Matthew Allen

Matthew Allen is a soldier of the Verdant Federation; where he has been assigned to the borders with the Ionic Kingdom. An accomplished swordsman, Matthew only serves on the borders as a demotion after insulting the wrong people.
==Appearance==
To some degree; Matthew's appearance is misleading for his former position within the military. To many, his extremely light frame implies weakness, which in turn leads to many surprises. Matthew's fur is primarily forest green aside for the carefully maintained brown hair atop his head, with his exposed skin pale in a way that seems sickly or delicate; an impression the young leafhog despises. His eyes are an even deeper tone of green to his fur, with a watchful cunning nature hidden within. 
===Attire===
While he seems uncomfortable; as if missing the more formal uniform of his former position; Matthew still wears the simplistic border guard uniform with some degree of pride, and simply switches it to being casual by untucking the dark green shirt from his brown trousers, even keeping the sturdy combat boots. 
==History==
Matthew's family were loyal retainers to the parliament of the Verdant Federation; with multiple generations having served among the elite Home Guard, defending the realm. Naturally talented with the blade; Matthew was the next in line to do so. With his father and uncle both serving as officers above him, Matthew found his way through the army sped forward by the influence of his family, and was raised to the Home Guard at the age of 20; a position many wouldn't be able to achieve at that age. 
For two years, Matthew served with valor and dignity alongside the others within the Home Guard, his skill with swords only enhanced when his father passed down the family blade, the Raven's Cry. To many outside observers, he was destined to be the youngest ever officer of the Home Guard. If he'd kept his mouth shut; it would have happened. 
A rumor had been spread that a recently-elected president intended to order the Home Guard into action to intervene in an armed coup in a country to the south; with the ideal "resolution" being a new region made a member the Verdant Federation. To Matthew, that was an insult to the sanctity of the Home Guard - they were being employed not for defense; not for the assistance of their nation, but they were being sent to fight and die for the sake of expansionism. In his opinion; that was a stain upon their title of "Guards" - they weren't guarding their home at all. In the barracks, he complained, with a few choice words comparing the president to Dr. Robotnik. 
Within a week; his words bit him in the backside. Matthew was demoted from the Home Guard, and only through the efforts of his father and uncle did he avoid being drummed from the military altogether. Instead, Matthew was sent to the most menial posting, the northern border with the Ionic Kingdom; a place where few bandits would ever show themselves. Despite his frustration and shame, Matthew did his best to accept this, trying to find pride in his new role as a border protection officer.
==Abilities==
Despite what many might believe about Matthew due to his position on the rather "low-risk" and menial border patrol, the soldier once served in the Home Guard of the Verdant Federation, one of the most esteemed positions any soldier could get. This is almost entirely due to his skill with a blade, beyond anything else. 
Matthew typically carries two swords into battle, both sheathed at his waist. The main blade that he is observed using is a fairly standard infantry sabre produced by the Verdant Federation, though one lacking the traditional handguard of a sabre. In most cases, he will fight purely with this blade without ever switching to the second blade. 
Should an opponent earn his respect or prove themselves to be a threat; Matthew will almost immediately sheath his standard blade to draw the alternate blade, a katana known as the Raven's Cry. This sword has a reputation of its own, regarded as a treasure that his family has kept for many years. With this prestigious blade, Matthew has remarkable fluidity of movement thanks to his lithe build, while his frame hides his deceptive strength that comes out while fighting with a blade, especially the ultra-sharp Raven's Cry. Often, opponents may choose to rely upon magical defenses or powers imbued into their weapons and bodies; but this is meaningless - the Raven's Cry is imbued with the remarkable ability of nullifying magical enhancements and defenses, with Matthew even showing the ability to protect himself by cutting oncoming magical attacks with his natural speed. 
While less commonly seen than his swordsmanship, as a leafhog it is fairly well established that Matthew has a degree of control over plant life and nature that is not commonly observed, and that is something he has shown on occasion both in and out of combat. However, rather than utilizing his control over plants as its own thing, the swordsman instead prefers to enhance his basic blade with a weak Nature-aligned aura, or draw upon the power of Nature to heal himself.
Even his hand-to-hand combat is fairly impressive, with those deceptive muscles once again showing remarkable power in his mostly upper-body driven combat style, moving just as fluidly as when he has blade in hand, though he has been known to be a touch less confident fighting without a blade due to the lack of reach; his fighting style innovative enough to react to new circumstances but hand-to-hand ability lacking the confidence to follow through. 
While he is fearsome with a sword, Matthew is substantially weaker if he should be disarmed, while he lacks body armor or a ranged weapon to truly stand any threat to a dedicated enemy dedicated to the fight from a distance. As a leafhog, he has a number of pronounced weaknesses to Fire and Poison that he cannot really cancel out or counter either. 
==Personality==
Proud and loyal to his homeland, Matthew Allen has always been a nationalist with a strong desire to ensure the safety and protection of the Verdant Federation like the generations of his family before him. The Home Guard was a group he viewed like a second family even as a child, a goal that he felt it was his duty and his destiny to reach; and did so with ease. 
However, Matthew is not a blind loyalist; and will not simply accept orders as being correct or the best thing for the Federation. With a little bit of a temper borne of somebody that always gets their way, Matthew has been known to fail to hold his tongue when other people can hear, resulting in his demotion. 
For the most part, Matthew enjoys training with his blade, with most of his spare time spent sparring or going through combat forms and kata rather than proper relaxation. This behavior has only intensified after his demotion; likely to help him rein in his frustrations.
==Relationships==
===Friends/Allies===
===Rivals===
===Enemies===
==Trivia==
==Theme(s)==
==See also==
Category:Mobians
Category:Males
Category:Hedgehog Subspecies
Category:Leafhogs
Category:Verdant Federation Residents
Category:Soldiers
Category:Weapon Users:Swords
Category:Florokinetics
Category:Characters