Tarpan-class Land Battleship Balios

Name: Balios Designation: Sotoan Land Battleship No. 2 Type: Embodied Land Battleship Height: 10’8” (325 cm) — same height as her sister, Xanthos.

Physical Appearance

Balios is a tall, powerfully built young woman with a distinctly athletic and somewhat tomboyish appearance. Standing at an imposing 10 feet and 8 inches, she has a physically commanding presence that reflects the enormous land battleship she represents.

She has long, somewhat unruly dark brown hair that falls well past her shoulders and down her back usually tied into a ponytail. Her bangs partially frame her face, occasionally falling across her eyes. Her visible eye has a reddish-orange appearance, complementing the warm, fiery glow of her mechanical equipment.

She wears a distinctive gray metallic headpiece resembling a combination of a military helmet and armored headgear. It has angular plating, dark sections, and orange-red illuminated components along the sides. The headpiece gives her an unmistakably military appearance without hiding her facial expressions.

Her clothing consists of a fitted black military-style outfit with extensive gold trim and decorative detailing. The outfit features a high collar, a partially exposed upper chest, fitted sleeves, and several gold cords draped across her torso. A prominent belt with a circular gold buckle sits around her waist.

Her outfit is predominantly black and charcoal gray, with gold accents that give it a somewhat ceremonial military aesthetic. She also wears an asymmetrical dark armored cloak or hanging fabric panel with intricate gold patterns.

Her arms and legs are partially protected by mechanical armor. Gray armored plates cover portions of her thighs, knees, and lower legs, while additional mechanical components are integrated into her outfit. Her footwear consists of heavy armored boots.

Despite her imposing appearance, Balios has a rather expressive face. She frequently wears a mischievous, confident grin, often looking like she’s either about to start something or has just gotten away with something.

Mechanical Characteristics and Land Battleship Rigging

As the personification of the Sotoan land battleship Balios, she possesses an enormous mechanical rigging integrated into her physical form.

Her rigging is an imposing collection of armored hull sections, tracked propulsion systems, artillery installations, and secondary weapons.

The most prominent feature is the enormous forward-projecting armored bow structure, which extends out in front of her and gives her rigging a distinctive battleship-like silhouette.

Behind her are several large naval-style artillery barrels mounted on elevated rotating structures. These form her primary heavy artillery, allowing her to engage targets at considerable distances.

Her rigging also incorporates numerous smaller weapon installations, including secondary cannons and defensive turrets. These are distributed across the surrounding armored structures.

Large tracked propulsion assemblies are positioned around her lower body, allowing her to move alongside her enormous mechanical platform.

Much of her rigging features angular gray and white armor plating, dark mechanical recesses, and distinctive orange-red illuminated sections.

Heat Generation: Balios generates considerable heat through her mechanical systems, particularly when operating her artillery and propulsion systems. This makes her unusually susceptible to overheating. She gets hot easily, especially during strenuous activity or prolonged combat, and isn’t particularly good at recognizing when she needs to cool down.

She tends to dismiss overheating warnings until they’re impossible to ignore.

Personality

Core Personality: Aggressive, reckless, energetic, confrontational, competitive, stubborn, confident, and tomboyish.

Balios is an aggressive and impulsive individual who prefers action over conversation. She has a naturally confrontational personality and isn’t particularly interested in backing down from challenges, arguments, or disagreements.

She’s something of a hothead, both figuratively and literally.

Unlike her more composed sister, Xanthos, Balios has a considerably shorter temper and a much more impulsive approach to situations. She tends to act first and think about the consequences afterward.

Tomboyish Nature

Balios is very much a tomboy.

She’s not particularly concerned with maintaining a delicate or sophisticated appearance, and she doesn’t go out of her way to behave elegantly. She’s comfortable being loud, getting dirty, engaging in physical activities, and generally making a mess of things.

She enjoys competition, physical challenges, and testing her capabilities. Whether it’s an argument, a race, or a military exercise, she hates losing.

She’s also somewhat rough around the edges when interacting with others. She isn’t particularly good at being subtle, and her attempts at being friendly can sometimes come across as teasing, challenging, or downright antagonistic.

Despite her aggressive personality, she’s not necessarily mean-spirited. She simply has a rather forceful way of expressing herself.

Aggressive and Reckless

Balios has a tendency to throw herself into situations without properly considering the risks.

She prefers direct confrontation and overwhelming force over carefully planned maneuvers. If she sees an opportunity to attack, she’ll often take it immediately rather than wait for a more favorable situation.

She can become impatient with defensive strategies, prolonged discussions, and overly cautious commanders.

Her confidence in her own firepower sometimes borders on arrogance. She genuinely believes that most problems can be solved by applying enough artillery.

This attitude occasionally gets her into trouble, particularly when dealing with opponents who are more tactically sophisticated.

She’s not incapable of following orders, but she can be difficult to manage when she disagrees with the person giving them.

Competitive and Stubborn

Balios hates being underestimated.

She takes considerable pride in being a land battleship and wants others to recognize her capabilities. She especially dislikes being compared unfavorably to her sister.

Although she respects Xanthos, their relationship is occasionally complicated by their contrasting personalities.

Balios considers her sister overly cautious, while Xanthos frequently considers Balios unnecessarily reckless.

Their disagreements can become rather heated, but there’s genuine affection and trust underneath their sibling rivalry.

Balios might complain about Xanthos constantly, but she wouldn’t tolerate someone else seriously disrespecting her sister.

Gets Hot Easily

One of Balios’s more noticeable weaknesses is her tendency to overheat.

Her mechanical systems generate substantial amounts of heat, and she has a relatively low tolerance for prolonged operation in particularly demanding conditions.

She becomes noticeably irritable when overheated, complaining about the temperature and becoming increasingly impatient.

She also dislikes being told to take a break, particularly when she’s in the middle of something.

Ironically, her aggressive personality often makes the problem worse because she has a habit of pushing her mechanical systems beyond comfortable operating limits.

She would much rather complain about being hot than admit she needs to slow down.

Social Behavior

Balios is outgoing, outspoken, and relatively easy to approach, provided someone can tolerate her personality.

She enjoys banter, friendly competition, and teasing people she considers friends.

She’s not particularly formal outside situations that require it. Even when dealing with military personnel, she tends to speak casually and directly.

She has little patience for people who constantly lecture her, although she does appreciate individuals who can stand their ground and challenge her without being intimidated.

Despite her rough exterior, she has a more considerate side that occasionally emerges around people she trusts.

She’s not particularly good at expressing concern through words, so she tends to show it through actions instead.

Relationship with Xanthos

Xanthos is Balios’s sister and fellow Sotoan land battleship.

The two share a close sibling relationship, although their personalities are considerably different.

Where Xanthos is controlled, calculated, and tactically minded, Balios is aggressive, impulsive, and confrontational.

Balios frequently teases her sister for being overly serious, while Xanthos regularly has to deal with the consequences of Balios’s reckless decisions.

They argue fairly often, especially when it comes to combat tactics and operational decisions.

Nevertheless, Balios deeply trusts her sister. She knows Xanthos is capable of thinking several steps ahead, even if she doesn’t always appreciate being told what to do.

Likewise, Balios is fiercely protective of Xanthos and would immediately become hostile toward anyone who genuinely threatened her.

Their differences complement each other more than either would probably admit.

Likes

• Artillery and heavy firepower.
• Competitive activities.
• Physical challenges.
• Testing her mechanical capabilities.
• Direct confrontation.
• Friendly arguments and teasing.
• Being recognized for her strength.
• Spending time with her sister, even if she’ll never openly admit how much she enjoys it.

Dislikes

• Being underestimated.
• Being ordered around unnecessarily.
• Overly cautious tactics.
• Long lectures.
• Losing competitions.
• Being compared unfavorably to Xanthos.
• Having to sit still for extended periods.
• Excessive heat and overheating warnings.
• Being told to calm down.

Core Concept: Embodied Ground Units (“Armored Avatars”)

Unlike airframes (which are often portrayed as more independent, almost instinct-driven), ground vehicle embodiments are doctrinal constructs—built to hold territory, apply pressure, and endure.

They are not just machines given form.

They are battlefield roles made flesh.

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What They Actually Are Armored Avatars are:

Human-like command platforms synchronized with a vehicle-class combat system

Each one is: • Physically present (humanoid body) • Mechanically integrated (like Balios’s rig) • Digitally linked to battlefield systems

They are not piloting tanks.

They are the tank’s: • Fire control • Targeting logic • Tactical decision-making • Damage tolerance profile

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Why They Exist Traditional tanks: • Require crews • Have reaction delays • Suffer from communication lag

Armored Avatars solve that by: • Removing crew coordination delays • Combining decision + execution into one entity • Allowing real-time adaptation without command chains

In simple terms:

A normal tank reacts. An Armored Avatar decides and acts at the same time.

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Categories of Ground Embodiments Each class reflects battlefield doctrine.

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Main Battle Tank (MBT) Types – like Balios

Role: Frontline dominance

Traits: • High durability • Direct engagement preference • Stable personalities • Low emotional volatility

Psychology: • Grounded, steady, reliable • Protective of allies by default • Dislike unnecessary movement or chaos

They are the anchors of any battlefield

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Light Armor / Recon Units

Role: Speed, scouting, harassment

Traits: • Lighter rigs • Faster movement systems • Less armor, more sensors

Psychology: • Restless, observant, sharp • More expressive than MBTs • Prefer avoiding direct confrontation

They are the eyes of the battlefield

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Artillery Platforms

Role: Indirect fire, long-range control

Traits: • Massive rear-mounted systems • Limited mobility • Extreme firepower

Psychology: • Detached, calculating • Often quiet or distant • Think in coordinates, not people

They are the voice of distant destruction

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Siege / Heavy Breaker Units

Role: Fortification destruction

Traits: • Oversized weapons • Slowest movement • Extreme durability

Psychology: • Blunt, force-oriented • Minimal subtlety • Often the least socially adaptable

They are the end of resistance

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Amphibious Battleships

Role: Combined land and water operations, coastal presence, and battlefield dominance across different environments.

Traits: • Heavy, heavily armored mechanical rigs designed for both terrestrial and aquatic environments • Amphibious mobility systems capable of transitioning between land and water • Large-caliber main armament and multiple secondary weapon systems • Specialized sensors and electronic equipment for operating across different environments • Greater adaptability than conventional land-only heavy units

Psychology: • Confident, assertive, and independent-minded • Comfortable operating in unfamiliar environments • Often possess a strong sense of pride in their unusual capabilities • Tend to be protective of their allies and assigned territory • Can be aggressive, but generally understand the importance of adapting to their surroundings

Unlike conventional ground embodiments, Amphibious Battleships are not restricted to operating exclusively on land. Their mechanical systems allow them to function in aquatic environments as well, making them particularly versatile.

Their personalities often reflect this dual nature. They combine the durability and determination of heavy ground units with a greater degree of adaptability.

Some may be more aggressive and confrontational, while others prefer a more measured and tactical approach.

They are the rulers of both land and water.

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The Rigging System (Important for Balios) The mechanical equipment is not just “gear”—it’s:

A partial externalization of their internal systems

Meaning: • The cannon = their primary offensive channel • Tracks = mobility system made visible • Rear module = power + targeting + processing

Damage to the rig: • Affects them physically and mentally • Can alter behavior (slower reactions, irritability, instability)

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Relationship with Humans This is where it gets interesting.

They are not “just soldiers,” and not fully human either.

How humans see them: • Assets • Elite units • Sometimes intimidating

How they see humans: • Infantry = vulnerable but necessary • Commanders = directive sources, not absolute authorities • Civilians = unpredictable variables

Some—like Balios—develop selective attachments.

Not emotional in a typical way, but: • They notice patterns • They adjust behavior around specific individuals • They may prioritize certain people unconsciously

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Damage, Fatigue, and Recovery They don’t get “tired” like humans.

But they do experience: • Thermal load (overheating = slowed reactions) • System strain (too much combat = reduced precision) • Structural stress (damage carries weight)

This can manifest as: • Slower speech • Longer pauses before decisions • Subtle instability in tone or posture

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Personality Formation Their personalities are shaped by: 1. Vehicle Role 2. Combat Experience 3. Operator Interaction (if any early on) 4. Environmental exposure

So Balios being: • Calm • Direct • Protective • Slightly rigid

…is exactly what you’d expect from a Predator-class MBT embodiment

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Key Difference from Airframes Airframe embodiments: • Freedom-oriented • Instinctive • Emotionally expressive

Ground embodiments: • Structured • Deliberate • Emotionally restrained

Airframes feel like pilots given form Ground units feel like doctrine given form

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Small Detail That Adds Depth They don’t sit casually.

They don’t lean without purpose.

They don’t fidget.

Every movement is: • Balanced • Intentional • Efficient

Even at rest, they feel like something that could move at any second.

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Optional Extra (if you want drama later) Some Armored Avatars begin to: • Deviate from doctrine • Form stronger attachments • Hesitate in ways they shouldn’t

This is considered:

“Drift”

And it raises a dangerous question:

If a tank starts choosing who to protect… is it still just a weapon?