Mask Or Menace Application

[draveinian]

〈 PLAYER INFO 〉
NAME: Zorn
AGE: 30
JOURNAL: zornsable
IM / EMAIL: Discord: Zanono#5772
PLURK: ZornSable
RETURNING: Y

〈 CHARACTER INFO 〉
CHARACTER NAME: Estinien Wyrmblood
CHARACTER AGE: 33-ish
CANON ORIGIN: Final Fantasy XIV
CHRONOLOGY: Patch 5.1
CLASS: Anti-hero
HOUSING: Anywhere is fine

BACKGROUND:

Estinien
Ishgard
Dragonsong War

PERSONALITY:

Estinien hails from the Holy See of Ishgard, which is a nation filled with people as cold as the winter that has engulfed it. With the nation suffering a thousand year war of extinction against sentient dragons, there has been little reason for Ishgardians to be hopeful, happy, or warm. Not only to outsiders, but even to each other. Estinien encompasses this very well, and his is a story that tends to be pretty typical for Ishgardians; especially for those who find themselves training to become Dragoons. Having suffered his hometown being razed to the ground by Nidhogg and his horde twenty years ago, and thus enduring what horrors that bore with it, he ended up growing into a very distant and cold person.

Ishgardian society hardly helps admonish this, particularly when they often take in specifically orphans of war to be dragoons in order to weaponize their trauma against dragons. There's no therapy in Ishgard, only nurturing hatred and psychological scars to further give them an edge against their mortal foes, and Estinien was no exception to this. He, of course, didn't help himself either, and let his hatred and thirst for vengeance fuel him through the years to eventually become the Azure Dragoon: the mightiest warrior of Ishgard so chosen by the Eye of Nidhogg.

The Eye of Nidhogg being the literal eye of their greatest foe: an ancient wyrm that has been laying siege on Ishgard for a thousand years. His eye had been plucked from his head at the beginning of the war. Thus becoming a national treasure, but also one of Ishgard's greatest war assets, due to the advantage it gave them by wielding half his power, as well as the Azure Dragoon being linked with his emotions/thoughts/etc. (The more you know!)

However, at the start, Estinien was a bit of a lone wolf, he was taken in by the previous Azure Dragoon after his hometown was destroyed. He was tending to his family's laughably small flock of sheep at the time, thus he was spared the fate the rest of the villages suffered, and was the sole survivor due to nothing short of luck. Alberic, his adopted father, then trained him from an early age in the ways of the dragoon. Helping him foster his skill, and while he tried to gainsay Estinien's obsession with getting vengeance, Estinien still stayed the course. However, as Estinien remarks far later in story, it was through Alberic's admonishment and others he grew close to, that his obsession didn't completely consume him. Just, mostly did.

In his time in the temple knights, before he became the Azure Dragoon, he was seen as a surly, dedicated soldier who favored battle and training than he did social interaction. He made no friends for a good while within it, and the only friend he did make was more because they pursued him than the other way around. Even after that, he didn't seek friendships, nor did he make any more till the events of Heavensward. Perhaps because he saw most socializing as unnecessary distractions to his true goal—one that may very well cost him his life. So such relationships weren't exactly important to him. They didn't help him in his pursuit for vengeance, so they were of little value to him.

When the Warrior of Light first meets Estinien (assuming they did the dragoon storyline), he is a fugitive of Ishgard because he's taken the Eye of Nidhogg from the church, when it's not supposed to leave. Ever. Estinien, while loyal to Ishgard, still does things his way, even if it might guarantee him some repercussions. As it turns out, he was not simply taking the eye for the sake of it, but he had sensed that Nidhogg was awakening after a twenty year nap (he had to sleep off his wounds that Alberic had given him back in Ferndale) and aimed to draw Nidhogg's attention away from Ishgard.

He had hoped to use himself as bait, so that he might do battle with the great wyrm, and thus have the chance to slay him where Ishgard might not suffer the battle. Needless to say, Estinien has some good intentions, but he is extremely reckless in them, and has little self preservation if it means it might guarantee him his vengeance, and also Ishgard's safety.

However, as the dragoon storyline progressed, Nidhogg had shared with Estinien what had happened in Ferndale, and how because of Alberic's inability to slay Nidhogg when he had the chance (due to his bond with Nidhogg through the eye, thus being overwhelmed with Nidhogg's emotions and nearly being taken over because of it) it lead to Ferndale's destruction. This was not pleasant news for the vengeance starved Estinien, who then took his rage and set it upon Alberic. In his moment of manipulated weakness, he called upon Nidhogg for his power so that he may slay his adoptive father, he became no more than a thrall to Nidhogg's and his own rage.

The WoL was having none of it though, and through a travailing battle, Estinien was defeated, and the essence of Nidhogg banished from him. He retreated from the scene quickly after that. However, this whole conflict between Alberic and Estinine never gets remarked upon again, and so we as players have no idea if Estinien forgave Alberic, or if he is still mad at him for his inability to save his small village. Thanks SE, you're a gem. I go with the latter, seeing as Estinien is pretty bullheaded about this stuff when it concerns his family.

Even with that conclusion, Estinien still carried the Eye, and the Holy See seemed fine to let him be; after all he was their finest champion and he was indeed using the Eye for their benefit. So, it would seem even his fugitive charges had been dropped. Honestly, by the time Heavensward rolls around, it would appears the Holy See was just accepting of Estinien's Do What He Wants attitude. They probably just learned to accept it, particularly when he tended to spurn any invitation to political events he was expected to go to. So much they just stopped bothering to invite him. There was no changing Estinien for the most part, he was stubborn and set in his ways. That was unless something specifically thought provoking challenges him in ways he cannot deny.

During the events of Heavensward, such an event occurred, however. With the threat of Nidhogg and his hoard making an assault on Ishgard, Estinien grouped up with the Warrior of Light and Alphinaud in an attempt to contact the heretic leader Iceheart. Their aim was to parley with the dragons through her connections. Estinien knew that if Nidhogg aimed a full assault on Ishgard, he would likely be the victor of such a battle. With such a reality weighing on him, he was willing to go along, because if the parley failed, then he could likely down Nidhogg with the warrior of light's aid. Convenient as it would be that they'd be on Nidhogg's soil, and not their own. This, of course, didn't stop him from sassing Ysayle despite her willingness to help them, and bickering beliefs with her all along the way. Because he's kind of a petty child, even when his nation is in danger.

Through their travels, and through more and more piling evidence pointing at the fact that maybe the Holy See's ways of how events transpired a thousand years ago were not as factual as they would have their people believed, Estinien started to question his beliefs. His resolve started to chip a bit, and he was becoming more willing to accept that his faith was flawed—but his loyalty was till to Ishgard, even if the church has sewn lies into their faith and teachings. The people of Ishgard was who he would protect, to who he was loyal. Not the church, which says a lot about Estinien. While a man of faith, he had little for the church itself, and he actually knew well how flawed the men of Ishgard were (once making a comment that if every man's thought was made known, that Ishgard would not last a bell), but that did not mean they deserved to be damned to death by dragon's fire.

Not only did his beliefs change with his traveling, so too did his demeanor in ways: he opened up, even playfully teased Alphinaud (in likeness to that of a teenage boy teasing their little brother for having feelings), and made friendships. Even with his disputes with Ysayle, he still eventually forged some respect for her, seeing her as he put it "a worthy woman". However, even with his camaraderie with the others, his true goal remained ever present and unwavering. Even when he did kill Nidhogg, after learning the truth behind the motivations of the Dragonsong war, he felt little joy in accomplishing his life-long goal. It was a bittersweet victory, but it served its purpose to protect Ishgard from its would-be destruction.

Ultimately, beyond vengeance, duty is the most important thing to Estinien. His dedication to such was greatly shown when he was possessed by Nidhogg's eyes (long story, but basically both eyes were found, Estinien held both like a smarty, and got his body jacked by dragon satan and went MIA for a good long while). Nidhogg waged an assault on Ishgard, using Estinien's body as a vessel, but through the combined effort of Hraesvelgr (Nidhogg's brood brother and a mortal sympathizer) and the WoL, Nidhogg was defeated, though scarcely dead. Estinien was able to regain control of himself long enough to subdue Nidhogg and beg for the WoL to kill him—thus Nidhogg would be truly defeated with his sacrifice. His shounen sacrifice got denied, but regardless it showed just how willing he was to let himself die for the sake of Ishgard.

Since then, he's decided to find his place in the world now, seeing as Ishgard hardly needs a dragon slayer, and he's not interested in being one. With Nidhogg's mind merging with his own, he gained his insight, his feelings, his memories. As such, he's come to fully realize the loss on both sides, and decides that he wishes to grieve for those lost to the terrible war—man and dragon alike. There's a somberness to his personality, that has blunted his anger, and killed his need for revenge. Even with Nidhogg's death, he did not feel happiness. Instead, he felt mourning.

In his travels to find himself and mourn the losses of those from the war, he did eventually find that his work was not done. Nidhogg's eyes were being used to power a primal, and so with Hraesvelgr's assistance, he geared up and left to go east. Eventually finding the eyes discarded after the battle between Shinryu-Zenos and the WoL, he destroys the eyes for good, thus truly putting an end to Nidhogg and his duty. A bitter-sweet relief, to be sure.

Or so he thought his duty was over, but not long after that, he had found himself settled with Orn Khai in Kugane. Penniless, they took to work to the tea house there, Estinien more or less being bullied into becoming a waiter. Yet, he would find such a pedestrian life interrupted by two scions who sought his help, and while their requests were doubtlessly dire, he did everything he could to avoid them. See, while he is a good man with a good heart, he also is one ever taken to freedom, and with his old life's duties completed, he was not ready to take on some new adventure. Yet, they were relentless and more stubborn than him, and with the right incentive given (a well-played bluff of blackmail with an embarrassing moment of his past being threatened to be revealed) he agreed to help them.

All in all, Estinien is stand-offish and aggressive, but a good dude. He may undermine authority if it would serve his duty better, or be better for the people/those he cares about, even if it means it might get him in trouble (he usually gets out of it anyways). He is highly a chaotic neutral type of character, but with more of a leaning towards good, than evil. He will be heroic and generally do the right thing even if no one else will, but entirely under his terms and any naysayers be damned. He carries himself as very prickly and with little patience, but he does have a good nature about him under it all. Something that he's proven to be getting better with as he's been healing from his time away from the war. He can be rash, and quick to anger sometimes, and absolutely rude, but he means to do well, just in his own way.

POWER:

Crimson Dragoon

Jumping - All dragoons are trained in the ability to leap to absurd heights, this is fashioned as a means to aerially combat dragons. Estinien is particularly talented in such means, and can jump with ease over a hundred feet into the air. His agility and reflexes are so honed that he can land with pinpoint precision and accuracy, deftly bouncing to and fro with grace. Likewise he can use that power and strength to land so solidly that it could crush a dragon's skull. He also has modified jump attacks that are powered by his aether (his soul/life essence), which has been thoroughly corrupted by the dragon blood within his veins, and the possession he had suffered under Nidhogg. As such, his jump attacks with his spear can cause bomb-like, fiery explosions, however this specific attack is considered a "limit break", which is exactly that: an attack so powerful it breaks through his ordinary limitations. As such, it is not something he can spam, or do all willy-nilly, it will require some time before he can do it again.

Dragoon Skills - Dragoons, like many other melee jobs, are capable of imbuing their aether to enhance their abilities and attacks. This, of course, expends energy, though Estinien has heightened stamina compared to most (due to being so thoroughly corrupted by Nidhogg's previous possession). As such, he is capable of doing all the Dragoon skills. It is worth noting that dragoons have impressive reflexes and speed, their balance utterly unparalleled by other mortals.

Draconic Aether - When needed, Estinien can call upon Nidhogg's aether, which allows him to use attacks that the great wyrm is known for. Ala Morn is an attack that infuses the dark and fire aspected aether of Nidhogg to make his lance attacks be paired with what seems like a dragon's breath weapon (while healing Estinien for a portion of the damage). Drachenlance is another attack that infuses such energies to continuously, and somewhat massively, damage the target for a small period of time (roughly fifteen seconds). He also can let our a dragon's roar that stuns through the sheer volume and power behind it, then as they are stunned, all who hear it then get what looks to be an eye-looking circle of energy below them that then gets struck with a burst of what appears to be dark lightning. He can only use these abilities while channeling Nidhogg, which is a taxing endeavor, and he will need adequate rest before being able to do so again.

Child of Hydaelyn

Ishgardian - As all Eorzeans are, he is far stronger than the average human, making them superhuman in such. Their average can lift objects with relative ease that only extremely fit humans can, and even then not without struggle. Ishgardians are a special case even then, what with dragon blood coursing through their veins, heightening their physical and aetherial prowess. They are extremely durable, and can withstand far more damage than normal humans, though they are far from impervious to gun shots or blades. Eorzeans in general can handle magical attacks fairly decently, particularly if they are skilled in knowing how to manipulate their aether.

Elezen - Estinien is an Elezen, which is the world's equivalent to an elf, and thus he will be able to maintain his long ears. He also has an extended life compared to the other races (though with Nidhogg corrupting his aether as he has, thus making him almost more dragon than man, he might be longer lived than others), but so too does he have other heightened senses. Elezen have sharp eyes and ears, capable of seeing with eagle-like precision, and being able to hear even the faintest of sounds.

Indomitable Will - Eorzeans are well known for their control over their aether, which allows them to cast magic, or imbue their attacks with different elemental aspects, but so too does it allow them to have mental fortitude. While Estinien is no mage, his will power is ungodly, and those who might try to control him through magic, possession, and so forth may find themselves struggling. While he was possessed by Nidhogg, it was only under very precise circumstances that this god-like wyrm could overpower Estinien's will. With the dragoon drenched in Nidhogg's blood, thus corrupting him to Nidhogg's influence, it was only after Estinien held both of Nidhogg's eyes (dragon eyes are where their soul and power is manifested) and let his guard down for a moment that this ancient and immensely powerful wyrm could possess him. Even as he continued to call upon Nidhogg's power through the eyes repeatedly, the wyrm could not take him. Even after he had taken him, he was able to keep his soul from being consumed by the dreadwyrm, stubbornly refusing to let himself be taken over—a feat most would have immediately failed to do. He was even able to wrestle control from Nidhogg at one point. His sheer stubborn will is a thing of legend.

Nidhogg's Fury

Dreaderrn - Fury is greatly linked to Nidhogg, for his was one unending in nature. One that went on full force for a thousand years. As such, Estinien own anger can trigger a slow metamorphosis that begins to warp him into the dragon that once possessed him. Ishgardians are uniquely capable of turning into dragons through ritualistic means, but Estinien has since had the majority of his blood changed to dragon's blood (where as Ishgardians otherwise have a paltry amount), his soul likewise corrupted, and so this is especially the case for him. Depending on the level of his anger, he will begin to take on an appearance mixed between man and dragon. Only returning to normal once he has reached a level of emotional stability. He will likewise be utterly spent both physically and emotionally, and will not be able to achieve this again until he has adequately rested for at least a day.

Dreadwyrm - Should Estinien reach a point of utter fury, he will not turn into his Dreaderrn-self, but Nidhogg. He will have little control over himself in this state, and will possess the power of the dreadwyrm. Complete mastery over fire and dark aspected attacks, be it fire breath, fire balls, explosive dark energies, and so forth. As a dragon, his scales are extremely durable, and he will become virtually indestructible compared to most. Those who might match him in their strength and ability will be able to take him on, but it will be no easy feat. Once he has either been defeated (whether knocked unconscious or...well, killed) he will revert back to normal—or if one can reach through the fury to calm him, he will slowly transform back. Once this level of transformations has happened, Estinien will be out of sorts for roughly a week, such transformation is utterly taxing on both body and soul.

〈 CHARACTER SAMPLES 〉

COMMUNITY POST (VOICE) SAMPLE:

[Never has Estinien found himself a fan of machines, mistrusting them greatly the more they resembled something that could think. Someone might call him a Luddite, and that someone would be right. However, even he knows he cannot go completely without using it, though he would utterly strive to. He cannot deny what benefits these strange machines offer, even if those benefits are ones he rarely seeks.

However, in this case...he cannot deny the necessity of such widespread communication. As the feed clicks on, the viewers are greeted with a man of long, shaggy, white hair. His unkempt bangs covering his dark eyes, while the rest of it frames his long and pointed features. From either side of his head are pointed ears which would label him to most as an elf. He would correct them that he is an Elezen.

His is an expression of forced stoicism, with the tinges of uncertainty and discomfort. He's never been a social person, and as stated previously, never one for machines such as these. This entire situation is utterly uncomfortable. As he speaks, his is a voice both low and gruff, with a bit of an underlying growl to it.]

...I seek an armorer.

[That's a good start...]

One that may yet be familiar with with dragon-blessed armor. 'Tis from ancient times, one forged through dragon's flame. 'Tis not a job for a novice—eagerness does not beget skill.

[Oh wait, he's forgotten something important, hasn't he? Like his name, perhaps?]

I will await your response.

[Oh nope, he's leaving it at that.]

LOGS POST (PROSE) SAMPLE: TDM top level
FINAL NOTES: Estinien will be bringing with him his armor and lance, as well as his traveling clothes, some gil, maybe a couple health potions, all conveniently in his bag!