Merrik Dyrn 'Shade'

Full Name: Merrik Dyrn 'Shade'
Gender: Male
Age: 22
Race: Human
Birthplace: Old Phoenix
Position: Wraith Company Leader

Personality: (40) Since the opening of the gates, Merrik has changed greatly. He used to be stoic and disciplinarian. The military was his life, and he didn't bother with much outside of it. But during the First Battle of Las Vegas, he developed a deeper care for those around him, a sort of appreciation for others' lives that was never present during the war. Through the Second Battle of Las Vegas, he grew close personal connections with the rest of Wraith Company, and began to see himself as a guardian rather than a killer. While many ran from the demons when the gates opened, Merrik preferred fighting them, he felt like it gave him a chance to redeem himself for his past.

Abilities: (30) Merrik is an exceptional soldier, even without the Odin, he is a formidable opponent to any human, or even weak angels and demons. He his a good shot and has fantastic reflexes as well as the ability to take in the field and create a strategy to match using the resources at hand. His true potential however, is when he is piloting his Odin MKII. The advanced battle armor heightens his senses, increases his strength and grants him the ability of flight with it's Toroy Mass Accelerator flight engines. The suit is also loaded down with a wide assortment of weapons and combat systems that can turn the tide of a battle, or fight against a spiritual being.

Appearance: (40) Merrik stands at 6' 2” and has a muscular build, weighing in at 200 lbs. He has light skin and a peculiar feature. His mid-length hair is paper white, and his eyes are a near colorless gray, as if he were blind. This is not the way that he has always been however. The Odin is a bulky mechanical framework that fits over Merrik's body. It has thick forearms that are mounted with an assortment of weapons, and mechanically assisted joints to assist in supporting the weight. It has two mass accelerator engines on the back with three control fins hanging off of the back.

History: (100) Merrik was born into a military family. Both of his parents served in the armed forces, and they raised him to be a soldier, allowing him to join the military at age 16. The regular age requirement was lowered in order to allow for extra personel during the 3rd Asiatic war. During his initial testing in basic training, the instructors found Merrik to have hightened reflexes, this was noted. Later, when he also displayed initiative and decisiveness in squad training courses, the instructors recommended him as a recruit for the fledgling Warhawk Aerial Assault Unit. Merrik was told that he was being recruited for a classified project, and was brought to the testing sight for the Odin MKII Aerial Assault Frame. He was set in a team of three members. Merrik quickly assertained the position of squad leader, with little contest from his piers.

The assembled units of Warhawk First Company were sent on hundreds of high profile missions for two years of the 3rd Asiatic war, succeeding in nearly every case. The Odin Frame was a revolution in military technology, and later, would save countless lives in the First and Second Battles of Las Vegas. However during the waning months of the 3rd Asiatic war, the Warhawks were withdrawn from combat for an undisclosed reason. The company arrived at their destination, a quarantine zone within Las Vegas known as 'The Storm Wall'. It was a system of roadblocks, checkpoints and guard towers that surrounded the Vegas Strip. After entering The Storm Wall, the Warhawks were told why they were brought there.

Approximately two weeks ago, civilians began reporting dead bodies coming to life and attacking them. At first, the government took no notice, but as reports of attacks increased, the military was finally dispatched to the scene. They had traced the attacks and found that most of them occured in a wide arc around the Vegas Strip. As such, the strip was quarentined and put under investigation. Two days before the Warhawks arrived, strange waves of energy were detected eminating from the center of the strip. The military assumed that this was the cause of the attacks, and set guards to watch it. They were all killed in a coordinated attack by the 'gouls'. For that reason, the Warhawks were restationed to deal with the threat, and contain the infestation.

The Warhawks were able to maintain some semblence of control over the situation, but unless the bodies were burned, they seemed to come back to life again anywhere between a few days and a few hours. This was the First Battle of Las Vegas. Little did any of the humans present know however, but the 'unidentified energy source' was a hellgate, waiting to snap open. When that happened, a tide of unholy beings flowed forth from the gate, overrunning the soldiers around the gate that weren't instantly killed, or turned traitor. The warhawks scrambled to mobalize and counterattack. They managed to combat the demons with some newfound power lurking within them. They drove the demonic hordes back into the gate after a fierce battle utalizing the Odin frames. Though the battle left the Warhawk Company Crippled. Many of their members had either fallen in battle, been pulled into the gate when it sealed shut, or were scattered across the city with little communications surrounded by gouls.

But even after the gate closed, it's power remained, calling gouls and demons to find it and kill those who held it shut. The remaining Warhawks quickly began to fortify the Storm Wall with the help of civilians and military personel that they had rescued. The remnants of the Warhawks, along with more elite personel that were located and rescued, renamed themselves Wraith Company. The vengeful ghosts of the humanity. Small excursions outside of the Wall by one or two Wraiths were not uncommon, and rescued many stragglers trapped outside. Now, after a long siege, the Storm Wall is on the cusp of failure, and the Wraiths have changed their signal, from one that promises safety, to one that warns of the sure collapse of a former safe zone. Warning those that pass to steer clear of the former beacon of hope. So far, the barriers hold. But against the resurgence of demons, how long can they last?