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Ross was born into a simple family in Bene Alim. His father, Jared, was a farmer, and his mother, Amelda, looked after the household. However, on his fifth birthday he was attacked by a stronger boy. Trying to stop him, Ross used his hitherto unknown special psychic power. The boy was knocked out and remained in a coma for six months. At around the same time as his powers came to the surface, his guardian, Calnar, first appeared. He became Ross’s only companion. After this, he was largely an outcast. He kept to himself, and learnt the trade that his father was teaching him, until he fell ill, when Ross was 15. Attempting to bring him back from the Paths of the Dead, Ross was too weak to do so, and his father died. Many of the villagers blamed him for it. As a result, he left the village, and began to travel, stopping at various places along his way to ply his trade - using his mental powers - in return for money with which to move on. He explored and wandered alone for over three years when, in a village he had stopped off at, he saw an advertisement. The FF Fort wanted an Interim Strategist to take the duties of the previous one, currently in a coma. Thinking that he had time on his hands, and needed the money, Ross approached the FF Fort and offered himself for the job. However, things rapidly became more complex than he could have imagined. Soon after he arrived he met Gaia, the only other person that he knew
of that had a power similar to his. And, despite the hardship he
had experienced in the past, he fell in love with her.
And also, he felt that the Fort Agent - Kaj - never really trusted him.
This may have been because Kaj harboured strong feelings for Gaia too,
but it was also strong professional dislike, as Ross had never been one
to properly stick to the rules. He was more likely to act on instinct.
Gaia summoned Moriko, her guardian, and caught him. When he landed, Gaia was insistent on knowing why Ross had done what he did. So he told her everything about his past, what had brought him to the FF Fort, and also his true feelings for her. Gaia was surprised, but accepted his feelings. However, only a few more weeks had passed when the Retribution Army, led by Lord Venari, recaptured the Sapphire Fort and embarked on a ruthless campaign to rule the whole of the continent. The FF Fort took on a state of war, and Ross’s powers were used in earnest
for the first time.
For many long weeks Danae played her mind games with Ross, trying to break him, to make him join the side of the SF. For the most part, Ross was resistant to this: his strength of spirit was such that he could defy her. But, locked in the cell, an unusual case of Stockholm Syndrome began to emerge. As Danae was so physically similar to Gaia, Ross found her... interesting. And, gradually, Ross began to fall in love with her. At the time, it seemed that Danae was doing the same. Eventually, Ross did agree to join the forces of the SF, but almost as soon as he had Gaia completed her mission in Hell, dealing a lethal blow to Venari’s war intentions. Also, at that time Ross went out from the SF and headed south, heeding a mental hail echoing in his mind. It had been bugging him for some time, and eventually his journeying led him back to his home village, Bene Alim. There, he made one of the greatest discoveries of his life. He was a Balance Guardian: a protector of the Planet, the first one in two centuries. He received the Cloak Of Balance, the symbol of office, and through it he learned of the history of the Guardians of the Planet. How they had cast out one of their number called Tirion for gaining too much power, and how he had, in vengeance, killed them all, including his friend Eren, the new Balance Guardian. And he also saw how Tirion was now named Venari. Ross quickly went back north to the SF, bent of revenge and the will to stop Venari fulfilling his plans of domination. He arrived at the same time as the Allied Forts began their major last assault on the Fort, and amidst the chaos, he went to the heart of the Fort and confronted Venari. After an angry conversation, Ross and Venari fought. Venari was by far the more powerful of the two, but Ross had learned much in the ancient lore of the Guardians, and so managed to defend himself for a while. However after a failed Overdrive and a devastating gravity-based attack, Ross was defeated. Venari took the Cloak from him, seeking to keep it away from him, but thanks to Eren’s last request two centuries before Ross was able to tear it from his grasp, and it floated away on the wind. Then, in a desperate last gamble, Ross used the Seppuku spell. It was a hugely destructive spell that cost the life of the Guardian that cast it. In this case, the wave of destruction destroyed most of the SF, leaving only a few buildings standing. Ross was thrown out of a window in the explosion, and suffered mortal wounds. His body was discovered by Gaia and Danae, and Ross had just enough time to give them the Cloak (reappeared during the conversation), and to confess that he loved Danae, before the combined injuries became too much. After he died, Gaia went into the Paths Of The Dead herself to try and bring him back. With help, the attempt was successful: Ross became alive again. He and Danae left the ruins of the SF and tried to find out where Venari was: he had escaped. At the same time, Ross discovered that his old guardian, Calnar, was merely a facade. A much more powerful guardian was in fact his protector. Kilinirax, the very first Balance Guardian, appeared to him in his true dragon form for the first time. He became Ross’s guardian, and they took off for the final assault against Venari in his mountain hideout. After the defeat of and death of Venari, Ross and Danae tried to return to the FF Fort, to apologize for all that had happened, but they found that no-one trusted them. Instead, they headed for the SF. Ross felt morally obliged to help these people rebuild their homes, and did so. As of now, Ross is helping the citizens restore the SF (or the Balance
Fort, as it may well be called), to a workable Fort once again. However
he has been shaken recently by the knowledge that Danae has betrayed him.
What he will do about this is uncertain, but one thing is: Ross’s life
of high adventure seems to be continuing.
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Age: 19
Height: 1.78 metres Species: Human Affiliation: Previously FF Fort, now uncertain Hair: Black Eyes: Brown Place Of Birth: Bene Alim (a village many miles south of the Forts)
See also:
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