Amaranth Alexandria

"My father is a vain, selfish man who got where he is by tearing others down. All he has to do is snap his fingers and he can have anything in the world, but at the same time he has nothing. He knows nothing about true strength; that's not something you can buy or extort from someone. True strength must be earned. It must be cultivated, nourished, allowed time to grow. One day I'll prove that to him. I don't need his money, his resources, or his love. I will become strong on my own."

- Amaranth Alexandria

The leader of Team AERO, a third year team at Shade Academy. She is an elite student widely known as the "Red Ace" due to her flawless record and merciless fighting style.

Appearance
Amaranth has been described as pretty by many due to her natural good looks, but her stern expressions tend to scare people off. She has a rather petite figure, but years of training and self-discipline have made sure she is not only in shape, but also relatively muscular. Her outfit is designed for mobility in a fight, consisting of a red silken top with long sleeves and black pants of the same material. Her top is patterned with flowers, particularly in the likeness of her namesake. In addition she wears a red ribbon to hold her hair back in a high ponytail, keeping it out of her face during fights. Instead of normal shoes she nearly always wears her weapons--a pair of mechanical boots known as "Victoria", even when not on assignment.

Personality
Born into a wealthy family, Amaranth despises the idea of getting one's way through the use of riches. Her belief is that power must be obtained through dedication and effort, and as such dislikes those who do so via shortcuts. She is a no-nonsense girl whose strategic thinking and superior combat abilities have earned her the nickname Red Ace. Considered by many to be one of the most skilled students at Shade alongside her partner, Ebon, Amaranth is determined to live up to this expectation. At times she considers her teammates to be holding her back, particularly Rusty, but recognizes the value of teamwork, and the four are able to execute complex strategies in perfect sync. To most, Amaranth may seem cold and unapproachable, a persona she has adopted over her years of single-minded training. Because of this, there aren't many people in her life who consider her to be their friend.

Background
Amaranth's father is the overseer of the Vacuo branch of the Schnee Dust Company, making him one of the wealthiest men in the kingdom. Amaranth has very little respect for him, feeling that wealth has corrupted him, making him lazy and uncaring. As a result she chose to spend her life training to prove that true skill cannot be obtained through wealth. From age twelve onward she began a strict program of training her body and mind, using her father's resources to hire instructors from all over the kingdom. By the time she was accepted into Shade Amaranth was proficient in ten different martial arts styles and had built her weapons entirely on her own. She decided, however, that training with tutors could only get her so far, and chose to become a Huntress to gain real-world experience.

Amaranth's first few weeks at Shade were rocky ones. She had no interest in making friends, and as such isolated herself quite a bit. This became an issue when she was made the leader of Team AERO, a position which required her to take charge of and coordinate a group. Initially the team was a mess, largely due to the conflicting personalities of Ama and Rusty, but over time they learned to work as a unit. As Amaranth's time at Shade went on, her reputation only grew. She quickly climbed to the top of every class and was rarely defeated in combat. By her second year she had earned the nickname "Red Ace" due to her skill and leadership abilities, and is currently considered one of the top Huntresses at Shade.

Relationships
Team AERO: Being the leader of her team, Amaranth feels a lot of pressure to lead her teammates perfectly, occasionally letting her agenda come between them for the sake of the mission. Like with most others, she has a hard time interacting normally with them, particularly Rusty and Olivine. Despite her distant nature and harsh actions, she does genuinely care about them, and does her best to keep them safe. Other
 * Ebon Goldberg- Ebon is Amaranth's partner and one of the few people she considers to be a friend. He treats her as his commanding officer, always carrying out her strategies to perfection. The two of them understand each other well, with both feeling that they carry the world on their shoulders, and as such can be very open and honest when it is just the two of them.
 * Rusty Rosenthal- Unlike her other teammates, Amaranth is constantly annoyed with Rusty due to his laid back personality and tendency to ignore orders and strategy. Although there are few things they see eye to eye on, they do respect each other's abilities and can work together when the mission requires it.
 * Olivine Peridot- Livi is the closest thing Amaranth has ever had to a sister, and as such she does her best to protect her. She doesn't always understand the girl's reclusive tendencies, but she does depend on her greatly, especially in combat where Livi's marksmanship is a vital tool in keeping her safe.
 * Tyrian Alexandria- Amaranth has a very strained relationship her father. She sees him as everything she hates--a greedy, uncaring man who thinks he can get anything he wants because of his station. It was his conduct that drove her to seek power on her own terms. One day she hopes to prove to him that his ideals are wrong.

Combat
Amaranth is a powerful offensive force for her team, always prepared to step in and strike first. Having had several martial arts tutors in the past, she knows many different fighting styles and utilizes each of them in combat to the point that she has developed her own unique fighting style.

Weapons- Victoria
Amaranth's weapons are a pair of kinetic blast boots which allow her to fire short-range pulses from either the soles or toes. She uses this in a variety of ways, but the majority of the time prefers to augment her own movements with the force they emit. Her primary method of attacking with the Victoria is to fire them off in the middle of an attack, amplifying its force. Many have found themselves unfortunate enough to be on the receiving end of her famed kicks.

While the offensive skills of her weapons are excellent, they are equally useful for mobility. The recoil from her shots can easily propel Amaranth into the air and even alter her trajectory if needed. The downside is that due to the nature of the boots she have very little defensive capability, although this is balanced out by her semblance.

Semblance- Paragon
"I am the shield which protects my team. If I fail to do that, what good am I as a leader?"

- Amaranth Alexandria

The Semblance Amaranth possesses is commonly referred to by Shade students as the Absolute Shield. It allows her aura to compress itself and manifest in the form of light red hexagonal barriers. These barriers can be summoned at any angle as long as they are within her line of sight. Despite the highly defensive nature of her Semblance, its range is limited to a few meters, and as such, Amaranth must be relatively close to others to protect them. Although it may seem to be a purely defensive power, Amaranth has learned to utilize Paragon in her attacks, reinforcing her arms and legs with compressed aura to let her hit harder without causing self-injury. With this she can freely let lose with recoil-powered kicks and deadly strikes which could result in painful backlash to a normal person's body. Paragon's main weakness is that it cannot surround her from every angle, and forming a barrier when her energy is running low physically strips her aura away from her body, leaving her completely vulnerable to attack if she isn't careful.

Tactics
Amaranth's fighting style is precise and unyielding. She doesn't possess as much brute strength as her partner Ebon, but it's very rare to find her in a situation she isn't prepared for. When she does fight she uses various martial arts techniques in conjunction with her weapons and semblance to swiftly disable her opponent. Every move she makes is precise and calculated, making her a perfect team leader.

Strengths

 * Amaranth excels in close one-on-one combat, easily taking down enemies with just a few well-aimed strikes.
 * The nature of her weapon gives her an extended range of mobility, allowing her to jump farther, maneuver better and strike harder than most other fighters
 * As long as she has enough aura to use Paragon, she can stop nearly any attack cold. It also allows her to protect her blind spots.

Weaknesses

 * Despite the overwhelming defense her Semblance provides, it can leave her vulnerable in an extended fight. The more aura is channeled into her shields, the more of her body is left exposed to attack.
 * Groups of foes are a nightmare for Ama due to her fighting style. Because of the limits on where Paragon can protect her, striking from behind usually means getting an easy hit in. Her usual method of attack is a full forward assault, and though this lets her to quickly take foes out one at a time it doesn't take into account large groups.
 * Amaranth's attacks revolve around crushing blows and lack the finesse of weapons such as swords or spears. As such she doesn't have much penetrating power, and struggles with armored foes.
 * As powerful as the Victoria are, they lack range, leaving her at a disadvantage in long distance combat.

Trivia

 * Amaranth's surname is a nod to the ancient library of Alexandria, seen as a large collection of knowledge. This fits her philosophy that one must gather knowledge and power personally without relying on things such as money or prestige.
 * Like her teammates, Amaranth's name also references a type of media, with hers being literature.

Character Theme: Blitz- Soul Eater