Lucius, the pure-blooded Garlean son to a family of staunch Imperial patriots, is much what you'd expect from a career military man. In a time where many question their convictions to the empire, Lucius truly believes in the Garlean rhetoric. As a younger man, he idolized heroes of the nation such as Gaius van Baelsar and Regula van Hydrus - individuals that forged his naive, yet empathetic mission to save the dangerously ignorant city-states from their eikon reverence and show them a more harmonious way of life.

Infuriatingly incorruptible, bureaucrats find him impossible to mix company with and vice versa. Outside of the tedium of government ballrooms and parades, he really comes into his element. Lucius' reputation for fair treatment to subordinates despite their race or background has made him quite popular with both conscripts and reformists alike. In truth, he casts no illusions of egalitarianism; Lucius is simply a pragmatist. His worst enemies have never been the westerners or easterners, but rather poor morale and attrition.

No matter how tough times get in the Imperial capital, warfronts or even his own personal struggles, Lucius is an anchor of idealism; a relic of a bygone generation of soldiers who fight for what they believe in voluntarily without an ulterior motive. There is no circumstance that could shake his faith in the Garlean ideal - even if the kingdom itself was burning down and he could do naught but watch from a thousand malms away. . .

Depicted by @virensnova

Paternal

Oster quo Sylla is a hard-working, quiet man. He passed his stoic manner to his only son. He was unremarkable in most aspects. Many have accused him of being unreasonably obtuse, though his old-fashioned grit was a boon both as a soldier as well as a parent.

Oster came from hardy folk; the preceding generation taming Ilsabard without the help of Magitek. He survived a dozen campaigns to retire with great respect from his peers. His influence was crucial to Lucius' success years later. He lives on with his wife Ilsa in the Imperial capital even now.

Maternal

Ilsa eir Sylla (née Quint) has always been quick-witted, sharp-tongued and held strong convictions of rule and order. She was appointed a provincial magistrate as a young woman and continues drafting writs and ruling on legal contentions to this day.

Ilsa's influence might have helped to mold Lucius into a man of iron conviction, but her utter faith in the Imperial way has perhaps also worked towards galvanizing Lucius' own jingoistic tendencies by blazing an ideological trail for him.

Depicted by ICE

Lucius has been physically hardened by a lifetime at war abroad. Generally speaking, he is of rather average build for a Garlean man. Standing at just barely over six fulms with broad shoulders, one could only imagine all the countless malms he has carried his armored mantle across Eorzea. Still, his physique appears to tip more toward long and lean than bursting with musculature - but only a fool makes assumptions of strength based on first glance.

As a somewhat smaller pure-blooded Garlean, Lucius was oft the target of school yard rows in his formative days and has developed a sort of scrappy reputation that belies his shorter stature. He sees size disparities as a challenge to surmount and relishes the opportunity to demonstrate the maxim of "the bigger they are, the harder they fall."

On the back of his father's reputation as a no-nonsense soldier with grit and gumption, Lucius quickly rose through the ranks and eventually broke into leadership. His fighting style is notoriously offensive and tenacious, putting defensive maneuvers second. He has been known to be quite formidable in mounted combat - whether atop a chocobo or a set of Magitek armor, the speed and aggression of cavalry speaks his fighting language.

Lucius is rarely one to jest, whether at his own expense or others, but two things will always catch a snide comment and judgmental expression from the Pilus. The first, of course, is his disdain for those who use a shield:

"Only the weak cower behind shields. If one has naught of the strength to defend themselves with blade alone, they haven't the strength to be on the field at all."

Naturally, the other would be directed toward those who anthropomorphize their weapons:

"What manner of vain cretin names his weapon and lays with it as he would his spouse? Give me a sharpened stick and I will give you an adversary worth fighting."

I. Formative Years

In his younger years, Lucius was a somewhat isolated and introverted child. By the time he was born, his father was already abroad with the military. His interactions with his father were always amicable if not occasionally tense as he desperately craved his approval. He was a walking, talking example of the 'Garlean Ideal' in Lucius' eyes, and he worked hard to keep from disappointing Oster even at a young age.

Ilsa's station as a magistrate kept the Sylla clan well-fed and comfortable - far more than many. Due to her involvement with the government, she had little idle time to spend with young Lucius. With his mother and father both perpetually busy or away from the home, a host of state-funded retainers assisted in his upbringing.

Lucius enjoyed all the benefits of a classical education and then some. He had a tutor for nigh everything. A tutor for etiquette, a cadre of tutors for academics - even several tutors for physical fitness and martial combat skill development. While he was far more independent than many of his peers at his age, the lack of tight familial bonds seemed to take a toll on his social development. He grew to be contentious with other children in the seldom situations he would be around them, much preferring the company of adults.

II. War in the West

Lucius was expected to serve the empire. It was never explicitly said, but his family would not suffer him to be a self-serving ne'er-do-well. As a young man, he applied to a prestigious Imperial academy usually catering to the higher education of upper-crust future military officers, envoys and clandestine operators. His father, a respected military officer in his own right, was able to secure Lucius' acceptance into the academy where the young man thrived.

As time transpired, he grew closer to graduating and obtaining his military officer's commission. Lucius began to take interest in the skirmishes in the west during the time he finally graduated. As a newly minted junior officer, he specifically requested assignment in the VIIth legion. His participation was minimal - a century waiting in reserves to be called up if needed. Of course, he never got the chance. The battle ended before he drew his sword. Remnants of the VIIth were rescued by Gaius van Baelsar and taken back to Ala Mhigo - Lucius was among them.

Not satisfied with the distasteful experience he had endured, Lucius applied for a transfer to the XIVth Legion. He spent several years among their number before reaching the rank of Pilus Prior. He got his proper helping of war in these days - dispatched all over contested territory to bolster lines and strengthen Garlean regional interests.

III. Eastern Rebellions

His first major assignment was given to him from the Primus Pilus of the XIVth Legion by order of the Legatus. He was to take a contingent of hand-picked, loyal men from his cohort and disrupt resistance and rebellion efforts in the eastern territories. Lucius dispatched aboard a small airship from Ala Mhigo with fifteen veteran Imperial warriors and set for Doma.

They executed their mandate to the letter. They wore no uniforms nor consorted with the local garrisons. The men would live rough in the mountain caves by day and conduct magitek-armored lightning raids by night. No settlement was safe - nothing was off-limits. The local populace was targeted initially; before long, resistance leaders were identified and tracked. Midnight planning meetings were stormed with ferocity and met with such shock that it was uncommon for the sixteen raiders to see their prey fight back before breaking contact and disappearing back into the mountains.

With so many different pressure points on the Doman resistance mounting, Lucius and his men were no longer needed in the region. At the behest of the Imperial Viceroy of Doma, Lucius and his warriors were recalled to Ala Mhigo. Reintegration was difficult after operating independently for so long. Furthermore, Lucius' distaste for the cohabitating XIIth Legion would lead to him and his chosen men growing restless for redeployment.

IV. The Lions of Dalmasca

After some dissent with the XIVth leadership regarding the presence of the XIIth, Lucius and his chosen were deployed once more to put down the rising tensions in occupied Dalmasca. Even Lucius, a man generally disinterested in gossip, had heard whispers of a cruel and punitive military clampdown in the city-state headed up by a fellow flaxen-maned Garlean officer.

This operation would prove both defining and tempering to Lucius. As weeks turned into months, Lucius watched the military governor goad the fledgling resistance into existence. Public cruelty, oppression and cultural erasure was feeding the flames of revolutionary talk. When Lucius would speak to the governor about his observations, he would be chastised and undermined in front of his men - his authority subverted. Soon, fifteen turned to twelve; twelve to nine; nine to four. With only five XIVth loyalists remaining under his control, Lucius and his men began to hatch a plan.

Following suit of their operation in Doma, Lucius and his men thought outside the box. If the rebellion leadership agreed to bow to reasonable Imperial rule, it would be in the Imperial best interest to assist them in deposing his brethren.

After a series of clandestine meetings and subsequent coordinated bombing attacks, Lucius made contact with the XIVth Legion leadership - the Dalmascan rebels were willingly laying down their arms. Lucius and his men were returned to the Imperial capital where they were lauded as cunning strategists, fierce warriors and nicknamed 'The Lions of Dalmasca. '