La Volpe

*'Based in the Battle of the Lords plotline'*

Nicolo Cassus, better known under his pseudonym La Volpe, was an Polodian Elf Thief, Mercenary and Leader of the Frost Abyss guild. He joined the Arkiynia Crew in an effort to save Polodias from Lord Orjarj. Before his acknowledgement as a member of the Crew and Defender of Polodias, Cassus was known as a ruthless and talented thief and the led the Frost Abyss to become one of the largest guilds throughout his era.

## Early Life

Born in Juri Village, Cassus' early life was relatively unknown (*non-canonical story Dijalf, written by Cassus' creator, detailed his rather traditional upbringing*). As a teenager, Cassus would often visit the Village temples and study, hoping to become a scholar or warrior. Several temple scholars would note the youth's aptitude for magic and weaponry, warning that they were a dangerous combination. The young Cassus would shrug off these warnings, and would continue his research.

He was known for his fiery temper, however, picking fights with many village people and visitors as well. Eventually, he would try to fight a passing Guard of the Council, only to be arrested until his father struck a deal with the Guard; this guard would later be known as Hastek Coil, a notorious corrupt slaver and captain. Cassus would realise his mistakes, and vowed to never let his anger control him again. Turning to his weaponry research, he armed himself with anything he could, and practiced until he could ensure he could kill.

## Mid-Life

### Thievery and Murder

As a young adult, Cassus developed a reputation for being a smalltime, albeit talented, thief. Stealing from businesses, Cassus' ego led him to leave Juri, opting to move to the nearby city of Grafva for better targets and higher praised loot. Packing his small amount of equipment and already gotten gains, Cassus would leave Juri at age 20.

After a while, Cassus would continue his thievery, stealing from anyone he pleased. Jewels, potions, spellbooks, all were prime targets for the young Elf. Target after target, prize after prize, Cassus had a reign of terror. Until he got caught. He was caught numerous times, and didn't learn his lesson for quite some time. Sometimes, his attempts would go horribly wrong. And once went worse.

Cassus would remember that a former target turned rival, Hastek Coil, dwelled within Grafva, the captain of the guards within. Knowing that corruption often led to extremely valuable loot, Cassus plotted for months for the perfect heist. On the night of the job, Cassus executed his plan to near perfection, with one small mistake; he had forgotten to account for Coil's personal guard shift. Forced to evade them and take unforeseen measures ot remain unseen, Cassus eventually broke into Coil's quarters, to find the captain not home. His ego getting the better of him, Cassus began to steal anything he could, anything that wasn't nailed down.

## Death and Legacy

Cassus died at the age of 119. The years following the Great War that had taken a toll on Cassus' body, including several injuries he never fully recovered from. During a trip to the heart of Grafva City, Cassus, who had been ill for several weeks with Kriss Disease, would see a trusted apothecary, only to receive a dose of a poison instead. After taking the mistaken dosage, Cassus would return home, and die 4 days later due to heart failure. He was buried in Juri Village, his former home, by his family.

Following the years after his death, Scholars had marked him as someone to be remembered, both for his actions and his abilities

## Personality

Cassus was the member of Arkiynia Crew who adorned a suggested split-personality, despite not having one at all. Towards his guild, enemies or civilians, for the most part, he was cold and ruthless, dramatic and calculating when the environment suited him. He spoke little, and when he did, it was commanding, cruel and dry; in the story Malaktavi Douta, while breaking up a fight ring within his guild, he asked the challenging Frost Abyss member how many bones would break before he would shut up, and replied "Two." after breaking his opponent's arm.

To his allies, friends and family, he was much more lighthearted, comedic and flamboyant to an extent. He still retained his calculating and otherwise snobbish behaviour, but was more loose and free, going so far as to have a drunken night with the Arkyinia Crew.

All in all, Cassus was an icy, intelligent, cruel, and simultaneously warm, passionate, and determined individual.

## Combat Style

Cassus was a master combatant, on par with Windy in terms of skill and lethality, and regularly mixed his magical and weapon ability with his fighting. He was skilled with various weapons and had incredible skill with all forms of knives, daggers, swords, and spears.

### Martial Style

Cassus' primary fighting style heavily resembled Cai Li Fo, a real word Chinese style of combat. Nimble, powerful, and sly, this combat style is one that is considered a weaponry specialist's best friend in combat and is well known for being difficult to attack and defend again, let alone train. Cassus was well known for being an agile and skilled fighter in hand-to-hand combat, able to strike, parry, block and manipulate multiple enemies at once.

### Weapons

Cassus' weaponry master spanned multiple weapons, but he never limited his arsenal. All documented weapons he has used are listed below;

* Riverslit Rapier - His signature weapon, Cassus used this blade during his tenure as the leader of the Frost Abyss. A 24" long-bladed sword, this twin yet durable weapon was lightweight and served as a crux for Cassus' more complex spells
* Knives
	+ Cassus was known for his accuracy with throwing knives, and his unique variant of blades. Custom-made blades resembling wavy curved blades with lightweight Arkium steel, these knives pierced the air with rapid precision
	+ Cassus also held twin curved daggers with 11" blades on his person, using them in place of his sword when he needed to get closer to his opponent, or needed to be stealthier
* Spear/Lance - Only documented on a few occasions, Cassus holds a surprising level of skill with spears and lances, so much so that he has dispatched numerous enemies with one. However, such documentations are scarce, aside from lance training being a staple of Frost Abyss training, which in itself is run by Cassus
* Rope Dart - While only seen once, in the largest battle of the Battle of the Lords storyline no less, Cassus does have skill with this unorthodox weapon, pulling enemies to the ground before executing them
* Hidden Blade - A gift from Windy and subsequently trained in its use, Cassus arguably has the least amount of skill with this particular weapon, both due to inexperience and due to its unique combat requirements

## Masks

Cassus adorned a wide variety of masks during his time as La Volpe, as many as 20 in his life. However, this number is unproven, and the true count is speculated. First adopting the masks in his mid-20s, they began as a simple design, but gradually shifted to more complex, grandiose, or dramatic designs, with a few defining traits bleeding through most, if not all, iterations.

Below are the 4 most well-known masks of Cassus' life.

The first of Cassus' masks, and the most well-known, the First Mask, also regarded as the Original Mask, was a simple design, tricolored and rather basic. The scar and rose would pass onto other masks. The smirk would be a feature rarely seen again, and rarely ever used for official artwork

## Trivia

* Before the name La Volpe was created, the name Killian Orospa was used as a placeholder
* It is unknown if Cassus was ever informed of his magical abilities prior to utilising them for the first time
* Despite it being his trademark weapon, Cassus rarely ever uses the Riverslit Rapier, opting instead for his various knives
* His middle name, Jainus, is a reference to the antagonistic corporation in Goldeneye, Janus Crime Syndicate
	+ The corporation would be run by the ultimate antagonist, former MI6 Agent 006 Alec Trevelyan. Ironically, Cassus himself was a protagonist
* Cassus, despite being aware of Windy's immortality, will frequently remark that Windy has either a deathwish or that he'll die by day's end