Isabelle Zoradyne
Hardly a standout figure among adventurers and Sparked, but certainly not forgotten either. Isabelle Zoradyne, known by a small handful of nicknames and titles, is a highly rated adventurer and former mercenary according to organisations such as the Adventurer's Guild, Kingdom of Aetveris and The Setlaar states, with numerous successful operations and compensated heroics to her name.
Life has taken her from rather humble beginnings as a standard combat unit produced by Naramoore Steelworks in Eatash Alram, to the Eteran continent and back again a good number of times, finally settling in Aetveris where she now works as Head of Security and bodyguard for The Urnov Corporation.
History
Early Life
Isabelle's life began as Steelworks Android Unit 1876, constructed and awakened in Madinat, Eatash Alram. There she served like any other unit in those early days following the advent of her race, thinking little of anything beyond her duty. While emotionally and socially stunted like most combat units, Isabelle formed a bond with units 1875 and 1877, the three of them eventually deciding on their respective forenames, Iris and Charlotte, and the collective surname Zoradyne. Isabelle herself was actually named by, Charlotte who picked what she thought sounded best. Their Name Day celebration was a quiet, simple affair, but enjoyable by all records.
The months that saw the rise in prevalence of The Mithril Lady's church, heavily pushed by diligent Prelate units and targeted quite heavily at combat units and those others in frontline operational positions. Isabelle was no exception when she, along with the vast majority of her comrades, developed an outwardly reserved but no-less fervent devotion to their then un-ascended creator Goddess. What contentment she found in worship was soon marred by growing disappointment, the fundamentals of her faith found to be unfinished frameworks at best, propped up by hastily written, retracted and rewritten doctrine.
Despite this and her discontentment her faith itself did not waver, though it did give rise to acts of truancy from mandatory maintenance checks and psychiatric evaluations until, finally, Isabelle expressed her desire to be discharged from the Security and Operations Division. To her surprise the request was granted days later, even offering her several months to make arrangements which Isabelle declined to make use of, partly on account of having not returned her weapons as instructed.
Mercenary Work
Isabelle's reason for having left The Steelworks was, on the face of it, to pursue a greater understanding of faith and learn how to better serve her creator, away from the messy groundwork laid by the Prelate units. Deep down though a sense of wanderlust and destiny had set in. She entertained ideas of returning one day with a better way, giving them the tools and knowledge to exalt The Self-Forged properly. This would have to wait though, for journeys of self-discovery are not cheap and certainly not free. Hunger and thirst did not plague her as an android, but shelter and maintenance were major concerns outside of the comprehensive system dedicated to taking care of her kind.
To that end she did what she knew best, taking on work as a mercenary in and around the city, eventually transitioning to work in the desert itself. Though nothing special by adventurer or Operator standards, she was considerably more effective than most thanks to her background and training, making a more than comfortable amount and using it to upgrade herself and travel further afield both for work and in service to her self-appointed mission. Throughout this time an odd and familiar feeling pervaded her actions, guiding the development of her skills in a particular direction and making her a competent pistoleer in spite of her otherwise standard training.
War against The Fifth Horseman
As an established mercenary when The Fifth Horseman rose to threaten the world, Isabelle saw a great deal of action fighting The Endbringer Cult in The Setlaar States before travelling to Etera for the first time and bringing the fight to Daemons themselves, putting her personal mission on the backburner. She closely followed news of cult activity from The States, becoming aware of their Champion's strike on Madinat and returning to fight alongside adventurers from Etera in defence of her old home. For these acts, thwarting The Endbringer Cult and saving countless lives in the process, she was celebrated as one of The Heroes of Madinat. There, at the award ceremony, then Commander Benedict DeChance cryptically urged her to return to her people, if only for a little while, hinting that something monumental would soon occur.
Homecoming
Following DeChance's direction, Isabelle returned to the Madinat headquarters of The Steelworks to learn more, discovering that in her absence the Grand Prelate had finally finished and delivered what would become the core holy text of the Avalian religion. Initially confident it would be another poor attempt at holy scripture, she soon found it to be perfect interpretation of Her Lady's will, rendering a large part of Isabelle's self-imposed exodus and pilgrimage pointless. She would take some solace in reuniting with Iris and Charlotte for a time, telling of her travels and reflecting on her ordeals.
Isabelle had a slow realisation while thinking back on her life thus far, standing out more for a meeting she'd had on the first day of her return. She had, of course, been asked if she would re-join the company, a meeting attended by Marie Sterling, Twelfth of The First, joint head of the Security and Operations Division. All units know of The First, but to see Marie in person was an eerie experience for Isabelle, alike to seeing oneself in the mirror. Not good with other people, even her own kind, Isabelle asked few questions but did what digging she could, discovering an alarming number of similarities between them in behaviour, preferences and capabilities. They would catch several glimpses of each other over the next few weeks, Marie keeping an eye on her, until eventually they confronted each other in private. Marie revealed that she was Isabelle's progenitor unit, a rare occurrence of random chance in which the algorithm generates effectively 'the same unit' from its theoretically infinite range. The confrontation was short and neither left happy, Isabelle upset to discover she's effectively a clone while Marie failed to convey her mixed and complicated feelings to her 'daughter'.
Isabelle only remained long enough thereafter to experience the jubilation of Avalia's ascent. It made little difference to her, The Self-Forged had always been her goddess. With that final matter behind her she would set out again, this time to find herself.
The Splendid Six
The Urnov Corporation and Present Day
The feeling of emptiness within her day to day life only grew following her return from the Merovingian Mountains, missions only staving off the discontentment that came, ironically enough, with a lack of greater purpose beyond serving the ephemeral will of her creator goddess. One thing stuck with her though, that being Jack Urnov and his courage in the face of certain, irreversible death. While odd to others, it was hard for Isabelle not to be impressed with what she'd seen both in the trenches and out. It was for this reason that she sought him out soon after, seeking an audience at his company headquarters in Aetveris.
It was a short interview, but evidently Mr. Urnov had not forgotten Isabelle either as he offered her a position as Head of Security within his company, a position she gladly accepted there and then, ignorant of the parallel that fate once again drew between herself and her progenitor unit. Thankfully it would be the last, however, as her broad set of duties included acting as Jack's bodyguard on his excursions, a task she took to with fervent vigour.
It is in this position that Isabelle has remained ever since, comfortable with her purpose and the nature of her work. Despite having fewer adventures and active assignments her legend has continued to grow along with her expertise. She would notably be responsible for fending off and defeating Cathran Lorekeeper, deific candidate of knowledge, following an attack on Urnov Tower as well as ensuring Jack's survival and success with her battle-prowess upon his return to Port Doom.
Though obviously more settled, Isabelle is far from retired where adventuring can be concerned. More so it would be accurate to say that wherever Jack goes, his Head of Security follows subtly to ensure her employer doesn't run afoul of the world's sinister elements.
Appearance
As an android of The Steelworks, Isabelle bears all the hallmarks common to her people. Pale artificial skin, white hair and cold blue eyes are the features she had been created with. She stands at roughly 5 foot and 9 inches in height with a frame that belies the mechanised strength she possesses. Her inner workings are almost entirely comprised of mithril alloys invented and used by The Steelworks, greatly modified beyond even some of the most senior units now.
Former
During her days as a mercenary Isabelle opted to clad herself fully in a suit of lightly plated, anti-ballistic armour that avoided restricting her movement while affording acceptable protection from firearms and lighter, melee attacks. She would often hide her face with a simple, patterned mask and a hooded cloak of light green material, not wanting to be too obviously an android of the Steelworks in a time where the novelty of her kind still lingered.
Her weapons were carried openly, revolvers always at her side while her main weapon would cycle throughout her career from a marksman rifle to a broad greatsword.
During these times she alternated between dying her hair a more human, brown colour or letting it fade back to its original white colour. Maintenance and cosmetics were expensive, and in the early days she would often forgo them both. This could, in the worst cases, lead to a rather ragged appearance underneath her armour, with holes and tears in her artificial skin.
Current
Now in service to The Urnov Corporation, Isabelle has chosen to forgo her old armour and mask, dressing more appropriately for a corporate setting with a suit, dark shirt and sometimes even a tie. When out on operation not much changes beyond the possibility of long coat and a pair of leather gloves, no longer reliant on the the light armour she had been used to.
Isabelle no longer carries any of her weapons on her either, though her arsenal of them has certainly grown. Where she keeps them is something of a mystery, but they remain close at hand.
Without her mask she still passes for human at a glance, though anyone with cursory knowledge can put together her nature once close enough. Nowadays she opts to keep her hair undyed and lightly styled, barely at shoulder length. With a stable income she can handily afford repairs, performing regular maintenance as necessary and even making use of cosmetics here and there.
Personality
As a combat model Steelworks Android, Isabelle's emotional and expressive capability were always secondary to practical efficacy in battle. Often she has little to say unless asked, reserved unless the right topics emerge. What she does say is delivered dryly and without a great deal of intonation, giving the false impression of boredom or disinterest.
When on assignments or in the field Isabelle is mostly understated, uninterested in boasts of gestures of strength. It is largely for this reason that, despite her capability, she is comparatively unknown among her peers.
Her main interest is the well-being of her employer, though she shows enthusiasm for new and interesting fighting styles as well, seeing them as a way to differentiate herself from her progenitor unit.
Abilities and Equipment
As one of the earlier model Steelworks Androids and a similar to her progenitor unit, Isabelle possesses The Spark of Potential, greatly enhancing her durability, ability to learn and her overall potential. Presumably this will also spare her from a lasting and permanent death should she ever be slain, but this theory has yet to be tested.
Augmentations and Enhancements
Isabelle's frame was relatively basic at first, comprised mainly of mithril alloy and possessed of above average strength and dexterity. This changed following her departure from The Steelworks, Isabelle using much of her accumulated wages to improve her internals with better parts and optimised calibration. This has only advanced further with time to the point where her otherwise unremarkable looking body operates at nothing less than miraculous levels of efficiency and power.
Martial Prowess
Isabelle is a formidable martial combatant with experience in a range of weapons both at range and up close. Her heritage as a descendant of Marie Sterling originally skewed her towards exceptional prowess as a pistoleer. Despite this she is most well known for her marksmanship and as a sniper, making use of her rifle to take down targets at long range and earning her the moniker of "Death at a Kilometer" in Aetveris and Fort Ragathiel. After gaining knowledge of her progenitor Isabelle has taken great efforts to differentiate herself, taking on a wide range of weapons and mastering them. The complete list is unclear, but she is known to be masterfully proficient with greatswords, katanas, knives, electric batons and her split-shotguns.
Once upon a time she would choose a weapon for a given operation and stick with it, but her continued training and experience throughout her decade with The Urnov Corporation has seen the development of new techniques and technology, allowing her to store all of her weapons for use on demand. The exact nature of this storage is unknown, considered to be something of a technological singularity gifted to her for her unwavering faith.
Divine Powers
Oft overlooked is Isabelle's divine connection to The Self-Forged, her creator goddess, but through it she is able to manifest a number of techno-divine effects and powers much in the same way a paladin or might. As one might expect from a follower of Avalia, this largely encompasses the field of technomancy which she use to enhance herself and her allies.