Xera the Bold

Art by DonnieDurdunkle

> *"XERA THE BOLD! GRANT ME RAGE!"*
>
>

> -Kopi Yeom invokes Xera's power
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**Xera the Bold** is the guardian spirit of Kopi Yeom which is bound to her armor. Long ago, before the time of The Shattering, Xera the Bold was a prestigious warrior garbed in resplendent golden armor. Upon death, Xera's spirit yet endured within that glistening armor, which was kept as a heirloom of his family.

However, after a millennia, one of Xera's descendants, Kopi Yeom, would don the armor, tarnishing it and awakening his spirit. The resulting curse bound the two together, forcing Kopi to always wear the armor and Xera's spirit to consistently admonish her. Kopi Yeom calls upon Xera's power in battle, where he assists through wielding her spear and granting her power over ancestral spirits. Though Xera physically manifests alongside her, he is completely invisible to others. He is played by Arex.

## Description

### Appearance

Xera the Bold has the appearance of a tall muscular humanoid with fair skin. His head is completely bald and smooth, with the only visible hair being a full blonde beard and a set of thick blonde eyebrows. In place of his ears are a set of small wings made of golden feathers, which match his intense golden eyes.

Xera wears the same set of armor as Kopi Yeom, however the armor he wears reflects it in its former glory. A golden scale half cuirass covers his chest, from which a white padded apron covers the rest of his torso. A set of dark brown leather under-armour with fur trimming can be seen beneath. A cylindrical golden gorget also protects his neck, which is nestled from the metal by more fur. Two golden pauldrons that vaguely resembles a bird's head cover his shoulders, and matching golden gauntlets protect his hands and forearms, leaving the biceps bare. A thick brown belt with four golden roundels circles his waist, with pair of circular blue plates hanging from it to protect his hips. He also wears a set of white padded trousers with a blue section on the inseam. A pair of knee high white and gold metal boots are worn over this, with some protective pieces located around the knees and calves.

### Personality

Unlike his rather zany descendant, Xera the Bold is a proud individual with a strict no-nonsense outlook. He finds Kopi's antics rather ridiculous, pointedly refusing to mimic her war cry and poses while fighting. In general, he appears to be quite strict with Kopi, chiding her for not responding to her friends and interjecting with comments as she fights, usually receiving an angry rebuttal in return. Much of his severity likely stems from his own personal pride and honor as a representative of his family.

Xera is typically level-headed and reasonable, even under the effects of rage. While blunt and stern for the most part, Xera shows a particular affection for his comrades, especially that of Olive and Kyuubi. He is quick to compliment their prowess and angrily rushes to Olive's defense when she is set upon by a Brisbane soldier.

## History

### Early History

Xera the Bold was born over 500 years before the Shattering of Io, though when and where exactly is unknown. He was raised as a member of The Bold family, a clan of Toriya with a proud history. The young Xera, born a Goma Toriya, would eventually grow up to become a warrior. He became known for his elegant spear and resplendent armor, designed to imitate his golden hair and feathers. Though gifted with a powerful rage and martial skill, it is unclear what battles Xera fought or what glories he had won.

### A Family Legacy

Over the course of Xera the Bold's life, he eventually settled down and had a family. Much of this period of life is unknown, but eventually Xera the Bold died, though the circumstances are equally unknown. Xera's golden armor and spear came into the possession of his family, who safeguarded them respectfully for the prevailing years. For centuries, even through the Shattering of Io, these relics of the storied warrior were left undisturbed. Unbeknownst to even his heirs, the spirit of Xera persisted within the armor, lying dormant for all that time.

However, approximately 1,000 years after the death of Xera the Bold, one of his descendant's violated his resting place to lay claim to the armor herself. The descendant was named Kopi Yeom, a headstrong woman with an unfortunate reckless streak and gambling addition. The exact circumstances are unclear, but Kopi's act of taking the armor and spear damaged both significantly, leaving them a shadow of their former selves. This act of desecration resulted in the violent reawakening of Xera the Bold's spirit. In his rage, he cursed Kopi so that she would be unable to remove the armor she had donned until it had been properly restored. However, there was an aspect of this curse that Xera had not anticipated; he was still bound to the selfsame armor that Kopi was now forced to wear. This meant that wherever Kopi went, Xera had no choice but to follow.

### A Shared Journey

Now that Xera the Bold and Kopi's were bound together, the two finally came to a shaky accord. Kopi would endeavor to restore the armor for Xera and in return, he would manifest his spirit to fight alongside her. Xera would take up his spear at Kopi's direction and offer her his powers in battle, especially his famous rage. However, no-one other than Kopi was able to see Xera the Bold, meaning that to all other beings, the spear floated alongside Kopi during her battles. Despite this agreement, neither ancestor or descendant could completely see eye to eye. Kopi found Xera's criticisms and uptight attitude to be tiresome, while Xera was frustrated by her ridiculous mannerisms, such as her constant posing and battle cries, her obnoxious behavior and her inability to accept any sort of setbacks or difficulties.

Their journey together did not have an auspicious start either, as Kopi's gambling habits came back to bite her. Rather than begin her quest, she plunged deeper and deeper into debt despite Xera's protests. When her creditors came to collect, Kopi fled town as fast as she could, forcing Xera to follow along. Their flight brought them both to the quiet corners of the Eshonia Isles, a cluster of flying islands above the Ark of Etropa. The two of them arrived in the village of Lundy, where Kopi began a destitute living in a tent near the local stream. Unable to coax her into action, Xera the Bold languished along with her, awaiting a call to adventure to kickstart the fulfillment of their quest and separation from one another.

## Mechanics

### Powers and Abilities

#### Barbarian Abilities

* *Rage*
* *Unarmored Defense*
* *Danger Sense*
* *Reckless Attack*
* *Extra Attack*
* *Fast Movement*
* *Feral Instinct*
* Ancestral Guardian Abilities
	+ *Ancestral Protectors*
	+ *Spirit Shield*

#### Feats

* *Mobile*
* *Sentinel*

### Special Abilities

* *Spiritual Bond*
	+ For a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, you can apply a trait to your weapon for one minute. You regain all uses on a long rest.
	+ Available Traits:
		- *Deadly Style*: One damage dice on this weapon will always be maximized.
		- *Toxic Style*: This weapon deals an additional 1d10 poison damage once per round.

### Notable Items

* *Relic Spear* +1
* *Cloak of Protection* +1
* *Ring of Free Action*
* *Armor Fragment of the severed*
	+ As a bonus action, you gain a flying speed equal to your walking speed until the end of your next turn. While flying in this manner, you are able to dive. When you dive, you move 10ft instead of 5ft. You can dive an amount equal to twice your current altitude. When you successfully hit an enemy after diving that round, you deal an extra 2 points of damage for every 5ft that you dived.

## Etymology

"Xera" is the reverse spelling of Arex, the online handle of his player. The name itself is a deliberate misspelling of the given name Alex.

The word *bold* is an English adjective that describes something as courageous or daring.

## Trivia

* Xera the Bold's design incorporates several aspects of his player Arex's branding. Firstly, the name Xera the Bold references the player, with "Xera" being Arex backwards and "Bold" being part of his social media handles. Xera also shares several physical features with Arex himself, such as a bald head, a full beard and similar facial structure. Finally, his armor and his Toriya wings are styled after a yellow bird, which is the mascot of his channel.
* Though Xera the Bold has been present with Kopi since Curious Curios Season 1 Episode 1, his first physical appearance happens in Season 3 Episode 10, where Xera and Kopi swap places due to the influence of the Memory Amalgamation they were exploring.
* While fighting on Kopi's behalf, Xera the Bold fulfils the same functions as a "Stand", a manifestation of spiritual energy from the the popular Japanese manga and anime series *JoJo no Kimyō na Bōken* (ジョジョの奇妙な冒険) or JoJo's Bizarre Adventure in English. In the series, "Stands" possess a variety of different abilities and fight on the orders of their owners, much like Xera does for Kopi. They are also invisible to everybody bar other Stand users, much like Xera's spirit is. In addition, Kopi directs Xera to attack by repeated yelling "*Yari*" (the Japanese word for "spear"), which is reminiscent of a Stand Cry in the series.

## Images

### Official art

Xera's spirit as it manifested within The Shadow (AI-generated art created by BrettUltimus via MidJourney).