Character info

Character name: Młynar Nearl
Canon: Arknights
Canon point & release date: Following the "An Obscure Wanderer" event, March 2023
CRAU (if applicable): n/a

Powers (no more than 150 words):
1. I'm sorry for Arknights nonsense
2. Enhanced strength and durability compared to normal Earth humans.
3. Enhanced speed and the ability to run long distances without tiring (horse furry powers).
4. Ability to focus sight to see more detail/see farther than normally possible (fancy pegasus furry power).
5. Arts, an innate magical ability that cannot be used without a focus made of a specific rock to channel it through. Młynar's Arts include creating light, creating a glowing mist or fine rain that has the effect of acid rain, reflecting damage, distracting enemies to draw their attention to him over his allies, and amplifying the reach of his weapons (i.e. slashing a sword and cutting someone out of the sword's range). There's probably more (going by common skills in his family), but he's already fucking op so let's stick with what on-screen stuff.

Personality

What is your character most afraid of? How are they defined by this fear? (100-300 words)

Młynar's greatest fear is being powerless, unable to fix anything. This isn't a fear of failure per say - Młynar explicitly states that he knows he'll fail sometimes as a result of what he chooses to do, and considers being able to take those losses a crucial skill. Rather, it's a fear of being unable to move. Failing multiple times while reaching for a goal doesn't bother him; failing multiple times with nothing to show from the process is terrifying. Młynar's first inclination is to fight back against the forces holding him or others down, and he can continue that fight for a good while. However, he can also end up hitting a point where he just crumples, and when that happens it happens thoroughly. When his beloved older brother and sister-in-law mysteriously disappeared while on an extremely mysterious mission for the military, Młynar spent about five years trying to find them, using different approaches and connections. And he got nothing. Which was the main factor in him (almost) completely giving up on everything he valued and becoming an unremarkable, depressed, overworked office drone for a full decade. It took the combined influences of his headstrong remaining family, their friends, and the one friend Młynar had left that he hadn't irrevocably alienated to give him enough of a kick that he committed himself properly to something again.

What is your character's greatest desire? How are they defined by this desire? (100-300 words)

The thing about Młynar is that he has two greatest desires: to make his homeland Kazimierz a more just and equal place, and to protect his family. Kazimierz is, depending on where you are in the country, either a hypercapitalist hellscape or a feudal hellscape, and then there are the horrors inherent to the planet as a whole. There are people who believe that a return to the old rule of noble knights is best for the country, and those who believe in more and bigger capitalism; Młynar realized early on that both options are terrible, actually, and it'd be better for the fate of ordinary people to be decided by ordinary people, with everyone treated equally. He desperately wants for this to be possible, and tried over and over again to advance things just a little bit further towards this goal; not just by fighting, but also by pushing for legislation or getting people access to resources. While he was doing that, though, family tragedy struck, which brought into focus just how much his family means to him. Whatever lengths he'll go to for Kazimierz, he will also go to in order to save or protect his family. Even if he is uhhh...spectacularly bad at some parts of doing that (providing emotional support? in this economy?). There's an extent to which the two of these desires are tied together - how is he supposed to improve Kazimierz without his family (primarily his brother) to back him up? And what does accomplishing that mean if his family isn't there to see it with him?

How will not having memories change your character? What core personality traits, if any, will change? How? (200-300 words)

Due to his noble family's history and his own experiences throughout Kazimierz, Młynar has a lot of opinions and baggage about Being A Nearl and What A Knight Is that strongly influence his behavior. Being stripped of the memories connected to that will boil him down to his core traits without so much mess in the way. He is a person who is deeply angry about the injustices and inequalities of the world, but who also deeply cares about others, especially those who are most vulnerable. He is inclined towards action and will not hesitate to kill someone who he finds to be actively destroying the lives of people with less power than them. He's capable of being intensely critical (to the point where it verges on verbal abuse when he's at his worst) of himself, those close to him, and those he holds immediately responsible for some manner of harm. Yet, from a young age he has been open-minded and happy to side with people who have been shoved out of general society, and when there's no threat of immediate harm to others he's non-judgmental of people and their life choices. His ~~ex-boyfriend~~ remaining friend, Toland, comments that when he was younger Młynar had "a bad habit of seeing the best in people." He never entirely lost that (though he came close), and without specific memories of his disillusionment that trait will come back to the fore. He wants to give people chances to do the right thing, or to just live their lives without interference (including his own). He'll still tend to be stoic and blunt, but will be friendlier and more open about his life (what he remembers of it).

Memories

You have 10 memory points. How will you use them?

Minor memory: I read the newspapers 1 point.
Młynar will retain more detailed knowledge of the regions, political issues, and history of Kazimierz than could be considered general background knowledge. For example, he might remember a particular village and that they used to have a particularly awful lord. He'll remember place names and the general thrust of events, but no specific people and their names. If anything would involve him or the Nearl family (like him being the one who took down that lord), he won't remember that, and instead just have a sense that "then something changed."

Major memory: meet cute 2 points.
Młynar met Toland Cash and his band of outcast bounty hunters out in the middle of nowhere, after Młynar took down a dangerous beast that Toland and co. had been tracking themselves. They made an impression on each other, which became the basis of years spent working together. Młynar will remember the meeting and have a sense it's important, but nothing beyond that.

Minor memory: pursued by a bear 1 point.
Młynar will have an idea of what he did during the last war with Ursus. This includes protecting refugees and getting supplies to isolated areas, as well as fighting. He'll remember the gist of how it went and what he felt, but no further details.

Minor memory: diplomatic incident 1 point.
Młynar's most recent memory will be of his second encounter with the Leithanien ambassador in Dzwonek. The two of them had a not-exactly-argument when Młynar noticed the ambassador, who was secretly visiting the slums, hiding instead of helping an injured child. Młynar will only remember helping the kid and the conversation immediately following that, since the rest of the conversation and all the other context is Plot.

Skill: knight moves 2 points.
Młynar has wide-ranging combat knowledge. He's noted to be skilled enough with all traditional knightly weapons (spear, bow, shield, etc.) to be able to instruct others in their use.

Skill: swordsmanship 2 points.
I'm breaking this out on its own because this is one of the reasons he's fucking op. In-universe he's recognized as absurdly skilled with the sword, even in a cast of characters with a lot of ridiculous swordspeople.

Points remaining: 1