Overview
A Dark Knight of Baron and former Captain of the Red Wings, Cecil's virtuous nature and sense of justice led him to confront and question the King's orders. As punishment, he was cast out to run an errand, stripped of his command, and was soon victim to a ploy to destroy an innocent village. Now, the Dark Knight, who fights with an evil blade and the power of darkness, seeks to find the truth behind the matter... and perhaps some day atone for the mistakes he made and the deaths he caused. He holds on to his loyalty and his sense of justice, sometimes far too much, but he has vows to uphold and wrongs to right, so he perseveres.
Perks
The Dark Blade: A powerful unholy sword.
Cecil has mastered a variety of sword known as the Dark Blade. This type of sword constantly urges its wielder to tap upon their darker instincts, and saps the vitality of the weak-willed. It does tremendous damage against beings of light or holy-alignment, and can utterly slay weaker(non-PC-level) beings in one stroke.
Willpower: Resistance to temptation, mind control, and corruptive influence.
In order to master the Dark Blade, a Dark Knight must have strong force of will. Cecil is surprisingly meek in many ways, but his core principles are strong, making him resistant to mind-controlling magic, corruptive influences, and anything else that warps the spirit.
Darkness: Increases physical power, create unholy bolts and blasts, but costs vitality.
Cecil can draw upon the Darkness powers within himself and his sword, granting him increased endurance and strength for a short period, at the cost of leaving him weakened afterward. He can also blast bolts of unholy energy that are extra effective against beings of light or holy alignment, and even use it to create wide area effect blasts. However, each of these abilities eats into his life force, making them dangerous to overuse.
Knighthood: Exceptional swordsman, trained in bows and riding and knightly etiquette.
As a Knight of Baron, Cecil is educated in the use of the sword and bow, specializing in the sword. He is familiar with most other melee weapons, but only just. He is able to ride mounts like chocobos(riding ostriches) or anything that behaves similar to them, and is versed in the basics of knightly etiquette and chivalry, though his training focuses on the martial over the political.
Tactician: Small unit commander to coordinate small groups of troops.
As a commander of a small force, Cecil is familiar with small unit tactics and the basics of how to manage a unit, including supplies, equipment, morale, and basic logistics.
Airship Captain: Familiar with mechanics of airships and piloting of such.
Cecil is capable, though not very skilled, in piloting fantasy-style airships of the 'flying boat' variety. He is also capable of performing normal maintenance and simple repairs on such vehicles, but actual heavy repairs or construction and refits are beyond his skills.
Complications
Unholy Power: Cecil is weaker against Dark and Unholy creatures.
Against creatures of pure darkness, the Dark Blade and Cecil's Darkness powers are almost useless. This usually only applies to non-self-willed undead and elemental beings of darkness/unholy. Against such creatures, or beings who rely heavily upon such creatures, Cecil needs to rely upon his weaker mundane weaponry like bows and melee weapons he is less familiar with. This makes him notably weaker when fighting in these conditions.
Cast from HP: The Darkness power uses Cecil's life force to power it.
When calling upon his Darkness ability, Cecil fuels the extra power with his own life force. This makes it deadly to use when he is injured, and if he tries to empower himself for an extended period, or use his darkness blasts too much, he can hurt himself more than the enemy.
Code of Honor: Cecil is a good guy. Sometimes too strictly so.
A believer in Right makes Might, Cecil uses his dark powers specifically to aid those weaker than him and to protect those who need it. He has a very strict code of honorable behavior that he has trouble straying from, even when he has given his oath to another. He is easily manipulated by the usual means of those less moral: hostages, threats, and other straightforward means.
Trusting: Cecil is more trusting than he should be.
Cecil tends to trust people at their word, even when he shouldn't. There are natural limits to this; a villain sitting on a throne of skulls drinking a goblet of blood who just razed a dozen villages with no survivors who claims to be a good person will not be believed. If said villain gives a solemn oath to withdraw his troops if Cecil will get him the MacGuffin of Glowiness though, Cecil is likely to believe that. He tends to give the benefit of the doubt to new people he encounters despite being burned by this multiple times.