Commander Winterlayt

Commander Winterlayt
"You're right of course, I am reckless, monstrous and vicious and that's why I can do what I do so well." - Winterlayt

A seasoned veteren in a fight, Winterlayt is no pushover. He works for the Pact as Commander, however is much more well known for his exploits within Fort Trinity and as a singular unit in Tyria.

Biology
Tall and well built. Black bark skin with deep blue markings. A "sunburst" like scar is a prominent feature situated on the middle of Winterlayts' chest. A singular yellow eye stares out from his right socket, his left torn out in his struggle against the Dragons.

In his "Berserker" state, Winterlayt grows in height and mass into a towering behemoth. Far more feral in appearance. In this state Winterlayt either requires immediate sustenance or to eat immediately after he changes out of his berserker state - or suffer a horrifying hunger that means he can't tell friend from foe.

Personality
Winterlayt was once shy but brilliant sylvari, brought up by Autl Magh and Mogg Magh after they stole him from the Inquest.

Now however, Winterlayt is kind, altruistic and increasingly tired. Having to be responsible for those around him, Winterlayt tries his best to make sure those under his care are well cared for and safe, But this comes to the point of being reckless with his own well being.

He loves his family deeply, going out of his way to make sure they're alright - but it can be seen as highly meddling and even he knows he can sometimes be more annoying than helpful.

"Winterlayt is brilliant tactician, a good father, and my daughters' favorite uncle. That being said - he is a terrifying opponent and the worst person to go to if you're feeling like shit." - Urlae Summer, Winterlayts' brother.

Abilities
WInterlayt is a master of all kinds of weaponry, choosing firearms as his main means of attack. He is always carrying a large assortment to help him no matter the situation.

Winterlayt learned close combat from Helvelta Cushiese, yet only uses it under duress and with his berserker state.

The commander can activate his berserker state at will, however it's for close combat usage mostly and he dislikes relying on it. It's a last resort to either finish the fight or to regenerate from wounds sustained.

Story
Winterlayt was from a pod stolen from the Pale Tree in the early days of the Sylvari race. He awoke with no dream, no connection, no nothing. A blank slate for the Inquest to instill their ideals into, and yet Winterlayt always knew something was wrong.

His main caretaker was a necromancer named Autl Magh, and it was under her bosses orders that Winterlayt was subjected to horrific experiments with elixars and aether injections to see if the Sylvari had any military usage as living weapons. He was named "Verdant Knight Alpha 1".

Autl was disgusted, and under the guise of night she saw his potential as a living sentient being by teaching him all she knew - and then seeing what he adapted and created from it. Under Autl's care Winterlayt managed to fashion a field disruptor which allowed him to take down the cage that held him. From that point on - it was Winterlayt and Autl versus the Inquest.

It took moments of seeing a gun that Winterlayt understood how to use it, and even shorter for him to demonstrate his knowledge of it by immediately murdering the scientists who had vivisected him many times in his short life.

The Inquests main lab came crashing down around them, while Autl and Winterlayt made their escape. WInterlayt was brutally shot through the chest with a hand cannon. Though it left heavy scarring, the sylvari's elixar infused body shrugged off the fatal wound like it was nothing.

An all consuming hunger was the price of course, and any Inquest who found themselves lucky to escape the rubble of the lab found themselves quickly devoured by the now berserk Winterlayt.

Years of living with Autl as fugitives, then more years of living as a mercenary to support Autl's family, Winterlayt became a well known tactician who amassed a small fortune through his work. But it meant little to him, to him the family he had was far more important, and the morales installed in him by Autl led him to become kind to those he met on his travels across Tyria.

The day he found other Sylvari, Winterlayt wanted to go "Home".

"Home", the Grove. It confused him, the towering boughs of the Pale Tree, and the city grown under her by her children, all of who spoke of the Dream. He listened, he learned, but the air was still silent, and no voices could be heard no matter how he tried to hear his brothers and sisters in the Dream. Giving up, Winterlayt retreated from the Grove, feeling less than "anything" in his life.

Dropping life as a mercenary and now helping out all he came across. He convinced himself it was worth helping those who were something, and that everyone was worth a chance.

Until the day Autl told him of a new Inquest lab, and another Sylvari being held as "Verdant Mage Alpha 1".

Urlae Summer, Winterlayt's "Brother", a sylvari mesmer with a wretched wound exposing his spine. Winterlayt's latest experiment - the Black Armor - was a saving grace that sealed Urlae into a fine suit to stop his insides from slipping out and giving him time to heal. They escaped together, Urlae carried on Winterlayts' back while Autl led the way out.

With a growing family that now needed refuge more than ever, Winterlayt begged the Priory to take them in with his research and expertise being the price. He surrendered all his previously made weapons, inventions and armor to the Priory, and offered all his notes to every project they had going.

It was then that Winterlayt caught the attention of the firstborn Trahearne, and from then on they began to work together, eventually leading the Pact together as Marshal and Commander.

Eventually he broke away from Urlae and Autl, living alone in a small hovel not too far from Fort Trinity. From there he ran his own lab and continued his own personal experiments which led to his discovery of the Sylvari being minions for the Jungle Dragon Mordremoth. He became hurt and withdrawn once more, hoping to be wrong and finding himself right at every turn. In his desperation he began working into the Dream and the Nightmare, trying to find a middle ground in between that could show him the true nature of the Sylvari without the influence of either. Through his work he created Verdanzy, a sylvari with no dream and no nightmare influence, and Winterlayt adopted them as their own child

Winterlayt's family would grow again though as he came across Iiazo Kuark, a young asura who had been marked for death by the Inquest, and tortured by the Nightmare Court. This young asura would become Winterlayt's most loyal ally on the field of battle, and a well loved family member.

With two young children to support now, Winterlayt threw himself into his work again, now determined to make a better life for them all - one hopefully without the imminent threat of Dragons.

Musical Themes
Gungrave Ost - Gunlock

Persona 2 Innocent Sin - Boss Fight

Kill la Kill - 11

Trivia

 * Winterlayt carried Verdanzy around when they first awoke because they wanted them to experience a childhood and not miss out on such a small detail. This only stopped when Winterlayt finally introduced Verdanzy to the Pact because he didn't wish to embarrass the young sapling, this only resulted in Verdanzy climbing onto his back and Winterlayt then having to carry them the rest of the day.
 * When Winterlayt feels adventurous with food he likes to drink weak tea over his usual diet of water and raw meat. He's often quite ill after it.
 * Winterlayt stress knits ugly sweaters for himself, his family and the Pact. No one questions this.