Steelhaven Character Profile: Verigan Aekarios XIII

Full Name: Crown Prince Verigan Alduin Zacharius Vaughan D.V Aekarios XIII (yes, it’s a mouthful, just call him Verigan)

Nicknames: Veri, Gan, Captain Scarface, Cap, Dragoneye, Zach, Icarian Steve Erwin, V.A.Z, Badass Dragon Prince, The Doctor’s “Assistant”, V-gan, V-13, Rei-Gun, Zack Snyper, Al-two-in, Yuriko’s Boyfriend, Juu-san, Junjiro, Junji (Long story, but it’s not cause he’s a weeb.)

Age: 25, technically 27

Birthday: November 23 (Conceived in 9064, technically born in 9066, again, long story)

Nationality/World Allegiance: Icarian-Valorian (¼ Pirate Confederation-born Puerto Rican on his paternal grandmother, Kora’s side)

Species: Icaria-born Valorian Human

Gender: M

Affiliation/s: The Icarian Royal Family, The Icarian Royal Navy, The Royal Marines, House Aekarios, House De Valeuria, The Republic of Valos, Hyperion Crew, The Mistral Academy Biology and Literature Clubs

Appearance:

Verigan stands at about 6’5, with a muscular body type, as expected of a Royal Marine. His hair is chestnut brown, which he keeps mid-length, and somewhat messy. He has a yellow right eye, and a blue cybernetic left eye to replace the one he lost, as indicated by a vertical scar that goes across the side of his face. He doesn’t have that much in the way of accessories, save for his Royal Marine Corps. dog tags, and a Valerian Steel crown which he prefers not to wear unless required to, such as on special occasions and royal ceremonies.

In terms of his attire, Verigan wears a custom version of a standard Icarian naval officer’s uniform, with black combat boots, navy blue cargo pants, also custom made to have an immense amount of pockets, a standard white dress shirt with a popped collar, on top of which, he wears his—you guessed it—custom made coat, in the standard Icarian blue and gold color scheme, with golden epaulets on each shoulder, and the family crests of the Aekarios and De Valeuria families embroidered onto the coat’s left and right arms, respectively. At the back of his coat, he has the emblem of the Royal Guard’s 13th Company embroidered onto it. Occasionally, Verigan also wears a small amount of lightweight armor made from Dwarven Iron on top of his uniform, consisting of a chestplate, gauntlets, and kneepads, which he typically wears on missions that don’t require him to wear his Royal Marine power armor.

Biography:

Acting Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Icaria, and firstborn son (by five minutes) of King Karpath and Queen Vardona, Verigan is Captain (although his rank is technically much higher) of the Commander-class flagship, the HMS Hyperion. He’s known to be somewhat impulsive, almost to the point of recklessness, however this is usually balanced out by his advisor, and the Hyperion’s AI, Delphi, who’s more level-headed in comparison.

In general, he’s usually quite easygoing, always staying calm under pressure, and hardly ever losing his cool, both in and out of combat, allowing him to lead effectively and think on the fly, able to change strategies and adapt to a situation at a moment’s notice, making him one of the Royal Navy’s finest officers, despite his unusual approaches to combat and warfare.

Much like his father, Verigan specializes in more unorthodox tactics that, while often criticized by other Royal Navy officers, being seen as outlandish and incredibly risky, have helped lead his crew and the rest of his forces to countless victories throughout the Second Icarian-Orion War, despite the odds almost always being against him and his crew, often outsmarting and catching the enemies off-guard.

However, he does have his more serious moments. Although he is something of a loose-cannon, Verigan does in fact know when to follow orders and stick to a plan sometimes, especially in urgent situations, or when working with those he respects, such as his allies and family members.

He’s also rather protective of his friends and loved ones, going out of his way to protect or help them, despite his lack of magical abilities, which often leads to him sustaining injuries that would otherwise be fatal, were it not for his armor and the Hyperion’s medical facilities. This spirit of self-sacrifice, while it can be seen as his greatest weakness, is also Verigan’s greatest strength, always pushing him to save as many lives as he can and to make sure that no man gets left behind, no matter the cost.

When he’s not running his ship, fighting battles, training, or helping the war effort, Verigan usually spends his free time with his girlfriend, the ship’s chief medical and science officer, Dr. Yuriko Nakamura, (if he’s not already being “patched up” by her already between battles), having drinking contests in the Hyperion cantina with his friends and crewmates, and surprisingly one of his favorite hobbies—occasionally even taking time off in the lab to do research on the unique creatures and alien life he encounters while on missions, sometimes even with Yuriko there to help him. Although his second favorite hobby would have to be sparring or training with his childhood friend, Alexei Demkov, in the combat simulation facilities aboard his ship.

Abilities/Equipment:

Multipurpose Combat Rifle, “Drachentöter” (Dragonslayer) - A special rifle given to him by Alisa, his great aunt. Dragonslayer has multiple firing modes and is able to transform into different firearms such as a shotgun, sniper, assault rifle, blaster, and etc, for a variety of situations. It also comes with different attachments, such as a scope, laser sight, bayonet, and even a grappling hook, and a variety of ammunition, including target-seeking “Dragontooth” rounds, and many more.

Nanotech Greatsword, “Warpslicer" - Forged by Valorian warpsmiths, its blade is said to be powered by warp space energy, and virtually indestructible due to its nanotech structure. The sword doesn’t see all that much action, due to the fact that Verigan generally prefers ranged combat, so if he does use it, it’s some serious shit. As Verigan seldom uses Warpslicer, not much is known about it aside from the information shown above. There are reports of him actually using it, however, it seems it was over as quickly as he drew the sword. It’s reported that the Legionnaires who tried to get him to unsheath it died before they even got a good look at what it could do.

Royal Marine Power Armor, “Kaptenens Rustning” - Verigan wears a slightly modified version of standard Royal Marine’s armor, otherwise known simply as the “Captain’s Armor”, is a set of navy-blue power armor with silver accents. It’s Icarian Iron plating provides unrivaled protection, while still being lightweight. It also comes with an exoskeleton, and jet propulsion systems, enhancing his already considerable physical and combat prowess, along with emergency life support systems, as well as a detachable storage pack to haul ammunition and other equipment. While versatile, it’s best suited for the frontlines and other such battles, as the suit’s general size proves to be a hindrance to any major stealth operations. To compensate for this, one of Verigan’s modifications include a rudimentary cloaking device, along with the addition of “silent servos” to make movement in the armor less conspicuous. Another modification is his addition of arm mounted weapons, particularly, twin flamethrowers, wrist blades, and power fists for close-quarters combat. While this may or may not be against Navy regulations, he usually defends himself by saying, “Well hey, if it works, why make it against the rules?”

The Eye of the Steel Dragon, “Dragoneye” - Last but not least, arguably his most well-known ability, and by far the deadliest weapon in his arsenal is the Eye of the Steel Dragon, otherwise known as the “Dragoneye”, for which he’s codenamed in the Royal Marines. While at first glance, it appears to be nothing more than a regular cybernetic eye, however- Well, as Verigan would put it, “There’s more than meets the eye.” An ancient and powerful relic of the Aekarios family, passed down since the age of King Gahmuret I, the Eye of the Steel Dragon allows its user to— [The following information has been classified by the Icarian Royal Marine Corps, under orders from Sovereign-General Adaephon Aekarios. Level 9 access is required to view.]