Austera the Bisharp

Image credit to @RavenousRuss

> "The ends justify the means."
>
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**Austera** is the retired, former Guildmaster of the Iron Enforcers, Silver City's dominant guild.

## Personality

Austera doesn't believe in honor nearly as much as Klaue or Volta might, going so far as to form trusts with criminals such as them in order to fulfill her motives. She may come off as cold and unfeeling, but inside, she only wishes things could go back to the way they were before.

Unlike other guildmasters which may be tempted to stay in the safety of their office and handle domestic affairs; Austera is consistently leaving her office to take on acts of heroism in Silver City. This has earned her a fearsome reputation that can make talking to her somewhat intimidating for most. She stands up for those in Silver City who cannot protect themselves. It does not sit well with her to work in an office like Derek or Kavaris did during their tenure in office.

Austera formed an unlikely alliance with Sierra, who handles most of her domestic affairs in her stead while she is out on the streets.

### Methods

Austera is very goal-driven. If an action leads to a desirable outcome, then that action should be made. This cold and unfeeling approach to apprehending criminals stems from a long history with Silver City crime, government corruption, and intense competition in the vacuum created after the fall of the Justice guild.

This way of thinking was passed down into her rigorous recruitment exam in the Iron Enforcers, which rewards opponents that use foul play and other unfair tactics in order to gain an advantage over their opponents.

### Abilities

Austera is extremely resilient; her body is covered in sharp blades that threaten to lacerate attackers. She can also exert incredible force with her legs, as demonstrated in her match against Bolreo in their Giga Impact match, as well as her ability to leap up to the Boss's viewing chamber to get a better view of Klaue and Volta's semifinal match.

Her ability is **Pressure,** which intimidates weaker opponents to the point of immediate surrender.

## History

Austera was born in Silver City to a pair of standard parents. They aspired for her to succeed everywhere they had failed. Austera was a much different person in her younger days; being much more talkative and cheery.

She started school at the age of five, naturally. Her parents always pushed her into extracurricular programs, but she didn't quite have the talent that others had at music or other arts. Her friends looked up to her as a guardian; she liked that. She enjoyed the feeling of being able to protect those around her. She developed her leadership skills early on in school by forming a club that oversees student security in the school.

On one rainy day, when she was just twelve, she was walking a line of students home from school. She stood her own against a grown Pokemon: an abusive Scrafty, father of one of the children she was escorting. They had punched her directly in the face, knocking her over and cracking her faceguard. She took the beating for several minutes to allow the children to escape safely, before he walked off, having finally sated his wrath. She didn't understand why Silver City was making Pokemon like this; why the people she sought to protect were so insistent on getting in her way, beating her down. She didn't let it deter her. Everyone has their bad days.

The Justice guild took notice of her incredible restraint, her willingness to protect others, and her leadership skills. She was invited to join the ranks of the Justice guild, where she would have an opportunity to get stronger and help protect those too weak to protect themselves.

However, everything started getting worse after she took that opportunity. Her family and friends had become targets of those allied with Master R, and the two formed a mutual distaste for one another. It seemed like every other day, someone was trying to bait her into killing in order to protect herself or someone else. Three years of this quickly hardened her personality, and closed off parts of her heart.

It was at this time that she came upon Sierra, who had not yet evolved. She shared her story with her, about her father, and agreed to make their own guild chapter at their very own school: the Iron Enforcers. There were preconceived notions that Dark-type Pokemon were incapable of doing good, which made it difficult for them to gain approval. It was mostly Pokemon they had personally saved that joined their ranks. The both of them started to mature from their base forms into their evolved forms at this point in life.

One day, Austera overslept. Her parents weren't home, and she awoke to the sound of a massive explosion just down the street. She jumped out of her bed and looked out the window, to see the horror that was the Justice Incident. The short, burning silhouette, the brutal beatings, and the unending fire of hell that Justice tried to deliver unto Saku, one of her own classmates. She fell to her knees and realized that things would never, ever be the same.

Panic quickly dominated Silver City. Elections were right around the corner. Derek, appealing to the fear crawling within everyone's hearts following the incident, won the vote. He instated a borderline authoritarian regime on Silver City to crack down on the rampant crime that followed. Everyone looked up to Austera as their only beacon of light and hope; the only one willing to stand on their feet against something as terrifyingly powerful as what they saw. This wouldn't be easy, as Silver City's worsening living conditions under Derek motivated some civilians to sympathize with the Syndicate and stand in Austera's way. It was then that she developed her goal-driven mentality. The ends justify the means.

The Iron Enforcers went from a school organization to a full-fledged guild, quickly. Due to the emergency circumstances following, Austera was excused from attending school in order to take up the Iron Enforcers recruitment and management full-time. Given specific instructions only to employ Dark-type Pokemon only by Derek, wanting to prevent another Justice Incident, many of those preconceived notions surrounding Dark-types disappeared as they started to act as Silver City's sole protectors.