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Description
And lo, a third OC from FursonaKittenMittens !
Archer belongs to her, and as with Amme and Zeta she provided a very detailed bio for me to go off of, so the story and its concepts here belong to her! ^^
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~~Archer SwiftFoot~~

Archer, a fox, was born to parents Obadiah and Shaay (shay) in the small village of Valleyway.
It was so small in fact, hardly anyone outside of it knew it existed.
A pleasant valley which acquired its name from setting between two mountains, everyone in Valleyway knew one another.
Small as it was, there was a sense of community there that none other could match.

Archer's parents were simple farmers, working their way through the hardships and ensuring their son always had food to eat and clothes to wear.
However small the portions or torn the clothing, he never complained.
He lived a simple childhood, a happy one spent in nature, chasing grasshoppers in the sun like every fox kit should.

Pre-war, when he was only 12, a small band of apes rode in on dreadwings, invading Valleyway with an ominous threat.
They were secretly gathering money to put towards the future built on horrid plans, and demanded a heavy tax from the people of the village.
They declared that if there wasn't pay, they would all but raise hell.
They harmed several villagers and brought mild destruction, advertising that this would continue if they didn't concede.
Needless to say, this was a very negative first impression of apes for the child, and not to mention the dreadwings.
He'd never seen such hideous, enormous flying beasts before, but the ones who rode them seemed that much more fearsome.
Most of the villagers cooperated, but Archer's father wouldn't have it.
He approached the apes and told them to leave, refusing to pay the taxes that he feared would only cripple their already small village.
The groups' commander did not take kindly to his outburst, and there in broad daylight for all to see, struck Obadiah down with a swift throw of the blade.
Archer was only a boy, and endured witnessing a horror no one every should.

After the funeral, Archer was never the same.
He stopped chasing the grasshoppers, hiding from the sunlight and all that laid beyond it.
All he could do was lie in wait for something worse to befall his dying town, as the villagers begrudgingly had no choice but to surrender everything.
But in the weeks to come, news of Valleyway's plight managed to spread to a mysterious organization, and they were coming quick to help.

They were known as The Warriors Five.
A small but powerful band of, naturally, five warriors, existed solely to liberate any peoples who were being held against their will, or oppressed by another people.
It consisted of a quick, sword-wielding rabbit named Caldron Jumper, a rough and tumble cannon-loving dog named Ferrel DawnShed, another dog (who was frighteningly skilled with a chained mace), Jenna Stomp, and a mysterious cloaked warrior named Hazel Beatrix, none of whom knew her true species.
She was as mysterious as her powers, for she could teleport from place to place.
And finally, the group was led by another fox.
Derrek LightHeart, a black and white marbled man with markings just as odd, if not more so than Archer's.
He was an expert with a bow and arrow, serving as something of a Dragon Realms' Robin Hood.
They sneaked into Valleyway and, rather than attack on a dime, quietly began to recruit brave villagers who were fed up with buckling under the apes' pressure.
Archer was one of them.
Though his mother begged him not to, Archer snuck out every night to go train with them; he had to defend himself.
As one could imagine, Shaay was in constant fear that she would have to bury her son at the end of all this, and the idea was unbearable.
But alas, she couldn't stop him.

In the time spent under the Warriors' tutelage, Archer quickly grasped the concept of basic fighting skills and hand to hand combat, but he wanted more.
He wanted to learn how to use a weapon like they did, and thus he pleadingly brought the idea to Derrek.
The older fox jokingly suggested a bow and arrow as a play on his name, but the idea clicked well in his head, and he expressed interest.
Impressed, Derrek took him under his wing.

As the weeks bled into months, and as the village came to be standing on its last leg, the day of reckoning finally dawning.
With The Warriors Five leading a vicious assault comprised mostly of fierce, angry vulpines, the apes were outnumbered, surprised and purely overwhelmed.
In no time, most of them were chased out of Valleyway for good, bringing a swift and valiant liberty to the modest little community.
But when all seemed well and done and just as everyone began to cheer, a single straggling ape with no pride and nothing to lose cut the Warriors' leader down where he stood, knifing him with a careless throw of the blade while the fox's back was turned.
Archer came too late to address the coward, as the little ape fled as soon as his blade had hit Derrek's back.
Hearing his cries, Archer rushed to his mentor's side, and held him.
In the months passed, he'd come to know Derrek as a second father figure already, but in that short amount of time history repeated itself.
There would be no way to heal his wound, and so Derrek's dying wish was for Archer to keep the team alive and stay fighting beside them.
And, lastly, that when he came of age, Archer would take his place as their leader, and don the hooded cloak that came with the position.
Two funerals for two fathers in such a short amount of time did terrible things to the boy's mind.

Following the events of the funeral, Archer told his mother he was leaving home to go train with the Warriors.
As she'd begged him not to train in the first place, she begged him not to leave, but his decision was final.
After a hug and a kiss goodbye, all she could do was cry for him.
A meek and tender lady, Shaay saw that a great darkness had planted itself in her son's heart.
He'd developed a sour, consuming hatred that fixated itself upon ape kind, and the two that had killed Obadiah and Derrek.
Unable to maintain the home and farm, Shaay moved in with friends, and prayed nightly for her little boy from that point on.
In the blink of an eye she watched him turn from a happy, innocent child to a broken soul soaked in the blood of his loved ones.
He had to be a man all too quickly, all too soon.

~~A Leader~~

In the care of the Warriors, Archer grew into a fine young man with well-honed skills.
He was strong, dependable, and eventually took his mentor's place with pride and honor.
But in all that time he still always looked over his shoulder, always thirsting for that revenge.
He never forgot those two faces, and wondered when his day of retribution would come.
But this wasn't priority; he had a job to do, and people to save.
For years this was his mission, and despite his deep-rooted hatred for all of ape kind he never actually took a life.
His arrows were strategic, only wounding or sending messages to foes.
The Warriors Five didn't kill, and Derrek had been the first to teach him that.

When Cynder rose to power and began her flood of disaster on the world, people grew too afraid to fight back.
They all hid away, some even chasing the Warriors off for fear of the attention they would bring.
The black dragon's iron rule was shrouding the earth in armies, casting shadows over the hopes of everyone.
Seeing that they couldn't do anything as a group, the Warriors sat and had a long, difficult discussion.
Hard as it was, after a night's worth of arguing, contemplating and then regrouping, the team decided it would be best to disband until the wars subsided.
Instead they decided to branch out and make an effort in their own, individual ways.
They each left a piece of their hearts there that morning, turning tail to do good all on their own.
Even Archer was hurting, but he knew it was best.
He agreed.

~~The Masked Rebel~~

Upon the group's breakup, Archer found himself wandering more than helping.
For some time, he felt lost without his companions, wondering how he could do anything without their help and guidance.
He had just become their leader, and now he was a lone warrior -- an ex-Five.
He wasn't ready to go back home, and he still wanted revenge.

Weeks later he came across a city that was once clearly home to dragons, but after brutal bombardment, it was left bereft of any drake.
Rather, it became a refuge to those who were suffering from the war.
Moles, cheetahs, dogs, anyone -- they all hoped they would be out of the way there, but just as the apes had ransacked the city once, they returned to finish off the stowaways.
Outraged by the loathsome intentions of the enemy, Archer rose to the occasion and made short work of the troops.
All done without taking any lives, he single-handedly managed to terrorize them all out, driving back their forces.
That event would mark the first of Cynder hearing about him.
But that aside, when the troops retreated and the people cheered for him, celebrating his name, the malicious fires in his heart turned to flames of pride and glory.
For the first time since he took up battling, he truly felt proud of himself.
He may have no longer been a leader to the Warriors, but he was a leader to people -- all people.
This was a job he was happy to do, and all by himself.

Soon, the brand "The Masked Rebel" began to spread around in ties to his name, having been earned by his rebellious, wild nature coupled with the orange mask-like pattern that donned the space around his eyes.
Archer went to town after town, liberating civilians and even infiltrating ape camps, driving them out and shrinking their territories.
Driven by the love and support of the people he freed, Archer soon began to forget about taking vengeance.
There were days when it crossed his mind, but when he truly thought about killing someone, it made him feel sick.
If he were to have killed those two apes, then he would've been no better than they were.
So much time to himself offered plenty of opportunities to reflect, and even grow in areas he couldn't grow in before.
Having finally surrendered the urge to hunt them down, he still found that he hurt.
He felt he would never be able to forgive them for what they did, which any sane person could understand.
But life went on, and he had many to save.

During his run-about, Archer encountered an ape in Tall Plains who happened to have turned his back on the dark forces.
They'd nearly fought, but upon learning this he spared the ape, named Xanro.
They made an acquaintanceship, and eventually parted ways peacefully, promising to keep each other's secrets.

His face became fairly popular on wanted posters, and Cynder was beside herself with wrath.
He knew she wanted him, but Archer continued his ways, avoiding capture.
He was too slick, too good and too smart.
But even as he still fought and still disliked them greatly, he felt the hatred inside of him slowly peel back into...pity.
These were not soulless monsters without conscience; they were foolish, selfish imbeciles who had been manipulated by forces greater than themselves.
Clearly they had little intellect to spare, so in place of hatred, Archer began to feel sorry for them.
But still, he had to fight them, push them back and give it all he had, and he did just that.
He enjoyed himself, he laughed again, he had fun and he was doing good all the while, and never once killed anyone.
It was the most perfect his life had been since he was just a boy in the farm fields.
Sad, when put into perspective, but in dark times all one can do is find joy in their own special way.

~~Fallen From Grace~~

At the time of his ongoing liberty streak, Cynder had the secret recruit of another fox, Fae FierceVulpine.
An ex-pirate turned right-hand woman to the ebony beast, Fae had earned herself the position of ambush assaults on rebels and self-made heroes, and a snuff-out of traitors.
She had hated it, having tried to get out before that happened, though no one else knew that.
Wedged in as a pawn in Cynder's game, she soon found herself at the forefront of a terrible situation, and she had to take the lead role in it.

As Archer always did, he learned of a town in distress and made his way to it to help the next batch of suffering people.
But upon entering, he found it was very ghost-like.
His advances were met with little resistance, which didn't sit right with him.
He didn't realize it at first, but Cynder had sent Fae and a massive troop to set a powerful trap, knowing her one and only female servant had the mental prowess to bring the Masked Rebel to his knees.
She was right.
Archer kept his hood up, the shade beneath it hiding his identity well.
He stepped cautiously into the town square, bow and arrow raised and ready to sink into whomever dared stand up to him.
Therein sat an army, all having been waiting for him.
It was eerie, silent -- hardly anyone hooted or howled at him.
The apes were so organized, no longer sloppy or so quick to break formation.
It was then that he knew that he was in grave danger.

"Awww, wow!
All this for me?
I'm flattered, boys, really."

He did his best to sound cocky, but he knew deep down that there was very little to be cocky about.
At the silent command of an unknown person, the army attacked in a neat, strategic manner.
It was a quick fight that he tried his best to escape, but in the end the mystery person in control finally attacked, being the first and only one to finally grab him.
When Fae pulled his hood back and saw that he was a fox just like her, the two of them simply froze and stared at one another.
It wasn't long before an ape asked what they needed to do with him.
Loathing herself on the inside, but wearing a straight face, Fae ordered a retreat to Concurrent Skies.
Cynder wanted him alive.

It was a long flight to the island where hope went to die.
Throughout the trip, Archer did everything he could to get Fae to talk to him, to figure out why she had betrayed her people, but she moved not.
Stone cold silence, and a forward facing gaze were all he got.
At last, they arrived at Cynder's lair, and the army dragged Archer in on his knees to the dragon.
After laughing and mocking him, swimming in pride and joy over his capture, Cynder began to interrogate and antagonize him.
To show he would never bow, Archer spat on her face.
Everyone, Fae included, thought he would be finished then and there, but Cynder kept her calm.
Low of tone and piercing in gaze, she merely stared him down.

"I was going to be kind and make short work of you here, but now I see you're too ungrateful to die so easily.
Take his weapon and his quiver, and his cape, too.
I think a public execution would suit you well, so all your precious fans can watch the light drain from their hope-incarnate's eyes.
I will thoroughly enjoy watching you hang..."

As directed, he was stripped of his possessions and even his cape, and thrown into a small cell-like structure, chained by the ankle to the wall.
He was kept over night purely out of spite.
Cynder wanted him to sit and stew, to have to think about what he was going to endure.
As the earth turned, it finally sat in that he was going to die, and so he spent the remaining hours sobbing.
When morning came, Cynder got the opportunity to see his bloodshot eyes, and offered only a smirk.

With a legion of armies on the backs of dreadwings, all for one prisoner, Cynder, Fae and the apes flew to the Shattered Vale, eventually coming to land in a heavily populated city.
These people were familiar with Archer, and Cynder knew it.
Hundreds of men, women and children were forcibly rallied by the apes into another public square, where other forces set up Archer's object of demise.
The Queen of Conquer sat behind her armies, enormous, towering over the massive, frightened crowd while bellowing out her message to them all.
She declared that their savior had fallen from grace, and that the fate he was suffering would be theirs if they tried to follow in his footsteps.
And though Archer was afraid, he had a message of his own, one final expression of hope to give to his people.
As apes led him from the flank and began to push him through the gallows, Archer sang his heart out.
He sang to them, for them, with them, as they all quickly joined in.
Everyone cried, inspired, and heartbroken.
Parents shielded their children's eyes.
But as Archer approached the noose that he believed would end it all, screams of confusion and terror broke out as a masked person riding a dreadwing swooped over the crowd and over Archer, grabbing him and flying off.
Quickly everyone realized that he had just been rescued, which enticed loud cheers and shrieks.
Cynder's armies quickly began to break apart, panic spreading as Cynder's fury reached a boiling point.
When her closest servant was nowhere to be found, she knew that she had been betrayed.
She hauled to the skies with apes and dreadwings, chasing after them.
But after soon she realized she wouldn't be able to catch them, and ordered the armies to fall back.
Outraged by the loss of her captive and the betrayal of both foxes, she laid waste to the land, burning down a quarter of the city before retreating to Concurrent Skies.

~~A Fugitive~~

The masked mystery person remained silent and unyielding until they reached a secluded island in the tropics, landing safely and un-followed.
When they reached the ground and were hidden, the unknown hero revealed herself to be the very same vulp that had brought him into custody.
It was then that she removed her very thick and bulky cloak, having hidden his possessions, and even his cape under it.
She returned them to him and explained what she had done, why, and that she'd been trying to escape it for nearly a year.
She never wanted to bring him in, but she didn't have a choice at the time.
But thanks to him, she finally had found the courage to take a leap of faith, saying that she knew she could've died, but at least she would've died knowing she did the right thing.

They quickly formed a close bond, sticking together while staying deeply under the radar.
Archer was far less reckless with liberation parties, but when he did go into battle, Fae would sometimes help.
Though, admittedly, she was terrified of getting caught and preferred to lay low.
For her sake, Archer really made an effort to stay out of harm's way.
Within a year, their friendship became a romance, which lasts to this day.
Not too long after that, the two of them ran back into Xanro!
This time they decided to take him along with them on their journey, having met up with him around the same time that Cynder finally fell from power.
At long last, they could come out into the open.

~~A Pirate is Free~~

Fae led the trio into Scavenger territory and looted enough to rent a boat, and eventually looted enough to buy a boat of their own.
When she jokingly suggested becoming the captain of such a small, sad little crew, the boys encouraged her until she finally took up the name for real.
They took the name The FreeFlyers, eventually gathering more crew members.
After everything he'd done and been through, Archer could've never imagined he would one day become a pirate, of all things.
He'd encountered so much death and pain, nearly died himself one too many times with his last encounter just about putting the icing on the cake, and he'd fallen in love.
And in befriending an ape, he finally saw that good truly could come out of the darkest of places.
His nearly racist outlook on the species changed dramatically, and he began to feel that forgiveness towards the ones who'd taken his father and mentor may someday be a possibility.
It was like a fairy tale, a lifetime of nightmares having transformed into a beautiful dream lived out alongside a beautiful woman, the romantic (and wicked crazy) life on the ocean and in a pirate's life, and coupled with more and more great people.
Along came Skeet, Banno, Lozza and Omaib, Zeta, and finally, Amme.
He made so many friends, and found even more joy and happiness there than anywhere ever before.
Today, he is beloved not only by innocent strangers, but by the third family he's come to love so dearly.

~~Today~~

No one yet knows what became of the rest of The Warriors Five.
Whether or not Archer will ever manage to reunite with any of them remains to be seen, but even if that beautiful day comes, Archer can happily say he doesn't plan on leaving the FreeFlyers any time soon.

~~Personality~~

Archer is outgoing, headstrong, and very brave.
A guy's guy, he's very vocal, funny, and witty, which leads to some very hysterical banter between him and his girlfriend.
But when it's time to get down to business he's focused, smooth and expertly silent.
The name "SwiftFoot" suits him well.

When Archer and Fae were first acquainting and getting along, he expressed pride in his fluffy tail, but admitted to jealousy over Fae's for it's length and strangely pointed tip.
Tail pride is very common in fox culture.
For the fun of it, Fae and Archer will sometimes take turns boasting about their tails in front of one another.

As a fox, he feels a lot and very deeply, something his people are known for.
When it hurts it hurts, and though he used to let the pain consume him, Fae has opened his eyes to a way of dealing with pain that takes it from something tragic, and makes it something beautiful.
With someone to share perspective with and learn from emotionally, he's flourished by her side.

~~Physiology~~

Technically still a red fox, Archer came out covered in an unusual amount of silver fur with a striking pattern on his face.
This is most likely a recessive trait.
His eyes are a sharp blue.

Not much of a fan of shirts, Archer prefers to wear just his simple brown pants, and elegant hooded cape.
The cape is a deep green with gold embroidery on the bottom of the long folds and around the face of the hood.
As the example shows, the middle section of the hood bears a crown-like pattern.
This pattern fades out into a straight gold band along the edge which shrinks to a pointed stop at the shoulder.
The bottom of the cape is straight gold all the way across with a sharp pattern on either outside corner.

His bow, once a simple yet elegantly shaped weapon has taken on some upgrades since Archer became a pirate.
Each front facing "arm" of the bow has a black pattern painted onto it that matches the pattern on the guard of Amme's sword.
It's possible that this particular shape means something to Fae, hence why she uses it in decoration.
The middle part of the bow has been plated with gold, as has the outer center of the hold on his quiver's strap.
And to show his allegiance to the FreeFlyers, the feather pieces on his arrows are now red, white and black.
They used to be the standard grey or brown, but he was more than happy to spice them up with the signature colors of his magnificent crew.

~~Preference~~

He is straight and in a relationship with Fae FierceVulpine.

~~Sword~~

He doesn't have one.
However, a potential name for his bow is yet undecided.

~~Rank~~

Well, it's safe to say there aren't too many woodland archers running around as pirates, but while he still fights with a bow and arrow, he has other tasks on the ship as well.
Archer is an ABS, meaning "Able Bodied Sailor."
His primary function is to steer the ship, more prominently now that they have an official navigator he can work beside.
Everyone sort of used to take turns, but since Amme's arrival it's been much easier on everyone, and Archer finally has a stable position...when he's not fooling around with the captain.~

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It's over...
It's finally over...for now. *collapses*

I know i've been screeching and screaming my whole way through this, but this is something that's needed to be done for a long time.
I'll admit, i was genuinely hoping for more reactions from watchers when these went up because to my mind Fae is pretty loved, so i thought it would be exciting for you guys to actually see what her crew looks like -- and confirm, then, that she actually HAS one.
But even though it hasn't gotten a lot of comments (since i'm obviously being a bit of a whore rn XD), i'm just as happy because it's here, it's done and most of it is just for me and Kitten.
And just -- by the way, when you're in charge of designing eight characters one after the other with detailed biographies, weapons and unique features, having a best friend who does her part really helps.
I would be so much further behind if she hadn't given me such well-laid out, organized bios to go off of, and she's not used to making those, either.
We don't write the same way and our styles are different, so naturally i had to tweak it to be my way and add my Fierce-Flare, but she seriously helped a lot.
You're a true blue partner, Kit :")
And with four out of five of these idiots being hers, it was especially helpful.
The only one she didn't lay out a bio for was Banno, but we didn't want his to be too complicated.
Simple guy, simple life.

I realize that Archer's bio came out insanely long and really complex, but he really deserves all that detail and involvement.
He came long before Amme ever did, and yet got so little attention because we just didn't have anything sorted out yet.
I wouldn't say i totally regret taking so long to get this out because it IS done now, and it's been done at a time where my style is really visible and easy to spot now, and that includes the way i write.
Seeing Skeet's old, not-labeled bio and how crappy her wings, head and feet looked drove me nuts, and i've also only recently had the guts to learn to draw simple weapons such as swords and, most recently, a bow and arrow.
I'll really be impressed with myself if i ever get talented enough to design Fae's ship, but that's waaaay far away...
Anyway, it just feels good to have something good and of better quality going into their folder.
I'd really like to draw the whole crew together in a big picture someday, but for now i am content.
Me drawing all of this and finally developing each character has made me and Kitten talk about it in more detail, which means i might actually start to draw real pictures of them or even write for them on a serious note

So thank you for reading these if you did, thank you for faves, comments, all super appreciated and nothing goes unnoticed!
Hopefully more will come in the future.
God bless you all!

---DO NOT STEAL MY CONCEPTS, ART OR IDEAS!!! I DO NOT OWN TLOS BUT I DO OWN THIS ART, THE FREEFLYERS AND ARCHER BELONGS TO KITTEN!!!---

Description
And lo, a third OC from FursonaKittenMittens !
Archer belongs to her, and as with Amme and Zeta she provided a very detailed bio for me to go off of, so the story and its concepts here belong to her! ^^
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~~Archer SwiftFoot~~

Archer, a fox, was born to parents Obadiah and Shaay (shay) in the small village of Valleyway.
It was so small in fact, hardly anyone outside of it knew it existed.
A pleasant valley which acquired its name from setting between two mountains, everyone in Valleyway knew one another.
Small as it was, there was a sense of community there that none other could match.

Archer's parents were simple farmers, working their way through the hardships and ensuring their son always had food to eat and clothes to wear.
However small the portions or torn the clothing, he never complained.
He lived a simple childhood, a happy one spent in nature, chasing grasshoppers in the sun like every fox kit should.

Pre-war, when he was only 12, a small band of apes rode in on dreadwings, invading Valleyway with an ominous threat.
They were secretly gathering money to put towards the future built on horrid plans, and demanded a heavy tax from the people of the village.
They declared that if there wasn't pay, they would all but raise hell.
They harmed several villagers and brought mild destruction, advertising that this would continue if they didn't concede.
Needless to say, this was a very negative first impression of apes for the child, and not to mention the dreadwings.
He'd never seen such hideous, enormous flying beasts before, but the ones who rode them seemed that much more fearsome.
Most of the villagers cooperated, but Archer's father wouldn't have it.
He approached the apes and told them to leave, refusing to pay the taxes that he feared would only cripple their already small village.
The groups' commander did not take kindly to his outburst, and there in broad daylight for all to see, struck Obadiah down with a swift throw of the blade.
Archer was only a boy, and endured witnessing a horror no one every should.

After the funeral, Archer was never the same.
He stopped chasing the grasshoppers, hiding from the sunlight and all that laid beyond it.
All he could do was lie in wait for something worse to befall his dying town, as the villagers begrudgingly had no choice but to surrender everything.
But in the weeks to come, news of Valleyway's plight managed to spread to a mysterious organization, and they were coming quick to help.

They were known as The Warriors Five.
A small but powerful band of, naturally, five warriors, existed solely to liberate any peoples who were being held against their will, or oppressed by another people.
It consisted of a quick, sword-wielding rabbit named Caldron Jumper, a rough and tumble cannon-loving dog named Ferrel DawnShed, another dog (who was frighteningly skilled with a chained mace), Jenna Stomp, and a mysterious cloaked warrior named Hazel Beatrix, none of whom knew her true species.
She was as mysterious as her powers, for she could teleport from place to place.
And finally, the group was led by another fox.
Derrek LightHeart, a black and white marbled man with markings just as odd, if not more so than Archer's.
He was an expert with a bow and arrow, serving as something of a Dragon Realms' Robin Hood.
They sneaked into Valleyway and, rather than attack on a dime, quietly began to recruit brave villagers who were fed up with buckling under the apes' pressure.
Archer was one of them.
Though his mother begged him not to, Archer snuck out every night to go train with them; he had to defend himself.
As one could imagine, Shaay was in constant fear that she would have to bury her son at the end of all this, and the idea was unbearable.
But alas, she couldn't stop him.

In the time spent under the Warriors' tutelage, Archer quickly grasped the concept of basic fighting skills and hand to hand combat, but he wanted more.
He wanted to learn how to use a weapon like they did, and thus he pleadingly brought the idea to Derrek.
The older fox jokingly suggested a bow and arrow as a play on his name, but the idea clicked well in his head, and he expressed interest.
Impressed, Derrek took him under his wing.

As the weeks bled into months, and as the village came to be standing on its last leg, the day of reckoning finally dawning.
With The Warriors Five leading a vicious assault comprised mostly of fierce, angry vulpines, the apes were outnumbered, surprised and purely overwhelmed.
In no time, most of them were chased out of Valleyway for good, bringing a swift and valiant liberty to the modest little community.
But when all seemed well and done and just as everyone began to cheer, a single straggling ape with no pride and nothing to lose cut the Warriors' leader down where he stood, knifing him with a careless throw of the blade while the fox's back was turned.
Archer came too late to address the coward, as the little ape fled as soon as his blade had hit Derrek's back.
Hearing his cries, Archer rushed to his mentor's side, and held him.
In the months passed, he'd come to know Derrek as a second father figure already, but in that short amount of time history repeated itself.
There would be no way to heal his wound, and so Derrek's dying wish was for Archer to keep the team alive and stay fighting beside them.
And, lastly, that when he came of age, Archer would take his place as their leader, and don the hooded cloak that came with the position.
Two funerals for two fathers in such a short amount of time did terrible things to the boy's mind.

Following the events of the funeral, Archer told his mother he was leaving home to go train with the Warriors.
As she'd begged him not to train in the first place, she begged him not to leave, but his decision was final.
After a hug and a kiss goodbye, all she could do was cry for him.
A meek and tender lady, Shaay saw that a great darkness had planted itself in her son's heart.
He'd developed a sour, consuming hatred that fixated itself upon ape kind, and the two that had killed Obadiah and Derrek.
Unable to maintain the home and farm, Shaay moved in with friends, and prayed nightly for her little boy from that point on.
In the blink of an eye she watched him turn from a happy, innocent child to a broken soul soaked in the blood of his loved ones.
He had to be a man all too quickly, all too soon.

~~A Leader~~

In the care of the Warriors, Archer grew into a fine young man with well-honed skills.
He was strong, dependable, and eventually took his mentor's place with pride and honor.
But in all that time he still always looked over his shoulder, always thirsting for that revenge.
He never forgot those two faces, and wondered when his day of retribution would come.
But this wasn't priority; he had a job to do, and people to save.
For years this was his mission, and despite his deep-rooted hatred for all of ape kind he never actually took a life.
His arrows were strategic, only wounding or sending messages to foes.
The Warriors Five didn't kill, and Derrek had been the first to teach him that.

When Cynder rose to power and began her flood of disaster on the world, people grew too afraid to fight back.
They all hid away, some even chasing the Warriors off for fear of the attention they would bring.
The black dragon's iron rule was shrouding the earth in armies, casting shadows over the hopes of everyone.
Seeing that they couldn't do anything as a group, the Warriors sat and had a long, difficult discussion.
Hard as it was, after a night's worth of arguing, contemplating and then regrouping, the team decided it would be best to disband until the wars subsided.
Instead they decided to branch out and make an effort in their own, individual ways.
They each left a piece of their hearts there that morning, turning tail to do good all on their own.
Even Archer was hurting, but he knew it was best.
He agreed.

~~The Masked Rebel~~

Upon the group's breakup, Archer found himself wandering more than helping.
For some time, he felt lost without his companions, wondering how he could do anything without their help and guidance.
He had just become their leader, and now he was a lone warrior -- an ex-Five.
He wasn't ready to go back home, and he still wanted revenge.

Weeks later he came across a city that was once clearly home to dragons, but after brutal bombardment, it was left bereft of any drake.
Rather, it became a refuge to those who were suffering from the war.
Moles, cheetahs, dogs, anyone -- they all hoped they would be out of the way there, but just as the apes had ransacked the city once, they returned to finish off the stowaways.
Outraged by the loathsome intentions of the enemy, Archer rose to the occasion and made short work of the troops.
All done without taking any lives, he single-handedly managed to terrorize them all out, driving back their forces.
That event would mark the first of Cynder hearing about him.
But that aside, when the troops retreated and the people cheered for him, celebrating his name, the malicious fires in his heart turned to flames of pride and glory.
For the first time since he took up battling, he truly felt proud of himself.
He may have no longer been a leader to the Warriors, but he was a leader to people -- all people.
This was a job he was happy to do, and all by himself.

Soon, the brand "The Masked Rebel" began to spread around in ties to his name, having been earned by his rebellious, wild nature coupled with the orange mask-like pattern that donned the space around his eyes.
Archer went to town after town, liberating civilians and even infiltrating ape camps, driving them out and shrinking their territories.
Driven by the love and support of the people he freed, Archer soon began to forget about taking vengeance.
There were days when it crossed his mind, but when he truly thought about killing someone, it made him feel sick.
If he were to have killed those two apes, then he would've been no better than they were.
So much time to himself offered plenty of opportunities to reflect, and even grow in areas he couldn't grow in before.
Having finally surrendered the urge to hunt them down, he still found that he hurt.
He felt he would never be able to forgive them for what they did, which any sane person could understand.
But life went on, and he had many to save.

During his run-about, Archer encountered an ape in Tall Plains who happened to have turned his back on the dark forces.
They'd nearly fought, but upon learning this he spared the ape, named Xanro.
They made an acquaintanceship, and eventually parted ways peacefully, promising to keep each other's secrets.

His face became fairly popular on wanted posters, and Cynder was beside herself with wrath.
He knew she wanted him, but Archer continued his ways, avoiding capture.
He was too slick, too good and too smart.
But even as he still fought and still disliked them greatly, he felt the hatred inside of him slowly peel back into...pity.
These were not soulless monsters without conscience; they were foolish, selfish imbeciles who had been manipulated by forces greater than themselves.
Clearly they had little intellect to spare, so in place of hatred, Archer began to feel sorry for them.
But still, he had to fight them, push them back and give it all he had, and he did just that.
He enjoyed himself, he laughed again, he had fun and he was doing good all the while, and never once killed anyone.
It was the most perfect his life had been since he was just a boy in the farm fields.
Sad, when put into perspective, but in dark times all one can do is find joy in their own special way.

~~Fallen From Grace~~

At the time of his ongoing liberty streak, Cynder had the secret recruit of another fox, Fae FierceVulpine.
An ex-pirate turned right-hand woman to the ebony beast, Fae had earned herself the position of ambush assaults on rebels and self-made heroes, and a snuff-out of traitors.
She had hated it, having tried to get out before that happened, though no one else knew that.
Wedged in as a pawn in Cynder's game, she soon found herself at the forefront of a terrible situation, and she had to take the lead role in it.

As Archer always did, he learned of a town in distress and made his way to it to help the next batch of suffering people.
But upon entering, he found it was very ghost-like.
His advances were met with little resistance, which didn't sit right with him.
He didn't realize it at first, but Cynder had sent Fae and a massive troop to set a powerful trap, knowing her one and only female servant had the mental prowess to bring the Masked Rebel to his knees.
She was right.
Archer kept his hood up, the shade beneath it hiding his identity well.
He stepped cautiously into the town square, bow and arrow raised and ready to sink into whomever dared stand up to him.
Therein sat an army, all having been waiting for him.
It was eerie, silent -- hardly anyone hooted or howled at him.
The apes were so organized, no longer sloppy or so quick to break formation.
It was then that he knew that he was in grave danger.

"Awww, wow!
All this for me?
I'm flattered, boys, really."

He did his best to sound cocky, but he knew deep down that there was very little to be cocky about.
At the silent command of an unknown person, the army attacked in a neat, strategic manner.
It was a quick fight that he tried his best to escape, but in the end the mystery person in control finally attacked, being the first and only one to finally grab him.
When Fae pulled his hood back and saw that he was a fox just like her, the two of them simply froze and stared at one another.
It wasn't long before an ape asked what they needed to do with him.
Loathing herself on the inside, but wearing a straight face, Fae ordered a retreat to Concurrent Skies.
Cynder wanted him alive.

It was a long flight to the island where hope went to die.
Throughout the trip, Archer did everything he could to get Fae to talk to him, to figure out why she had betrayed her people, but she moved not.
Stone cold silence, and a forward facing gaze were all he got.
At last, they arrived at Cynder's lair, and the army dragged Archer in on his knees to the dragon.
After laughing and mocking him, swimming in pride and joy over his capture, Cynder began to interrogate and antagonize him.
To show he would never bow, Archer spat on her face.
Everyone, Fae included, thought he would be finished then and there, but Cynder kept her calm.
Low of tone and piercing in gaze, she merely stared him down.

"I was going to be kind and make short work of you here, but now I see you're too ungrateful to die so easily.
Take his weapon and his quiver, and his cape, too.
I think a public execution would suit you well, so all your precious fans can watch the light drain from their hope-incarnate's eyes.
I will thoroughly enjoy watching you hang..."

As directed, he was stripped of his possessions and even his cape, and thrown into a small cell-like structure, chained by the ankle to the wall.
He was kept over night purely out of spite.
Cynder wanted him to sit and stew, to have to think about what he was going to endure.
As the earth turned, it finally sat in that he was going to die, and so he spent the remaining hours sobbing.
When morning came, Cynder got the opportunity to see his bloodshot eyes, and offered only a smirk.

With a legion of armies on the backs of dreadwings, all for one prisoner, Cynder, Fae and the apes flew to the Shattered Vale, eventually coming to land in a heavily populated city.
These people were familiar with Archer, and Cynder knew it.
Hundreds of men, women and children were forcibly rallied by the apes into another public square, where other forces set up Archer's object of demise.
The Queen of Conquer sat behind her armies, enormous, towering over the massive, frightened crowd while bellowing out her message to them all.
She declared that their savior had fallen from grace, and that the fate he was suffering would be theirs if they tried to follow in his footsteps.
And though Archer was afraid, he had a message of his own, one final expression of hope to give to his people.
As apes led him from the flank and began to push him through the gallows, Archer sang his heart out.
He sang to them, for them, with them, as they all quickly joined in.
Everyone cried, inspired, and heartbroken.
Parents shielded their children's eyes.
But as Archer approached the noose that he believed would end it all, screams of confusion and terror broke out as a masked person riding a dreadwing swooped over the crowd and over Archer, grabbing him and flying off.
Quickly everyone realized that he had just been rescued, which enticed loud cheers and shrieks.
Cynder's armies quickly began to break apart, panic spreading as Cynder's fury reached a boiling point.
When her closest servant was nowhere to be found, she knew that she had been betrayed.
She hauled to the skies with apes and dreadwings, chasing after them.
But after soon she realized she wouldn't be able to catch them, and ordered the armies to fall back.
Outraged by the loss of her captive and the betrayal of both foxes, she laid waste to the land, burning down a quarter of the city before retreating to Concurrent Skies.

~~A Fugitive~~

The masked mystery person remained silent and unyielding until they reached a secluded island in the tropics, landing safely and un-followed.
When they reached the ground and were hidden, the unknown hero revealed herself to be the very same vulp that had brought him into custody.
It was then that she removed her very thick and bulky cloak, having hidden his possessions, and even his cape under it.
She returned them to him and explained what she had done, why, and that she'd been trying to escape it for nearly a year.
She never wanted to bring him in, but she didn't have a choice at the time.
But thanks to him, she finally had found the courage to take a leap of faith, saying that she knew she could've died, but at least she would've died knowing she did the right thing.

They quickly formed a close bond, sticking together while staying deeply under the radar.
Archer was far less reckless with liberation parties, but when he did go into battle, Fae would sometimes help.
Though, admittedly, she was terrified of getting caught and preferred to lay low.
For her sake, Archer really made an effort to stay out of harm's way.
Within a year, their friendship became a romance, which lasts to this day.
Not too long after that, the two of them ran back into Xanro!
This time they decided to take him along with them on their journey, having met up with him around the same time that Cynder finally fell from power.
At long last, they could come out into the open.

~~A Pirate is Free~~

Fae led the trio into Scavenger territory and looted enough to rent a boat, and eventually looted enough to buy a boat of their own.
When she jokingly suggested becoming the captain of such a small, sad little crew, the boys encouraged her until she finally took up the name for real.
They took the name The FreeFlyers, eventually gathering more crew members.
After everything he'd done and been through, Archer could've never imagined he would one day become a pirate, of all things.
He'd encountered so much death and pain, nearly died himself one too many times with his last encounter just about putting the icing on the cake, and he'd fallen in love.
And in befriending an ape, he finally saw that good truly could come out of the darkest of places.
His nearly racist outlook on the species changed dramatically, and he began to feel that forgiveness towards the ones who'd taken his father and mentor may someday be a possibility.
It was like a fairy tale, a lifetime of nightmares having transformed into a beautiful dream lived out alongside a beautiful woman, the romantic (and wicked crazy) life on the ocean and in a pirate's life, and coupled with more and more great people.
Along came Skeet, Banno, Lozza and Omaib, Zeta, and finally, Amme.
He made so many friends, and found even more joy and happiness there than anywhere ever before.
Today, he is beloved not only by innocent strangers, but by the third family he's come to love so dearly.

~~Today~~

No one yet knows what became of the rest of The Warriors Five.
Whether or not Archer will ever manage to reunite with any of them remains to be seen, but even if that beautiful day comes, Archer can happily say he doesn't plan on leaving the FreeFlyers any time soon.

~~Personality~~

Archer is outgoing, headstrong, and very brave.
A guy's guy, he's very vocal, funny, and witty, which leads to some very hysterical banter between him and his girlfriend.
But when it's time to get down to business he's focused, smooth and expertly silent.
The name "SwiftFoot" suits him well.

When Archer and Fae were first acquainting and getting along, he expressed pride in his fluffy tail, but admitted to jealousy over Fae's for it's length and strangely pointed tip.
Tail pride is very common in fox culture.
For the fun of it, Fae and Archer will sometimes take turns boasting about their tails in front of one another.

As a fox, he feels a lot and very deeply, something his people are known for.
When it hurts it hurts, and though he used to let the pain consume him, Fae has opened his eyes to a way of dealing with pain that takes it from something tragic, and makes it something beautiful.
With someone to share perspective with and learn from emotionally, he's flourished by her side.

~~Physiology~~

Technically still a red fox, Archer came out covered in an unusual amount of silver fur with a striking pattern on his face.
This is most likely a recessive trait.
His eyes are a sharp blue.

Not much of a fan of shirts, Archer prefers to wear just his simple brown pants, and elegant hooded cape.
The cape is a deep green with gold embroidery on the bottom of the long folds and around the face of the hood.
As the example shows, the middle section of the hood bears a crown-like pattern.
This pattern fades out into a straight gold band along the edge which shrinks to a pointed stop at the shoulder.
The bottom of the cape is straight gold all the way across with a sharp pattern on either outside corner.

His bow, once a simple yet elegantly shaped weapon has taken on some upgrades since Archer became a pirate.
Each front facing "arm" of the bow has a black pattern painted onto it that matches the pattern on the guard of Amme's sword.
It's possible that this particular shape means something to Fae, hence why she uses it in decoration.
The middle part of the bow has been plated with gold, as has the outer center of the hold on his quiver's strap.
And to show his allegiance to the FreeFlyers, the feather pieces on his arrows are now red, white and black.
They used to be the standard grey or brown, but he was more than happy to spice them up with the signature colors of his magnificent crew.

~~Preference~~

He is straight and in a relationship with Fae FierceVulpine.

~~Sword~~

He doesn't have one.
However, a potential name for his bow is yet undecided.

~~Rank~~

Well, it's safe to say there aren't too many woodland archers running around as pirates, but while he still fights with a bow and arrow, he has other tasks on the ship as well.
Archer is an ABS, meaning "Able Bodied Sailor."
His primary function is to steer the ship, more prominently now that they have an official navigator he can work beside.
Everyone sort of used to take turns, but since Amme's arrival it's been much easier on everyone, and Archer finally has a stable position...when he's not fooling around with the captain.~

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It's over...
It's finally over...for now. *collapses*

I know i've been screeching and screaming my whole way through this, but this is something that's needed to be done for a long time.
I'll admit, i was genuinely hoping for more reactions from watchers when these went up because to my mind Fae is pretty loved, so i thought it would be exciting for you guys to actually see what her crew looks like -- and confirm, then, that she actually HAS one.
But even though it hasn't gotten a lot of comments (since i'm obviously being a bit of a whore rn XD), i'm just as happy because it's here, it's done and most of it is just for me and Kitten.
And just -- by the way, when you're in charge of designing eight characters one after the other with detailed biographies, weapons and unique features, having a best friend who does her part really helps.
I would be so much further behind if she hadn't given me such well-laid out, organized bios to go off of, and she's not used to making those, either.
We don't write the same way and our styles are different, so naturally i had to tweak it to be my way and add my Fierce-Flare, but she seriously helped a lot.
You're a true blue partner, Kit :")
And with four out of five of these idiots being hers, it was especially helpful.
The only one she didn't lay out a bio for was Banno, but we didn't want his to be too complicated.
Simple guy, simple life.

I realize that Archer's bio came out insanely long and really complex, but he really deserves all that detail and involvement.
He came long before Amme ever did, and yet got so little attention because we just didn't have anything sorted out yet.
I wouldn't say i totally regret taking so long to get this out because it IS done now, and it's been done at a time where my style is really visible and easy to spot now, and that includes the way i write.
Seeing Skeet's old, not-labeled bio and how crappy her wings, head and feet looked drove me nuts, and i've also only recently had the guts to learn to draw simple weapons such as swords and, most recently, a bow and arrow.
I'll really be impressed with myself if i ever get talented enough to design Fae's ship, but that's waaaay far away...
Anyway, it just feels good to have something good and of better quality going into their folder.
I'd really like to draw the whole crew together in a big picture someday, but for now i am content.
Me drawing all of this and finally developing each character has made me and Kitten talk about it in more detail, which means i might actually start to draw real pictures of them or even write for them on a serious note

So thank you for reading these if you did, thank you for faves, comments, all super appreciated and nothing goes unnoticed!
Hopefully more will come in the future.
God bless you all!

---DO NOT STEAL MY CONCEPTS, ART OR IDEAS!!! I DO NOT OWN TLOS BUT I DO OWN THIS ART, THE FREEFLYERS AND ARCHER BELONGS TO KITTEN!!!---