Rise/Characters

The Universe of Rise has a large and usual cast of characters. These are just some of them.

Axel's Gang
Our Heroes. Most of the time.


 * Badass Crew: Eventually became this.
 * Fire-Forged Friends: By the  most of them became this.
 * Ninja Pirate Zombie Robot: A wolfman, a princess, a  alcoholic, a communist, a failed poet and more. Almost impressive for them to be taken seriously.
 * Ragtag Bunch of Misfits: It's hard to believe there is actual action and no infighting between them.
 * Hard to believe because infighting is a well documented past time for the cast. For as far as they've come lately, with all the narcissism, antagonism and ideological conflicts that one's come to expect out of such an eclectic group of characters, getting them to seriously agree on things outside the bigger picture happens once in a blue moon.
 * Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: A common problem of the team.
 * True Companions

Axel Percival Erachin
"Something something Axel said."

Everyday Space Cowboy and former heir to the wealthy Erachin Industries corporation. He left the life of comfort at a young age to escape his boredom, and has worked as a mercenary ever since.


 * Embarrassing Middle Name
 * Nice Hat
 * Space Cowboy

Haken Wastia
A failed poet who was forced into mercenary work.


 * And Zoidberg: Only Guild seems to genuinely likes him, though he doesn't really know why.
 * Berserk Button: Do not ever try to harm Guild in a way or another.
 * Butt Monkey: If something bad is happening, chances are Haken's at the end of it.
 * Fish Out of Water: He's lost in a desert in comparison.
 * Joke Character: Started out as this. Became much more important afterward, but he was still himself.
 * Took a Level In Badass: While minor, Haken going from the girly screams to says a lot.
 * The Woobie: So much.

Guildenstern
Haken's self-aware mech.


 * Big Damn Heroes: Saved Krystal and Clyde from Jackal cyborgs on Villa.
 * Blade Below the Shoulder:
 * Grievous Harm with a Body: With his own severed leg. Justified, he's a machine so he can be repaired.
 * Humongous Mecha: While not the biggest, he's still huge compared to humans.
 * The Big Guy: Compared to Humans. Otherwise he's very fast.
 * Lightning Bruiser:

Kanade Orihara
A Kitsune League princess. She has a huge superioty complex.


 * Rich Bitch
 * Royals Who Actually Do Something: Forced to. She fled her home and now works as a mercenary.

Haruka Yoshimitsu

 * Eyepatch of Power: Complete with augmented reality vision.
 * Stripperiffic
 * The Alcoholic

Yvonne Dafoe

 * BFG:  learned about it quite fast.

Abraham Keyes

 * Badass in Distress
 * Grievous Harm with a Body: His specialty.
 * Heartbroken Badass: He is searching the galaxy for his wife.
 * I Need a Freaking Drink: His catchphrase.
 * The Alcoholic
 * The Woobie

Gyver Edged

 * Big Badass Wolf
 * Casual Danger Dialogue: He's no stranger to them.
 * Interspecies Romance: He loves women of all kind.

Ghost Rider

 * Carry a Big Stick: His power mace. The GhostRidden has one too.
 * Meaningful Name
 * Shotguns Are Just Better
 * The Stoic
 * Shotguns Are Just Better
 * The Stoic
 * The Stoic

Krystal Desmond

 * Transforming Mecha: Her HMV the Dragon turns into... a Dragon.
 * Transforming Mecha: Her HMV the Dragon turns into... a Dragon.

Clyde Mc Connelly
A veteran mercenary.
 * Clueless Chick Magnet: To
 * Ineffectual Loner: Was one of these, until he discovered The Power of Friendship. He has since slowly begun opening up, albeit at a very slow rate.
 * Old Soldier: While being in his mid-thirties, he's quite older than the rest of the crew, and already took on a fatherly figure.
 * Private Military Contractors: Used to work for one, until it's collapse, leading him to the world of freelancers.
 * The Stoic: Due to his age and experience, he is considerably set apart from his comrades.
 * Real Men Wear Pink: He's the hardened badass of the team. And he can bake delicious cookies. Justified in that reading books about such mundane activities helped him to get out of shell-shocked state.
 * Walking Tank: His mech.

Aerion Freeman

 * Meaningful Name: The Jawhen species was put into slavery, he's one of the fee who fled.

Fredasdlk'agabb'dadtytdf'

 * Pint-Sized Powerhouse
 * Colon Cancer
 * The Chew Toy: A litteral case though.

Lara Rymond

 * My Greatest Failure:
 * My Greatest Failure:

Rex Ryoken

 * Killed Off for Real

Tara Bei Fong

 * Little Miss Badass: She's sixteen, and she led a worker revolution.
 * Expy: take a wild guess.

Max Enkaria

 * We Hardly Knew Ye

Horton:

 * We Hardly Knew Ye

Ray's Mercenaries
Archenemies of Axel's gang. Though not the most powerful group out there, they are the Gang's most personal enemies.

Earl James
""Are you in for that last fight, or do I have the honor to spray their blood alone ?""

The leader of the Hellknights. A very dangerous man with a definite taste for blood.


 * Anti-Villain: He planned his escape from the Hell mostly to save the people he considered his family. The reason he is still fighting is for them.
 * Bare-Fisted Monk: His training for twenty years were almost exclusively this.
 * Blood Knight: While he rarely seeks a fight, he enjoys them.
 * Complete Monster: Played with. He was ready to blow up a hospital with children, as noted by Ray, in order to gain information. However, he would never sought useless casualties.
 * Even Evil Has Standards: He calls out Largo for using a human shield. He also never spill the blood of someone unarmed, but this doesn't mean he won't kill said unarmed person.
 * Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: Subverted. He does understand, but he knows he can't do it.
 * Gray and Black Morality: His time in the Hell left him with a strange vision of life.
 * Hero of Another Story: One that took twenty years and has an enormous death toll.
 * Knife Nut: To unsettling levels. Justified as he spent twenty years in the Hell training with knives almost exclusively. Ray even notes he's probably better with them than him.
 * Like a Badass Out of Hell: Almost literal example. He escaped from the Hell by fighting his way out.
 * Those Three Bad Guys: Though really, the team's core is him and Ray.
 * Noble Demon: Definately a Blood Knight, though not entirely without a conscience, as Ray notes.
 * Proud Warrior Race Guy: His training with the Warriors/Hellknights involved lots of honor code and respect to be learned, but also selflessness when protecting the familly.
 * Psycho for Hire: Appears as such, acts as such. However, he still has a mind and a hearts, and uses them when needed.
 * Start of Darkness: Once an unstable young adult who acts violent on occasion. Twenty years spent in the Hell, now a brutal killer who's also one of the most dangerous men of the Empire. He also has an army of similar people.
 * The Big Guy: Took this position when he used the Demented.
 * Whip It Good: Uses a whip during training, with a bladed end for extra damages.
 * Worthy Opponent: Thought as such of Karl Vladick.

Khenan
""The Champ is here!""


 * Not Quite Dead: His HMV is destroyed at the end of Rise 1, believed to be dead. He reappears one year later still with Ray during the events of Villa.
 * Crazy Awesome: Jumps on moving HMV, pry the cockpit open and decapitates the pilot. Even by Rise's standards the guy isn't sane.
 * Demoted to Extra: Sort of. His creator left the work, making him more of a secondary character than a point of view one.
 * Dumb Muscle: He knows his trade of fighting and killing, but doesn't go beyond that.
 * Mighty Glacier: His HMV ain't named The Juggernaut for nothing.

The Empire
The Big Bad Orwellian Superpower. Driving out Mjolnir's original inhabitants, the Empire established itself as The Superpower of the galaxy. Human-centric and corrupt from within, the Empire is definitely not something to be screwed around with.

Satan
The director of the Hell. Rarely seen.


 * Everybody Calls Him Barkeep: Has no mentioned name, so prisoners nicknamed him such. He likes it.
 * Names to Run Away From Really Fast: Seriously.
 * The Heavy: Though Satan's not exactly the Big Bad, he still counts concerning things on board the Hell.

Lucifer
Satan's right hand man. Likes to kill prisoners for his own fun.


 * Bad Boss: While not violent toward the troopers, he has no pity for the prisoners.
 * Berserk Button: Refering to his injury.
 * Blade Below the Shoulder: A big fan of them.
 * Everybody Calls Him Barkeep: Same as Satan just above. He hates it, but keeps it mostly because it scares prisoners.
 * Names to Run Away From Really Fast: Just like his boss.
 * Power Armor: Has to wear one to cover his burned body.
 * The Dragon

The Reclaimers
The original inhabitants of the Mjolnir Galaxy. Back, and extremely pissed off. They've somehow managed to cut a deal with the Mi-Go, in exchange for massive technological and tactical support.

Howard
""Patience is a virtue, as the humans say.""

A mysterious Mi-Go, and representative of an outside power. Virtually nothing is known about it, or it's motivations for aiding the Reclaimers, but it clearly does not intend nice things for the Empire. For the sake of convenience, is referred to as a 'Him', though it's not known if Mi-Go even have genders.


 * Abusive Precursors: The Mi-Go had something to do with Mjolnir's distant past. And they definitely had workings on old Earth.
 * Affably Evil: Can speak perfectly good english, and engage in chats. His personality seems to shift from place to place though, so it may all be a facade.
 * Batman Can Breathe in Space
 * Blue and Orange Morality
 * Brain In a Jar: A Mi-Go specialty, as Kurt Norik found out.
 * Eldritch Abomination: Original flavor, no less.
 * Fluffy the Terrible: His took a liking to the first thing a drunken human called him.
 * Good Wings, Evil Wings: Decidedly less-than-benevolent wings. That can propel it through the vacuum.
 * Magic From Technology: Claims his eldritch 'sorcery' is this.
 * Organic Technology: Not so much organic as it is very, very alien. There's definitely a very strange vibe from their ships, though. Also responsible for the creation of Scions, creature-like HMVs with fangs and claws.
 * The Blank: Mi-Go do have facial features, per se, though nothing a human would recognize as such.
 * Voice of the Legion

Stranger
""Just so.""

The Reclaimer's main contact with the Hydra League. Even less is known about him/her/it, much less his/her/it's name.


 * A Form You Are Comfortable With
 * Affably Evil
 * Grand Theft Me
 * Enigmatic Minion
 * Stealth Hi Bye
 * Uncanny Valley: Does not behave so much inhumanely as it does too-perfectly human, like reading off a guidebook.

The Hydra League
Human revolutionaries who've grown disgruntled with the Empire's xenophobic tendencies. Formerly led by a somewhat reasonable Council, a recent military coup has established the Heads, Hydra's top generals, as it's new leaders.

Fury

 * Half-Human Hybrid: Thanks to Mi-Go technology, Fury, as well as the majority of Hydra personnel are slowly morphing into monstrous superhumans.
 * Playing with Fire: His HMV is named the Firestorm...

Kurt Norik

 * Was Once a Man

Largo

 * Complete Monster
 * Psycho for Hire
 * Would Hit a Girl: Or use one as a human-shield.

The Paladins
Counterpoints of the Hydra League, the Paladins are more in line with your traditional Knight in Shining Armor archetype. Though they likewise wish for better treatment of all Mjolnir's species, they do not share Hydra's more extremist tendencies. They're lead by Karl Vladick, a charismatic old soldier and former employer of Axel Erachin.

Karl Vladick
""I see that none of you wish to make the first move. A wise decision, but I had hoped that some of you would have had some guts.""

Leader of the Paladins. Despite his age, he can still pull his weight around, and is more then capable of commanding the respect of anybody in the vicinity. [[spoiler: A former Imperial Soldier, he left them when he discovered Mathias' true intentions for alien technology, and dedicated his new life to preventing their abuse of the tech.


 * Armor Is Useless: Averted. He demonstrates it's usefulness to Haken when sparring with him.
 * Big Good: Provides Axel and the crew with shelter in his Cool Ship, and is the leader of one of the few benevolent organizations in Mjolnir.
 * Cool Old Guy: Few are cooler.
 * Cool Ship: The Deity, a massive battleship capable of sheltering more then a dozen HMVs.
 * Heel Face Turn:
 * Knight in Shining Armor: Leads an entire organization of these.
 * Old Master: Teaches Haken, a somewhat wimpy poet, how to properly fight with a sword.
 * One-Man Army: On his own he is already dangerous. His super-HMV's sole purpose is to be a One-Machine-Army.
 * The Captain: Complete with boat.
 * The Paladin
 * Worthy Opponent: It is unclear from his perspective, but Earl James fought him as such.
 * The Captain: Complete with boat.
 * The Paladin
 * Worthy Opponent: It is unclear from his perspective, but Earl James fought him as such.

Decel Erachin
Axel's father, and leading supplier of the Galaxy's HMVs. A wealthy man, he does not approve of Axel's wayward mannerisms.


 * Gadgeteer Genius: Inventor of the HMV, the most commonly used human weapon of war in this day and age.
 * He Who Must Not Be Seen
 * I Have No Son: A lesser example. It's not known if he's actually disowned Axel, but he clearly not a fan of his line of work.
 * The Dreaded: Known as The Architect and the Deathmonger amongst the Mjolnian community, due to his role in their defeat.

Karen Armstrong
""Hey, Guy, is that a gun in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?""

Karl Vladick's second-in-command, and lover of Axel.


 * Cold Sniper: Adverted. She's anything but chilly.
 * Distracted by the Sexy: Axel goes head over heels on their first encounter.
 * Knight Templar: She hates anything to do with the Empire with a passion.
 * Number Two
 * One Woman Army: Like most Paladin officers.
 * Shock and Awe: Her HMV is known for its powerful electrical discharges.
 * The Fashionista: Seems to know quite a bit about dressing etiquette.
 * The Fashionista: Seems to know quite a bit about dressing etiquette.

Marcus Tengbrew
""I'm sure I shall prove to be a more then adept, Lord Commander.""

Presumably high ranking member of the Paladins.


 * Eyes of Gold: Flecked with red. It doesn't really say much about his character, though.
 * Half-Human Hybrid: Probably, is his eyes are any indication. The alternative is 'poor genetics'.
 * Smug Snake: His first line? Immediately decrying  sanity.
 * Smug Snake: His first line? Immediately decrying  sanity.

The Hellknights
Former inhabitants of The Hell, where they were known as the Warriors. Since their escape, the Gang has moved into freelance mercenary work. They are led by Earl James, one of Ray's mercenaries.


 * Bare-Fisted Monk: Most of them trained as such.
 * Does Not Like Guns: Subverted. They use some, but having spent most of their life in the prison, they are less used to them.
 * Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": A staple of their society. They chose a new name fitting them.
 * The Alcatraz: The Hell.
 * Knife Nut: The other half of the Hellknights.
 * The Atoner: Most of them are trying to forget their criminal pasts and create a better future for everyone, especially the children living in the Hell.

Storyteller
Former leader of the Hellknights and mentor to Earl James.


 * A Father to His Men:
 * Alternative Character Interpretation: His attempt at turning Earl into the perfect warrior. Personal gain, or did he really see the potential in him?
 * Big Good: The Hellknights see him as such.
 * Badass Grandpa: He's in his late 50s and he's still fighting for the Hellknights.
 * Cultured Badass: Can kill a highly trained squad while quoting Shakespeare.
 * Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": He talks a lot, and always has some story to tell.

Heimdall
The Warriors' gate keeper.
 * Meaningful Name: He took the name from the Norse God, as both are doing a very similar duty.
 * My Greatest Failure: Not able to take part in Ossyria's defense during the Tyran invasion.
 * The Stoic: He rarely changes his face.

Slice
Storyteller's right-hand man. He's much less serious than Heimdall, but that doesn't stop him from being a very competent soldier.
 * The Alcoholic: He's the proud owner of the only working brewing system of the Hell.
 * Boisterous Bruiser: Never fights without drinking a beer and shouting random things.

Blue
An alien living with the Hellknights.


 * The Alcoholic: Even more than Slice.
 * Beware the Nice Ones: He's one of the most cheerful Hellknights, he's also able to kill with extreme accuracy. The Tattoos learned this when they kidnapped Juni and Cross.
 * The Big Guy
 * Fish Out of Water: He was affraid to be a target in the Hell because he was a simple medic, however the Warriors (later Hellknights) took care of him and he's part of the familly like anyother..
 * The Medic
 * Multi-Armed and Dangerous

Vulture

 * Beware the Nice Ones: She's the main cook, she's the mother of two kids who grew up in the Hell. She's also the most feared of them.

Monk
One of the trainer of the Empire's black ops. He fled, disgusted. He was sent to the Hell for this.


 * Bare-Fisted Monk: Duh.
 * Beware the Nice Ones: The pacifist of the group, was ready to get into a fight for the control of the brewing system.
 * Shaped Like Itself
 * Dark and Troubled Past: He can't get his mind out of his past, like training kids to be the perfect soldiers for the Empire.

Riley
Former sex-slave of a Human noble, she ended up in the Hell where she trained to be a fighter.


 * Green-Skinned Space Babe: Lampshaded. The fact her race is so similar to Humans is quite unsettling.

Crunchy

 * Abhorrent Admirer: Has a weird liking of Blue.
 * Mix-and-Match Critters: He is a Crocdog. Do the math.
 * Team Pet

Rodrig von Tryassik
""This is Sticker. I carved it from the thighbone of an enemy. It was the first weapon I ever held. I was twelve.' *Sniff* 'Yes, I smile at the memories of beating the stuffing out of him.""

A Tzeenosaur mercenary.


 * BFG: A favorite, though really, anything held by a Tzeenosaur can count.
 * Blood Knight
 * Everything's Better with Dinosaurs: Especially on your side of the battle.
 * Large Ham: 40 feet long alcoholic space cyborg t-rex, goes well along.
 * Ninja Pirate Zombie Robot: See above.
 * Proud Warrior Race Guy: Tzeenosaurs have two social status: Warrior or dead.