Valor, The Competent Soldier

Name: Valor
Pronunciation: Vah-lor
Gender: Male/Masculine
Type: Western Dragon
Species: Shadow Dragon
Age: 45 Years old
Date of Birth: April 1st
Personality: There are two sorts of sides to Valor's personality which he often defers to depending on the circumstance of the situation. They're both one in the same, just the different side of a coin for the same Dragon.

When he isn't on the job the Drake is generally considered generally pleasant company by most, at least, those that get a chance to hang around him in his off time. By all measures Valor is reserved dragon who tends to keep busy with himself in the forms of secluded hunting trips and intellectual binges of old texts, activities that often limit or downright eliminate the dragons he has to interact with. Moreover, he finds social etiquette and the pressures of tribal behavior outside of the rigid military structure to be exhausting on him over time; especially when interacting with those outside his native tribe who aren't so fully engaged with warfare as Xoyans naturally are.

That being said he is quite happy to relax around those he considers close to his heart for extended periods of time should the opportunity arise, and is usually polite enough to entertain any dragon that seeks his company in earnest with small talk for a time. Playful quips of a foolish move in a game, flirty remarks to a pretty dragoness, and casual sarcastic comments about an upcoming task are not uncommon sights in such conversations.

The no nonsense tribal soldier is a tempered veteran that has seen half a life's worth of harsh drill and combat experience in an army that see's more wars than most. Humble, collected, disciplined, and steadfastly loyal with a will to put himself in harms way in frightful circumstances are certainly ways of describing him. Valor takes the art of war, and thus his occupation, with a great deal of uncharacteristic seriousness. This is reflected in a weighty demeanour, one that carries with it a sense of experienced authority. Previous notions of social luxuries such as his introvertness are entirely cast aside in favor better cooperation with his fellow soldiers in battle where he expresses more than enough mental versatility to follow orders of his superiors with vigor, or lead sorties of his subordinates for whom he often genuinely cares for.

Following orders and keeping his squadron alive are the only single minded objectives he focuses on.
Hobbies: Reading scholarly texts, Repeating drills(Yes, I know), Hunting for small game, Long distance flying, and simple games are among his favorites.
Likes: A decent book, Competent soldiery, Flying, Wargear, Order, and Physical & Mental fitness
Dislikes: Rudeness, Incompetency of any kind, Cowardice from soldiers, The Ocean, Underground, and Entitlement
Fears: Valor is deathly afraid of the humiliation of failure, the loss of his life, and the deep ocean
Quote: "War is an ugly business, sir. One that I see no reason for us to do poorly.'" - Valor speaking to a freshly minted officer after a bloody victory




Place of Origin: An urban center within the core territories of the Xoyan tribe.
Tribe: Xoya
Position: Schutzen - Senior Non-Commissioned Officer
Language: Native Xoyan, Fluent Universal, Fluent Ki'Shan
Home: A secluded mountain, or more typically, a military barrack.
Parents: Two former military Xoyans who have since retired from service.
Siblings: None that he knows of.
Relatives: Not any that particularly matter.
Mate: Soldiering is a lonely life, don't you know?
Offspring: Not at all.
History: TBD




Height: 26ft Tall
Length: 54ft Long
Wingspan: 72ft Wide
Scale/Fur/Feathers: Scales of a darker obsidian color, a smooth white underbelly, and golden stripes along his length
Eyes: Blue
Accessories: In a casual setting, typically nothing at all. When doing any sort of soldiering it could be expected of him to wear a personal set of armor. This armor would consist of a helmet covering his whole head(Except in two spots for the horns), and segmented armor plating that cover the following: Chest, underbelly, limbs with exception to the wings, sides, and back.
Horns/Spikes: A pair of sharp horns extend from the back of his head a few feet or so.
Overall Appearance: Valor is on the larger end of the spectrum when it comes to Western dragons, but still well within the range of normalcy that could be expected of most dragons in the category. A majority of his body is covered in hard, dark obsidian scales that easily reflect light while his underbelly is composed of softer white scales. Several patches of scales would be unusually deformed along his body in the form of dark scorch marks, sharp scarring, and subtle dents. A dimly colored set of gold stripes also ran along the length of his body.




Abilities:

Scale hardening: When circumstances grow fatal, desperate times often call for desperate measures. Scale hardening is the name Valor has given to one of his few abilities; that of consciously hardening his scales so that they might be durable enough to fend off a fatal blow. The effect is near instant(Activates on the same post it was declared) and on command, lasting for about fifteen seconds(3 posts) on average before returning to normalcy. Typically they can only cover one portion of his body at a time, and only parts that contain scales.

For example, Valor might use Scale hardening to fend off a lethal blow to his jugular which results in the hardening of his entire head with exception to his eyes, horns, and ears. The rest of his body from the neck down is still exposed.

The hardened scales become a darker shade of black that contrasts with the rest of his scales, making it plainly obvious to the attacker what is hardened and what isn't. In this state they're durable enough to temper the extremes of the elements(Elemental attacks) and being practically impervious to conventional attacks such as claws, teeth, and breath attacks. Weapons that strike these scales repeatedly might chip or become damaged with enough hits.

It takes nearly a half minute(5 posts) from the first summon for him to use this ability again.

Blitz: If Scale hardening is his defense, then Blitz is his offense. With conscious effort(1 post prep) Valor can concentrate on achieving a sudden burst of speed which he can maintain for a short time(5 posts), often catching his enemy off guard. In this state of heightened quickness he is practically a blur, allowing him to push the limits of his body by moving in excess of 70 Mph on land and 120 Mph in the air. His attacks & movements are also made far quicker, which allows for him to make multiple strikes in quick succession or maneuver un-naturally fast.

This move is utterly exhausting to keep up, especially if he pushes the full duration. The fatigue following this would tire him easily and hamper is fighting ability for a short while, meaning this move has to be played at the right time. He'll generally have to take a rest before he can use this ability again.

Strengths:

Soldiering: Valor is first and foremost a soldier, has been for quite a long time now. Years of fighting has made him rather proficient in several weapons, tactics, fighting styles, and disciplines. From dueling to grappling; he has been taught a lot of ways to kill a dragon. His experiences have also sharpened his mind and body in the form of quicker reflexes and a toughened physical form.

Endurance: One of the Drake's main advantages is his acquired stamina, and his ability to fend off fatigue or punishment for long periods of time. He is by no means a restless zombie but he is more than capable of going for awhile without recuperation. Whether this be from lack of sleep, lack of medical treatment, poison, or constant muscle exhaustion; Valor has figured out how to keep himself up just that little bit longer. This also extends to blows against him as it takes a little extra effort to put him down fatally.

Agility: Despite his size Valor is actually quite a nimble dragon. He moves relatively quickly, and naturally keeps up a fast pace when he's moving or flying. He still isn't a match for the speed of smaller dragons, but it gives him that slight edge against slower dragons of similar or larger size.


Weaknesses:

Swimming: All things considered, this Drake is weak in the water. His slow swimming speed, fear, and unfamiliarity with the ocean make him ill-suited for long periods of aquatic combat. In most cases even a far inferior opponent that is comfortable in the water would likely have the upper hand in defeating him if he had nowhere else to go.

Dulled sense of smell: Valor has a relatively weak sense of smell as compared to other dragons. He struggles to pick up even the stench of a rotting corpse or other powerful scents, meaning that he is practically 'nose deaf' in a manner of speaking. This often proves detrimental to him when he's tracking or investigating something.

Slow healing: In spite of or perhaps because of his unusually high endurance, Valor actually takes a little longer than most to heal from his injuries; especially fatal ones. Though their effects on him in battle might not be instantly lethal, they usually wear down on him over time if they're allowed to build up and fade very slowly. Hence his great deal of scars.

Post-Traumatic stress disorder: While Valor is a good soldier, he isn't perfect. Several actions of his past still haunt him in the present, and he lives in constant fear that it will come back to bite him. He can sometimes be prone to episodes of post-traumatic stress that result in nightmares or visual hallucinations when certain triggers are met. The main remedy for this is medicine or alcohol, though if none are available and his episodes are allowed to progress, it may result in him becoming combat in-effective.

Fighting Style: There is a heavy reliance on wearing out his enemy through attrition, then attacking in a blitz like counter attack. Sometimes the order is reversed, however.
Magic:]

Shadow Swords: On command Valor(Summoned same post when declared) can conjure a set of three 12ft long blades made of an ethereal shadowy substance that seems to move fluidly like liquid. They float around him until ordered to strike, whether one by one or all at once. These blades move toward their target in a straight line at a speed of 100 Mph, striking the target where by they harden into a material comparable to a steel like alloy right before impact. They have a range of up to about 200 ft and a cooldown of five posts from when they are first summoned. They remain until the cooldown is over.

Given the shadowy nature of the blades they vanish upon contact with any body of water, fire, light(Except sunlight), or earth. They also disappear several seconds(One post) after hitting organic material. The linear trajectory also means that a nimble dragon might be able to jink out of the way, or use cover to take the hit.

Ok. So two notes here. I would move Shadow Swords to Magic, and I would also lower their speed. Other than that looks great.

Bump!

1/2 Approved!

Bump