Ethereal Knights
“Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there, wondering, fearing, doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before.”
A being trapped betweens realms, unable to move on yet not fully in the mortal realm these beings are drawn to collect their armor’s parts for eternity, spurred on by the desire of completion.
The ones who created these beings, as a way to test their might. These necromancers attempted to seal souls into inanimate objects, much like that of a dread knight and his armor, though with only their own experiments to go by. Kidnapping descendants to use their souls they fueled their experiments.
A unnamed Necromancer, about to start skinning the victim, an important part of the ritual needed to create an Ethereal Knight.
Within these experiments it was discovered that the soul being used must have had a strong will, for if not it will break during the ritual to seal it to the chosen object, usually a suit of armor. To finish the seal, skin is carefully peeled from the body of the victim, tanned to last long, then runes are added to it. These specially made runes draw out the energy from whoever places the armor on, creating a symbiotic link between the armor and wearer.
With the runed skin applied to the inside of the armor, the last of the ritual can take place. The remnants of the soul are forced to last within the armor, unable to speak save for when the armor is worn by a mortal being. The rest of the victim’s body is discarded, usually without proper burial, this causes the soul to wish for one, and gives it a secondary purpose in the half-life it was given.
Unlike Dread knights and DarkStalkers, which would ultimately be the closest cousin the Ethereal knights would have, the Ethereal knights would not have been given a goal by its creator, rather it would be used as a tool by said Necromancer. Although it cannot use magic, and any magic it had once used in its life is lost in the ritual, it is given enhanced strength, exceeding that of a normal man. In return for acquiring enhanced strength, it uses its wearers energy, using the runes engraved in its skin lining to draw the life-force through its owners skin and power itself.
If one were to focus on the Ethereal Knight’s mind-link, many would claim it as a light, differentiating in color, the stronger the light the more fed the Knight.
A mind link is formed through this contact, at first having another mind inside of the owners own can be disastrous, which is the reason why the Ethereal knight seeks out ones who are strong of mind, for a weak willed being could be driven to insanity if exposed to the knights warped mind. As such exposure is to be limited, which may be the ultimate reason why its creators the necromancers separate its pieces in the first place, the more pieces used the greater the drain on the wearer, and the stronger the soul’s will grows. Often pieces are lost, traded, or otherwise forgotten in places around the world as its creators change locations. With the soul being separated into multiple pieces, it enters a deep sleep, until a passerby or treasure hunter dons it.
Once on the runes would fuel the Ethereal to awaken from its slumber, at first its voice would sound like what it once had as a living being, but as the new owner wears the piece, the voice would slowly change, growing accustomed to its owners voice and mind its would soon sound like the owner. If said owner were to remove the piece, though they may need help in doing so from another being, for the runes would strengthen the bond between the flesh of the owners and the tanned skin from the Ethereal knight.
With a mind of strong will, the Ethereal knight could tempt others to wear it, using the natural auras that flow from the runes inside it, this is one of the only ways it can tempt another to wear it, for the runes inside were meant to bring physical strength to the wearer. As such the wearer cannot use magic while wearing the armor, the link with the void will be weakened considerably and its wearer will find any use of magic a immense drain on their body. And as it is a being born from the darkest of magic, Aurum causes pain, whether they touch it or a blade made of it hits them, the wearer will find the trapped soul screaming in anguish. Holy and Fi magics are also dangerous to the Ethereal knight, both can blind and mute them for a time, rendering them into a comatose state, much like when they ‘sleep’, although even if their wearer were to try and use them, they would find that they would be unable to use the enhancements the armor brings. The only thing that can revive them from this state is for their owner to continuously wear them for a period of time, allowing for the runes to, albeit sluggishly, sap the energy needed to restore them fully.
Along with not being able to touch aurum without feeling pain the armor cannot have aurum adornments. Aside from Aurum and slayer steel, the armor can be made of anything, though the stronger the material the harder the process is to bind the soul, iron plate is the preferred metal. The armor last considerably longer than a normal set, but without proper care it will begin to rust away.
Due to the trauma sustained from the ritual, the Ethereal knight cannot remember the process in which it was turned, nor the place. Memories that had once kept it alive during the process diminish, only the strongest of emotions remain and even they are diluted. While worn the armor, through the mind link, can feel the emotions of its wearer, can feel his or hers heartbeat if they have one, and is susceptible to their demands and whims. In truth they are a tool with a consciousness, born to obey and lead to serve until they rust away or is thrown into flames hot enough to burn their rune-etched linings.
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Pros:
-Gives the wearer enhanced strength, the amount of enhancement depends on how much energy the Ethereal absorbs.
-With the mental link the soul can advise its wearer on multiple different topics, though as the soul ages it may lose whatever morality it has left.
-It can see around itself, save for the parts of its owner that blocks its sight. It focuses on one spot at a time though it has a small fifth sense for its surroundings. (IE: hearing the wind whipping past an arrow as it flies or if a sword catches the glint of the sun) the more energy it takes the better it can focus on this fifth sense.
-With the skin link between the owner and the Ethereal knight, it can sense when the owners body is at its limit.
- it has a very obscure sense of where the other pieces of itself are, location names are lost to them and if the piece has not been fed for awhile it cannot see through it.
-It can still live if a piece is completely destroyed, but will feel incomplete forever.
-It has a mind of its own.
Cons:
-It cannot move on its own, it needs someone to carry it or wear it.
-It cannot control the person that wears it, it can tempt them to put it on but other than that it cannot control the wearer.
-It can drain the wearer to the point where they pass out, though will limit this so as not to harm its owner.
-It is weak to blunt weapons, as such armor is. It is weak to Fi magic and Holy Magic to the point where it is left in a comatose state. Fire and lava can destroy it out right. If all the pieces are destroyed it is killed and the soul is released to return to the soul stream.
-It can only give the wearer enhanced strength in the part of body in encompasses. (IE: Gauntlet would give the wearer strength in that arm) And only for the time it is worn. (Strength will only be twice that of the wearer. IE: Human male would be twice as strong as a Human male)
-Wearing it for prolonged times can cause damage to the wearer. Bone fractures, torn ligaments and tendons are common injuries.
-They can rust away into nothing, their metal needs to be taken care of regularly.
-While it has its own consciousness, it can only remember vague emotions and names from its past life, it uses its owners emotions and heartbeat to stay relatively sane.
-It has a terrible sense of direction. It relies on sensing its other pieces to confirm its own location, it can take weeks for it to realize a piece has been moved.
-The wearer cannot use magic while wearing a piece. It simply wouldn’t form and would be a waste of energy.
-If its owner is weak willed they can be driven insane/pass out by having such a tortured mind inside of their own. Strong-willed owners can also sometimes become weak just by having it on for too long, or become dependent on it entirely.
-While it wishes for its discarded body to be given a proper burial, its ultimate goal is to have all of its pieces together in one place. It cannot sense it’s discarded body so it hopes to someday come across it. In order to check if the body is their they must touch it.
-Necromancers enjoy collecting pieces for their collections, often they hunt them down and may even attack their current owners to try and get them. They are often given a nickname by their armor’s appearance, though it's the necromancers discretion if they wear the armor themselves, as it is usually used for manual labor.
-While you can wield a sword while wearing them, the armor would rather be used for hand-to-hand combat. Using a sword in its gauntlet would be as if you held one between your teeth, doable but not comfortable.
-Feeling pain, whether being from a hard blow to holding Aurum and even magic, the soul will cry out in pain in the mind link, this can cause the wearer to flinch or be stunned for a moment. Having someone scream inside your head is not the best thing to happen when you are in the midst of fighting.
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In Character:
Each Ethereal Knight will have different sets of armor, each set will be comprised of no less than seven pieces. I myself will be following the below image:
Armor parts
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(OOC: Please let me know if you have any questions)