Dire Knight

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The servant of a mage named Andre Darter, Dire Knight, also known as the Fallen Knight, is the corrupted spirit of a knight who long ago had his name struck from the pages of history.

His spirit was summoned by Andre to serve him in the War for the Crown, although Washu has implied that any control he has over the spirit is only superficial and transient; she has also confirmed that, when Andre inevitably loses control of Dire Knight, he will almost assuredly be the first killed in the resulting rampage.

Dire Knight was first seen on the tropical planet of Datrio, attacking Videlle when she first activated the powers of her Platinum Lantern Ring. He would later to prove an opponent that even Vi couldn't defeat with the help of Hiyori Sarugaki, Rutherfor, and later, Minagi.

Upon his escape with Andre, Dire Knight's and his master's whereabouts are unknown - Save for that they are somewhere on the same planet where they fought Videlle, Vi, and others.

Biography
Totally silent and devoid of expression, Dire Knight has never spoken in the scenes he's been featured in the RPG. However, when he detects a strong opponent or threatening presence, he will demolish anything between him and his chosen foe. Upon meeting someone in combat, nothing short of Andre Darter exerting a Command Spell can cease his assault. However, Dire Knight also moves proactively to defend his Master's life, even when Andre makes no orders to do so.

Origins & His Previous Life
After a unified spell by Kanna Bismarch, Matilda Matisse, and Marion Phauna, Dire Knight's identity was found. He was once a knight on an unknown planet and, one day, he came across a man trying to assault a water spirit at the shore of a lake. In a blind rage, the knight snatched up a tree branch and beat the offender to death. In thanks for saving her life, the water spirit gave to him an enchanted sword. However, her gift had a condition - Should her trials be met, the knight would also be freed from his anger.

The knight agreed, and was shrouded in a spell that would allow him to, in ten instances, disguise himself as any other individual. Within a certain time, he had to disguise himself as ten other heroes who had been faced by their own challenges, and win honors in their names.

He succeeded easily nine times, but on the verge of completing the final trial and winning an eternal reprieve from the wrath that had cost him so much, he discovered that the local queen was distressed to the point of personal suffering.

Due to her precious son being sent to war, she could not abide by the fear of his death and was unable to cope with her own stress and worries. The queen had vouched for this knight's able mind and body, stood up for him when he could not contain his rage. So, the man who would become the Fallen Knight used his last disguise to reassure the queen and save her from her emotional languish.

While he had broken his agreement for the most noble reasons, this did not save him from the water spirit's cruel penance. Her magics dissolved any trace of sanity the knight might have had, and freed every last bit of his anger to rule him for all of time. The knight murdered his family, slaughtered his entire village, and on that moonlit night, returned to the lake where it had all began. Accounts say that, with fury distorting his face until he no longer looked like a human being, he fell upon his sword in the water.

He and his forever-tainted sword sank so deep into the lake that they could never be found again, and the water spirit of lore was the only one to walk away a winner. Where magic could eventually uncover his past, the rest of the planet saw him as a monster of a man, and struck his name from all history books. Thus, Dire Knight became something more than mortal: Something stronger, and something capable of far more terrible things.

Appearance In-Game
First seen on Datrio with his master, Andre Darter, he and Dire Knight gained the attention of Model 18 and Model 13 while the latter duo were out shopping. While Model 13 returned to base with their bought goods in tow, 18 attempted to surrepticiously pursue Andre and the black knight. However, when Dire Knight detected Videlle awakening the powers of a Platinum Lantern Ring, he promptly bulldozed through the store until he could find her. Their battle was indecisive, as Andre used a Command Spell to halt his Servant's onslaught and escaped with him.

However, Viriathus managed to catch up to the two of them, and promptly engaged them in battle. This time, Washu intervened, and revealed that Andre was previously her student. Andre used some form of contained space to try and seal his victory, but Washu and Vi proved too powerful, and he was forced to escape with Dire Knight once again. Moving even further away, they were still found by Vi - This time, accompanied by Hiyori Sarugaki and Rutherfor. Dire Knight was separated from his master for a time, and though he managed to take control of a turret that Vi had placed earlier, Minagi's timely arrival forced the two into another retreat. Soon after, back at the Bebop II, Washu revealed Dire Knight's tale.

Abilities & Powers
Related to his life, and the legendary tragedy that ended it, Dire Knight possesses at least two abilities; both given no name as of yet. Other than these, he's possessed of phenomenal strength and endurance, while his reflexes and coordination are very impressive for such an enraged being.

The first, and most commonly used special technique is Dire Knight's ability to turn any object into a magical weapon. From clothing racks to tree branches to even existing weapons, across them spreads a black corruption, covered in glowing red lines which resemble veins on a leaf. It also creates the most offensive form possible from their existing qualities, such as twisting the bars of a clothing rack to make it into a crude, blunt weapon, resembling a warhammer. According to Washu, this ability can turn an everyday item into a C-Rank Magical Object; by her own admission, however, even she does not know this ability's mechanics or full potential.

Dire Knight's second confirmed, unnamed ability is constantly, passively manifested as an aura of black mist that clings to his frame everywhere he goes. As seen via Model 18 and Model 13's scanners, the aura serves to block all of his vital stats besides his phenomenal levels of raw energy; among other details that could conceivably be used against himself or his Master. This is what prevented Washu from discovering his true identity until Kanna Bismarch, Matilda Matisse, and Marion Phauna, all working together, were able to pierce through the veil and recover a small portion of his experiences. Even then, most of his life and all of his time as a spirit are still protected by the black aura's properties, and the energy required ended up with the three female shamans confined to bed for the necessary rest.

Finally, although not elaborated upon in detail, Washu has stated that Dire Knight's wroth, barely-controllable behavior is due to the "Madness Enchantment" degenerating his mental faculties. It is thus possible that Dire Knight does not necessarily sustain less damage than other individuals, but could simply be in such a furious state that he ignores damage to his body completely. Regardless, the "Madness Enchantment" and its mental degradation are what make Dire Knight such a danger to his master, as Andre simply doesn't have the necessary abilities to keep Dire Knight's individualism and destructive impulses suppressed indefinitely.

Trivia

 * Dire Knight, along with Jack Noir, are among the very few characters who have seen prolonged activity in the RPG without a single word of actual dialogue.
 * Washu has referred to Dire Knight as a spirit of Seirei-class power, although she also implied that he reached this state through unorthodox means; ones that could not be repeated by most other spirits.
 * When in a particularly heightened state of rage, the normally blank void within Dire Knight's helm begins to blaze with a crimson light.