Pyra (Dropped)

Pyra is a skilled warrior who combines swordplay, speed, and acrobatics with her devastating command of fire and barrier projection to produce a powerful onslaught in battle. When fighting alongside her Driver, Rex, each of their strengths are considerably enhanced.

Every Blade materializes a unique weapon as part of the bonding process -- Pyra's manifested weapon is a crimson sword which projects powerful flames of unearthly intensity, enabling it to serve as a weapon far more devastating than an ordinary edged weapon. Mythra's weapon is a sword of white and gold, radiating a stationary light field not unlike a beam sword.

Under normal circumstances, Pyra possesses an immunity to aging and illness, and will quickly recover from even the most dire of injuries so long as her Core Crystal remains intact. Unfortunately, her current bond with Rex severely inhibits her regenerative strength and forces her to recuperate from injuries only slightly faster than the average mortal.

Pyra shares her space with another individual by the name of Mythra, a Blade of equal power who seems to have an odd relationship with the Aegis. They are distinct individuals despite sharing a vessel, able to communicate with each other mentally and witness the 'active' Blade's environment as if she were standing there personally.

While Pyra's mastery is over flame, Mythra is a light-element Blade who commands light photons as her weapon of choice. While the two cannot manifest simultaneously, they are able to 'swap' in and out at will, each having their own individual appearance, personalities, tastes, and quirks. For all intents and purposes, they are two very different people occupying the same space, although Mythra doesn't seem to enjoy daily life as much as Pyra and will seldom emerge to interact with the world directly unless she has very good motivation to appear.

As the Aegis, Pyra represents what may very well be the pinnacle of Blade potential and possesses a degree of skill and strength above and beyond that which is typical of her more ordinary counterparts.

Additionally, she is also able to conjure more powerful barriers than those of a typical Blade to temporarily shield herself or others in combat, although this requires focus and can be shattered by the application of sufficient force.

Her heightened sensitivity toward ether allows her to detect unnatural surges in energy nearby, with the range of this detection varying with the amount of energy drawn upon by the source. Massive ether explosions might be felt at great distances, yet a small duel between Blades would only be sensed if she were already within their vicinity.

As a powerful fire-element Blade, Pyra has the ability to conjure flames and utilize them as she sees fit. While this most often manifests as enhancements to her combat skills or melting her way through obstacles, she is also able to put fire to use toward much more utilitarian ends -- starting campfires, clearing deadfall, bringing light to dark environments, or even juggling fireballs when she is truly bored and restless. Bonus: the effects of infrared radiation means that she's nice and toasty to be around, making for a great space heater during those cold winter months!

Additionally, Pyra's flames (and Mythra's light) seem to exist outside of the usual natural laws governing such forms of energy. To wit, Pyra's flames can exist even in environments where there is no oxygen to burn and can be wielded as easily underwater as on land.

Depending on whom you ask, it could be argued that Pyra's most impressive power is her magnificent skill in food preparation. While probably not quite what her celestial father had in mind when he granted her command of flame, Pyra puts that fire to good use and can bake, boil, grill, sautee, or fry a magnificent repast from an armful of ingredidents chosen seemingly at random.

Unfortunately, you're going to have to look elsewhere for frozen treats.

Mythra's elemental affinity is that of light, wielding photons as easily as any more mundane weapon. This typically manifests itself in the form of light blades, focused bursts of energy, or even rays of piercing light from the heavens, yet she is also able to utilize her affinity with light to very briefly 'hook a ride' -- essentially allowing her to make very short-range leaps at light speed akin to rapid teleportation (imagine Dragon Ball Z 'bwee fighting' teleportation and you've got the idea).

Perhaps Mythra's most unique talent is her ability to generate a large sphere of influence, within which she is capable of accessing additional abilities. Foresight is the major bonus of this state, allowing her to focus on those present within her sphere and predict with accuracy their actions over the next several seconds. This vision is also shared by her Driver and their allies, allowing them to analyze future movements and prepare a defense or counterattack in advance.

Note that this does not automatically grant any ability to counter the actions witnessed -- it simply provides a small measure of forewarning and it remains up to those witnessing the vision to react to the information provided. Also worth noting is that this ability does not come with an 'always on' setting, meaning Mythra must have sufficient cause to expend the energy necessary to benefit from Foresight. While it may usually be considered to be active in combat situations, she does not typically employ Foresight when stuffing her face with ice cream or playing with kittens, leaving her bereft of any visions during such lulls.

Whether it is due to confidence in her skills, a mind-boggling level of innocence, or she is simply unconcerned with her own well-being, Pyra is not one to know fear in most situations. Even the most surreal of environments seem to cause curiosity within her, and life-threatening adversity only hardens her resolve to act. Where others might hesitate or be caught by surprise, an uncanny degree of sharp mental focus ensures Pyra can remain strong even through the darkest of circumstances -- while she has absolutely no aptitude for leading men into battle, sometimes a vision of unwavering courage can go a long way when nothing better offers.

Mythra is similarly fearless in battle, albeit due to far different circumstances. In her case, she is a hardened veteran of a very bloody war and has witnessed sufficient horror to the extent that it is very difficult to find a situation capable of causing her to react with unease.

Pyra's gentle and caring nature is not some devious facade constructed to conceal an inner terror; she really is a kind and pleasant girl who enjoys making friends and helping others whenever possible. She values life immensely and will not tolerate or be a part of any actions which might harm innocent beings or put bystanders at risk. While she is quite capable of simply nuking her problems away, she would very much prefer to sit down and have a nice cup of tea while talking things out, even when it comes to known enemies.

While she can generally tolerate the presence of more bellicose individuals, she does not get along very well with them and she will actively place herself in their path should their plan of action involve taking advantage of others or harming innocents for some 'greater good'.

While Mythra can often come across as being acerbic and condescending toward most people, she's actually the end result of a kind-hearted girl forced to endure the horrors of war while perpetrating a few atrocities herself in defense of the innocent and of her former Driver.

Extremely jaded and more than a little emotionally devastated, Mythra has become embittered enough that she tends to think the worst of most people and isn't afraid to let her scorn show; she has zero patience for anyone she considers to be on the shady side of things (which is most people) and doesn't think much better of herself. That kind girl of the distant past is still very much alive in there somewhere, but there is a substantial amount of emotional baggage to be sorted through before you are going to catch a glimpse of her.

Although it is true that they have come a long way since the onset of their dark journey, Pyra and Mythra both remain lost children in a world which they feel has no place for them. Having no home or family to speak of, their pasts have been ones of loneliness and as such they can often have trouble truly relating to the various intricacies of social interaction which so many of those around them take for granted.

This is not to say that they are heartless automatons who possess zero emotion, yet it remains true that they are a pair far too accustomed to walking the path of solitude. Though they are trying their best, they remain more than a little capable of saying or doing things in a group setting which will mark them as decidedly 'off' and may discomfort those who are not used to dealing with their individual quirks.

While Blades are typically immortal and swiftly recover from even the most dire of injuries, the unique bond shared between Pyra and her Driver, Rex, means that many of the injuries suffered by one of them will also be suffered by the other -- a sword strike to Rex's arm might also produce a sudden injury to Pyra's arm, just as Pyra rolling down a flight of stairs could leave Rex with a number of mysterious bruises, soreness, and possibly broken bones. This also means that if one of them were to die, so too would the other perish.

While normally a brave warrior without fear when it comes to protecting others, the very real knowledge that Rex's well-being is tied directly to her own means that Pyra is handicapped by a level of responsibility previously unknown to her, and brings with it a certain amount of hesitation which could be viewed as cowardice or timidity by those unaware of her situation.

This may not be a terrible burden for one such as Pyra, who typically prefers a calm and peaceful approach to conflict when possible, but it can be downright infuriating to a confident warrior like Mythra. Even if she can be convinced to avoid doing her part in battle, the resulting frustration and shame are quite likely to leave her feeling even more ornery than normal and make friendly interactions considerably more difficult until she has had a chance to calm down a bit.