Valentina Durantal

○ Name: Valentina Celeste Durantal ○ Alias: The Ardent Omen ○ Age: 29 ○ Gender: Female ○ Race: Pure Human ○ Affiliation: Military Order of Saint Celestine Vita Supra Mortem (Privately) ○ Alignment: Lawful Evil ○ Marital Status: Single ○ Nationality: Italian ○ Sexual Orientation: Uncorrupted ○ Height: 5’6" ○ Weight: 59kg ○ Hair Colour: White with blonde flecks_______ ○ Eye Colour: Silver-Grey

○ Charismatic: Valentina is a force of personality first and foremost. She is a gifted orator and a natural leader who rose to prominence within her organisation at a young age, able to command respect with only a few words or rouse those around her with her presence alone. In equal parts charming and intimidating, she is an individual that her men love to follow and her enemies hate her for it. The devotion that she inspires is matched only by her faith, and her zealots rejoice when they hear the litanies of the Ardent Omen.

○ Fanatic: Born into a deeply religious family, Valentina was raised with a bible in her hand. She had been heavily indoctrinated by the time she was a young child and became radicalised even before she enlisted with the Order. She is entirely unwavering in her beliefs and truly believes that she is a chosen warrior of God, which can become overbearing to the ignorant and the unenlightened, but she cares little for what they think. There is no task that she will not undertake for her faith, and she expects the same of those that serve alongside her. Having lived through a time when demons and devils walked upon the Earth, she firmly believes that she has already marched into Hell and back.

○ Sadist: To be pure and clean in the eyes of God requires impurities to be burned away or cleansed. As a faithful servant, can Valentina be blamed for taking enjoyment in carrying out this sacred duty and striving to redeem the souls of even the most hopeless sinners? Even still, she takes these habits to a level that even her peers might deem excessive. There is certainly something broken within the heart of this soul, as she lacks any compassion for the suffering of others - including her allies - and will go out of her way to make sure that heathens suffer before they expire. She is aware enough to know how to mask these darker practices, though, and tends to conduct these special ceremonies away from prying eyes.

Prelude - The History of the Durantal Family and Saint Celestine:

Act I - Saint’s Blood

Valentina Celeste Durantal was born in 2098, nearly a hundred years after her ancestor was canonised, into a world vastly different from that which Saint Celestine had known. Her father was a Knight of the Order, and her mother was a former member of the Italian Special Forces. The couple’s first child, Valentina was raised in a military and religious household. She was taught to read Latin as well as Italian and was strictly disciplined from a young age. It was a rough childhood, far from that of an ordinary child, and lay the groundwork for the woman that she would eventually become.

The Durantal family had a reasonable estate within the Vatican City, one that had been awarded to their family many years ago and they took care of it diligently. Valentina was tutored by some of the finest Catholic scholars whom money and influence could buy, and her early days were spent in libraries and lecture halls from the moment it seemed she could understand them. Of course, there was little time for being a child and playing or whatnot. Her parents had high expectations of their beloved daughter, and these were drilled into her just as often as any other lesson. She certainly did not want to let them down, as that would disappoint the Holy Father.

Her youth would not be as defined by these early days of overbearing parents and intense pressure as Valentina had first thought, though.

It was not uncommon for her father to go on extended trips with work, his duties as a Knight keeping him busy, but it was far less common for Valentina and her mother to go with her. They had gone on a few trips around Italy, though they had rarely been longer than a single overnight stay, this one was going to involve spending several months in Africa. The exact details were lost on the little girl, but she did not particularly enjoy her time in the desert. It was hot and dry and her parents were even busier than usual. Then, one night, her parents didn't come home. She fell asleep waiting for them and skipped her nightly prayers for the first time, but when she awoke there was still no sight of them.

Two of her father's colleagues came to see her by the afternoon, Valentina now certainly growing distraught at the whole ordeal, and that was when it dawned on her that her parents were never coming home. A demonic attack, that was what the reports had listed it as, though the little girl was spared the details. She blamed herself for that momentary lapse in her sacred duties, a night spent without the blessing of God, and - though this was hardly the truth - it had a profound effect on her. Others would blame the change on the shock involved in becoming an orphan, though the damage to Valentina's psyche was already done. In a few short weeks, a shock of white had already replaced a streak of the previously blonde hair atop her head and would slowly spread over the next few decades until only the slightest hints of yellow remained. She spent most of her time in secluded study and prayer after that, never wanting to venture beyond the family estate or only leaving to attend mass with her tutors.

Act II - Path to Enlightenment

It did not take long for more malign influences to worm their way into Valentina's life. These were not the type that many in her position had likely been exploited by, those that lusted for money or political power that her family name did carry, but instead they wanted her for her history. Cardinal Gregory was considered something of a radical within various circles around the Vatican, but he was a man of certain charisma and tact that still commanded respect. He began to speak with Valentina when they met as mass, innocuous things at first. Help with her lessons, menial theological debate, or prayer guidance. Then he started taking over some of her tutorings on a more regular basis, replacing her other teachers with ones that were more inclined towards his ways of thinking.

Hardline religious indoctrination followed, and Valentina was all too accepting of it as a naive young girl. The Cardinal taught her about the existence of other realms and all that was wrong with them, of the Hollow and their unending hunger, of the Shinigami and their self-absorbed society of so-called heroes, of the Demon and their failed attempt to conquer the Earth. There was enough logic and facts mixed in with the lies and mistruths that she never really stopped to question it, and soon enough there was little of the innocent child left. In her place was a young warrior of the faith, devoted to her God but also to the Cardinal's teachings. She would stop at nothing to ensure that life triumphed over death.

The Cardinal was not alone in his way of thinking, though, and he soon arranged for Valentina to be sent off to Africa again. His associates had established a base there, away from the prying eyes of the heathens, where they could move on to more than just ideological training. Hidden away in the desert, this 'base' was more like the military encampments she had visited with her father. But now she was a trainee, not just a guest. She learned that this whole operation was part of a group called Vita Supra Mortem, an international organisation that operated outside the bounds of the Catholic Church and instead took decisive action against these spiritual beings that were destroying and corrupting the planet.

By this point, Valentina was well past the point of return and far too passionate about the cause to consider going back. She threw herself wholeheartedly into physical conditioning and worked to hone her body to the peak of its human capabilities so that she could serve VSM. It was a slow and arduous process, one that broke many of her fellow trainees, but she was a daughter of Durantal and she desperately clenched onto her dreams of vengeance against the monsters that had killed her family. It started in that boot camp, when an instructor idly remarked on Valentina's remarkable tenacity by referring to her as "she who grips the tightest". That would quickly become her moniker, the figurehead behind which the other recruits would rally when the days were hardest.

They did not just train for combat against mundane threats, though. After basic training was complete they were routinely sent into the wastelands to fight against actual hollows and other monsters left behind by the widespread destruction of the past century. Many could not keep up with the demands that this put upon their body and soul, but not Ardent Omen. Spewing holy verses like a madwoman, she would leap into the fray without regard for her own safety and triumph through bitter determination if her skill at arms was not enough. Many said that she was a woman possessed, and they were right to do so, but over the course of several years, she turned herself into the perfect soldier. Then, with her training complete, Valentina finally returned to Rome and set about reclaiming her family legacy.

Act III - The Order and the Lady

The Military Order of Saint Celestine was a modernised military unit in the service of the Vatican State and ostensibly under the direct command of the Pope. It had been founded during World War Three and named after Valentina's ancestor, Celestine Durantal, with the purpose of the Order being to protect the Christian world from threats from other realms. Her father had served as a Knight, and many of her paternal relatives had held similar positions during their lives.

Still, many were surprised when Valentina returned from her time away and began to express her desire to join the Order. It was an uncommon thing for a woman to want to do, even as the opinion on such things had begun to change on a global scale, but Ardent Omen was persistent. She had support too, from Cardinal Gregory and his lackeys, and with enough sway amongst the council of cardinals it was not long before the Pope capitulated to their demands and she was sworn in as the first anointed Sister of the Order.

It would not be long before Valentina had her first taste of action though. Demons had been growing bolder in more recent years, expanding their holdings upon the Earth that had never truly been removed since their first invasion. Expansion into Europe had begun with the takeover of London and the collapse of the United Kingdom. It quickly spread to the mainland, and soon most of the continent was under their control as they swept aside resistance and set up new management of these former countries. Italy was no exception to this, and Demons came to finish what they had started nearly a century ago. The entirety of the Order was called up to defend Rome and the Vatican, with Valentina standing at the forefront.

The fighting was fierce, the battles bloody, but even The Ardent Omen could not triumph against such odds. The Order was defeated, its number nearly all wounded or dead, though Valentina was among the lucky few who escaped into exile rather than be captured by the Demons. The entire country fell in short order after that, and the Holy See was forced to abandon its holiest ground for the first time since the birth of the Vatican State. It was a dark time for all of Christendom, the supreme pontiff could no longer speak ex-cathedra as he could now only claim to be the Bishop of Rome on paper, but it only pushed Valentina further into her beliefs.

Act IV - Divinity Beckons

The doctrine of VSM had been preparing her for the day when the forces of Hell sought to turn the Earth to cinder, but how could Valentina be expected to stand against them alone? Her strength was indomitable when compared to her peers, but it still paled in comparison to those who stood against her. The answer would eventually be presented to her by Cardinal Gregory, the old hand had many more contacts than just those within VSM and referred her to a unique research program that was receiving some interest in darker circles. A project that involved complex genetic manipulation to physically and spiritually enhance humans. There was more the Cardinal did not share, but the prospect was enticing enough that Valentina agreed to undergo the procedure with little thought. She trusted her mentor and sponsor, so if God required her to take this burden then she would bear it upon her shoulders like a formidable titan of mythology.

Had she known exactly what they were going to do to her, perhaps even Valentina's faith might have been shaken. But, by design, she remained blissfully ignorant. To defeat these monsters from other realms, the thinking was that one needed to dance across that threshold too. So, unwittingly, The Ardent Omen became a little closer to that which she sought to destroy. The lead scientists of the project had studied parts of several Arrancar corpses that they had managed to source at great cost. Determine patterns within their bodies that they believed could be replicated in a human of suitable power and tolerance. Several had already tried and failed to survive the procedure before Valentina, but she remained adamant in her faith. She was not one to lay down and relinquish control. Instead, she grabbed it with both hands and wrested what power they had and made it her own.

The Valentina who left the facility after several exhausting months was a far cry from the woman who had entered. There was a darkness to her radiant gaze that spoke of the trials she had endured, a haughtiness to her cadence that made her speech more of a series of commands, and a weight to her stride that gave each step echo with divine purpose. Father Gregor explained to her that the scientists had made her into a manifestation of Saint Celestine, a lie that Valentina all too readily accepted, and encouraged her to use the unnatural abilities that had been given during the process.

The Ardent Omen was now something more than a moniker or an ideal. Valentina was capable of feats that no other knight could compete with, she could face down Demons and Hollows on equal footing and win. But, more than that, she could inspire her comrades to do the same. Her presence alone galvanised other knights from the Order, and amplified their abilities to bridge some of that gap between them and the spiritually enhanced, and soon enough they were ready to consider taking back their homeland. Acting independently was too foolhardy, so the Pope and his knights bided their time until finally all the world broke out in chaos. Then, at the crux of the Fourth World War, the Pope declared the first crusade in over five hundred years.

Act V - Heaven Sent

It was not a feat that they ever could have attempted if they stood alone, so high were the odds stacked against the faithful, but they were not alone. Funding came in from many organisations aligned with the forces of good - chief amongst them the Duvalier Group, which provided the exiled State with the mercenaries and logistics that they needed to support their efforts. The vast corporate empire was intending to use this thinly veiled pretence as an excuse to launch an altogether more direct takeover of the country.

New Age Crusaders

Reclaiming God's Kingdom




○ The Ardent Blade: Said to be the same blade that Saint Celestine wielded when he made his last stand on the steps of the Basilica during the Demonic Sack of Rome. A priceless holy relic, it was 'returned' to the Papacy by Claudia Duvalier during the reclamation of Italy and in turn bestowed upon Valentina when she was appointed as Grandmaster of the Order later that year. Made of Damascus steel and reinforced with small quantities of Sekkiseki, the weapon is uniquely effective against spiritual beings whilst also being perfectly balanced for Valentina to wield almost effortlessly in combat. The unique alloy of the metal, combined with the distinctive mottling, gives it the illusion of being wreathed in silver flames when swung.

○ Grand Master of the Order of Saint Celestine: Founded during the Third World War at the behest of Pope Leo XIV, the Military Order of Saint Celestine is an Order of Knights in service to the Papacy and under the direct protection of the Pope that serves as a military arm of the Vatican specifically to combat spiritual threats. Valentina was named the Order's thirteenth Grand Master after the Liberation of the Vatican City in 2121 and has seen to the gradual expansion of the Order ever since her appointment. She is able to call upon the full might of the Order, should it be required, and can reasonably assume to have access to any and all equipment that would be at the disposal of a modern military unit funded by the Holy See. Alongside the Ardent Blade - detailed above, the Knights of Saint Celestine have several other holy relics in their arsenal though these are not listed here and would have to be individually defined to serve any greater purpose than simply being a relic.

○ Vita Supra Mortem: A secretive cult of radical zealots sworn to the sole purpose of reclaiming Earth for the living over the dead, they are a global terrorist organisation that operates primarily to thwart the efforts of both Shadow Fall remnants and the Gotei United. Valentina was indoctrinated into the sect as a child after her parents were killed in a demonic attack and she has remained faithful ever since. She holds a high rank within VSM and has strategically recruited many members of the Order of Saint Celestine to the cause, and those are considered her most devout followers. Though much more restrictive on resources than her public position, Valentina has access to black-market technologies through VSM and is provided with private funding and illicit resources from other channels using this avenue. Primarily, this is done by the Duvalier Group.




○ Unique Spiritual Energy: Though she has been brainwashed to believe that her spiritual powers are due to her being a direct descendant of a saint, Valentina is in actuality a heavily modified Human soul created by experimental procedures as an early precursor of the Ovide series - prior to the research being acquired by the Duvalier Group. Though she is a descendant of Saint Celestine, this is merely a cover that was conveniently used to explain away her incredible special powers and inhuman properties to the Holy See.

○ Daughter of the Crusade: Born into a military family, Valentina quickly decided that she wanted to follow in her parent’s footsteps and enlist in the military herself. She began physical training at a young age and showed exceptional talent, though she did not reach the condition she is in today on solely her natural abilities. Her powers have made her into more than just a soldier, she is faster, stronger, and more durable than any mundane human could ever hope to achieve and she has hardened these skills across the battlefields of the Fourth World War and beyond. Demons, Hollows, Arrancar, all and more have fallen before the Ardent Omen and her holy blade. Though relatively young, she is a veteran amongst the Order and has proven herself as their leader not just on political merit.

Though trained and capable in most modern weapons, the battle against the spirits is often decided at close quarters. Valentina is an expert swordswoman, able to effortlessly weave complex techniques into her duels to allow her any small advantage whilst also keeping her defences formidable. There are few who have ever beaten her in single combat, and she has a reputation to uphold as one of the finest warriors in Papal service. Though she does not follow a particular school of swordsmanship as many traditional warriors might, her own style is one that she has perfected and is not to be easily underestimated.

○ Battle Litanies: Valentina is a shrewd fighter but also a gifted commander, able to read the ebb and flow of battle as if it were a hymn sheet. She will often accompany her strikes with tactful quotes from holy texts that serve to embolden and guide her and her allies. In the presence of The Ardent Omen, it is said that every member of the Order will fight as if they had the might of five men if they can hear her zealous chanting.

In truth, Valentina is using her formidable spiritual power to amplify that of those around her to push them to achieve even greater feats or endure greater hardships. Her allies in battle are so inspired by her that they can amplify one of their general skills by a single level, up to Elite - after which point they can still receive a considerable boost. This buff will last for up to four posts, provided that Valentina remains in combat and reciting her scriptures, and can concurrently affect one character for each level of Power Control that she has above untrained - currently four. After being affected in this way, a character cannot again receive this boost for the remainder of the thread as their energy can only support so much additional strain.

○ Sonus: A form of high-speed movement akin to the high-speed movement techniques of other races, Valentina can cross a battlefield in an instant to appear before her foes. The key distinction of Sonus is that, instead of a traditional static noise that Sonido produces, it emits an angelic chord that sounds akin to a note from a church organ. Though softer upon the ears, the ability is no less potent and can match the equivalent abilities of other races at a similar skill to her Power Control.

○ Sacri Sanguinis: Tracing her lineage directly back to Celestine, the Saint of Rome, Valentina was born of the holy blood though is the first of her line to manifest any particularly angelic properties. She was once a perfectly normal girl, but the death of her parents when she was still young caused her to have an awakening of sorts. Her once muted locks of dull blonde hair have since turned almost entirely white, her warm blue eyes have faded into a paler and more distant state, and her expressions and mannerisms are noticeably unnatural if focused upon intently.

Beyond this visual strangeness, though, Valentina’s spiritual awakening and the experiments she has endured have given her special physiology befitting of this legacy. Her body is naturally more resilient to harm, but it is also able to repair itself at alarming speeds. Wounds that might be fatal to others can be healed in the blink of an eye, leaving behind only the shimmering spilt blood of the Ardent Omen as a record that she was ever injured. Outside of damage to the brain or vital organs, or massive widespread wounds, there is little that has been able to stop her for more than a stride. And even those greater blows can be healed if given time to rest and recuperate. War is a theatre in which such survivability can and has been put to the test, and it was not uncommon for The Ardent Omen to be the sole survivor of particularly dangerous missions. For as long as there is a divine will keeping her alive, Valentina believes that she simply will not die.

○ Divine Nails: Another facet of Valentina’s spiritual powers is the ability to manipulate objects into tools that she can use to support her already formidable abilities in combat. By focusing on a mundane object in her hands, she can imbue it with her powers to reshape and consecrate it into a holy weapon that she can then control mentally for a short period of time. Commonly, she uses this to turn handheld items into large nails that can then be launched at an opponent to pin them down or to simply skewer them as she desires.

Scaling with her Mediumship, Valentina is capable of controlling up to four Divine Nails at any one time. She can control these precisely as long as she can see them, though can only create one per post. The durability of these nails scales with her Mediumship, making them far more potent than regular weapons, though they can be destroyed and Valentina will then need to find new objects to replace them with.

A greater use of this power is the ability to warp the environment itself, though her precise control of this manipulation is limited to simply forming and retracting spikes. By spending a post primarily focusing upon an area either around her or in a specific direction, Valentina can cause a wave of barbed spikes and nails to erupt from the ground or walls and attempt to impale those poor souls caught within the ability. This can encompass an area roughly the size of a large building or less and lasts for up to four posts. During the time that it is active, Valentina can cause the spikes to temporarily recede and prolong the duration of the ability only to later trigger them to burst forth again with the remaining post duration.

○ Unshakeable Faith: Valentina was not born to be a chosen warrior of God, but life found a way to ensure that she walked that path. Since then, she has carried herself with an air of authority and self-assuredness that goes beyond simple belief into something akin to a grand delusion. This state of mind is as much of a curse as it is a blessing, providing her with a singleminded desire to see her goals fulfilled whilst also blinding her too much of the spiritual world that lies beyond her own. She is unrelenting in her role as The Ardent Omen, the hammer that falls upon every nail, to the point of irrationality and this will help or hinder her in overcoming mental barriers as appropriate. Those things that can be rationalised against her narrow worldview will often cause greater stress, whilst an incompatible notion might simply be discarded instead.




» Sacred Release Appearance: UPDATE Calling upon the divine blood of her ancestor, Valentina takes on a form that embodies her holiest and most angelic aspects. Her entire body begins to glow, emitting an austere white light that offers no warmth, as her eyes change from pale blue to a brilliant silver that seems to pierce straight through anything that falls under her gaze.

» Release Phrase: Bask in Celestial Majesty

» Sacred Release Abilities: Whilst in her Sacred Release, Valentina’s power and energy levels are amplified based on her Power Control skill. This is mechanically comparable to the scale of an Arrancar’s Resurreccion, and shares several attributes with this type of release state, though the exact energy signature would be noticeably different. Unlike an Arrancar, her appearance does not necessarily become more animalistic, but it does take a form closer to her true intentions and seeks to fulfil her innate desire to bring others to heel under her enlightened boots.

Hairpin Crucifixion: Whilst in her Sacred Release, Valentina’s natural abilities are boosted in effectiveness due to the increased power that she wields. Her Divine Nails are further amplified during this period and become much more dangerous than in her base state. The speed at which they can travel is rapidly amplified, and multiple can be created within the space of a single post - though still limited to four concurrently. Each Nail can also be verbally compelled to rapidly expel the energy stored within it, detonating in a spiritual explosion as the object reverts to its base state. Though the range of this is small, roughly a metre in diameter, the density of the energy being released can make it devastating to spiritual beings hit by it and can tear apart those without sufficient protection. This can be done at any point provided that Valentina is conscious, even if the nail is embedded in an opponent or other object, and multiple nails can be detonated at the same time should she desire it. The last note that many monsters hear is the whistle of The Ardent Omen.

Angelic Manifestation: An enhanced aspect of the Sonus, whilst her Sacred Release is active Valentina can create afterimages of herself after using a Sonus to move. Though it is only an apparition, the image is capable of moving for a few moments before dispersing and appears to emit a noise that resonates with the sound of a Sonus. This can add to the disorienting factor of the technique, and further confuse her opponents.

A Nail For Every Heathen: UPDATE A living saint, a soul temporarily returned from heaven - at least in the eyes of those who believe in her, Valentina's presence alone is one of unparalleled intensity. When she speaks, it is with a divine cadence, and the very ground that she floats above is consecrated by simply being near her. Whilst within a radius defined by the maximum reach of her Spirit Class, Valentina can manipulate her environment to cause giant nails to rise from this hallowed ground and impale her enemies ready for righteous justice.

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General Skills

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High-Spec Human Skills

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Will Skills

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