Laven Demmick

"I'm typically pretty understanding, but I'm not in the best of moods right now. So I strongly suggest that you get out of my way."

- Laven addressing members of the White Fang who were blocking him and his teammates when they were escorting people to the safe zone during the fall of Beacon

Backstory:
Laven Demmick is a ninteeen year old male human student at Beacon Academy, and the leader of team LPIS (pronounced "lapis"). He is originally from Vale and grew up with his parents. From an early age, Laven had a desire to be a huntsman. His mother is a huntress, and the one who first piqued his interest in the line of work. Laven wanted to make a difference in the world in whatever way he could, and was inspired by his mother's passion for her job, so she started to teach him how to fight. Once he was old enough he enrolled at Signal Academy. However, his first year didn't go so well. He had only thought of the excitement of being a huntsman without considering the amount of work that went into it, so he ended his first year as one of the worst students in his class. Realizing how wrong he had been, and after getting a verbal beat-down from his parents (especially his mother), Laven worked his absolute hardest and managed to pull through with passing grades the rest of his time at Signal. But he still had trouble from time to time finding the motivation to focus on his studies, as he himself admitted later on that he wasn't a great student.

After Laven finished at Signal, his mother insisted on having a sparring match with him to see what he had learned. She, in his words, "mopped the floor with him." Despite this, she could see that he had matured a lot. After this, he applied to Beacon, and to his surprise, passed his entrance exams with flying colors. This is when he met his teammates, Ingot and Sterling Ember, and Pitch Thorn. After the trial to determine the teams, they were put together to form Team LPIS, and he was chosen as their leader.

During the fall of Beacon, Laven and his teammates fought until they were all exhausted and injured to varying degrees. Team LPIS was escorting a group of people who couldn't fight to the safe zone in Vale when a huge horde of Grimm attacked them. Laven and Pitch, who were at the back of the column, were surrounded by a small pack of Beowolves and their Alpha. The two managed to kill them, but Laven's wounds were so severe at this point that he could no longer fight, leaving Pitch, who was also battered, to cover both of them. Once they got everyone else to the safe zone, Laven's other two teammates realized that he and Pitch weren't with them, and went back to find them; they were accompanied by a few Atlesian soldiers and Laven's mother, who was near Vale when the battle started, and so had been called in to assist. They found him and Pitch just as another wave of Grimm was bearing down on them. After they drove the monsters back, Sterling picked up Laven and carried him to the safe zone because he was too injured to even stand at this point. After the battle was over, Laven's parents took the whole team into their home while he recovered.

Appearance:
Laven is around 5' 9", and very slim with a fair amount of muscle. He has shaggy, lavender colored hair that falls to his shoulders and into his face, causing him to have to push it over to the side in order to see. Though it still covers his left eye. His hair has a black streak that makes up his bangs. He has piercing green eyes, and sharp features. He wears a purple t-shirt underneath a black jacket lined with purple. His jeans are black with a black belt that has a purple buckle. He wears black sneakers with purple laces. His symbol, a purple flame in a spiral, is on the left shoulder of his jacket.

Personality:
Laven is usually easy-going  away from the battlefield. He tends to be very shy in new surroundings with new people, but warms up quickly. He also displays a compassion and respect for others that made him well-liked by his teachers and classmates. Laven is fiercely loyal to his friends and teammates, willing to do anything for them. Despite all of this, Laven tends to be stubborn, and doesn't take advice as well as he should. Or he might take someone's advice but change his mind and do what he was originally going to do. No matter how well they get along, this always causes friction between him and his fourth teammate, Sterling.

Weapon: Laven's weapon of choice is his greatsword, nicknamed "Fury." When not in use, the blade is retracted and folded against the hilt. But when extended, Fury has a curved blade that is as long as Laven is tall, and about seven inches wide. Its color is the same as his hair. Laven forged it during his time at Signal with the help of his instructors.

The blade is made up of hundreds of interlocking segments that all combine to form one seamless weapon when extended. In order to use it, Laven hits a switch tucked away on the underside of the hilt, causing the blade to unfold and extend. It then locks into place and becomes exceptionally durable. The same process, except reversed, is used when he wants to put it away. The reason that he forged it this way was so that he had an easy way to store and carry it when he wasn't fighting, while still being able to arm himself at a moment's notice.

One serious drawback to his weapon is that it doesn't have a second form. Without any sort of gun mode to give him ranged options, Laven has to get up close to his opponent in order to engage them. However, when asked about this, his response was that his first attempt at forging it did in fact have a gun mode. But it was badly designed and almost killed him several times, and when he did finally get it to work, he found that he didn't like it because it didn't fit his fighting style, so he just stuck with a sword.

Semblance:
Laven's semblance is the ability to store power each time he lands a hit during a fight. It also works if whatever or whoever he is fighting blocks his attack, but the effect isn't nearly as strong. Once he has stored up enough power, he can do one of two things with it. He can either let it fade away and nothing happens, or he can tap into it and activate his semblance.

If he chooses to activate it, his entire body, including his eyes and even his sword glow purple and he becomes twice as strong and fast as he normally is. This does have some drawbacks, however. It only lasts for a certain amount of time, usually between two and five minutes. And once it wears off, it leaves him tired, making him vulnerable to taking hits that he might otherwise avoid.

Fighting style/physical abilities:
Along with being skilled with Fury, Laven is proficient at hand-to-hand fighting; if he needs to, he can fend off multiple opponents without his sword. Though there is a notable difference between how he well he does with his sword, as opposed to without. He's also adept at chaining kicks and other strikes into his swordplay, blocking one attack while simultaneously striking another opponent with an elbow or a fist.

Not only does he have skill, but Laven is also very strong despite his slender build, and can swing Fury without much effort. This is a result of the early start he got to his training, and also of Fury's size consistently being equal to his own. In fact, any time he got taller after forging it, even if only by an inch, Laven would have to add onto the blade so the balance was right. He can use his sword one-handed, and he does from time to time if he is fighting multiple opponents, but he doesn't have as much striking power if he does it that way, so he prefers to use it two-handed. Laven's speed, agility and reflexes are average for a huntsman or huntress.

Laven is able to think on his feet and adapt quickly in battle, and when he goes on the offensive, his fighting style can only be described as ferocious. However, this aggression can get Laven in trouble, as it often borders on recklessness. It can cloud his judgement during a fight if he allows himself to get out of control; this risk is especially high when he uses his semblance, as the enhanced physical abilities that he gets from it give him more confidence.

His skill with his weapon, combined with his aggressive and versatile fighting style, make him a well-rounded fighter, not to mention a dangerous enemy for anyone who gets in his way. Though he does need to make a conscious effort to maintain a level head so he can keep from making careless mistakes.

Strengths:

 * Can adapt quickly in battle
 * Fast, aggressive offense that can overwhelm an opponent if they're not ready
 * Well-rounded; he can hold his own with or without his weapon (however it needs to be noted that he does do better with it)

Weaknesses:

 * Costly semblance that leaves him tired once it wears off
 * His aggression can sometimes get the best of him and cloud his judgement in battle, especially when he uses his semblance
 * His weapon doesn't have any kind of gun or ranged mode, meaning that he has to get up close to his opponent in order to engage them; if they can keep him at a distance for a long enough time, they can wear him down

Trivia:

 * Each member of Team LPIS is a reference to a monster from the Monster Hunter games. Laven is inspired by Gore Magala, from Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate.
 * Laven's semblance is a (loose) reference to Gore Magala's abilities.
 * During the fall of Beacon, Laven used his semblance a total of three times, more than he ever used it in one battle. This tired him out to the point of taking hits that he otherwise could have easily avoided, which in turn depleted his aura. And this is what caused him to be wounded so severely.
 * His sword got its name one day when he was in sparring class at Signal. The instructor in charge of the class commented on Laven's aggressive fighting style, using the word, "furious." Laven took a liking to it, and decided to name his weapon Fury.
 * Laven's name is short for "lavender." Being a male character, lavender didn't seem to work for him. The pronunciation is "lae-ven," since the short "a" sounded strange.