Une masse d'humanité, flanquée de boîtes fissurées, de tas de denrées alimentaires décomposées et d'une porte jetée, déchue, enveloppée de tissu, assise patiemment sur un fût vide dans l'une des nombreuses ruelles et rues arrière des bidonvilles du Royaume Fou, des endroits peu savores et souvent dangereux souvent utilisés par les membres plus chaotiques de la société pour mener leurs affaires. Même à distance, il aurait été difficile d'erreur l'homme assis là pour un mendiant, beaucoup trop grand et bien nourri pour exiger la charité des autres. On pourrait pardonner d'avoir mal pris la figure comme un braqueur ordinaire, couvert comme il l'était par un vêtement sombre, porté vers le bas à capuche et armé d'un grand mac tenu dans sa main droite, mais une inspection un peu plus étroite révélerait la lueur blanche de l'armure de la plaque sous le surcoat et un casque de fermeture du visage sous le capot, et voir un escroc de l'allée arrière adapté vers le haut dans la plaque pleine aurait été extrêmement rare. L'homme, alors, était quelque chose d'autre.
L'homme en question était un chevalier. Ou avait-il été chevalier, et n'était-il plus qu'un meurtrier? Peut-être faisait-il partie de quelque chose de plus grand, un membre de l'organisation mystérieuse connue sous le nom de La Fraternité, identifié comme tel par les marques discrètes sur la barre lourde qui a doublé comme son masque. Quoi qu'il en soit, l'homme n'en était pas vraiment sûr lui-même, son nom était Cyrus Reinhardt et il était assis dans l'allée sous la pluie battante et le tonnerre fulgurant parce que c'était un point fixe d'où ceux qui savaient où regarder pouvaient accéder à l'un des refuges secrets de la Fraternité, désigné comme point de rencontre devrait se poser des questions pressantes et actuellement occupé par un Daniel Bróðir, qui était apparemment hors de sa première mission.
La question pressante de Cyrus était une étrange lettre qu'il avait reçue, écrite dans une langue qu'il ne pouvait pas tout à fait placer et livrée dans un papier étrangement familier, et il a donc attendu que l'habitant actuel de la maison de sécurité revienne de son « travail ». Cyrus n'était pas celui qui s'est faufilé dans des endroits et briser la porte aurait été plutôt alarmant pour son occupant et assez grossier de sa part. Enfin, sa patience a été récompensée comme une figure voilée portant un masque distinctif semblable à une chouette qui s'élançait dans l'allée et a rapidement été rejointe par un autre portant un masque blanc clair accédant d'une direction différente. Tentant de paraître non menaçant, Cyrus avait découvert un certain temps, était un effort futile pour une de sa taille et donc il a simplement levé son bras gauche dans un geste de salutation, espérant qu'aucun des deux assassins n'essayerait de l'attaquer avant de le reconnaître.
"Frère Owl, sœur Wanderer. J'ai quelque chose dont j'aimerais discuter. À l'intérieur si ce n'est pas un problème".
Bio time. I suppose Katrina could've killed Cyrus' sister, though it could very well have been anyone else.
Birth Name: Cyrus Reinhardt
Name origin: Derived from an old word for sun
Aliases: The Bulwark, apostate
Gender: Male
Skin tone: Dark
Hair Color: Greying black
Eye Color: Brown
Height: 6 feet 5 inches
Body Build: Extremely muscular
Faction: Brotherhood
Affiliation: Good-ish
Religion: Believes in the Gods, is currently having a crisis of faith
Birth month: Vitama
Mask appearance: Rather than wear a mask, Cyrus suplants it with his face-covering helmet
Appearence: Cyrus is an imposing presence even when unarmed and unarmored, a tall, heavyset, thickly muscular man whose skin shows remarkably few marks of blades or other injuries despite his hazardous occupation. He keeps his prematurely greying hair cut short and his beard neatly trimmed.
Equipment:
-Full suit of armor: A nondescript full suit of armor of adequate quality which piles layers of protection on Cyrus. In order: padded clothes, chainmail and a suit of full plate, painted white, including a face-obscuring close helmet which doubles as Cyrus' Brotherhood mask. Rather than wear a black cloak he wears a black, hooded surcoat which helps to hide his white armor and he usually carries his helmet in a bag along with some other base belongings.
-Flanged mace: A heavy mace where the head is constructed out of 8 flanges (protruding metal edges) rather than just being smooth or knobbed. Comparatively inelegant but highly practical weapons, flanged maces can not only deliver crushing blows which can deal damage against well-protected opponents but also outright dent or even penetrate armor and shields. This particular model is somewhat larger than average and best wielded with two hands, though Cyrus is able to make good use of it with just one.
-Shield of the Kingdom: A rectangular black metal plate, slightly curved inwards and tall and wide enough to completely cover its wielder, decorated with the Kingdom of the Night's heraldry. Utilized only by the strongest men in the realm's army, it serves as a physical representation of the knights' oath to protect the Kingdom of the Night and to wield one is regarded as a badge of honor.
Backstory:
Born a commoner, Cyrus' parents died of a plague early in his life, leaving him and his sister Julia alone and impoverished. Cyrus worked tirelessly to provide for his sister, taking on any job he could no matter how demanding or hazardous until he was scouted by the Kingdom's military because of his large size and already noteworthy strength. Promised a decent life for his sister should he perform well in the military, Cyrus accepted the offer without a second thought.
So driven, he rapidly rose through the ranks, further developing his body into a lethal weapon and distinguishing himself as a determined, highly loyal man. Even those who scoffed at his humble origins could not deny his many virtues and the intensity he showed in his duties and so Cyrus' knighthood became a foregone conclusion. Less predictable was his appointment as the bearer of one of the Kingdoms' greatshields but few argued, for Cyrus seemed born for the role.
And for a while, Cyrus' life was good and simple: he was a knight of the realm, sworn to protect the Kingdom of the Night, and his sister could live in relative comfort. And then Bellatrix was crowned and conjurers outlawed. To his great surprise, his sister was branded as one. Neither of them had ever know, and he tried to save her, first by diplomacy and bureaucracy, then by pleading, finally by aggression and force, but it was all in vain and Julie's life was taken by another member of the Knights.
Mad with grief, Cyrus went on a rampage, his strength amplified to a level never thought possible. Carrying only his massive shield with him, he avoided and resisted all attempts at stopping him until he finally escaped the kingdom, battered, bloodied and declared a traitor and an apostate, but alive and fueled by rage. It was then that he was contacted by the Brotherhood. Though assassins, they had use for one such as him, one who could assault enemies head on either as a lure or as a legitimate threat. Cyrus agreed and now he lives his life as part of a band of outlaws, assaulting the Kingdom he once swore to protect in revenge for the blood of his kin.
Strengths:
-Freakishly strong and resilient, able to shrug off wounds, fatigue and other debilitating effects that would fell lesser men and still deliver devastating blows.
-Unlike many others, Cyrus realized that a mere man, even one like him, would not always be able to win battles on strength and ferocity alone and thus trained hard to develop his skills in melee combat. Though he specializes in wearing full suits of armor and using a large shield and bludgeon to overwhelm and overpower opponents, he's generally adept at fighting hand to hand and can employ other approaches if need be.
-Armor is like a second skin to Cyrus, he's able to practically live in full gear to no detriment to his health.
Weaknesses:
-All that heavy gear means he isn't the most agile guy around while wearing it.
-Will go out of his way to draw attention away from his allies and to himself.
-Doesn't employ ranged attacks or set up traps, always fights head on.