Anthem

Female Hero from Dragon Quest 4 -- Official Artwork

BACKGROUND: It takes a certain kind of person to claw your way out of Gamma Row. Born into destitution, Chrysanthemum (later shortened to Anthem) seemed like she was doomed to be just another petty thief on the row: scraping by out of sight and out of mind from the wealthier denizens of Lux. But while Anthem was born with no money and no birthright, she was born with one great fortune to her name: a predisposition towards ruthlessness. By the time she was thirteen, Anthem began entering herself into underground prize fights. She lost as many battles as she won at first, but each loss was another lesson--and by the time she was sixteen, she had begun to earn a proper profit for the first time in her life.

Due to her short stature and the rumour that she often employed poisons to augment her blades, thanks to the untimely death of a dozen different opponents mere weeks after a supposed non-lethal duel, she was given the nickname the Little Serpent. With more doors beginning to open for her, she began to study basic magical cantrips through stolen spellbooks and pilfered artifacts. By the time she turned eighteen, her name was well known throughout gambling rings in Lux, and she ascended nearer to the top of Konats' underground combat sports circuit with a little (albeit cheating) use of her newfound magic. It was then that Anthem pulled out of those fights entirely, seemingly vanishing for the next five years.

Those five years were spent away from the public eye, forging contacts across Konats--and even a few in the stars beyond. These years also served to allow her to master the magic she began to learn in the underbelly of Gamma Row, to the point she was able to weave it into her fighting style. When she finally reappeared in Gamma Row, she had adorned herself with an ancient golden crown, stolen from the tomb of some long-departed Konatsian ruler. She declared herself to be the crime queen of Konats, and turned her attention towards building herself an underground empire--a goal to which she has proven willing to pay any price, in gold or blood.

Light Defensive || Protect
Anthem empowers her shield with emerald energy, enabling it to hold up against heavier blows.
Power: 20%
KP Cost: 1 KP
Variants: N/A

Medium Offensive || Fire Fang
Anthem empowers her blade with mystical emerald fire, causing her next attack to land with severe force.
Power: 70%
KP Cost: 4 KP
Variants: N/A

Medium Offensive || Poison Sting
Anthem delivers a slash from the tip of her blade, where her homemade poison is concentrated. If it pierces far enough, the poison will begin to wear away at her opponent.
Power: 50%
KP Cost: 4 KP
Variants: Bleed

Light Offensive || Coil || 10k Slot
Anthem charges at her opponent, aiming a swift strike before trying to grapple with them. If successful, she can slow an opponent down just enough to weaken their next blow.
Power: 20%
KP Cost: 2 KP
Variants: Exhausting

Medium Defensive || Payback || 20k Slot
Anthem swings her shield at an incoming attack at full force, aiming to not only deflect the attack but reflect it back at her opponent--or failing that, just clocking her opponent with the shield.
Power: 50%
KP Cost: 4 KP
Variants: Reflective

Medium Sparking Offensive || Toxic
Anthem launches herself into the air to evade an incoming attack. As she hovers above her opponent, she channels her magic through the steel of her poisoned blade--causing a jet of purplish energy to spray forward, threatening to spread severe toxin through their system.
Power: 50%
KP: 4 KP
Variants: Bleed, Bleed+, Counter

Utility Technique || Flight
Anthem has mastered the ability to fly using her magical energy. This causes a trail of green-black smoke to wisp out from her in a trail behind her.

Utility Technique || Serpent's Spellbook
Anthem has mastered the use of an unconventional form of magic created during her time in Gamma Row. Mixing stolen knowledge from Konatsian mystics with forbidden, dark magic, she can tap into a repertoire of offensive tools that manifest themselves in brilliant, emerald green--most often in the form of fireballs and blasts.

Utility Technique || Soul Theft
Anthem has learned to steal souls, and use them to fuel her magic and her transformations. This technique only works against NPCs, with permission if the NPC is controlled by another player. This technique can only be used on another player character with prior agreement from both parties.