Edwin Holmes

"There is two things I know, one is pissing things off, two is there is nothing better than a good tavern after a job."

Basic Info

Gallery

TLDR

{TLDR Don't read this part if you wanna read the whole thing this is just for those who don't want to read it all}Edwin was born in Dalmasca his dad fought in the war and telling him stories inspired him to join the war with the Empire. His brother resented that and left his home once in the war Edwin saw how bad it can be nearly dying was saved by a dark knight who became his master after Edwin insisted he teach him, he made a blood pact with the Dark knight named Cecil and his 3 friends Gurren, Drak, and Ren. The empire gassing Dalmasca with Black Rose and killing his home town made Edwin enraged awaking a Abysssent within him Cecil wanting Edwin to stop and not go down that dark path of revenge was slain by Edwin. with his friends leaving back for the front lines and to get away from Edwin. they were betrayed by their commanding officers as a blackmail and bribe from the empire Edwin trying to rescue those 3 could not save Gurren and blacked out when attacking his killer unsure of his friends and others fate when he came to sought to escape from that half of the world and seek them and himself in Eorzia he would eventually return to doma and help liberate it but now wanders as a hired blade/merc in search of a new purpose/friends and brother.

Backstory

Edwin Holmes was born in the land Lea' Mond a few years after the Garlean Empire invaded the once unified country and split it in two nations, His father a tia, rejected his old Miqo'te culture and clan leaving them behind as a young teenager he would go on and set his own first and last name starting the line of Holmes. To make a name for himself he moved to Dalmasca to become a strong adventurer by joining the war. But as he served 5 long years it changed him driving him to drink and gamble before he abandoned his post to try and settle down with his new family and get a normal job as a smith, however he sought a better life than the constant wars the nation suffers through. But consistently drinking and gambling when away from home left his new family little option anywhere else. His mother a run-away moon Miqo'te from her old clan the E tribe fell for Edwin's father back during his time in the war where she volunteered to help heal wounded soldiers with her mild experience with conjurey magics. Now she spent her days working as a waitress and dancer to help gain funds to move somewhere more peaceful.

Though home life was poor and the debt never seemed to end his parents did everything in their power to give Edwin and his brother Zweii a normal life. they would keep eachother company and were on good sibling terms, always picking play fights and seeing who could one-up the other. His father when home would always tell them these great stories of his time in the war against the Garlean empire and the brave stories of the Dark Knights that were the first line to hold the enemies at bay, their ferocity and tenacity in these stories inspired Edwin and instilled a patriotic pride for his country, invigorated he would set his dream to reunify Dalmasca as a great Dark Knight.

As Edwin entered his late teen years he took the role of Dalmasca's hero more serious and enlisted into the remnants of the Dalmascan Inferior army as a paladin. His brother resenting the lifestyle they lived and their fathers habits, saw Edwin as another brainwashed dreamer going to get himself killed. As tensions grew between them his brother saw no reason left to stay and with as much gil he could save doing odd jobs he headed more south bound to the land of Doma in search of a peaceful life. Upset at his brothers sudden departure, he only drove himself more, determind to prove him wrong as he gathered his belongings and left home for training camp and the front lines it would be the last time he wave goodbye to his parents and home.

Throughout traning camp Edwin pushed himself and grew to accept his role as a paladin becoming more proficent in sparring matches, as the 4 months of boot camp came with friends made within the corp they were depolyed to the front lines of north Dalmasca to face and relieve the current forces there. Under the company "Redbill" named after the infamous pirates they each wore a red bandana to signify their company. Once they got there however reality of what they were up against set in and within the first 2 hours of conflict over half of Redbill company was wiped out by the superior Garlean tech. As Edwin pressed on losing many friends and seeing many die so did to his morale and beliefs of a free Dalmasca. When called forth with a few others to make a stragic push he was nearly struck by a mortar round as he advanced. Knocked down he was faced by a Garlean soldier standing over him, preparing to accept his fate his attacker suddenly was struck down, saved by a tall Hyur wielding a large greatsword. The man saving his life would be the one who takes Edwin under his wing as a Dark Knight.

Upon seeing this man before him he remembered his dreams as a kid and the stories from his dad. His life rekindled and rage festering from the war and pain he suffered through, he insisted to learn from the Hyur who introduced himself simply as his Brotherhood name Ceicl. Intrigued by his passion and potential, he agreed under the condition Edwin swear his allegiance to the brotherhood and if he wanted to back out would mean costing him grave consequences. With his dream that much closer Edwin without a second thought accepted this deal and was given the new name Blackblood and would be personally trained by Cecil and his 3 comrades Drak, Gurren, and Ren for 2 years. Under the status of "missing in action" during this time Edwin was introduced to the other members of the brotherhood The Dark Knights of the Abyss a small group for hire that also brings justice in their own eyes that channels and directly pulls aether from the abyss itself by connecting with a powerful Patron of the abyss they are chosen by. Once settled he began his training which met with many hardships and grueling trials upping his psychical and magic abilities, wanting to give up at many points or give into the alluring call of the abyss he kept holding on to that dream of his, keeping his mind as sane as possible as the final trial came Edwin would have to drink from the abyss and call fourth a gate to the dark unknown, once accomplished he would attune to the abyss to accept him as a full fledge Dark Knight of the Abyssal Brotherhood. As he took hold of the eerie soul crystal and absorb it his body reacted abnormally well to it at first as if he was the perfect vessel and with a sudden painful wretched feeling he shouted painfully and with a wide cleave of his sword he tore open a hole to the abyss as black liquid poured from the cleaved air caused a deep unsettling aether disturbance before he managed to barely control it and summoned a great shield dubbed "Dark Shroud" stunned by this feat that a new Dark Knight accomplished such an ability Cecil grew concern and questioned how this was possible him and the others knew this could be bad if not controlled or fallen in the wrong hands.

Now as a Dark Knight Edwin would re-enter the conflict in north Dalmasca under the name Blackblood with Cecil and the others by his side they would make solid headway pushing the Empire back in key locations, even assisting the Queens Blades in retaking the palace that once housed the royal family. The once timid afraid soldier had become a warrior with only one goal to push out the Empire once and for all, conflict after conflict, battle after battle the more he struck foes down with his blade the more he accepted the dark call of the abyss this temptation would be his downfall and Cecil could see it coming as the dark was growing more attached to the young Miqo'te seeing him as more than just a student but also as a close friend he would do everything he could to keep him from going to far down this dark path. With the Empire growing desperate as more tank styled soldiers and adventurers looking to make a name for themselves joined the battle using their shields and defensive strategies that would mirror the mercs Dalmasca hired the Empire would show just how far they would go to win a war... No matter the cost.

With the war going much in their favor day by day Edwin, Cecil, Drak, Gurren, and Ren were recognized as valuable assets and were commended for their numerous actions. This attention caught notice of the Royal family offering them the covenanted title of Dalmascan Royal guard an elite task force given special task directly from the royal family remnants. Seeing this as a chance to do serious good for the war and make a major payday for the brotherhood Cecil would be very intrigued by this offer not only would they be getting better pay and stronger foes but this would allow him to keep a better eye on Edwin, Gurren, Drak, and Ren they greatly accepted this rank. But once the day of their honoring and ranking arrived the Empire struck unleashing the vile gas Black Rose upon numerous key chokepoints and civilian cities in Dalmasca Inferior even Edwin's home city of Lea' Mond. It would take weeks for everyone to get an understanding of what happened the chaos and disorder everywhere paired with the mass amount of death and pain they knew the damage by the gas had been done and most of Dalmasca would fall. Not even sparing their own soldiers. Edwin raced home upon learning it was targeted as fast as he could fearing this could spark something within him Cecil and the others followed him. After two long weeks he would arrive back home his fears were true and all that was left of his home and those who inhabited it were gone. Enraged Edwin sought one thing, equal death wanting nothing more than to watch Garlean and its people burn.

With this new awakened anger Edwin buried his parents and set off to the empire devoid of any other emotion but determination for revenge. Cecil now having to put his foot down and not allow Edwin to get himself killed or throw away their pact stopped him and told him advancing further would mean betrayal and therefore death. Edwin not wanting to hear it retorted back as a heated argument broke out that escalated quickly and ended with Edwin challenging Cecil to a "Pact duel" if Edwin wins he would be free of his agreement, Cecil crushed by this offer seeing there is no other way to convince him accepted it. As the two drew their swords Cecil was not fully aware how much of the Abyss Edwin pulled from or how much it latched to his soul already, he was stunned and knew this was not a winning fight but did not waiver and the two charged head first but with two swings and a parry from Edwin the fight was over as he cleaved the elder hyur in two. Gurren, Drak, and Ren appalled at the scene before them the Brotherhood patriarch laid slain by someone they thought they trusted all three of them had turned away from him and told Edwin if this is what he wanted then to live with it and never seek them again, ashamed of Edwin's path they left him there alone and set back for camp and then the front lines again, as he began understand the gravity of what he just did snapping to his senses and dropping to his knees. This would be the first instance of Edwin being controlled by the very power he pulls from.

Edwin now torn with his own emotions went back to the front lines to find his friends and amend his actions, forgetting his revenge he refused to lose anyone else and not push them away. When returning back to the front he desperately searched for the trio before finally hearing they went to meet the royal family and be sent on their first mission to sabotage a fuel plant as royal guards, unbeknownst to them the royal family they were tasked by were paid off by the empire sending them on a trap to end their fight and actions against the empire. As Edwin raced to their location when he arrived the scene laid before him was grim and fearing he might lose control signaled for backup as he laid hidden in the bushes nearby. Gurren was slain with Drak and Ren being next, the killer wielding three katanas in a sheath brought the other two quickly to their knees Edwin no longer able to hold and hide let go and gave into the whispers that egged him on as he tried to remain in control but he could wait no longer and snapped as he blacked out and advanced to save them. When awake he was in a chocobo carriage wrapped in bandages with a Raen family occupying it.

Confused and with no memory of what happened that fateful night he questioned the shocked and concerned Raens. As they explained they found him wounded on the road he had many open wounds but was clinging on, worried for this strange man they pulled him in the cart quickly and did their best to heal him for a week. Edwin was stunned he was out for a week trying to piece together what happened noticed something shocking, on his head were wolf ears, confused he tried to pull on them but when doing so gave him flashes of memories and whispers from the abyss, he quickly stopped and jumped out of the carriage to make sure no harm comes to the family. He thanked them and with a few directions learned they took him to Doma far from the frontlines. He had a choice start over and find his brother/friends or go back to the front and face whatever monsters lie before him. With a sigh he sheathed his sword making his way more southward to the island state of Kugane to lay low and plan his next move away from the empire as his notorious history with them surely would draw their attention. His past now motivating him to make amends. As he made his way there he tested his abilities as a dark knight alone but something was off the longer he used its dark abilities the more he heard his guilt and the whispers of his loved ones in his head only stopping when he stopped, seeing this as a problem to his sanity needed to find another way to provide combat without the abyss's call.

As he arrived to Kugane concealing his identity he found a pro Garlean merchant selling gunblades. Interested Edwin took to purchasing one and with practice adopted his own combat style he dubbed "Gnashing fang" using ammo with swings and the recoil to help control the fight, proud of this he took to learn and construct his own though crude and later improved by the help of Ironworks co he was able to once again do combat but this time his way. The more he used this Gunbreaker he noticed his wolf ears would disappear and the unsettling whispers in his head would die down but once using his abyssal abilities they would return so deciding to only keep it as a dire need situation he will bust out Dark Knight. With his barring's gathered he knew staying in a Gerlean controlled area such as Doma would only cause more problems. While in the tea house one evening after a day of work he overheard rumors of these adventurers and Grand Companies in the far west land of Eorzia fighting back the Empire. Some of such carrying large swords using abilities akin to Dark Knights like his friends. Edwin knew it wasn't much to go on but it was enough so he set off for Eorzia to find his friends maybe or even find a better purpose for himself he would go about offering himself as a blade for hire/merc even working for and aiding the Scions of the Seventh Dawn. Not sure what the future holds he will tackle and tank it head on as the strong fighter he built himself to be and maybe one day see his country free again being there to push the Empire out. Maybe he's running from his past still or maybe he's just wanting to drink the past away after a long job he doesn't know where his life will take him next but he hopes to his friends, brother, and a means to finally settle down.

His story continues on from here but the rest you'll find out in RP don't wanna spoil everything about him.

OOC

Outside of RP I do savage raids and endgame content so I'm not as active as i was before but I'm looking to change that a bit and continue this story. Edwin's story was built from an old RP group I ran with and molded to who he is today. I try to not make my character super over the top just making him as strong as the content he runs tanking savage meant he would be a formidable character but even still i don't want him to be overly op just really stronk. He also has a home with many relics from his past on display if you ever wanted to check it out let me know. Thanks for the read if you enjoyed itMost RP is fine but i like to have a story going for people he meets /tell and we can get something goingPlease don't ask me about my personal life outside of RP unless we wanna be friends outside of that RP needs to stay with RPany pointers/tips let me know ^^

HOOKS

Skills/Abilites