Astor "Ironsbane" Ulbrecht
An Ala Mhigan-Ishgardian Highlander who devotes himself to defending the vulnerable and downtrodden throughout his adventures and service in the Ala Mhigan Resistance. To those who seek a courageous swordsman or an understanding brother, look no further.Also don't mind the grim face, he just looks like that.
Age: Late 20s
Race: Mixed (Hyur Highlander/Elezen)
Gender: Male
Sexuality: Justicesexual
Nationality: Ala Mhigan and Ishgardian
Birthplace: Coerthas
Alignment: Chaotic GoodEyes: Silvery-Blue
Height: 7'3
Build: Toned and muscular.Distinguishing Marks: A collection of slashes and firearm scars. Worn with pride.Current Profession: Presumably retired adventurer turned culinarian and consultant.Hobbies: Cooking, Sewing, Gardening, Animal HandlingLanguages: Common Eorzean, Xaelic (intermediate), Ishgardian (intermediate), Hingan (broken).Primary Residence: A cottage in the Lavender Beds and Ironsbane Estate in Gyr Abania.Voice Claims: Ralph Ineson (ENG), Daisuke Ono (JP)Fighting Capability
Astor has plenty of experience with his claymore, which he considers his primary weapon. His personalized fighting style blends the savagery and brute force of Gyr Abanian swordsmanship with some fundamental techniques of Ishgardian blade arts, resulting in a dangerous symphony of crushing blows and graceful parries.Working closely with the Fist of Rhalgr, Astor learned hand-to-hand combat techniques through proximity. However, he cannot perform the same superhuman feats the primary sects are capable of, nor is he trained as a proper student.Currently, he is a budding Beastmaster aimed at rehabilitating former war beasts for domestic use. He is something of an animal whisperer, with a natural ability to safely tame wary beasts.Aethersight:
Affiliations:
Beastmasters Anonymous
Rank: ★★★★★★★★★★
Animal handling may seem simple, but tending to them and forging a battle-hardened bond is anything but. As someone both passionate and learning on the techniques of beastmasters both foreign and abroad, he seeks like minded individuals or just those with a big heart for critters, creatures, and beast alike.His family trains and provides companion or therapy animals to Eorzean veterans.Ala Mhigan Resistance
Rank: ★★★★★★★★★★
An enthusiastic volunteer that participated in numerous skirmishes as a member of an irregular fighting force, specializing in the dismantlement, interference, and elimination of imperial armor. The Resistance considers him missing in action following the events of the Final Days.Fists of Rhalgr Brotherhood
Rank: ★★★★★★★★★☆
Affiliated due to strong familial and military ties. Both his sister and his uncle are devout servants of Rhalgr, to whom he bears modest reverence for. Their temple serves as a safe haven and hideaway, nestled deep in a remote part of The Peaks.Immortal Flames Mercenary
Rank: ★★★★★★★☆☆☆
A former Mercenary Captain that worked in tandem with the Immortal Flames. Operating primarily in Thanalan to eliminate irregular threats to peace and prosperity, Astor's band was especially popular with refugees. Formally disbanded after the liberation of Ala Mhigo.House Bulair
Rank: ★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
An affiliate to the minor Ishgard house due to a single familial tie. No notable accolades or relation to any institution within the house, but visits enough to be noteworthy.
Sister Avalynn Ulbrecht
Rank: ★★★★★★★★★★This is Astor's sister. Unfortunate events saw them separated during their childhood, but they have since reunited. Avalynn's explosive personality sometimes does more harm than good for Astor's wellbeing, but the two share an unbreakable bond. They live together in Astor's cottage and are currently members of the Grand Company of Eorzea reserves.ASTOR'S QUICK THOUGHTS:
"A help and a hindrance. Please stop breaking the walls of my home for training, sister."
Lady Alsiene Bulair
Rank: ★★★★★★★★☆☆Astor's mother. The Dragonsong War isolated the two up until the conflicts twilight years. Having lived two very different lives, their initial reunion was awkward and uncomfortable at best. However, things have smoothed out since then. Astor's mother is his personal chirurgeon when she isn't focused on her personal projects.ASTOR'S QUICK THOUGHTS:
"Her written works are great. Terribly indulgent however. Though, that's probably why Ishgardian youth purchase them."
Viviana Ulbrecht
Rank: ★★★★★★★★★★An adoptive sister brought into the fold by Astor's mother. They first met as hired mercenaries for a ceruleum distributor and quickly came to develop a brother-sister relationship. Both share common ground in their oaths, where Astor acts as her mentor.ASTOR'S QUICK THOUGHTS:
"Sometimes she lays on the ground even though there's perfectly good chairs available."
Elara Bulair
Rank: ★★★★★★★★☆☆An odd Ishgardian mage with a interest in the morose and supernatural. Astor and Elara have known one another for a while, as the he often relies on the witch's medical knowledge and destructive magics. Following several incidents in Gyr Abania, Elara was officially adopted into House Bulair.ASTOR'S QUICK THOUGHTS:
"It's very hard to win at staring contests with her. Does she blink? I've never seen it happen before."
An Amigo from Ala Mhigo
The realm is a dangerous place! From quests and journeys where one dances with death to contentions with the mundane, one can find Astor great company as a stalwart traveling companion. Though his logic and methods are incredibly unorthodox and might sound insane to newfound adventurers, they are grounded in a wealth of experience and expertise.Click the picture to read some of Astor's adventurers.
The Ghost of the Ironbreaker Vanguards
One of the brave and valiant sons of Ala Mhigo. When Baelsar's Wall fell, Astor spared no time in immediately connecting with his family in the Resistance as an enthusiastic volunteer. Belonging to Clan Ironsbane, Astor and his brothers and sisters excelled in eliminating imperial armor through brutal guerilla warfare. Why is someone on the Resistance's obituaries roaming the realm as a common adventurer?Click the picture to read Astor's military career.
SPOILER WARNING: Astor is involved in the events portrayed in the Endwalker MSQ.WAR JOURNALNAME: Astor Ulbrecht of Clan Ironsbane
BIRTHPLACE: Coerthas
BRANCH: Ironbreakers, Heavy Vanguard
COMMANDING OFFICER: Captain Hector IronsbanePROFILE: Astor is an incredibly enthusiastic and efficient soldier, donating body and soul to the war effort. However, there is such a thing as too enthusiastic, and Astor's willingness to fling himself toward the enemy is concerning. While he cares for his brothers and sisters deeply, he remains unaware of what consequences his heroics may have for himself and those around him.
NOTEWORTHY PARTICIPATION:
Fall of the Fringes
During the Alliance's charge on the Castellum, Astor Ironsbane received orders to act as the vanguard to a Maelstrom detachment setting up cannons in the Fringe's no-man's-land. Using the trees as adequate cover, Astor's team of Resistance fighters successfully install pitfall traps ahead of advancing Garlean soldiers. In a scattered formation, the team swiftly surrounded and eliminated small pockets of soldiers and their commanders with extreme prejudice.
--
Catastrophe at Specula Imperiatoris
When the Empire destroyed their own installation and dealt a crippling blow to the Alliance forces, Astor was present rescuing a detachment of Immortal Flames from fleeing Imperial forces. A Flame thaumaturge described the numerous gunshot and scorch marks on Astor's body, yet couldn't understand how the man was still able to move. Once the chaos subsides, Astor is ordered to return to Ala Gannha to recover after collapsing by the Specula's gates.
--
Operation: Rhalgr's Beacon
Astor Ironsbane, under Captain Hector's orders, takes a small detachment of men and women to Lochwatch to eliminate Garlean armor from reaching the Alliance's flank while they prepare to breach the city gates. Astor and his men conduct a brutal ambush. Ala Mhigan Resistance scouts described it as absolute carnage. There were no Garlean survivors.Battle for Ala Mhigo
With the city open, Captain Hector, Astor, and his men - now dubbed Iron Breakers, raid the Ala Mhigan Quarter. In the chaos, Astor is separated from his squadron and reunites with his sister, Avalynn Ulbrecht surrounded by a battalion of the XIVth's soldiers and automaton. In two bells, Astor and Avalynn are found heavily wounded atop a pile of broken iron and corpses. They were present when the Garlean standard is removed from the citadel and join the chorus of their brothers and sisters singing liberation.
--
Ghimlyt Dark
During the Eorzean Alliance's desperate push against Garlean retaliation, Astor took the field under the Ala Mhigan banner, fighting alongside new comrades in the Alliance against the endless waves of armor and men thrown at them. According to eye witness testimonies from allied forces, he fought like a man possessed and often vanished from the frontline to wreak havoc in Garlean artillery encampments. Reports of activity at this time are heavily classified.The Battle of Paglth'an
Astor was suddenly called upon by his former captain to join an emergency squadron. For the first time in nearly a year, the Ironbreakers were deployed. Commanded by Captain Hector, Astor and a group of veteran Ala Mhigan fighters engaged tempered fighters and their "Telotek" walkers. Owing to their name, the Ironbreakers comfortably dealt with the warmachina while defending a wounded squad of Immortal Flames. Astor received an accolade for exemplary bravery for running through gunfire and dragonfire to rescue a group of Gridanian chirurgeons.
--
Second Battle of Carteneau
With nary a breath of comfort from their victory at Paglth'an, Astor was summoned once again for the Grand Company of Eorzea's trial by fire. Joining him at his side are his sister and her mentor, Master Skullcrusher of the 12th Chakra. Under the command of Captain Hector, Astor, and the Ironbreakers worked in tandem with Ishgardian bannerets and calvary units to disable the Telotek walkers wreaking havoc on the battlefield. Astor is noted to have rallied a shellshocked unit of Ala Mhigan skirmishers up a hill to disable Telotek artillery batteries, leading his brothers and sisters in a triumphant song as their fellow Alliance brethren reinforced their frontline. Though he sustained some injuries, Astor survived the Grand Company of Eorzea's first foray in battle.
--
The Illsabard Contingent
Astor was one of the scant few volunteers from Ala Mhigo to join the contingent marching to Illsabard, to the land of his former oppressors. Obviously, the rampant prejudice shown by pessimistic Garleans made the efforts difficult. He worked with other members of the Grand Company of Eorzea in search and rescue operations, magitek destruction, and securing safe routes for refugees and supply caravans. Astor enlisted in a strike force sent into the Tower of Babil to divert attention from the Warrior of Light's infiltration, resulting in him detonating an entire hallway. Reports of activity at this time are heavily classified.
--
The Final Days
When the sky opened and stars fell over Thavnair, Astor joined a relief contingent of Grand Company of Eorzea members to the battered land. At world's end, against malformed monstrosities, Astor brandished his blade fought valiantly against the end times. As Ala Mhigo contended with their own blasphemy outbreak, Astor fought with his sister, her mentor, and his mother to defend his people from another catastrophe. In the afterglow a bloody battle against blasphemies, Astor disappeared from the front lines.The Resistance considers him missing in action, though a choice few souls know the truth. He was honored at a remembrance ceremony for his bravery, leaving behind a grand legacy for his fellow countrymen.
RUMORS FROM THE FRONT
Slaughter of Virdjala
One of Astor's most infamous battles involves a skirmish at Virdjala, where he commanded young men and women into a counter charge against occupying forces that were bombarding the area for three bells straight. Ala Mhigan Resistance members described their wounded comrades breaking from their stupors and charging into the fray as 'the living dead', their war cries akin to Rhalgr's levinbolts. The counter charge pushed a Garlean regiment into antlion breeding grounds. There were no Garlean survivors.The Ulbrecht Lineage
Following the liberation of Ala Mhigo, the provisional government draws a consensus of living and deceased Ala Mhigans. Records state the Ulbrecht lineage starts and ends with Astor and his biological sister. Yet rumors from the Ironbreakers state there were three Ulbrechts enlisted in their ranks.
These adventures are from player-run events and do NOT include Free Company events. Whether or not you wish to acknowledge their canon is negotiable.Void of Vengence
The Order of the Twin Adders called upon adventurers to deal with a looming threat in the Twelveswood. While the Adders were focused on the conflict at Ghimlyt Dark, a host of voidsent cultists planned an attack on Gridania. Astor joined the adventuring contingent as a member of the Defense Squad, a party tasked with guarding a military base in Hyrstmill. Though they fought valiantly against hordes of ravenous voidsent, the entire contingent were driven out of Hyrstmill and retreated to Fallgourd Float, resulting in the deaths of several Twelveswood denizens. Nonetheless, Astor and several adventurers of the contingent reclaimed Hyrstmill in a bloody assault, ending the nightmare in the North Shroud for good.
--
Ul'dahn Vice
A notorious criminal by the name of Mother terrorized Ul'dah by funding a war between underworld organizations. Caught up in the chaos of a marketplace stabbing, Astor and members of the Defense Squad find themselves embroiled in gang warfare. Their investigation proved difficult while maneuvering around the shadowy alleys of Ul'dah, with assassins, criminals, and crime lords hassling them around every corner. Having dismantled two crime organizations and a slave ring, the Defense Squad find the location of Mother, corner her, and swiftly end her life. The power vacuum is filled by the Sparrows, an underworld organization that guides orphans and unsavory individuals to honest work.
--
The Exorcism of Batuoktai
One of Astor's closest companions, Batuoktai Himaa, suffered greatly under the influence of a voidsent. The warrior's twin brother sought to rid his sibling of the affliction, resulting in a days long quest to find a cure. Ultimately, Astor and his companions devised a scheme to temporarily house the voidsent in Batuoktai's axe, then completely eradicate it from the face of the star. With the voidsent slain and Batuoktai reinvigorated, the two grew closer as stoic warriors and friends.
--
Illsabard Contingent
Astor was among the international volunteers who strived to stabilize the destroyed Garlean capital, with no shortage of noteworthy achievements. Besides successful search and rescue operations, Astor played a key role in pivotal negotiations with the denizens of Tertium. When key figures Alphinaud and Alisaie were imprisoned as bargaining chips for Eorzea's total withdrawal, Astor and an elite strike team helped liberate them in a highly covert operation alongside Estinien. During the siege of the then Telephoroi-controlled capital building, no one can say Astor neglected to knock. Commandeering a colossus cannon, Astor and a handful of contingent members cleared the lower hallways of mutated Telephoroi threats alongside General Raubahn and General Pipin.
The Gyr Abanian AbyssDARKSIDE STATUS: ̶̧̺̳͆͑͂ ̷̣̙̆ͅ ̶͓͈̙͕̈́̋ ̶̢͙̰̭̀ ̶̻̈͠ ̶̝̍̎͆ ̸̙͊ ̸̳̠̎ ̶̤̬͓̄͒͘ ̸̢̟̬̮̐͝ ̵̨̯̈͛̊͗ ̸̻̣̩̟̅ ̶͖̪͚̓͌ ̷̡͈̞̳͒͊̎ ̴͓͓̓ͅ ̶͈͚͆̌͌ ̴̧͕͉̞̅̍͑ ̵̦̈ ̷͍̏ ̵͛̒̈́̉͜ ̷̰̣͑͛̓ͅ ̵̺̬͓͒ ̷͖̱̞̩͛̔̽ ̸̯̀͋̊̅͜͜ ̶̧͓̦͍̑̕ ̷̩̼͗ ̸̡͉̄̕ ̸̛̠͔̬̟̅͒ ̵̲̿ ̶͂̓͌͂ ̶̹̈́͒On a moonless night in Coerthas, Astor made a promise that would change his life forever. Donning the mantle of the dusk court, the Highlander works tirelessly as a dark knight, delivering justice to those who believe themselves above the law. If there is wickedness to punish, a contract can be made.For those that would strip man of his liberties and life, the Gyr Abanian Abyss is the grim reaper, with a particular hatred for imperialist extremists -- especially those who once occupied his home. Among slaver circles, uttering his name is considered an ill omen. Where he walks, shadows writhe as if given life. In spite of morbid rumors aside, he bears a gentle demeanor to victims of villainous cruelty, requesting little to no recompense for his services.Despite his fame or infamy, nobody seems to know who truly lives beneath that dark armor. To many, it is a living suit of armor -- vengeance given form.Other Monikers:
Coerthan Dark Knights: Knight of RebellionGarlean Loyalists: The BabaykaUl'dahn Underworld: Heavy Metal BullRemote Far Eastern Villages: The Mountain NamahageFor those who wish to contact the Gyr Abanian Abyss...
Astor didn't earn the title "The Gyr Abanian Abyss" for nothing. His primary area of operation is the mountainous regions surrounding Ala Mhigo, becoming something of a local legend -- or cryptid, if you're on the wrong side of the law.
The dark knight continues to stalk the back streets of Ul'dah in defense of the downtrodden. Bumping into him would not be unheard of. Hopefully, it's under good conditions.
Somewhere in the Twelveswood, an obsidian sentinel stalks the treeline in search of voidsent cultists, illegal poachers, or bigoted villains who harass native Keeper tribes. He's often seen commanding a ferocious war panther or noble griffin.
Deep in the decrepit alleys of Limsa Lominsa underbelly, the rattling of chainmail and plate might be an unfamiliar sound. Maybe someone catches a towering knight conversing with a member of the Rogue's Guild -- or having a smuggler walk the plank.
Ishgard's home to various misbegotten dark knights young and old, and it is no stranger to this vigilante. Between networking with other crime fighters or keeping a watchful eye on nostalgic haunts, Astor might be find enjoying a pint in the dimly lit corners of the Forgotten Knight.
The Far East might be some distance away from Eorzea, but it's well within the dark knight's reach. A scant few rumors permeate Kugane's merchant stalls, claiming a man dressed in black hunts highwaymen and thieves along the Ruby Sea's shore with a large blade cloaked in hellfire.
Garlemald is no longer one of the largest sources of suffering and pain throughout the star, yet there are those who still yearn to put savages to the sword. Legionnaires yearning for those halcyon days have often described a man -- no, a demon in black armor, violently claiming the heads of Garlean extremists hiding in Illsabardian territories. Are the stories nothing more than fearmongering from traumatized survivors?
