| Born | 4th of Wollefest, 106 GME (age 36) |
|---|---|
| Nationality | Vuurstahlan |
| Affiliation | The Vuurstahl Empire (as Erna) |
| Known for | Occupying the body of the deceased Erna Byström after a failed resurrection |
| Held titles | Icesplitter (as Erna) |
| Family | Guiltseeker Isolde Byström (Erna's mother) Swordbreaker Maja Byström (Erna's mother) |
Rossa is the name of a woman who was once Icesplitter Erna Byström[1], who lost her life at the hands of Steeldancer Fia Messore during the Apotheosis Incident, unaware that she had been fused with the machine she fought.[2] Caelia, at the time inhabiting the enhanced Dusk Wing known as Apotheosis, resurrected Erna with a fragment of DHIYED’s power.[3] Unfortunately, even in her advanced state, Caelia did not truly hold the power to revive the dead; Erna’s body was resurrected, but a new consciousness was created inside her, one without the memories and experiences of the late soldier.[4] It was this consciousness that remained when Solus reversed the effects of the Apotheosis incident, returning the transformed soldiers to their human forms.
When the soldier awoke in the Stahlern military hospital, she was met by the friends and family of the deceased Erna, but one by one, they became upset when they realized she was not the woman they had known and loved.[5] Left abandoned and isolated, she had begun to fall into despair before she was visited by the Steeldancer herself. Though meeting the one who killed Erna at first thrust her further into despair, a long discussion with her began to open her heart to the girl, realizing the guilt she carried. She even asked the girl to give her a name, and was christened Rossa, after a nurse she had never known.[6] Now, Rossa seeks to understand her new self, to learn what kind of person she wants to be. She still grapples with the guilt of knowing the pain she may cause those who cared for Erna, but thanks to Fia’s guidance, she’s now able to look forward to her future.
Related characters
- Steeldancer Fia Messore, the soldier who killed Erna, but became Rossa's first friend, giving her her name
- Kingslayer Bowen Stark, a soldier that Rossa met in the hospital and befriended, and who has been assisting her in carving out her own place in the world
- Steelforger Ignacia Cardoso, Erna's girlfriend who cannot bring herself to be around Rossa, but wants to free her from Erna's family all the same
- ↑ "Uh, no, no you don't." Fia pauses. "Icecutter[sic] Erna Byström, right?"
It takes a moment for Erna to respond. "...So I'm told, yes." (Shore Leave 1, 1/18/2024) - ↑ Fia’s shot blows a chunk of the Lost Lamb’s chest off with a sickening crunch of bone and tearing metal, and through the hole she can see the frame’s cockpit– if it can be called that. There’s metal and wires and screens, yes, but also flesh and bone and sinew. There’s no pilot seat, or even a pilot. Instead, nestled in the depths of the cockpit is a now-sputtering heart. The creature looks to Fia with one last desperate rattle of breath before collapsing to the ground in a puddle of oil and blood. (Mission Log, 12/28/2023)
- ↑ "Oh, poor misguided soul. If you had only listened... Perhaps now you will learn."
The fallen Lamb's body begins to twitch, metal and sinew stitching itself back together as it rises to its feet, burning with a mysterious white light and growling. (Mission Log, 12/28/2023) - ↑ Erna nods. "It''s strange... it's not like I don't remember. At least, it's not how I thought it would feel. It's more like... there's nothing before waking up on that island. As if I was born that day." (Shore Leave 1, 1/18/2024)
- ↑ Her brow furrows. "I don't... remember anything. Everyone who came to visit me... they were upset about it. I'm sorry if it upsets you, too." (Shore Leave 1, 1/18/2024)
- ↑ Fia hesitates for a long moment. The only name she can think of, after today, is... selfish, after everything she's said. The pause lengthens, before she asks, quietly, "Would it be too much for the placeholder to honor another? The... nurse, who taught me some of these lessons herself?"
The woman considers a moment, then shakes her head. "If... if that is the name you choose, I will not mind it."
"...Rossa, then, for now." Voice quiet, Fia once again pushes down a wave of conflicted emotion. (Shore Leave 1, 1/18/2024)