Sesus Ormi

        Sesus Ormi is a figure of verdant serenity. His most prominent features are sharp, leaf-green eyebrows as expressive as an opera mask and a scalp shaved smooth and clean as an immaculate monk - though he appears to have begun the pro. He looks young as a collegiate scholar, fresh-faced and rose-lipped with vivid green eyes.

        His frame is strong, with little spare mass on his frame. His long delicate fingers are supported by strong, hard hands and tipped with a bowmasters calluses. There is no little finger on his right hand. He carries himself lightly, full of terrestrial excellence.

        The Dynast is clad for the role. Upon his shoulders he wears green jade lamellar, cut in stylized leaf-patterns as was popular in the fifth century, that seems to attract a storm cloud of discarded leaves that chases him as he moves. Upon his back he bears an enameled ash longbow almost as tall as he, the leather grip embroidered in fanciful patterns of blue and white. Around his neck, a spherical black jade amulet holds a faceted, scalloped-edged garnet.

STUDENT OF ALL THEORIES AND PRACTICES

Sesus Ormi is a somewhat controversial local figure amidst the Dynasts of Greyfalls. Known for his startling breadth of knowledge, yet extreme shallowness of most any topic in particular, he is a dilettante's dilettante, capable of standing amidst the greatest that mortal humanity has to offer in virtually every field, and exceeding them with a dexterity and agility that matches monkeys and cats, and senses keen enough to literally sniff out a fugitive like a bloodhound.

SORCERER OF THE FIRST CIRCLE

Moved to extraordinary measures by his shameful failures to protect Greyfalls from the predations of the raksha, Ormi has turned to sorcery to augment his powers. He studies the Silurian school, for once following the Realm orthodoxy. Already he has mastered the art of summoning demons from hell, countermagic, the frost barrier, the storm-wind rider, and the infallible messenger. He rides atop a bejeweled riding-wasp by name of Kurkurra, an Agatae bound from Malfeas.

Trials:

• HUMILITY: Shamed by his failure to rout the Horned Kings, Ormi was shamed publically by all and sundry. Furthermore, he was forced to confront the modesty of his discovery with the essence enlightenment produced from Twentyfivefold Excellence.
• TUTELAGE: Ormi is a humble student of the Wood Dragon style under the masterful teachers of the Immaculate Temple.
• JOURNEY: Ormi's personal journey was from ignorance to knowledge as he pursued his mastery of the excellencies.
• FEAR: Though all but paralyzed by fear of the Horned Kings, Ormi continues his personal struggle.
• SACRIFICE: Ever the pragmatist, Ormi simply lopped off his right pinky and gave it to one of his dogs.

GREYFALLS PATRIOT OBSESSED WITH SECRET KNOWLEDGE

His chief loyalties are to his House, to the Realm, and to the Empress - but he'll sacrifice all of these for an opportunity to increase his theological knowledge. Even his broad-spanning knowledge is simply an immense theological experiment, seeking a secular means of enlightenment by unlocking the mysteries of the Excellency. In his studies, and his travels, he has become adept in a great deal of heretical wisdom - a fact he is careful to keep discreet.

In the wake of the Civil War, all of his loyalties have been tested to the breaking point, but only some have held. Caught between strange factions from a distant homeland, he has sworn his faith instead to his sworn brotherhood - Mnemon Koal, Ledaal Solace, and Ragara Ayesha. (At least there aren't any Cathak's in it.) With these at his side he fully expects to have to defend Greyfalls to the death against not only external dangers, but internal as well...

With the collapse of the (very brief) Greyfalls rebellion against the Pearl Alliance, he and much of the rest of the 23rd, still loyal to Mnemon Koal, have retreated to the Saltwater Vale. There, living within what he believes to be a relic of the vast wonders of the Shogunate and First Age, he dreams of what might have been, had things not all gone so terribly wrong. Of the Dynasts loyal to Mnemon Koal, he is among the eldest, and so, in his strange way, he has become a mentor figure to many of them. His great fear is that he will lead them in to foolishness.

SPEAKER TO THE ANATHEMA

Ormi, harmless enough not to be threatening but old enough to be experienced at matters of politics and backbiting, often declares himself an emissary to Anathema in the Hundred Kingdoms. He has invested a great deal of effort in to his reputation as someone you can give a knife to, turn your back to, and flare your anima without receiving a knife in the back. This hasn't earned him much respect from the Immaculates of Greyfalls or those pious to them, but it does make him useful to the Satrapy when it needs to deal with the Anathema-harboring nations that surround it. He's hardly a fan of them, regardless - his right arm was nearly severed by a particularly sadistic deathknight, and his prized ankle-length braid (which you'll note is not present on the above illustration) was severed at the base.

His credit among the Anathema, such as it is, is waning to nothing. His presence at the tragic, pointless death of Cynis Chu and Cynis Hrath at the hands of Fudou the Mountain, and his impotence to prevent their deaths either through valorous conquest of the Anathema or through compassionate dialogue has destroyed him almost as thoroughly as the paws of Fudou the Mountain did. Where once he was quick to smirk, now he has the long, weakened stare of the survivors of the Tepet Legions, and shame bleeds from his heart like pitch in to his anima.

HUNTER OF RAKSHA

Prior to his explorations of theological study, Sesus Ormi was an archer for the Sesus Legions, where he proved himself adept at the long-distance skirmish. Before traveling to the wild-lands of Greyfalls, he secured one of his House's Raksha-killing hearthstones, the Cold Iron Bauble, and with it he brings agony to the raksha with his terrible powerbow, Harmony of Winds. His mastery of the bow is uttermost; with the grace of a harpsichordist and the eyes of an eagle, he has trained himself to perfection in the art of archery and beyond.

His war with the raksha has been painful for Ormi. He has suffered setbacks and been responsible for great failures, that have brough shame to his House and to himself, and harm to those he wished to protect. His attempts to destroy the Horned Kings were turned against him, and many of the mortal charges of the 23rd Legion were wasted ignobly due to his failures. Further, he was grievously wounded, and still carries the scars. His opportunity to redeem himself in battle came when the Flying Towers of the raksha invaded, and upon his shoulders rested the coordination of the aerial defense fleets. Though many fell, Ormi consoles himself with the knowledge that there would have been many more... Though he can never know how many.

Recently, Ormi lost his blue jade powerbow to accident while engaged in combat with a duo (actually a trio, though he doesn't know that) of akuma. He doesn't expect to ever see Harmony of Winds again, but maybe he'll get lucky.

MASTER OF THE COLORLESS FIRE

Having mastered all twenty five Excellencies, Ormi discovered, to his surprise, that he had smeared his essence completely across all five elements, rendering his anima colorless and without aspect. Further experimentation, guided by Ledaal Kyrie, allowed him to master his new empty anima and learn to shift between elemental aspects at will. Since then, he has discovered that the precision and elegance of essence manipulation this permits him allows him to master the Immaculate Dragon Paths, and he has begun to study the Wood Dragon style under the other masters of Greyfalls.

MINIONS, ATTACK!

Minions of Sesus Ormi