Vermilion Elm

"Incinerate!"

- Vermilion Vermilion Elm is an Original Character (OC) created by Spixer.

Appearance
Vermilion is a man of average height in the RWBY world. He is a lean but well-built man, with light bronze skin and spikey black hair combed up with a Vermilion stripe dyed on his left side. His eyes match the colour of said dye which he inherited form his mother, and he wears two small hexagonal earrings as mementos from his father.

He has a few notable burn marks on his right shoulder and arm, which he got in the village fire a couple of years ago.

Outside of battle, he prefers to wear shorts and v-cut shirts accompanied by black sneakers. Ironically he dislikes wearing jeans all the time because his legs get sweaty due to heat. His preferred colours for his shirts are red, blue black, grey and green. Vermilion has a favourite, neon-green-hooded black sweatshirt that he wears during the cold. On more special occasions (e.g. Beacon's prom) he wears a white or light grey polo under a navy blue blazer with black pants and black leather shoes.

In battle, Vermilion wears a tight, gunmetal black hooded sweatshirt without sleeves. His sweatshirt is covered with white and red crescent patterns. He wears a dark brown belt with a silver lock - engraved on it, is Vermilion's emblem. He has a few, small brown pouches on his waist that carry bandages, alcohol for wounds and a small container that stores his dust crystals for Belsunna. Vermilions semi-tight pants are also black, again with a white and red stripe running down the sides of legs diagonally from top to bottom. Covering both his forearms are silver vambraces. On his right shoulder is a silver shoulder guard that covers his burns. He wears his same black shoes.

Personality
Vermilion has a courageous personality, something he inherited from both his parents. He will do anything to protect the people of Vale, something he could not accomplish with his village. He is quite calm as well, opposite to the fierce flames he can display in battle. Although, his recklessness can definitely get the better of him in and out of the battlefield - he can never back down from a fight. When enraged, he tends to have a much darker and ruthless side to himself; brutally eliminating all enemies in sight. Such is the opposite of his normally calm demeanour - which can catch people off guard when they see him like that. Having been born in a rural area, many of the high end city folk comment on his history and home negatively - causing him to develop a minor inferiority complex. It's because of this that he developed a desire to become the top hunter out there.

Vermilion, living in a small village his whole life, is very accustomed to close-knit relationships, especially with his team and parents. He is not very outgoing and more of an introvert, so he prefers to be around his teammates - although he can make good friends with other students from different academies if he is introduced. He keeps his emotions inside and tries his best not to show weakness or anger; although after a while such emotions may suddenly erupt in the form of his flames during the heat of batle.

He is also an excellent athlete, except that he dislikes swimming and is not actually good at it. He also hates being completely submerged under water wether its in a pool, a tub, or in the ocean. Oddly enough, he loves seafood and enjoys spear fishing as his past time (as long as it's near shore). He has incredible agility.

In battle, he prefers to fight using stealth first before hand to hand combat - so, he dresses in black to blend in the dark during night missions and in the shadows.

Weapons
Vermilion's weapon of choice is a spear called Belsunna. The spear is 13'0 long and can be used both for close-range and long-range attacks. Belsunna has no other weapon transformations, but can be powered by dust if desired. It has a red finish, with white Tron-like patterns that glow depending on the type of dust element it is first equipped with. Dust crystals and tubes can be loaded at the centre of the spear which can be slid open manually. It is locked to prevent it from opening during action. At the edge of the spear are open vents that can shoot out concentrated blasts of flames, water, ice, wind or lightning from dust cartridges/crystals. Within the spear, dust flows from their crystals and is carried to an exhaust port leading out the air vents. Think of it as how a dragon breaths fire.

The body of the spear itself is capable of catching fire without getting burnt but is only accomplishable when Vermilion's Semblance is activated (see 'Semblance'). It is also quite durable against blades and can be used to deflect bullets. It is not durable against extremely high temperatures and explosions, however.

Semblance
Vermilion's Semblance allows him to absorb, channel and direct heat within his muscles. When there is a high concentration of heat channeled and stored within Vermilion, he can project the heat by producing embers and flames that surround his body. These can burn anything they make contact with, with the exception of Belsunna. This allows him to make explosive fire-based attacks while wielding Belsunna, increasing attack power.

However, should Vermilion expend the heat reserves he absorbed and use up his remaining body heat, he could risk being in serious damage or even death as his body's heat temperature would have been drained. Therefore, he must deactivate his Semblance once it as been used up and must recharge. Like normal fire though, his flames can be put out quite easily....

Vermilion is also capable of producing his own heat energy by collecting and channeling the heat his body is constantly producing; however this is slow, inefficient and dangerous. A quick way for him to absorb heat is by coming in contact with fire or heat, fighting in direct sunlight, or come in contact with fire dust. However, he is not immune to all fire attacks. Unlike Belsunna, which can withstand higher temperatures, Vermilion will get hurt by fire attacks exceeding 38 degrees Celcius. At 37 and below, he can absorb and channel surrounding heat. In addition, he is not immune to explosives either.

His flames also tend to reflect a few of his emotions if his semblance is activated. A dark shade of wild, crimson flames surround him when he is angry or serious. Red-orange flames that barely flicker reflect his normal behaviour. Finally light-orange to yellow flames that dance quickly show Vermilion's anxiety and/or fear.

Backstory
Vermilion Elm was born and grew up in a small village situated near the Cliffside forest. The village was isolated and wasn’t as technologically advanced as the big cities, but it was enough to allow the villagers to live in peace.

He had a medium sized house where he lived with his mother, Gráinne Elm and his father Diarmuid Elm. At the ripe age of 12, his father began to teach him how to fight using a spear to help him hunt animals in the forest for food. Diarmuid gave his son a long, wooden spear with an iron tip to use as training; and every evening he’d spar with his father who taught him basic skills like how to hold the spear, what kind of attacks you can make with it and how to watch your opponent’s every move.

His mother on the other hand, took care of cooking and would forcefully (but lovingly) teach his son how to dance to ease off stress.

Four years have passed and Vermilion’s skills in using his spear had heightened drastically. He also grew quite fond of dancing. However, during this time, his father became very ill – no matter what cure his mother tried to give to him, it would not heal his ailment. So he would hunt on his own and look for herbs to give to Gráinne; hoping they could make a cure that could heal his father. Vermilion was set on helping his family out in anyway he could; he loved his mother and father very much.

One day Diarmuid called for him, and gave him a small violet box containing two black, hexagonal earrings which were supposed to be for Gráinne. He gave it to Vermilion as a memento for when he passes.

In the very same evening while scavenging fruits in the nearby forest trees, Vermilion discovers a black 'portal' and inspects it. He is attacked by a Beowolf summoned from the portal and manages to decapitate it single handedly with his spear but is wounded by it's claws. Moments after, an explosion erupts within the village, causing a wildfire that could be seen from where he was.

By the time Vermilion got to the village, everything was ablaze. Not only that but more Beowolves appeared and ravaged the town and people. Vermilion desperately searched for his parents and found his mother trapped on the other side of a thick wall of fire near the plaza. He forced his way through using the last of his aura, burning his clothes & parts of his skin and rescued his mother by using his own body as a shield. Then, just when a Beowolf was about to slash them both, Diarmuid swiftly appeared and pierced its skull with his own Vermilion. Diarmuid, barely able to stand, ordered his son and wife to leave him while he distracts the wolves. Though hesitant, Vermilion forces Gráinne to come with him and they run to the forest while Diarmuid attracts and fends off the Beowolves.

Desperately wounded and tired, Vermilion and Gráinne run north-east through the forest, heading to the kingdom of Vale. Meters behind them was a white Basilisk, who was hot on their tails. Just as soon as Vermilion was ready to sacrifice himself as well to save Gráinne, Hunters from Vale arrive and kill the Basilisk. The Hunters inform them that they were sent to put out a forest fire that erupted nearby. Gráinne told them there was a village blazing in that fire, gave them the directions to it, and pleaded to rescue her husband. One Huntress by the name of Volta E. Magnus, volunteered to accompany Vermilion and Gráinne back to Vale using an airship cruising nearby. They were then treated at one of Vale's hospitals.

A few days past, and Volta visited Vermilion and Gráinne's quarters at the hospital. She informs them, much to their disappointment, that they could not find Diarmuid. However, there could be hope, as the rescue team could not find his corpse in the village either. Meaning he survived. Vermilion, fuelled with vengeance and a sudden heroic passion to save his father, pleaded for him to train under Volta to become a Hunter. Volta was reluctant, but accepted after seeing the 'fire in his eyes'.

Two years have passed. Vermilion and his mother, Gráinne, resumed life once more. They lived in a small apartment which became a cozy home for the two. Vermilion's mother worked as a cook at a local restaurant while her son continued to train under Volta. During his time with Volta, Vermilion discovered his Semblance, which was heat and fire absorption, when he spilled hot coffee on himself after sparring with his mentor. The coffee, described by Vermilion, felt like it was at room temperature; it wasn't cold, but it wasn't hot either. Not only that but Volta taught Vermilion the properties of dust & Aura, Grimm, the history of Remnant, combat, and of course his own how to utilise his Semblance. It is believed he unlocked his Semblance after he crossed the fire wall to save his mother.

Vermilion later forged his own spear, called  'Belsunna' and was instructed by Volta to enter Beacon Academy as she 'taught him every she knew'. Volta signed Vermilion up for Beacon by negotiating with the head principal, which wasn't very difficult to do.

After being accepted to enter Beacon, Vermilion informed his mother of his journey and apologised for leaving her alone in the apartment. Gráinne, a little worried over her only son, nonetheless let him go; but there was one thing she told him before he left for Beacon: 'Do not let your vengeance fuel you.'

Fall of Beacon
During the downfall of Beacon Academy, Vermilion and the rest of team AERO fended off the incoming Grimm in the floating stadium. They allowed the audiences to flee first before leaving the stadium to fly to Beacon Academy. There, they fought side by side with other teams and rescued unarmed students from incoming Grimm and robots from the Atlesian Army. However, more and more Grimm began to spawn so the team had no choice but to run.

When team AERO was being tailed by Grimm to Beacon's court yard, Vermilion had no choice but to sacrifice Belsunna to prevent them from heading towards the landing pads with airships. Vermilion placed as many fire dust crystals as he could into his weapon, ignited Belsunna and launched it at the Grimm with full power, causing an explosion to erupt as it hit the ground - killing all Grimm that were in sight. The team then ran to the airships and escaped the zone with other teams.

In the aftermath, many students were left without a home, especially those that came from foreign kingdoms. Even though Vermilion had an apartment, it wasn't enough to house more than two people. Since the other three members - Aerolyn, Gray and Lánhuā each lived in the other three kingdoms, they had no home. So, Vermilion sought help from his former mentor, Volta in the hopes of finding a place for the team to stay. Volta allowed the group to live in her house for the time being so long as they help her with chores and cooking.

Without Belsunna, Vermilion then sought to forge a new lance, something that could surpass his old one. He declared his new lance's name to be "Ragnarok".

Stats
Vermilion is the type that allows him to finish off enemies quickly; but if the battle drags on for too long he'll lose stamina and get weaker. He's not strong in health and armour and lacks a shield of defense, so he relies on speed and evasion to survive (his evasion slowly lowers as the battle keeps going). His aura is his main source of defense and attack when his SembElm is activated. Vermilion's weapon allows him to make quick, rapid attacks using both it's blade and rear side as well as it's ranged dust attack.

Trivia

 * Vermilion alludes to the prince in The Prince and the Princess in the Forest


 * Vermilion's father and mother, Diarmuid and Gráinne, allude to Diarmuid O' Dyna & Gráinne from the famous Irish legend, The Pursuit of Diarmuid and Gráinne.
 * Diarmuid O' Dyna was a highly skilled warrior; said to be capable of killing 3,400 warriors single-handedly in order to save Gráinne.
 * In the anime Fate/Zero, 'Lancer' is the heroic spirit in human form; Diarmuid O' Dyna who wields two Elms.
 * Vermilion does not or is not intended to allude to Lancer from Fate/Zero nor does he symbolise him.


 * Vermilion's weapon, Belsunna, is a combination of the word  'Bel'  meaning 'Lord' or 'Master' in Mesopotamian while  'Sunna' is the personification of the Sun in Germanic Mythology. Sunna is the goddess of the Sun.
 * Belsunna is pronounced 'bell-sun-nah'.
 * Vermilion prefers stealth over hand to hand combat, but his weapon is difficult to hide thus giving him away easily.
 * Nevertheless, he can still hold his own when fighting close.
 * Team AERO is based off of the colour aero.