Trace—Armor of Gaia (freedom)

 

 

Background:  Trace always preferred the Great Outdoors to being cooped up inside, never knowing exactly why since his parents, relatives, and friends showed little interest in nature.  As a kid, he went on as many nature hikes, wilderness field trips, and camping trips as he could.  He’d never been afraid of nature--in fact, he’d felt himself becoming more and more comfortable there and less and less happy with city life.  When he was fifteen, something terrible happened that made him run away from home. He then travelled the world on his own, spending a great deal of time in the wilderness.  Sometimes it felt like he was searching for something, but couldn’t figure out what.

 

On one of his trips, the Armor of Gaia made itself known to him.  Little did he know that the reawakening of his armor was caused by Gilgamesh’s return to Earth.  Kali, a sadistic goddess of death and also one of Hecate’s partners in crime, took Gilgamesh with her to hunt down the Warrior of Gaia and capture him.  Gilgamesh fought Trace and Ryo, managing to incapacitate them long enough for him to grab Trace.  But when Gilgamesh looked into Trace’s eyes and heard him mumble in ancient Sumerian, he knew that somehow Trace was his long-dead friend, Enkidu, reborn.  Gilgamesh let him go and lied to Kali that he’d escaped somehow. 

 

Almost a 1,000 years ago, Enkidu roamed the great forests, living like an animal.  The creatures of the forest accepted him as one of them.  He grew up with them, hunted and played with them, and spoke their languages.  His innocent way of life was destroyed when Gilgamesh sent humans to take him from the woods and corrupt him with human vices.  As a result, Enkidu began to emulate human ways.  When he tried to go back home, the animals would no longer accept him and ran from him in fear.  He’d changed too much.  He had nowhere else to go and returned to the main city of Uruk where he met and fought Gilgamesh.  They soon realized they were too much alike and should be friends instead of enemies.  Enkidu remained loyal to Gilgamesh, fighting by his side as his friend rushed foolishly into one battle after another.  It was in one of these fights that Enkidu was mortally wounded and died.

 

After meeting Gilgamesh for what he thought was the first time, Trace began to dream about his life as Enkidu and his friendship with Gilgamesh.  Over time, the memories of that past life started to resurface in his conscious mind as well.  Trace has now almost completely remembered his days as Enkidu.  As a result, he and Gilgamesh have renewed their friendship—although it has had its rocky patches.

 

Good Traits:  Trace is an extremely loyal person, something he was as Enkidu as well.  He has a strong sense of personal responsibility—this is probably why he gets along so well with Astarte.  Although he is smart and cunning, he also seems to have an openness, a guilessness that puts everyone at ease.  He’s a stable, calming presence in almost any circumstance.  He also has a quiet sense of humor.

 

Bad Traits:  Trace often seems to be on a different plane of thought, removed from reality.  When he’s deep in communication with the green, he tends to become detached—like a mystic having visions or conversing with spirits.  Although everyone is friendly within the Ronins and Sentinels for the most part, Trace has really only connected with Gilgamesh and Astarte because of his strangeness.

 

Abilities:  Trace wears the Armor of Gaia.  It is shades of green with brown trim.  With it he can turn even the tiniest sprout into a monstrous plant of magical strength, size, and shape when he calls “Rage of the Wild”.  Since he draws his power from the Earth itself, he also has some small healing abilities.  When he combines his energies with Astarte’s life energies, they can heal grave injuries.  They’ve combined powers more than once to make themselves stronger and give their blasts more precision.  He carries a telescoping staff that looks like it is wood, but is actually made of some magically strong substance.  Trace has wild brown hair and intense, predatory eyes.  He can track anything in the woods and can directly talk to the plants.  It still bothers him that he could once communicate with the animals but lost that ability after Gilgamesh’s servants made him too human when he was Enkidu.