Darius Loyhrs

## General Information

### ☯**Personality**

A bit shy in that he prefers to keep to himself, though he tries to come off as affable when spoken to. Double-guesses himself often, and so he prefers to stay passive and let others lead the direction of a conversation for him before he makes a poor move. He becomes more active in the field of spell card battles, as he believes he can be comfortable taking pride in his combat ability.

In turn, this leads into a strict sense of honour for him; to Darius, he can't be satisfied with anything he hasn't "earned," and something like winning a fight through foul play or his full power reduces the "worth" of that triumph to zero. This is also a topic that can rile him up outside of battle; even something like a birthday present leaves him uncomfortable until he finds a way to repay the "debt" he owes. Obviously, there's no set-in-stone "exchange rate," and Darius occasionally forgets about it himself - for instance, insisting to pay for someone else's meal and later refusing to let them pay for him.

While he's not a full idiot to the core, his mindset of pride and honour still makes him easy to manipulate and lead around in circles.

### ☯**Appearance**

Quite tall at 6'4. Brown eyes and messy black hair that grows to just below his ears. Somewhat pale. Normally has a very placid stare. Most of his figure is actually made up of his duster; he himself is rather slender. Carries and conducts himself lightly, and speaks in a register slightly higher than most other men.

Many faint fractal lightning scars cover his arms, starting at the fingers and branching partially over his back and chest. Despite appearing mostly normal, both arms are artificial limbs created by Lazarus.

Wears an ankle-length black duster coat with a yin yang symbol on the back, encased in a lotus blossom. A rose stem detail runs along the base of the coattails, the collar, and the cuffs. Wears navy blue jeans and a light grey shirt underneath, along with a black cowboy hat with a wide triangular brim and brown belt around the base. Definitely didn't steal it from Marisa.

Carries two weapons; a revolver holstered on his right hip and the claymore "Sword of Solace" across his back in a leather scabbard. Revolver model is Colt Anaconda, the claymore is about five feet from tip to pommel. Grip length a little above one foot, blade roughly four feet long with two grooves cut into both flats of the blade. Its forged from silvery metal, but surprisingly light despite its size.

### ☯**Theme Songs**

* Atelier Meruru - Astral Blader (Regular)
* Mega Man Zero 3 - Cannon Ball (Battle)
* Castlevania Order of Ecclesia - Sorrow's Distortion (Alternate)

## Backstory

Scotland born and raised. He spent several years in Japan to complete
his education alongside Karin Muyoka when he was 18. During that time,
he ventured into Gensokyo and met "Damion Loyhrs," quickly finding
himself entangled in a plot to restart the universe. EVE provoked Karin
into challenging her and attempting to stop her by killing Darius, using
 the strain to push him into sealing a pact for the power of Conquest in
 Damion's place. After Karin's death in the battle, EVE easily twisted
the events to suit herself, though Darius ultimately came to revolt
against and defeat her.

## Relationships

### ☯**Karin Muyoka**

A former friend of his, having grown up together. Karin naturally resents him after their fatal clash, and they rarely see eye to eye nowadays.

## Abilities

### ☯**Ability to Manipulate Yin and Yang**

His unique ability is best defined as "manipulation of yin and yang." While the use of such an ability lends itself to nearly limitless potential, his use of it is heavily restrained by his poor mental compatibility.

Utilizes light and dark magic for his danmaku before anything else, and capable of channeling them through his body or most weapons to enhance his attacks.

Decent in forming magical constructs to shape his attacks, though these constructs are simple and rudimentary. Although he can use light magic to create danmaku in a fire-like form, it lacks the ability to ignite and linger due to only being an expression of magic.

Dark magic is often used in a water-like form or launched as large danmaku, hitting much harder than light magic in most situations. Similar to the "fire" he can create with light magic, this "water" lacks traditional properties beyond physical presence.

### ☯**Physical Abilities**

A good marksman with reliable accuracy, as well as proficient with his sword in close combat.

### ☯**Ability to Erase (Harbinger Abilities)**

If the situation calls for it, Darius can make use of his powers as a Harbinger to access void magic and the power to "erase." His void magic is designed to destroy and focuses on other forms of magic before anything else, making it a powerful weapon in the heavily magic-oriented Gensokyo, but his power to "erase" is sealed off from him and effectively inaccessible.

## Danmaku

Uses danmaku in two distinct flavors; combining both and using them interchangeably is his key to victory.

Most of his light danmaku has high speed and high penetration, making it difficult to read and dodge. While its damage is below average, he compensates for this with a rapid rate of fire to chip away at his opponents over time. This style of danmaku is geared around quick attacks and quick movement, commonly used to attack with thin lasers or bursts of flame. With light danmaku, he tends to be more active in moving across the battlefield to keep his opponent at arm's length as he attacks at range.

Dark danmaku is the complete opposite, comprised of predictable but powerful danmaku. Their sheer size and potential density can make them tough to counter, encouraging slow but unstoppable barrages. Danmaku produced through dark magic both lasts longer and hits harder than light magic, making them resistant to enemy danmaku and harder to block. Tends to take the form of large orbs of darkness or temporary constructs of water, and often used in close range where its slow movement is less of a problem.

## Weaknesses

Darius is a competent fighter in all respects with a fighting style that covers most weaknesses, but that balance comes at the cost of only being "average" in them - Karin easily outranks his swordsmanship, his unarmed combat is nothing compared to Julian, and much of his standard danmaku is rather unremarkable. These weaknesses are compensated by his phenomenal spell card deck, but they still only put him in parity with other fights; without his deck, Darius struggles greatly to excel in any field.

His fighting style allows him to make use of a close or long-ranged weapon and channel two different forms of magic depending on his opponent, making him a versatile fighter. However, he cannot use his equipment in tandem with one another, forcing him to pick which one he needs most according to the situation. An enemy that abruptly rushes in from long range can catch him off-guard before he can switch weapons, and an enemy fighting in close range and then breaking away can similarly bombard him at distance before he can react.

As a very honourable combatant, he often reflects this view onto other fighters. Despite the duel-based design of the Spell Card System, this still opens him up to tactics such as pulling him around by the coattails, surprise attacks, or even simply tricking him into using a certain tactic and then taking advantage of the opening produced. Even in a situation when he might make use of the void, he can be manipulated into backing down by playing on his sense of honour and fair play.

Extremely susceptible to mental warfare.

## Trivia

* Lacks the ability to fly under normal circumstances.
* Very much a lightweight in terms of drinking.
* First Horseman of the Apocalypse, Conquest.
* Prefers cats.