Ermengarde Lewsburg

Ermengarde Lewsburg is a Domerian former noblewoman and an active member member of Crux Squadron "Spearhead". Pushed into the military by her family in order to maintain their influence, she was quickly fast tracked into Crux training, and now wields her families ancestral Crux, Feint.

Physical Description

General Physical Condition

Ermengarde is relatively short and slender compared to most Crux wielders, though her years of military service have brought her strength and endurance up to acceptable levels. When enhanced by her Crux, Feint, her agility and reflexes become supernaturally strong, even when compared to the normal enhancements Crux wielders receive. Her strength is nothing special while enhanced, but it is still enough to let her break someone's arm with little effort.

Apparel & Accessories

Ermengarde wears a lightly modified version of the standard Crux armor of the Armed Forces of Domeris while in combat. The uniform consists of a red and black shirt as well as black pants. The shirt is a crimson red on the upper chest, the color of the Doranists, and switches to black for the sleeves and lower torso. Red and gold highlights run along the cuff at the wrist. A red highlight runs along the lower edge of the shirt. A pair of black ammunition boots are worn to protect the feet. A black cuirass is worn over the shirt, hiding the seams where the shirt switches color from view. A series of black steel plates cover the shoulders and upper arms, and also hide the seam where the color of the shirt switches from red on the upper arms to black on the lower arms. The strength enhancements of a Crux allow her to remain deceptively agile while wearing the armor.

Specialized Equipment

Ermengarde wields Feint, the ancestral Crux of her family. Feint is a rapier that allows its user to project illusions of themselves while in combat, alongside the traditional enhancements of Strength, reflexes and flight. Ermengarde is able to utilize this ability with terrifying efficiency, always leaving her enemies guessing which version of her is the real one. She also wields the standard issue Type-01 revolver, and has become quite adept at picking off stragglers with it.

Mental characteristics

Personal history

Born as Ermengarde von Lewsburg, Ermengarde was the second child of the von Lewsburg household. A noble family tracing its lineage back to the 80 sworn companions of Roland Aves, who carved the kingdom of Domeris out of a multitude of squabbling duchies and principalities. Although her brother was the favored child of the household as the heir to the family, Ermengarde still received the basic lessons in swordplay and Crux piloting that were to be expected of every Domerian noble. Left to her own devices, Ermengarde quickly developed an interest in the history of Domeris and her own house. Devouring every book she could get her hands on.
Everything changed after her 7th birthday, in what would be the final year of the war with Lorand. Her mother and father were called off to participate in the war effort, both due to their skill as Crux knights and to maintain the image expected of a Domerian noble. They would not return. On some level, Ermengarde had known the war was not proceeding well. Though nobody was interested in giving a 7 year old child detailed status reports, she managed to pick up enough from the idle chatter of the servants within the estate. Eventually her aunt, Athala von Lewsburg arrived in order to take charge of the household.
A few weeks later she was awoken in the middle of the night and lead to a carriage with her brother, alongside several valuable family Cruxes. The armies of Lorand were moving far faster than anticipated, and their estate would soon be seized as a field headquarters for the swiftly approaching division Kléber of the Lorandian Free Forces. Ermengarde and her brother were transported to the capital of Darchen, and taken in by the royal court.
The court was far from what she had expected. She had heard tales of a ruthless gameboard, where noble lineages could rise or fall over the course of a single afternoon. She had been thoroughly educated in court etiquette, if only to ensure that she didn't embarrass the family. The court she arrived at was nothing like that, consumed by a strange sort of listlessness. They still aped at politicking, but only in the ways a child would emulate the actions of an adult. The court seemed to shrink every day, nobles who had sworn their lives to the defense of the homeland disappearing a few days later.
She only stayed at the court for a month. Each day blending into the next, she almost missed the chaos that consumed the capital when Andria Aves declared herself the rightful queen. One day she simply received the news that a ceasefire had been declared, and was carted off to her estate along with her brother.
They arrived at a smoldering ruin. Anything valuable had been carted off to Lorand when division Kléber left to assume garrison duties at Starfall. Some of the soldiers had decided to set the estate on fire before leaving, a token of their appreciation to the noble family they knew owned the estate. Shortly after the estate itself was nationalized as part of Doran Regnars reorganization of the country. And the abolition of noble titles resulted in the family losing all of the privileges, and most importantly tax exceptions, that came with such a title.
The years that followed were hard, but not unbearable. The house of von Lewsburg might have fallen far, but the sheer heights it had reached provided a solid foundation. Ermengarde's brother was declared the new head of the house, with Athala serving as regent until he came of age. Foreign investments were liquidated and used to reestablish a powerbase within the country. A few well placed bribes even allowed the family to reclaim large portions of their traditional lands.
Ermengarde threw herself into her studies during this period, in part to distract herself from the absence of her parents. Tearing through volumes of books concerning everything from the natural sciences to philosophy. A few years later and the family fortune had recovered enough to assign her a personal combat tutor. Ermengarde knew what fate befell the Crux knights of the royal army when they faced the Lorandian Free Forces, and she would not repeat their mistakes.
The royal army had suffered greatly during the war, both at the hands of the Lorandians and during the swift cleanup of all forces not loyal to Doran shortly after he took power. This meant that the military was desperate for more recruits, especially ones with existing experience wielding Cruxes. Ermengarde would enlist in the Armed Forces of Domeris when she was 19 years old, and a family connection allowed her to reclaim her families heirloom Crux, Feint, in exchange for her service.
Ermengarde would rise though the ranks, eventually reaching her current position of Lieutenant shortly before joining Crux Squadron "Spearhead", acting as the second in command. Though Sibylle Luden's inexperience with the structure of the Armed Forces of Domeris has resulted in her taking over the majority of the administrative duties of the squadron as well.

Personality Characteristics

Motivation

Ermengarde wants power, pure and simple. The anarchy following the collapse of the royal army during The Bleeding War showed her the true nature of the common people, a roving mob that only understood violence. Only the iron force of the law can keep them in line. The noble lines of Domeris had understood this, carefully shepherding the masses away from the bloody chaos of radicalism and into their proper social roles. But the incompetency of the royal army had allowed centuries of hard work to be destroyed in a few short years. Doran Regnars regime cannot last forever, its nature is to be short sighted and self destructive, and Domeris will once again have to turn to the noble lines of old to lead it. The more power and influence she can secure, the better set she will be to lead Domeris away from chaos once the high general is out of the picture. Despite all of this this, Ermengarde is not committed to removing Doran from power just yet, for there is one foe she hates above all else.
The United Republics of Lorand. The seat of revolutionary chaos, committed to burning the whole world down in service to insane platitudes about equality and the rights of man. They had invaded her homeland, slaughtered most of her family, looted her ancestral estates and empowered a crazed madman to rule over the ashes of her once proud nation. As long as Doran has his eyes set on a renewed war with Lorand, she would support his regime.

Age

22

Eyes

Brown

Hair

Brown

Skin Tone/Pigmentation

Fair

Height

5'3''

Aligned Organization

Crux Squadron "Spearhead"

Other Affiliations

• Domeris