The One Eyed Bandit
rotworm
Age: 617
Mental Age: 26
Gender: Female
Sexual Orientation: Heterosexual
Q: Regular or Irregular? ->A: Regular
Species: Ember
Personality: Among the Rankers of the Tower, Zeharr is infamous. As a regular not a bit different than themselves, she blazed her way through the Tower, climbing it in only three hundred and fifty years and swiftly securing a place amongst the upper echelons of the Tower's Rankers. Her rapid progress having even spurred on rumors that her unnatural strength owes to her being an Irregular. She's known amongst her peers for possessing a wrath as blazing hot as her Sobriquet would suggest, and having a disregard for human life to match.
Zeharr herself, isn't exactly sure how she earned herself that sort of reputation. Because, in truth, she's kind of just a big old softie. Despite her prodigious strength, her personality is as kind as imagination can muster. The vengeful wrath she's famous for, is instead filled by an outstanding friendliness and compassion, the sort that would even nurse the worst of her enemies back to health, or provide a total stranger with a roof over their heads. And, while she's certainly taken her fair share of lives, to say she holds a disregard for them would be a lie wild enough to set off a fire of anger even within someone as nonchalant as herself.
She often sees herself as a sort of big sister figure for, what Zeharr refers to as, her juniors. She enjoys doling out advice to any Regulars she should happen to encounter, and has even been know, (Or, well, not actually known, due to the odd besmirchment her reputation seems to have garnered) to go out of her way to assist them, should she presume her actions would go unnoticed by the powers that be.
Position: Fisherman, Wave Controller, Hwayeomsa
Rank: 582
Sobriquet: Ashen Sun
Affiliation: Zahard Empire, Former FUG, Tied to the Workshop
Abilities and Skills:
- Ember Physiology - Among the strongest of her race to be born in their entire history, Zeharr's Lifefire burns with a strength only rivaled by the greatest heroes and heroines of her people. Not only is her capability to manipulate Shinsoo heightened to terrifying levels, but so is her ability to resist it. Her ashen skin not only resists the flow of Shinsoo in it's natural state, but in it's elementalized forms too, the flames of the Hwayeomsa doing naught but wash over her already white-scorched skin, and the bolts of the Jeonsulsa crackling helplessly it. Inversely, her body is especially susceptible to physical attacks, (at least, for a Ranker), being as fragile as the ash it takes it's color after.
- Shinsoo Resistance - Monstrous: Owing to her especially strong Lifefire, Zeharr's ability to resist Shinsoo is off the charts, being enough to give even an Irregular a run for their money.
- Shinsoo Manipulation - Prodigy: Once again owing to her especially strong Lifefire, Zeharr is especially talented in the fields of Shinsoo Manipulation. While holding more renown for her creativity and versitilty in the field, she's more than capable to hold her own in terms of raw talent, being able to generate as many as 54 Baangs, usually.
- Close Quarters Combat - Adept: While not being particularly outstanding in the field, Zeharr is somewhat knowledgeable in the field of CQC, at least enough to be able to hold her own in a fight. Generally, her fighting style is focused on merely landing hits, rather than delivering them with any degree of strength or precision, due to the destructive nature of her Ashen Grip only requiring so much as a touch to do serious damage.
- Hwayeomsa - A fitting boon for one of her people, Zeharr is among the few inside the Tower who is able to call themselves Hwayeomsa. Besides her remarkable talent with the ability, the only other thing of note about the trait, are the crackling black limbs that she carries because of it, a feature inherent to any of her species who carries the ability, and a symbol traditional of great authority and strength within their culture.
- Ashen Sun Grip - A talent she's cultivated on her very own and what Zeharr likes to call her 'special move', Ashen Sun Grip is an advanced form of Shinsoo Manipulation designed for close-quarters combat. Essentially, the ability consists of her gathering a dense concentration of Shinsoo both around, and inside her hands, and setting it ablaze, then further compressing the resulting pyre around her hands, and forearms, setting the crackling heat within her hands into a fully blown, white hot blaze. The result, is an inferno of a heat of such intensity, that even Zeharr's seniors would hesitate to take a direct hit, outputting a destructive power beyond what Zeharr would usually be capable of. Which, with Zeharr being Zeharr, is certainly saying something.
- Solar Ashen Shunt - A modified variation of the 'Slider' technique, Solar Shift centers around using the resulting explosive force generated from the rapid ignition of a large mass of Shinsoo to move Zeharr at speeds, and over distances greater than the original technique would usually allow. Overall, this allows her to speed about the battle field at a devastating five times what a utilizer of Slider would be able to achieve, though it does come at the price of a decreased ability to steer her movement, due to the ability essentially being a technique in which she attaches jet engines to her body. Zeharr is also able to use the regular Slider Technique, should the situation demand it. Solar Shunt also has the effect of making the 'after images' produced by her movement appear orange to red, rather than blue to red.
- Ashen Supernova Lance - While Ashen Grip is what Zeharr refers to as her 'special move', Supernova Lance is definitely the technique that she'd name as her strongest. Lacking the refined nature of her Solar Shunt, and Ashen Grip, Supernova Lance consists of her gathering all the Shinsoo in an area she can manage, and compressing in the palm of her hand. Afterwards, she'll fire it forwards, causing it to rapidly expand into a 'Lance' of still-compressed Shinsoo, with the goal of piercing her target. After that, and only after that, will decompress, and ignite the Shinsoo, resulting in a massive explosion of heat and force.
History: From the very moment Zeharr was born, the fact that she was destined for greatness was clear. With the marks of the Hwayeomsa upon her limbs, and the skin as white as the greatest of her people's heroes, news of her birth exploded throughout her village as soon as she exited the womb, and soon, the rest of the Ember Kingdom would follow. Even reaching the ears of her people's leaders, the incredible circumstance of Zeharr's birth launched both her, and her family into the upper echelons of their society. They took positions as Dukes of their people, granted property, wealth, and authority for doing so much as bringing their daughter into the world, and Zeharr herself, was practically inducted into the royalty of their civilization.
Raised with access to the best tutors and trainers her people had to offer, Zeharr was brought up with the implicit purpose of scaling the Tower in mind. So, given access to both the greatest of both luxuries, and necessities, she flourished. Both in her studies, and sparring, Zeharr showed incredible talent, displaying not only the incredible aptitude for combat that her Lifefire would suggest, but also an ingenuity and intelligence that not only equaled, but surpassed it. Her progress shocked her tutors, Zeharr taking the lessons they doled out unto her as if they were of a second nature to her, advancing through at a rate nothing short of prodigious. It was made immediately clear that the girl was destined for an even greater fate than they'd thought, the day which she'd be ready to leave for the Inner Tower approaching faster and faster as the days went by.
Surprisingly, though, that wasn't nearly as true as they presumed. Despite Zeharr's outstanding talent, days, weeks, months and years whisked by without sight of hide nor hair of the rabbit-eared Guardian that they so eagerly awaited. And they didn't have a clue as to why. Her skill and capability was off the charts, her achievements stood as high as they could, while secluded to the solitary outer floor of the Tower upon which they resided, yet still Headon showed no interest in the girl. It was baffling. It stood without reason or rhyme, beyond the grasp of her people, so deeply steeped in their expectations as they were. Or at least, beyond the grasp of all but one. A single one of Zeharr's tutors, and one of the few Rankers that called her home floor their own. For she knew the rabbit well, and to grasp his attention, the young Ember needed one more thing, one vital thing that she lacked.
She needed to be interesting. Zeharr needed to be not only someone who would bring power to the Tower, no, there were candidates for that position aplenty. She needed to be someone who would bring dynamic to it. Someone who could spur on change and revolution, who could play a role in whatever grand plan that so-called-God held within his ever-unknowable mind. So, she set about making Zeharr into that very thing. With her connections and experience as a Ranker, she ventured throughout the Tower, reaching out to her contacts, and seeding within them information both true and false about the girl she sought to bring into their midst. Whispers. Rumors. She planted them throughout the Tower, their vines eventually reaching the ears of those of power. And among those, a few would take interest. The FUG. Thus, the preparations were in place. The FUG, tempted by the offer of yet another powerful, naive ally to place within their midst, were ready to serve as a landing pad. So the only thing left was to wait, for Headon to launch her.
And after only a few years, he would. Zeharr of course, would be none-the-wiser to her tutor's machinations and took Headon's sudden appearance into stride as she always did, entering the Tower without a shred of hesitation. Then began her warpath. From the moment she entered the Tower, Zeharr would outshine her fellow regulars by far. She blazed her way through the Floor of Test and those that followed, skyrocketing to the top of the E Rankings within months. And soon after, she'd meet the FUG. After she'd gained prestige within the Tower, they approached her, acting on the seeds of rumor that her tutor had sown all those year before, and bringing her into their fold. With them, powerful allies as they were, Zeharr scaled the Tower even further, taking whatever job they requested in exchange for their companionship into stride, and executing it without fault.
Her time with them, at first, was carefree and light. Well, when putting aside the... Illicit nature of the tasks she'd be assigned, at least. Zaharr forged friendships, and alongside them she traveled, with them she learned, she taught, she fought, she joked, and she lived. Those days, they were ones that even now, she'd remember fondly. But as with any good thing, they were to eventually come to an end. An end that would come, hinged on one single job. It was going to be simple, they said, claiming that they'd only need her aid in a task, an experiment of sorts that they were preforming within the depths of the Workshop. Something that they insisted that only she would be able to aid them with. So, she complied and traveled back down the floors of the Tower until her eventual arrival at the Floor she'd passed through so long ago. Something that they insisted that only she would be able to aid them with. So, she complied and traveled back down the floors of the Tower until her eventual arrival at the Floor she'd passed through so long ago. She followed their directions through the winding alleys and towers of the Workshop, until she arrived at a simple, unsuspecting door. And after she passed through it, what she could only describe as Hell reared up to meet her.
Through the door, the sight was a simple one. One that could even be soothing to anyone other than herself. Within the small, claustrophobic lab was not more than a handful of people, each one silently working away at some sort of strange, metal device. But that wasn't what disturbed her. Along the walls of the room, lining it's tables, shelves, and any free space they could find, were small, advanced looking capsules. And within each of them... Floated a tiny, dancing flame. At first, Zeharr wasn't exactly sure what she was looking at. But she felt it. A faint, flickering light of familiarity emanated from each and every one of the. They were... Enough. They were more than enough. Enough to send the ever calm and relaxed Ember into a rage. One without thought, or consideration. Before the scientists even had a chance to speak Zeharr set them ablaze, the silent tinkering of the carefully hidden workshop quickly being replaced by the deafening noise of fire and screams.
That one encounter, that one day was all it took. Zeharr abandoned the FUG, leaving the organization behind her without a shred of doubt in her mind. She left those she'd called ally and friend behind her without so much as a word, the pyre she'd left within the Workshop being the closest thing to a goodbye that any of them would receive. From that point on, she spent the rest of her time as a Regular alone, only ever entering a team whenever she absolutely had to, and abandoning them as soon as their purpose was fulfilled. The FUG, of course, was less than pleased by her betrayal, but Zeharr knew them well enough. She knew where they thought she'd be, she knew who and where she needed to avoid, and she knew who among them she could and could not defeat. So she managed to allude them. She kept her profile low, and her determination high as she ventured up through the Tower, steadily progressing along, and making sure to never stay in the same place for too long. Until eventually, she finally reached it's peak.
The 134th Floor. Arriving there, not an ounce of triumph was within Zeharr's being. No. Because here journey wasn't over. Not quite yet. She still had one thing she needed to go before she could really, truly call her ventures as a Regular complete. She needed to find out who was behind that twisted laboratory... And she needed to put an end to them. But, that was something she clearly couldn't do alone. But here, on the highest floor of the Tower the solution lay. The Zahard Empire. They were a force, she knew, that was far from imperfect themselves... But that wasn't important. What was important, was that they could help her. So to them she swore loyalty, so she could begin her search, at long last.
With the backing of the Empire, she'd found herself protection. She could walk the streets without worry of their assassins hunting her down, and, more importantly, she could investigate as freely as she wished. She scoured through every last tie she had to the FUG, begging, pleading, and beating any information she could out of them, until she finally learned the name of her quarry. And then the day came. Just one more day. Just one more encounter. She cornered the disgusting, depraved thing that'd wronged her. That'd wronged her people. And struck him down. As she had with the lab before it, she reduced the monstrous instigator to ash, and scattered him to the wind. On the one day, she felt not content, happiness, nor joy. She felt not anger, sadness, nor rage. All she felt, was the heat of her own flames as she burned that pile of sin into ash, and at feeling that feeling, that lack of feeling, she knew. That this was where things had to meet their end. Zeharr brought her war against the FUG to an end and secluded herself to her own mechanisms, deciding to do all she could to put her past behind her.
- Theme -
Now I'm not actually sure what the lyrics to this song are, but hey, the sound of it suits her, and it's called Blaze, so to hell with it, right?
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