Fire Emblem ¦ Iona
Iona
Class: Dark Mage
Level: 10
Occupation: Grimleal Priest
Inventory: Ruin
Weapon + Level: Tome + B
Extra: The mark of Grima is tattooed on his chest and he has two silver piercings in his left ear. His mask and clothing similarly are adorned with Grima-inspired flourishes and marks. Like most native Plegians, his skin has a sickly pale, ashen tone to it. His eyes are a shockingly bright light green color.
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History: The identity of Iona's parents is unknown; all that is known about them is that they left him at the doorstep of an orphange organized by a certain branch of the Grimleal cult, located close to the border between Ylisse and Plegia. While the Fell Dragon fell once more, the prominence of the Grimleal over the nation of Plegia never diminished. Many of its citizens, especially those living in poverty, continued to worship Grima in hopes that he would return to end their suffering. Iona's orphanage was no different. He grew up hearing tales of the Grima's absolute power, how Naga and Ylisse's first exalt denied the inevitability of humanity's fate by putting Grima to rest, and how the previous exalt had once again sealed the mighty Fell Dragon. His young, innocent mind was filled with anti-Ylissean sentiment and reverence for the apocalyptic dragon like every other child at the orphanage. Seeing as he was too young to know any better, he believed everything he was told and began to harbor a great deal of disdain toward the Ylisseans.
Throughout his early childhood, Iona had been bullied and picked on by many of the older kids because he was so short and scrawny compared to them. At times, the beatings would get so harsh that the Grimleal priestesses that ran the orphanage would have to get involved. Iona was grateful for their intervention whenever it was necessary, but in reality, he was angry at himself for being so weak that he needed others to defend him. No matter what he did, he never seemed to be able to get his bullies back for all that they did to him, let alone stand up for himself against them. One day, at age ten, Iona took one of the priestesses' spare fire tomes out of curiosity and casually gleaned it. Shockingly, everything made sense to him; upon reading aloud from the text, he accidentally conjured a small flame that ignited a nearby curtain. Although a priestess had found him in time to put out the blaze, he was still punished for the minor destruction he had caused. However, Iona didn't mind, especially because it gave him an idea of how to exact vengeance on the older boys.
Grabbing a worn dark magic tome a careless priestess had left lying around, Iona finally gained the courage to confront the group of boys that had tormented him for many long years. They , wondering if he was going to bore them to death by reading from the dusty, old thing. Those boys didn't know what they had coming when Iona smirked and opened the tome. With a single incantation from its pages, he unleashed a bolt of dark energy b with Iona's anger and hatred toward them, catching them completely off guard. None of them died, but most of them were badly injured from the blast of dark magic. At last, Iona found a way to overpower them, and seeing them suffer after all the suffering they caused him made him happier than nothing else. The orphanage's priestesses found the young boy grinning from ear to ear while the injured bullies lay in a crumpled heap on the floor. After tending to their wounds, Iona was locked away in a room where he had no access to magic while the priestesses decided what to do with him.
The truth was that few people had the aptitude for magic, let alone dark magic. While magic users were slightly common, those that could harness the power of dark magic to the extent that Iona did especially at his tender age were much rarer. As such, the priestesses were very much impressed with young Iona; his magic was crude, unrefined and lacking in control, but he certainly had a natural talent for it. At the same time, however, he had used his magic to attack what were essentially his brethren. Over the course of a few days, the priestesses debated what to do with the orphan until the priest in charge of the orphanage suggested that they take him to the capital to be trained as a fellow priest. After all, those that had the capacity to wield dark magic right away were considered blessed by Grima in the eyes of the Grimleal, and Iona was a veritable prodigy. Iona, excited by the prospect of learning about magic and leaving the orphanage, agreed to the priest's proposition. Thus, the priest himself took Iona himself to Plegia's capital so that he could study under Grimleal officials.
Adjusting to life at the nation's most prominent Grimleal cathedral was a little difficult for the young orphan at first. A rigid cycle of studying, training, and prayer was in place; if an understudy was late to even one studying session, it resulted in harsh punishment to ensure the mistake never happened again. Upon initiation, Iona was assigned to Umbri, a newly appointed bishop of fellblood descent, in order to learn more about dark magic and Grimleal rituals. As his mentor in the worship of Grima, Umbri was demanding of Iona in every sense of the word. Often, he was forced to repeat hex after hex until Umbri believed he had it down perfectly or pray for hours until Umbri believed he had the specific prayer being practiced memorized. He expected nothing short of perfection from the boy his former caretakers had called a 'prodigy' and it showed in how he taught his student. However, thanks to Umbri's guidance, Iona easily became one of the best wielders of dark magic within the cathedral. His prowess even surpassed Umbri's within only a few short years. By the time Iona became eighteen years-old, eight years after he had began his training, he became a fully-fledged Grimleal priest in a grand ceremony. Neither Iona nor his mentor could have been prouder of him.
After attaining priesthood, Iona spent much of his time traveling to various Grimleal churches around Plegia in order to gain more experience, even preaching as a guest speaker occasionally. Iona was still young for a priest, after all, and he desperately needed that experience in order to gain more recognition among fellow followers. However, as the months went by, Iona found himself becoming increasingly more disenchanted with Grimleal philosophy. Animosity had always existed between Plegians and Ylisseans, especially after the previous exalt's father invaded in a bout of self-righteous fury, yet after traveling around and meeting more than a few Ylissean-born travelers, Iona couldn't bring himself to hate them quite like the vast majority of his religious sect did. He couldn't even blame them for wanting to follow Naga instead of Grima, seeing the hope the Divine Dragon brought to its followers much like the Fell Dragon did for many Grimleal followers. There was no doubt that the youthful priest was loyal to Grima, yet he gradually became less and less enthusiastic about the way religion was being practiced in Plegia. Somehow, it didn't feel right to force their ways onto the whole Plegian populace.
It had always been customary to sacrifice an animal's life force in the name of Grima as long as Iona knew, and he was fine with that. His morals were tested one day, however, upon arriving at a small Plegian town right along the eastern border between Plegia and Ylisse. He came there to be the local church's guest and observe their ways, but instead, he came across a caged girl with pointed, furry ears and a long, cat-like tail by the name of Eira. Upon demanding what the local congregation had the girl caged up for, he discovered that she was a girl from the faraway continent of Tellius with the power to shapeshift into a cat. They had purchased her from a slave trader in order to sacrifice her to Grima, referring to her as 'an abomination in the eyes of the gods'. Religious practices aside, Iona was completely disgusted with them; she could talk, feel emotions and bleed as any man could despite her beastly heritage. He didn't feel it was right at all for them to use Eira as a sacrifice. While the Grimleal were away, Iona promised her that he would find a way to free her. Eira could only hope that he would keep his word.
His opportunity finally arose a couple of days later when Iona had received word from a villager that the Ylissean Shepherds were patrolling the border nearby the little town he was currently staying at. The Shepherds had a reputation for always leaping to the aid and acting in the interests of the people, although for obvious reasons they weren't well-liked in Plegia. Deciding that there was no other way to guarantee Eira's safety, Iona risked his own safety by knocking out her guards with his dark magic and freeing her from her prison. However, another guard saw the whole thing occur and warned the rest of the congregation. In an instant, the Grimleal dark mages were on their tail; Iona and Eira had no choice but to run. Before long, they encountered the Shepherds, but the town's mages had them surrounded. Seeing as the two were in trouble, the Shepherds stepped in to help and the battle began.
While Iona was formidable on his own, Eira proved to be a devestating force of her own once she shapeshifted. They fought valiantly alongside the Shepherds until the last of the town's Grimleal fled for his life. After the battle, Iona prompted Lucina to protect Eira, upon which she noticed something odd. Why would a Grimleal, let alone a Grimleal priest betray his fellow worshippers to save the life of an intended sacrifice? After Lucina told him that returning to his country would probably result in him being branded a traitor and being stripped of his status, Eira interrupted and begged for Iona to come with her in joining the Shepherds. Seeing no other decent option, Iona conceeded and asked Lucina to allow him to join the Shepherds. Lucina, of course, agreed to allow them both into their ranks.
Age + Birthday: 20 + 7/17
Important People:
Umbri | 42 | For many years, Umbri served as Iona's mentor until he reached priesthood. They developed a very close bond during this time as master and former student, and continued to keep in touch up until Iona severed all ties with organized Grimleal faith. | Umbri is for the most part an ill-tempered, moody man with a fearsome temper. All that know him pity the man that manages to set him off. While he is strict and quick to punish, however, he's also to a certain degree caring and considerate of those closest to him. He displays a more tranquil, understanding side if one manages to befriend him.
Eira | 17 | As noted above, Iona selflessly saved Eira from being sacrificed and joined the Shepherds following her rescue. Although Eira has an intense dislike of most humans, she doesn't mind Iona because he proved himself to be trustworthy through his actions. | Having lived most of her life in human captivity, Eira is extremely distrusting of most other people, especially if they're human. It's almost impossible to gain her trust unless someone first proves to her their trustworthiness. Past her cold outer shell, though, Eira's surprisingly sweet and kind. None can ask for a more loyal or reliable friend.
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Personality: Calm and collected despite the threat of a messy end, Iona faces each battle knowing very well that it's possible that it may be his last. His view is a fatalistic one; he's going to die someday, anyway, so he may as well fight the best he can until Grima decides to harvest his life energy. The Grimleal ideal that one can only achieve true peace in death comforts him, an ideal that many non-believers find pessimistic and strange compared to the hope of life and a bright future that Naga promises. Nonetheless, in battle, Iona is a truly vicious foe. His dark magic is fueled by a deep resentment toward many of the people who have wronged him in the past, but he doesn't let it consume him. He's actually quite clever and cunning, knowing how to use the area around him well to evade enemy attacks and strike back with utmost ferocity. Seeing as he's physically quite weak, his preferred strategy is to tag along with a stronger ally to take all the attacks so that he can pick off the weakened enemy with his magic. On the rare occasion that he's fighting on his own, though, he always makes sure to strike first before the enemy can strike him.
A lot of people tend to get annoyed by Iona and it's very easy to see why once one gets to know him. Above all, he's incredibly arrogant. He knows he's good at what he does and he isn't afraid to brag about how awesome he is once given the opportunity. For all his boasting, he at least has the skill to back it up. Challenge him, and he'll prove himself with flying colors as long as he doesn't have to physically exert himself. Although many of his claims are founded, it doesn't stop others from being bothered by his lack of modesty. If there's any word that doesn't describe Iona, it's almost certainly 'humble'. Although his pride may seem excessive much of the time, he has enough of it to be able to reliably complete any task he's given.
Underneath his overconfident appearance, however, Iona's a lot more pleasant of a person to be around than he may at first seem. Nobody appreciates his arrogance, but everybody appreciates his intellect and willingness to share what he knows with others without insulting their intelligence. He's a surprisingly good teacher on account of his patience and understanding; he knows that not everybody will get something right away and that it takes time to master certain knowledge. In fact, much of Iona's time in camp is spent assisting others with their daily tasks since he's always seeking new ways to use hexes to help. His perpetual willingness to make himself useful, sparingly given yet helpful critique, and desire to share his knowledge with others redeems himself somewhat despite coming off as an egotistical jerk. Iona can be a loyal friend if one only opens their heart to him. Generally, he's a pretty friendly guy if not an eccentric one.
Shockingly, considering his religion, Iona is both very tolerant of others' religions and ways of life. While he has many strong beliefs of his own that he holds onto steadfastly, he never forces them on anyone else and expects others to respect them in return. His sense of justice is also surprisingly strong. Iona always acts based on what he thinks is right, refusing to go through with anything that contradicts his beliefs. If he senses any injustice occurring around him, then he will do his best to correct it and see that justice is served in the end. Many consider him to be very moral for a dark mage.
Don't get on Iona's bad side, though. While it's difficult to do because he's typically so nice and accomodating, he has a horrific temper that could easily rival that of a rampaging manakete while transformed. Hell hath no fury like Iona when he's legitimately furious or upset with someone. Once his fuse goes off, it's almost impossible to reconcile with him again. He's particularly infamous for being a bitter, cynical sort of person that holds grudges, seeing as he isn't able to easily forgive anyone that he feels has wronged himself or anyone close to him. One might say that it's because he's a dark mage, but unlike a stereotypical dark mage, he lacks the drive for vengeance that he once had when he was much younger and would never think of harming anyone over a grudge.
Likes:
- Helping Out: Especially when he can use his dark magic, Iona loves to assist others with their various troubles. - Sweets: The surefire way to win him over is definitely through his stomach, particularly with cakes and other pastries. - Hexes: He doesn't like violent hexes that make people suffer. Iona prefers silly ones that he can use to 'have fun' with other people. - Napping: Basically, when he's not practicing with his magic or eating, he's sleeping. Using so much magic takes a lot out of him.
Dislikes:
- Criticism of His Religion: Nothing annoys him more than people assuming he's a bad person just because he's a Grimleal. - Prejudice: Iona won't tolerate prejudice of any kind, whether it involves race (beorc vrs. laguz) or religion (Naga vs. Grima). - Medicine: He strongly dislikes the taste of most medicines (especially concoctions/elixirs/etc.) and won't take any unless necessary. - Exercise: Although he's skinny, he's very out of shape which is pretty much why he remains a dark mage apart from the cool dark magic.
Trivia:
- Some people give him rooster-inspired nicknames because of how his hair is styled and his long mask. - While Iona's mask seems purposeless, it actually has a function: it limits his magic, preventing him from overexerting himself. - He prays to Grima for a swift, painless death to all of the Shepherds' enemies and any of his allies that fall before every battle. - Because he's a light eater, becomes ill frequently and easily gets tired, he has a reputation for having a weak constitution. - Iona uses much of his spare time coming up with new hexes to help others. He never uses his hexes to intentionally harm.
Dream: Iona dreams of reforming the Grimleal idealogy into something more modern and positive.
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Stats:
Strength - 1
Magic - 7 Skill - 7 Speed - 5 Luck - 6 Defense - 3 Resistence - 4 |
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Comments?: Hello, it's me again with another character. I got inspired and I couldn't resist this idea, either~ Please let me know if I need to revise or fix anything, okay? c: (Iona's admittedly really weird for a dark mage, but then again, Dan'zi is really weird for a myrmidon and blah. What's an Ylisse-based story without at least one quirky dark mage.)
Tagline: Spends the most time on his hair.
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