Unicorn Argyrus "The Grey Condottiere" [Ready]

[Dio]

Argyrus

Presume me honorable, but do not presume me generous or merciful. Both are just hubris by another name. Hubris is a luxury I cannot afford.

Name: Argyrus, “The Grey Condottiere”

Sex: Male

Age: Older stallion

Species: Unicorn

Coat Color: Argent, the color of his namesake and the origin of his oft-used sobriquet

Mane/Tail Color & Style: Salt and pepper. Mane is kept buzzed short, nearly to coat level. Tail is allowed to grow longer, but is always tied at the base.

Eye Color: Green.

Physique: On the shorter side, but very brawny with a chiseled form. Very physically fit given his age. Build inspired by a Norweigian Fjord horse.

Residence: Born in Roam. Moved operations to Clawifax in his later years.

Occupation: Entrepreneur, private military contractor, now ex-con

Cutie Mark: Three elements forming a “trident’s head.” A stack of bits, an upward pointing sword, and a laurel branch, representing the code to which Argyrus holds himself: creation of prosperity through hard work, fighting not with brute strength, but precision and tenacity, and a constant reminder that victory looks clean, but is always hard fought with blood, sweat, tears, and bits.

Unique Traits: Argyrus is far more physical than his species would suggest. While other battle-trained unicorns rely on a comprehensive library of spells, Argyrus knows only one: telekinesis. However, his mastery of this spell is total, allowing him to lift, manipulate, and strike with a level of strength and dexterity unheard of for most other magic users of his class. His reliance on his magic in combat, however, is minimal. Instead, he focuses on superior footwork and precise strikes to best his opponents. Despite his age, Argyrus is very physically fit, having not lost his edge even after extended incarceration. Prison seems to only have hardened his level of physical and mental discipline.

Character History

Argyrus grew up in Roam, the son of a Royal Guard garrison commander and a small-time airshipping company owner. His upbringing was characterized by sharp discipline and rigid scholarship in both martial and business matters. Despite the hard work put into the family by both his parents, the family never had much in the way of material possessions. Any spare income went towards funding the expansion of his father’s merchant ship fleet.

Argyrus played many games of strategy with his mother and was often challenged with logic puzzles by her. Likewise, while his father was still present, he would often leave ledgers and sums for Argyrus to test himself upon. One day, both his parents presented him with tough problems in both a hypothetical tactical scenario and a hypothetical accounting ledger. After thinking through both problems long and hard, Argyrus realized that the attitudes needed to solve both were related, even if the problems themselves were not. Prosperity was earned, not given. Victory required sacrifice. Finally, despite the beauty of victory, the work was never done. His realization and subsequent solutions earned him his cutie mark.

Disaster struck shortly after he earned his cutie mark. Many of his father’s ships were sunk during a freak storm between Unyasi and Roam, resulting in a catastrophic loss for his father’s company, a loss which eventually lead to its bankruptcy and closure. Devastated by the destruction of his livelihood, his father left, never to be heard from again. His mother fought hard to bring up her son on the meager pay provided by garrison.

Argyrus eventually grew old enough to join the Guard, which he would have done, except for his discovery of a group of private military contractors operating out of Roam. The pay was excellent and the requirement of service to Equestria was nonexistent. Argyrus saw his chance. He had the skills and the education to make his own fortune without having to suffer through the bureaucracy of the REA. Against his mother’s wishes, he joined the mercenary band, earning large hauls guarding cargo runs by airships along busy trade spines. Argyrus reasoned that with enough jobs and enough cash, he could rebuild what his family had lost and perhaps even improve their circumstances through hard work and unrelenting dedication, as his parents had taught him.

The jobs were merciless. Argyrus fought foul weather, bitter cold, wild beasts, and savage pirates. But with his skill and adamantine discipline, Argyrus always prevailed. With each successful job, he sent a cut back to his mother. He quickly earned respect among his mercenary brethren, becoming known as “The Grey Condottiere,” a sobriquet drawn from his Itailian heritage. When his company finally disbanded, Argyrus was prompted to start his own, a company built from his own indomitability, but tempered with a splash of marketability: Doing Things Done.

Upon his return to Roam and his formal chartering of DTD, Argyrus went to see his mother and was shocked to still find her living in the same house, accepting the same guard pension upon retirement. She had not spent a single bit that Argyrus had given her, instead bouncing it back to his accounts. Upon being asked why, she simply said that she would never accept “dirty money.” While she would always love him as a mother loved her son, the old guard expressed her disappointment with the path that her son had chosen to get to where he was. At first, Argyrus was shocked that his own mother refused to acknowledge his accomplishments. Shock quickly turned to outrage. Argyrus walked out the door and never looked back.

Doing Things Done quickly gained a reputation as a highly efficient and profitable security contractor. Despite his commercial success, Argyrus continued to be driven by the desire to prove to his parents that his success meant something. Thus he began a long spiral downward, playing both sides of the law, including one fateful series of expeditions deep into the Veld of Unyasi.

The jobs were simple: deliver weapons and pick up traditional medicinal herbs for trade. Argyrus never found out who his sponsor was, but with the tidy profit he was making, he was perfectly willing to bend the rules and skirt the law. However, the operation ran into complications because of a young mercenary that had been in Argyrus’ employ: a certain Swift Squall, or as his nom de guerre was at the time, “Liquid Storm.”

Squall and Argyrus clashed over the morality of DTD’s operations in Unyasi, finally prompting Argyrus to issue an ultimatum to Squall. As a result, Squall left the company, vanishing from DTD’s payroll and influence. Though Argyrus thought that he was finally out of his mane, he had underestimated Squall’s capacity for vindictiveness. Through a series of news articles published with undeniable insider information, DTD’s Unyasi operations were exposed to the public, leading to the eventual ruin of the company. To add insult to injury, somepony had begun destroying DTD property, seizing their shipments, and leaving scores of contractors injured and unable to work. After some detective work, Argyrus was finally able to determine that it was his old employee “Storm.”

As the campaign of sabotage and humiliation continued, Argyrus’ grip on his temper slipped away until finally, he decided to lead a search for this madpony himself. Squall of course, was waiting for him. The ambush was total, forcing the remaining DTD operators to retreat. In a moment of weakness, Argyrus succumbed to vengeance, taking Squall’s campaign against DTD’s illegal operations personally.

He ordered his remaining soldiers to set fire to the forests as they fled from their pursuers, eventually leading to the destruction of a zebra village in the process. Blinded by his own anger at Squall’s audacity, Argyrus made the mistake of fighting Squall alone in the remains of the village instead of leading a disciplined retreat. As a result, his troops fell victim to the pursuing guards and his own hubris cost him victory against Squall in personal combat. Argyrus was shipped back to Equestria to stand trial for criminal conspiracy, armed extortion, and predatory business practices. He was sentenced to prison and was expected to rot there.

However, while Squall was out adventuring, Argyrus was able to plea for sentence commutation after formally disclosing his part of the story and presenting leads on where REIN and the Guard might find his former sponsors. The expected sentence was slashed to a fraction of its original length. Upon release, Argyrus carefully resumed his old work, moving his base of operations to Clawifax and being certain to stay below the Guard’s radar.

Character Summary

Argyrus is a grim, uncompromising stallion who demands nothing but the best from himself and his subordinates. Though he once held pride in his abilities and accomplishments, he no longer does so, believing it to be the same form of hubris like that which cost his father his life, his mother the chance at a better life, and himself the years in prison. The savagery he once possessed in youth has been tempered by prison time and experience, being replaced with careful consideration and planning. He continues to hone his mind and body in spite of his age, constantly looking to prevent another situation like what happened years ago.

Because of his upbringing and meager possessions during his childhood, Argyrus has little respect for those who he feels did not earn their fortunes legitimately. Legitimately, to Argyrus anyway, meaning bought with blood, sweat, and tears rather than bloodline inheritance. In the old days, Argyrus’ “legitimate” would include black market trades and security jobs of questionable legality. After prison, however, Argyrus vets his jobs much more carefully.

Though he lacks the pure speed and agility of a younger stallion, Argyrus retains the solid footwork of a trained soldier, the tactical mind of a commander’s son, and the keen business sense of his estranged father. While Argyrus can hardly be considered on the “straight and narrow path,” he chooses his jobs carefully and is sure to cover his tracks if he ventures into black market territory. As for Squall, Argyrus holds no vendetta and will not go out of his way to trouble him, though if he ever sees him again, it will be too soon.

Even after all these years, Argyrus still checks in regularly on his mother. While they have yet to speak since their falling out years ago, he still hopes that someday they will be able to reconcile, though as time rolls on, the window of opportunity continues to close, a fact that rests heavily on Argyrus’ shoulders.

Miscellanous

Despite his rough and tumble lifestyle, Argyrus is not without culture. Whenever he visits the mainland, he can be found at the theater attending operas, concerts, or Shakesbeard plays. He also has a preference for pipes, strong drink, and games of strategy and chance.

OOC: Argyrus speaks with a thick South African accent, his mannerisms and physique inspired by Sharlto Copley's portrayal of Kruger from Elysium.

Pieces of Kit

Scorpion: A unique weapon woven into his tail consisting of a semirigid spring with a multi-flanged blade cluster at its tip. It rides concealed in his tail until a mnemonic motion is used to deploy its blades. The reverse motion can be used to retract them without use of his hooves or magic.

Bullpup spear: A heavily modified military-issue polearm that can be collapsed into a tube on his combat harness. Argyrus’ weapon of choice for direct combat, reflecting his choice of technique and precision over brute strength.

Karambit: A small, curved knife with a full tang derived from a harvesting tool. Used mostly as a utility tool, but can be serviced in combat in a pinch. Argyrus carries a version with ivory handles and onyx inlays.

[Dio]

Swift Squall and Argyrus' nickname used with permission from Ciraxis.

[Dio]

Okay, this is pretty much done, but I'm waiting on Ciraxis to get back to me on a few things. I'll switch this to ready when this is resolved.

[Dio]

All right we should be good to go.

[Armony]