Post by Amethyst Ingram on Nov 5, 2016 19:44:21 GMT -6
 | PLAYED BY: Kurosashiko AGE: Nineteen BIRTH MONTH: April | GENDER: Female OCCUPATION: Third Year Student RACE: Human |
| Amethyst Ingram | ||
★ APPEARANCE
<Amethyst>, or Amy as she is often called, is quite the looker having been endowed with a modestly proportionate physicality as well as rather exotic coloring by all standards. Though she only has a vague idea of where she her features from – given her familial circumstances – Amy does have fair, almost pale skin, as well as raven shoulder length hair and glistening argent silver eyes suggesting a northern-most or mixed lineage. Despite where her lineage may lay though, this coupled with her delicate frame and graceful nuances make for quite the spectacle in and outside of the battlefield, but adversely also tends to mislead others in regards to her ability as an up and coming Huntress. Indeed, Amy is a small woman only standing at barely one-hundred sixty centimeters tall – or rather five feet, three inches – but what she lacks in height she certainly makes up for in strength and tenacity. In fact, over the years both in the pursuit her goals and surviving Amy has honed her body into a lean powerhouse that supersedes those ill-conceived preconceptions of her physical ability. This being the case, while she may not be rippling with muscle as some of her brawnier counterparts, she can certainly be described as well-defined alluding to an air of skill that surpasses belligerent strength.
Aside from Amy's physical appearance however, she seems to have a sense of fashion all her own and changes her style of dress regularly never sticking with any one outfit for too long. To that end, one might find her dressed down one day in such things as short-shorts, a blouse, and a pair of knee-high boots. Other times it wouldn't be unheard of to find her in full battle garb often with some sort of armoring covering both of her arms and a blackened cloak draped behind her. Though on occasion, primarily because it is mandatory, Amy might also be seen in her school attire having dawned a Vytal Academy uniform as she proceeds through her daily rigmarole. It often just depends on what the situation calls for as she sees it and how far she can press her luck with her attire of choice at the time. However, a couple of things do seem to be common place amongst most of her outfits in that many of incorporate darker tones such as black and dark blues with sparse amounts of white, and most seem to be trimmed with vibrant amethyst accent colors likely an homage to Amy's own name. Furthermore, and most curiously at that, it seems that all of her outfits in some way are also emblazoned with some form of the <Ouroboros> symbol. While emblems are commonplace of course why she would choose this one in particular, and why it has such meaning to her, is still quite the mystery.
That all having been said, in a nutshell Amy is a fine mixture of indecisiveness, beauty, grace, circumstance, and skill packed into a tiny frame and set ablaze. However, describing Amy doesn't do her the justice that meeting her in person does. While she may have a striking appearance and elements about her that congregate into a unique visage her appearance is hardly defined by mere aesthetics. To truly appreciate what's on the outside one must get to know her to see what is on the inside lest the aesthetics will fall to the wayside over time. As they say, don't judge a book by its cover and the same goes for Amethyst.
★ PERSONALITY
★ HISTORY
Amethyst Ingram was born April 24th on a rainy afternoon to Heidelberg Rot von Ingram and Airi Himura-Ingram whose lives would irrevocably be changed the moment they laid eyes on their new baby girl. Upon seeing her for the first time the parents described the feeling as if they were thrust from the inky depths of night into the resplendent light of day. They couldn't have fathomed loving something so small so much nor how much they would come to seek to protect the child from the perils of the world. Though, as it were, fate would conspire against the parents only a year and a half after having Amethyst when a long-time colleague and friend thought to have died on a mission in The Blacklands suddenly reappeared in their lives. He was notably different, as if something had changed about him, but the parents couldn't quite pick out what it was only that somehow he had changed. However, they had known the man – Rufous Kuznetsov – for a long time and would come to brush it off as if it were nothing but baseless paranoia considering his status up to that point. An so the story would go that Rufous would begin to reacquaint himself with the family becoming rather commonplace amongst the Ingram household as they went about their daily lives until one day it all fell apart. That overcast Tuesday afternoon would spell the beginning of the end for the family as a treacherous plot unfolded, lives were lost, and a man's fate was forever sealed in the blood of his kin.
Indeed, that day Rufous – a man once known for being a noble and devout Huntsmen – would exercise the ultimate act of betrayal as he slaughtered Airi in cold blood and proceeded to make off with Amethyst. The vicious act would only be intensified by the disparity that came next when Heidelberg found out what had happened sending shockwaves tearing through him as he frantically contacted the paramedics and authorities. In a stroke of ill-begotten fate mere days after that a grieving Heidelberg would be arrested and charged with the murders of his wife and daughter pending evidence that the Atlesian authorities had obtained to his shock and horror. Evidently, or so they had said, they'd found DNA evidence pitting him at the scene of the crime and several witnesses had claimed that he had left Vytal Academy early the afternoon the murders were committed sealing his fate during his trial. Despite the vague physical evidence and overwhelming circumstantial evidence they had to the contrary Heidelberg contested it as a lie claiming that the charges were false and that the evidence had been tampered with to no avail. Eventually in the throes of imprisonment awaiting his arraignment Heidelberg would come to face the ugly truth that he had been framed somehow and that his wife and daughter's killer was still out there. Though in the end that wouldn't matter when only two months later he plead not guilty and was ignored being sentenced to twenty-five years to life and hard labor in Legion's dust mines. It was a day that would resonate with Heidelberg throughout the rest of his life hollowing him into a shell of a man as the years went by just before circumstance dealt the final blow ending his life in a freak dust explosion never to know what really had happened.
Meanwhile, in the wake of Airi's murder and Heidelberg's conviction, Rufous had fled Legion's borders with Amethyst in hand settling down in the seedy underbelly of Rift. There he and Amethyst found themselves amongst the denizens of an organization called "Dusk" – an illegal dust trafficking cartel known to have amassed to power several years prior to that – to which Rufous was the organizations sole benefactor and kingpin. There he was untouchable sitting as the crowning gem amidst the kingdom he'd built on bloodshed and back alley deals under the alias "Sable" and with spoils he was certain would cement that position no less. However, victory would not come easy nor would it come soon for Rufous – or rather Aeron Rothenberg as he was known publically – to what end he would begin to make preparations from that point on to ensure his plans' fruition. As such things would simmer over the next years after the grisly upheaval into some semblance of a normal life for Amethyst, at least at first. She would find herself with a silver plated spoon bitterly lodged down her throat in her childhood coming only to learn the price of wanting for nothing as she grew older and closer to succeeding her now adoptive father's throne.
Though, let us digress; things weren't always so tenuous for Amethyst and especially as a child growing up with someone like Rufous for an adoptive father given his wealthy disposition. Being the adoptive daughter of a powerful tyrant had its perks such as being able to obtain most anything she'd wanted when she wanted it but at the same time it also had some steep drawbacks. Despite being fed the world on a silver platter she always seemed to lack the love and attention from the man she knew as her father coming to be given the cold shoulder often times, or ignored, or even outright shot down for whatever reason. This much quickly calloused over Amethyst's young heart bringing her to seep herself in other facets of life to fill the void such as escapism through the latest and greatest gadgets Remnant had to offer or through her second love, her studies. It was all that she could do given her position since she didn't have any friends nor a mother to turn to besides the nanny – Blanche Gorman – who had raised her in the face of this emotional neglect. To this end, Amethyst was forced to grow up with what little cushion Blanche could provide for her but even then it a tough pill to swallow and even more so with the constant threats that lingered around her as a result of her Rufous' dealings as well as his lofty expectations of her.
Ultimately things would only get worse though as she reached her seventh birthday and Rufous mandated that she ascribe herself to an unrelenting rigorous combat regiment. Weeks later a combat instructor would arrive with the necessary equipment as she coupled emotional neglect now with physical violence and her training commenced. At first things didn't seem all that bad as she was taught the basics such as how to use and maintain different types of weaponry, techniques, stances, and the like. However, as things went it would get exponentially harder bringing her to test her mettle as she got into shape and began exercising what rudimentary skills that she had been taught in unguarded swordplay. Day in and day out Amethyst would wake up, attend her studies, and find herself by the end of the evening battling for her life against a skilled instructor who was explicitly told to not hold back. In the first weeks Amethyst would find herself crying her eyes out before falling asleep exhausted and injured from head to toe. Before long however the tears would run dry and only a catatonic silence would fill the room as a harbinger for aberrant thought to creep in and for the seeds of hatred and despair to plant themselves.
Nearly three years into her training Amethyst had become accustomed to her routine going day in and day out gaining both intelligence and strength in equal proportions, not to mention disparity. Over the years her fighting ability had dramatically improved as she went toe to toe with her long held instructor coming to fend off his blade and push back with killer intent. Eventually though things would begin to shift again as the man began putting more of his aura into his abilities to stave her off and before long he decided to take things to the next level, plastering her to the arena wall during one of their sessions by activating his semblance in one oppressive move designed to assert his dominance. In that fight Amethyst would suffer three cracked ribs, a broken leg, and a slight concussion putting her out of commission for nearly a week as Blanche used her aura to mend Amethyst's twisted body. Though healing Amethyst's body wouldn't be enough to heal her mind ultimately when during the next training session things took a dramatic turn for the worst and something cracked inside of Amethyst causing her to do the unthinkable.
At only ten years old Amethyst would walk into that arena an innocent little girl as the training session erupted and her instructor came at her. Instead of dodging his blade though or trying to block it she didn't move shifting out of the way in a display of calculated timing and speed before whipping around in a circular motion in an attempt to slice him in two mid-torso. Quickly reacting with a look of discontent on his face the instructor shot his sword behind him blocking the attack as he retreated coming to a stop a few yards away from her with a serious look on his face. Though before he could react Amethyst had already started toward him at full speed using her sword to send blow after blow recoiling off of his blade forcing him to use his aura to block her offensive onslaught. Eventually one thing would lead to another as the man managed to put a defensive cushion between the two of them activating his semblance just before she reached him in an attempt to end the battle quickly. Though before he could use it she'd slid under him through his legs causing him to turn as she scrambled to her feet thrusting her sword up. The proceeding attack landed directly through his stomach reaching through his body and out his back as his eyes bulged and he stumbled back coughing up blood droplets. Eventually he would fall on his hind-quarters as Amethyst tossed her sword to the side and he pleaded for his life whilst she unsheathed a combat knife she'd holstered securely in her boot. Jumping on him she used the weight of her tiny frame to pin his weakening body down to the ground before pulling the knife up hesitantly only to feel her body lift from atop him and be propelled a ways away, landing hard on the ground as she skidded to a halt.
Groggy and confused by what had just happened Amethyst lifted her head weakly to see what was going on as her vision faded into view and the outline of Rufous holding a blackened blade lined in an ominous purple hue took shape. The blade was securely stamped through the instructor's chest with a slathering of scarlet seeping from under him as her adoptive father's eyes turned to her just before she lost consciousness. Nearly a day later Amethyst would wake up with Blanche at her side, in pain from the violent kick she'd sustained to her sternum and the injuries from the battle, but no worse for the wear given the circumstances. Recollecting the events that took place in the depths of her mind a grimace would come to Amethyst's lips as tears slowly rolled down her cheeks lamenting what she had done and in disbelief she'd allowed herself to get to that point. What's more, to make things worse, Rufous would come to pay her a visit a short time later chastising her for her weakness in not having done away with the instructor immediately but rather hesitating, even if only for a brief moment. However, soon enough his chastising words turned to decisive action as he turned on his heel informing her in a cold tone to prepare for the next day and that her next instructor wouldn't be so incompetent. Leaving the room he instructed Blanche to mend her wounds and made it clear that it would be the last time she was to do so unless Amethyst was mortally wounded or her wounds were deemed debilitating, leaving Amethyst to catatonically stare up into the ceiling looking for some shred of hope that still lingered.
Eventually, even though she had gotten little to no sleep that night, Amethyst would come to get up in the morning as usual and go about her routine. She'd skip breakfast and begin studying Arithmetic, Physical Science, and Atlesian Combat Strategies until noon before barely having a semblance of what one might call lunch and finishing out the day with World History and Political Science. Apprehensively afterward she would clean up her studies and begin preparing herself for training that evening by fitting her body with the training gear she'd been given and equipping herself with a practice blade. However, nothing could have prepared her for what she'd be up against when she'd discovered who her new instructor would be. The minute that the arena's door closed behind her Amethyst's heart nearly stopped as she froze like a deer caught in the headlights starring down Rufous's visage at the opposite end of the arena. He said nothing to her as he dug his heels into the dirt and charged toward her pulling his hand over his shoulder to grip the hilt of the same blackened blade that he'd used to kill her former instructor with. In a mere flash he was upon her as her body reacted for her composing itself into a ramshackle state of awareness and narrowly dodging the first heavy downward strike only to find herself scrambling around to catch up as another, and another, came barreling at her. For the moment all that she could do was scramble, dodge, and roll away from his attacks trying to find some opening or some leeway to get a hit in or get her barring at the very least.
That much however was easier said than done as she spent much of the battle avoiding deathblows and lethal environmental hazards only to find herself barely standing at the pre-determined end of the training session. Even then though, Rufous's cold gaze pierced through her sending a chill down her spine as she fell to her knees and he lifted the blackened blade fixating it to his back before leaving without a word. In many ways the training session wasn't a training session at all but rather a survival situation where if she did not fight or dodge she would die or find herself injured to the point of near-death. To that end, Amethyst didn't see the point of it, coming to feel that the next session would surely be the end of her life as terror set in and she sank slowly to the ground in the fetal position before eventually drifting off to sleep. Hours later Amethyst would groggily find herself awakened from her terror induced slumber by way of a soft hand gently caressing her forehead and brushing her raven locks from her face. Eventually her eyes would find their way to another's – Blanche's who had also carried her back to her room after the training session had ended – who smiled down on her with a nervous tinge lining her kindly features. Upon their eyes meeting Blanche asked how Amethyst felt coupling the nervous air in the room with a good measure of concern. Despite noticing this Amethyst replied sheepishly to her inquiries unsure whether to question her or not as Blanche gave her a reassuring smile happy to know the worst injury she'd sustained was a good helping of fear. However, even then Amethyst could tell there was something amiss that Blanche wasn't telling her to what end after a time of idle chatting she'd come to ask Blanche if something was wrong. With that Blanche paused falling silent for a short time before taking a breath and closing her eye and eventually getting to her feet telling Amethyst that she ought to let her rest as she made her way to the door of the bedroom.
Sitting up in the bed as Blanche made her way to the door Amethyst called out to her asking her again as Blanche's hand hovered over the door knob and she stopped in her tracks. Slowly her hand would fall to her side as she turned toward Amethyst and peered at her with a sullen expression before shaking her head to her. Confused, Amethyst shifted herself under her sheets to get out of the bed before Blanche paused her, shushing her moments after, and pulled her hand up once more situating her fingers to snap them before what felt like a shockwave reverberated through the room and an eerie silence fell over them. Letting her hand fall to her side once more Blanche took a different tone relaying to a bewildered Amethyst that the room was secure and that they could talk privately now. Making her way over to Amethyst's bedside, Blanche sat down next to the girl before taking a deep breath and began by telling her that what she had to say was confidential and could not leave the room. Nodding to Blanche meekly, with fear bubbling in the pit of her stomach, the woman continued by telling her that her true name wasn't Blanche Gorman and that she was an undercover operative with the Atlesian military. Her assignment was to gather intelligence on the Dusk organization among other things but in the process of gathering that intelligence she'd come across some else as well. Pausing a moment Blanche then lifted the side of her dress revealing a leg holster as she pulled a scroll out of it, opening it up, and bringing the information up that she wanted to share with Amethyst. Handing the device to Amethyst as she took it Blanche stayed silent as the girl worked her way through it, reading what she had found, before eventually coming to confirm what she was reading by telling her that Aeron wasn't her father. Furthermore, she came to tell Amethyst that his true name in fact was Rufous Kuznetsov, and he was a former Huntsmen who was presumed dead long ago on a botched mission to The Blacklands.
However, the most startling revelation was in fact what came next suggesting that Aeron, or rather Rufous, was responsible for the murders of Airi Homura-Ingram – her real biological mother and a former colleague of Blanche's – and Amethyst herself. Moreover, it suggested a man by the name of Heidelberg Rot von Ingram – presumably her biological father – was by extension in fact framed by Rufous and sentenced to life imprisonment on the orchestrated belief he committed the murders. To that end, having read what she had, Amethyst hovered over the scroll without a word and with her drawn expression masked by the shadows cast by the dim light in the room. An audible gritting of her teeth eked out from behind the shadows as Blanche gently removed the scroll from her hands, folding the device shut, and replacing it in its holster. Clasping her hands around Amethyst's, Blanche felt a droplet of warm water hit her own from behind the veil of shadows as staggered breathing and silent sobs emanated from the little girl. Pulling her hands from Amethyst's Blanche encircled her arms around her patting her back as Amethyst's arms clutched onto Blanche tightly and she let out a bereaved howl into the woman's shoulder. For a long time they would sit like this as Amethyst cried her eyes out weeping from the heart as if hers had been ripped still beating from her chest. In the end, Rufous had taken more from her than just her sense of security and her emotional stability. He had taken her very life and all the light that had once surrounded it.
A while later, after Amethyst had calmed to the point they could speak again, Blanche came to let her in on what this meant for her mission. For now, she was still gathering intelligence but soon she would make her move and would assassinate Rufous to put the Dusk organization in disarray in order to topple them. In doing so she would be able to liberate Amethyst but it would be dangerous and she would need her to be able to fend for herself in the process. With this much said, she gave Amethyst a choice telling her that she could stay a bystander, take her chances with Rufous, and wait until the Atlesian military arrived and liberated her or she could fight and liberate herself. Though, the choice was almost unnecessary as Amethyst resoundingly stated that she would fight and further added that she wanted to be the one to end Rufous's tyranny personally. With that much stated Blanche gave a confident smirk, nodding to her as she went on to comment on how much like her mother she was and agreeing to Amethyst's terms if it was possible when the time came but not guaranteeing her it. However, before they could do anything Amethyst would need to learn how to defend herself well enough – better than she had been able to – in order to defeat Rufous to what end Blanche agreed to train her on the side to prepare her. In doing so Amethyst would come to learn the rudimentary lethal arts of an assassin and Blanche would help Amethyst unlock her aura in order to somewhat bridge the gap between her and Rufous. There was no guarantee it would work, nor that she could handle what Blanche would teach her, but it was a start and would put her at far better odds if anything.
To that end, during the early morning the two of them would make their way down to the mansion's cellar to train using Blanche's semblance to isolate the room and dampen the sound so they wouldn't be caught. The first night there Blanche dedicated to helping Amethyst unlock her aura and though it would come to take far longer than Blanche had expected. At the end of the session however Amethyst would walk away from their training having unlocked her aura but with little knowledge in the way of how to wield it. The mornings proceeding that would clear that much up though allowing Amethyst to wield her aura if only on a basic level as a means of slightly buffering the gaps in her defense and offence, and would signify the start of where Blanche's crash course would begin for Amethyst. That said, over the course of the next year or so until Amethyst was around the age of twelve she would endeavor on her studies by day, gain increasing traction in her fights with Rufous by the evening due to her early morning training, by the early morning she would take on learning advanced combat tactics under Blanche's tutelage with little time to rest in-between. Indeed, it was an exhausting schedule and incredibly straining on Amethyst at times but her goals were far more important to her and a constant driving force pushing her through the nearly sleepless nights. However, even with that driving force behind her fate would once more conspire to strike a low and deafening blow when one day, only a few months after her twelfth birthday, Blanche went missing.
The day that Blanche went missing was like any other day as Amethyst went about her morning and afternoon routines dazed from having been up all night and sleep deprived. Of course, Blanche wasn't anywhere to be seen that day which was unusual but it wasn't uncommon for her to disappear during the afternoons and show up around the evening hours bringing Amethyst to shrug off the coincidence. Although, when she didn't see her before her training session with Rufous she'd begun to worry seeing it as unlike Blanche to not see her off beforehand and wish her luck. Moreover, the atmosphere of the arena felt slightly off when she entered putting Amethyst on her toes as Rufous stepped out in what seemed like a vicious mood dragging the blackened blade – which she had found out later on was named Noire – on the ground by its hilt. Before she could even take off toward him she found Rufous acting strange as he bolted toward her flipping the blade around using the blunt edge of Noire to hike her up into the air before flipping it around and batting her with the flat side of the blade towards the arena wall which she'd subsequently crash into shattering the ceramic tiles that lined it. As a result, split seconds before he had batted her into the wall Amethyst was forced to activate her aura to protect herself from mortal damage taking superficial damage but mitigating deathblows due to her quick thinking. However, in the process she'd been forced to openly show her hand as it were whereas before she'd been strategic enough to use her aura discretely. To this end, Amethyst revealed that her aura had been indeed unlocked without intending to do so bringing Rufous to end the battle preemptively with a sour expression. Moments later he would call for his men to confine Amethyst to her room pending further instructions and keep guard over her door to what end they would forcefully haul her off against her will.
After being hauled off to her room and confined Amethyst spent the next hours pacing back and forth nervously, worried over what might be happening. Eventually the sickening worry turned to full-blown anxiety bringing Amethyst to concoct a haphazard plan to figure out what was happening. While cobbling together the plot she slipped under the frame of her bed with a flashlight in hand using her hands to feel around and open up a loose floorboard where a small gunmetal black dagger sat. Blanch had given it to her months before as a means of defending herself should the need have arisen. It wasn't much but it would be enough to defend herself in a pinch to what end she grabbed the blade and shuffled out from under her bed fastening it under her hoodie behind her waist. Moments later she knocked on her bedroom door until one of Rufous's men opened it and gruffly asked what she wanted to what end she feigned having to use the restroom. Subsequently after a sigh and a slur the two guards began escorting her down the hall to the restroom when she put her plan into motion hoping up one of the guard's backs as she tightly pressed her hand over his mouth to muffle him before stabbing him through the neck and kicking off, landing on the ground with a soft pitter-patter. The man began to thrash a tad which only ended up hastening the process as he crashed to the floor with a thud alerting the other guard which Amethyst had already begun to rush. Before he could call for backup in or draw his weapon though Amethyst had swung around him and had started to stab him several times in the right side of his torso to incapacitate him. Eventually when he staggered and stumbled, falling to the ground, Amethyst landed the final blow kicking him as hard as she could in the head to knock him unconscious before taking pause and staggering off to the side, throwing up after doing the grisly deed. Both men laid dead in her wake and despite having trained for it, having trained to get past her hesitations, nothing would've prepared her for what she had just done. To that end it took her a short while to regain her composure but eventually she did coming to strip one of the guards of his gun and to pop the click to see how many rounds it had in it. Afterward Amethyst took off running down the hall leaving behind the corpses in her wake with the sole intent to get to Rufous's study.
As Amethyst made her way there she came across little to no resistance and the guards that she did come across she was able to slip past easily enough. It told her volumes as to how secure Rufous felt in his own castle as it were giving her the sense that if anything she might have the advantage of underestimation. In time she would eventually make her way to her destination relatively easily coming up on Rufous's study as memories of curiously wondering what went on in that room when she was a child flooded back to her. Though upon entering the room it was nothing like she had expected and nothing could've have prepared for the grisly truth that laid in wait behind the door. In the center of the room there was a chair and on it seemingly sat a corpse chained to the chair whose long white hair mimicked Blanche's both in style and length. Seeing it made Amethyst's heart sink as she closed the study's door behind her coming to apprehensively near it only to confirm her worst fears; it was Blanche. Tears immediately rushed to Amethyst's eyes as shock set in and she dropped to the floor on her knees weeping into Blanche's apron. However, as she sobbed over the seemingly deceased nanny a weak voice coughed and choked out from up above her as Amethyst's eyes shot up gazing at Blanches' kindly and bloodied smile. Amethyst did what anyone would have done in trying to save Blanche but Blanche knew that she was dying, there was no way around it. With that in mind and with the last of her breath Blanche relayed to Amethyst to take her scroll and to flee the mansion to find a man, a General in fact, by the name of Atlan Schwarzenmauer. Though before she could finish and tell Amethyst where to find General Schwarzenmauer she would succumb to her injuries slowly fading as Amethyst begged her not to go.
Amethyst's face contorted into a pained expression and fresh tears slipped down her cheeks as she pulled her hands to her chest and hunched over silently sobbing to herself. She knew she needed to get up, she knew she had to follow Blanche's orders, but the pain of losing another person was so great that she didn't think she had the strength to do it. At least until she'd remembered something that Blanche had told her; after a particularly violent match with Rufous Blanche had told her that when she was in front of the enemy, even if her hands were trembling, to fight for fighting was what it meant to avenge the fallen. Those words, almost long since forgotten, chimed through the annals of her mind urging her to get up and to do what she was trained to do and what she promised not only Blanche she would do, but herself and her deceased parents. She would bring down Rufous if it was the last thing that she did, maybe not that night, maybe not even ten years from then, but she would bring him down and with that firmly planted in her mind she did her best to push on despite the pain. With that much in mind she gingerly went about getting the scroll from Blanche's satchel which fortunately had been undetected because of her dress. Securing the device in her pocket Amethyst got up paying her final respects to her surrogate mother and nanny before turning to walk out the door when she noticed something off to the side of the room held in a cabinet. It was Rufous's blade, Noire, as well as several other armaments of his that he had displayed much like trophies and likely as a means to intimidate those who made their way into that room. Peering at it for a moment, and thinking of all of the horrible things he must have done with it, the gears in Amethyst's mind went to work as her eyebrows furrowed and she made a compulsive decision.
Opening the cabinet she took hold of the rather heavy blade pulling it from where it was situated before gripping the hilt and throwing it over her shoulder, resting it there on its blunt edge. It was weightier than she was used to by far but it was manageable and certainly would be in better hands if she took it with her. With that in mind she resolved herself to flee with it making her way out of the study and into the hall to traverse the rest of the mansion and get away. Carefully Amethyst made her way down the corridor to the stairs where she quietly her way down them as to not alert anyone to her presence. When she was finally on the bottom floor she rounded the corner to the foyer finding a gaggle of Rufous's goons guarding the front entrance with little other way to escape than going out the back which she was sure was equally as guarded. Her only chance was to make a break for it and make things up as she went along even if it would alert the entire estate to what was going on. Knowing that much she readied herself taking a deep breath as she recalled her training before finally making a break for it toward the guards who spotted her the second that she'd made her way out of the hallway.
Pulling the gun up that she'd had cocked and loaded in her left hand she ran at them full speed using her marksmanship training to land both incapacitating and lethal fire on several of the guards who were in the forefront. Meanwhile, with another wave of them coming her way she dodged the first and second one, throwing the gun to the side as she gripped Noire's hilt with her other hand. As the third on came at her she jumped slamming the brunt of the blade down on top of him as it gnawed into his shoulder and down his torso. This much allowed her to use the momentum the weight of the blade had generated to summersault over his body and come down with a diagonal slash that ripped through two more of the guards allowing Amethyst to make a break for the door. Once there she gripped the handle pulling as hard as she could as the door lurched open swinging to the side and she bolted out, zig-zagging across the snowy estate as the guards posted near the outside of the door took off after her. In hot pursuit they fired off round after round at her using dust to underpin their bullets as elementally charged projectiles scraped off of her aura as she ran. Eventually however her luck would run out as a flame infused bullet bored through her already weakened aura shattering it and burning hole straight through her left shoulder, fracturing the upper portion of the bone near the rotator cuff as it exited.
Slowing and falling to her knees on the snowscape before her Amethyst let out a shrill wince in pain closing her eyes hard as she threw Noire down for support to get up. Pushing herself as hard as she could her tiny body lurched forward as she swung Noire over her shoulder and let her lifeless arm dangle proceeding to run as fast as she could. The chill of the night whipped against the wound exacerbating the pain until finally it fell numb as she neared the gate. Once there Amethyst raised Noire using the rest of her strength to try and cut the lock on the gate only to feel a second wind infused bullet shred through her upper thigh causing her to drop to the ground on her stomach clutching to Noire for dear life. Amidst her pain Amethyst's life flashed before her eyes as she shouted expletives into the night refusing to die and refusing to back down. That was at least until finally another shot was fired at point blank from behind her through her chest causing her to gasp for air as the scene around her slowly began to fade. Soon she could only hear muffled sounds and feint wisps color from having lost so much blood as a flurry of black and red swooped around her giving off a distinct warmth unlike any she'd ever felt. Before she could ascertain what it was though, or ascertain whether she was dead or alive, pitch-blackness consumed her world encompassing her whole taking her to what might've been the final stop in her short life.
Nearly two and a half weeks later Amethyst would finally emerge from her deathly slumber with remnants of a fleeting pitch-black dream lingering on her mind. Meanwhile, while waking up she caught sight of an unfamiliar ceiling and a flash of what looked like static impairing her vision for a brief moment before it went away. The sensation was curious and frightening, bringing her to ponder the idea of if she were dead or alive, though the dull ache in the spots where she'd been injured told her otherwise. This much brought her to frantically flick her eyes back and forth to ascertain where she was in fear that she'd been recaptured by the guards and this was some sort of torture chamber. Soon enough though she'd get that answer as a woman, a doctor named Nilima Sarka, walked into the room surprised to see that she was awake and reassuring her that she was safe and that she was in a military hospital in Rift. With that much said Doctor Sarka went to work checking her vitals and whatnot before excusing herself for a moment to grab a nurse. Over the course of the next few minutes they would take out the breathing tube they had put in the night she was admitted and would go over her wounds to see that they were healing correctly. When everything checked out Doctor Sarka introduced herself more formally asking Amethyst various questions as she regained her barring and cleared her sore and scratchy throat.
Meanwhile two men had walked in just as they were finishing up; one was a tall man in an Atlesian military uniform whose left eye was covered by an eyepatch, and the other was an equally lanky man with long blitzing red hair whose wardrobe was elegantly inspired. As they walked in Doctor Sarka paused a moment, clearly annoyed at them for some reason – likely because they'd interrupted them – before introducing the one with the eyepatch as General Atlan Schwarzenmauer and the other red haired man as the Huntsmen Cinereous Hargrave. Evidently they were here to speak with Amethyst but were a tad early which had apparently earned them Doctor Sarka's scorn as a result. Although none of that mattered to Amethyst as she nearly jumped out of her bed before they could even start asking where the scroll she'd had in her pocket was and insisting that she needed to give it to the General. However, Doctor Sarka reigned her in telling her that when Cinereous brought her in they'd found the scroll and learned of its contents. As a result they'd already since handed it over to the General to what end Amethyst's attention shifted to the red haired man as if to size him up before telling him to keep out of her belongings adding in her reluctant thanks at the end. Chuckling to himself at the scene that unfolded, the General intervened at that point stating that since all of that had been cleared up her wished to speak with Amethyst and Cinereous alone. To that end he requested that Doctor Sarka leave the room who seemed to give a condescending salute to them all before leaving and telling them to call her if they needed her.
After the door had closed the General gave a kindly smile toward Amethyst from under his moustache making his way closer as Cinereous sat on the chair beside her bed. Soon enough the General began to explain just why they were there amidst thanking her for what she'd helped do and asking what had happened to Blanche. Safe to say they were both sorry to hear of her fate but both knew she was aware of she'd signed up for and that Blanche had given her life for a good cause considering the information they were able to attain. Though it hadn't been the lynchpin they would have hoped for, nor was it enough to bring Rufous down immediately, it was much more than they'd started with and in the process she'd uncovered some startling facts to boot. Among which confirmed their suspicions from just over ten years earlier about Heidelberg's involvement in Airi's and Amethyst's murders. Furthermore, she'd been able to uncover Amethyst's whereabouts not to mention train her to the extent she had under such hostile conditions. It was quite impressive and something that the General assured Amethyst that would not go to waste depending on what her choice was. However, that brought the General to why they were there as he relinquished the floor to Cinereous who chimed in turning his attention to Amethyst. Being a man of few words Cinereous got right to the point saying that he'd seen a portion of her battle with the guards before he'd intervened among reading Blanche's notes that were enclosed in the scroll on her progress, and he was impressed. It was raw, and she was still just a bean sprout as he put it, but she had potential and should she have wanted to hone what she knew thus far he would pull some strings to get her into Vytal Academy's Underclass when she came of age for it. It was the least that they could offer her with what she had been able to pull off and at such a young age at that.
Needless to say the offer was unexpected causing Amethyst to take pause to think on it and what they were offering. It was a lot to process given what she had been through having just woken up from a near fatal encounter but at the same time it was also something that piqued her interest. She'd never considered the possibility of becoming a Huntress having always thought, and having always been lead to think at that, that she would succeed Rufous as the leader of the Dusk organization; at least should she have survived being his punching bag. To this end she didn't quite know how to respond but she wasn't against it and came to reply by asking more questions about what it would entail and mean. From what she got she would be inducted into Vytal Academy's underclass when she was thirteen and she would be put through preparation courses to graduate to the upper class at sixteen. In total she would spend eight years of her life training there and by the age of twenty would become a full-fledged Huntress. However, in the interim before she started her studies at Vytal Academy and during her breaks, should she choose to spend them with him, she would be living with and being trained by Cinereous as her guardian and mentor until she was eighteen. Ultimately though it was her choice whether she wanted to do it or not and should she choose to not she would be placed under protective custody all the same in order to protect her from Rufous and the Dusk organization.
With that in mind Amethyst paused once more thinking on the possibilities and what she wanted to do with her life now. The idea of leaving behind fighting for good was tantalizing of course but at the same time she knew that was not an option and there was no guarantee that the military would always be able to protect her. Moreover, she had to think about everyone who had sacrificed their lives up to this point to get her to where she was. When she thought of it that way the decision almost trivial; while she may have started out an innocent little girl she had been thrust into being a warrior by the same man who wrought so much death and destruction in her life. In order to reciprocate that favor, and in order to take vengeance for those whom he had slain, she needed to do this; there was no running from it. Knowing that she finally addressed both men telling them her decision and accepting their offer to what end the General in particular seemed quite pleased coming to tell her that she'd do her parents proud. That much would spur on the discussion on how this would all go down after she was released from the hospital followed by both men bidding her farewell until they met again and allowing back in a rather annoyed Doctor Sarka.
After that meeting Amethyst would spend the next two months in the hospital undergoing surgery for her shoulder and later on physical therapy to get her up and mobile once more. Once she was cleared to leave the hospital Cinereous took custody of her and they would begin their journey back to his apartment in Legion where she'd stay until her enrollment and train under Cinereous. On the way there the two didn't speak much aside from the idle chit-chat every now and again; things like how she was doing, if she were hungry, and the like. Amethyst wasn't one for talking and Cinereous was more content getting drunk and womanizing everything that he laid his eyes on making the pair rather disjointed at the time. Even when they finally made it to his apartment and Amethyst got settled it wasn't until she found a picture of him and three others – including a boy who resembled Rufous – that they finally started getting to know one another. Evidently, the picture was of Cinereous's team when he was in Vytal Academy; Team CHAR. The boy on the far left of the picture was him, of course, the boy next to him was her father Heidelberg, the girl next to him was her mother Airi, and the boy on the far right was in fact Rufous himself. Needless to say the revelation that Rufous was on the same team as her parents when they were younger was a shock but putting it aside she found a sense of comfort in seeing her parents all the same. So much so that a small smile had formed on her lips bringing a smirk to Cinereous's as he took the picture, tore off the part with Rufous in it, and handed it to her telling her it was hers to keep. Of course, Amethyst didn't know how to react to the gesture but her appreciation was evident in that it would be the start of a bond between the two that would lot them together as an – albeit dysfunctional – family.
In the proceeding months Amethyst would come to train under Cinereous using Noire in exercises designed to get her back into the swing of combat. It was hard after having been in the hospital for so long but she would take to it like riding a bike before long, regaining her barring much faster than she'd expected. Though at the same time that much could be attributed to the style of training which felt much more akin to a game rather than a daunting struggle like it was with Rufous. There was an air of competition between the two of them as they sparred which complimented the task well ushering Amethyst to further herself and attempt things that she hadn’t in the past. It felt as if even though she had been taught all of these things in the past she was learning more with Cinereous in the little time they had together leading her to believe it wasn't the training but the method under which she was trained in the past. Moreover, the stakes in the training weren't nearly as high with the worst outcome as the loser being having to do the chores around the house that night; a far cry from debilitating injury or death to be sure. All in all, it was fun and a challenge unlike anything she'd ever experienced and one that taught her lessons but didn't try to teach her a lesson. However, as it were, even though it was fun and she felt she was learning more than she ever had Amethyst knew it wouldn't last too much longer with her enrollment date closing in. To that end she did her best to make the most of the time she had with Cinereous coming to further forge the connection that they shared in the process. That being the case when the day did come that they had to part she and Cinereous found themselves bidding one another goodbye in their own ways, trading jabs calm their nerves as Cinereous wished her luck just before they parted.
It was a solemn goodbye as she and Cinereous parted but one that they both knew would lead to great things for Amethyst's future as she ventured into Vytal Academy's auditorium for the first time for the underclass enrollment ceremony. From there, aside from the Headmaster's longwinded speech, things seemed to go rather smoothly from thereon out. It seemed that most of what the underclass studies taught Amethyst already knew from prior training but they did fill in the blanks on a few subjects that she was lacking in. Furthermore, it filled in the gaps for her tactically with formal combat training as well as training in the use of her aura and dust which she took a distinct interest in early on coming to learn of Noire's dust capabilities during that time. To that end, by the end of the first year in the underclass any rough edges that Amethyst had in regards to her skills would be well on their way to being smoothed out. This much would help pave the way for her to both learn and hone them throughout the consecutive years that followed until her first year as a freshmen at Vytal Academy.
Moreover, during that time while Amethyst was learning to hone her abilities she'd matured from the thirteen year old who entered Vytal Academy's underclass into a young lady whose skill was simply a facet of what made her so alluring. Though, this much also caught Amethyst her fair share of attention as well as some friends despite her standoffish disposition most times, but not unwantedly so. In fact, despite all that had happened Amethyst had found herself flourishing here in ways that she never had before and coming out of her shell. She was working and getting along with people, smiling which she had rarely done before then, and was building a life for herself against all of the odds. From a bystanders viewpoint it was an incredible amount of personal growth and something that made Cinereous decide it was time to past on a trinket to Amethyst upon her graduation to her freshmen year.
Finally, after four years in the underclass Amethyst found herself at the entrance ceremony for her freshmen year with a new addition to her arsenal in tow; a flintlock gun named Aveline. It wasn't much in the way of an offense but it had been passed down in her father's family for generations, ending up in Cinereous's hands after her father was incarcerated. To that end it held a certain sentimental value bringing Amethyst to decide to put the old gun to use as a tool and do the Ingram name and Cinereous proud with it once more. Given that it was her freshmen year she was more than sure she would find a use for it which in time she did as she made her way through the next years. In fact, during this time going into her sophomore year Amethyst not only broadened herself tactically but she broadened her knowledge immensely coming to further hone and temper her skills as well as realizing the nature of her Semblance in the process. It was a time when Amethyst made great strides and a time that would continue until this very day during her junior year at Vytal Academy when her story starts with little more than daily rigmarole and personal growth in-between. Although, even though she may have matured and the years have changed her priorities Amethyst's goals have remained steadfast from the day she learned of her parents fate to the day she endeavored in on becoming a Huntress. While she may have friends and a semblance of a life now a day will come when her goal will be within her grasp, and on that day she will seize it. To avenge those who laid down their lives for her she feels it is not only the least she could do but her duty. Where that will take her, and where she will end up, no one can rightfully say but this is where that journey begins and where the ashes of Amethyst's despair will rise seeking out the embers of Rufous's accursed existence wherever it may be…
<Amethyst>, or Amy as she is often called, is quite the looker having been endowed with a modestly proportionate physicality as well as rather exotic coloring by all standards. Though she only has a vague idea of where she her features from – given her familial circumstances – Amy does have fair, almost pale skin, as well as raven shoulder length hair and glistening argent silver eyes suggesting a northern-most or mixed lineage. Despite where her lineage may lay though, this coupled with her delicate frame and graceful nuances make for quite the spectacle in and outside of the battlefield, but adversely also tends to mislead others in regards to her ability as an up and coming Huntress. Indeed, Amy is a small woman only standing at barely one-hundred sixty centimeters tall – or rather five feet, three inches – but what she lacks in height she certainly makes up for in strength and tenacity. In fact, over the years both in the pursuit her goals and surviving Amy has honed her body into a lean powerhouse that supersedes those ill-conceived preconceptions of her physical ability. This being the case, while she may not be rippling with muscle as some of her brawnier counterparts, she can certainly be described as well-defined alluding to an air of skill that surpasses belligerent strength.
Aside from Amy's physical appearance however, she seems to have a sense of fashion all her own and changes her style of dress regularly never sticking with any one outfit for too long. To that end, one might find her dressed down one day in such things as short-shorts, a blouse, and a pair of knee-high boots. Other times it wouldn't be unheard of to find her in full battle garb often with some sort of armoring covering both of her arms and a blackened cloak draped behind her. Though on occasion, primarily because it is mandatory, Amy might also be seen in her school attire having dawned a Vytal Academy uniform as she proceeds through her daily rigmarole. It often just depends on what the situation calls for as she sees it and how far she can press her luck with her attire of choice at the time. However, a couple of things do seem to be common place amongst most of her outfits in that many of incorporate darker tones such as black and dark blues with sparse amounts of white, and most seem to be trimmed with vibrant amethyst accent colors likely an homage to Amy's own name. Furthermore, and most curiously at that, it seems that all of her outfits in some way are also emblazoned with some form of the <Ouroboros> symbol. While emblems are commonplace of course why she would choose this one in particular, and why it has such meaning to her, is still quite the mystery.
That all having been said, in a nutshell Amy is a fine mixture of indecisiveness, beauty, grace, circumstance, and skill packed into a tiny frame and set ablaze. However, describing Amy doesn't do her the justice that meeting her in person does. While she may have a striking appearance and elements about her that congregate into a unique visage her appearance is hardly defined by mere aesthetics. To truly appreciate what's on the outside one must get to know her to see what is on the inside lest the aesthetics will fall to the wayside over time. As they say, don't judge a book by its cover and the same goes for Amethyst.
★ PERSONALITY
POSITIVE - Standalone - Kind Hearted - Competitive - Punny - Devout - Undaunted - Knowledgeable - Creative - Unabashedly Direct - Understanding - Perceptive | NEGATIVE - Socially Inept - Apathetic - Impulsive - Indecisive - Distrusting - Chronically Anxious - Mouthy - Spiteful - One-Track Minded (Sometimes) - Devious - Defiant - Burdened |
★ HISTORY
Amethyst Ingram was born April 24th on a rainy afternoon to Heidelberg Rot von Ingram and Airi Himura-Ingram whose lives would irrevocably be changed the moment they laid eyes on their new baby girl. Upon seeing her for the first time the parents described the feeling as if they were thrust from the inky depths of night into the resplendent light of day. They couldn't have fathomed loving something so small so much nor how much they would come to seek to protect the child from the perils of the world. Though, as it were, fate would conspire against the parents only a year and a half after having Amethyst when a long-time colleague and friend thought to have died on a mission in The Blacklands suddenly reappeared in their lives. He was notably different, as if something had changed about him, but the parents couldn't quite pick out what it was only that somehow he had changed. However, they had known the man – Rufous Kuznetsov – for a long time and would come to brush it off as if it were nothing but baseless paranoia considering his status up to that point. An so the story would go that Rufous would begin to reacquaint himself with the family becoming rather commonplace amongst the Ingram household as they went about their daily lives until one day it all fell apart. That overcast Tuesday afternoon would spell the beginning of the end for the family as a treacherous plot unfolded, lives were lost, and a man's fate was forever sealed in the blood of his kin.
Indeed, that day Rufous – a man once known for being a noble and devout Huntsmen – would exercise the ultimate act of betrayal as he slaughtered Airi in cold blood and proceeded to make off with Amethyst. The vicious act would only be intensified by the disparity that came next when Heidelberg found out what had happened sending shockwaves tearing through him as he frantically contacted the paramedics and authorities. In a stroke of ill-begotten fate mere days after that a grieving Heidelberg would be arrested and charged with the murders of his wife and daughter pending evidence that the Atlesian authorities had obtained to his shock and horror. Evidently, or so they had said, they'd found DNA evidence pitting him at the scene of the crime and several witnesses had claimed that he had left Vytal Academy early the afternoon the murders were committed sealing his fate during his trial. Despite the vague physical evidence and overwhelming circumstantial evidence they had to the contrary Heidelberg contested it as a lie claiming that the charges were false and that the evidence had been tampered with to no avail. Eventually in the throes of imprisonment awaiting his arraignment Heidelberg would come to face the ugly truth that he had been framed somehow and that his wife and daughter's killer was still out there. Though in the end that wouldn't matter when only two months later he plead not guilty and was ignored being sentenced to twenty-five years to life and hard labor in Legion's dust mines. It was a day that would resonate with Heidelberg throughout the rest of his life hollowing him into a shell of a man as the years went by just before circumstance dealt the final blow ending his life in a freak dust explosion never to know what really had happened.
Meanwhile, in the wake of Airi's murder and Heidelberg's conviction, Rufous had fled Legion's borders with Amethyst in hand settling down in the seedy underbelly of Rift. There he and Amethyst found themselves amongst the denizens of an organization called "Dusk" – an illegal dust trafficking cartel known to have amassed to power several years prior to that – to which Rufous was the organizations sole benefactor and kingpin. There he was untouchable sitting as the crowning gem amidst the kingdom he'd built on bloodshed and back alley deals under the alias "Sable" and with spoils he was certain would cement that position no less. However, victory would not come easy nor would it come soon for Rufous – or rather Aeron Rothenberg as he was known publically – to what end he would begin to make preparations from that point on to ensure his plans' fruition. As such things would simmer over the next years after the grisly upheaval into some semblance of a normal life for Amethyst, at least at first. She would find herself with a silver plated spoon bitterly lodged down her throat in her childhood coming only to learn the price of wanting for nothing as she grew older and closer to succeeding her now adoptive father's throne.
Though, let us digress; things weren't always so tenuous for Amethyst and especially as a child growing up with someone like Rufous for an adoptive father given his wealthy disposition. Being the adoptive daughter of a powerful tyrant had its perks such as being able to obtain most anything she'd wanted when she wanted it but at the same time it also had some steep drawbacks. Despite being fed the world on a silver platter she always seemed to lack the love and attention from the man she knew as her father coming to be given the cold shoulder often times, or ignored, or even outright shot down for whatever reason. This much quickly calloused over Amethyst's young heart bringing her to seep herself in other facets of life to fill the void such as escapism through the latest and greatest gadgets Remnant had to offer or through her second love, her studies. It was all that she could do given her position since she didn't have any friends nor a mother to turn to besides the nanny – Blanche Gorman – who had raised her in the face of this emotional neglect. To this end, Amethyst was forced to grow up with what little cushion Blanche could provide for her but even then it a tough pill to swallow and even more so with the constant threats that lingered around her as a result of her Rufous' dealings as well as his lofty expectations of her.
Ultimately things would only get worse though as she reached her seventh birthday and Rufous mandated that she ascribe herself to an unrelenting rigorous combat regiment. Weeks later a combat instructor would arrive with the necessary equipment as she coupled emotional neglect now with physical violence and her training commenced. At first things didn't seem all that bad as she was taught the basics such as how to use and maintain different types of weaponry, techniques, stances, and the like. However, as things went it would get exponentially harder bringing her to test her mettle as she got into shape and began exercising what rudimentary skills that she had been taught in unguarded swordplay. Day in and day out Amethyst would wake up, attend her studies, and find herself by the end of the evening battling for her life against a skilled instructor who was explicitly told to not hold back. In the first weeks Amethyst would find herself crying her eyes out before falling asleep exhausted and injured from head to toe. Before long however the tears would run dry and only a catatonic silence would fill the room as a harbinger for aberrant thought to creep in and for the seeds of hatred and despair to plant themselves.
Nearly three years into her training Amethyst had become accustomed to her routine going day in and day out gaining both intelligence and strength in equal proportions, not to mention disparity. Over the years her fighting ability had dramatically improved as she went toe to toe with her long held instructor coming to fend off his blade and push back with killer intent. Eventually though things would begin to shift again as the man began putting more of his aura into his abilities to stave her off and before long he decided to take things to the next level, plastering her to the arena wall during one of their sessions by activating his semblance in one oppressive move designed to assert his dominance. In that fight Amethyst would suffer three cracked ribs, a broken leg, and a slight concussion putting her out of commission for nearly a week as Blanche used her aura to mend Amethyst's twisted body. Though healing Amethyst's body wouldn't be enough to heal her mind ultimately when during the next training session things took a dramatic turn for the worst and something cracked inside of Amethyst causing her to do the unthinkable.
At only ten years old Amethyst would walk into that arena an innocent little girl as the training session erupted and her instructor came at her. Instead of dodging his blade though or trying to block it she didn't move shifting out of the way in a display of calculated timing and speed before whipping around in a circular motion in an attempt to slice him in two mid-torso. Quickly reacting with a look of discontent on his face the instructor shot his sword behind him blocking the attack as he retreated coming to a stop a few yards away from her with a serious look on his face. Though before he could react Amethyst had already started toward him at full speed using her sword to send blow after blow recoiling off of his blade forcing him to use his aura to block her offensive onslaught. Eventually one thing would lead to another as the man managed to put a defensive cushion between the two of them activating his semblance just before she reached him in an attempt to end the battle quickly. Though before he could use it she'd slid under him through his legs causing him to turn as she scrambled to her feet thrusting her sword up. The proceeding attack landed directly through his stomach reaching through his body and out his back as his eyes bulged and he stumbled back coughing up blood droplets. Eventually he would fall on his hind-quarters as Amethyst tossed her sword to the side and he pleaded for his life whilst she unsheathed a combat knife she'd holstered securely in her boot. Jumping on him she used the weight of her tiny frame to pin his weakening body down to the ground before pulling the knife up hesitantly only to feel her body lift from atop him and be propelled a ways away, landing hard on the ground as she skidded to a halt.
Groggy and confused by what had just happened Amethyst lifted her head weakly to see what was going on as her vision faded into view and the outline of Rufous holding a blackened blade lined in an ominous purple hue took shape. The blade was securely stamped through the instructor's chest with a slathering of scarlet seeping from under him as her adoptive father's eyes turned to her just before she lost consciousness. Nearly a day later Amethyst would wake up with Blanche at her side, in pain from the violent kick she'd sustained to her sternum and the injuries from the battle, but no worse for the wear given the circumstances. Recollecting the events that took place in the depths of her mind a grimace would come to Amethyst's lips as tears slowly rolled down her cheeks lamenting what she had done and in disbelief she'd allowed herself to get to that point. What's more, to make things worse, Rufous would come to pay her a visit a short time later chastising her for her weakness in not having done away with the instructor immediately but rather hesitating, even if only for a brief moment. However, soon enough his chastising words turned to decisive action as he turned on his heel informing her in a cold tone to prepare for the next day and that her next instructor wouldn't be so incompetent. Leaving the room he instructed Blanche to mend her wounds and made it clear that it would be the last time she was to do so unless Amethyst was mortally wounded or her wounds were deemed debilitating, leaving Amethyst to catatonically stare up into the ceiling looking for some shred of hope that still lingered.
Eventually, even though she had gotten little to no sleep that night, Amethyst would come to get up in the morning as usual and go about her routine. She'd skip breakfast and begin studying Arithmetic, Physical Science, and Atlesian Combat Strategies until noon before barely having a semblance of what one might call lunch and finishing out the day with World History and Political Science. Apprehensively afterward she would clean up her studies and begin preparing herself for training that evening by fitting her body with the training gear she'd been given and equipping herself with a practice blade. However, nothing could have prepared her for what she'd be up against when she'd discovered who her new instructor would be. The minute that the arena's door closed behind her Amethyst's heart nearly stopped as she froze like a deer caught in the headlights starring down Rufous's visage at the opposite end of the arena. He said nothing to her as he dug his heels into the dirt and charged toward her pulling his hand over his shoulder to grip the hilt of the same blackened blade that he'd used to kill her former instructor with. In a mere flash he was upon her as her body reacted for her composing itself into a ramshackle state of awareness and narrowly dodging the first heavy downward strike only to find herself scrambling around to catch up as another, and another, came barreling at her. For the moment all that she could do was scramble, dodge, and roll away from his attacks trying to find some opening or some leeway to get a hit in or get her barring at the very least.
That much however was easier said than done as she spent much of the battle avoiding deathblows and lethal environmental hazards only to find herself barely standing at the pre-determined end of the training session. Even then though, Rufous's cold gaze pierced through her sending a chill down her spine as she fell to her knees and he lifted the blackened blade fixating it to his back before leaving without a word. In many ways the training session wasn't a training session at all but rather a survival situation where if she did not fight or dodge she would die or find herself injured to the point of near-death. To that end, Amethyst didn't see the point of it, coming to feel that the next session would surely be the end of her life as terror set in and she sank slowly to the ground in the fetal position before eventually drifting off to sleep. Hours later Amethyst would groggily find herself awakened from her terror induced slumber by way of a soft hand gently caressing her forehead and brushing her raven locks from her face. Eventually her eyes would find their way to another's – Blanche's who had also carried her back to her room after the training session had ended – who smiled down on her with a nervous tinge lining her kindly features. Upon their eyes meeting Blanche asked how Amethyst felt coupling the nervous air in the room with a good measure of concern. Despite noticing this Amethyst replied sheepishly to her inquiries unsure whether to question her or not as Blanche gave her a reassuring smile happy to know the worst injury she'd sustained was a good helping of fear. However, even then Amethyst could tell there was something amiss that Blanche wasn't telling her to what end after a time of idle chatting she'd come to ask Blanche if something was wrong. With that Blanche paused falling silent for a short time before taking a breath and closing her eye and eventually getting to her feet telling Amethyst that she ought to let her rest as she made her way to the door of the bedroom.
Sitting up in the bed as Blanche made her way to the door Amethyst called out to her asking her again as Blanche's hand hovered over the door knob and she stopped in her tracks. Slowly her hand would fall to her side as she turned toward Amethyst and peered at her with a sullen expression before shaking her head to her. Confused, Amethyst shifted herself under her sheets to get out of the bed before Blanche paused her, shushing her moments after, and pulled her hand up once more situating her fingers to snap them before what felt like a shockwave reverberated through the room and an eerie silence fell over them. Letting her hand fall to her side once more Blanche took a different tone relaying to a bewildered Amethyst that the room was secure and that they could talk privately now. Making her way over to Amethyst's bedside, Blanche sat down next to the girl before taking a deep breath and began by telling her that what she had to say was confidential and could not leave the room. Nodding to Blanche meekly, with fear bubbling in the pit of her stomach, the woman continued by telling her that her true name wasn't Blanche Gorman and that she was an undercover operative with the Atlesian military. Her assignment was to gather intelligence on the Dusk organization among other things but in the process of gathering that intelligence she'd come across some else as well. Pausing a moment Blanche then lifted the side of her dress revealing a leg holster as she pulled a scroll out of it, opening it up, and bringing the information up that she wanted to share with Amethyst. Handing the device to Amethyst as she took it Blanche stayed silent as the girl worked her way through it, reading what she had found, before eventually coming to confirm what she was reading by telling her that Aeron wasn't her father. Furthermore, she came to tell Amethyst that his true name in fact was Rufous Kuznetsov, and he was a former Huntsmen who was presumed dead long ago on a botched mission to The Blacklands.
However, the most startling revelation was in fact what came next suggesting that Aeron, or rather Rufous, was responsible for the murders of Airi Homura-Ingram – her real biological mother and a former colleague of Blanche's – and Amethyst herself. Moreover, it suggested a man by the name of Heidelberg Rot von Ingram – presumably her biological father – was by extension in fact framed by Rufous and sentenced to life imprisonment on the orchestrated belief he committed the murders. To that end, having read what she had, Amethyst hovered over the scroll without a word and with her drawn expression masked by the shadows cast by the dim light in the room. An audible gritting of her teeth eked out from behind the shadows as Blanche gently removed the scroll from her hands, folding the device shut, and replacing it in its holster. Clasping her hands around Amethyst's, Blanche felt a droplet of warm water hit her own from behind the veil of shadows as staggered breathing and silent sobs emanated from the little girl. Pulling her hands from Amethyst's Blanche encircled her arms around her patting her back as Amethyst's arms clutched onto Blanche tightly and she let out a bereaved howl into the woman's shoulder. For a long time they would sit like this as Amethyst cried her eyes out weeping from the heart as if hers had been ripped still beating from her chest. In the end, Rufous had taken more from her than just her sense of security and her emotional stability. He had taken her very life and all the light that had once surrounded it.
A while later, after Amethyst had calmed to the point they could speak again, Blanche came to let her in on what this meant for her mission. For now, she was still gathering intelligence but soon she would make her move and would assassinate Rufous to put the Dusk organization in disarray in order to topple them. In doing so she would be able to liberate Amethyst but it would be dangerous and she would need her to be able to fend for herself in the process. With this much said, she gave Amethyst a choice telling her that she could stay a bystander, take her chances with Rufous, and wait until the Atlesian military arrived and liberated her or she could fight and liberate herself. Though, the choice was almost unnecessary as Amethyst resoundingly stated that she would fight and further added that she wanted to be the one to end Rufous's tyranny personally. With that much stated Blanche gave a confident smirk, nodding to her as she went on to comment on how much like her mother she was and agreeing to Amethyst's terms if it was possible when the time came but not guaranteeing her it. However, before they could do anything Amethyst would need to learn how to defend herself well enough – better than she had been able to – in order to defeat Rufous to what end Blanche agreed to train her on the side to prepare her. In doing so Amethyst would come to learn the rudimentary lethal arts of an assassin and Blanche would help Amethyst unlock her aura in order to somewhat bridge the gap between her and Rufous. There was no guarantee it would work, nor that she could handle what Blanche would teach her, but it was a start and would put her at far better odds if anything.
To that end, during the early morning the two of them would make their way down to the mansion's cellar to train using Blanche's semblance to isolate the room and dampen the sound so they wouldn't be caught. The first night there Blanche dedicated to helping Amethyst unlock her aura and though it would come to take far longer than Blanche had expected. At the end of the session however Amethyst would walk away from their training having unlocked her aura but with little knowledge in the way of how to wield it. The mornings proceeding that would clear that much up though allowing Amethyst to wield her aura if only on a basic level as a means of slightly buffering the gaps in her defense and offence, and would signify the start of where Blanche's crash course would begin for Amethyst. That said, over the course of the next year or so until Amethyst was around the age of twelve she would endeavor on her studies by day, gain increasing traction in her fights with Rufous by the evening due to her early morning training, by the early morning she would take on learning advanced combat tactics under Blanche's tutelage with little time to rest in-between. Indeed, it was an exhausting schedule and incredibly straining on Amethyst at times but her goals were far more important to her and a constant driving force pushing her through the nearly sleepless nights. However, even with that driving force behind her fate would once more conspire to strike a low and deafening blow when one day, only a few months after her twelfth birthday, Blanche went missing.
The day that Blanche went missing was like any other day as Amethyst went about her morning and afternoon routines dazed from having been up all night and sleep deprived. Of course, Blanche wasn't anywhere to be seen that day which was unusual but it wasn't uncommon for her to disappear during the afternoons and show up around the evening hours bringing Amethyst to shrug off the coincidence. Although, when she didn't see her before her training session with Rufous she'd begun to worry seeing it as unlike Blanche to not see her off beforehand and wish her luck. Moreover, the atmosphere of the arena felt slightly off when she entered putting Amethyst on her toes as Rufous stepped out in what seemed like a vicious mood dragging the blackened blade – which she had found out later on was named Noire – on the ground by its hilt. Before she could even take off toward him she found Rufous acting strange as he bolted toward her flipping the blade around using the blunt edge of Noire to hike her up into the air before flipping it around and batting her with the flat side of the blade towards the arena wall which she'd subsequently crash into shattering the ceramic tiles that lined it. As a result, split seconds before he had batted her into the wall Amethyst was forced to activate her aura to protect herself from mortal damage taking superficial damage but mitigating deathblows due to her quick thinking. However, in the process she'd been forced to openly show her hand as it were whereas before she'd been strategic enough to use her aura discretely. To this end, Amethyst revealed that her aura had been indeed unlocked without intending to do so bringing Rufous to end the battle preemptively with a sour expression. Moments later he would call for his men to confine Amethyst to her room pending further instructions and keep guard over her door to what end they would forcefully haul her off against her will.
After being hauled off to her room and confined Amethyst spent the next hours pacing back and forth nervously, worried over what might be happening. Eventually the sickening worry turned to full-blown anxiety bringing Amethyst to concoct a haphazard plan to figure out what was happening. While cobbling together the plot she slipped under the frame of her bed with a flashlight in hand using her hands to feel around and open up a loose floorboard where a small gunmetal black dagger sat. Blanch had given it to her months before as a means of defending herself should the need have arisen. It wasn't much but it would be enough to defend herself in a pinch to what end she grabbed the blade and shuffled out from under her bed fastening it under her hoodie behind her waist. Moments later she knocked on her bedroom door until one of Rufous's men opened it and gruffly asked what she wanted to what end she feigned having to use the restroom. Subsequently after a sigh and a slur the two guards began escorting her down the hall to the restroom when she put her plan into motion hoping up one of the guard's backs as she tightly pressed her hand over his mouth to muffle him before stabbing him through the neck and kicking off, landing on the ground with a soft pitter-patter. The man began to thrash a tad which only ended up hastening the process as he crashed to the floor with a thud alerting the other guard which Amethyst had already begun to rush. Before he could call for backup in or draw his weapon though Amethyst had swung around him and had started to stab him several times in the right side of his torso to incapacitate him. Eventually when he staggered and stumbled, falling to the ground, Amethyst landed the final blow kicking him as hard as she could in the head to knock him unconscious before taking pause and staggering off to the side, throwing up after doing the grisly deed. Both men laid dead in her wake and despite having trained for it, having trained to get past her hesitations, nothing would've prepared her for what she had just done. To that end it took her a short while to regain her composure but eventually she did coming to strip one of the guards of his gun and to pop the click to see how many rounds it had in it. Afterward Amethyst took off running down the hall leaving behind the corpses in her wake with the sole intent to get to Rufous's study.
As Amethyst made her way there she came across little to no resistance and the guards that she did come across she was able to slip past easily enough. It told her volumes as to how secure Rufous felt in his own castle as it were giving her the sense that if anything she might have the advantage of underestimation. In time she would eventually make her way to her destination relatively easily coming up on Rufous's study as memories of curiously wondering what went on in that room when she was a child flooded back to her. Though upon entering the room it was nothing like she had expected and nothing could've have prepared for the grisly truth that laid in wait behind the door. In the center of the room there was a chair and on it seemingly sat a corpse chained to the chair whose long white hair mimicked Blanche's both in style and length. Seeing it made Amethyst's heart sink as she closed the study's door behind her coming to apprehensively near it only to confirm her worst fears; it was Blanche. Tears immediately rushed to Amethyst's eyes as shock set in and she dropped to the floor on her knees weeping into Blanche's apron. However, as she sobbed over the seemingly deceased nanny a weak voice coughed and choked out from up above her as Amethyst's eyes shot up gazing at Blanches' kindly and bloodied smile. Amethyst did what anyone would have done in trying to save Blanche but Blanche knew that she was dying, there was no way around it. With that in mind and with the last of her breath Blanche relayed to Amethyst to take her scroll and to flee the mansion to find a man, a General in fact, by the name of Atlan Schwarzenmauer. Though before she could finish and tell Amethyst where to find General Schwarzenmauer she would succumb to her injuries slowly fading as Amethyst begged her not to go.
Amethyst's face contorted into a pained expression and fresh tears slipped down her cheeks as she pulled her hands to her chest and hunched over silently sobbing to herself. She knew she needed to get up, she knew she had to follow Blanche's orders, but the pain of losing another person was so great that she didn't think she had the strength to do it. At least until she'd remembered something that Blanche had told her; after a particularly violent match with Rufous Blanche had told her that when she was in front of the enemy, even if her hands were trembling, to fight for fighting was what it meant to avenge the fallen. Those words, almost long since forgotten, chimed through the annals of her mind urging her to get up and to do what she was trained to do and what she promised not only Blanche she would do, but herself and her deceased parents. She would bring down Rufous if it was the last thing that she did, maybe not that night, maybe not even ten years from then, but she would bring him down and with that firmly planted in her mind she did her best to push on despite the pain. With that much in mind she gingerly went about getting the scroll from Blanche's satchel which fortunately had been undetected because of her dress. Securing the device in her pocket Amethyst got up paying her final respects to her surrogate mother and nanny before turning to walk out the door when she noticed something off to the side of the room held in a cabinet. It was Rufous's blade, Noire, as well as several other armaments of his that he had displayed much like trophies and likely as a means to intimidate those who made their way into that room. Peering at it for a moment, and thinking of all of the horrible things he must have done with it, the gears in Amethyst's mind went to work as her eyebrows furrowed and she made a compulsive decision.
Opening the cabinet she took hold of the rather heavy blade pulling it from where it was situated before gripping the hilt and throwing it over her shoulder, resting it there on its blunt edge. It was weightier than she was used to by far but it was manageable and certainly would be in better hands if she took it with her. With that in mind she resolved herself to flee with it making her way out of the study and into the hall to traverse the rest of the mansion and get away. Carefully Amethyst made her way down the corridor to the stairs where she quietly her way down them as to not alert anyone to her presence. When she was finally on the bottom floor she rounded the corner to the foyer finding a gaggle of Rufous's goons guarding the front entrance with little other way to escape than going out the back which she was sure was equally as guarded. Her only chance was to make a break for it and make things up as she went along even if it would alert the entire estate to what was going on. Knowing that much she readied herself taking a deep breath as she recalled her training before finally making a break for it toward the guards who spotted her the second that she'd made her way out of the hallway.
Pulling the gun up that she'd had cocked and loaded in her left hand she ran at them full speed using her marksmanship training to land both incapacitating and lethal fire on several of the guards who were in the forefront. Meanwhile, with another wave of them coming her way she dodged the first and second one, throwing the gun to the side as she gripped Noire's hilt with her other hand. As the third on came at her she jumped slamming the brunt of the blade down on top of him as it gnawed into his shoulder and down his torso. This much allowed her to use the momentum the weight of the blade had generated to summersault over his body and come down with a diagonal slash that ripped through two more of the guards allowing Amethyst to make a break for the door. Once there she gripped the handle pulling as hard as she could as the door lurched open swinging to the side and she bolted out, zig-zagging across the snowy estate as the guards posted near the outside of the door took off after her. In hot pursuit they fired off round after round at her using dust to underpin their bullets as elementally charged projectiles scraped off of her aura as she ran. Eventually however her luck would run out as a flame infused bullet bored through her already weakened aura shattering it and burning hole straight through her left shoulder, fracturing the upper portion of the bone near the rotator cuff as it exited.
Slowing and falling to her knees on the snowscape before her Amethyst let out a shrill wince in pain closing her eyes hard as she threw Noire down for support to get up. Pushing herself as hard as she could her tiny body lurched forward as she swung Noire over her shoulder and let her lifeless arm dangle proceeding to run as fast as she could. The chill of the night whipped against the wound exacerbating the pain until finally it fell numb as she neared the gate. Once there Amethyst raised Noire using the rest of her strength to try and cut the lock on the gate only to feel a second wind infused bullet shred through her upper thigh causing her to drop to the ground on her stomach clutching to Noire for dear life. Amidst her pain Amethyst's life flashed before her eyes as she shouted expletives into the night refusing to die and refusing to back down. That was at least until finally another shot was fired at point blank from behind her through her chest causing her to gasp for air as the scene around her slowly began to fade. Soon she could only hear muffled sounds and feint wisps color from having lost so much blood as a flurry of black and red swooped around her giving off a distinct warmth unlike any she'd ever felt. Before she could ascertain what it was though, or ascertain whether she was dead or alive, pitch-blackness consumed her world encompassing her whole taking her to what might've been the final stop in her short life.
Nearly two and a half weeks later Amethyst would finally emerge from her deathly slumber with remnants of a fleeting pitch-black dream lingering on her mind. Meanwhile, while waking up she caught sight of an unfamiliar ceiling and a flash of what looked like static impairing her vision for a brief moment before it went away. The sensation was curious and frightening, bringing her to ponder the idea of if she were dead or alive, though the dull ache in the spots where she'd been injured told her otherwise. This much brought her to frantically flick her eyes back and forth to ascertain where she was in fear that she'd been recaptured by the guards and this was some sort of torture chamber. Soon enough though she'd get that answer as a woman, a doctor named Nilima Sarka, walked into the room surprised to see that she was awake and reassuring her that she was safe and that she was in a military hospital in Rift. With that much said Doctor Sarka went to work checking her vitals and whatnot before excusing herself for a moment to grab a nurse. Over the course of the next few minutes they would take out the breathing tube they had put in the night she was admitted and would go over her wounds to see that they were healing correctly. When everything checked out Doctor Sarka introduced herself more formally asking Amethyst various questions as she regained her barring and cleared her sore and scratchy throat.
Meanwhile two men had walked in just as they were finishing up; one was a tall man in an Atlesian military uniform whose left eye was covered by an eyepatch, and the other was an equally lanky man with long blitzing red hair whose wardrobe was elegantly inspired. As they walked in Doctor Sarka paused a moment, clearly annoyed at them for some reason – likely because they'd interrupted them – before introducing the one with the eyepatch as General Atlan Schwarzenmauer and the other red haired man as the Huntsmen Cinereous Hargrave. Evidently they were here to speak with Amethyst but were a tad early which had apparently earned them Doctor Sarka's scorn as a result. Although none of that mattered to Amethyst as she nearly jumped out of her bed before they could even start asking where the scroll she'd had in her pocket was and insisting that she needed to give it to the General. However, Doctor Sarka reigned her in telling her that when Cinereous brought her in they'd found the scroll and learned of its contents. As a result they'd already since handed it over to the General to what end Amethyst's attention shifted to the red haired man as if to size him up before telling him to keep out of her belongings adding in her reluctant thanks at the end. Chuckling to himself at the scene that unfolded, the General intervened at that point stating that since all of that had been cleared up her wished to speak with Amethyst and Cinereous alone. To that end he requested that Doctor Sarka leave the room who seemed to give a condescending salute to them all before leaving and telling them to call her if they needed her.
After the door had closed the General gave a kindly smile toward Amethyst from under his moustache making his way closer as Cinereous sat on the chair beside her bed. Soon enough the General began to explain just why they were there amidst thanking her for what she'd helped do and asking what had happened to Blanche. Safe to say they were both sorry to hear of her fate but both knew she was aware of she'd signed up for and that Blanche had given her life for a good cause considering the information they were able to attain. Though it hadn't been the lynchpin they would have hoped for, nor was it enough to bring Rufous down immediately, it was much more than they'd started with and in the process she'd uncovered some startling facts to boot. Among which confirmed their suspicions from just over ten years earlier about Heidelberg's involvement in Airi's and Amethyst's murders. Furthermore, she'd been able to uncover Amethyst's whereabouts not to mention train her to the extent she had under such hostile conditions. It was quite impressive and something that the General assured Amethyst that would not go to waste depending on what her choice was. However, that brought the General to why they were there as he relinquished the floor to Cinereous who chimed in turning his attention to Amethyst. Being a man of few words Cinereous got right to the point saying that he'd seen a portion of her battle with the guards before he'd intervened among reading Blanche's notes that were enclosed in the scroll on her progress, and he was impressed. It was raw, and she was still just a bean sprout as he put it, but she had potential and should she have wanted to hone what she knew thus far he would pull some strings to get her into Vytal Academy's Underclass when she came of age for it. It was the least that they could offer her with what she had been able to pull off and at such a young age at that.
Needless to say the offer was unexpected causing Amethyst to take pause to think on it and what they were offering. It was a lot to process given what she had been through having just woken up from a near fatal encounter but at the same time it was also something that piqued her interest. She'd never considered the possibility of becoming a Huntress having always thought, and having always been lead to think at that, that she would succeed Rufous as the leader of the Dusk organization; at least should she have survived being his punching bag. To this end she didn't quite know how to respond but she wasn't against it and came to reply by asking more questions about what it would entail and mean. From what she got she would be inducted into Vytal Academy's underclass when she was thirteen and she would be put through preparation courses to graduate to the upper class at sixteen. In total she would spend eight years of her life training there and by the age of twenty would become a full-fledged Huntress. However, in the interim before she started her studies at Vytal Academy and during her breaks, should she choose to spend them with him, she would be living with and being trained by Cinereous as her guardian and mentor until she was eighteen. Ultimately though it was her choice whether she wanted to do it or not and should she choose to not she would be placed under protective custody all the same in order to protect her from Rufous and the Dusk organization.
With that in mind Amethyst paused once more thinking on the possibilities and what she wanted to do with her life now. The idea of leaving behind fighting for good was tantalizing of course but at the same time she knew that was not an option and there was no guarantee that the military would always be able to protect her. Moreover, she had to think about everyone who had sacrificed their lives up to this point to get her to where she was. When she thought of it that way the decision almost trivial; while she may have started out an innocent little girl she had been thrust into being a warrior by the same man who wrought so much death and destruction in her life. In order to reciprocate that favor, and in order to take vengeance for those whom he had slain, she needed to do this; there was no running from it. Knowing that she finally addressed both men telling them her decision and accepting their offer to what end the General in particular seemed quite pleased coming to tell her that she'd do her parents proud. That much would spur on the discussion on how this would all go down after she was released from the hospital followed by both men bidding her farewell until they met again and allowing back in a rather annoyed Doctor Sarka.
After that meeting Amethyst would spend the next two months in the hospital undergoing surgery for her shoulder and later on physical therapy to get her up and mobile once more. Once she was cleared to leave the hospital Cinereous took custody of her and they would begin their journey back to his apartment in Legion where she'd stay until her enrollment and train under Cinereous. On the way there the two didn't speak much aside from the idle chit-chat every now and again; things like how she was doing, if she were hungry, and the like. Amethyst wasn't one for talking and Cinereous was more content getting drunk and womanizing everything that he laid his eyes on making the pair rather disjointed at the time. Even when they finally made it to his apartment and Amethyst got settled it wasn't until she found a picture of him and three others – including a boy who resembled Rufous – that they finally started getting to know one another. Evidently, the picture was of Cinereous's team when he was in Vytal Academy; Team CHAR. The boy on the far left of the picture was him, of course, the boy next to him was her father Heidelberg, the girl next to him was her mother Airi, and the boy on the far right was in fact Rufous himself. Needless to say the revelation that Rufous was on the same team as her parents when they were younger was a shock but putting it aside she found a sense of comfort in seeing her parents all the same. So much so that a small smile had formed on her lips bringing a smirk to Cinereous's as he took the picture, tore off the part with Rufous in it, and handed it to her telling her it was hers to keep. Of course, Amethyst didn't know how to react to the gesture but her appreciation was evident in that it would be the start of a bond between the two that would lot them together as an – albeit dysfunctional – family.
In the proceeding months Amethyst would come to train under Cinereous using Noire in exercises designed to get her back into the swing of combat. It was hard after having been in the hospital for so long but she would take to it like riding a bike before long, regaining her barring much faster than she'd expected. Though at the same time that much could be attributed to the style of training which felt much more akin to a game rather than a daunting struggle like it was with Rufous. There was an air of competition between the two of them as they sparred which complimented the task well ushering Amethyst to further herself and attempt things that she hadn’t in the past. It felt as if even though she had been taught all of these things in the past she was learning more with Cinereous in the little time they had together leading her to believe it wasn't the training but the method under which she was trained in the past. Moreover, the stakes in the training weren't nearly as high with the worst outcome as the loser being having to do the chores around the house that night; a far cry from debilitating injury or death to be sure. All in all, it was fun and a challenge unlike anything she'd ever experienced and one that taught her lessons but didn't try to teach her a lesson. However, as it were, even though it was fun and she felt she was learning more than she ever had Amethyst knew it wouldn't last too much longer with her enrollment date closing in. To that end she did her best to make the most of the time she had with Cinereous coming to further forge the connection that they shared in the process. That being the case when the day did come that they had to part she and Cinereous found themselves bidding one another goodbye in their own ways, trading jabs calm their nerves as Cinereous wished her luck just before they parted.
It was a solemn goodbye as she and Cinereous parted but one that they both knew would lead to great things for Amethyst's future as she ventured into Vytal Academy's auditorium for the first time for the underclass enrollment ceremony. From there, aside from the Headmaster's longwinded speech, things seemed to go rather smoothly from thereon out. It seemed that most of what the underclass studies taught Amethyst already knew from prior training but they did fill in the blanks on a few subjects that she was lacking in. Furthermore, it filled in the gaps for her tactically with formal combat training as well as training in the use of her aura and dust which she took a distinct interest in early on coming to learn of Noire's dust capabilities during that time. To that end, by the end of the first year in the underclass any rough edges that Amethyst had in regards to her skills would be well on their way to being smoothed out. This much would help pave the way for her to both learn and hone them throughout the consecutive years that followed until her first year as a freshmen at Vytal Academy.
Moreover, during that time while Amethyst was learning to hone her abilities she'd matured from the thirteen year old who entered Vytal Academy's underclass into a young lady whose skill was simply a facet of what made her so alluring. Though, this much also caught Amethyst her fair share of attention as well as some friends despite her standoffish disposition most times, but not unwantedly so. In fact, despite all that had happened Amethyst had found herself flourishing here in ways that she never had before and coming out of her shell. She was working and getting along with people, smiling which she had rarely done before then, and was building a life for herself against all of the odds. From a bystanders viewpoint it was an incredible amount of personal growth and something that made Cinereous decide it was time to past on a trinket to Amethyst upon her graduation to her freshmen year.
Finally, after four years in the underclass Amethyst found herself at the entrance ceremony for her freshmen year with a new addition to her arsenal in tow; a flintlock gun named Aveline. It wasn't much in the way of an offense but it had been passed down in her father's family for generations, ending up in Cinereous's hands after her father was incarcerated. To that end it held a certain sentimental value bringing Amethyst to decide to put the old gun to use as a tool and do the Ingram name and Cinereous proud with it once more. Given that it was her freshmen year she was more than sure she would find a use for it which in time she did as she made her way through the next years. In fact, during this time going into her sophomore year Amethyst not only broadened herself tactically but she broadened her knowledge immensely coming to further hone and temper her skills as well as realizing the nature of her Semblance in the process. It was a time when Amethyst made great strides and a time that would continue until this very day during her junior year at Vytal Academy when her story starts with little more than daily rigmarole and personal growth in-between. Although, even though she may have matured and the years have changed her priorities Amethyst's goals have remained steadfast from the day she learned of her parents fate to the day she endeavored in on becoming a Huntress. While she may have friends and a semblance of a life now a day will come when her goal will be within her grasp, and on that day she will seize it. To avenge those who laid down their lives for her she feels it is not only the least she could do but her duty. Where that will take her, and where she will end up, no one can rightfully say but this is where that journey begins and where the ashes of Amethyst's despair will rise seeking out the embers of Rufous's accursed existence wherever it may be…
★ COMBAT NOTES
WEAPONS
- Noire: <Noire> is the reinforced long sword that Amethyst stole from her adoptive father Rufous when she fled from his mansion. The weapon itself is top of the line having been painstakingly designed by Rufous himself as a means to assert his status and iron-clad dominance over the cartel. While far more simplistic than most weapons of the current era it does boast some rather unique features that make it a lethal force to be reckoned with in the right hands as well as a sight to see. Among these features is its meticulously crafted form which nests a replaceable sixty centimeter – or rather a twenty-three and a half inch – razor sharp gunmetal black blade between two outer layers of armoring that run along the spine of the blade. Furthermore, aside from its blade, it boasts a top loading dust cartridge chamber where the guard of the blade would normally be. In conjunction with loading dust into its chamber Noire also has various fiber optic lightning arrays situated along the length of the blade that will indicate what type of dust is loaded in the chamber by color. However, and perhaps the most curious feature of Noire's, is that it also has a small panel on the side of the blade where a secondary dust cartridge can be loaded into it. So far loading all types commercially available dust has proven ineffective on the blade leading Noire to automatically eject the dust cartridge from the chamber upon activation. To this end it has been hypothesized by Amethyst that the chamber may be engineered specifically for spiritual dust though it hasn’t been proven either way. However, if that is the case it leads one to assume that the blade may be able to mix other types of dust with spiritual dust for varying effects though it would be cautioned against surely.
This being the case, needless to say Noire is quite the work of ingenuity but it does have its drawbacks. For instance, it should be noted that the weight of the blade it's a fair bit heavier than a typical sword due to the armored exterior. This much makes hairpin maneuvers difficult if not impossible to pull off and often could result in injury to Amethyst herself including muscle tears and joint dislocation should she try. This weapon is also fatiguing to use in high pitch long-drawn combat, again because of its weight, making drag-out down and dirty fights less ideal while using it. Furthermore, as with all swords – unless she is using dust this for medium ranged assaults – Noire is limited to a close quarters assaults bringing Amethyst to have to get up close and personal with her opponents which could potentially put her in danger. Though while those drawbacks are substantial at times in Amethyst's eyes they are negligible in comparison to the risk of not using it and letting Rufous reclaim it.
MISC.
- Aveline: <Aveline> is an old and rather ornate flintlock pistol that was given to Amethyst upon graduating to her freshmen year at Vytal Academy as a gift from her mentor, and the Huntsmen who recruited her into Vytal Academy, Cinereous Hargrave. It evidently was passed down through the generations in her biological father's family ending up in his hands when her father was stripped over his rank at the academy. The weapon itself isn't much but it packs enough of a punch to riposte an enemy long enough to land a killing block. With this in mind, and for sentimental reasons, Amethyst keeps it loaded with one bullet at all times and on her person. However, it should be noted that it is a single use weapon and should she miss she will not get a second shot.
- Dust: Amethyst carries two full yield cartridges of each type of dust in crystal form with her at all times. In addition to this, she has been known to keep one or two vials of powder form dust on her of varying types in the event she may need them. Regardless of what type of dust she is carrying though she contains the cartridges or vials in a leg holster designed to house them. Knowing dusts' volatile nature first have from having been around it most of her life she tends to take extra precaution with it.
- Armor: Generally Amethyst doesn't wear much in the way of armor going into battle feeling it's cumbersome. However, she has been seen with iron-black armored gauntlets that reach all the way upper arms in order to protect them from a mishap. In addition to this her cloak has an inner lining of chainmail crafted from ultra-light and ultra-dense interconnected microlattice ringlets. While neither beat the protection an aura might give and individual each piece is an extra layer of protection that could potentially be lifesaving in a pinch.
Amethyst's aura much like her semblance is difficult to describe best being represented in its blue-violet coloring, its reluctant ambiance, and the curious passive blue-violet ember-like flitters of light that seem to trail behind Amethyst when it is active in conjunction with her semblance. No doubt it is a warm and playful aura that seems to spark to life in certain situations but it is distinctly introverted as well, making getting to that point difficult, and even then one might never see it come entirely out of its shell. Though calling it shy might not be the best word to describe it either since her aura comes off as fiery often times having a level of moxie that is almost in spite of itself. No, one might best describe it in one word as fickle often changing its face depending on the situation but seeming as if to stick to that staunchly introverted atmosphere it has always displayed. At any rate, Amethyst's aura seems to portray her core values well, being both excitable and well-intended, but at the same time very uncertain deep down.
- Defensive Enhancement: Amethyst's Aura is rather adept at defending her all things considered with its demeanor and taking into account the nature of her semblance. Like most auras that have transcended to this ability it can erect a barrier to protect Amethyst, functioning to negate most damage aside from superficial wounds at a rather minimal cost of one to five aura points depending on how hard the hit was. However, unlike most Amethyst has learned to temporarily intensify this barrier and expand it up to three feet around her at the cost of twenty-five aura points in order to create a bulwark of sorts. This much allows her to negate both damage and inertial forces at the same time, potentially halting any oncoming blows or projectiles and possibly doing five points of damage to their aura depending on the situation and if they made physical contact with her aura. That said though, even though Amethyst is quite adept at using this ability, depending on how she uses it her defensive measures can easily drain her aura early on in the stages of high-pitched combat. To that end, it makes using them wisely and watching her aura levels that much more important on an average basis.
- Offensive Enhancement: Though learning this technique didn't come easy, after training one on one with Cinereous in her second year at Vytal Academy, Amethyst was able to pin down the gist of it. Certainly her skills are still developing but with it she is able to resonate her aura through any given object – such as Noire or Aveline – and store it inside of that object, releasing the pent up energy when it or its projectiles come in contact with the target. The force is enough to add a zing to her blows at any rate giving her a slight advantage whereas she had none offensively besides her raw skills at first. That said, and because she is still honing this ability, she will expend five aura points per time this ability is activated and it will do ten points of aura damage to her opponent upon connecting with them or their aura.
- Mending: Mending is one of the more recent skills that Amethyst picked up at Vytal Academy given her past with near death experiences and having seen what combat she has so far as a student. Though it wasn't particularly something she was interested in she seemed to have a knack for it without putting much effort into it. That much being the case it became a de facto ability for her to learn feeling that if anything she might be able to help others from time to time with it. To this end, to use this ability she will expend anywhere from five to fifteen aura points depending on how bad their injuries are. It should be said however that mortal wounds might not as easily be healed and may take up to twenty-five aura points to just stabilize enough to allow for emergency medical services to arrive, and even then there is no guarantee.
PARADISE LOST
Though the ability itself is difficult to explain properly in scientific terms, upon activation of Amethyst's semblance she is able to channel her aura directly to specific portions of her brain; particularly the frontal lobe and the occipital lobe. Tangentially, though it is unknown why this happens, Amethyst's eyes will begin to glow an ethereal blue color when her semblance has been activated as if her aura was being transposed over her irises. In any case, upon activating her semblance the portions of her brain that have been stimulated seem to work in tandem with her visual centers as a means of perceiving concepts that are normally defined as non-existent forces such as, for instance, death. In perceiving these concepts mentally Amethyst is able to actualize them and often give them visual form which generally appears to her as zigzagging lines that span the object much like geographic ley lines. Upon interrupting these lines, even without using a tool to cut them with as it were, Amethyst can "kill" the said concept be it a being, an object, or otherwise perceivably living thing rendering them inert. However, "killing" a concept doesn't necessarily mean that simply by interrupting that concepts lines that its life and all things connected to its life will be forfeit. In fact, Amethyst can interrupt certain lines without killing her target in the literal sense such as, for instance, if she wanted to disable a foe she could interrupt the lines in one of their limbs rendering it "dead" or rather defunct. This is because each individual thing in the world has a concept, or point of origin, thus she can mitigate what individual concept she is perceiving and by extension what concept she is targeting to kill. This much allows Amethyst to accurately perceive and kill concepts without harming the entirety of the being they are attached to or associated with.
However, such an abstract and powerful ability comes with great drawbacks which first and foremost hits Amethyst's aura the hardest. By using Paradise Lost Amethyst will automatically sacrifice half – or rather fifty percent – of her base aura pool and twenty-five points of her aura after that every post that her semblance is active. In addition to this, using the ability for an elongated period is exhausting which will cause her to experience notable fatigue on the battlefield and could potentially lead to poor choices in judgement should she over-extend herself. Furthermore, and possibly one of the heaviest drawbacks, is that in using this ability she must make physical contact with the concept's line by way of touching the line or using a tool to cut through it. For her semblance to actualize its death physically there must be some sort catalyst or linkage between her and the concept. That said, firing a bullet at the lines or throwing an object at the lines will not create that linkage between her semblance and the concept, and thus it will not have an effect. This means that she must risk getting up close and personal to land decisive blows often times exponentially heightening the peril in using it despite its lofty advantages. Moreover, Amethyst cannot directly affect a being who is using an aura as a means to defend themselves but can attack the aura directly by interrupting the aura's lines and dealing damage equal to the amount of her base aura pool to her opponent's aura. This much allows her to break through her opponents defenses in some cases but still allows them a small cushion of protection in which they can escape or potentially mount a counter assault. This being the case, one might say that to use such an ability one must be prepared for the harsh reality that sacrifices work both ways and that she could easily wind up being the sacrificial lamb to the slaughter.
WEAPONS
- Noire: <Noire> is the reinforced long sword that Amethyst stole from her adoptive father Rufous when she fled from his mansion. The weapon itself is top of the line having been painstakingly designed by Rufous himself as a means to assert his status and iron-clad dominance over the cartel. While far more simplistic than most weapons of the current era it does boast some rather unique features that make it a lethal force to be reckoned with in the right hands as well as a sight to see. Among these features is its meticulously crafted form which nests a replaceable sixty centimeter – or rather a twenty-three and a half inch – razor sharp gunmetal black blade between two outer layers of armoring that run along the spine of the blade. Furthermore, aside from its blade, it boasts a top loading dust cartridge chamber where the guard of the blade would normally be. In conjunction with loading dust into its chamber Noire also has various fiber optic lightning arrays situated along the length of the blade that will indicate what type of dust is loaded in the chamber by color. However, and perhaps the most curious feature of Noire's, is that it also has a small panel on the side of the blade where a secondary dust cartridge can be loaded into it. So far loading all types commercially available dust has proven ineffective on the blade leading Noire to automatically eject the dust cartridge from the chamber upon activation. To this end it has been hypothesized by Amethyst that the chamber may be engineered specifically for spiritual dust though it hasn’t been proven either way. However, if that is the case it leads one to assume that the blade may be able to mix other types of dust with spiritual dust for varying effects though it would be cautioned against surely.
This being the case, needless to say Noire is quite the work of ingenuity but it does have its drawbacks. For instance, it should be noted that the weight of the blade it's a fair bit heavier than a typical sword due to the armored exterior. This much makes hairpin maneuvers difficult if not impossible to pull off and often could result in injury to Amethyst herself including muscle tears and joint dislocation should she try. This weapon is also fatiguing to use in high pitch long-drawn combat, again because of its weight, making drag-out down and dirty fights less ideal while using it. Furthermore, as with all swords – unless she is using dust this for medium ranged assaults – Noire is limited to a close quarters assaults bringing Amethyst to have to get up close and personal with her opponents which could potentially put her in danger. Though while those drawbacks are substantial at times in Amethyst's eyes they are negligible in comparison to the risk of not using it and letting Rufous reclaim it.
MISC.
- Aveline: <Aveline> is an old and rather ornate flintlock pistol that was given to Amethyst upon graduating to her freshmen year at Vytal Academy as a gift from her mentor, and the Huntsmen who recruited her into Vytal Academy, Cinereous Hargrave. It evidently was passed down through the generations in her biological father's family ending up in his hands when her father was stripped over his rank at the academy. The weapon itself isn't much but it packs enough of a punch to riposte an enemy long enough to land a killing block. With this in mind, and for sentimental reasons, Amethyst keeps it loaded with one bullet at all times and on her person. However, it should be noted that it is a single use weapon and should she miss she will not get a second shot.
- Dust: Amethyst carries two full yield cartridges of each type of dust in crystal form with her at all times. In addition to this, she has been known to keep one or two vials of powder form dust on her of varying types in the event she may need them. Regardless of what type of dust she is carrying though she contains the cartridges or vials in a leg holster designed to house them. Knowing dusts' volatile nature first have from having been around it most of her life she tends to take extra precaution with it.
- Armor: Generally Amethyst doesn't wear much in the way of armor going into battle feeling it's cumbersome. However, she has been seen with iron-black armored gauntlets that reach all the way upper arms in order to protect them from a mishap. In addition to this her cloak has an inner lining of chainmail crafted from ultra-light and ultra-dense interconnected microlattice ringlets. While neither beat the protection an aura might give and individual each piece is an extra layer of protection that could potentially be lifesaving in a pinch.
AURA
Amethyst's aura much like her semblance is difficult to describe best being represented in its blue-violet coloring, its reluctant ambiance, and the curious passive blue-violet ember-like flitters of light that seem to trail behind Amethyst when it is active in conjunction with her semblance. No doubt it is a warm and playful aura that seems to spark to life in certain situations but it is distinctly introverted as well, making getting to that point difficult, and even then one might never see it come entirely out of its shell. Though calling it shy might not be the best word to describe it either since her aura comes off as fiery often times having a level of moxie that is almost in spite of itself. No, one might best describe it in one word as fickle often changing its face depending on the situation but seeming as if to stick to that staunchly introverted atmosphere it has always displayed. At any rate, Amethyst's aura seems to portray her core values well, being both excitable and well-intended, but at the same time very uncertain deep down.
- Defensive Enhancement: Amethyst's Aura is rather adept at defending her all things considered with its demeanor and taking into account the nature of her semblance. Like most auras that have transcended to this ability it can erect a barrier to protect Amethyst, functioning to negate most damage aside from superficial wounds at a rather minimal cost of one to five aura points depending on how hard the hit was. However, unlike most Amethyst has learned to temporarily intensify this barrier and expand it up to three feet around her at the cost of twenty-five aura points in order to create a bulwark of sorts. This much allows her to negate both damage and inertial forces at the same time, potentially halting any oncoming blows or projectiles and possibly doing five points of damage to their aura depending on the situation and if they made physical contact with her aura. That said though, even though Amethyst is quite adept at using this ability, depending on how she uses it her defensive measures can easily drain her aura early on in the stages of high-pitched combat. To that end, it makes using them wisely and watching her aura levels that much more important on an average basis.
- Offensive Enhancement: Though learning this technique didn't come easy, after training one on one with Cinereous in her second year at Vytal Academy, Amethyst was able to pin down the gist of it. Certainly her skills are still developing but with it she is able to resonate her aura through any given object – such as Noire or Aveline – and store it inside of that object, releasing the pent up energy when it or its projectiles come in contact with the target. The force is enough to add a zing to her blows at any rate giving her a slight advantage whereas she had none offensively besides her raw skills at first. That said, and because she is still honing this ability, she will expend five aura points per time this ability is activated and it will do ten points of aura damage to her opponent upon connecting with them or their aura.
- Mending: Mending is one of the more recent skills that Amethyst picked up at Vytal Academy given her past with near death experiences and having seen what combat she has so far as a student. Though it wasn't particularly something she was interested in she seemed to have a knack for it without putting much effort into it. That much being the case it became a de facto ability for her to learn feeling that if anything she might be able to help others from time to time with it. To this end, to use this ability she will expend anywhere from five to fifteen aura points depending on how bad their injuries are. It should be said however that mortal wounds might not as easily be healed and may take up to twenty-five aura points to just stabilize enough to allow for emergency medical services to arrive, and even then there is no guarantee.
SEMBLANCE
PARADISE LOST
Though the ability itself is difficult to explain properly in scientific terms, upon activation of Amethyst's semblance she is able to channel her aura directly to specific portions of her brain; particularly the frontal lobe and the occipital lobe. Tangentially, though it is unknown why this happens, Amethyst's eyes will begin to glow an ethereal blue color when her semblance has been activated as if her aura was being transposed over her irises. In any case, upon activating her semblance the portions of her brain that have been stimulated seem to work in tandem with her visual centers as a means of perceiving concepts that are normally defined as non-existent forces such as, for instance, death. In perceiving these concepts mentally Amethyst is able to actualize them and often give them visual form which generally appears to her as zigzagging lines that span the object much like geographic ley lines. Upon interrupting these lines, even without using a tool to cut them with as it were, Amethyst can "kill" the said concept be it a being, an object, or otherwise perceivably living thing rendering them inert. However, "killing" a concept doesn't necessarily mean that simply by interrupting that concepts lines that its life and all things connected to its life will be forfeit. In fact, Amethyst can interrupt certain lines without killing her target in the literal sense such as, for instance, if she wanted to disable a foe she could interrupt the lines in one of their limbs rendering it "dead" or rather defunct. This is because each individual thing in the world has a concept, or point of origin, thus she can mitigate what individual concept she is perceiving and by extension what concept she is targeting to kill. This much allows Amethyst to accurately perceive and kill concepts without harming the entirety of the being they are attached to or associated with.
However, such an abstract and powerful ability comes with great drawbacks which first and foremost hits Amethyst's aura the hardest. By using Paradise Lost Amethyst will automatically sacrifice half – or rather fifty percent – of her base aura pool and twenty-five points of her aura after that every post that her semblance is active. In addition to this, using the ability for an elongated period is exhausting which will cause her to experience notable fatigue on the battlefield and could potentially lead to poor choices in judgement should she over-extend herself. Furthermore, and possibly one of the heaviest drawbacks, is that in using this ability she must make physical contact with the concept's line by way of touching the line or using a tool to cut through it. For her semblance to actualize its death physically there must be some sort catalyst or linkage between her and the concept. That said, firing a bullet at the lines or throwing an object at the lines will not create that linkage between her semblance and the concept, and thus it will not have an effect. This means that she must risk getting up close and personal to land decisive blows often times exponentially heightening the peril in using it despite its lofty advantages. Moreover, Amethyst cannot directly affect a being who is using an aura as a means to defend themselves but can attack the aura directly by interrupting the aura's lines and dealing damage equal to the amount of her base aura pool to her opponent's aura. This much allows her to break through her opponents defenses in some cases but still allows them a small cushion of protection in which they can escape or potentially mount a counter assault. This being the case, one might say that to use such an ability one must be prepared for the harsh reality that sacrifices work both ways and that she could easily wind up being the sacrificial lamb to the slaughter.
AURA POINTS: 150
PIXIV FANTASIA T, Paradise as Amethyst Ingram PLAYED BY KUROSASHIKO
coded by electric of gangnam style
