Xerxes Jazayeri

> I'm not the man I used to be, Sino, and I doubt you'd even want someone like me back in there.
>
> Xerxes Jazayeri to Orsino Gladio

## Media

### First Appearance

"Backstage Romance"

Xerxes Jazayeri is a character in Team OPRA's story. He is a huntsman and member of the Illyrian army, as well as the former combat mentor of Ophelia Demoiselle and the former squire of the now deceased Estelle Demoiselle. His weapon of choice is a gun-sword named *The Outcast.*

## Appearance

### Physical

Xerxes is a tall and semi muscular man who stands at 6'3. He has tan-brown skin with brown eyes and a circular head shape. He has dark, cool brown hair that is messy and measures down to his chin and is usually tied into a half up-half down look. He also has a five o'clock shadow.

### Attire

Xerxes' attire consists of a cream button down shirt messily tucked into a pair of faded dark green trousers. Over his shirt, Xerxes then wears a dark xanadu green, short-sleeved jacket with mahogany red sleeves. He then wears a pair of armoured brown boots on his feet.

## Personality

Xerxes is initially shown to be a rather cold, distant and pessimistic individual. He keeps himself isolated from other people and often prefers to work alone. He is also described to be rather harsh in terms of what being a hunter is like, as evident in keeping Team OPRA and CRTN in check when it comes to the crime families of Illyria.

Similarly to others, Xerxes is also shown to mourn the death of Estelle. Unlike someone like Mario, who has learned to move past his grief, Xerxes is still trapped by it, to a point where the emotional instability he faces effects his semblance. This grief often causes him to lash at others, evident in calling Orsino out for not investigating into Estelle's death further than he did. Because of Estelle's death, he also believes that he is not as capable as he used to be.

## Background

Not much is known about Xerxes' upbringing in Illyria. When he was 13, he met Estelle Demoiselle at Arden Academy and formed a friendship with her. After attending a huntsman academy, he returns to Illyria and is accepted to be Estelle's squire.

When Estelle Demoiselle is murdered during a huntsman mission, Xerxes falls into a depression and isolates himself from the rest of society, turning down the position of becoming a knight of Illyria. 13 years later, he accepts Ophelia Demoiselle as his pupil to train her to become a huntress. There he begins to form a parental bond with Ophelia and shares info about Estelle with her, something that Ophelia had been kept in the dark about often.

## Abilities and Powers

Xerxes is shown to be an incredibly skilled and capable fighter. Under Estelle Demoiselle's tutelage, Xerxes fights in a mix of close to mid ranged combat using his weapon, The Outcast.

### Weaknesses

Because of his inability to move past his grief over Estelle's death, Xerxes has shown to lose control of his semblance, which causes it to activate when his emotions are heightened.

### Weapon

Xerxes' weapon is called *The Outcast.* It is the *Dual Jagged Gun Sword (DJGS).* The Outcast is a single-edged asymmetrical long sword with a gun function build into the hilt with a barrel hidden in the blade of the sword itself. The blade is single edged and made from silver steel with a jagged point on the sharp edge of the blade outwards. The hilt is made from black metal with a green leather grip and thin knuckle guard. The magazine for the sword's gun function is just on the side of the cross guard. With his weapon, Xerxes is able to fight in close and medium ranged combat. Thanks to the jagged point at the end of The Outcast, Xerxes is able to dispose of grimm quicker because of the sword's effectiveness in tearing thicker flesh that grimm have.

### Semblance

Xerxes' semblance is called *Sandstorm.* When activated, Xerxes will whip up a dense sandstorm in a 20m radius that can create distance between himself and the people around it. This sandstorm can vary in intensity. Because of his grief, Xerxes' semblance can randomly activate and become unstable.

## Trivia

### Allusion

* Xerxes alludes to the character of Daroga the Persian from the 1910 novel *The Phantom of the Opera* by Gaston Leroux.
	+ Despite not making an appearance in the musical, Daroga is an important character who serves as a connection between The Phantom and the Opera managers Firhmand and Andre, ultimately being written out in favour of Madame Giry taking this role instead.
	+ Xerxes is Persian-coded, Daroga himself originates from Persia, what is now known as the country of Iran.

### Colour Naming Rule

* Xerxes is a Persian male name meaning 'Monarch', bringing to mind colours associated with royalty like gold and purple.
* Jazayeri is a Persian surname meaning 'Islands', which can be associated with natural colours like green and blue.

### Miscellaneous

* Xerxes is shown to suffer from depression.