Idrian Sepulki
The Ram
Idrian Sepulki is the Breacher for the Ironhorn Rams. He is over six feet tall with dark skin, broad shoulders, and strong legs. He is also missing an eye, which he replaced with a masterwork godglass one made by Master Kastora. Idrian joined the Ossan Foreign Legion as a way to pay off a debt he incurred when they purchased the godglass eye for him to ward off his madness, and he wears a debt marker around his neck to indicate how much longer he has left in his service. Generally, the military does not accept soldiers with his mental condition, but Idrian is also a glazalier, making him an invaluable Breacher, which is why they purchased the eye for him. Because of his precarious condition, Idrian takes his mental health seriously, especially after every battle, so he empties his mind of violence, clearing his head, by kneeling and meditating amongst the dead, though he realizes that oftentimes grief must be put off until later. His madness manifests as auditory and visual hallucinations, which grow more frequent and pronounced as the sorcery in his godglass eye wanes.
In battle, Idrian wears half plate armor and carries a kit shield and bastard sword, all of which are studded with various kinds of godglass. He also has a helmet with two curling rams horns made of hammerglass, which gives him the nickname "the Ram." He is easily the most famous Breacher in Foreign Legion.
Idrian grew up in Marn, and he has childhood memories of hunting crag cats in the Marnish highlands. He is also estranged from his father, who abused Idrian when he was a child, though only a few people know this.
STORY
Idrian Sepulki goes with Demir Grappo to accept the surrender of Holikan. He sees Demir's breakdown and tries to help by offering milkglass for his wounds and reassuring him that Myria Forl is safe, but Demir resigns on the spot and goes into exile.
Nine years later, Idrian and the Ironhorn Rams are deployed against the Duchy of Grent after Adriana Grappo's death. When an enemy artillery shell decimates a tower, collapsing it on top of his fellow soldiers, Idrian uses his shield to dig out the rubble. As Idrian's new armorer, Braileer Holdest tells Idrian that he should not use his shield as a shovel, but Idrian explains that it is a tool to protect his comrades, so he will use it anyway he must in order to do that. He manages to save Squeaks before introducing Braileer to the rest of the Ironhorns, reluctantly accepting the boy as his armorer after learning how well he can cook and seeing how he follows right behind him into battle.
After Demir's return to Ossa, he asks Idrian go with him to infiltrate the Grent Royal Glassworks in order to save Master Kastora. Unfortunately, the two of them find the master siliceer dying from a bayonet wound. Master Kastora tells them about the cindersand shortage, his partnership with Adriana Grappo, and the phoenix channel, and he asks that they find Thessa Foleer. Master Kastora then dies in agony. Idrian tells Demir he will help him with the phoenix channel project only if he can use it to recharge his godglass eye. Demir makes that promise, and Idrian sends the destroyed phoenix channel prototype to the Hyacinth Hotel. With the death of Master Kastora, Idrian no longer has a way to receive maintenance on his godglass eye, which results in him hearing children's laughter. He ignores the sound but begins to doubt his sanity.
While gathering supplies for the phoenix channel, Demir asks Idrian to retrieve a piece of cinderite from the Duke of Grent's art collection, and Idrian agrees since the army is set to capture the Ducal Palace of Grent soon. Idrian continues to fight in the war against Grent, most distinctly engaging a Grent Breacher in one-on-one combat and killing a glassdancer by jumping on top of him from a rooftop. However, when Grent hires the Kerite's Drakes mercenaries, General Stavri pulls the Foreign Legion back toward Ossa, not taking the Grent ducal palace. This forces Idrian to sneak into the palace while it is still being used as a Grent army barracks. Without wearing his armor, he finds a way inside and digs his way through the duke's crated up art collection, finding the cinderite just before the Grent soldiers break down the door. He wraps the cinderite in lambskin and escapes by climbing out of a chimney and drops one of Mika Willaria's grenades behind him. He then sends the cinderite to the Hyacinth Hotel for Demir. To cover for Idrian's absence, Mika and Tadeas Grappo forge leave papers for Idrian that state he was on a short leave to see his father. Idrian argues that he would never visit his estranged father, but Tadeas reassures him that none of the senior officers would know that and that he owes Mika a bottle of twenty-year Fletching for her help.
With Devia Kerite now leading the Grent army, the Ossans begins to lose the war, so Idrian helps the Foreign Legion make a defensive retreat back toward Ossa. He tells Tadeas to trust Mika's strategy in laying mines, and together they lay traps for Kerite's Drakes. After General Stavri and his officers are murdered by a glassdancer, Demir takes control of the army, and Idrian sees Demir joining the fight. They retreat back to Fort Cundick only to find it in severe disrepair. At the fort, Idrian reunites with Tilly Jorfax, an old friend he has known for over thirty years and who has an exclusive soft spot for him. To prepare for their upcoming fight against Grent, Demir orders Colonel Jorfax to send her glassdancers out as scouts, and he asks Mika to invent a new type of lighter weight grenade that can be flung farther with a sling. Unfortunately, the flying glassdancer begins killing Colonel Jorfax's scouting parties. Squeaks later reports seeing a monster in the woods, but Idrian does not believe her, thinking that perhaps she had hit her head when the tower fell on her.
Later, Squeaks reports sensing a glassdancer infiltrating their camp, so Idrian climbs onto the roof to kill the assassin. However, he immediately realizes the assassin is not actually human when the creature fights with superhuman speed and strength and flies away off the roof. At first, Idrian thinks it is a hallucination. However, Tadeas and Mika join him, confirming that they saw the same thing. Not long after this, Colonel Jorfax reports the news of her killed glassdancer scouts to Demir, so Idrian and Tadeas report their encounter with the flying glassdancer. Demir believes them only because they would never joke in Colonel Jorfax's presence, and he relates his own encounter with a monster at the Hyacinth Hotel.
Idrian decides to go after the monster, assembling a taskforce to pose as a scouting party as a trap. When asking Colonel Jorfax for some of her glassdancers to come on the expedition, she insists that he call her Tilly, making him the only person allowed to do so, and they discuss their relationships with their comrades. He tells her that he cares about everyone in his battalion and fights for them. He encourages her to see the good in her own soldiers rather than their weaknesses, but she explains that she cannot kill and care at the same time, but she envies him his friendships. She agrees to join his taskforce herself. Idrian also recruits Mika, who has finished designing her new grenades. Mika tells Idrian that one of those grenades may kill him one day if an enemy somehow manages to copy her design. When he asks if she will join him, she agrees, saying that she just can't stop thinking about that flying monster and can't wait to blow it up. Idrian also brings along Braileer and Squeaks and wears a cloak around his Breacher armor to hide his identity.
As they hunt for the flying glassdancer, they find its latest victims, whom Colonel Jorfax identities as members of Lorstel's scouting party, but they do not find the monster. When they receive word that Kerite has ordered a full assault against the Ossan army, Idrian defers to Colonel Jorfax's rank, and she agrees that they should regroup with the army. However, just as they turn back, the flying glassdancer appears. It knocks Colonel Jorfax's horse on top of her and breaks Squeaks's arm before seizing Braileer and flying up into the air. Mika manages to drive it back down with a grenade, allowing Idrian to cut into the creature with his sword. It drops Braileer and flies off. Idrian orders Mika to save Colonel Jorfax while he runs to Braileer.
Seeing that Braileer is mortally wounded, he carries his armorer to the military medical tents and begs Glory to save him. Glory refuses, citing the godglass shortage that resulted in the policy that high-resonance cureglass only be used on Breachers, glassdancers, and high ranking officers. Not wanting to see Braileer die, Idrian bargains with Coordinator-Lieutenant Prosotsi, promising to serve for one more year with the Foreign Legion in exchange for getting Braileer surgery. Lieutenant Prosotsi asks if Idrian is sure, since he only has days left, which would allow him to leave even before the end of the war, but he is certain. She agrees to his terms, stating the Empire now owns another year of his life. Idrian wonders if Jorfax would call him a disgrace for making such a deal, but he realizes that if Braileer lived, he would regret nothing.
