Gaius Worzel

Gaius is a member of the nomadic people of the Nord Highlands. He is introduced as a member of Thors Military Academy's Class VII. Gaius is 18 with tan skin, blue eyes and brown hair. He is about 6 feet tall.

Appearance: Gaius is a nomad of the Nord Highlands with wavy brown hair tied into a short ponytail, tan skin and light blue eyes. he bears a strong resemblance to the rest of the members of the Worzel Family.

As a student of Thors, he wears the standard Class VII crimson uniform, in a similar alternative style to Elliot. His sleeves are kept rolled and wears sandals instead of shoes because of his homeland culture. He also has his own loose ankled trousers and wears a lavender sash around his waist. He fights with a lance.

Personality: Gaius is a friendly yet level-headed individual, able to discern the true nature of things without prejudice. He is grateful to the wind and Aidios for the people he has been able to meet and the experiences that have come across his path. His personality is without any sense of discrimination, leading him to be heavily relied on by the members of Class VII. Within the group, he frequently acts as the voice of reason. He is a very devout follower of the Septian Church and Aidios as a result of his mentor's, Barkhorn, influence.

Family Background: Gaius was born in the Nomadic Settlement in Nord in S.1187, to Lacan and Fatma Worzel. As their firstborn, he is the older brother to Thoma, Sheeda, and Lily.

Raised in the Nord Highlands, Gaius came from a part of the Empire isolated from the commoner/noble dichotomy, granting him a unique perspective on the class system that divided his class and the rest of his country. A level-headed and respectful ally, Gaius fought alongside Class VII to protect Erebonia from many threats during his time as a student. He values his friends and his experiences because of them and their Instructor Sara.

Gaius is able to 'read' the wind in the sense that he is able to discern higher elements and feel the auras of his enemies. He is later revealed as being able to sense the 'Gale of Ruin', an ability which rarely manifests in the Empire.

Gaius learnt about the world outside Nord and the geopolitical situation of his hometown through monthly Sunday School lessons held by Barkhorn. Amazed by his mentor's knowledge, Gaius vowed to learn about the world as much as possible to better protect his homeland.

School Days: Having never left Nord before, the number of people he saw while transferring lines on his way to Trista threw him for a loop and he saw Roer was one big mass of iron.He was selected for Class VII and befriended Rean Schwarzer and Elliot Craig at the start of their orientation. Gaius joined the Art Club to improve his skills as an artist.

Offering an 'outside' view to Erebonian society, he interrupted another discussion between students born noble and commoner by pointing out fundamental problems in Erebonia's class system, which in turn served as an eye-opener for those around him.During their field trip to Legram, Gaius realized that the people of Nord and Legram worship both Aidios and the animist spirits, despite the difference in culture and tradition. Protecting those traditions by levying through taxes is worth it, he continues to argue.

Gaius with the rest of Class VII boarded the airship - the Courageous and helped end the Erebonian Civil War. After that Gaius returns to the Nord Highlands to help the nomads recover from the war, he finds out that Erebonia's annexation of Crossbell has lead to a constant conflict between the Imperial Army of Erebonia and the Republic Army of Calvard both near the Tangram Hills east of Crossbell as well as in the neutral territory of Nord.

Becoming the “Soaring Phoenix”: Having protected Ordis during the civil war, Barkhorn noticed Gaius' anxiety over the future of his homeland and decided to visit him in Nord. Gaius had only just explained that the destructive wind blowing across the highlands gave him a bad feeling, when a Republic aircraft broke through the 7th Armored Division's line of defense and began attacking the Nomadic Settlement.

Afterwards, Gaius's mentor, Barkhorn, died protecting Gaius and the Highlands from Calvardian threats. In his dying moments, Barkhorn, then the 8th Dominion of the Gralsritter wing of the Septian Church, passed his Stigma down to Gaius. This caused Gaius to inherit Barkhorn's position as the Eighth Dominion, at which point his title became the Soaring Phoenix.

Thomas Lysander, the other Dominion known to be operating in Erebonia, guided Gaius to Arteria where he would be trained for the next half year during which his friends from Class VII were unable to contact him. The other Dominions each trained him in their free time, with Ein Selnate's training being particularly harsh. Thomas Lysander taught at Thors Military Academy as a history professor.