Difference between revisions of "Esredes Rosemond"
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Still. So be it, he supposes. Most people like to talk to him that way. And for what he's worth, he's tolerable most of the time. And certainly potentially useful, have Esredes ever the need for his seemingly endless abilities. It's just likely that something may eventually boil over that needs to be addressed for their relationship to be completely functional.</div> | Still. So be it, he supposes. Most people like to talk to him that way. And for what he's worth, he's tolerable most of the time. And certainly potentially useful, have Esredes ever the need for his seemingly endless abilities. It's just likely that something may eventually boil over that needs to be addressed for their relationship to be completely functional.</div> | ||
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+ | ! <div style="font-family:Georgia; font-size:14px; font-variant:small-caps;"><b>[https://thelemstar.tumblr.com/ Rusty Axe],</b> <i>Friend.</i> <b>(</b><font style="color:#692ab7;" size="2"></font><font | ||
+ | |||
+ | style="color:#ffe73d;" size="2">♥</font><font style="color:#54b5eb;" size="2">♥</font><b>)</b> - <b>The Never-Ending Journey/Nightkin Son.</b></div> | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | <div style="font-family:Georgia; font-size:14px;"><b>Character's Thoughts:</b> <i>"Rusty is the sort of staple presence in my life that will always come in and out, but always come back. He’s family, simply put. Family that’s grown emotionally, and no longer needs me as much- but I always am happy to hear about all the adventures he’s going on, even if sometimes I feel he goes backwards and has to be dragged forward by me, again."</i></div> | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | <div style="font-family:Georgia; font-size:14px;">Since the war’s end and the long stretches of time since, Rusty has been very in and out. He takes multiple journeys to find himself, only to come back, and then be off again, and Esredes has gotten used to it. | ||
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+ | Out of the many people Esredes has mentored, he feels Rusty is one of those who matured the most and came to grasp the world outside of his damaged shell far better- it was a beautiful evolution, watching him go from withdrawn and secretive to boisterous and outgoing. And while he can always give in to his emotions and be a little much, grates and all, Esredes loves him genuinely for how much he is and means to him. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Sometimes Esredes gets to see Rusty around social occasions and hear of things like his Blitzball championship- he has never quite fully processed that rescuing him once allowed a Blitzball star to be so close to him- and sometimes the two must come together in intimate spaces and discuss the nature of Rusty himself. As Esredes tells him time and time again, he does not believe him a monster despite his heritage, and he will forever stand by that and him. | ||
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+ | Esredes has learned to be more open with Rusty about himself, as well, after Rusty called him out viciously on his lack of doing so, more particularly about his past and the like. There are some number of his fellow heretics Esredes doesn’t believe would understand or get it, but Rusty is not one of them. On some level, he’s come to believe Rusty does genuinely understand who he is now. | ||
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+ | Esredes is proud of who Rusty is, even through all the road bumps that will come and go. And while he need not be a constant presence for him, Rusty is a home to Esredes just as the reverse is true, and family always comes home eventually.</div> | ||
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! <div style="font-family:Georgia; font-size:14px; font-variant:small-caps;"><b>[https://realdragoonhours.tumblr.com/ Vallerin de Tremont],</b> <i>Client.</i> <b>(</b><font style="color:#54b5eb;" size="2">♥</font><font style="color:#6B8E23;" size="2">✔</font><b>)</b> - <b>The Violet Bolster In Your Abyss.</b></div> | ! <div style="font-family:Georgia; font-size:14px; font-variant:small-caps;"><b>[https://realdragoonhours.tumblr.com/ Vallerin de Tremont],</b> <i>Client.</i> <b>(</b><font style="color:#54b5eb;" size="2">♥</font><font style="color:#6B8E23;" size="2">✔</font><b>)</b> - <b>The Violet Bolster In Your Abyss.</b></div> | ||
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− | | <div style="font-family:Georgia; font-size:14px;"><b>Character's Thoughts:</b> <i>“My favorite counseling client, as of right now, and the one that brings me the best feeling of job security. He’s got a good heart that’s had too much happen to it- I feel obligated not just professionally, but morally to heal and protect him. He is good, he is comfortable- and he trusts me to help him. I cannot let him down when he deserves so much more."</i></div> | + | | <div style="font-family:Georgia; font-size:14px;"><b>Character's Thoughts:</b> <i>“My favorite counseling client, as of right now, and the one that brings me the best feeling of job security. He’s got a good heart that’s had too much happen to it- I feel obligated not just professionally, but morally to heal and protect him. He is good, he is comfortable- and he trusts me to help him. I cannot let him down when he deserves so much more.<br> |
+ | The good news is I succeeded- but it turns out the happy ending is... surprisingly quiet."</i></div> | ||
|- | |- | ||
| <div style="font-family:Georgia; font-size:14px;">The first official and professional client for Esredes’ new counseling job, and therefore his first opportunity to prove to himself he can do his job properly, and for that purpose, Vallerin was the perfect client. A man who genuinely needs this service, horribly depressed and traumatized but not angry and unreasonable like much of his order, instead opting to be humble, kind, and most importantly, perfectly normal. Exactly the sort of Dragoon Esredes finds ideal. | | <div style="font-family:Georgia; font-size:14px;">The first official and professional client for Esredes’ new counseling job, and therefore his first opportunity to prove to himself he can do his job properly, and for that purpose, Vallerin was the perfect client. A man who genuinely needs this service, horribly depressed and traumatized but not angry and unreasonable like much of his order, instead opting to be humble, kind, and most importantly, perfectly normal. Exactly the sort of Dragoon Esredes finds ideal. | ||
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But that’s fine. He feels an affinity and security with Vallerin that he can reassure himself of his insecurity with his job through, and so no matter how long it takes, he will heal the man piece by piece. And lord help if anyone ever tries to even so much as remark negatively on the man in the hearing range of Esredes if they ever happen to be nearby in public, they will find out just how vicious the wrath of an emotionally protective counselor can be. Some things simply don’t change. | But that’s fine. He feels an affinity and security with Vallerin that he can reassure himself of his insecurity with his job through, and so no matter how long it takes, he will heal the man piece by piece. And lord help if anyone ever tries to even so much as remark negatively on the man in the hearing range of Esredes if they ever happen to be nearby in public, they will find out just how vicious the wrath of an emotionally protective counselor can be. Some things simply don’t change. | ||
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+ | After several therapy sessions, Vallerin stopped having the nightmares that initially plagued him, and Esredes has gathered through seeing him in public that he has recovered enough to no longer need to come, for which Esredes is glad to see. Even if he's found it leaves these two with nothing to really talk about in public encounters and reduced them to mere friendly acquaintances, such is the price of professionalism in his occupation. | ||
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+ | More recently, though, Esredes has gotten more anxious, as they've both signed on to the same combat situations, and it becomes harder to keep up his identity of a mere Temple Knight turned therapist to his original client, and given comments he's overheard about how Vallerin doesn't quite trust peace with the dragons to last- he has a bad feeling that this one isn't a keeper, if it ever comes out. | ||
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+ | But so be it, right? The purpose of therapy was never to simply get himself more friends, after all, and he was only meant to be a solution to a problem. So is the job of a counselor... | ||
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− | ! <div style="font-family:Georgia; font-size:14px; font-variant:small-caps;"><b>Alphinoix Luitomiere,</b> <i>Client | + | ! <div style="font-family:Georgia; font-size:14px; font-variant:small-caps;"><b>Alphinoix Luitomiere,</b> <i>Client/Sort Of Boss?</i> <b>(</b><font style="color:#54b5eb;" size="2">♥</font><font style="color:#6B8E23;" size="2">✔</font><b>)</b> - <b>The Angel Of Revived Flesh.</b></div> |
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| <div style="font-family:Georgia; font-size:14px;"><b>Character's Thoughts:</b> <i>“Maybe it’s not as surprising as my mind makes it out to be that he is completely unafraid of my presence, yet still. Even the good sort are often hesitant. And to then want to trust me as an equal? ...I cannot let such an individual down. He most of all deserves my help, and I want with everything in me to see him fare well.” | | <div style="font-family:Georgia; font-size:14px;"><b>Character's Thoughts:</b> <i>“Maybe it’s not as surprising as my mind makes it out to be that he is completely unafraid of my presence, yet still. Even the good sort are often hesitant. And to then want to trust me as an equal? ...I cannot let such an individual down. He most of all deserves my help, and I want with everything in me to see him fare well.” | ||
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Nonetheless, in that restrained professional sense, Esredes has found himself falling into that pattern of behavior once more of investing a lot emotionally into someone he sees as a beacon of undisputable goodness. Perhaps he finally has a link to care about the ongoings of the Inquisition beyond his own monitoring and plotting, or perhaps he has the greatest shield of all, cracked as it may be... | Nonetheless, in that restrained professional sense, Esredes has found himself falling into that pattern of behavior once more of investing a lot emotionally into someone he sees as a beacon of undisputable goodness. Perhaps he finally has a link to care about the ongoings of the Inquisition beyond his own monitoring and plotting, or perhaps he has the greatest shield of all, cracked as it may be... | ||
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+ | Well the former turns out to be true to some extent, as Alphinoix hired him on to do counseling on prisoners of the Tribunal. And though it gives Esredes many conflicting feelings, ultimately he could not resist both the benevolence of the request and the opportunity to extract vengeances... | ||
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− | ! <div style="font-family:Georgia; font-size:14px; font-variant:small-caps;"><b>[https://house-vulort.tumblr.com/ Gaël de Vulort],</b> <i>Ex-Informant, Enemy</i> <b>(</b><font style="color:#C24640;" size="2">✖</font><b>)</b> - <b>The Arachnid Burned In Its Own Web.</b></div> | + | ! <div style="font-family:Georgia; font-size:14px; font-variant:small-caps;"><b>[https://house-vulort.tumblr.com/ Gaël de Vulort],</b> <i>Ex-Informant, Enemy.</i> <b>(</b><font style="color:#C24640;" size="2">✖</font><b>)</b> - <b>The Arachnid Burned In Its Own Web.</b></div> |
|- | |- | ||
| <div style="font-family:Georgia; font-size:14px;"><b>Character's Thoughts:</b> <i>“You don’t use my people as your playtoys and get away with it unless you’re a stupid child with powers you can’t handle, plain and simple. | | <div style="font-family:Georgia; font-size:14px;"><b>Character's Thoughts:</b> <i>“You don’t use my people as your playtoys and get away with it unless you’re a stupid child with powers you can’t handle, plain and simple. | ||
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It’s a fun little study of a caged wild animal for Esredes to amuse himself with, but more importantly, a convenient way for him to take out his unending anger for not only the man himself but for his life in general on a pile of nonliving organic matter that thinks it’s still a person. And if he ever tires of it, he’d leave him to rot- but he’s not likely to tire of it. There is far too much to be angry for, and merely looking upon the man fills Esredes with an overwhelming urge to tear into his skin without fail.</div> | It’s a fun little study of a caged wild animal for Esredes to amuse himself with, but more importantly, a convenient way for him to take out his unending anger for not only the man himself but for his life in general on a pile of nonliving organic matter that thinks it’s still a person. And if he ever tires of it, he’d leave him to rot- but he’s not likely to tire of it. There is far too much to be angry for, and merely looking upon the man fills Esredes with an overwhelming urge to tear into his skin without fail.</div> | ||
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+ | ! <div style="font-family:Georgia; font-size:14px; font-variant:small-caps;"><b>Ciceroix Corentiaux,</b> <i>Certified Nuisance</i>. <b>(</b><font style="color:#C24640;" size="2">✖</font><b>)</b> - <b>The Worthless Glass Rat.</b></div> | ||
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+ | | <div style="font-family:Georgia; font-size:14px;"><b>Character's Thoughts:</b> <i>"I want to bash that one’s face into a wall, over and over again. It would fix how absolutely disgusting he is. Nothing would change if he just dropped dead already. I wish he would LEAVE ME ALONE and stop trying to TOUCH ME. And if he doesn’t, I might have to resort to more extreme measures."</i></div> | ||
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+ | | <div style="font-family:Georgia; font-size:14px;">Some Temple Knight lowlife useless pile of flesh who spends all his time getting drunk and getting into fights and doing nothing meaningful with his time. This is Esredes’ impression of the noble man after he approached him in a bar while intoxicated and tried to pick a fight with him for standing around doing nothing. | ||
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+ | Well. A shame for the man he got arrested for it, and that Esredes happened to be employed under a High Inquisitor to counsel prisoners, and his form to counsel him got approved. After tearing open the man’s rather unsympathetic and entitled mindset as to why he’s given up on life and opted to be useless, Esredes was content to leave him with a bit of actually helpful advice, and told him to never talk to him again. | ||
+ | |||
+ | And then got a creepy letter thanking him and saying they weren’t done, and then quite a bit time later he finally pulled him aside at a ball asking him to help him and immediately trying to punch him when he said they were even. And then going so far as to tackle him outside a social event later. | ||
+ | Needless to say Esredes despises the man and has many urges to do proper violence on him. He thinks him the sort of person who is beyond salvation and will never learn, and at that point, the resources he could be using could be going to someone more worthy. | ||
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+ | Beyond that, why bother? There is nothing, simply nothing there. Nothing but a device for violent urges if he gets creative. It perplexes him most of all that an old acquaintance is friends enough with the man to stand up to their entire antagonistic relationship and want them to talk- who the hell puts up with something that awful? | ||
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+ | Most of all, Esredes is simply pissed he’s still considered a Temple Knight. He’s no real Temple Knight. Esredes can and would kick his ass to remind him of that. | ||
+ | </div> | ||
+ | |} | ||
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+ | ! <div style="font-family:Georgia; font-size:14px; font-variant:small-caps;"><b>Elias Mercer,</b> <i>Unsteady Acquaintance</i>. <b>(</b><font style="color:#000000;" size="2">�</font>)</b> - <b>The Torn Eye and Wing.</b></div> | ||
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+ | | <div style="font-family:Georgia; font-size:14px;"><b>Character's Thoughts:</b> <i>“I. Do not. Understand that one. He is somehow the most typical and yet confusing Dragoon ever. Is he an enemy? Is he a neutral? He’s got to be an enemy, the evidence is there, but his thought process makes no sense. What do people see in him? They tell me he’s just like myself, but… I don’t think that’s entirely true. <br> Sometimes I wonder if I should have killed him when I had the chance. But I know that wouldn’t have gone over well or been a good idea.” | ||
+ | </i></div> | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | <div style="font-family:Georgia; font-size:14px;">A hyur Dragoon who is exactly what you’d expect of one. Quiet. Antisocial. Barely speaks half the time. Doesn’t want to get close to anyone. | ||
+ | |||
+ | The most interesting thing about Elias is his power. He’s a true Dragoon who can do the whole nine yards of abilities available to them- and this is what gets him respect and yet terrifies Esredes about him, combined with his general complete uncertainty about where he lies. | ||
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+ | Elias will save Hilda’s life while knowing she’s fused with a dragon spirit, then go tell a fellow heretic of Esredes’ that he will kill her for just having the dragon essence, then apologize, then accept Esredes’ word at face value when he tells him he was forced the blood and even say he was a victim, then seem genuinely concerned when Esredes nearly dies from a chimerical experimental abomination and check up on him in the infirmary, then tell him a story of how he helped out dragonkind with a blight and has a dragon eye given to him willingly in his spear, then go berserk during a critical mission and almost kill him, and then apologize later- while coming into his office with a warrant to investigate him for Dragon’s Blood. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Others will tell Esredes that Elias is a damaged soul they look out for, that he’s given in to apathy because it makes everything hurt less and feels everything underneath- and while Esredes hasn’t not enjoyed their conversations, forced and awkward and stiff as they are, he doesn’t entirely get it. | ||
+ | |||
+ | The two were even in multiple combat affairs together, from Dravania to Garlemald, each flittered with awkward conversation that was an effort at trying to connect, mostly on Elias’ part, oddly enough, for which Esredes has never quite understood the man’s seeming quiet interest in him despite his disinterest in getting close to people. | ||
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+ | Now that Elias knows thanks to someone being too loose lipped that Esredes will give the blood to his harrier allies who ask, Esredes expects he is restraining an urge to kill him like most people are in this situation. And that is fine with him- as long as he never actually does or tries to stop him. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Otherwise, there is a giant and very deadly problem on his hands. | ||
+ | |||
+ | For now, Elias seems to be honoring the law, which gives Esredes a measure of comfort, because it is a better battlefield for Esredes to duel him on. As long as he simply complies with his investigation, it seems he will not find his evidence to do anything to him, and Esredes can go about his life avoiding him completely. | ||
+ | |||
+ | For there was never meant to be a bridge here, and really, Esredes wasn’t interested in building one. He’s known for a long time that Elias would never find him ‘appealing’ and let him in- he’s not cute or soft enough for that. | ||
+ | |||
+ | What is one more to the piles of ashes, crunched underneath one’s foot each and every day? | ||
+ | </div> | ||
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+ | ! <div style="font-family:Georgia; font-size:14px; font-variant:small-caps;"><b>Mordred Jourdain,</b> <i>Uncertain Involved Acquaintance</i>. <b>(</b><font style="color:#000000;" size="2">�</font>)</b> - <b>The Double-Edged Blade Of Darkness.</b></div> | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | <div style="font-family:Georgia; font-size:14px;"><b>Character's Thoughts:</b> <i>“I want to understand that one, I want to try, but I also don’t know if I can. I don’t know if I should. How can one man be so obvious and yet so completely confusing? He presents himself as a different man than he is, and I can see so plainly the man underneath- so why will he not admit to it? <br> | ||
+ | He can see right through me. That’s perhaps just as scary as the power he wields and that Dark Knight Justice nature of his that I don’t find as comforting as he wants me to. I don’t think I can trust him like he claims, so why do I keep pulling towards him in the moment? Am I really so pathetic?” | ||
+ | </i></div> | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | <div style="font-family:Georgia; font-size:14px;">Mordred is an open Dark Knight who renounces the vigilante ways of others and even allies officially with the Temple Knights. He’s also a former Dragoon. He also has an elder dragon’s spirit slowly fusing with him after passing one’s trial with his companions. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Esredes’ first proper impression of the painfully formal and permanent dramatic speech that's hard to understand at times Hyur was watching him take a temporary lethality order on a swarm of Gnath way further than he thought necessary, all the while acting like a storybook villain towards them. This was immediately followed by his first proper personal conversation with the man being one of Mordred dissecting him on the spot psychologically and emotionally with a quiet acceptance and understanding void of judgement- and needless to say, a case Esredes thought he had figured out immediately, completely blindsided him. | ||
+ | |||
+ | It all went rather fast. A second meeting and Mordred was confessing to being a killer of his people and Esredes was drawing his blade and yelling for him to stay away and Mordred was giving a speech about wanting to make an ally and friend and that he forgives him and the world can forgive him and he should live for it as his own person- and Esredes should have known far better than to take this at face value, but in the moment he did, and proceeded to tell him far more of the story of his people than he usually does to new allies. | ||
+ | |||
+ | When the two later fought to stop a Garlean superweapon together- a mission Esredes was only put on because Mordred wanted the power of his dragon form in the first place- Esredes even allowed him on his back on dragon form. This was to be followed by one of the other party members immediately trying to kill Esredes and in the afterparty social, Mordred telling him to be quiet when he tried to explain to an Ala Mhigan member of the party about Ishgard’s true history. | ||
+ | |||
+ | It all makes perfect sense, to Esredes. It’s the most obvious ploy. Pretend to ally with a heretic and throw him to the wolves, so you can either use him or let him die and move on to your next heretic you want to bond with until they’re all gone. Because Mordred never stopped with his executioner mentality, and Esredes is a wicked thing to purge for his crusade. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Yet according to his girlfriend that isn’t at all the case, and people are still willing to tell him it’s some kind of genuine attempt at trying. Despite Mordred’s seeming complete unconcern that Esredes was almost killed by his companion. Despite his claim that Esredes should be his own person and then telling him to quiet like he’s just another tool for the man to use. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Esredes is convinced something is wrong with Mordred, and he doesn’t know what. He cannot be this two faced and try to pass himself off as genuine without some kind of lack of awareness, unless he simply thinks Esredes is that stupid. Esredes likes the Mordred that Mordred presents to his face- the reasonable and understanding man who wants to learn more of the shadow world and cares for others, but he really does not like the second Mordred- the entitled to his sense of justice executioner that will probably off him if he does something he doesn’t like, who probably has no remorse for killing his people, and who seems to just want to use him for his own grand goals of obtaining more and more power and shaping the world anew to his justice like every other vampire Esredes meets. And should he be concerned for the man’s condition, or is it a warning to stay away? | ||
+ | |||
+ | This leaves Esredes at an awkward fork in the path. One path is to simply shut it off and be done with it, to declare Mordred a vampire and move on- but that would be to discount the amounts of empathy he does feel for him, and the man’s genuine attempts at understanding and looking out for him, if they were just that, and he sure as hells hates when others do that to him instead of letting him explain. The other is to try more, to see if this can work- and most likely just end up putting up with someone who doesn’t want to give him his own place and voice and won’t apologize or ever see what he did wrong, because that is simply the kind of person Esredes pegs him down as, and that doesn’t seem worth it either. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Regardless of which path he chooses, Esredes knows he doesn’t need him- Mordred seems to have fallen for the idea that his pledge to protect Esredes means a lot when Esredes has plenty of other Iceheart aligned Dark Knights to do the job, as planned- and Mordred doesn’t need him either, even though he seems to want him for his personal rises to power. But how does one truly grapple with and win over a vampire that can see into your very heart, other than to simply run away? | ||
+ | |||
+ | And gods, Esredes knows he can never run too far from these types of situations on the neverending battlefield. | ||
+ | </div> | ||
|} | |} | ||
Latest revision as of 22:58, 2 August 2022
Contents[edit]
Esredes is a former Temple Knight turned heretic. After an incident with dragon’s blood from his childhood came to light and he was nearly killed as a result, he turned against Ishgard and became devoted to winning the Dragonsong War for the heretics by either taking over or destroying Ishgard. Now fueled by a mixture of vengeance and the need to liberate his people, Esredes continues to press on after years of fighting, refusing to give up the fight no matter how much it takes his toll on him.
Nominated to take Iceheart’s place by his own people after the climax of the war, Esredes was later officially pardoned by Aymeric and allowed to return to his original home under the condition of adhering to the new law and government. In the wake of the ashes of the war and his movement, Esredes continues to operate in a delicate balance between law and necessity, helping the new Ishgard while being well-prepared for a potential resurrection of the war. Despite his many doubts about his own abilities, he has taken up the mantle given to him of Her successor- continuing to convert people to his side and ideology and carefully watch and infiltrate ongoings in Ishgard. Perhaps there will be salvation in the ashes, or perhaps there is naught to do but delay the inevitable oblivion. One thing is for certain for the man: the war will never truly be over until he can make it so…. Or be forced to enact its resurrection. His blog is here.
Serious | Determined | Judgemental | Ambitious | Selectively Confident | Manipulative | Driven | Irritable | Reserved | Narrow-minded | Dramatic | Cunning | Calculated | Cautious | Snarky | Vicious | Selectively Hostile | Motivational | Protective | Selectively Empathetic | Selectively Compassionate | Selectively Polite | Selectively Blunt | Leading | Logical | Sadistic | Realist | Intense | Loyal | Selectively Deceitful | Hateful | Selectively Dense | Analytical | Introverted | Selectively Delusional | Self Sacrificial Esredes is a person for whom much is said or whispered about, often conflicting in nature. For many people, he is a dangerous, exploitative force of malevolence that no one seems to know how to stop and put down for good, an individual that one should stay away from or else they will either perish or be warped into another evildoer like himself. Yet for others, he is an unsung hero, a caring soul that heals the minds and hearts of people he passes, who many defend and stand by at all costs. But no matter what exactly is said about him, one thing is clear about the man: he is a driven individual with a cause in mind he will never forsake, wielding himself as an engraved, fancy blade with a sharp and rough edge against the opponents of his life’s mission, until such time as a blade finally takes to the fate of all its kind, to break in half and be discarded without a second thought. At first glance, Esredes typically appears as a serious and reserved individual, often even standoffish to a degree. He usually starts off with anywhere from a simple and sometimes indifferent politeness to a neutral form of a speech, and even at times an outright distinctly unfriendly demeanor. By default, he is someone who trends to using fewer words and prefers being somewhat blunt and to the point with a tone that is not particularly emotional, but this can shift to going on for several sentences at a time and even monologuing with much more passion in his voice the moment something strikes his emotional chord or brings up something he knows much about. He isn’t opposed to conversation by default, but his sociability often depends on how much a person is of interest to him, also typically indicated by his tone taking on more emotional inflections. Regardless of his level of conversational effort, his noble upbringing ensures that he speaks with some level of higher vocabulary, but his inability to fully pick up the grace that comes with it results in some of his speech coming across as awkwardly phrased, or when angered, partially foregoing this pattern in favor of much more swearing. Beyond conversation, the air that Esredes carries around himself has a certain powerful, elegant and regal feeling- regardless of how plain and ordinary he chooses to dress- yet weighs heavy with an unmistakable feeling of tenseness, shrouding itself in mystery all around him. Just beyond the fog and faint to the eye are the deep and dark depths within the man- but to approach them is to risk falling straight in, and perhaps some things are best left undiscovered. A soldier at his core, Esredes wields himself equally in mind and body, well equipped for either physical or mental warfare in whatever battle manifests day to day. His mind operates primarily in the medium of logical thinking, strategy, and a realistic outlook. Whether it is simple everyday life or a matter of life and death, Esredes prefers to have at least some sort of plan, and often evaluates his actions to figure out what is the safest, most efficient way to go about them, when to and when not to take a risk on something or someone. Years of operation in this mindset have allowed Esredes to most of the time end up as the person in the room who comes to the best plan of action the quickest, or at all, but it has also lead him to assess situations and people as threats in ways that cause him to behave abnormally at times, assume and react before he has enough information to go off of, or be controlled by paranoia. Esredes almost always takes situations more seriously than everyone else, and will always assume the role of responsibility when there is not a clear person elected to, having no hesitations about immediately shutting down anything that doesn’t meet his standards of safe or effective, no matter the social or emotional costs it has. He keeps his own clear standards for himself in all areas of mental performance from the strategic to the moral, and is reputable for being headstrong and stubborn in all of the ideals he holds in his own head. His secondary modes of thinking are those of emotion and negotiation with others, both of which are more hit and miss in nature. On one hand, he is skilled at using his more primary mode of logic and reasoning to sway people to his words and hopefully even to his side, and is able to fester doubt in peoples’ mind about the nature of themselves or their situation to trigger a realization. He can read and manage someone’s emotions quickly and effectively, defuse tense or hostile situations, and calm others down with effective communication. But he is just as likely to be at a loss for how someone is feeling and how to manage it, or say the exact wrong thing to make a situation worse. Depending on how a situation plays out, Esredes is either a clever and cunning strategist and negotiator… or a clueless and dense, socially ineffective fool. Yet all of Esredes’ constructed ways of mental operation, walls, and carrying himself melt away in certain circumstances, revealing the core, unfiltered person beneath everything. Esredes’ purest form of self is that of a perfectly ordinary, average person forced to use what he has to appear and live as much more. When he cannot be calculated or clever, he reverts to the only somewhat about average intelligence person he truly is that doesn’t actually possess the traits of extended higher thinking one would expect from his position. When he decides not to be serious, he instead either becomes a playful and amused, more snarky person, paired with frequent smirking and more remarks than usual, or he reveals a more dorky part of himself that is endearingly a bit slow to grasp some cues people give to him, and says things either intentionally or unintentionally more goofy in nature. Regardless of the perception others have of him and that which he projects, Esredes operates on the simple idea that he is but the same as any other individual- not a driving, singular force that alone can turn a tide, but merely a small part of a much larger whole, an easily replaceable tool. This reality does not stop Esredes’ unwavering determination and drive in life from being motivated by his need to put himself behind a cause higher than him and contribute to what he views as bettering the world. While many would do this for moral purposes, and he is no exception, for him it is also a matter of simple practicality. Anything less and more self-centered would be boring and unfulfilling and leave him restless. He puts his cause and his allies all above himself, and is more than willing to die for either. Combined with his undying loyalty, this leads to it being extremely difficult to put a stop to him once he is set out on a task in the name of his greater good. He doesn’t hesitate to save those he perceives as in peril, even if it means occasionally being fooled by a trap, and generally keeps his word and deals he makes with others. In addition, Esredes is a proficient leader to his people, preferring to foster a relationship based on trust in his capabilities over raw authority and drive his subordinates to become their best selves, even if it means taking the time to check in on them and ensure they are in the best condition to continue on and listen to him. In the same vein, he is willing to do what needs to be done, even if it is unpleasant and hard, to save others from having to do so instead. But his definition of what should be done… does not quite match up with a lot of others’. Esredes sorts people into categories- categories that dictate if someone is worthy of any consideration before being killed or not. And those who fail to meet his standards of consideration- such as people who are too self-centered or contribute nothing to the world or those who harm and destroy it and other people- are people he will kill without a second thought, often times even taking sadistic enjoyment in the act and believing he has simply offed a lesser being that is wasting space with its defectiveness. True to the form he gave himself, Esredes does not shy away from enjoying violence and fighting to a certain extent and being brutal when there is time and reason for it. While he keeps his calm and calculated manner about in fighting for the most part, the right combination of events loosening his mental restraints under too much pressure can plunge him into a state of mind pertaining to his more inherently chaotic side, a repressed spirit of his personality that controlled him in much of his childhood characterized by rash, destructive, and impulsive behavior. While in this state, Esredes will lose all of his calculated and effective execution in favor of hyperfocusing in on a single target no matter how wounded he is and trying to destroy it entirely, leaving him vulnerable to being wounded more and making his actions much more unpredictable. Fortunately, it doesn’t take much to snap him out of this state and allow him to regain his former composure. Even beyond the battlefield, Esredes has a somewhat selective form of empathy that only applies to people he deems complete enough to deserve it, and he has a strong tendency for manipulation, not opposed to stooping to deception, psychological tactics, and guilt tripping and gaslighting to get people to do as he needs, though he has more limitations depending on how much he genuinely cares for a person. Without those limitations and a particular distaste for a target, however, Esredes is prone to becoming emotionally and verbally abusive when he believes a person deserves it. He is even capable of inflicting harsh psychological warfare on others and breaking apart their very reality for his own warped sense of justice and pleasure. While not incapable of feeling remorse and trying to make up for his actions later if he learns he has distributed his twisted sense of justice unfairly, he otherwise holds none and even a lot of pleasure about tearing someone apart physically and mentally. Even without resorting to these measures, Esredes has plenty of other ways to appear generally unpleasant. He is very judgemental by nature, often looking down on people and seeing their flaws before their good traits and holding them in lower regard until they prove themselves worthy of a higher tier of consideration. He will often knowingly or unknowingly talk down to people, and explain things to them as if they don’t already know them or as if they were almost a child. This narrow-minded mentality of his is very unreliable and often too black and white, putting people in boxes and jumping to conclusions without proper evidence. It also contributes to a situational and mild form of arrogance manifesting in the man. Esredes also doesn’t hesitate when there are no consequences to let someone know he dislikes him, and openly insult them while having fun with it. A lifetime of letting hate fester in the black part of his heart has made it all too easy for him to give in and let it consume his actions. But there are two sides to every coin, and Esredes is no different. When he finds people in his good graces and worthy, he is just as capable of building people up as he would be tearing them apart, and quite likes encouraging others and building their self esteem, allowing them to see their positive traits and teaching them about what they’re missing. He is willing to give out love and affection to people who seem to need it in hopes of a return in the form of loyalty to him, and he can be surprisingly patient, kind, and even tolerant of the stranger and less effective parts of people, even understanding and a good listener on top of it. He has a particular soft spot for people who are abused, downtrodden, and vulnerable, and feels compelled to build them up into better people. After all, when you see a clearly broken thing in front of you, is it not common sense to fix it? Esredes’ inconsistent emotion reading ability also makes him capable of seeing into peoples’ issues easily and psychoanalyzing them, and he is blunt enough to tell people what their problems are and offer them advice and help. In the same territory, Esredes is a chronic worrier, unable to stop himself from always being concerned about his loved ones and their well being. Past a certain level of bonding, there is little he won’t do for someone he cares about. However, he will not hesitate to resort to weaponizing his affection and guilt tripping when he feels someone is taking advantage of or trampling on his kindness, or even falling right into verbally abusive territory if he feels particularly violated. But beyond the man’s great capability for both destruction and salvation, beyond his calculated and structured mind or fallen irrationality, and beyond the simple person at his core, lie the depths of a dark abyss left to fester for multiple decades until it became but the most ordinary thing. Esredes views himself as nothing but a weapon, the perfect soldier. And to be the perfect soldier, he believes he was carefully constructed from the beginning with an intentionally hollow center, lacking the true humanity of an ordinary person in order to be an acceptable disposable body and not be tempted into being anything more. In addition, he is not entirely lacking self awareness about his tendency to be perceived in a negative light, and believes he is meant to be an undesirable individual that attracts hatred in order to absorb it so others don’t have to. He has resigned himself to the fate of a soldier’s death on the battlefield from a relatively young age, and fights on until this inevitable fate take holds of him. Yet once the war ended, all of this went from being a simple truth to breaking down and overflowing into his regular mind, leading to greater difficulties in maintaining his usual composed and together mindset. In addition to believing he is a complete failure for not winning the war, he now questions if a worn down weapon has any place in a world that asks him to adapt roles he is ill-suited for, or if he should seek out another way to complete his fate in the wake of the ash… But be it towards his own, inevitable destruction or a hypothetical reevaluation and rebirthing of his very being, Esredes will always press on and keep going. For the sake of his cause or people, nothing short of death can truly stop Esredes from follwoing the path he refuses to abandon. For a soldier must live to fight, until his very last breath is past.
Esredes stands a little under average male Elezen height at 6'0, and is more widely built than the in game model. He resembles a Gridanian Elezen better than an Ishgardian one, with his light brown skin and crimson hair, swept back behind his head and forming into tips behind it. His eyes resemble a fire with their orange coloring, and when he is experiencing intense emotions, they often feel as if there is one burning within. In relation to the in game model, it should be noted he lacks the widow's peak, and the hair in front of the ears. His appearance is often geared to intimidation, and he gives off a distinct powerful, but uneasy aura. When not in his own version of the typical haubergeon uniform, he usually keeps his outfits relatively simple and not attracting attention, save for the ever present shade of red- but traces of his former highborn fashion sense still remain. He also keeps his sword and sheath on him in most situations.
His second form is that of a red and golden quadruped wyvern, standing tall at nine foot five and stretching outwards to eleven foot seven, though he occasionally takes on an in between form, in which he maintains his bipedal size and shape but with all of his draconic features intact. Despite the resemblance, he is not in any way related to Jannequinard.
Esredes was born into a noble Ishgardian family, and was raised on conservative and strict values, told he must uphold the dignity and honor of the family. However, as he developed, he began to exhibit behavioral issues and this eventually caused his family to try and hide him away from the public in their shame as they tried to get his behavior under control.
As his parents struggled to deal with the eldest child, elsewhere in Ishgard lied a small group of common folk with an agenda against the elite and the system, who were hatching a plan to bring the entire system into question, by slipping dragon’s blood into the drink of a few select elites at a party and letting the uproar dismantle the rest of their family and bring the entire elite under fire. The moody and impatient young Rosemond kid was selected as one of these targets, as not only was a kid an easy target, it would bring much more backfire if a child was killed. Though the actual process itself was a success, the group was then killed in a violent standoff a week later during another criminal act, thus letting their scheme die with them. Unaware of all of this, when Esredes began to experience the effects of the blood the next day, he was full of panic and terror, thinking he had been cursed, but he did not tell anyone about it. He was old enough to somewhat understand this would be taken badly, and kept it hidden and never tried to experiment with his ability to shift. Hiding this only increased his behavioral problems as well, and eventually peers began to turn away from him for fear of being brought into trouble, leaving him isolated. His parents eventually stepped in and forced him to behave at age fifteen after an incident warranted it being the last straw. After some resistance, he finally conceded and began to behave like a young adult willing to take responsibility for himself. From there, his family and social life returned to stability. He later joined the Ishgardian military upon reaching adulthood, as it had been his dream for a while to fight, and he was confident in his ability to hide his secret and still become a war hero. He began to win back family honor by becoming a formidable soldier and advancing in the ranks until he was near the top. However, one day during a battle, he was knocked off a cliff ledge to what would have been certain death if he had not shifted wings and glided to a lower ledge for safety, passing it off as a miracle survival. He thought no one had saw it when they rescued him later, but when a group of people showed up with weapons to surround his location later on, he learned very quickly someone must have said something. While he attempted voicing his innocence, it fell on deaf ears, and so he was forced to use the military skills and strategies he had gained, suffering several injuries and injuring several people to escape. Now on the run and lost without anywhere to go to, Esredes continued fleeing, aiming to make his way towards Ul’dah. He was discovered again in the process and suffered much worse injuries escaping from his pursuers, but was found by a band of heretics and taken for medical treatment. After being told their side of the story, he reluctantly agreed to help them fight against Ishgard, if they would help him achieve something. This deal was then fulfilled, and so he began to embrace his dragon side and become loyal to the heretic cause. He has since become a powerful member in the group and continues to lead sieges against Ishgard. After enduring countless hardships and countless witnesses of his people being slaughtered, the war finally reached its turning point and Esredes was left in the dust as it spiraled far beyond the heretic's control. He held down the faction after the death of his beloved leader, and was planning to disappear from Eorzea entirely as the war ended- only to be approached by an acquaintance and informed he had been pardoned by the new leader, legally able to return to Ishgard as a normal citizen. After much deliberation and hesitance, he opted to accept this offer, not so much for himself, but for the sake of his people who would do the same, and once purchasing a house in Foundation on money borrowed from a few highborn ally sources, he remains in the city-state working as a negotiator between it and dragons, all while dealing with frequent surges of depression.
Impart onto the collector the contents of your heart, and I will take it into my gentle hands…
On the day I crumble to ash and scatter to the wind, I never had a place in your heart.
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