[Icewalker]

Finished about a case file and a half. This one was much shorter, too. Case File 8 was only 1400 words, so it's good I started on 9.

Spoiler

History:
Alexander Patrus Seraphiel Sky was born to a relatively poor family within the Kingdom of Dawnstar in the year 297. From a young age, Sky showed interest in doing good, and potential for becoming a protector of the realm, picking up the basics of swordsmanship by watching the Knights of Dawn when they would train. At the age of twelve, he started his apprenticeship. He was recognized for his drive to good and to improve himself, and in 311, at the age of fourteen, Sky was selected by Knight Commander Gabriel Castitas Virtue to graduate apprenticeship a year early and become the Knight Commander’s personal squire.

Sky became known even as a squire, joining Knight Commander Virtue on a range of notable events. It has been noted by his peers among the squires, many of them now Knights of Dawn, that Sky was an inspiration to be looked up to, even among those several years older. Sky rode alongside the Knight Commander and the Knights of Dawn into a number of missions generally beyond the expectation of squires, on both his own and his Knight Commander Virtue’s insistence.

In 314, Sky passed the Morning Trial and became the youngest Knight of Dawn in the history of the kingdom, at the age of 17. As one of the Knights of Dawn, Sky pursued his duties with a fervor and righteousness unseen even among other holy knights, tempered with a compassion and mercy he was renowned for throughout Dawnstar. In a number of different encounters, Sky was able to find merciful solutions to scenarios other knights could were unable to peacefully solve.

The most notable event within Sky’s early career is the revealing of the Twilight Dragoons. This organization had existed within the Kingdom of Dawnstar in secret for approximately a century, operating outside the eyes of the royal family and the Knights of Dawn, carrying out vigilante acts deemed as justified by their order. Sky discovered the Twilight Dragoons through another Knight of Dawn, Sir Michael Aurum, as many of the Knights also served within this secret order, attempting to bring their own ideas of justice to those they felt were not fully dealt with by the kingdom’s laws. Sky joined the Twilight Dragoons, completing this secret order’s training so as to learn as much as possible about their methods and their leaders. In 316, after six months in their ranks, Sky revealed the Twilight Dragoons to the world, capturing seven other Knights of Dawn and presenting them as vigilantes to the crown, including the four primary leaders of the Dragoons, with extensive evidence to back his claims. In doing, Sky also freely offered himself to face the same trial and charges as a member of the Twilight Dragoons, despite his not having carried out any of their missions during his time in the secret order. The seven Knights, as well as a number of other revealed members were tried and sentenced appropriately, most of whom willingly accepted their sentences, which as with most in the Kingdom of Dawnstar, centered around imprisonment and productive labor to benefit the kingdom. The royal family refused to put Sky on trial, deeming his actions to be entirely within keeping of a true Knight of Dawn. Sky however, still joined the other Twilight Dragoons in simple manual labor regularly over the next decade when he was not acting as a Knight, serving out an equivalent sentence of his own volition.

In 319, Knight Commander Gabriel Castitas Virtue resigned at the age of 59, and the position of Knight Commander was won in divine trial by Sky, to the celebration of his peers among the Knights of Dawn. It was universally acknowledged by the Knights that there was no better leader among their number. Over the course of his over twenty years as Knight Commander, Sky accomplished an incredible range of feats of heroism, primarily within Dawnstar but many with even worldwide significance, including traveling to the Empire of the Sands to serve as a general during the First Demon War in the year 329. In addition to being one of the most capable warriors of the world, Sky was renowned as a talented channeler of divine magic, and over the course of his numerous encounters, duties, and adventures, he is known to have acquired a variety of other capabilities.

As with most Knight Commanders, Sky became very close to the royal family, often serving as champion, escort, and royal protector, as well as a personal friend to the king and queen. After the heir was born in 330, Sky even supported her schooling as heir to the throne, as well as teaching her the basics of swordplay as she grew older.

Over the course of his service as Knight Commander, Sky had taken several squires, and trained them to full Knights of Dawn. In 334, Sky took another squire, a young woman by the name of Aurora Caritas Mera, and as usual committed a large amount of his time to her training, becoming slightly less active among the rest of the Knights of Dawn. In 339, Mera fought alongside Sky in Dawnstar during the Second Demon War, with the exception of a number of forays made by Sky alone into enemy lines.

Also of note was one assassination attempt made during the war against the royal family. Through methods not known, a demon reached the royal chambers and attacked the three members of the royal family, however Sky was present at the time, and was able to kill the assassin.

Shortly after these events, the Second Demon War came to a close. Aurora Caritas Mera passed the Morning Trial and became a knight, however though he was no longer training a squire, Sky remained somewhat detached from the Knights, spending more time directly protecting the royal family.

In the evening on the 24th day of the 7th month in the year 340, Alexander Sky walked out of the royal palace. People noted he was extremely reserved and serious, much more so than Sky usually acted, and did not respond to any comments or greetings. He was wearing his full Knight Commander’s gear, with his sword, armor, and shield all spattered with fresh blood. Sky left the palace on foot, walking to an unknown destination.

Within a few hours of this event, the royal family was found in their room, dead. All three had been struck by simple lethal blows from a large blade, fitting the description of the Knight’s sword of Alexander Sky.

The following morning, Sky arrived on foot, still in his full Knight Commander’s equipment and still bloodied at the Lock prison facility. He stated outright that he had killed the king, queen, and princess of the Kingdom of Dawnstar the previous evening, and offered himself for imprisonment in the Lock. Knight Commander Alexander Patrus Seraphiel Sky was tried and found guilty of 3 counts of Regicide, and was sentenced to life in prison within the Lock prison facility. Sky’s squire, Aurora Caritas Mera has taken it as her responsibility to determine the reason for Sky’s murders, which he refuses to explain, and has taken the role in the prison of Lock Scholar 8.

Known Capabilities:
Alexander Sky is an extremely capable warrior, armed or unarmed, and with a variety of weapons, however his specialization is with his Knight Commander’s greatsword and his shield, which he is capable of wielding together to great effect. His tactics and military strategy are widely renowned, having served as general in both Demon Wars. It is also believed that the general and gradual influence of the divine which supports Knights of Dawn, gradually built over a period of twenty years, has left him stronger and faster than an average mortal human.

Sky is also known to be a highly capable channeler of divine magic, able to heal, harm, and interact with spirits in the same capacities of an experienced cleric.

Scholar Mera has reported that Sky also has a slight hand for arcane magic, primarily defensive, but between his interactions with such a large number of arcane beings and objects of enormous varieties, he does have some capacity.

Sky’s training as a Twilight Dragoon is also of note, as it provides him with certain covert operations capabilities, including training in stealth, ambushes, and poisons. It is believed that as a Twilight Dragoon, Sky also has built a natural immunity to common poisons.






History:

The first information regarding the Alias case was unearthed by Independent Investigator Jacob Havoc. In the year 329, a wealthy businessman by the name of Ermine Calx within the Spire city of Peak was found killed, with his soul damaged in an unrecognized way, the whole of his positive emotional range seemingly violently removed. After a full investigation, Spire Authority filed the case as unresolved, and Investigator Havoc was hired to further pursue the situation. After about one month’s research, Investigator Havoc was unable to produce any further information regarding the case.

Two months later, a second case, the death of a Spire politician named Lorian Black, was filed unresolved and passed by a relative to Independent Investigator Jacob Havoc. His investigations discovered a similar damage caused to the soul as in the Calx murder, with the victim in this case seeming to have lost the capacity to interpret language. Havoc linked the cases and began a more extensive investigation into the apparent pattern. After undertaking several further investigations of several other unresolved Spire Authority cases, Havoc concluded several other unresolved murder cases filed during this two month period followed the same pattern.

Havoc’s investigations continued over the course of the following year, finding numerous additional cases occurring following this same pattern of soul damage. Havoc eventually linked the events to a highly illegal procedure referred to as “Soul Grafting”. The particular damage pattern observed in each case was in keeping with the theoretical results of this highly illegal procedure first developed in the year 292 by a pair of independent medical researchers, Jonathan Kale and Xerxes Sveran.

When Kale and Sveran discovered potential methods to interact surgically with the human soul, the two concealed their research, considering the potential ramifications to be serious enough they chose to avoid publishing. In 301, Xerxes Sveran was reported missing, and no details regarding his disappearance were ever recorded. In 315, Jonathan Kale was killed in a laboratory accident, although some theorize the man’s death was not accidental, but a suicide. Kale and Sveran’s research regarding surgical interactions with souls was unearthed by the team of doctors investigating their papers, including a young doctor Amadeus Conte, who would later go on to become the head surgeon of the Halls of Hope.

Havoc continued tracking the cases of soul grafted murders, keeping records and working alongside the Spire Authority. Over the course of the next two years, Havoc began working further and further on his own, focusing a large portion of his time upon this case. Eventually, after extensive research and several possible encounters with the killer, Havoc concluded that while there was a single killer, they were capable, by methods unknown, of changing their appearance. In 332, Havoc stopped all other investigation work, focusing on the so named Alias case to the exclusion of all other research, turning down all other cases offered to him.

As far as "fiery intensity" I'm not sure if I meet the theme. Both Alexander Sky and Jacob Havoc are fairly intense, but not necessarily in a fiery passion kind of way?