Overview
Freijus is a 20 year old, dark blue, Mobian manta ray with a pale blue face, underbelly, electric-green eyes, and a barbed tail. His head and back-spikes also act as the "wings" of a manta as well, allowing him to swim in water and glide. While he has no hair on his body, he has cephalic lobes around his mouth that resembles a mustache. He's a tad bit below average height for an Alchemian Mobian, standing at around 3'6".
His clothes consist of neon yellow sneakers, army-green pants, and dark colored tank tops, usually decorated with neon colored symbols. He also wears fingerless, black gloves and safety goggles when swimming and flying at high speeds.
Personality
Freijus is a loose-cannon that cares more about lightening than anything else. He isn't concerned about whoever is right or wrong in an argument and feels that most confrontations or drama is a waste of breath. Freijus tries to find the humor in most situations that aren't dire or tragic. Even after dealing with somber events and situations, he tends to be the first person to file away his negative emotions and continue on with life.
Despite his positive outlook and extroverted nature, Freijus also has a fear of rejection and a need for constant re-assurance and approval. These issues stem from severe ostracization that occurred in his child hood from his aloof and hyperactive disposition. Freijus does not want him or anyone else to have to deal with this again, thus he tries to be entertaining and amicable to most other people, attempting to end arguments if necessary. If he begins to fear that he is annoying someone, his personality will shift and soften, turning more quiety, cooperative, and even apologetic if the situation calls for it. With this is mind, he is also very protective of those who trust and appreciate him.
While Freijus may appear simply flippant and sarcastic upon first glance, he is a very conscientious individual who puts others before himself. In his element, he is very upbeat and loud-spoken, willing to advocate for those who may be afraid or too shy to speak out. While he may seem very lackadaisical and ignorant at first glance, he is actually very sensitive to people's current mood and emotions and can adjust his behavior to the situation likewise.
History
The History of Alchemia
Hundreds of years ago, the leaders and the Grand Mages of the four Cardinal,Alchemian provinces came together in the center of the continent to form a union: a bond of power that would allow their elemental magics to combine and turn the different states into a unified nation. The four provinces of the North, South, East, and West that commanded the power of air, earth, water, and fire respectively came together and formed a large council, led by Archbishop Shumie of the North, Druidess Riya of the South, Lord Yandel Apalthaste of the East, and Superior-Sister Emira of the West.
One of the main reasons why Alchemia struggled and lagged behind compared to their rival continent of Etheire is because their magic was highly unstable and extremely dangerous when mixed or synthesized together. In comparison, the people and countries of Etheire all used an all-encompassing magic that was not divided into elements. There was hardly any magic that came from the land itself, unlike Alchemia. Instead, the people channeled their own energy through prayer and intentions to get what they needed. Was it less powerful? Yes, but it was far more stable and reliable to the more materialistic and mundane magics of Alchemia.
The council brainstormed for about a year and decided that this could be accomplished by setting up a capital in the middle of the continent, where magic was rather scarce (as to not mix and cause chaos). Large channels would be pipelined into this central area through sigils that magic-users of a particular affinity can call on and use at any time. While this did not solve the issue of over-specialization in magic, it allowed for a safe place where people of all kinds could trade, perform magic, and build things together by taking advantage of each other's powers.
This plan worked for the next eighty-years, and the status of Alchemia rose throughout the world. It was not long after that the initial council became a senate for the entire continent, ruling and representing all provinces in the land of elements. It was then that the council decided that they must expand their territory and reclaim Etheire islands that the Alchemians believed were rightly theirs. One of the countries in the rival continent, Terametse got word of this, however, and used their own magic to sabotage the united capital.
Through clever espionage and prayers to the nation's patron god, Metsl, The sigils were reverse engineered to fire magical energy at each other and trigger an apocalyptic explosion, equivalent to a nuclear meltdown.
Most everyone that previously lived there either died or became ill sometime in their lives, and the land itself became dry and uninhabitable. Consequentially, the force of this catastrophe caused magical energy to disperse around the continent even more, further dividing the elemental provinces and causing "spillover" in the corners, creating badlands that were hard, but not impossible to live in. Those areas were then excommunicated from their former countries, as it was a reminder of the catastrophe that happened years ago. The name of the former capital was changed from "Jiho" meaning "opportunity" to "Hazn'epra" meaning "white sadness".
The Aquatic Hazn'eprans
One of the other features of Jiho before it was destroyed and depopulated was an enormous lake in the center named after the capital. This body of water was extremely deep, even deeper than the oceans of the planet and was a bountiful source of food and freshwater for the Jiho people. What they did not realize, however, that at the very bottom of this lake existed an entirely different network of countries and civilization. These people did not rely on magic, but instead innovation and technology that was either developed on their own or inspired by various object that had fallen to the deep.
The nuclear blast that had rocked Jiho caused many buildings and debris to fall into the lake and sink to the bottom, thus reaching the floor of the lake by present day and intriguing both explorers and religious figures. This also helped further their technology, allowing them to develop tools and learn magic of their own.
One effect of the blast was that the mixed-element badlands began to be populated by multicolored crystals that kept a semi-stable form. The shallow part of Lake Jiho, being in the very center of the continent, became a water+fire badland, made seemingly impassable by whirlpools and hot, volcanic vents. Through other events, many of these crystals fell to the deep, allowing them to create alchemy talismans of their own (guided by various tablets and stones with images of the talismans chiseled in.
They experimented with the three possible combinations, fire+fire, water+water, and finally fire+water. The first two were rather limited underwater though, as fire would just die immediately under the lake and using simply using water would just generate more, as the pressure was too great to form pulses or powerful currents. Fire and water, however, gave them an amazing yet deadly technology: radiation (or what they called Hazrai, or "deadly light". The elemental force of fire could split and control the blast of a hydrogen atom, thus allowing them to create vehicles and technology to withstand the upper badlands.
The Escape from the Deep
The creation and development was headed by one firm in aqua-Jiho: Barnaroral Enterprises. This company hired many scientists and magic experts that owned the patent to exclusively produce Hazrai talismans. Governments bought them aplenty, but as soon as the patent ran out, Oarlus Barnarora, the president of the firm, saw many problems arising from the public release of this magic.
Therefore through vigorous lobbying, Barnaroral Enterprises made their own technology illegal forced the government to confiscate all Hazrai artifacts. This resulted in chaos and anger, especially from the scientific community and the poor. Both of these groups had high hopes in exploring the "heavens" above and finding new opportunity to live and improve lives, but all of this was squashed by the corporate enterprise afraid of power in the hands of others. Thus, a rogue scientist by the name of Russel Ceralnjir stole as many talismans as possible before destruction and went into hiding with his family.
It was not long before they were caught, however. Their house was surrounding by international police, demanding Russel's surrender. This was not an option though, and he luckily planned for this. Russel, his wife, and his three year old son ran to the basement of their house where a small, but extremely dense, metal ship was prepared for launch. Russel took all of the Hazrai stones and moved to the backroom of the ship, activating them all at once, propelling the ship into the "air", destroying their house in the process. The blast incinerated Russel though, as the nuclear force was far too potent for any person to handle.
After 24 hours of upward travel, the mother and child finally made it to the surface of Alchemia. They were met with a sprawling desert, confusing them as the surface seemed like a land filled with magic and wonder. The two were scared to check the back, as they had not heard Russel speak once in that time. He was nowhere to be found and all of the Hazrai stones were damaged beyond repair except one that laid in the only chair.
All the family could do now was travel. They headed East: where myth had taught them that a land of water lied.
Current Affairs
Freijus, the only child of Russel, made it to Veilus, a country in the water province, and lived a relatively normal childhood. While he was a bit of a pariah due to his strange species and hyperactive behavior, his family were protected under refugee status when they were rescued from the outskirts of Hazn'epra. They were subject to visits by govenment agents. Eventually, they found Freijus wearing the Hazrai stone and practicing nuclear magic in the backyard.
The young manta ray was immediately taken from his mother and put into a program that adopted him out into one of the nearby badlands. The agents attempted to take Frei's talisman, but his mother swapped it out with a fake, giving her son the real one as he was being taken away. The young manta was sent to a water+earth badland known as Maudde, where he continued his life within the humid, marshy cities. He was exceptional in their education system, as it lacked compared to the institutions of Veilus. It was from there that he graduated high school and rose in ranks to finally become a spy. Due to Frei's uncanny ability of flight and floating, he could be used to keep tabs on Veilus and other water-province governments in case they were to plot an attack against Maudde.
It was from there that Freijus learned about the other badlands and their plan to trade and form their own union through the potential of Bergite machinery. The manta reported back on this in a fit of glee and requested to be an ambassador if Maudde was to participate. The council of elders agreed, and Frei began his trek to Mesoguana, a badland of fire and earth.
Fighting Style and Abilities
Fighting Style
As stated in his backstory, Frei wields the Hazrai talisman which allows him to use unstable ions (or "toxic light") to fight his foes. This coupled with his ability to fly through the air makes him a metaphorical assault drone. The only issue with his magic is that radiation and nuclear power can be extremely dangerous to both him and anything else around him, thus he dials back his power in order cause as little destruction as possible.
When he actually uses Hazrai, he launches bright wisps or ionic light that detonate into spheres of power upon contact with a foe. While this doesn't do much damage by itself, the energy will ionize the target's body and slow or even stun. This makes him more of a support, but he still has martial arts experience from his spy training and a barbed tail.
Abilities
Aquatic Mobian
Aquatic Alchemians evolved from land creatures and adapted to live in the water later in the species' history, thus they still have the ability to breath on land as well as in water.
Swimming Flight
Due to being born and growing up deep beneath the water under tremendous pressure, Frei has the ability to float and swim through the air as if it were water. On top of this, Frei's species allows him to use his head and his dorsal fins to smoothly and speedily fly through the air. However, without gear, Frei can only fly up so high before low atmospheric pressure and a lack of oxygen will inhibit him. He can also carry another ally with him for easy transport.
Barbed Tail
Frei's tail is sharp and strong enough to pierce through the upper layer of skin, clothing, and light armor. With this he can either use it to throw an opponent in ground-based, melee combat or to fly up in the air and drop them from the sky. Unless they are inhibited though, it is hard to keep an opponent still, so they could easily escape or hurt Frei due to the lack of range.
Gatling Ions
Frei shoots a rapid-fire string of radioactive wisps at opponents that inhibit movement depending on how many make contact and stick to the target. The amount can be gauged by how brightly a foe glows with green energy. If the enemy is completely invisible due to the light, he is completely frozen. This is balanced due, as the more ions an enemy has gathered, the more unstable, thus stronger effects will not last nearly as long as minor slows. Frei can channel and fire this ability through either his hands or his tail.
Immediate Fission
Frei rips the ions fused to an opponent, dealing damage, staggering them, and inflicting radiation sickness, a debuff that deals damage-over-time and causing discomfort based on how many ions were diffused.
Molecular Scramble/Reaction
Frei forms a wall of nuclear energy for a split second that can absorb magical projectiles. From there, he can break the magic down into his own light-based energy and redirect it towards foes, acting as an "Ion Cannonball" as he calls it.
Statistics
ATK: 3
Frei cannot attack at full power due to the destructive nature of his element, thus his overall damage output is lower than other magic users. His hand to hand combat and aerial advantages still give him a tiny edge in combat.
DEF: 2
While his Molecular Scramble shield is very useful against magic based attacks, he has very few options when dealing with physical threats. His arms and defensive stances can only block so much and flying could make him a bigger target for enemy projectiles.
SPD: 3
While Frei's ground speed is mediocre at best, his speed in the air is far above average. Thus, Frei excels in fighting and running outside or in open spaces and may struggle in more confined areas.
CTR: 5
Frei's magical moveset is almost solely based on slowing and stunning foes for the bigger hitters on his team, thus making him an optimal support in combat.
UTL: 3
While Frei has no heals and his magical shield is rather small and situational, he can carry another teammate in the air, saving them from sticky situations and getting them out of trouble. His ability to slow and stun also leaks into this stat, as it can be a lifesaver against tougher foes.
RES: 4
Like other talisman users, Frei has the energy of the continent at his disposal and has good resistance for combat and flight due to spy training. However, his inability to access the full potential of his power means that he is unable to take advantage of his full resources.