Celine Leclair

**Celine Leclair** is an rogue knight, a former member of the Martyrdom's Chivalry, the Knights of Sainte-Chapelle to be precise. Even after she saw through the hypocrisy and lies of the order she served, her faith in Christ remains unwavering. While she was branded as an apostate, she continues her life as an Knight-errant, righting wrongs and protecting the innocent.

## Background

Celine was born to completely normal parents but unknown to any of them she was one of the few to gain a mana lobe of decent quality through sheer luck. This would have likely remained undiscovered for her entire life but as it happened it became a large part of shaping her life. This is because at a young age, Celine was orphaned by an accident and taken in by an orphanage that happened to have connections to The Martyrdom.

Her parents were both Christian and so faith happened to be a source of comfort and certainty for her, it helped to know that her parents would be waiting for her at the Lord’s side. This faith ended up having her interact with some of the clergy that were involved in the orphanage more than some of the other kids and one time one of these clergy happened to be a member of The Martyrdom who noticed her affinity for the mystical. Combined with her faith she quickly became an ideal target for recruitment.

So when she was eleven they approached her with an offer to become the hand of the lord and the church. When she was shown her ability to perform “miracles” Celine wondered if perhaps this was her purpose, that maybe she was chosen to spread and defend the word of Christ. To help the faithful. She decided to accept and began training to become a member of the clergy and of The Martyrdom.

It was soon discovered that she had an affinity for traditional weaponry and that she interacted well with people. So her training began to orient towards her becoming a part of the knighthood of the Martyrdom who fight with traditional weapons and spend most of their time in/defending churches and holy ground. She was happy to become a defender of these holy sites and continued to devote herself to her training. Eventually, she became a squire in the Knights of Saint-Chapelle.

Being almost in the center of the Martyrdom’s power there wasn’t as much need for the Knights of Sainte-Chapelle to actively combat threats to the Martyrdom’s grip in the area, so her duties were mostly just to remain vigilant. Occasionally she accompanied them to recruit a mage or other mystically gifted individual who would make a good fit for the Martyrdom. Once her skills and experience were considered sufficient she became a full knight of the Martyrdom.

She continued to serve, now as a more independent member of the Knights. She was proud to be one of the people entrusted to protect what is holy. However, after a certain mission her faith in the Martyrdom began to waver.

One day the Knights of Sainte-Chapelle learned about a vampire that was in the area. While inquisitors usually handle elimination, this was their territory so they were to handle it and Celine happened to be one of the knights chosen for this mission. She was, as always, happy to help and destroy the unholy presence in the area. So a squad of knights geared up and headed to the location of this vampire.

However, the target was not what Celine was expecting. For one thing, they were turned against their will, granted she didn’t know at the time. More importantly though, the vampire wasn’t actually doing anything, they were just existing in this area and had no idea that they were trespassing on Martyrdom territory. Even so the Martyrdom slew them, seeing their very existence as heretical. Witnessing the one-sided execution was a far cry from what she was expecting and it planted the seeds of doubt in her.

Her more perceptive comrades assured her that it was necessary, that all vampires and heretical mages are a blight on the world. They might have convinced her but by coincidence this was also around the time she began to learn that when it is convenient the Martyrdom will recruit vampires, making them hypocrites even if they truly believed that all must die. She deluded herself for a while but now that her eyes had been opened the doubts kept piling up. When she was 28 she was to receive a promotion but by then had reached the conclusion that it was arrogance to call themselves the hand of Christ. Pridefully using the Lord’s name to justify their crusade while ignoring their own words when it suited them.

So on the day she was to become a commander her fellow Knights of Sainte-Chapelle instead found her room empty with her having left long ago. She knew the Martyrdom does not look kindly on deserters, considering them apostates to be punished, so she traveled while laying low. Fortunately, even the Inquisition can not be everywhere and would hardly use all of their resources just to find one ex-knight so she was able to evade capture or execution. Still though she did not know what to do next, the Martyrdom had practically been her life and while she knew throwing it away was the right thing that still didn’t give her any ideas on how to proceed.

For about three months she just got by on odd jobs, not staying in any place too long in case the Martyrdom were close on her trail. During her travels she found her purpose again when she came across a small town under the influence of a rogue mage. Quickly noticing that something was wrong thanks to her training she investigated the situation. While she wasn’t an inquisitor she had picked up some skills related to hunting down dangerous beings and soon was able to locate the mage. Engaging in battle she was able to emerge victorious, removing their influence over the people of the town. Seeing the town go from an unnerving almost-hive mind back to its normal self made her realize something. Just because she had abandoned her order did not mean she had to abandon the ideals she believed in.

Certainly the Martyrdom had taken it too far or had fallen to hypocrisy in certain ways but if she could use the skills she learned to help others then perhaps something positive had come of her time as a knight after all. Realizing this she began to wander the world, not as a lost soul but like a knight-errant or paladin from the legends and fantasy. Although her faith in God and Christ remains strong she no longer presumes to be their hand but rather seeks to help others because it is right.

## Personality

Celine wishes to make up for the many years that she spent in willful ignorance of how zealous and dogmatic the Martyrdom could be. Even before that mission that began her path of doubt, she could have looked further into what the Inquisition did and what kind of people the Martyrdom dealt with. In addition to doing it because it is right she also sees her current lifestyle as a way to atone for her mistakes.

Although she does not regret her choice to leave the Martyrdom there are certain things she misses. The certainty in her younger years, the resources that helped them do more even if she now believes it is used wrongly. Mostly though she misses the camaraderie. With the knights she had many people that she knew well. People she could confide in, laugh with, trust her back to, etc. Now she largely travels alone, never staying in one place long enough to get that same sense of camaraderie. Even with what few friends she has been able to make she sees them much more irregularly for the same reason.

Despite having abandoned the Martyrdom she has not at all abandoned her faith. She still believes in God and is simply not as zealous about it. It is still a source of comfort to her in moments when she falters or grows weary. She makes sure to always do her daily prayer and does her best to attend a church every week.

Since leaving the Martyrdom, her views on mages, vampires, magical beasts, and other such beings have relaxed considerably. She no longer considers them heretics to be conscripted or eliminated just for having the same power that she freely used as a Knight of Saint-Chapelle. At the same time though she does not ignore it when one is truly evil. She judges each as though they were a normal person, a mage who focuses on self-contained research or a vampire simply trying to live are not of concern to her but a mage experimenting on unwilling subjects or a vampire trying to forcefully expand a clan are still targets for elimination. Also while she has tried to leave it behind she can sometimes allow herself to be a little biased against such individuals due to her decades with the Martyrdom.

When interacting with others Celine is someone who can easily socialize. She is usually very gentle and polite when interacting with someone who is not a target of hers which has always helped her put people at ease, whether when she was acting as a clergy member or now when she needs to assure someone that everything will be ok. She likes to make friends which is partly why she misses the companionship of the Knights.

## Abilities

### Magic

Celine was trained in magic by the Martyrdom and as such is most proficient in the types of spells that they consider lesser miracles. When it comes to combat her spells revolve around enhancing her body in order to increase her capabilities as a physical fighter. She is quite proficient in this and can perform feats such as deflecting gunfire and making a singular clean cut through a tree.

What she takes a little more pride in though is her ability to heal and purify. She’s not particularly exceptional but she can close wounds, remove poison, ward off evil spirits, perform exorcisms, perform a ritual to destroy undead, etc.

### Physical Capabilities

Being an ex-knight of the Martyrdom, Celine is well trained in the usage of various medieval weaponry as well as unarmed combat. She is particularly well versed in European sword techniques since that is her primary weapon. Combined with her magic and physical conditioning she is a very formidable opponent in close combat.

Celine was trained to fight beings beyond humanity and as such has gone through intense physical training. Even without magic, her physical abilities go beyond most humans, although she does still require magic to perform truly exceptional feats.

### Equipment

**Zweihander**

A large two-handed sword given to her after the completion of her training as a knight of The Martyrdom. The sword is as long as she is tall but she is able to wield it easily enough thanks to the physical conditioning and spells of an ex-knight. It is reinforced to be able to stand up to blows from vampires and magical beasts without taking damage. It is also capable of producing a blinding light that the wielder is unaffected by, this light is additionally painful and can be harmful to beings such as undead and evil spirits. This light can alternatively be wrapped around the blade, giving it a softer glow but dealing much more damage to undead and evil spirits should it hit them.

**Armor**

The armor of an ex-knight. Aside from also being reinforced to stand up to the types of enemies the Martyrdom fights, it is not particularly special.