Redgrave D. Zelgadis

"Congratulations. Time has been wasted. Your future squandered. You could have spent your evening plowing a wench at the next port into a climactic finish. Instead? You are here. On your knees. And I am about to have a climactic finish. With my sword, down your throat." I say to the fledgling warrior. I then gaze into his eyes filled terror and sigh. "What say you buy me a drink? Weave for me the story of why. How was this all going to play out for you? I am very interested to hear this tale. Who knows? If it entertains, I might not kill you."

- Zelgadis, making a new friend.

Redgrave S. Zelgadis (レッドグレブ S. ゼルガディス, Reddogurabu S. Zerugadisu), a man who has explored the four oceans blue, walked through its trenches and climbed its highest mountains. He is an explorer, ever in search of new frontiers, driven by an insatiable wanderlust. In recent years he has become a rather famous cartographer, making a fortune authoring maps to long forgotten treasures, mapping out ruins, undersea caverns and dungeons for those bold enough to brave these dangers. The ones that survive find fortune beyond their wildest dreams, and rise to become monarchs of their own. For this Redgrave affectionately holds the epithet of Kingmaker (キングメーカ, Kingumeeka).

Appearance
Reputation is a lot like armor; it is the first thing on a person that is seen, and depending on its quality can reveal every weakness there is about the individual or show to the world an indestructible master of war. But like any style of dress each article of clothing tells only part of the story. Beneath crimson locks that hang as freely as his spirit, lie deep-set rust colored eyes on the face of a warrior. Chiseled by war his is a face one would call ruggedly handsome, the patchwork of scars that criss-cross his features do little to detract from his charisma, rather they give presence to it. His piercing gaze reflect the kind of warmth one might find in the depths of a scorching sun, or the ferocity of a beast on the hunt. A long ridged nose, high cheekbones and broad jaw-line speak of an aristocratic ancestry, perhaps the bastard of a ?

Concealed by a bellowing black-red mantle that hangs heavy on his shoulders, that flutters in the wind, Zelgadis's movements are as carefully precise as they are light and silent like a predator stalking its prey. Hidden by loose but comfortable weather worn white robes is a rippling mass of tight sinewy muscle. Lithe and taut, his strength is deceptive, but speed and agility are his calling. His arms are wrapped in a similar fabric though between the folds hint of scars of ages past. Calloused hands linger over the hilt of a broadsword that hangs at his side bound by nothing more than a simple cord rope. A gold hexagonal pattern with twin protruding cross-guards beguile the weapons lethality and masterful make, for the blade is drenched in the blood of thousands. It is a weapon that has seen decades of battle, and if one didn't know any better, the overwhelming miasma of murderous intent that seems to accompany Zelgadis may very well be radiating from the blade instead. Only those who walk with death would wield such an instrument.

Though he has made recent fame through his ability to forge Kings from beggars, there was a time when Zelgadis battle across the four oceans blue for the epithet of "Greatest Swordsman in the World". But as the world gutters towards cold entropy, so too does such fleeting and meaningless titles. Still, his reputation gives those who wish to contest his past glories a moment of pause. He is man not to be trifled with. If recent rumor has any credibility then he is associated with a rising undersea kingdom, run by nightmarish monsters. Zelgadis goes where he pleases and little is put in his path, and for good reason. Powerful enough to be a threat, but largely inactive in the grand scheme of things, the World Government and the reigning pirates simply accommodate whenever necessary.

Synopsis

 * Hearts of Stone --- In progress
 * Sword Zen --- In progress

Swordsmanship
In this cutthroat world, the worth of any living thing can be determined only by one arbiter --- that thing's ability to exist, to go on existing, and to remake existence to suit its survival. Zelgadis is as much a student of this philosophy as he is its master. In an age where piracy had reached its zenith and has since only steadily reached even greater heights, the path of the sword was inevitable. In his youth he pitted his sword against some of the most bloodthirsty, cunning and skilled swordsman of his era. From battle to war, through struggle towards conquest, Zelgadis became a swordsman worthy of worldly recognition, as together with his blade Nástrǫnd (Corpse Shore) began to establish legendary status and prestige. The greatest of his strengths as a swordsman lay in what Zelgadis refers to as, The Creators Eyes; a superhuman analytical skill developed over a lifetime of battle. Born from his natural curiosity and propensity to inquiry about the history and mind behind the warriors he felled, he developed the ability to see their sword skills as they would.

This enabled him to perceive a technique and grasp its inner workings through analysis of the swordsman wielding it. To Zelgadis, if he see's a technique once, he understands it. To witness it a second time, he then masters it. Rather than replicate the techniques he has seen, he prefers to deconstruct them even further and instead incorporate the philosophy behind them into his overall swordsmanship, thereby evolving his techniques in a way others who would squander this technique could not. For he approaches swordsmanship as one would any tool; techniques tailored and created to deal with specific and often general threats, for no one technique should be a hammer and every obstacle a nail. This mindset is what has made him so formidable, for his swordsmanship is capable of evolving even in the midst of battle. He adapts himself according to his adversary and his techniques reflect the opponent he faces. Almost as if, he has created an arsenal specifically to strike at their weaknesses and capitalize on his strengths.

Zelgadis delineates his swordsmanship into three distinct styles of combat, each a reflection of the adversary he is to defeat. When one faces against the unstoppable savage onslaught of nature's most fearsome beasts, he wields the Shishi no Tenkyou (獣の癲狂, Madness of the Hunted Beast). An aggressive, agile sword style that maximizes his bodily movements to deliver the most devastating strikes against the behemoths that populate the world. When he stands against his fellow man, and steel meets steel he unleashes Mazen: Kishin no Toki (禅魔:鬼神の鯨波, Demon Meditation: Raging Waves of the Ogre God); highly precise, technical swordsmanship reminiscent of the infamous iaijutsu and other such styles found in Wano. Lastly for the greatest most powerful adversary he has ever faced in his life, mother nature herself, he wields the dreaded Namikaze Gatatsu no Satsu (波風が立つの, Murder of Wind and Waves That Tremble and Shake), sword skills so powerful as to pit one natural disaster as a counter towards another.

The Sword of the Beast
Shishi no Tenkyou (獣の癲狂, Madness of the Hunted Beast): Look towards nature's mightiest predators if you wish to know how a true monster kills. Harness the cold savagery and wild instinct of the beast. Embody it. But don't let it consume you. Embrace the fury, let the swelling madness honed over countless battles guide you. When your mind becomes the fang, and your sword becomes the claw, only then will you know the madness-of-the-hunted-beast. To battle the beasts in the world, Zelgadis became one himself. He fights with the wild ferocity of a predator. Smashing, crushing and tearing apart till nothing is left. Technique has no place here. Only strength. When he moves it is with preternatural grace. He leaves no trace, not a ripple in water, it is the alacrity of a snake. As he strikes, brute strength pure and simple is his means. Overwhelming force crashing against the beast, a barrage of whirring steel like a gnashing maw. He leaps and leaps around his prey, turning, spinning, gathering momentum and transforming bodily motion into raw power. His sword is cunning, snapping at weak points until it finds crimson purchase. The beast falls. The madness remains.


 * Geikotsu Heki (鯨骨劈, Whale Bone Piercer):


 * Oozora Garyuu (大空毒牙, Great Sky Dragon Fang):


 * Ryuuketsuzata Houkou (流血沙汰咆哮, Bloodshed Howl):

The Sword of the Demon
Mazen: Kishin no Toki (禅魔:鬼神の鯨波, Demon Meditation: Raging Waves of the Ogre God): Within you is a fierce demon. Its voracious appetite for death is insatiable. War is its calling, battle its feast, slaughter its nature. Meditate on this. Can you hear its fury? Can you hear its howl? Do you feel the pulse of blood pounding within you as it beats against its cage? Release it. Consecrate yourself through carnage. Wield your anger like flickering steel. There is a time for hatred, and knowing when to use it and why will be your greatest struggle. Once you master this, you will become your demon. You will become a god. For the greatest foe you shall ever face is the human before you. To defeat him, you must be transcend him. His is a cunning mind, one whose skills have been sharpened by war, and polished through gruelling training. He carries steel in his hands, and he shall endeavor to defeat you through whatever means possible to him. Know him. As you would know yourself. Deduce his mind, peer at the biography that is his body. His training is known to you. Where he lacks power, where he stumbles in speed, his hand wields mighty techniques. But his training betrays him. If he is cautious, draw him in near. If he wades forward, put him back on his step. The stances he has ingrained; their steps and strides, their strikes and counters are open to you. Defeat them. Deflect his blows with precision. Guide him towards his own inviolable destiny - death. Step where he trips. Strike where he falters. Unsheathe your blade. Release the demon inside you. Let its great wave become a tsunami to drown your foes in woe. When the battle is done, sheath that hatred. Let it slumber, and grow. To kill a man you do not cut his flesh but his heart.


 * Mazen: Kishin no Wazamono (禅魔:鬼神の業物, Demon Meditation: Sharp Sword of the Ogre God): Clear your mind. Empty yourself of petty, frivolous thoughts. Peel away your weakness and expose the terrible truth within. Gaze into the fury. Guide your hatred, shape it into a sword like death. Cut apart the darkness blinding your eyes, carve open a veil to the heart of your enemy. Do you see him now? Look upon his form, see how life has sculpted him. Watch his movements. Analyze their meaning. The answer is simple isn't it? See how he coils? You know how he will move and when he will strike. His art is an open book and you its reader. Now tear apart its pages and burn the rest. Another comes before you, feast of him.


 * Mazen: Kokuto no Kishin (禅魔:鬼神の黒刀, Demon Meditation: Black Blade of the Ogre God):


 * Mazen: Kishin no Ōmagatoki (禅魔:鬼神の大禍時, Demon Meditation: Ogre Gods Time of Great Calamity):


 * Mazen: Kishin no Hyakki Yagyō (禅魔:鬼神の百鬼夜行, Demon Meditation: Ogre God's Parade of One Hundred Demons):

The Sword of the Storm
Namikaze Gatatsu no Satsu (波風が立つの, Murder of Wind and Waves That Tremble and Shake): Churning seas seek to drown you. Torrential winds smash against your defenses, heedless of your cries. The cacophony of thundering lightning briefly illuminates the hellish storm surrounding you. How will you contend against these forces? Will you buckle beneath the towering tsunami? Bend before the relentless hurricane? Or will you draw steel and cut a path through heaven itself towards victory? You yourself are a conduit. Within you lies colors of power not yet tapped. Draw from them. Are you blinded by the sheer brilliance of those scintillating lights? You should be, but you have no need for eyes, they are a crutch. Feel the presence of nature's might around you. Can you sense its weakness? The architecture of its god-power is not without flaw. Shape your ambition until it resembles the keen edge of a sword. Now cut apart the maelstrom, drive your blade through its heart, kill it as you would any man or beast. The raging storm stutters, the winds screech in agony and the crashing waves still. Open your eyes, can you see it? How the world shrinks back in terror? You are a force of unto itself. You are the storm.


 * God-Storm Smasher (ゴッド-ストーム スマッシャ, Goddo-Sutoumu Sumassha):


 * Hurricane Breaker (ハリケーン ブレーカー, Harikeen Bureekaa):


 * Ocean Drinker (オーシャン ドリンカー, Oushan Dorinkaa):


 * Heaven Divider (ヘベン ディバイダー, Heben Deibaidaa):


 * World Eater (ワールド イータ, Waarudo Iita):

Devil Fruit
The Hebi Hebi no Mi, Model: Gorgon is a Mythical Zoan-type Devil Fruit, an incredibly rare and immensely powerful Devil Fruit. If his own accounts are to believed, he uncovered the fruit whilst exploring an unexplored cavern leagues beneath the sea. In a vast cavern illuminated by green black bio-luminescent light from the surrounding plant life, a single fruit hung in the air. But at its base, surrounding the plant lay a veritable throne of corpses. Thick vines sprouted from the bodies which wormed their way upward forming the stem of the fruit; a purple so deep it was almost black. Curiosity driven by hunger bade him to ignore the gruesome warning and so he plucked the fruit, devouring the unusually sweet tasting thing, so sweet as to be nauseous. He collapsed, his body writhing in agony as the fruit did its work, and he became a Human Gorgon.



Redgrave's Sword
Nastrond: The Dreaded Shore of Devoured Corpses (恐岸 の噛む亡骸, Kyōgan no Kamu Nakigara):

Marco the Phoenix
Twenty years ago Redgrave became the first living Human Gorgon. Twenty years ago, his body ceased to age. Twenty years when his body invigorated by the fruit defeated nature's most patient warrior - time. It is said that consumption of a Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit grants the wielder powers that of the mystical creature in question, that they transcend their humanity. To his horror, these tales were no mere legend, but truth. Among the myths and legends exists creatures possessed by eternity of life, immortal in the face of time. The Gorgon is such a being, and like its legend entails, Zelgadis too bears this blessing|curse. A little over ten years ago Zelgadis by chance met the long thought dead Marco the Phoenix.

He too had consumed a mythical devil fruit, and was granted the all-powerful regeneration of the mighty avian of fire and rebirth. He had not aged a day, still as young as when he fought together with his old Captain Whitebeard. But immortality is not all it seems. To watch the very world you grew up in, and live through die in the wake of another world, with different people over the unending years is a burden too much to bear. So Marco retreated. By happenstance they met. They dine together from time to time. Afterall, immortals have only each as bedfellows when everything around them ends. Marco keeps an eye on him, he is the closest thing he'll have to a constant in his life, and the two have bonded as brothers, despite their differences.