Azen Herzen

"You think you're special? You think you're hardcore? You're nothing, pathetic, a pest control worker who thinks you're more than what you actually are. Nothing more than just a glorified Hunter."

- Aval Herzen

Appearance
Aval Herzen is a remarkably large man who absolutely towers over most other people, making him very easy to spot in a crowd or at a distance, and has a well-defined musculature body from years of training. He has a rather light complexion from his years in the cold, snowy environment of his homeland and he has short brown hair that he keeps spiked back with some constant stubble to accompany it. Aval’s teeth are also sharper than normal and his canines are especially large. As for his faunus trait, Aval has a pair of brown hyena ears with small black spots on top of his head, which just poke out from his hair. While Aval’s body may give him a menacing visage, his eyes are light blue and kind-looking. Aval’s body isn’t without its blemishes however and he has a large number of scars littered about his body from bullets, claws and bladed weapons, almost all of which are located on the front part of his body, although his face itself is largely untouched, though there is a large bite scar from a fanged beast on his neck.

Aval’s outfit is his officer’s outfit from his military years. It consists of a pair of large brown track suit pants, a white long sleeve winter shirt and a pair of thick winter socks and large black military boots. Over the top of all of this he wears a large grey winter greatcoat that goes down to just above his feet. This greatcoat is adorned with Aval’s name, his rank and his honorary title of Alexander all on his collar. Aval also wears a pair of grey fur gloves over his hands as well as a white scarf around his neck. To complete his outfit, and to signal his status as Captain of the Solace government forces, Aval wears a long golden ribbon around his lower left arm which is adorned with the word ‘Captain’ written in Aval’s native language in large white writing, as well as hundreds of tiny red stars, each representing a kill Aval made during the previous Solace slave uprising.

Personality
Despite his towering and intimidating presence and physique, Aval is a very soft hearted and emotional person. He is a very caring individual and goes out of his way offer help to people in need and makes great efforts to take care of his friends and allies. He has a very boisterous way of speaking and is prone to loud boasts, inspirational speeches and dramatic comments. Because of his long military service, Aval has a great deal of respect for military forces and shows the utmost respect to superior officers and other soldiers. Aval’s pleasant personality is offset however by the fact that he is a very troubled person and is haunted by everything he has done inhis military career as well as what has occurred in it. These events have made Aval terrified of losing people, and he is fanatically protective of his friends to the point where he is more than willing to kill and die for them. This is accompanied by an intense hatred for people who attempt to cause violence for no reason and Aval does not hesitate to teach them the error of their ways through violence of his own. If there is one thing Aval despises however almost more than violence and losing his friends, it’s the other Hunters and Huntresses he trains with, or more specifically, the ones that consider themselves more than just pest control workers. He considers them liars and holds a special kind of hatred for those who consider themselves good or impressive fighters when it comes to fighting people and often refers to them as worse than the Grimm they hunt.

Backstory
Little is known about Aval’s past as he mostly keeps to himself when the topic comes up, and for good reason. Aval was born on the distant and rather isolated island of ‘Solace’, and like many other children born there, it didn’t take him long to adjust to the incredibly cold and mostly inhospitable environment. Unlike most other children however, Aval was born the son of a rather wealthy businesswoman and so his early life was allot more luxurious than most other people. As per the standard tradition, Aval was enrolled into military school at a young age and he excelled in all practical assets, though he was somewhat limited by his lack of skills when it came to theory work.

This perfect graduation was halted however due to a massive event the inhabitants of Solace will forever remember as the ‘Demon Days’. A massive uprising from the lower class workers on Solace lead to its one and only civil war, all capable young men were enlisted to fight and Aval was sent to the front lines almost as soon as fighting started. Full blown war broke out in Solace’s capital city and Aval was there at the front alongside his fellow soldiers fighting back the enemy forces every step of the way. This continued for an entire year and over the mass of time Aval became a little bit of a legend among local allied troops, gaining the name ‘Alexander’ after he singlehandedly defended a small military base against a small army of enemy soldiers for several hours. Not long after this the Demon Days ended and Aval was finally allowed to graduate, although now with a couple of medals on him as a bonus. After his graduation Aval decided to move overseas, seeing that his home was once again safe and deciding he needed a break from the place he had just fought in. Eventually Aval decided that the place where he would take his vacation on the nearby continent of Vale, intending to enrol in the combat school they had there which was teaching students how to fight Grimm. Aval enrolled into the school easily, his prestigious military record being more than enough to get him in, though actually fitting into the school proved to be a more difficult task.

Over the next few school years Aval excelled in all practical examinations, though he was somewhat limited when it came to theory work much like his earlier days in military school. During his first year he was put into a team with three other individuals and Aval managed to get along with his team very well and while some hardships did occur, with their help he continued to make his way through schooling until he reached his final year, where he is now.

Skills and Abilities
Aval’s weapons are a pair of Gatling Arm Cannons (GAMs). The GAMs are huge weapons; being almost as large as Aval’s torso and are made up of three connected Gatling heavy machine guns. They have medium range and ridiculous recoil, requiring a steady aim and eye to use properly. As to be expected, these use up an incredible amount of ammunition and most of the actual GAMs frame are just for storing the ammunition required for the guns to function. The GAMs do still have some tricks up their sleeves though and each is equipped with a 1 shot shrapnel rocket, designed to be used in desperate situations. When not being used, Aval keeps the GAMs under his greatcoat and they are specifically designed to wrap around his chest and back like armour, though they don’t offer any real extra protection and it just a method to store the weapons on Aval’s person without him having to carry a massive backpack. As to be expected as well, the GAMs are incredibly heavy and are completely unusable to smaller, weaker people, though Aval makes due and their weight doesn’t seem to affect him at all.

Aval’s combat training and skillset is something to be admired. He is a skilled fighter in every aspect, his experience from wars and training as a hunter having honed his abilities. First and foremost, Aval is a ranged fighter and while he doesn’t have expert accuracy his weapon’s method of firing makes up for his lack of skill. Aval’s close combat talent shouldn’t be ignored either as he is a skilled close combat fighter and is capable of taking on multiple people at once by himself both with and without weapons, to varying degrees of success. Physical abilities wise, Aval is far superior to a normal person due to his years of specialised training. He is incredibly strong, far more so than many people he comes across and even some professional weight-lifters. This is complimented by Aval’s incredibly stamina and resilience and he is capable of running for long periods of time and taking inhuman amounts of damage before finally being put down. Speed wise Aval is far above average as well and he moves with unusual speed for someone his size when not being weighed down by his weapons.

Aval’s fighting style is simple but effective. He primarily stays at the maximum range of his GAMs and acts as a mobile medium range support and anti-air unit. If forced into close combat, Aval uses his weapons as makeshift clubs and simply crushes and swats his enemies away like insects. When forced into close combat with no weapons, Aval has a brawler mentality and focuses mainly on grappling and crushing opponents or simply taking them down with powerful blows as quickly as possible. While it may seem like Aval is just a standard fighter when it comes to close combat at first glance, when looked at in detail, Aval takes a far more realistic approach to close combat. Alongside his normal style, he will do anything and use anything in his power to kill his opponent no matter how dirty of wrong the move may seem. Apart from this, Aval’s overall combat mentality isn’t very large or diverse, and he will simply move from target to target, focusing on the most powerful until all targets are gone.

Aura and Semblance
Aval’s aura is rather unusual and is far more different than other people’s. It is light blue and is ‘thicker’ than other people’s and when it is about to deplete it becomes visible and appears to crack and fall away from Aval’s body. It also becomes visible when it starts to return, and will form the same away as if depletes, re-appearing in cracked spaces before yet again disappearing when it is fully restored.

Aval’s semblance is an ability which he likes to call ‘Anchoring’. His semblance allows him to ‘fuse’ his feet to the ground and makes him impossible to move, although the ground underneath him can still be moved. The downside to this ability is, obviously, that Aval can’t move from the spot he is standing on, the upside being that he cannot BE moved from the spot he is standing unless he wants to, and this combined with his already formidable defences means Aval can successfully defend areas without ever being forced back.

Trivia
Aval suffers from minor Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

Herzen translates to ‘Hearts’ in German.

Alexander means ‘defender of men’, further supporting Aval’s fiercely loyal and protective nature.

Another one of Aval’s assets is an aircraft carrier called the Alexandria which has been re-purposed into a transport vessel, and it functions as Aval’s mode of transport between Vale and Solace.