Elroy Osmail

"In the mirrors of the many judgments, my hands are the color of blood. I sometimes fancy myself an evil which exists to oppose other evils; and on that great Day of which the prophets speak but in which they do not truly believe, on the day the world is utterly cleansed of evil, then I too will go down into darkness, swallowing curses. Until then, I will not wash my hands nor let them hang useless."

- Roger Zelazny

Elroy Osmail is the 5th OC made by SideShot. Elroy is the leader of team EDWS and partnered with Wendy Castrenn

Appearance
Lean, tall and with a strong frame, Elroy has a physique of a classic Huntsman. Although often overshadowed by other more muscular classmates Elroy still has a look about him of strength and energy, and certainly one that has drawn the eye of several of his female, and sometimes male, schoolmates.

Elroy can often be seen with a jovial smirk or an intense look of enthusiasm in the heat of battle. He keeps his medium-short blonde hair a casual unkempt style with far more effort than Elroy would ever admit. His typical choice for outfit depends on the season but overall if he is not in his school uniform he'll be dressed for combat at all times, resembling more an officer from the great war than a normal huntsman. Wearing a custom maroon shirt resembling an old Vale officer's uniform with the shoulders and collar area a dark charcoal grey with gold trim. Additional gold trim detailing on the chest resemble twisting vines growing outward to his right shoulder. Elroy keeps his sleeves rolled up to allow him to more easilly put on his gauntlets. over this he wears a sturdy grey longcoat that he typically wears like a cape hanging on his shoulders, built into the cloak are staps that help secure his coat and his greatsword Ember

Personality
Elroy Osmail is seen by many as charismatic, jovial and optimistic, and seemingly without even a shred of modesty or tact. He speaks his mind and while sometimes he can be completely oblivious to how his words might be hurtful or insulting he means well and is gifted with an infectious enthusiasm that has made him a born leader; a title he strives to do justice to in the name of his mentors.

Elroy might look like he hasn't got a care in the world but he takes his duties seriously and believes wholeheartedly in his purpose as a future Huntsman. Although it doesn't happen frequently some people have seen this side of him override his usual pleasant attitude with a far more fierce side. combine that with his headstrong determination and his confidence in his actions and you quickly see that Elroy is very well suited to hold grudges and even hatred in his heart if he is not careful. However he strives to keep these flaws private and isolated from his actions.

Weapons
"Reach"

Elroy's weapons are a pair of custom Mantis Claws, an ancient faunus weapon design not commonly seen in Vale these days. Simple in design the single 18" long blade is attached to the index and middle finger which allows the wielder to move the blade quickly from hidden against the arm to fully extended. This, combined with a trio of 10cm long narrow spikes spaced 5cm apart allows the user to make very fast and unpredictable cuts and strikes limited only by the movement the hand, wrist and arm can make. Elroy's version is more modernized compared to the traditional weapon but functionally they are the same. His blades can fold up into a more manageable 3 inch package that slides onto the back of the hand to free the fingers for normal use while the spikes fold back along his arm when not in use. Elroy also made sure his gauntlets are armoured enough with segmented plates that allow him to block more types of attacks during his own offensive.

The gauntlets have a secondary gun-mode that can be used if the blade is in storage mode. The second form appears as a sleek package of metal on the gauntlet parallel with the thumb which can slide out and form a bull-pup SMG firing 5.7/28mm rounds with a fire rate of 900 rpm. The weapon has a magazine of 50 rounds loaded from the top and flush with the weapon (yes it is basically a stripped down FN P90). In the bottom of his magazines is also a compartment for a Dust cartridge that allows Elroy to apply the effects of dust to his projectiles or coat his claw or the armour plates of his gauntlet with the dust for additional effects, he also uses this Dust supply to just straight up cast Dust attacks like a fireball or an ice wave.

The third mode is a secondary blade on the bottom of the gauntlet that folds out a slim but sturdy knife attached to an extending boom that lets Elroy wield the knife his hand like a dagger when the Claw or Gun modes are not deployed. The knife are actually modified knife/grapple hooks using a small Wind Dust charge to shoot the blade while connected to a spool integrated in the handle. With the press of a button the weapon transforms into a grapple hook by splitting the blade in four parts and folding back forming the four prongs of the hook. The grapple-knife can be fired when held in the hand or when stored on the bottom of the arm and the blade has a small dust supply built in usually equipped with lightning dust, the cartridge is not replaceable in the field without proper maintenance tools and allows only for a single 5 second discharge.

"Ember"

The ancestral weapon of the Osmail family. A heavy greatsword that was forged more than a century ago and used in many conflicts including the Great War. While the name Osmail has not gathered many legends the sword of Ember does show up from time to time in stories wielded by nameless soldiers that would tear apart hordes of grimm and men alike, although oddly enough never would the wielder be the focus of these tales, but the victims or bystanders.

The blade has simple effective dust vents that cause a minor blast of fire to trail behind each swing, which while not the most efficient use of Dust it adds a layer of danger to each swing that makes it more difficult for a foe to evade the attack entirely. it was constructed to

Additional equipment (post Battle of Beacon)

Goldwind Booster.

Dust Types used:

Fire dust: Simple straight up fire dust. adds a burning coating to his bullets that immediately bursts into flames on impact.

Lightning Dust: a bit more expensive than the Fire Dust and a bit more rare after the sudden crime wave on Dust suppliers, Elroy still has a decent supply left of this dust type and uses it mainly to overpower other hunters with Aura as he can electrify his attacks with stunning results.

Ember Dust: A special Fire dust variant made for Hunters over a century ago, the Osmail family has long used it as their signature Dust in combat. When Elroy coats his bullets with this Dust type it will cause a delayed but more potent explosion on any surface he hits with it, this effect can stack if the target is hit several times leading to a simultaneous detonation of the accumulated Dust. When his blade is coated in it there will be a blast of fire following each swing as the dust mixes with the air for a delayed ignition.

Goldwind Dust: a special mix of dust that boosts the speed of the user and allows for rapid attacks and manoeuvring for a few seconds. the Goldwind dust can be used in conjunction with Elroy's Glyphs to give him a brief surge of speed after a teleport. when applied to his bullets they simply get a speedboost when leaving the barrel. Although Elroy personally thinks it can be better applied to his melee attacks the sudden boost in speed has helped him surprise some good defenders in missing their parries sometimes.

Abilities
Semblance: " The Domain of Amber"

Elroy can create Domain Glyphs of variable size, duration and magnitude. Elroy can teleport himself to anywhere within the boundaries of the Glyph not already occupied by another solid object. After 9 teleports the Glyph fades regardless of the charge remaining in it, and only one Glyph can be active at a time. Every Domain Glyph Elroy places has a set amount of aura invested it it, making them more akin to Aura constructs, and this means he does not suffer a constant drain on his aura as long as one is active but instead investing all the aura required from the start. The major disadvantage of this is that the longer a fight continues and the more he uses his semblance, the more limited it becomes and the more at risk he is at losing his Aura entirely.

Over the years he has learned to tweak the variables of his Domain Glyphs to his needs to avoid spending more energy on them than necessary, such as a small but long lasting Glyph he can keep returning to over the course of a battle or a large Glyph spanning a few dozen feet across the battlefield lasting for only the blink of an eye to evade an attack without an obvious clue to his next location. The act of teleporting also puts some strain on his body, it is negligible if he spaces them out but if he should jump in quick succession (more than 3 times in as many seconds) it will quickly tire him out and sap his physical strength. So generally he avoids overusing his teleportation until later in the fight.

Aura:

Elroy has learned with his time in The Circle at Flare academy to fight with the intent to not get hit. His semblance requires a good amount of energy to maintain for long times, same as his Dust casting. So typically he tries to use his aura conservatively and rely more on his weapons and his speed to minimize the drain on his reserves.

Combat:

Elroy excels in one-on-one combat, using his unpredictable weapons and the superior mobility of his semblance to attack from any angle in quick succession. Combined with his agility and his speed it looks more like a confusing dance than actual fighting, and is very hard to keep track of the position of the blades and the reach he has with it. He specialises in attack weak, unprotected points like the neck or eyes or using the force of the target's own actions to add more power to his attacks, like tripping a foe while having his blade hooked around their neck and letting gravity do most of the work. In tournament style battles he typically prefers not to use his SMGs except when he is facing a really challenging opponent capable of countering his strikes with ease. When slaying Grimm he is much more liberal in using his weapons to mow down any beasts out of his Claws' reach. Another skill Elroy has but tries not to boast about is his skill with using Dust in conjunction with his weapons and semblance. Aside from the typical dust-coated attacks he can throw a decent fireball or summon and control strong winds, however he is greatly overshadowed by his teammate Starling when it comes to anything related to Dust.

Combat Stats
Melee: 10/10. Elroy is exceptionally skilled in close quarters combat thanks to his mastery of the Mantis Claw. Using the unconventional style and his own tendency to appear at unexpected angles using his semblance he quickly eliminate threats if he gets close to them

Ranged: 6/10. Elroy's weapons give him a proper answer to ranged combat, but the fact that the weapons are mounted on his gauntlets limits their precision and power compared to normal firearms. He makes up for this in rate of fire and additional Dust effects that work especially well in close range

Armour: 3/10. Nearly all of Elroy's equipment and aura is dedicated to offence. Relying more on speed and dodging than taking a hit the only armour he wears is on his gauntlets allowing him to block attacks.

Dust: 8/10. Elroy uses a variety of Dust to augment his attacks and although normally it is all used on just his weapons he knows how to use pure dust for more spectacular effects.

Aura: 7/10. His willpower combined with his extensive training have given Elroy a large reserve for his aura to draw on. He can burn through this reserve quickly if he overuses his Semblance and Dust but as he tries to end fights fast he isn't concerned about running out too quickly.

Speed: 8/10. Since before he unlocked his Aura the lessons of his mentor have taught Elroy that the best defence is to not even get hit. With his semblance and his years of training combined Elroy can strike with blinding speed and not many at Beacon who could match his tempo in a fight.

Background
Elroy comes from an old military family that managed to lift itself up in the aftermath of the Great war to a respectable and wealthy name in Vale. Elroy's great-grandfather founded the Osmail Aerotech company, one of the better established producers of parts and engines for modern VTOL and jet powered airships, only Elroy and his father are the first in generations to not have served in the Vale armed forces.

Elroy can't really recall when he set his sights on becoming a huntsman but when he was seven his father agreed to let him receive training in using weapons and get instructed in how to channel his aura. his grandfather was the one who found this mentor for Elroy, a man called Lux Syrèl. Lux was a lean, short man with a bald head and a neat goatee of the same coarse black and grey hair as on his tail that was always moving with a deliberate grace. With hard work under his new mentor Elroy learned how to fight before he would be trained in using his aura, as his master deemed it better not to learn to rely on the protective qualities of aura until after learning the basics of swordplay and instead learn to actually dodge or deflect any attacks at the risk of a training weapon's sting. It was a time of many bruises and broken bones, with Elroy's mother protesting to such brutal lessons but Elroy kept on going, believing in Lux that he knew what he was doing, that this would work.

When Elroy was ten years old the tensions around faunus rights and discrimination were on the rise again, and his father's company was met with the typical accusations of exploiting the mainly faunus workforce employed in their factories. One night a gang of disgruntled Faunus attacked the Osmail mansion, armed with firebombs and axes they broke down the gate and attacked anyone in the mansion, master or servant, human or Faunus. Elroy was still up and practising with Lux when it happened and they managed to fight their way to the rest of his family.

By the time Elroy enrolled at Flare academy to further his training as a huntsman he already had a significant edge on his classmates when it came to combat. Flare is one of the older and more traditional schools for training to become hunters and that is seen best in the school's policy to train its students how to fight other people instead of how to fight Grimm, claiming that learning to fight a foe as resourceful as man is the best preparation for anyone who would have to face the creatures of Grimm.

Trivia

 * Elroy means the King and relates to royal blue as a colour.
 * Elroy is based on several characters from books and anime including Roy Mustang from Fullmetal Alchemist and Prince Eric of Amber from the chronicles of Amber books by Roger Zelazny.
 * Elroy is designed to be Jericho Corey's better as his former mentor. His weapons reflect this by combining both styles Jericho uses but better and combined into a single package.