Gilder

**Gilder** is one of the very powerful knights that protect Odyss as part of the Order of Celebrant. He is a vampire originating from Bismuth. Not much is known of him despite his position at the frontline, as he is shrouded in perpetual shadows that conceal his identity.

After the conclusion of the Prophecy of the End, Gilder retired from the world and eventually faded from Carokiiv after a life full of accomplishments.

## Characteristics

Gilder is noted as the one in the order with the greatest defensive power, and he is a talented mage in addition to his skill at using weapons. He has endurance even beyond that of a normal vampire due to his own perseverance, as well as his skilled use of reinforcement and defensive spells.

Gilder is a very strange name for a vampire, and probably not his true name. It is possible that it is a code name that is only used by the order. Gilder's true name therefore remains unknown to many.

Gilder is known to be very softhearted and kind, and he is purported to be the only one other than Ordecius and Celebrant who has seen Emirion's face. While he respects Ordecius and Celebrant, he seems to consider them stuck up prudes, Celebrant being more stuck up and Ordecius being more prudish. He is known to like Corelia a great deal, and has a positive reaction to Hawthorne as well. He is known to like Velaren as well. Vandes is known to be his best friend, for whatever reason.

After his defection to Betoriv, Gilder spends the most time with the woman he loves, Ayane Chronopsis, who is considered the closest person to him. He faded with his lover years later after the conclusion of the Prophecy.

## Background

Gilder isn't always leading the charge, and he normally rides on a phantasmal black horse so he can take full advantage of his heavy bardiche's great reach and power. He can also fight dismounted, and is in fact very terrifying to face in combat. This great power seems to have been diminished with time due to a lack of training, and because the Near Humans have improved greatl at magic, but he is still a formidable foe.

Gilder is a source of bad memories for Near Humans, and mentioning him often leaves a bad taste in the mouths of others as he was the Knight that screened the others from death. Due to his immense defensive powers and ability to dispel magic of all kinds, Gilder made the fight against the forces of Odyss excessively difficult, even if he wasn't the most lethal knight on the battlefield.

Gilder is known to be male from his voice, and it is known that he has white hair, due to his helmet having being destroyed before in one of the skirmishes. After his defection to Betoriv, it is known Gilder has very youthful features, a pair of bright blue eyes and a generally friendly countenance. His looks would be similar to a boy of about 18 - 20. He has a very youthful and bright voice, and is probably the youngest vampire in the knights along with Corelia, even though he is more than five centuries old.

## Powers and Abilities

* Master swordsmanship
* Master spearmanship
* Expert unarmed combat
* Vampiric Strength, Speed and Endurance
* High Tier Reinforcement magic
* Gravity Crest - ability to cast all low tier gravity spells for no mana at all. This includes the very powerful attack Gamma Ray Burst.
* 7 Vitakinetic Channels - advanced vitakinesis.
* Flight - via vampire's wings
* Expert Level Gravity Magic
* Master Level Darkness Magic
* Limited Telekinesis
* Dark Energy Force Field projection
* Magic Negation Magic
* Ability to summon his phantasmal horse, which can also dash into enemies and explode.

## Equipment

Gilder uses for normal combat a sword and shield combination when on foot, or his bardiche when range is important, or when mounted. His sword is known as *Nothung, the Severing Edge*, and is a spirit blade which has the power to phase through multiple dark dimensions to sever an opponent physically as well as on the soul level. The resonance can further be used to fire out waves of black mist that deal horrific slashing damage. It is known to be based on Argentum Lux.

Techniques with Nothung include:

* **Curtain of the Night** - Nothung is swung in a slash, and releases a wave of black energy that is quite large. it explodes violently when it hits a surface, causing heavy void damage to anything caught within the blast.
* **Severing Screen** - Nothung creates a crack in space that propagates along a solid surface, causing black energy to erupt out skyward and cut everything standing along it along the release of black energy.
* **Midnight Dance** - Nothung superimposes itself via multiple dimensions to cut an opponent three times with just one slash. The power also releases void blasts along the cuts, knocking the attacked target back.
* **Threads of Dusk** - Nothung releases multiple black threads of energy from the blade that can be controlled remotely by the wielder, slicing through anything they hit. These threads will not cut the wielder and avoids the wielder instinctively.

Gilder's shield is known as *Svalinn, the Mirror Screen*, and has the ability to reflect any and all magic cast against it. It can also reflect projectiles, and recoils enemy weapons that strike it. Bash attacks with it are also unusually powerful due to the repulsion effect.

Gilder carries a bardiche for wide sweeps. It is not as heavy as it looks, and goes by the name *Fenrir, Jaw of Ruin*. Fenrir is made from multiple souls of wolves, and thus doesn't possess innate spells or such. However, when invoked, the bardiche can release a gigantic maw that devours even reality, to chomp down on a target for massive damage. If thrown, the bardiche gains a wolf like aura and charges through all, smashing and trampling.

Fenrir is known to only have two techniques, due to its beast construction:

* **Hunt of the Pack** - Fenrir can summon multiple spirit wolves that charge at their opponent, bite on to their opponent and then proceed to explode extremely violently, cremating their target in a series of detonations.
* **World Eater's Maw** - Fenrir releases a wolf shaped maw of energy that devours the target of its wielder. It's a single target skill that deals a lot of damage. The true form is invoked when the Bardiche is thrown, and it surrounds the whole polearm with a wolf aura that charges through all and explodes violently if it is stopped.

Gilder uses a self repairing armor set that is made of black metals. It is known to be able to emit black mists that shrouded his identity from anyone, even when his helmet was destroyed to reveal his face. He is known to be male due to the voice he uses.

## Trivia

* According to Betoric legend, it is said that Gilder's stand on being almost purely defensive is due to having an affair with a human named Illya, but no reliable source is able to confirm this. According to Gilder himself, this was his master (who passed the title and role to him) that had this experience.