Graydon Dric, the Redeemed

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Don't do words. Never really did. Action's the way I speak. As long as I don't give you a face full of bronze, all is well.

~ Graydon Dric ~

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Wayfarer of Redemption

Graydon Dric and his older sisters, Aileen and Sarah, grew up in a noble family in a mineral rich mountain city. It was called Gravenbest. His life, like his sisters before him, was full of prosperity, always sheltered under the wings of his parents who ran the city. Every day in the streets was another lesson his parents gave him, that one should give more than take.
So diligent was he, that by the age of eight, he had learned more of life than his sisters had.
But then, Gravenbest was besieged without warning by the expanding Tenelean empire. Their feared wyvern riders, commanded by the revered Richard Boulderdash, laid waste to the city. Graydon witnessed one of these knights clad in blue slay his parents, before moving to do the same to his sisters. Overcome with rage, Graydon killed the man with his very weapon.
Commander Richard, having witnessed this, took pity on the girls and found fighting potential in Graydon. He offered a place in his house within the empire, and only under the threat of death did the three comply. Over the years, they underwent many trials and challenges as adopted children of House Boulderdash. Fighting technique, speech etiquette, and even espionage were frequent, all headed by Richard, but carried out by his son Hector, and his young son, Frederick.
Within the empire, strength was highly regarded, and equally rewarded. As the years past, Graydon still clung to his hatred of Teneleans. However, his sisters began to let go. They enjoyed the spoils of their imperial training more and more, and refused to listen when Graydon confronted them on many occasions.
More years passed, and by Graydon's twenty-fifth, he no longer felt that sibling aura from his sisters. They were no longer on his side, and their coronation as imperial kites washed away his last sliver of doubt.
Graydon only saw two choices: follow in their footsteps, or flee from it all. When he thought of all the innocents he might kill with the former, Graydon's feet chose to run. Out of the estate, out of the imperial capital, and out of the empire. Every step of the way, Tenelean officiates tried to apprehend him, but he evaded them just as deftly.

Graydon's Escape

He fled east as far as he could before he found himself back in Ravennian soil. He knew the empire would still search for him, so he realized he could never stop fleeing. As if the Seaworthy favored him, Graydon caught word there was a naval expedition set to make course off the Ravennian coastline, an expedition which was estimated to last for months at least. It was looking for voyagers.
This was his best chance. Doing everything a broke wanderer could do, he made it onto the ship, the Horizon, the day it was set to sail. Graydon found himself among a settler crew of at least one hundred. Its captain, Dominik Kaiden, didn't delay in its departure. When the seas covered the horizon on all sides, relief fell upon Graydon's shoulders.
But the hope of prosperity was not to last.
It was a stormy day. Everyone was asleep below decks, everyone but Graydon who stood at the back rail, watching the roar of the waves. Not before he was yanked to the ground violently. He moved to defend himself against these two cloaked adversaries he saw. Their blades were drawn, hungry for blood.
They were Tenelean, and Graydon was ready to kill them, but then the rampant winds blew their hoods away. His face fell bleak when he saw the stringent faces of Aileen and Sarah, who shouted his demise was at hand.
The empire had sent his sisters after him. And worse, they had complied. In that moment, Graydon drew his sword, for he knew no words would stop them. He had two choices yet again: his death, or theirs. The crash of metal struck out in the storm as the three met blow for blow, cut for cut.
The anger of his sisters was fierce, but not until it began to seep into him too. After another clash, a rage that dwarfed both of them filled Graydon, and he lashed out viciously. Faltering, the sisters were thrust through the helm of the ship, shattering its driving mechanism. The masts were decimated, every inch of its deck left splintered.
Soon Aileen and Sarah both fell to the ground, still spewing their duty to slay Graydon, who stood over top of them with his sword at the ready. Only two choices, that was what he had. In tears, he drove his blade through them both.
For several days after, he hid within the cargo hold, remorsing their deaths. Even as the rest of the crew panicked while a deathly fog began to cover the ship that could not flee from it, killing everyone slowly, Graydon hid. But he knew this fog would kill him too. And so once again, he had two choices: face the fog, or face the waves. He chose the waves, wishing to wash himself away from this world, starting with unconsciousness.
His vision dark, Graydon waited for the cold eternal hand of death to grip tight, but instead saw the visages of two golden spirits appear. Their forms were feminine and their faces smiled back at him warmly. Graydon couldn't resist the ensuing sadness, for these were the faces of his sisters who mouthed thanks to him.
He rejoiced, for he did not see anger in them anymore, but love. Together, the two absorbed into him, suddenly instilling great power in Graydon that felt foreign. Perhaps it was the Seaworthy favoring him yet again, because Graydon did not die, but somehow awoke coughing sea water on a beach of a strange desert. A land he did not know. But, his sisters were back with him, for good as far as he knew.

Shashan

Now he was in a new land, a land he hoped was far from the empire. Luckily, he saw a lone woman seated next to him. A woman who had seen him. A woman, named Unmei, who introduced him to the land of Mirai.
The legend of Graydon Dric soon unfolds into many different events. Events which leave his name wide and known across the entire continent of Shashan.
He was adopted into Unmei's family under her father, Aki, who was Mirai's rida. He became an outcast after Mirai was conquered by another aggressive empire called Gunji Teki.
He made a quick name as one of the most notorious criminals in the Tekian empire, known as the Kara Fantomu, because of his lethal skills at killing major leaders. He met another group who was wanted like him, called the Aku no Hana, and reunited himself with Unmei, who together thwarted a cosmic scheme by the empire's empress, Uso Tsuki. A scheme even the king of hell, Ugeroth, was involved in.
And in the end, so much damage was caused to the Tekian empire that its hold on Mirai was relinquished, and a new dynasty was instated. Under this dynasty, Graydon Dric became the emperor of Gunji Teki.

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He never mentions anything about those spirits of his. All he's voiced is that they are his sisters. Aren't siblings normally... normal? I always wonder what happened... that he can't even speak about it with his wife.

~ Unmei ~

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Year of Birth

1512 AC

Judgement

Graydon possesses a large quantity of combat improvisation, the bulk of it coming from the life experiences that shaped him on both Westerin and Shashan. He is capable of making anything a weapon in the heat of the moment, though his signature weapon is a massive greatsword.
He's wielded many different kinds, but his most current one was a gift from Unmei's father, Aki. It's name was Judgement, a greatsword sharper than any other, constructed entirely of polished bronze.
Sword always at his side, sheath always on his back, stories are told of the sword's propensity to cut through anything in one single swing. This instills respect toward Graydon as much as it does fear.

It's strange. Confidence can win many battles, yet fear always wins the war.

~ Graydon Dric

Family Heirlooms

In his earlier life, one thing Graydon remembered about his sisters were their fond sense of fashion. Even to the day of their death, Graydon still saw Aileen with her iconic purple scarf, worn around the bottom of her neck. He still glimpsed Sarah's necklace, with an orange diamond as its headpiece.
And somehow, when we had awoken on that desert beach, he had found the scarf wrapped around him, completely dry. And holding it all together was the orange headpiece of Sarah's necklace.
To Graydon, this was a fate he could not ignore, a destiny needed to be lived. He wears these everyday, tucked high in a way that covers the lower half of his face. To many, it is assumed as a scare tactic, but in reality, it is a show of remembrance. That Graydon will never forget the family his sisters were to him.

We used to be bitter rivals. I am relieved we became friends when we did.

~ Asuka