Another Stage of History

Name: Richard
Gender: Male
Class: Knight
Author: Link

Gallery

Formula

Class: Knight

Head: Slayer's Helm - 08,19
Hair: Long Perm - 08,19
Chin: Scar - 05,18
Lower Torso: Chain Mail - 08,19
Mid Torso: Noble's Robe - 02,20
Upper Torso: Metal Armor - 08,19
Arms: Metal Gloves - 08,19
Shoulders: Lord's Shoulders - 08,19
Neck: Crusader's Cape - 02,20
Waist: Slayer's Tasset - 08,19
Lower Legs: Chain Pants - 01,14
Upper Legs: Leather Pants - 02,20
Socks: Cloth - 02,20
Feet: Protective Greaves - 08,19

Face: 06
Eyebrows: 08,19
Lips: 05,15
Eyes: 15,20
Skin: 05,17
Underwear: 01,16
Voice: Man

Biography

"At these words, pronounced in a tone of majesty suited to the high rank, and no less distinguished character of Coeur-de-Lion, the yeomen at once kneeled down before him, and at the same time tendered their allegiance, and implored pardon for their offences." -Sir Walter Scott, Ivanhoe

Richard Leopold Morcia. A name that would go down in fame by all the good people of the world as one of the greatest heroes of his time. Feared greatly by his enemies, and respected by his allies, he was a strong-willed and brave-hearted knight that charged into danger without a second thought or concern for his own life, only for the preservation of justice, and the salvation of innocents before the jaws of evil and death, without any desire of reward or personal glory. And it was said, by the old ones and the countless admirers, that he was the hero, Arcturus himself, reincarnated. For Richard was one of the finest, most skilled, and most courageous warriors the dying chivalric world had ever known. There was only one evil force that could match him. The cursed sword of swords, Soul Edge itself.

Richard was born to Mathias, Lord Marshal of the Order of Arcturus, a secret brotherhood of special knights and warriors dedicated to the preservation of mankind and the destruction of the cursed sword, as was the will of the dying hero and king long ago. From the time he could stand, he was baptized in the fire of combat. He was taught to never give up and to never give in. Taught that there was no worse death than the end of hope. He was constantly tested throughout his youth, taught the ways of the world, and began to learn of the principles of wisdom, reason, and justice. That all true warriors were strong when united, that all true warriors had a duty to fulfill to not only themselves but to others that they felt were important, and that all true warriors had a destiny, to carry out their lives in honor to the proper use of their power and strength. As he was in all throughout his childhood, there was no one braver, if not the men that stood beside him.

After a long career of service to the people, he was called with his best fellow knights to a land troubled by a dark horde of barbaric warriors. A monstrous enemy that devoured all that stood in their way. This battle was to be the turning point of this brilliant and famous knight's life. For during one night of the course of this great battle, the unthinkable happened. Six of his best warriors, the greatest knights in the Order second only to him, turned their backs on their great leader, and betrayed them all. So easily lured were they by the temptation offered by the leader of their enemies, so easily convinced that the only escape from death would be to join it's ranks. The betrayal was devastating when it was unveiled, and the trap had been sprung. With those six, all great and powerful knights, on the side of the enemy, it seemed that there would be no hope for victory, but Richard had other ideas, and had sprung a trap of his own thanks to numerous reinforcements sent by his father. The enemy force was defeated, and the six traitors and the leader of their enemy was brought forth to be judged. But heavy-hearted was Richard at this betrayal, that all he did was send them from his sight, exiled from the Order on pain of death, never to return.

Though it was a victory, that moment came to haunt Richard for all time. And he knew in his heart that a time would come when he would have to face it once more. And that time came swiftly. For it was barely five years after that day, that he was confronted by that moment of his past. The six had returned, now fully-fledged warriors of darkness, leading an even greater enemy force than before. Unlike the witless barbaric brutes of before, this enemy was disciplined, ordered. They had yet to be seen by the world, but Richard had seen them. He saw this great darkness coming, coinciding with the rise of the cursed sword Soul Edge in the hands of the Dread Pirate. He knew the time was to come for a new warrior to come forth and defend the light, a new warrior to take his place as a great hero, to do what he now began to believe in his heart of hearts, that he would not live standing before this rising darkness to see it banished from the world for the good of all. Searching far and wide, he soon chose a progeny to continue his mission should he fall. That progeny was a young boy named Isaac.

From the boy's birth, Richard knew that this boy would be destined for great things. He knew that the capability to banish the darkness rested in this boy, and that would put his life in danger later. So when Isaac was 11 years old, Richard came to him, to take him under his wing. But his past caught up with him, and one of the six exiles, the cursed emerald knight known as Necros, intercepted Richard and captured him with the aid of his brute partner. Taking him to a fortress soon to give to their masters, it was then that Richard's prediction held true. Isaac and his friends Gail, Lance, and Vakama, and other old friends such as his aged mentor Danju, came and rescued Richard from captivity, and he was able to tell Isaac more of his destiny, to prepare him for the task he would set him on, to see that all his hopes and dreams for the future would be fulfilled. After many adventures, Richard had groomed Isaac for the moment, knowing that it was at hand. The cursed sword Soul Edge would soon awaken, and the time to challenge it would be at hand. But alas, this sword of darkness was too much for Richard, and like the many warriors before him that came to challenge it, he fell. And as the life drained from Richard, his last thoughts and hopes were to Isaac, hoping that he would succeed where he had failed, and then he knew no more and gave his last breath as his soul was consumed by the hellfire of Soul Edge.

But barely four years later, word reached the ears of the people, that after the absence of this great knight, Richard had been sighted, and once again resumed his great duty with new warriors beside him, and a new strength than before. But how was this possible? A miracle of unknown occurrence? A feat achieved by this great knight that none had ever accomplished before that allowed him to escape the fiery prison of Chaos? Or perhaps, was it in fact a new warrior, another trained by this great knight, who loved him like a father, that took on this mantle? That is a question to which the answer is unknown, but more important is the question that begs to ask…Will this courageous warrior finish what he started? Or will he fall again forever into the dark abyss…?