Editing Campaign:Forged In Fire/Gerrard Holmes (section)

== Basics ==
'''Name:'''Gerrard Holmes <br/>
'''Campaign:''' [[Campaign:Forged In Fire|Forged In Fire]]<br/>
'''Concept:'''Super Sleuth/Ace detective <br/>
'''Caste:'''Eclipse <br/>
'''Motivation:''' Discover the location of the Scarlet Empress<br/>
'''Intimacies:'''His Family, Seeker <br/>
'''Anima Banner:'''A large stylized eye (akin to the mask of truth from Zelda OoT/MM)<br/>
'''Anima Effect:'''Diplomatic immunity with spirits, demons, and fair folk. May sanctify oaths.<br/>
'''Experience:''' 0/22 <br/>

=== Background ===
Solving mysteries runs in the Holmes family line and Gerrard was but one of many successful Private Investigators in his family, which worked in the Imperial City where courtly intrigues offered many job opportunities. Gerrard enjoyed (and still enjoys) his work and was quite happy. Had history taken a different course, perhaps he would have lived out his life contently as no more than a heroic mortal, but things cannot always be so simple.

Gerrard received a case. An *important* case, one that would permanently change the course of his life. He did not know it at the time, but it was from a Gold Faction Sidereal and involved investigating possible links between House Mnemon and the Deathlord Mask of Winters (not that Gerrard was provided such candid detail about what his employer hoped to discover). Well, a true testament to his skill and his family's aptitude for investigation, Gerrard *did* find those links. He also found out his employer hadn't informed him nearly enough about just how dangerous the information he was tasked to find was. And thus Gerrard found himself on the run, hunted by demons summoned by house Mnemon.

It was on the first occasion where he was caught by the demons pursuing him that he exalted, as he made his desperate stand. To his credit, the trap he had hastily constructed worked pretty well, but by no means would have saved him on its own. 

Now, The Sidereal who had given him the job was feeling pretty guilty about the hardship he had put Gerrard through at this point and had been following him up till now, both to actually retrieve the information he had tasked Gerrard to obtain and to protect him should it seem his situation became dire enough. Suffice to say the Sidereal was not actually all that surprised when Gerrard exalted, considering the circumstances, and promptly assisted him in dispatching the demons (an unarmed and unarmored exalt is still greatly at risk, after all).

After a lengthy discussion, Gerrard and the Sidereal, who was named Seeker (but at the time wore a Resplendent Destiny as a Dragonblooded named Tepet Quixote) hit it off and found they actually rather like each other. Thus was a friendship and a partnership forged. Seeker provided Gerrard with some basic equipment and a suggestion to keep on the move, lest he be found by the further pursuers that would no doubt be sent. 

Now, Gerrard is a perceptive man and certainly suspects there is much more to Mr. Quixote than he is letting on, but Gerrard is not a ''paranoid'' man and trusts that his friend will reveal the full truth when he is ready to do so and means him no harm by withholding it. 

Since this "fateful" meeting, Gerrard has kept constantly on the move, only stopping to take the occasional private investigator job to fund himself on his continuous travels. Sometimes Quixote will find him and request his assistance in some sort of (often quite difficult) task, which he assists with gladly, both enjoying the challenge and being a generally helpful person towards those he considers friends. 

*As for his motivation, Gerrard has settled upon this as a case big enough that solving it would land him in the history books. It is subject to change if he gets a good lead on a case of equal magnitude.

=== Appearance ===
Gerrard was 30 years old when he exalted and still looks pretty much exactly like he did that day. He is of quite average appearance and poise, not particularly standing out in a crowd if not for his height (somewhere around a bit above 6 feet) and broad shoulders, which tends to make him stick out slightly if he doesn't make an active effort not to. (In other words, appearance-wise, think Gumshoe for Phoenix Wright, but competent!)