Thornshield
History
In a plane of existence unreachable from ours, there was a prosperous kingdom known as Lazaroth, which was protected by its army of knights. These were not your usual armour-clad, horse-riding knights mind you, but ones who succeeded in harnessing their innate energies (a practice called aura manipulation) and used them effectively in combat.
It was in this kingdom that Thornshield was born into, as an only child of a noble family. As it was common practice for families to send their children to the Capital for training in hopes they were gifted in aura manipulation, Thorn was sent as soon as he reached the first of his teenage years. Thankfully for his parents (families with such children were rewarded handsomely as it’s rare that the child would return to a normal, mundane life), he had a knack for it, and was soon enlisted into the barracks to undergo training to be a knight. In case you’re wondering, children who did not possess this skill could still train to be a soldier, archer or even a mage, but that’s another story. Thorn was assigned to his mentor, a veteran knight who acted like a father figure to him, and began his basic training which involved everything from swordsmanship to blacksmithing and of course, aura manipulation.
Thorn grew up with a strong sense of discipline and honour, thanks to the strict regime, but in a sense was rather one-dimensional. However, that changed when he met Sygon Blackmist, a mage-in-training who happened to be related to the King. This was around the age of sixteen, and the two became close friends, with Sygon’s easy-going nature rubbing off on Thorn. It was also around this time that Thorn was introduced to the pleasures of mingling with the opposite sex, which thankfully was allowed by the knights.
Anyway, before we get sidetracked by their ‘exploits’, we return to his history. When the knight-in-training finally turned eighteen, he was knighted and dubbed Sir Thornshield. Yes, that’s right; Thorn wasn’t his real name as all Lazarothian Knights are named after their aura, which differs from person to person. Thorn’s particular aura took the form of dark green energy which swirled about his body in its raw form, and he had the knack of using it defensively as a barrier from attacks that damaged the attacker at the same time. You may ask, what’s his real name then? Well, it’s something that even he has forgotten due to him living for so long, but rest assured, it’s not worth knowing.
So, as a knight, Thorn carried out his duties with great efficiency and was promoted rapidly as he proved his worth. By the age of twenty-one, he was a trusted advisor among the King’s personal guard (probably thanks to the good word Sygon put in for his friend) and it was during this period that his life was about to change drastically. Rather than going deep in explanation, let’s say that there was a race of planar-hopping mages that were close allies with the kingdom, and lived in a hollow mountain on the Lazarothian borders. While seemingly harmless, they had a knack for being able to produce magical items that enabled the user to planeswalk, i.e. travelling to another plane of existence. However, these items were meant for individual use, and they were researching a mass teleportation device within their mountainous home.
But as fate would have it, disaster struck. When they tested out their completed device, a tremendous explosion shook the land, the epicentre being their home itself. A regiment of footmen and knights were immediately sent out to find out what had happened. When they entered the cavernous mountain, they were greeted with the stuff of nightmares. The entire race of mages had been massacred by hideous demons, their blood still fresh on the monstrosity’s claws and horns. Where the device once stood, was now a gaping dimensional rift, with more demons crawling out of it every minute. The Lazarothians tried to stand their ground and attack the obviously hostile invaders, but it seemed like ordinary weapons could not even cut into their hides, and only enchanted or magical ones worked. And even then those weapons weakened with each strike, eventually shattering to pieces.
Only a few survived and managed to retreat to the capital, and when the news reached the King, an emergency council was held. During the discussions, it seemed like all they could do was have the mages and smiths work incredibly hard to produce weapons that could fight the demons, until Sygon, who was now a fully fledged mage, suggested an alternative plan. This plan involved entrusting Thorn with the Sceptre of Shifting, one of the relics of the now-extinct race that enabled its user to planeswalk. With this, Thorn was to embark on a quest to find new materials and crafting components for stronger weapons that would not break after several uses against the invaders. The reason he was chosen specifically for this was that Thorn was one of the few knights who had great talent in smith work, and the Head Warsmith once commented that Thorn could very-well succeed him if he wasn’t a knight first and foremost.
The King agreed to this plan, and so Thorn set out on the quest, accompanied by Sygon who somehow possessed another relic too. To cut a long story short, he succeeded, and finally, the demons were driven out. But this victory was not as sweet as it should be, for it took a very long time (more than a century). How Thorn lived throughout those years was a mystery to most, but some say it was due to his frequent shifts from plane to plane, time was unable to catch up to him and thus causing him to age very slowly. It was throughout these years that Thorn developed into the character he is today, and to go into detail would take up several novels due to his lengthy experiences, (one of which was meeting Maverick and forging her the Terrorblade). And finally, as he has grown weary of the war, Thorn works as a smith, donning his armour only in times of need.
Personality
Thornshield is commonly said to be a friendly and caring person with an air of charisma about him, frequently causing him to stand out in any society. While he has been known to be a great lover, he is in no way a womaniser, as he treats them with respect and is a complete gentleman. True to his profession as a knight, he has a strong sense of honour and courage, though he isn’t as uptight as some knights are. In fact, he’s willing to bend the rules and close an eye at times, though if it conflicts with his feelings he would stand up against it. However, after working as a smith for many years, Thorn shifted from a lawful person to that of neutrality, and like most smiths, would be willing to forge a weapon even if the person might use it for ill-intent. His reasoning is that the struggle between good and evil is endless, and he should not bother with it and instead strive to reach perfection in his work. This view of his has caused him endless debate among his friends, who tend to be on the side of good.
Another strong point of his personality is his ability to keep calm in most situations. Rather than rushing headlong into anything, he analyses the situation first, and wouldn’t be afraid to retreat if it looks bad. However, occasionally his emotions can get the better of him, especially when it involves a close friend. In this case, he loses his cool and may lead to rash actions. His solution to this is not by learning how to control his emotions, but by not allowing himself to develop too many close attachments. As such, while he may be a friend to all, he has few close friends (Sygon’s one of them, and yes, he too had developed the same immortality like Thorn from planeswalking). On top of that, he’s rather a fashionable fellow, as you would find out in a later section.
Now, Thorn is merely human, so he isn’t without faults. This was made apparent during an incident where he was struck by a magical curse, which magnified all the bad characteristics lurking in his soul, turning him into a bloodthirsty, killing machine (now this wouldn’t have happened if he was as pure and righteous as most knights should be). While he did manage to purge the curse from himself eventually, it did lead to the creation of Burzurk, which could be considered his alter-ego in a tangible form. Details of how that happened and who Burzurk is can be found here.
Appearance (Click picture for more references)
The first thing that most people notice about Thorn is his bulk, thanks to his broad shoulders and muscular frame. As he exudes an air of confidence about him, he looks taller than his actual height of six feet.
Mature and rugged looking (but not exceptionally handsome), Thorn has a pleasant and friendly face to look at, with black eyes that are filled with warmth. However, when he activates his aura his eyes glow green, and he drops into a stern [removed](a habit caused by the concentration needed).
Thorn sports short and spiky black hair that’s often windswept and messy. His skin has a healthy tan (imagine bronze gods) and is well built from fighting and hard work as a smith.
If he is going to battle, he is always armoured, with him being most comfortable in full plate. However, as a smith, he forges new armour sets and tries them on, so he may appear on a battlefield wielding various weapons and clad in new outfits.
A typical set of armour might look like this; with the tabard’s pattern being changed often (it’s like a tie in modern days!)
When times are peaceful, he is usually clad in his smith's clothing when at the armoury, or in clothes fitting the nobility, usually with a cloak. In any case, his preferred colours are green, earthen tones and monotones.
Thorn`s-Edge is a long sword that is almost 4 feet long from the tip of the blade to the pommel. It can be wielded with one hand or two when force is needed. It is usually sheathed in a scabbard slung behind Thorn's back. It is his primary weapon and when entering life-threatening situations, it is the weapon he would inevitably rely on.
However, he is proficient in other styles of combat and as mentioned before, would test out all weapons that he makes. However, as a knight, he tries not to rely on ranged weapons like bows, for a true warrior lives and dies by the sword.
While he would always be found carrying this weapon, it is known that Thorn’s-Edge is not indestructible, and has in fact been broken or shattered several times throughout his life. However, Thorn would always re-forge it, slightly altering its design and always optimising it. It serves as a reminder of his continuous growth over the years and this is reflected in the sword.
Abilities
Like most knights of Lazaroth, Thorn is an adept aura manipulator, being able to use it for both offence and defence. A common skill of his would be to summon the energies in one hand, before hurtling it out at enemies as a shower of spikes. Also, when he needs to give his attacks an added kick, he can coat the weapon with his aura, causing it to rend flesh and penetrate armour with greater ease. Thorn rarely does this though, as it requires tremendous effort to maintain the aura in this state as it needs to be more focused and precise. As such, he tends to use his aura more in defence, as a barrier to absorb blows and inflict damage to the attackers at the same time. In this state, the barrier is somewhat like a volatile accumulation of unfocused energy, which lashes out at the attacker when struck.
As a knight, he was trained in a variety of weapons, but Thorn was most proficient in the defensive style of using a longsword with a large shield. Over time, he developed his aura to the point that he could complement the shield’s defensive strength by throwing up the aura barrier around its surface just a moment before impact. Being a smith, Thorn constantly tried out each weapon he created, as a good smith should know how a weapon works in order to forge worthy ones. While this makes him a decent fighter in most weapons, he would be severely under-classed when compared to a warrior who has trained with that weapon alone. Overall, while he is a good combatant, he rarely takes the offensive stance, and as such, when faced with equally strong opponents, can only bring fights to a draw at best, thanks to his defensive abilities. On a similar note, Burzurk usually outperforms the knight in battles, since Thorn has been focusing too much of his time on blacksmithing.
Other abilities include mounted combat (but not mounted archery), swimming (without his armour of course!), imbuing his forged weapons and armour with magical abilities (usually with the help of scrolls, runes and gems), reading and writing (to be expected of a kid from a noble family), seducing women, and cooking fine meals (this particular skill took him ages to learn and perfect!).
