Onion Penndraig

Lord

Onion Penndraig was a member of the Lost King's Court and ally to Phlox Penndraig's faction within it, and the commander of the Host, the military of the Kingdom of Anglecynn.

## Appearance

Onion looked his age for the most part and could be recognized as a hardened military commander. He had a calm face, remarkably free of wrinkles for his age, with striking blue eyes and nearly white hair.

## Personality

Onion's defining personality trait was his constant bloodthirst. He murdered a number of people in cold blood, starting at least at the age of sixteen. He used to have a blatant disregard for society and its laws and commit violence without provocation, but later in his life developed a modus operandi that involved provoking others into committing violence, then murdering them in apparent self-defense. He also committed a number of war crimes in his military career.

According to Hyacinth, he was like a father to her and loved his family enormously.

## Powers and abilities

#### Swordfighting

Onion was a grandmaster bladebound, likely the world's greatest swordsman at the time and one of the best that have ever lived. He displayed a number of abilities that functioned identically to virtues acquired by Juniper after raising his skill levels high enough: the blade he was bonded to was infinitely sharp and could cut inviolable materials, he was impossibly fast and strong, and he could riposte after parrying in half the time the original attack took. According to an urban legend, he also parried a car once, which would also be possible according to one of the virtues accessible to Juniper.

#### Entads

Onion is known to have possessed the following entads:

* One of Uther's swords, which officially copies the entad effect of the opponent's sword. In actual reality, it can copy the effect of any entad sword in vicinity, though only one at a time.
* A sword that can create a duplicate of the wielder, also capable of combat.
* A collection of other entad swords used in conjunction with the effect of Uther's sword, of an unspecified size.
* Glossy, black, spiked armor with three glowing orbs, which allows the wielder to resurrect twice after being killed, but crumples into a small lump of metal after the third, destroying the body alongside itself. It's also possible that it brings the user to peak physical condition, which made Onion look like he's in his 20s.
* Armor that creates flashes of blinding light.
* A collection of entad rings with unspecified effects.

#### Magic

Onion studied in the Athenaeum of Stars and Sigils, but was kicked out at the age of 16, so he's likely a very minor star or rune mage.

#### Other resources

Onion has the military might of Anglecynn at his command, as well as black sites such as Charon and access to various clandestine research projects.

## Biography

Early in his life, Onion had a flagrant disregard for society and the law. He engaged in violence that should have landed him in prison if not for his privileged status, until he murdered a fellow student in the Athenaeum of Stars and Sigils at the age of 16, supposedly over the results of a gambling game, and was sentenced to a trial of adversity and thrown into the Whiffle exclusion zone.

He was the only of his cohort to survive and subsequently joined the Host, treating it as an opportunity rather than a prison sentence. At twenty-two he was given an honorable discharge and joined the Golden Cete. Over the course of a decade, he worked with them closely, being involved in a number of dangerous operations in exclusion zones and wild lands, as well as a number of foreign conflicts. At thirty-two, he killed a superior officer, apparently in cold blood, and was sentenced to another trial by adversity, this time in lower Chthonic Depths, which was equivalent to a death sentence.

He survived nonetheless, at the cost of his sanity and several of his fingers, and after a brief period of rehabilitation he was made to join the Host as a private once again. It was then that he developed his MO of provoking his opponents into action and murdering them in retaliation, and gained a newfound respect for the law, which eventually culminated in him becoming the commander of the Host at the age of 55.

He involved himself in a plot with Larkspur Prentiss, Phlox and Hyacinth to assassinate Amaryllis Penndraig and claim her entads and inheritance, which eventually resulted in Juniper Smith challenging Onion to a trial by combat, a duel to the death with no magic and only two entads allowed. Onion proved himself to be a formidable opponent but was nonetheless bested.