| Briar Vortigern | |
|---|---|
| Alias |
Rosa |
| Race |
Human |
| Weapons |
Ebony Rose |
| Gender |
|
| Age |
18 |
| Handedness |
Ambidexterous |
| Complexion |
Peaches-and-Cream |
| Height |
1.72 m |
| Weight |
50 kg |
| Hair Color |
Sandy Blonde |
| Eye Color |
Black |
| Affiliation |
Vortigern |
| Occupation |
Assassin |
| Status |
Active |
Female
Briar Vortigern, full name Briar Ellis Vortigern, is an adopted member of Manxome Family in the Vortigern Clan. Generation-wise, she is considered Estelle Vortigern's granddaughter and the niece of Hans Vortigern and Fisher Vortigern. After the death of Hans' only son, she is the only third-generation member of Manxome Family, being around the same age as Team RWBY, and this along with her powerful reputation has thus made her considered as the popular choice for Estelle's prodigious heir to be the next head of the Vortigern Clan. She is also a member of the Remnant 9, the Clan's squad of most valued assassins trained since childhood.
Appearance[]
Inspiration: Chariot from Black Rock Shooter
Personality[]
The result of the torturous 'natural selection' training that the Vortigern Clan prides itself for, Briar Vortigern's persona is the 'perfect product' that the Clan has always been striving for: professional, serious, externally emotionless, deadly obedient and loyal to the Clan's cause. Whenever she is on a job, she is nigh mute, never replying to her targets' questions and even if she does, only says one or two words. Even when struck down by strong attacks, Briar completely retains an external appearance of indifference and barely utters a grunt. When battling her, Vulturn notes that she fights with total abandon, completely unrestrained and completely dedicated to the utter obliteration of her opponents, a reflexive combat thinking that had been formed by years of her being forced to kill children the same age as her for the reward of a meal. This hence puts a serious distinction between her and Smith Vortigern's personality: the former is driven by a zealous belief in the rightness of the Clan and hence she fights with little thought for anything else, while the latter, motivated by his fight to support his family, focuses on taking a rational approach and keeps his context in consideration in order to do a good job. As a result, Briar was initially apprenticed under Smith by the Clan in order to 'file out the incongruencies' and teach her to be much more subtle, as an assassin should be. Looking up to his strength, Briar has admittedly also formed a crush on Smith, though she deliberately construes this as being a very strong form of respect.
When off her work, Briar retains a serious and uninterested face, keeping herself away from others while always being found with her weapons at her side. Sometimes, in her privacy, she cradles Ebony Rose while in the midst of reminiscing about her past deeds, an struggle of cognitive dissonance that she has to go through everyday, to convince herself that the Vortigern Clan is just and upright, that her targets were scoundrels that deserved to die and that the Clan was the only one that provided her with a way of life when nobody else would. Even with this complete, she still suffers nightmares of her deceased trainees accusing her for her ruthlessness and hence she is also frequently struck with insomnia, resulting in the dark rings around her eyes.
Weapon[]
Ebony Rose is a custom-made DRRG and like all of its series, it basically consists of two separate 2-metre glaives, one wielded in each hand. The pole of each glaive is decorated with designs such that it looks like it visually resembles craggy barren stone, crumbling apart yet barely held together by Briar's grip. Where pole ends and blade begins, at the rondel, one might easily think that something had exploded out of the 'pole ground', with metallic vines coiling around a revolver's chamber in a diamond geometry, before converging into the gleaming single-edged blade decorated with filigree resembling a thorny rose, with the flower in half-bloom near the very tip of the curved edge. Another protrusion from the rondel is a short square gun-barrel that is parallel to the blade and attached to the straight side, just reaching up to a third of the blade's length. It allows for mid-range shots that are also altered by the current Dust.
Just like Weiss' Myrtenaster, the revolver chamber at the rondel acts as a conduit for the usage of different types of Dust, switching between modes of power that heavily improves Briar's versatility in battle, choosing one out of six different Dust modes, each colour-coded with a different power in store. Each of the two glaives can possess a different mode from the other, which can result in a combination of powers or amplify the same power twice-over.
- Black - Ebony Rose's main offensive form, when in use, it alters the gravity around Ebony Rose, effectively changing their weight according to Briar's will. When in motion, their weights are decreased, making their long forms easy to handle and upping attack-speed. When the glaives are about to hit an opponent, the effect is reversed, drastically increasing the power behind her strikes, be it for her attacks or parries. All shots made follow the same principle, being faster but with great impact. When both glaives are black, they induce an attractive effect on one another, so in this mode, Briar uses a very unorthodox style of fighting which involves spinning her glaives like a parade-master's baton and even throwing them one at a time, with the gravity field inducing the spinning glaive to eventually return to her in an orbit-like manner, while her other blade is frequently twisted around her body, like a planet revolving around the sun.
- Chartreuse (Yellow-Green) - This setting produces an acidic sludge that coats the sharp edge of the blade, enhancing the glaive's cutting power by corroding away whatever resistance is in their path, especially the metals of other weapons. Ebony Rose will also fire off balls of said sludge with its gun-function. The only things that cannot be cut by the sludge alone are naturally inert non-organic matter, such as water(including all of its other forms) and normal air, Dust, which explodes spontaneously, and finally Aura-coated objects.
- Cyan (Green-Blue) - This setting infuses electricity into the glaives, naturally forming in a manner that induces a rail-gun effect in the glaive whenever it is used to thrust, upping its piercing capabilities. Electricity channelling through the blade also induces a vibration that increases the cutting power even further, while the electricity can conduct through opposing unguarded metals of weapons and shock the opponent on the other side. When used as a gun, Ebony Rose acts a shotgun that fires off short-range arcs of electricity.
- Periwinkle (Blue-Purple) - A mimic of Hellios' sniper rifle Instance, this setting allows Ebony Rose to fire out beams of hard light or leave behind inert-looking shades of slashes that in turn activate and explode if the opponent comes into contact with them. The beams can also be molded into any simple shape depending on how the glaive is swung and the resultant shot can expand over a distance in a wave. As Ebony Rose's primary ranged setting, it boasts the highest attack distance, being able to provide a barraging bombardment from 500 m away. The elemental effects of other settings can be channeled into the beams when combined.
- Puce (Purple-Red) - This setting absorbs and releases the heat energy within Briar's surroundings, allowing her to control temperature. She can induce a freezing chill in the air by absorbing the heat energy and then release said energy in the form of a flaming beam. The ability to superheat an object and then promptly freeze it also results in a severe expansion-contraction effect that can break what would normally be tough. The gun-function fires off drill-like bullets that first freeze at the point of impact, before driving themselves even deeper via jet-like flames.
- Umber (Red-Green) - This setting allows Briar to heal those she target, producing invigorating life-energy that promotes the immediate sealing up of light wounds and the slow regeneration of serious ones. It does not, however, restore Aura. The only combat capability that this provides can only occur when both glaives possess this setting at the same time. With such an out-pouring of life energy, stabbing the glaive into a tree will prompt it to grow rapidly, with Briar's control over the life-giving Dust granting her control over how the foliage 'moves' in its growth. Bullets fired off in this Dust mode provide fatigue recovery and healing of light wounds upon hitting their targe.
Abilities[]
Fighting Style[]
| Character Attributes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alignment: | Lawful Neutral | |||
| Strength: | B | Aura: | B | |
| Defense: | B | Agility: | A | |
| Endurance: | B | Technique: | B | |
| Intelligence: | B | Leadership: | C | |
| Experience: | N/A | Semblance: | N/A | |
Briar Vortigern's fighting style is, out of her teammates in the Remnant 9, the most variable thanks to both her weapon and her Semblance. A generalist, she is good in all fronts, be it long-distance, mid-range or close-quarters, and multiple roles, such as defense, support and disruptive attacks. As a result, she is the main one to be directed to back-up those who are struggling. Her ability to heal others through Ebony Rose and Semblance is rated very highly by her squad and the Clan, hence she is also their primary healer.
Aura[]
Briar Vortigern's Semblance is 'Infusion'. It allows her to channel the powers of any Dust into her, hence personally granting her the original capabilities of the Dust's power, along with enhancements, as these powers are now embedded directly into her body and are in turn augmented by her Aura being included in the mix. In action, her Semblance takes the form of a black-red spiky tiara, with two jewels in the center, levitating just over her forehead. Each jewel holds the colour of the current Dust setting of its respective glaive.
- Black - Now possessing her own gravitational field, Briar is able to extend that field towards others, allowing her to pull them towards her. Lightening her own weight also makes her even faster than before, while increasing it makes her very difficult to move, let alone push back.
- Chartreuse (Yellow-Green) - Her skin itself begins to emit the acidic sludge that glistens against her and as a result, any metallic weapon attempting to strike her physically will corrode over time. She can't control the emission, so she has to be careful where she steps, lest the sludge corrodes the ground beneath her away.
- Cyan (Green-Blue) - This is the worst setting for Infusion, for while no one can touch if they do not want to get shocked, she herself is also affected and cannot move as she has to deal with the electricity forcing her muscles to uncontrollably contract. With experience, she may be able to control it.
- Periwinkle (Blue-Purple) - The range-focused setting adapts into a defensive setting when infused, as the hard light structures float around Briar in the form of hexagonal shards that can form a defensive coat in an instant. The shards also provide a platform for her to place her foot on, hence she and others are able to move through the air on the path set by the hard light shards.
- Puce (Purple-Red) - This setting allows Briar to form ice wings that in turn have hollow sections from which fire from accumulated heat can burst out, creating a temporary propulsion jet that while admittedly melting, can achieve incredible speeds, while the heat can also be channeled through the air to manipulate air-flows and allow her to steer through the air. Her touch also either vaporizes or snap-freezes objects that it comes into contact with.
- Umber (Red-Green) - This mode works the best in Briar's Infusion, as all of the life-energy is now channeled into her, granting her continuous regenerative capabilities while invigorating her muscles, hence severely boosting her physical prowess. Her body is also a better medium for the energy than her blades. As a consequence, she is able to send the life-energy into someone else through her palms at a much more efficient level, allowing for healing that is more effective than Ebony Rose would ever be able to achieve alone.
However, this Semblance is not just limited to those in Ebony Rose. Briar is able to infuse into herself any type of Dust and in turn gain their powers. While fusing Dust into one's body is possible without a Semblance, it would require extensive surgery and rest. Only the Infusion Semblance can allow an integration of Dust so perfectly and seamlessly that no recovery time is needed. Briar, however, can overload, as mixing too many Dust types can cause an entirely new Dust type that could be too volatile for her to control.
Trivia[]
- The first name, Briar, is a reference to the name of the princess that was in a German variant of the Sleeping Beauty made by the Brothers Grimm. It is also a reference to the Briar plants, which are very thorny and hence portraying the danger Briar Vortigern poses to the main characters, as well as her own anti-social behaviour.
| Team ALVE: | Artagnan • Lear • Vulturn • Elley • Valerian |
| Team SALT: | Silver • Alion • Lancot • Tinker |
| Beacon Staff | Orbis • Goose • Vernier • Blanche • Pariah |
| Heads | Current: Estelle • Former: Gildas |
| Mimsy Family | Smith • Claire • Caroll |
| Momerath Family | Aether • Little Boy • Others |
| Manxome Family | Fisher • Hans • Startale |
| Remnant 9: | Lupus • Hellios • Blutzahn • Zinca • Tearia • Briar • Carnaval • Durumi
Honorary Members: Blouson |
| Vale Members | Lagoon • Jungle |
| HQ Members | Vulcana • Typhonse • Zhurong |
| Prelysium Students | Laeva • Styx |
| White Fang | Mzee • Dunkel |
| Hunters | Phonica • Lily • Halley • Tesion |
| Salem's Allies | Castillo • Morus • Astra |
| Rogues/Criminals | Kang |
| Janitors | 01:Zephyr • 02:Istafuron • 03:Baby • 04:John Dog • 05: Reiner • The Swarm |
| Others | Cent |
| Grimm | Melluka • Sophist |
| Setting | Aura • Lessons • Combinations • Black Hunter |
| Weapons | Murasame Originals • Epitomes |
| Grimm | Danger Ratings |