Rhys Alhensteim, also known as the Black Wolf of Calamity, is a former soldier and one of the most wanted men in the empire, an infamous criminal with a bounty rich enough to let any man retire in luxury, and a list of crimes that beggars belief. One of the foremost members of the rebel terrorist orginization Calamity Gear, his visage is plastered across wanted posters the empire across, but beneath the surface the man weaves a different tale. He is the de-facto protagonist of Pandora Paradox
History
The black wolf, calamities herald, the butcher of Isala – known by many names throughout the empire, Alhenstein stands as one of the most wanted criminal in the empire, his face plastered on wanted posters and bounty boards all across the land. The face of the rebel faction, Calamity Gear, and a feared assassin and saboteur, a traitor to the crown, responsible for countless reprehensible acts of slaughter and brutality.
Yet to ask others, he is a hero of sorts, a defender of the downtrodden, a righter of wrongs, a blade from the shadows to oppose those who work in the dark. A sombre protector of right and wrong, an enemy of unjust law and the chains of order
Born the eldest child of a large mining family in the 1st tier of the 16th sealed city, Stormberg. Life was difficult for rhys and those around him, supplies were short, space was limited and due to the mines beneath the city – the main source of income for the city, especially the lower classes, drying up, the economy was crashing down, and rationing growing tighter. But even as supplies were short, merriment and joy were strong in the slums, the people joined into almost an extended family by their shared experiences, even as they had to tighten their belts.
Happy, it was, until the eve of Rhy’s 13th naming day, when in the aftermath of a particularly lean winter, three of his younger siblings succumbed to famine and passed away. After a bitter argument with his parents – both objectors too the millitant nature of the empire and neither holding citizens rights – rhy’s left the house, intent on applying to the millitary academy, to provide for his family if his parents where unwilling. He resolved he would become a soldier beyond measure, to win glory and renown and rise within the empire in the only way it seemed possible, so he could give his family the life they deserved, to escape the eternal struggle of the lowest class.
His drive soon led him to excel, and he proved himself one of the finest cadets of the generation. The academy not only helped hone his body into a weapon, to teach him how to fight with a vast range of weapons and arms, but it also helped shape his mind; lessons on logistics, on history, on law and order, even the arts and literature. More importantly, however, he found a new family in the squad he had been placed with, as they ate together, slept together, took their classes as one, being forged together into a single machine. His visits to his old home where few, in part because his parent’s never accepted his choice, but regardless he still sent the majority of his salary to his family back in the slums.
Graduating with the highest honours after his five year tenure, Rhys’ unshakeable will, his eminent skill and his willingness to do whatever it took causes him to be scouted by the elite branch of the military police known as the sleepwalkers; though at first he had misgivings about leaving his unit to join the sleepwalkers – both from their bad reputation, and reluctance to leave the people he had grown close too once again, but in the end he accepted the post and the position; both because he felt it was where he could do the most good for the empire, and because he felt it was the quickest path to his goals.
Much like in the academy, Rhys excelled from the start; he was personally responsible for quelling the violent rebellion of the so called esper queen, he helped to stop a mass saboteur strike from the free states that would have crippled the empire’s mechanical might. Working in the darkness of the night, Rhys helped quel many a rebellion, to remove those deemed to dangerous to live, or too powerful for the law to handle in the light. He aided in the suppression of over three dozen espers, be they violent or just afraid. Soon he was granted a Gear from the armour, recognized as one of the best of the sleepwalkers. Though his sense of justice had at first made the less savoury jobs painful, he had taken solace in the advice of one of his colleges, the masked Ephiles; “We bloody our hands and bear these sins so that others need not.”
Throughout his time in the secret police, Rhys often came into conflict with the rebel faction Calamity Gear, as many of their goals conflicted, and many acts of dissension and rebellion where the actions of the group. He soon came to know them well, to be able to expect and anticipate their actions. He even came to know some of their prime agents, even as they came to know him.
The turning point came after a new director came into the Sleepwalkers, one with a more brutal methodology, and a mission that before would have been public, a simple escort instead turned bloody. A new esper had come on record, one from a recently annexed city state, one of a level of potential power unseen in generations, and it was decided her potential risk was too great and, combined with growing sympathy for Calamity gear in response to a recent military backlash, the mission was simple. They were to execute the girl, and frame Calamity Gear for the deed.
Already having accepted that he would forever live with blood on his hands, his faith in the empire itself lost but his feeling of duty to the people still strong, Rhys felt he could complete this mission; that he could sacrifice himself for the good of the empire and to provide for his family, but upon seeing the target, the young girl’s tear-stained face, his resolve broke. Shifting his gear into action, he grabbed the girl and sprinted her to safety, pursued by his former colleagues.
Using all the skills he had learnt and honed over the years, Rhys was able to give the sleepwalkers the slip, sticking to the shadows and taking the girl to the one place he felt she would be safe – with the rebellion. Swearing to keep the girl, Ashlotte, safe, he tracked down a cell of Calamity Gear even as he avoided the ever closing net of the empire. As he felt hope running dry, as he heard boots around him, he noticed those surrounding him wore not the uniform of the empire, but the colours of Calamity Gear.
Rhys entrusted the girl to them, expecting his own life to end. Instead, the rebels offer their hand to him, inviting him to join their cause. For the next 5 years, Rhys has lent the same drive, the same deadly effectiveness and ruthless pragmatism to this new cause. Now he is Calamity Gear’s most valued operative, and he and his partner Ashlotte, the esper girl he had rescued are a constant thorn in the empire’s side. Now, with the reveal of this new weapon and the buried secret, he is the agent dispatched to retrieve the keys.
Personality
Rhys is outwardly abrasive, brusque, rough and laconic, not exactly rude but rather direct and blunt, though he does possess a sense of humour, and can both take a joke and deal them out. He can come across as distant and somewhat self-absorbed, seeming to act from self-interest more than philanthropy, preferring to keep himself a step away, and he is somewhat arrogant in his skills, though this manifests more as confidence and almost off-hand dismissal of others than boast. He is somewhat sardonic, and is highly cynical, seemingly having no faith with others
beneath his brash exterior, He maintains the public exterior by choice, as a way to keep people away after accepting. He does genuinely care for many people, including his companions and those he has met. He has an unflinching dedication and loyalty to those he holds dear to him, a great well of compassion and marked selflessness. He cannot ignore the suffering of those before him, and tries as well as he is able to take on as much as he can onto his own hands; the advice he gives to those suffering may be tinted with his usual brusque manner and his cynasism, his advice is solem and intended to help them onto the most direct path forward. He will take the burdens of others into his hands, feeling that as his hands are already stained, while others may not be, though this can come across as somewhat dismissive of others ability to cope.
Rhys has an undying will, a burning refusal to give in, and a dedication to his own sense of justice and honour. Though this drives serves as one of his greatest strengths, it also renders him highly stubborn. This trait has won him the admiration and hate of many of the people he has encountered.
Rhys is slow to anger, prefering to keep a level head and approach things with an open mind. He’s a skilled tactician and is good at thinking on his feet, and he is eminently pragmatic in his approach – willing to use any tactic or tool avaliable to achieve his goal. He has a strong dislike for killing, yet he will not hesitate if he feels there is no other path, or those he faces are beyond forgiveness, yet he holds sanctity of life in high regard, keeping the names and faces of those he has killed in his mind. He has a good eye for detail, as well as is somewhat of a perfectionist.
Rhys has seen the darkest parts of the world he lives in, he has seen his own ideals fall around him, yet he chooses to continue to fight not because he believes he can make a difference, but because it is the right thing to do. He still believes in truth and justice, he believes in the concept of what the empire stands for, and how it can rise, no matter how often that faith has been knocked down. He has a deep faith in humanity, always wanting to believe in the best in everyone, and is the first to trust someone and give them a chance. Burdened with his own past, he is a firm believer in taking responsibility for ones own actions, not passing them off onto others. He considers himself a murderer and a monster, someone who can be useful to help people, but cannot be redeemed or forgiven. He will always urge others to take responsibility for their own actions, and though he will always intercede on a situation if he feels he can help, Rhys’ will willingly sacrifice himself to help those with the will – but not the means – to help themselves, willing to fling anything into the flames to help, and though this recklessness can backfire, it helped forge his reputation as an avenger of the people even as the empire’s propaganda paints him as a psychotic anarchist.
Despite his more stoic demeanour, Rhys is very close to his comrades in Calamity Gear, caring for them a lot and being very attentive of their needs and feelings. His organised attentive mind also comes into play here, keeping track of tastes, likes, dislikes and important events – he has yet to miss a birthday. Rhys holds a strong respect for anyone who can stand up for their own belief and philosophy, even if they do not agree with his own, while he has no respect and little tolerance for those willing to toss aside their own beliefs or avoid responsibility for their actions.
In his free time, Rhys is an ardent and surprisingly skilled chef – something he picked up during his time in the military – as well as a collector of swords and other similar tools purely from an aesthetic standpoint. Helping Ashlotte develop her garden helped foster in him an appreciation for flowers and nature, though not to the same extent. He’s a fan of a rather cheesy series of pulp novels known as ‘Dargo’s Turbines’ and similar tales. He prefers to relax on his off time, rather than keep active.
He has a distinctive and oft derided style by his companions, being the one to personally repaint his armour and oft accused of being a little too gaudy, as well as being somewhat inflexible about his appearance when it comes to stealth and espionage, which has risked blowing his cover a few times
He has a strong dislike of the rain and water – and notably cannot really swim, as well as being underground, bringing back bad memories.
Abilities
Rhys is a highly skilled soldier, excelling in almost all areas of warfare. He is a brilliant fighter, a strong balance of practicality and ruthlessness backed up by a high level of skill with a sword as well as competence with most other kinds of weaponry, and piloting skills for most vehicles in military use. He has a keen strategic mind, and has been trained in the arts of infiltrations, psychological warfare espionage and counter espionage. He is also educated in history, literature, fine art and high culture, skills he picked up at the academy. Rhys is a skilled cook, having learnt the skills during his time in the academy and being unofficially dubbed the head of the squads mess, as well as something carrying over to his time in Calamity Gear.
Physically, he has a strong physique honed through a life of manual labour which grants him a high level of core strength and resilience. He is highly agile, even in plate armour.
Rhys knows enough about mechanics to be able to filed strip and maintain his equipment at a basic level, though not much more – extensive repairs or modifications require him to seek out help.
To supplement his natural prowess, Rhys wears an extensively modified suit of BX-iii combat armour (SW variant), the 2nd to latest generation of diesel powered reinforcement armour of the empire, which supplements his strength and helps provide defence, as well having a suite of inbuilt survival tools for activity beyond the walls, and in build radio and information tools. The SW model of the armour was designed for silent operation, having sloghtly reduced defence and strength for a vastly improved running time and silent operation.
Rhys is armed with the Grand Gear, Chronos Co-ordinator, that allows him to effect the flow of time around himself, increasing his own personal time or slowing the time around others. At full capacity, he is even able to stop time for himself momentarily – though this effects only a small area around himself.
Appearance
Rhys is a tall, lean man – his body muscular but built like a lifelong soldier rather than a bodybuilder. His fair skin is marked with scars from a life of battle and strife; his deep Blue eyes jaded with the glow of cynicism. He keeps his dirty blonde hair slicked back, save for one or two loose strands. He wears a suit of sleek deep blue armour over loose black military clothing, the emblems of the suit scarred over save for a hand painted emblem. From the points of the suit emit a bright yellow neon light, accompanied by the hum of the engine. When in battle, his face is obscured by a full face helmet, the visor a bright yellow.
Rhys carries a worn longsword, the handle simple save for a wolf emblem hanging from the pommel; the blade is marred with nicks and scratches, but it stays serviceable. An engine and heating filament is set into the hand-guard of the blade, heating it to a forge red when activated. He also carries a roman style collapsible buckler, with an inbuilt scabbard for his sword, embossed with the gear emblem of Calamity Gear and his own symbol.
Pandora Paradox 