Veritas Artis

Physical Attributes

Veritas stood at 6'7, slightly taller than the average northern sergal, but it didn't affect his quality of life; he had lived a quality life back home, but found that there was more to be had outside the constantly warring borders of his home. He shared the common fur pattern his species typically displayed, white muzzle, cheeks, neck, chest, stomach, and legs from the lower edge of his behind down. A short length of his tail also shared that white coloration, but the remainder of his body, top of his head and muzzle, back of his neck, complete back, and a short way down his tail consisted of a jet black color. Strands of fur could be seen starting to fade from white and black all over his body, starting their life-long journey to that of an aged or stress induced gray.

His head has a very specific shape, being very similar to what one might imagine a shark would look like if it had developed fur. The muzzle is longer than your average furre, but is immensely more slender in comparison to most when compared to body size. His eyes have a very reptile-look about them, being one solid shade of gray with a tiny slit of black in their center. The whites in his eyes are almost nonexistent, but can be seen occasionally if he is glancing off toward an object without rightfully turning his head. The ears, when at rest, stretch backward quite a distance off the back of the head, just about lined up with the top edge of his muzzle. The ears have a few straggly pieces of fur hanging off their tip and are accompanied by a bush of fur surrounding the base. The fur around the top of the head is fairly thin, but it starts to expand outward as it passes between the ears, down the back of the head, often seen hanging in front of the shoulders, but the majority is grouped between the shoulder blades in the form of a V.

His chest tends to puff out further than his stomach, which is a common occurrence in most species outside of the human grouping. The center of his chest carries a small group of bristling fur, a make-shift cover to warm and protect his chest from the elements, insects, and other threats. His stomach maintains fairly flat fur until the groin, where it bushes outward and obscures the sight of his genital pouch, provided he isn't aroused.

His foot-paws and paws shared similar attributes, elongated toes and digits, extended claws on each, but the difference between the two is fairly noticeable in the form of baggy fur around each of his toe. The baggy fur extends from the spaces between his toes, up around the back of his ankle, and up to the back of his knee where it hangs loosely. His legs are an awkward shape, having the typical human-esque knee, but further down from the knee is another joint, not that unlike those seen in canines.

Clothing, Armor, and Possessions

Clothing (Not Armor)

A dark blue half shirt with short sleeves that ran down to just below his ribcage. The shirt leaves his furred stomach, back, and sides open to view. The sleeves of the shirt have embroidered silver edges, runic figures inscribed all along the embroidery in black; the same embroidery, different runic symbols, can be seen inscribed around the stomach hugging portion of the shirts edge. In the center of the shirts back, just between his shoulder blades, the crest of the Order of the Silver Dragons can be seen. He is a Paladin first and foremost, even while dressed for comfort.

His right shoulder is draped in a unique piece of fabric that resembles a piece of plate armor commonly displayed in swordsman. It is dark blue in color, hides a portion of his right bicep, and shoulder blade, and has the same embroideries as the edge of his shirt.

A pair of tan shorts specially designed to suit his unique figure, including a four inch long cylindrical piece of fabric to hug the base of his tail. The shorts come to just above his knee. The edge of the tail-hugging portion of his shorts shares the same embroidery as his shirt sleeves. Even though the shorts are complete and do their duty to cover him fully, the front of the shorts is draped with a frontal-only loincloth. The cloth is plain, a solid dark blue.

His clothing may seem lacking, but the silver linings displayed around most of his basic clothing is a sheer sign of his prestige and fair wealth. If one can read the runic language they would be able to translate the two common phrases inscribed upon him: "Honor In Death" around his sleeves and where mentioned, and "In defense of the righteous and just through loyalty, honor, and compassion." around the lower edge of his shirt and where mentioned.

Armor

The helmet is probably the largest, single piece, of armor on him. It's the only piece of armor that isn't plated in layers, only because his unique head shape wouldn't permit the added protection vs peripheral vision, and head movement. The helmet covers the top of the head, stretches out over the ears, elongates beneath the jaw, and completely covers the top portion of the muzzle down to the nose. The jaw area of the helmet has a hinge, allowing him to speak, eat, and drink comfortably without heaving to exert much pressure with his jaw. The helmet also consists of a large sheet of metal specially molded to fit against the back of his neck and down between his shoulder blades, where his back and chest armor won't cover. If he tilts his head forward or bends over to pick something up, it will raise the piece of armor and leave his back vulnerable to attack. A banded piece of armor, attached to the elongated portion of the helmet, is wrapped around the neck; this prevents the helmet from popping off and provides the throat dedicated, but comfortable protection. The image of a crudely drawn sergal, almost tribal, holding a sword in one paw, and a scale in the other, can be seen etched into the muzzle guard. Beneath the helmet, seen draped over the shoulders, and various pieces of back armor, is a long piece of red cloth; this acts to obscure the view of his armor, leading possible enemies to believe there may not be any protection in those areas.

The central piece of armor covers his chest and has a flexible midsection between his ribcage and stomach to grant further movement and flexibility, but continues on into another piece of plated metal over his stomach. His sides are largely unprotected, but are covered in leather bands that connect his chest and stomach armor with his upper and lower back armor; the upper and lower back armor sharply resembles that of the chest and stomach in design, including the flexible midsection.

The arms are covered in a pair of two sheets of plated metal, one over the upper arm, one over the other, but these are not cylindrical. The armor offers a leather strap on the underside of his arm, which leaves little protection to that vulnerable underside.

The legs are covered in much the same way as the arms, but are covered in three sheets of plated metal instead of two. The toes, like the digits in the arm armor, are exposed, but are in themselves a valuable weapon and tool to him.

The tail is completely encased in flexible plates of metal right down to the tip, able to use it as a weapon, a shield, or a distraction without the fear of having it chopped completely off. The only vulnerable point in the tail are the sections between each plate that were installed to allow full flexibility, but the sergal is well aware of their weakness.

Possessions

Around his neck, attached to his waist, or carried out of sight in a pocket, a silver chain leading up to a two dimensional, hollow, triangle is carried with him at all times. The triangle is a symbol of faith to the Order of the Silver Dragons and has significant value to him.

He can usually be seen with at least three different pipes laced around his waist, each being ornately designed, but the most commonly used pipe of them all is a special wooden pipe; his favorite. The pipe is in the shape of a sergals arm completely outstretched, the paws claws are extended to be gripping the bowl of the pipe; the bowl is painted to resemble an eyeball. The detail he places into each of his designed pipes is phenomenal, but it is also one of his only hobbies.

Various bags, sacks, and the like can often be seen laced around his waist on the opposing side of his pipes. The bags can contain anything ranging from gold and silver to various opiates, ales, and food.

The Order of the Silver Dragon has issued him a sword, one that is always attached to his side in a hanging holster. The sheath is pure silver and has the crest of the Order etched into it near the top, as does the bottom of the hilt. The hilt itself is beautifully designed in the shape of scales, each scaled bowl acting as a guard on either side of the hilt. The blade itself is plain, as it is expected to be used often, though he rarely finds use of it outside of ceremony.

The Order of the Silver Dragon has also issued him a shield, which he has made great use of over the years. The shield is elegant in shape, straying from the classic or edged varieties, but is well suited to be at the side of a Paladin. The shield is silver in color, but is made of the same sturdy metal as most of the armor made by the Order, and dons their crest largely on the battle-beaten side, with a much smaller version of the crest etched in the backside between the leather handles.

His weapon of choice is one of his species favorites, one that is carried with him at all times, usually strapped to his back in a high fashion to prevent the handle from dragging. A pole-arm, plain in decoration, that has a metal handle length of 5'2 and a sturdy blade that adds another 3'1 to the weapon. The being said, the weapon is massive in size, but made with a light material at the handle, most of its weight being in the blade. The blade is curved toward the end and has two points arching backward from the typical tip, much like the shape of an abnormally large arrowhead.

Physical:

Sword Training - I'm not going to go into detail on this one, but Veritas will use more than just the blade of his sword in a fight. If you go into a fight thinking 'sword' means 'blade' you will run into a world of problems when facing one with more experience.

Pole Arm Training - A weapon held by his ancestry. This is his favored weapon and one that he is the most skilled with, but that doesn't mean his abilities are broken. I'm explaining his training here, knowledge, and skill, but I'm not explaining his personality flaws, how quickly he can think, or anything of that nature.

Shield Training - A blunt weapon with defensive capabilities; that is how Veritas views his shield, as compared to the typical "This is my defense" outlook. He will strike out with his shield, throw it, or do anything else he feels may give him an advantage.

Armor Training - Yes, it might seem obvious to some how to wear armor, but there is much more to armor than just wearing it. A good combatant will know how to block a sword with their armor alone, moving their shoulder piece into the hit instead of trying to defend their strike with their own sword; this can provide opportunities to counter and end the fight early. Armor doesn't just have to stick to defense though, as armor is still incredibly dangerous on its own; this can allow the wearer to charge, punch, kick, or even tail-whip their opponent with more than natural force.

Magic:

Healing - Touch based healing magic. This will not bring somebody back to life and very rarely bring them back from the brink of death. This will heal surface wounds, mild lacerations, and a select few broken bones depending on the break and whether or not it is visible to the naked eye.

Shielding - Channeling the magic around him, Veritas, can envelope himself in a sturdy barrier of light. He must be stationary for this to work, but he has been known to snap the barrier on and off with careful timing as he moves; the barrier will come on and immediately go off as Veritas is moving, but the second it's around him could save his life. Against certain opponents, Veritas, can generate this shield around them to paralyze them, but he too must remain stationary; this might create a stalemate, but if he has a partner it would be the end of the battle.

Banishing - Demons, angels, ghosts, summons, and anything that is walking our realm that shouldn't rightfully be here. Veritas can banish creatures and abnormal entities back to where they came from, but this can take upwards from twenty to thirty minutes and the thing being banished must be restrained.