Amsel Turdus

"From this very moment, I dedicate my life to make a place for every color of this world in the masterpiece of our lives."

- Amsel

Appearance
He is a quite athletic and tall man and he regulaly practices sprint and middle distance running to maintain a good physical shape and reactivity to compensate his lack of any special power in this domain.

He has well brushed midlong black hair and generally looks quite straight-faced but can have funny facial mimics, reducing the too much serious attitude people thinks he has. He never uses hats but often wears sport sunglasses outside. A silver chain is concealed under his black t-shirt and yellow shirt. He usually wears a black long coat with yellow lining, a pauldron on the right shoulder and a manica (Roman armguard) on his left arm. Tan throusers with straps and armored greaves protect his legs.

The sheath of his blade hang down on his back and his large gauntlet covers his right forearm in its storage mode. His trenchcoat has an inbuilt soulder strap with pockets that contains varieties of dust loads and devices for him and his teammates he can quickly brew or assemble in mission for specific tasks or to make some extra ammunitions/ support effects.

Personality
He is observant and convivial but not very talky. He's not shy however : he's typically a calm and thoughtful guy. He is also perfectionnist and meek, hiding a very creative and open minded personality. Arts is his favorite discussion subject, besides dust and technology and he is actually quite knoledgeable about this. He's fond of facepalms and raising the eyebrow.

Working with dust is so enjoyable to him that he often shows an apparent childish behavior even if he still knows exactly what he does, and spend mainly his free time in labs full of dust and prototypes, or in the wild to test them... He compares his work with dust to the work of a master painter on his master piece :

"Finding the right color for the right spot to make the most beatiful piece of art."

He his not fond of fighting for real but he likes sparring and makes his best to avoid real fights or to finish them swiftly. This explains his agressive behavior on the battlefield toward his opponents and his too careful attitude as a leader when it involves other lives in the balance.

History


Born from a scientist and an artist, his parents never agreeded on what he sould work in later : his mother wanted him to be a scientist to help people and his father asked him to be an artist to bring hope and entertainment to everybody. He indeed inherited the drawing skills of his father, was creative and loved to paint, but he also was clever and resourceful alike his mother, and succeded well at school.

He figured out that he could choose both when he first manipulated dust and became a member of a dust-discovery club for children, where he could play the budding chemist (with growup monitoring of course). He became very interested in technologies and decided to be a dust and technology expert early in his childhood. He also found out to have synesthesia, associating colors to letters, numbers and even words but that never hindered him. On the contrary, it was funny and entertaining to see colors of words, names and numbers.

In this colorful world, a star shined brighter than anything else : his closest friend Ember. This friend had health problems and he dedicated a lot of time for her, but she became more and more depressed after an accident that made her paraplegic. He read about experimental dust prosthesis in his club thanks to a magazine for children about dusts and new technologies. He decided to ring the doctor and asked him for help. The doctor was searching for voluntary disabled people to test dust-infused devices that could replace limbs. Amsel gave the doctor a big challenge in fixing a backbone but he would accept only if Ember accepted the heavy surgery too. Very enthusiastic, Amsel asked to Ember's parents and he hurried in their house the week after along with the doctor.

Parents and friends, everybody was ready to accept the experimental and dangerous surgery, except Ember who was in a bad mental and physical shape. The doctor respected her decision though and didn't insisted. Amsel was very disappointed and Ember became colder with him but he still payed her a visit from time to time, trying to take care of her as he could while her parents where working. She didn't talked with her parents and it was difficult for them to know how she felt, what she needed... Even him coudn't get an answers from her anymore. Deeply retreated into herself, every visit of Amsel turned quickly in a speechless monologue of his standing still self near the entrance, and her sickly back lied in her bed. He could stay like that without a word and hoping a reaction from her for an hour before leaving silently.

For her 14th birthday she asked him to stop visiting her. He didn't agreeded and lost his temper : they argued and he finally angrily accepted to let her alone, as she wished. He started to fence a lot at that time, to exorcise his anger but also his sadness after he lost this so close friend who choose the exile and who couldn't endure the gaze and judgments of others because of her handicap and her semblance she saw as too heavy curses.

After a year however, a pityful girl rang at his door in a wheelchair to apologize and asked if the doctor would still agree to test a prosthesis for her. He couldn't get over : the starving pale figue in front of him was Ember. This big change of mind was so unexpected, he felt so happy that he instantly forgave her all their mute talks and diagreements. After long talks and apologises, they became again the two closest friends ever and he promised again he would never forsake her. They promised, each to the other. Even today he doesn't know why she eventually changed her mind. He only supposes she discovered it was a so egoïst and stupid attitude that it hurted people far more than herself.

"A masterpiece always hides untold stories, and sometime sad ones, and that make it even more beautiful." he always concludes when he has to talk about Ember's past.

Some month later, Ember's surgery tunred out well and she started to attend school again. He helped her to buy lost time back, to fence and she started to go out with friends again. Life and happiness came back slowly on her face and he saw colors and brighness coming back too on this long-time lost star. At the age of 16, he decided to become a hunter to defend one of her most beautiful smile he had never seen on her face. Beside that, he progressed very well with his sword techniques and dust tweaks and he thought he would be able to still search out about dust with an hunter job, and he would be more confortable with it than with a scientist work, because he wouln't stant to stay in a lab without testing his inventions for real. So he kept training, made his first blade prototype and he assisted the doctor to adjust and improve Ember's prosthesis.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm">The week after his admission results to Atlas academy, Ember asked if he could wait for her : she wanted to become a huntress too, but she couldn't apply this year, it was already too late.He accepted and used this extra year to perfect his weaponry and his skills in dust and sword mastership. He helped Ember in addition to all her trainings and courses to be strong enough to take and pass the exam with him at the age of 18.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm">He became the leader of the team AERS and helped his teammates to improve their equipment : Sin's rifle during their first year, his and ember's weaponry the years after and he worked on an upgrade for Ross just before their mission in Ailles. He should have finished all the upgrades needed before they should have to part aways after their graduation, especially with ammunitions and dust recipies that are hard to fine tune to their respective fighting style.

Semblance : Exsanguis
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm">His semblance strangely contrast with his love of colors and dust : by touching a certain quantity of dust (up to one cubic meter), he can intert it up to a few minutes before it recovers its power and color. He knows that is a strange ability for a man like him, but he thinks this is linked to his attention to detail and balance between colors, light and shades. All these things are needed to paint a good piece of art after all.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm">The more dust he wants to desactivate, the less the effect last long : a few minutes is for a handfull but near a full cubic meter is inerted only for a dozen of seconds. He can also emit an instant spheric wave up to 10 meters in radius that creates the same effect, but it last a far much shorter time, with an inverse decrease of the diameter : about 6 or 7 seconds for a 2 or 3 meter-large wave but less than a second at 9 or 10 meters. With the touch range version, he can also choose what color he inerts or not if different dust colors are mixed together.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm">Thanks to this ability, he can nullify dust proprieties (but not its effects already created by technology or powers), making it like a powerless rock cristals or a translucent powder : devices, spells and effects behave like they runned out of dust if they need a constant feed in the colored powder, some made of dust become useless or loose their special properties. For example he can prevent a machine gun from firing bullets for a few seconds for example as dust doesn't combust anymore in cartriges to propell bullets. Most sorcerers/dust wizards can have problems for a few second, deprived of their main source of power output, and it is often enough to land a decisive strike if they don't already have spells or effects launched. He doesn't know however how dust-infused bodies would react to his semblance since he never tried (he did neither tried on Atlesian knights, that could bring him serious problems, but he suppose they should simply stop working momentaneously....). He never uses it next to Ember for obvious reasons (her prosthesis) and generally doesn't uses it in fights out of solo missions if it is a quick way to put an end to a fight (even if it seems unfair).

<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm">It is a far more convenient power in his lab to safely manipulate dust, purifiate and brew it himself from raw ressources, to avoid disasters or  create complicated effects or results that need a precise sequence of dust activation that couldn't be feasible otherwise or with far more expansive and bigger equipment he can't afford.

Weapons
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm">Amsel's main weapon is a double-bladed falchion with dust-enhancing capabilities. He made it himself and called it Nova. Pulling the trigger creates a rotating blue stream of water- and earth-based dust in the narrow space between the two blades.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm">This thin stream acts more like a chainsaw than a plasma torch : it doesn't create heat to cut but uses instead a very fast rotation speed and a very high pressured fluid to erode nearly instantly anything that comes in. He even had problems with his own blades than was grinded quickly until he changed for very durable advanced materials a year ago.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm">He uses this capacity only in brief impulses because it is quite dust-expansive but far long and efficient enough to cut an unprotected body (by aura) in half. He can also create an instant lighning of this dust mixture to strike up to 3 meters away or to briefly lengthen his blade. He could expand it for longer shots, but it would be so dust-eating it isn't profitable so he flanged his blade to 3 meters until he find a less expansive way to achieve the same results.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm">The sheath of his sword take the form of a hook that locks between the two blades instead of around them, and a leather part covers the sharp edges to avoid accidents. It frees the sword very quickly by pushing a concealed trigger that activates a small spring mechanism that help him to unsheath quickly his sword as the shealth is on the bottom of his back.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm">His secondary weapon is Orion, a heavy plate gauntlet with the same dust capacity. However it doesn't create a blade but a shield-like flat surface that can turn to dust things it bashes or that hit it (how a crappy pun). He uses it in short pulses like his sword, against large weapons or the strongest blows his only gauntlet can't take alone. He can also use the edge of this temporary shield as a secondary weapon and can create lighnings from his gauntlet too. He stores it around his forearm and it recover his full hand and arm when unfolded, locked high on his pauldon. Three fingers are enclosed together, the thumb and the forefinger are each enclosed apart to keep a good dexterity with this hand.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm">They are the third version of his weaponry and he still need to find out a more dust-efficient mixture that could allow him longer impulses without emptying too quickly his dust loader located in the guard of his sword and in in a armband-like piece of protection for his guantlet. He can activates them nearly a full minute each actually, or creates about twenty lightnings. He needs also more accurate and longer range lightnings without loosing too much power.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm">The curent mixture transforms into a high velocity and high pressurized water stream with solid praticles, to abrade things faster than a simple water stream. It creates a screamy noise when operating and a sonic boom when he fires one of his dust lighning, like conventional thunder.

Fighting style
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm">For a dust specialist, he doesn't rely heavily on it in fights as dust sorcerers, but he uses a lot dust he carries to creates diversions and support effect to help him when he need them, instead of fighting with it : technologic devices, grenades, smoke, and other recipes with fun effects... All state-of- the-art pieces of equipment (some of his own invention) are part of his gear through, but he fight mainly with his sword skill and his special sword and gauntet.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm">He doens't master magic at all but he has a scientific and rational approach of dust, using devices and already-mixed dust charges he can quickly assemble to create some simple similar effects. He has never said it but he doesn't like the idea to use dust to kill or fight (except grims that are a treat to humanity), he rather like to use it to save and protect lives, like the doctor who used it to save Ember. So he fight with his swod and skills, and use dust rarely in offensive ways.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm">He mainly fights with medieval sword techniques (messer, falchion and longsword) wich are far more technic than people could think, with disarmament techniques, fast counter-attacks, motion-efficient parries and strikes. His weapons capacities are used against tough or well armored foes like the biggest grim and he uses his lightnings against too agile or evasive targets that dodged a firt strike to increases his chances to hit. He has quite goods reflexes but parray or block with his gauntlet far more than he dodges. His tactic is to glue himself to the opponent to deny him the advantage of his own lack of ranged attacks.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm">This tactic requires to move a lot on the battlefield but his good physical training helps him to fit the role. He's especially dreadful against strong dust-dependant fighters because of his semblance and his knowledge about it. His combat style is very agressive because he always search to corner his foes and glue to them, according them no time to take their breath or to create distance with him. He never hesitates to catch a heavy blade with his heavy armored hand or to delibarately take a hit if he can give back a powerful counterattack. Out of fights he is ironically too careful and he acts sometimes a bit late when he would have to take action, always searching to avoid or delay fights, od to protect people he is responsible for.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm">When he fights along with his team, he stays especially close to Ember because she still lacks a bit of proper close range fighting abilities (and because they are together). They are known to fight as one man, better than with any other member of the team and indeed in a fiery fight they form a deadly duo, rolling over, below or aside each other to ward their back and override their weaknesses. He can use her third gun from time to time too.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm">His year late gave him more technic and self-possession than many other students. As a senoir student, he is already a well accomplished hunter.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm">He is the dust specialist/tecchie and the skirmisher of the team.

Trivia

 * Amsel is the German world for «blackbird », suggesting the deep black feathering of the (male) common backbird.
 * This is also a reference to the SR-71 blackbird stealth plane. His nickname « lockhead » is a pun on its manufaturer's name, the compagny Locheed Martin that builded it. It could also has been given to his because of his obsession to target his foe's head whith his dust lightning and often, to effectively strike them...
 * Turdus is the genus name of true thrush  whom blackbirds belong to.
 * Amsel's ressemblance to the blackbird doesn't stop on his coat coulor scheme,but is also noticable in the cutting edge piece of thecnology his weaponry is and all kind of utility devices he carries, reffering to the engeneering achievement this aicraft was. His role of leader for the team reflect the importance of intelligence in military conflicts this plane was buit for, and his preference to dust experimentation over fights makes him a more peacful piece of hunter, like the the military aircraft SR-71, not made for combat purposes.
 * Chrome yellow : or the old version of the "school bus yellow" . Guess what bus I am speaking about... It was first extracted by the French chemist Louis Vauquelin in 1797.
 * About Ember, there are officially together but they have a quite "soft" and above all, intimate relationship : they looks more like to childhood sweethearts than lovers in public and are quite low profile about that. Because they are friends since they are 4 years old and they train together since they are 15, they understand each other very easily, nearly as two mind-connected people.
 * Exanguis (in latin) means "blanched", "weakly" or "pale". Since his semblance removes the power and color of dust, it is appropriately named.
 * Do-you-know that in industry, water is used to cut all sort of materials up to 18" of thickness (45cm)? It is called waterjet cutting, using a very high pressure water stream. And when I say all sort of materials, I mean everything, diamond, tempered glass and some types of ceramics exepted. (even food, leather, rubber, textiles, paper, metals...). Abrasives particles can be added to the water to cut the more durable materials. A derivate of this technology uses ice crystal instead of solid particles and is called cryojet. These techniques have many advantages over other cutting technics, including a very good precision with a very thin cut, no heat is created during the process and complex forms can be produced. Amsel's dust-blade and shield ideas come from this technology (albeit in a more fancyful fashion), and allow him to have a extremely sharp blade. Some of the dust mixture is used to create pression and motion, the rest is used as the cutting sream. That's why his blade and gaultlet aren't simply metallic, because the stream would quikly damage his equipment.
 * A nova is also an powerful astrological phenomenon created when a small star dies (and colorful for Hubble by the way). Orion is a constellation contaning Rigel and Betelgeuse, the 7th and 9th brightest stars of our sky.
 * Nova is also the name given to a synthetic fiber developped for brushes by Da Vinci compagny and it is also the name of the product line using it. Orion is another synthetic fiber developped and used for brushes by Pebeo compagny