Ryuka Sandoval


 * Theme Song: Soldier Side by System of a Down
 * Battle Theme Song: Fade Away by 12 Stones

Ryuka Sandoval is a fictional character of the Erde Chronicles. He is the only son of both Kazuno Sandoval and Iruna Sandoval, born in the land of Pyros.

Background
Initially, Ryuka lived the life of a simple residential child, under the care of his two parents. Unlike the other protagonists of the Erde Chronicles, he was not trained immediately in his childhood, and thus did not show any special abilities that sperated him quality-wise from other citizens. However, he did have a trait that he was widely known for: his intelligence. Like Sachi Urami, he preferred to spend most of his time studying, interested in mostly literature and world history. Other children commonly referred to him as a "nerd" for being so smart; he rarely paid heed to them, even taking it as a compliment.

A life-changing incident occured when he turned nine years old. A plague of demons attacked the village he resided in. Although they were fended off by the local militia, a total of fifteen villagers were killed, including Ryuka's parents, who had desperately tried to defend him so he could escape. This event ultimately traumatized him, embedding a phobia of demons in his soul. Without his parents, he was often left to fend for himself, living a life of constant thievery, stealing from others in order to make a living for himself. Street fighting was self-learned from skirmishes with both police and other children, allowing him to defend himself more properly. Eventually, he saw this new life as a gift, enjoying the concept of burglary and thievery. He became a runaway renegade, stealing goods and valuables from other villages for his own benefit.

Sooner or later, his burglary arts drew him into contact with the Guardians. His latest attempt was made to steal a valuable artifact, when he was ultimately stopped by member Sachi Urami, right in the site he was aiming for. Knowing that there was no other way to escape, Ryuka engaged in a fight with Sachi, only to be easily defeated by the more experienced woman. But, instead of turning him in immediately, Sachi offered a proposal: allow her to train him more efficiently in combat, or subject to being forcefully arrested. Reluctantly, Ryuka allowed himself to be pulled under her tutelage, out of the watchful eye of the Guardians.

Initially, it had only started off as a simple master and apprentice session, with no closer bonds between the two than teacher and student. However, as time progressed, Sachi began to understand more and more of Ryuka, and after she had gained his full trust, he had willingly told her of his past life, to which she sympathized him for. In his training, Ryuka's intelligence, combined with Sachi's understandable training methods, allowed his own abilities to drastically improve, to the point where he could even utilize his own magic. It had only taken two months for Ryuka to complete his training, afterwhich the two parted ways, Sachi's teammates not suspecting a thing of her latest absence. Ryuka returned to his way of thievery, although this time making sure to stay out of the reach of the Guardians again.

Personality
Ryuka could be easily described as a "loose cannon", a rebel without a cause. He is free-spirited and laid-back, acting in a relaxed and enjoyful manner. In his concept of thievery, he doesn't care about much else but looking out for himself. Even in combat, he is shown to be less serious, preferring to toy around with his opponents rather than take them seriously. Due to this alone, he seems to hold a certain amount of self-control over his emotions, not even losing his composure when he was caught twice by Guardian members. However, he is capable of showing fondness and conern towards his closest comrades, especially Kyashi Urami.

Despite his seemingly common appearance, one of Ryuka's key traits is his insight and perceptiveness of his opponents' actions. In order to unnerve his opponents, he makes surprisingly accurate and justified remarks about their abilities, making it clear he is aware of their strength and power. With time, he can learn how to counter these moves when caught in an off-handed situation.

Introduction
Ryuka is the first character of the Sugisarishi Omoide, resting in the presence of a heavily populated crowd, while gloating of his recent theft from the city: a golden watch. Looking around to scan for other places to satisfy his burglary, he is stunned when first seeing Kyashi Urami. Allowing himself to fall into her seductive grasp, he follows her into an empty alleyway, where she attacks him and drinks an unknown amount of his blood. He is then left to fall unconscious until nightfall, waking up only to find his watch had been stolen by Kyashi later. Infuriated and humiliated, he walks off to find an inn to stay the night in.

The day after, he is seen running from a small (and notably inexperienced) police force due to stealing another artifact. After successfully evading them, he prepares to leave the area, only to hear constant fighting between a Guardian force consisting of Sachi Urami, Ean Eromalc, and Scarr, along with--

(In Progress)

Abilities
Ryuka is one of the stronger characters in The Erde Chronicles. Normally, his fighting capabilities drastically exceeds that of the average person, due to constant street fighting. His combat skills are somewhat below expert level, however, as he was easily overpowered and defeated by Guardian member Sachi Urami. With the assistance of a Heart Crystal, he was able to hold his own against Ean Eromalc and Scarr Eromalc respectively. This signals that normally he had the potential to match the in terms of skill and intelligence, but not in strength. It might have been due to the fact that Sachi took it upon herself to train him to increase his capabilities that also contributed to him fighting evenly with the Eromalc brothers.

As shown in his fights, he has a high proficiency in the use of close-quarters combat. Initially, it is limited to the way of street fighting. However, Sachi's training allows him use of martial arts and acrobatics, allowing him to evade and counterattack very quickly, with lethal precision. On his way to the vault containing one of the Heart Crystals, he was able to dispatch two guards with little effort. This was also shown in his fight with Scarr and Ean, matching and possibly outclassing them in that area. However, this is unlikely; he was overpowered and brutally beaten by Kyashi Urami, who at the time was possessed by an unknown force. This may have simply been because he was unwilling to attack and/or harm her.

He also possesses a high level of intelligence. By having a good idea of the outside of the building which housed the Heart Crystal, he was able to pinpoint an estimate of its location. He also claimed he had never an exact idea before he broke into the facility, which supports himself as a genius in his own right.

Quotes
''
 * "It was an average night for a while. Just a plan for a heist from the castle at the north end of town. It wasn't supposed to be anything important. Just a jewel. And, like some people often are, I was wrong about that."
 * ''I had no idea exactly what that crystal was. Nor did I have a clue about what it could potentially draw me, a thief, into that would've been involved with something pretty far-spread. Like the sake of most living things. I don't want to do this, but I hate my gut for telling me to help these other five out on this 'Quest to save the world'. Isn't it posible to do good things without being cheesy?"