Volya Alkaev

Defenders - Standard Guiding Hand Mecha

The very core of the Guiding Hand's mechanized forces. All initiates of the Knights must first master the art of the sword as well as their own bodies before they can even attempt to use a Defender in combat.

The Defenders are sturdily built - able to take a truly massive beating before coming any where close to defeat. While primarily armed with a massive two handed blade, a typical Defender is also armed with arm mounted Crossbow as well as a smaller one handed blade.

Crusaders - Elite Guiding Hand Mecha

Despite seeming more heavily armored than the Defenders, the Crusaders are far more nimble than their appearance suggests. bearing several boosters hidden within their plating - they are capable of unleashing truly thunderous charges and skewering their foes upon their lances - the weapons bearing arcane technologies that double the impact force of the weapon should it strike.

In addition to its iconic impact lance, a Crusader is also armed with a one-handed Shock Hammer - the head of the weapon unleashing literally explosive bursts of electricity on impact, as well as a massive Shield - which in addition to its defensive properties also bear a hidden explosive cannon in its 'face'.

Crusaders are far more difficult to produce than the Defenders, but more important than them are their pilots - while not legendary in their own right, any man or woman who can pilot a Crusader is a warrior of true experience and skill.

The Angelic Guard - The Bosses in Mook's Clothing

The Elite of the Elite. Numbering five machines - the Angelic guard are the most skilled warriors in the Knights next to Percival and Seraphina. While having less armoring than Crusaders, they make up for it by being able to fly and having an all around greater range of movement than the standard machines the other knights use.

In terms of armaments the Angelic Guard are armed with sleek and elegant swords - whereas the Defender's primary armament is slow and ponderous, and the Crusader's tends to lose its overall usefulness after a charge, the Angelic Guard's weapons were designed with quickness and flexibility in mind. The blades themselves are capable of elongating and thus extending their attacker's reach - as well as retracting into more manageable lengths for close combat. 

The Wings of the Angelic Guard can also be lethal weapons, the feathers being razor sharp.

Arondight- Nathaniel De Sayard's personal machine.

The  is a machine that has been passed down to each man or woman who leads the Defenders. The machine itself bears great similarity to the Crusaders and has often been purported to have been the first of their number. The Arondight's wings are not for show - despite their seemingly decorative appearance, the Arondlight is perfectly flight capable.

The machine's sole armament is its Lightning Blade - similar to the Crusader's Shock Hammer, the Lightning Blade utilizes massive amounts of energy to allow it to keep up with Beam Sabers and the like in terms of cutting power - and is perfectly capable of defending against the aforementioned weapons.

The  however has nothing else that truly makes it stand out. Its defensive capabilities are only marginally higher than that of a Defender, it is slower than a Crusader and a lack of ranged weaponry means it must rely on support to be effective.

Inorog - Lilica's Personal Machine.

Rebuilt to resemble the machines of the Guiding Hand, the  still retains its predatorial and agile look from when it was still a threat to humanity. While not particularly durable, the  is quick and limber, and with its pilot's reflexes - it means the machine is particularly difficult to hit.

The Inorog's armaments consist of a vicious long rapier - used in conjunction with the Inorog's speed in order to unleash massive slashes or more primarily a series of cripping stabs - as well as a set of claws built into its free hand.

However its most devastating weapon is the ability to trap victims in what is called 'The Zone of Absolute Despair'. When trapped in the attack, the victim suffers frighteningly real hallucinations of the people they are close to dying in horrible ways for the victim. If the victim is cold, the hallucination will burn itself, if they feel ill, the hallucination will take the sickness within itself and rot before the victim's eyes. Every death hammers itself in that they are dying for the victim and it is all their fault.

After two defeats, Lilica's machine is upgraded with pieces from her former comrades' machines - and to improve their effectiveness, their souls had been bound to them as well. Essentially these upgrades allow her to cover her machine in gnarled, twisted thorns that make her close range attacks worse, unleash blasts of smoke that slow down opponents and lastly let loose several nightmarish venus flytrap like beasts from the ground.

Weaver - Aloysius' Personal Machine
Well armored and flexible - but lacking very much in terms of armaments. The Weaver is a machine designed purely on countering attacks and then retaliating with tremendous force - numerous protective sigils and blessings allow it to withstand a truly insane amount of punishment - or otherwise redirect it so long as its pilot is focused.

In terms of melee, it is capable of stopping both beam and physical weapons with its bare hands - retaliating with crushing blows from its fists. The more force or energy thrown behind the attack - the more the Weaver has to counter with. In terms of ranged defence - it literally weaves a web before the attack that either disperses along its threads - back into the Weaver's hands and is soon launched back at its attacker - or is literally hurled back at the target.

However as defensively capable at it is - defence is its only string to its bow. It has no other capabilities, and it is perfectly possible to put so much pressure on the Weaver from multiple angles that its defence would crumble as Aloysius' singleminded nature can find it difficult to keep up against multiple opponents.

Brave - Seraphina's Personal Machine
A heavily armored and groundbound machine. Designed purely to tank tremendous damage before closing in to finish off targets at close range. Its cloak helps it soak up even more damage from both energy and magic based attacks though admittedly its useless against solid rounds and blows.

The massive axe that Brave wields is capable of generating shockwaves to knock targets off balance and is electrically charged as to cause power surges on targets it strikes. The sword itself is less interesting, a large, and particularly durable heat blade.

The two phantom birds that accompany the Brave serve as a distraction to occupy targets - harrying and clawing at opponents, doing minimal damage and otherwise blinding enemies to her charge.

Lobera - Percival's Personal Machine
The Machine of the Knight's Greatest Champion. Lobera is one of their most deadly machines and is one of a kind. Highly mobile and flight capable and armed to the teeth. Its shield as well as several ports along its body are capable of unleashing a barrage of homing beams. Its sword, wreathed in magical energy is capable of unleashing blasts or granting it even further range.

It also has the ability to utilize several magic auras for different effects. Either something to strengthen the resolve of his allies - thus granting them greater strength and tenacity behind their actions, something to protect him from incoming blows, or something that would even make those damaged around him recover from the hits they have taken.

Imperius - Zeig's Personal Machine
The machine belonging to the leader of the Knights of the Guiding Hand. Armed with an energy charged rapier and a protective cloak, it is difficult to factor it as very much of a threat. However, Zeig somehow has the ability to predict the movements of his enemy and counter them as they happen.

Later during the finale of the canon, he works with... other sources to have the Sidereal Tapestry implanted into the Imperius. Using the power of prophecy and fate, he tugs at various strings within the weave to summon beings that could have been or could never happen - similar to the Demonbane army - except evil and following his bidding. They won't have such huge numbers though. At most he would be able to summon up to four of such beings.

Two confirmed summons are Abyss Empress Mizuki (Solsavior) - an alternate in which the Sol-Void war continued on and she became the villainess she was meant to be, and Sarah's dead ex partner from an alternate universe where it was Sarah that lost the fight between them. The other two alternates will be based on whoever else comes on the mission.

Additionally, his final form has a massive mechanical halo that floats behind it - giving it a stargazer-ish appearance. This massive ring is capable of unleashing a barrage of shots that just erase things that it strikes within a small hit radius. Imagine bullets that cause mini-black holes.

Admittedly Zeig's Precog ability can be made useless by swarming him with powerful attacks to the point he just can't keep up with his visions.

Lux Diei - David's Machine for late canon
After using a Defender and Crusader for a while, David is granted use of a secretly developed weapon. The Lux Diei is a mirror to Interitus. While Interitus appears ugly and flawed, the Lux Diei looks beautiful in an unearthly way. While Interitus slowly eases beings in its presence, Lux Diei causes a sense of discomfort - something about it feeling unnatural and wrong.

The machine itself is powerful, capable of unleashing barrages of magical missiles from its left shoulder, utilizing momentarily solid after images to confuse opponents and even land strikes from several angles, the blade it has can let loose blasts of intense and searing light and to top it all off it has rocket punches - the feather like engravings along the gauntlets making the punches more lethal by being capable of sawing through things.

However unlike the Defenders and Crusaders it has no feedback protection. Meaning every strike inflicted will cause pain to its pilot and could potentially render him catatonic if immense damage was dealt. Once that happens, Lux Diei will take control... and unlike the comically amusing antics of Interitus, its relative is a ruthless, murdering beast that serves only Zeig.

Lux Diei Iudex - Zeig's pet monster
A massive juggernaut crafted of Magic and Metal. Its as durable as you'd expect and utilizes immensely strong magic barriers to protect equally tough armor

It utilizes upscaled versions of its previous form's attacks. Its magic missile attack now comes from all of the segments in its arms and can unleash bullet hell levels of saturation. Its claws burn with an unearthly and merciless light, and its wings can disassemble into a multitude of smaller pieces to hail down on enemies along with their after images.

Its most powerful attack is a massive blast that engulfs targets and banishes them to plane of absolute nothingness. An eternal imprisonment and isolation.

Player name: Jockey
AIM contact: You know this
Alternate contacts: None
Character name: Volya Alkaev
Source canon: Dirge of Fate (OC Canon)
Community tag: Volya Alkaev
Do I want a HMD: Yes. If anything I'll probably have one collected HMD for all my characters

Character Background: Volya was as ordinary a person as you would expect in his day and age - Perfectly average, in his grades, in his intelligence, in his interests. Despite the fact that he lost his parents to disease (His father to the sickness itself and his mother unable to survive the medical procedure meant to help her. Though Volya himself managed to survive the aformentioned treatment) and having to live with his uncle he grew up a relatively stable if sarcastic individual - the upbringing he received ensuring he lived a relatively happy life.

Unfortunately, normalcy in a world such as this is a shortlived thing. On a perfectly normal afternoon, an eclipse took place - and from that day on Volya's life was changed forevermore.

He felt a strange sensation creeping into his mind, then with a flurry of activity it overwhelmed him - Volya fell sick that day, the feeling of pins and needles breaking out through his body and a heavy chill keeping a hold on him. His recovery was no better - being filled with a fitful sleep, ghost sensations and emotions that were not his own drifting through him - dreams of places he's never seen and of people he never met. To say he was troubled was an understatement. He didn't know what was going on and he had no idea what to tell anyone.

Two weeks after his recovery, he confided with one of his closest friends at school - He didn't know if he could trust anyone else, nor did he wish to tell his uncle for fear of worrying him. David recieved the news with surprise - but thankfully believed him. Volya's best friend assured him he had an idea of what was going on - as he heard his parents talk about it with a friend. He promised Volya that a solution to the problem would be found.

Within days however Volya soon found a group of people seeking him out at his school, something about them put him on edge. He was right. The moment he broke away from the school shots had been fired and weapons were drawn. He took a graze to the cheek during THAT particular escape.

He was barely able to avoid them thanks to actually knowing his way around. He counted on them not knowing where he lived and carefully made his way back home - using a shortcut he and his friends knew about. Unfortunately, it was a friend that led these people to him... and not just any friend. David. The friend he confided in. The friend who was practically the closest one he had. His brother in all but name.

David looked regretful and apologized, he stepped aside as a regal man spoke of why they had been so intent on hunting Volya down. There was a prophecy coinciding with the eclipse - that a master of a force of destruction would awaken - that from pain and cold he would be born once more - becoming the being with the power to end the world. And that wherever that being went, a trail of destruction would follow and the world would crumble into ruin.

None of them was happy to do this. They made it clear that it was only for the sake of the world that Volya had to die. They took no pleasure in doing such a thing and hoped that Volya would understand.

Volya's reaction? He was not amused one bit and called it the stupidest bit of nonsense he had he ever heard. The group issued their rebuttal by attempting to kill him once more - only to find a twenty-five meter towering beast blocking their path and snarling like a devil - clearly intent on protecting Volya from any harm that would come upon him.

They fled - clearly not equipped to handle such a creature... and in the end so did Volya. Having control of something so terrifying had immediately cast him in a terrible light - with no way to deny he was what they said he is. He had no idea what to do, no plans, and little in way of belongings - he could not go home, he could not find friends to hide with, he had no chances. It would only be a matter of time before they caught up to him again...

So he ran. He ran without looking back... and hoped that he could have a chance to live a normal life again.

Original Canon background: For countless years the Knights of the Guiding Hand have watched the World and ensured its continued protection, though it is very rarely that they have ever acted on their own.

The Knights have in their possession an artifact of powerful magic from a time long lost to history. Dubbed the Sidereal Tapestry, those who study it are able to peer into the weave of destiny itself - though all those who lay their eyes on it are erased from its predictions, for no man may know of their future - either by their sight or by the words of others.

While they are granted this gift of foreknowledge, it does not mean they are always successful - it is one of the reasons why their numbers remain small, for a past incident had nearly brought their destruction. As such they have grown to rely on others, passing word of possible calamities and searching for the heroes that have been foretold to end them.

The Knights have Connections, skills and powerful magi-tech along with the Sidereal Tapestry. While they are a secret organization, they do not have eyes and ears everywhere and they certainly cannot do as they please but must rely on what few observers and allies they have made. They lack numbers and actual political influence beyond being able to call in a few favors.

(NOTE: Aside from the above, this canon is dependent on others to shape the world around it. However while it was mentioned above that the knights assist heroes as a third party to prevent disasters, it can be said that they can't always assist in the case of other Players Canons - unless the Player of a canon has granted permission for it - and even then it'll be purely minor assistance unless it was some kind of huge emergency.)

Personality: Volya is a person who's been forced to mature far earlier than he should have. He had learned to accept loss with the death of his parents, and had learned that stewing in the misery of events would not make things better. While he was upset by the betrayal of his best friend and the utter isolation he was placed into by his constant escapes, he has learned to adapt.

Socially though he is quite wary, given that one of his closest friends turned out to be among the people out to kill him for some imagined slight against all of existence would do that to a person. He's a little jaded and cynical about some things, and has a tendency to snark and speak rather sarcastically - though this is mostly as a defense to help him deal with just how much he's had to deal with for being labled as a murderous fugitive that would eventually destroy the world with his metal monster.

Or maybe he just enjoys the feeling of being witty given its one of the few pleasures he has on the run, enjoying the fact that he can make fun of the downright ridiculous situations he can get caught up with due to his constant state of flight away from his assailants. Its difficult to tell most days.

That isn't to say he doesn't cry. Some days he does. Some days when he thinks he's almost made a friend, had some brief moment of normalcy... or he just misses his home. He just breaks down because of how much it hurts. It helps him though. It helps him get it out of his system, to vent - to acknowledge the hurt and let it out so it can go away for the time being.

What is interesting though is that despite his cynicism Volya absolutely refuses to resort to killing. Instead he takes to inconveniencing opponents when it comes to a fight and running as best as he can - or just outright fleeing if the occassion presents itself. To him, the idea of taking another person's life is something frightening, it is too much for a burden to bear - and he already has a massive amount of baggage loaded onto him.

Adding to the fact that now that he has Interitus at his beck and call, the Knights of the Guiding hand have brought out their own machines. His attempts to escape have grown all the more urgent - he knows exactly what kind of destruction that a conflict between large machines would wreak... and what kind of suffering it would inflict upon those who get caught in the crossfire. He's seen his uncle watching the news enough to get an idea.

Volya accepts that there are times a person has to take a life, that there are times man has to fight tooth and nail to survive. But he doesn't want to be the one to bring pain and suffering onto others by hurting people. And even if he has to suffer for it, he would never take another person's life.

Capabilities and Resources: Honestly not much use on his own. He's average physically and mentally for his age. His mental link to Interitus means he can have it come to him when he needs it though and is able to understand its thoughts.

Type: Combatant

Unit Name: Interitus
Unit Description:
The 'Demon' - so labeled in the Prophecy that all but calls for Volya's death. It is a semi-sentient, lanky, biomechanical construct of unknown origin that is linked to its pilot and 'master'. Interitus is capable of healing itself - but not at a rate effective on the battlefield, meaning that repairs by third parties are essentially unnecessary and resources can be redirected elsewhere. It is also not as large as most machines - being at most 25 meters in height.

Outwardly Interitus is armed with a single shortsword. The weapon itself can parry most forms of close combat weaponry - but otherwise is useless, especially given Volya's lack of skill with weapons.

However, closer observation will show that Interitus' entire body is a weapon in its own right. Several vicious sets of teeth that are perfectly capable of tearing through metal (the fangs on its shoulders are NOT for show), as well as that it is capable of attacking with several plant-like tendrils through its palms - using them like grappling hooks or whips. Should they grapple with an opponent using a power source (Reactors, Magic, etc.) it will be able to drain that energy for as long as its 'connected'. The problem is that sometimes Interitus has nowhere to let the energy out to - absorbing too much without any way to vent the energy could possibly inflict great pain on both pilot and machine. Whether by accident or not (Probably more by accident), they'll figure out that not only can the power be transferred to other sources, but that Interitus can fire it out of its eyes.

Interitus can also immobilize enemies utilizing a form of adhesive sap along with severed tendrils. The Sap itself can be expelled from Interitus in a pressurized jet or in a grenade-like form. The severed tendrils experience a burst of overgrowth when they lash around a target, further immobilizing the target by blocking joints and keeping a tight grip around limbs. Interestingly while the vines will damage inanimate machinery, anything that can be classified as 'alive' and will actively avoid doing harm to living beings unless they can be classified as a threat to all life. (I.e. biological Strip mining apparatus ala the BETA, Dimension Beasts, The Black Lodge minus Dr West, etc.)

Size: M

Terrain compatibility:
Air: No
Ground: Yes
Water: Yes
Space: No (Requires assistance to be of any use)
Favored terrain: Ground

Upgrades: Seperate Journal

Wingmen: N/A

Mission requirement: Requires intro Mission.

Suggested Event List: Here. Also with Enemy List/Descriptions and NPC Profiles

Sample Post: Here and here and here.