashion- he kind of just sees it as a matter of course due to his role as a soldier).


List the abilities your character will still have in Soul Campaign:
Zelgius didn't really have any special abilities aside from being really strong. Since the strength is natural, it should stay.
List the weaknesses your character will gain (or lose) in Soul Campaign:
Probably none, since he had no special powers or major disabilities.

[ WEAPON ]



Soul Description:
Six adjectives: Loyal, composed, vulnerable, distrusting, lonely, single-minded

Zelgius's soul is red and has his hairstyle. Its expression is neutral, and it appears to be wearing armor (or at least a helm, given that it's kind of just a little blob).

(Weapon Form) / Ability:



Zelgius's Weapon form will be Alondite, the sword he wields as the Black Knight (as seen here). His ability is a kind of passive shield to his wielder; the wielder will be injured less by hits and be able to block a bit more often. This kind of buff is supposed to mimic the blessing he received from Ashera via the Black Knight armor (though in-game, Ashera's blessing makes it so that only certain weapons can damage a person, so naturally the effect has been nerfed).



[ SAMPLES ]


First-Person
[Video Post]

...This is very unusual.

[Zelgius twists and turns the communicator, making the camera pan every which way.]

In my world, we never had any devices like this. What magic is it that allows this sort of communication to be possible? I have been impressed with this world's devices and abilities ever since I came here. Back home, I would have died from the wounds I received, and yet here in your Horrorspital I was saved as though the wounds were nothing at all. The buildings here are nothing like the ones in my world, though perhaps the Tower of Guidance in Begnion comes close.

Speaking of abilities, I would appreciate being trained in the ways of the Weapon. While I am already skilled with the sword and the spear, it seems that those alone are not enough to defeat Witches and Kishin Eggs. If I must become a weapon to slay the enemy, then I shall. Likewise, I would also like to find someone capable of wielding me. I take the form of the legendary sword from my world, Alondite. If you need to be trained in wielding a sword, then I can help with that as well. Though I am used to fighting alone... perhaps it will not be so bad to have a partner.

I look forward to meeting and fighting alongside you.



Third-Person
The duel was done. Zelgius had lost decisively against the shadow of his mentor, Gawain. In battle, Ike was everything he could have wished for and more. He had longed to fight Gawain at his true strength ever since he had learned that Gawain had willingly crippled himself (or, rather, his sword hand). The battle with Ike had been intense and satisfying. It was the perfect closure, and in that moment, Zelgius was sure that his life had meaning. He could pass on with no regrets, and he would do so soon, given how he was bleeding from wounds sustained in the duel. He closed his eyes, and waited for the end.

Curiously, the sensation of a cold stone floor never left him, not even after what felt like hours. He opened his eyes and discovered that he was definitely no longer in the Tower of Guidance. The screen flickered on, and Spirit Albarn began to speak. His soldier instincts kicked in, and he listened intently (if cautiously) to the man speaking through the... portal? What was that up there, anyway? Nonetheless, he had no weapons, so if something came up, he was completely at the mercy of whatever attacked (his armor could only block so much). So he listened to the information that he was given: first, there was a war going on. He found it interesting that he had essentially been dragged from one warring land to another. The second concept of Weapons and Meisters was a bit harder to grasp. There are people who can transform into weapons? He wouldn't believe it till he saw it.

At the very end, Spirit gave Zelgius his choice: stay in Death City as a civilian, or join the war as a Weapon or a Meister. For Zelgius, the choice was simple. He was never particularly good at being a civilian. If he had been given a second chance in this bizarre afterlife, he was going to take it and use it to do what he did best: live as a soldier. He would take orders from whoever was in charge, and he would go out and fight these Witches. He was a soldier. It wasn't his place to question why or what; only to carry out the orders he was given. In the darkness, Zelgius smirked. It was time to fight once more.



Notes
Zelgius will arrive injured and in the Black Knight armor.