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Before I get started, let me say I’m very happy to be back on a Heromachine forum. I would also like to apologize to anyone who remembers me from the UGO forums and has ever had to put up with my naivety and immaturity while I was a semi-frequent contributor to their boards. I’ve done quite a bit of growing up since then, and I hope I can make it up to everyone by keeping my temper in check and just enjoying the camaraderie between fellow imagineers and Heromachine artists such as myself.
This will be the home for all my Heromachine creations both within and outside of any other activities I might participate in on the forums, and hopefully a place where I can receive constructive criticism and inspire other creators with my many characters.
I’m going to start off by parading many of my older creations — some of which you may recognize if you kept up with my gallery(ies?) on UGO. The newer renditions and freshly grown characters will come shortly, so stick in there if you want to see the ones I’ll be dedicating my heart and soul into designing. Thank you, and please enjoy
I give you the legendary squire, Sir Rados Kent Onklet — hero of the Thardian War and purveyor of truth and justice on planet Venteran. The blood of a famous Nautilian templar runs through his veins, as does the favor of many Supreme Beings for his valor and courage in the face of unbeatable odds and certain death. He hails from the Wetan province of the Trosian Republic, a formidable yet highly reserved country built on the ideals of free enterprise and widespread utopianism.
Rados was not always such a fearless braveheart, however… growing up, he thought nothing of the notions of glory in battle or the thrill of combat; instead, he was quite content with running the family business which, after losing both his paternal father and grandfather in the waning years of the Woodland Conflict, had come under hard times. In his ignorance, precautions against a weakened economy during the corrupt reign of President Kerigges fell short, and his textiles company went under. Rados kept what little money was left after the economic collapse and left it with his mother while he left home to seek employment and a new future for himself. Unfortunately, he could find no means to support himself financially, and was reduced to begging in the city streets until, one day, a humble man of nobility approached him with a wild offer to help him run a campaign for the upcoming presidential election. A skilled advertiser, organizer, and speech-writer, Rados’ assistance miraculously tipped the balance in his employer’s favor and won him the president’s seat. From then on, he was President Ventaros’ personal squire and parliamentary manager, with a large enough salary to afford a house in the capital city and any luxuries his heart desired.
Then, on the eve of the most devastating conflict since the Century War, Rados was assigned to personally deliver important documents to Westoond’s Emperor. After a rigorous journey across two continents, he arrived at Westoond’s capital of West City, only to be caught in the middle of an assassination attempt on the Emperor, immediately after which the city was invaded and made siege by the armies of Xellaus, the secluded kingdom which dominated the southern continent. Upon regaining consciousness, Rados suffered from selective amnesia and struggles to remember the most basic of details about himself or the world he lived in. In his ongoing escape from Xellian soldiers occupying the now ruined city, Rados joins forces with a surviving West City guard, a cleric from the north continent’s Aerrian Order, and several supernatural beings who made their way into the realm of reality from their own twisted dimension. Eventually, Rados makes it out of the city alongside Borgo, Brian, and Alexis, a defecting Xellian markswoman.
Together, the four of them plunge into the Aura woods and face the horrors of many dark-spirited refugees from beyond the rift, as well as Xellian pursuers, savage tribesmen, and servants of the corrupt Aerrian paladin Michael Vonae. Rados and Brian become separated from their traveling companions and make the acquaintance of Darian, the wayward prince of Domino, the eastern continent. They reunite with Borgo and Alexis at Ghetty City, inside which they discover Westoond’s auxiliary forces and help in the city’s evacuation when the Xellian army catches up with them. The Westoond armada sets sail and heads south through the Trosian channel, where a fleet of Aerrian ships loyal to the paladin Aaron Vaktrus rendezvous with them. With battle plans drawn, their combined forces begin a two-front final assault on Xellaus, with Westoond setting up a base on Daiy ridge and Aerrio coming in from the Kokkaru forest. Rados, Borgo, and Brian find each other on the field of battle and make their way into castle ghorre, where Lord Throat awaits them. Separated from his friends, Rados faces the war’s instigator alone, calling upon his spectral allies to expunge the evil demon possessing Xellaus’ king. His clarity and kind nature restored, Lord Throat declares his kingdom’s surrender, effectively ending the Thardian War.Rados returned home a true hero and married his fiance. Instead of returning to his role as Lord Ventaros’ aide, he took advantage of his newfound bravery and strength of will to enlist in Andross’ Vanguard and become a knight, quickly rising through the ranks until he became a lieutenant under General Damcyan, the high commander of Tros’ military. In twelve years time, Rados’ talents would again be needed, for in that time, Xellaus estranged prince had built up a powerful army and begun a conquest in Westoond. Andross Vanguard succeeded in redirecting the New Xellaus invaders away from the capital long enough for Lord Ventaros and his entourage to escape, but the unexpected arrival of paladin Brian Altic forced Rados to lead a garrison of knights into battle alongside his old friend in order for him to survive. This act of selflessness ensured Brian’s safe return to Aerrio and his persuasion of the Order to take action in the war, although it came with a heavy price.
Rados and his soldiers held out as long as they could against the New Xellian garrison, but their genetically-enhanced infantry proved to be too much for them. For the extraordinary accomplishments of his life and the weight of his sacrifice, praises of Rados’ incredible loyalty, valor, and perseverance echo from one end of the universe to the other, as well as through the rift, where his spiritual friends await his reincarnation.
Rados, the wandering swordsman: Just prior to the start of the Thardian War, Rados unknowingly helped prince Hadron, the missing son of Xellaus’ king, across Tros and into Westoond.
Rados, the lost squire: In the aftermath of West City’s invasion, Rados battles Xellian occupants and his own failing memory.
Rados, forrest knight of Venteran: With help from the wise Chief Aura, Rados reunites with his first spectral ally, the aquatic samurai Valor, and merges with him to temporarily gain superhuman powers which help him and his friends survive the treacherous jungle.
Rados, hero of the Thardian War: Re-equipped with Western weapons and armor, Rados prepares for the momentous final battle on Hades plains.
Rados, the white knight: While searching the Astras library in Tros, Brian encounters a silent guardian with a familiar fighting style and discovers his old friend Rados has adopted his title of “White Knight of Tros” once more.
Rados, the Vanguard’s knight lieutenant: In his final moments in the living world, Rados comes face to face with an old foe, the impossibly quick Latcher, whose dagger seals his fate and incurs the wrath of Rados’ remaining friends in the remainder of the war.Poster child and eternal devotee of the Westoond Empire, Borgo Allan Paraf has shown enough pride and loyalty to his country for a hundred lifetimes. Ever the war-hawk, Borgo began honing every muscle in his body and tempering his combat skills from the moment he could walk, distinguishing himself quickly in the eyes of his military superiors as well as the Emperor himself. If ever there was one man who completely personified the goals and strengths of Westoond, it was without a doubt Sir Paraf.
Borgo was briefly stationed at an outpost in the Aura forest during the last few years of the woodland conflict, but the glory of battle continued to elude him and his outfit of soldiers. Upon his return to Ghetty city, an offer of promotion was sent his way, one which he turned down at first due to his insatiable hunger for combat. He was afraid that if he accepted a job not directly related to fighting among infantry, his wish to prove his abilities would become nothing more than an empty ambition. However, after some careful persuasion by Emperor Melarz, who took a particular liking to Borgo and easily befriended him, he accepted the offer and moved to the capital to begin his guard duty at the emperor’s palace.
It was during his stint in West City that he became privy to the inner working of Westoond’s government and secretive military discussions among the war council, consisting of only a handful of the empire’s top ranking officials and politicians. With Lord Melarz’ apparent assassination at the beginning of the Thardian War and the disappearance of the remaining members of the war council, Borgo was left to lead the punitive West City soldiers in defense against the Xellian invasion. Separated from his men, he came across and rescued Rados, an ambassador from Tros, with whom he eventually escaped the city and became allies with another two survivors of the siege, Brian and Alexis. Together, the four of them traversed the deadly Aura jungle and battled soldiers from a variety of allegiances, as well as a number of supernatural creatures who had crept their way into Venteran from a crack in the rift between dimensions. After merging with the mystic guardian Hephaestus, Borgo temporarily adopted the incredible powers of his spectral ally, allowing him to shield his allies from harm in many dangerous situations.
In Ghetty city, Borgo reunited with the war council and it was revealed that Emperor Melarz survived the attack at the palace by clever use of a synthetic flesh stand-in, whom the emperor was able to convincingly operate from a distance using magic. With his hope for winning the war refreshed, Borgo continued alongside his countrymen all the way through to the final battle on Hades plains, where he aided Rados and Brian in making it to the throne room and forcing the Xellian armies’ surrender.When Lord Melarz’ health began its decline after many long years of using magic to prolong his death, he entrusted Borgo to take over the throne. Borgo governed the empire as best he could, but when New Xellaus began its conquest, there was little his stalwart forces could do to prevent being overrun by Emperor Hadron’s superior technology and genetically-enhanced soldiers. Borgo made his last stand in the fortress on Ballast island, keeping the New Xellaus invaders at bay long enough for word to reach Tros about the sudden, fierce instigation of war. Even with the help of Ballast’s revolutionary tools of warfare and the steeled resolve of Westoond’s last few battle-hardened soldiers, Borgo and his troops fell to the might of Lord Hadron’s relentless attacks.
As one of the key players in ending the Thardian War, Borgo gained renown which surpassed even that of the immortal Emperor Melarz himself, and paved the way for Westoond’s rekindled fighting spirit toward the end of the Alraune War.
Borgo the Guard: Though his father and grandfather warned against being tempted by a life of violence and combat, Borgo enlisted the first chance he got. In the waning years of the Woodland conflict, his installment had friendly run-ins with Trosian garrisons with a pair of officers with the last name Onklet, men whose significance Borgo would not learn until many years later.
Borgo, the Elitist: By his 30th birthday, Borgo had established himself as a stern and uncompromising drill sergeant in the Westoond militia. His methods of conserving stamina and increasing mobility by shedding what he calls “unnecessary layers of armor” sparked something of an equipment and protocol enlightenment immediately after the Thardian War, foreshadowing to the lighter and more efficient combat uniforms meant to be used in conjunction with ballistic weaponry.
Borgo, the Armorer: Also referred to as the Dragoon by fellow soldiers, Borgo acquired incredible powers from his fusion with the mystic guardian Hephaestus, including the ability to expand an invulnerable wall of armor from his own defensive chassis and procure metallurgic weapons out of thin air. Like all who merged with their other-worldly protectors, Borgo’s powers diminished significantly by the end of the Thardian War, but his strength, resolve, and willpower remained legendary long afterwards.
Borgo, the Tudor: No longer in his prime, Borgo reluctantly took to arming himself with prototype machinery which enhanced his own physicality and battlefield presence. Whether inside or out of his quadripedal combat vehicle, Borgo gave hell to any and all who dared oppose the mighty of the Westoond Empire.Who would have guessed the Aerrian Order’s greatest champion would have emerged — almost literally — from the ashes of their worst enemies? Brian Tolstoy Altic, the son of estranged Aerrian knight Xavier Altic, had little more than his orphanage’s caretakers to look to for guidance, and as a result, became strongly attracted to such notions as anarchy and purposeful mischief. With fellow orphan Selleck Naedus at his side, the two delinquents grew up to become a fairly renowned criminal duo, resorting to hiding out in the woods of Jimen after being chased out of their home in industrial North Sary. It was in the dense jungle, cold, hungry, and facing few options for survival, that the mysterious Chief Matamaros came to them with an offer of shelter, sustenance, and companionship — on the one condition that they vow servitude to his tribal sect. As members of Matamaros’ savage community, Brian and Selleck helped wage war against the Aerrian Order’s self-righteous crusade to annex and indoctrinate the tribes hiding in the vast forests of their heavily wooded country. Fate would have it that, after a failed raid on one of the Order’s resource caravans, Selleck was captured and taken to a fort on the edge of the Jimen woods. With no time to lose, Brian rashly led a pair of fellow tribesmen to rescue Selleck, only to retrieve his friend in a fatal condition and lose both his comrades in the ensuing battle. In another stroke of terrible luck, Brian dragged Selleck back to the village they had come to call home in time to watch it burn to the ground and witness their patriarchal leader die at the hands of the Order’s notorious paladin Michael Vonae. With Selleck in dire need of medical treatment, Brian swallowed his pride and rode to the cathedral in South Sary, pledging his and Selleck’s repentance in exchange for the church’s sanctuary and compassion.
No sooner had both wayward sons of Aerrio begun to establish themselves as devout soldier of the Order did their troubling pasts catch up with them, since their identities had finally been discovered by none other than Michael, who was in the process of staging a coup of the Aerrian Czardom in parallel with his flushing out of clerical personnel with any ties to the lingering tribal menace. In true disregard for the nature of redemption, Michael forged orders for Brian to perform reconnaissance in West City just as the Thardian War began, and personally led a group of soldiers in an attempt to execute Selleck and rival paladin Aaron Vaktrus, who was the boys’ close friend and mentor. Aaron and Selleck escaped, but not before watching Brian sail away to what very well may have been his doom…
Once ashore the continent of Westoond, Brian rode to West City and encountered Xellian scouts right off the bat. Having been kept in the dark about most details concerning the developing war, Brian let himself believe anyone with a weapon would be hostile to him, a man of neither nationality of both countries involved. Once inside the city, a pair of unlikely allies came to his aid after being ambushed by Xellian soldiers. The Trosian squire, Rados, and the surviving West City guard, Borgo, introduced themselves as having no quarrel with the out-of-place cleric, and with no better option, he trusted them and joined their effort to escape the city. In the city’s barracks, Brian discovered a wounded Xellian soldier whom they believed might help them one way or another, and they took to tending her injury. With the barracks finally having been breached by pursuing soldiers, Brian helped the girl to safety and escaped into the city’s sewers through a hidden door in the barracks prison.
With plenty of time to get to know each other, Brian learned her name was Alexis, and that she had been betrayed and left for dead in the barracks by her own comrades, logically forcing her to rethink where her loyalties lie. Agreeing to help Brian until some task more worthwhile became available, she accompanied him through the giant-crocodile infested underground, saving his life by making quick friends with the wayward spirit Icarus, who occasionally lent her his supernatural marksmanship powers. Both of them managed to make it out of the sewers and onto the grasslands just outside West City, where Rados and Borgo could be seen fighting what appeared to be an armored giant. While Brian finished up his duel with the relentless scaled beast Dundie, Alexis contributed to the defeat of the enormous knight. All four survivors together again, they decided to travel together toward Tros to petition action from Andross’ Vanguard in hopes they could help end the war.
Though separated many times during their journey, the West City survivors trekked across the deadly Aura woods and Ghetty mountains, eventually reaching Ghetty city, where the bulk of Westoond’s hidden army lay in wait for their opportunity to strike back against Xellaus. After a tumultuous voyage by sea into the Trosian channel, Brian reunited with Aaron and Selleck, whose armada had fallen back on emergency orders to rendezvous with the Westoond fleet in the event of either nation being attacked. Their combined might sailed undetected, straight into the heart of Xellaus capital, where the final battle of the Thardian War was fought. Brian rode alongside the Aerrian cavalry from the Kokkaru forest, regrouping with Rados and Borgo to assail castle Ghorre and force the king’s surrender.
During the course of the war, Brian acquired an infatuation with Alexis, and the two remained romantically involved long after their journey together. Once reparations from the Thardian War had concluded, Brian married Alexis, moved to Xellaus, and continued working for the Aerrian Order as a spy, reporting on suspicious activity in his new homeland and enforcing justice where and when it was needed.Twelve years following the destructive Thardian War, New Xellaus — ruled by the tyrannical Emperor Hadron — began its conquest of Venteran, starting with Westoond, prompting Brian to come out of retirement and don his red clerical armor once more. Seeking an explanation for the Xellian prince’s mysterious and drastic change in character, Brian scoured the Trosian archives in Ximen, only to be confronted by a warrior referring to himself only as the “White Knight of Tros”. Easily detecting his old friend Rados’ facade, he accepted Rados’ assurance that no record owned by the Republic would be able to help, and he headed for the Aura woods, where it was agreed a detachment of Aerrian soldiers would meet him to determine their next plan of action. Promoted to paladin by a representative of the Order and given a horse, Brian’s new orders entailed making sure Tros’ president, Lord Ventaros, made it safely into Aerrio. Riding as quick as the wind, he picked up a young Westoond soldier named Oliver Kone, who per Brian’s urging snuck past enemy lines and into the war-torn Trosian capital, where he made contact with Lord Ventaros and aided in their escape. Having done all he could given his circumstances, Brian made a dash for the wastelands north of Ximen, hoping to spread word of the president’s flight and create a diversion. With support from Rados, Andross’ Vanguard mobilized along the express route to the harbor where Lord Ventaros and his entourage were headed, and a sizable force including Rados and Brian entered the rocky plains to head off New Xellaus’ march around the Allorrean range. It was in one such outcrop that Brian became trapped between New Xellian garrisons, prompting Rados to lead his soldiers down into a valley where they created an opportunity for Brian to escape, although ultimately resulting in their deaths.
Not wanting to waste his opportunity, Brian made haste north into Aerrio straight to the capital, where he informed Czar Vaktrus of the war’s progression, pleading for the Order to come to Tros’ aid. With the arrival of Lord Ventaros, Aaron finally agreed to take up arms against New Xellaus, and a reforged Trosian Alliance launched a valiant offensive out from Thor city, effectively pushing back the invading armies and taking back Tros’ capital.
With the death of Aaron as a result of the possessed Grann Sileus, Brian temporarily asserted himself as czar, as no other candidates came forward. Under his direction, the Trosian Alliance eradicated the forces of New Xellaus and began mending the parts of the world ravaged by the ruthless foe’s brutality. His and Alexis’ children were among the first to depart Venteran in fear of the prophesied fiery armageddon said to follow the Alraune War.
Brian, the Savage: As a Matamaros tribesman, Brian’s name of honor was Coyote, as he was fierce and stealthy like the wild canines which often roamed the wooded countryside.
Brian, the Cleric: Under the paladin Aaron’s tutelage, Brian learned the teachings of Ahmerrozh and much of the lore surrounding the other Supreme Beings, as well such virtues as redemption, forgiveness, temperance, charity, and mercy — many of which he struggled to exercise in his time working alongside priests and devout members of the deeply religious Aerrian Order.
Brian, the Fighter: Returning to his more brutish roots following the siege of West City, Brian shed much of his clerical armor and adopted a large axe as his primary weapon of choice through the arduous journey across Westoond. Something of a “jack-of-all-trades”, Brian also displays notable skill in swordsmanship, marksmanship, tracking, and geography, as well as significant knowledge in political history, scripture, and identifying creatures of mythologic origin.
Brian, the Phoenix: After merging with the burning demon Aressio, Brian exhibits many fire-like qualities, including the ability to create and manipulate fire from the elements around him. Although these powers faded shortly after the Thardian War, as he was one of the last West City survivors to fuse with a mystic guardian, his supernatural prowess remained evident even during the final battle on Hades plains, where his flames climbed high among the three warring armies.
Brian, the Paladin: Finally achieving the highest honor the Order could bestow on one of their followers, Brian proved the worth of his entitlement by keeping the New Xellaus armies on a wild goose chase throughout the Trosian Republic.
Brian, the Black Knight: Though only adopting the mantle briefly during the push against New Xellaus’ invading force at Thor city, Brian set the standard for true brutality on the field of battle, serving countless enemy soldiers their own rears and earning the fearful respect of his comrades.
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