Cygnus

[Cygnus]

Player Name: Cygnus

Name: Cygnus

Age: 19

Race: Human

Height: 6'0

Weight: 157

Physical Description:
A brown complexion and deep brown eyes that seem listless and uninterested are his two most striking features. He has short curly brown hair and a slight slouch forward that is carried through all his movements, whether he is walking or even raising to point a hand to give directions. He also sports a baggy blue shirt that goes down to his thigh, holes pockmarking the sides in small concentrated areas. He wears baggy black shorts that go down to his scarred shins, also littered with holes, much of the holes concentrated on the lower bits. His final article of clothing are sandals that make X's over the top of his foot which he wears everywhere, and a brown wool jacket that he wears always.

With his shirt off, his body is filled with scars. Many are small cuts that run over his forearms and across his back, with few on his front. But on the center off his chest is a jagged scar that runs down from his right shoulder to his solar plexus. Lean muscles cover much of his body, especially his calves and shins, giving him a lithe figure that makes his movements seem strangely effortless, as if he had not exerted himself in any way.

Possessions:
He has just about nothing, beside the few possessions on his person that is. He has a small pocket knife, capable of easily fitting in his shorts and jacket. On his right hand is a ring with strange gnomish signs, a signature of sorts. On his left is a wide bracelet that comes up his forearm with the same insignia as the ring. The knife is very much similar to the ring and bracelet in that on the blade is the same carefully engraved gnomish signature etched into it.

He also carries a variety of objects in his pocket, mainly coins from a number of different currency systems. Coins from Sekhmet, Darleone, and Eyropa can be found in his pockets at any given moment for the most part.

Besides material objects he also possesses vast reserves of energy, allowing him long periods of physical activity. This makes it so he that is capable of running for long distances for long periods of time before needing to rest, a skill that was attained after years spent running from danger in the wilds between towns during his travels. With that he also possess an uncanny ability to wake himself if he hears the slightest sound even in while in the deepest sleep. This is a skill he honed from traveling to so many places and almost being killed on so many occasions by humans, animals, and magical creatures.

Powers or Strengths:
Cygnus has a number of valuable assets. He has very keen senses, his sight, hearing, and smell being very distinctive in the information that is relayed to him. He is capable of making out objects from a two and a half miles out with clarity, and up to around forty miles out is when his vision begins to make objects completely disappear. Fast moving objects are seen to him clear as day, that isn't to say that he is capable of reacting to them always though. This was a skilled he had always had, with very good vision he would earn the nickname 'devil eyes' as a child.

His hearing is honed specially, allowing him to find the general direction of a certain sound easily and separating distinct sounds quickly in order to allow him to do this. This was a skill that was learned through countless run ins with wild animals and a few magical creatures, smalls trolls mostly, that nearly cost him his life on multiple occasions. On nights in the wilderness alone he would sleep in a tree, but after a run in with a club wielding troll on his way to Quijas from Bellaza he would learn with certainty that he would need to either listen very closely or not sleep while he made his way eastward. Sleeplessness was not an option so he would keep himself listening always, waking with the smallest sound nearing him. At first it was hard, he would wake with every sound, but soon, after a month or so in the woods he would learn to discern the miscellaneous sounds from those of things that could harm him.

Smell was the one thing that came to him through desperation. During his travels he would have to learn the distinct smell of the various plants and berries in the markets of the towns he passed through, sometimes only buying merchandise with money he had stolen only to sniff them until he would get the scent down perfectly in his mind. This was something that he found to be a necessity when he learned that his great eyesight didn't come with a particularly good 'eye' for detail, leading him to once vomit and continue to have nonstop diarrhea from wild berries he believed to have seen in the market of a small town during his time in Darleone. The illness had just about completely drained of fluids, causing him to become very dehydrated. With that experience he learned to be very wary of wild plants, knowing there were plenty of poisonous plants out there.

Along with good senses, he is also intelligent. He takes in information quickly and keeps it stored for later moments in which it might be useful. This has been particularly helpful in his travels for he's found that many of cultures he has come across have a very strict mindset in the way they think and the laws they follow. He makes it a point to learn the customs of the people he's just come to meet as quickly as possible, after a short time with a particularly vile group of human bandits he met in Darleone being a strong motivating memory for him. He uses a specific method to learn about the way of the people he comes strolling into a town. After watching from afar for a short time he would use small sample sizes of people to see how they acted and thus place the action in his mind as something done by the whole population. This served him greatly during his trip while he was hopping from island to island between Darleone and Eyropa, where he came across a village of cultists that would do a strange chant after every time they would walk by, hear, speak of, and see the statue of a beast in the villages main road. To live in the village for the month he had, he would learn the chant and speech pattern of the people, which to his detriment had many references to old name that dealt with the religion of the cultist, but still he had managed to learn and survive for that month.

He is also very good with his knife. Hunting in the wilds and throughout the many occasions that he has had to fend off animals and even humans have been great moments of practice for him. Through this moments and constant fiddling with and practice sessions he has come to understand the weight, length, and width of his knife so well that know he uses it as a part of his body. The great amount of mobility that the knife gives him also allows him to use his speed over other opponents to bring them down by attacking vital points on humans. With animals he has found that vital points are pointless to look for, opting to cut and cut and continue to cut until the beast leaves or dies. That is unless the beast is too much for him to handle alone, in which case he runs.

Weaknesses:
A lack of common sense seems to mark much of Cygnus' short comings, creating his greatest weakness. He is very forgetful of things and doesn't seem to take care of his own body, sometimes not eating until the pains in his stomach become to much for him to take. He becomes so absorbed into whatever task that he sets out to do that he usually disregards everything else. This once led him to walk into a grown panther while he was watching an elven girl he'd found to be to his liking. The panther was not happy to make his acquaintance.

As of recently he suffers from vivid hallucinations. Every now and then he comes to see illusions that he understands are not real but still cause him to react to them because of how real they are right at the very beginning. A recurring and very troublesome hallucination for him is one of the bandit leader that he had stayed with during the latter parts of his travels in Darleone. These are infrequent but when they occur a complete collapse of his sanity occurs for short periods, causing him to become short of breath and respond, most times unwillingly, to whatever it is that shows up before him. Once he hallucinated of a chimera during his stay with the cultists on his last night at their village. He ran and fought and cut with his knife, causing a big commotion that stirred awake the many sleeping villagers. That night the village leaders had a meeting. Soon after he had to leave due to talks of the old god, what he presumed to be the beast statue, using him as a medium to get a message to the people of the village. Talks of sacrifice quickly spread throughout the village, and eventually reached him. The next night he would first trick, and later fight his way out of the cultist village.

History:
Cygnus' parents died at a young age. This affected his psyche greatly as a young boy growing in north Sekhantos, near the the great scar. During those days he lived in a village in which he was treated somewhat as an unwanted guest, one still treated with hospitality though. Trouble would start for him one day when he was seven years old. While playing with his older brother outside of the the old woman's, who had taken the unwanted burden of sheltering them for the month, home. Sadly for the brothers they would be passed around throughout the village where the village would collectively shoulder the effort of making sure they were taken care of. That day while Cygnus sat down beside his brother, who was breathing heavily after playing for so long with never tiring younger Cygnus, he narrowed his eyes as his brother asked him a question. Standing abruptly he asked his brother if he saw what he saw, pointing towards the enormous crop field on the east towards the mountain that towered over their small village. After looking for a long time, his brother shook his head. Cursing Cygnus shook his head and yelled at his brother, there were men coming towards the crops he exclaimed. After another incredulous look from his brother he ran back into the old woman's home to tell her. After about nearly half an hour all the men went down with their weapons to find a band of pirates had come searching for food and women. The fighting lasted days and after much bloodshed and destruction of their crops the men eventually drove the bandits away through sheer numbers alone. The damage was already done though. Many of the crops had been stomped and burned and a few of the children and young women were missing. Among them was Cygnus' brother.

After spending two more years within the village Cygnus found that he could no longer take the tension. The village soon became hostile towards him he found after the incident. At first they were happy that one of theirs had found the bandits before they got too close, there would have been no way to stop them if that had been the case, but then came talks of how he was capable of such a feat. No one was supposed to be able to see out that far without soon form of technological assistance, or from a view found up on a hill. Soon talks of magic and sorcery became normal and the children would no longer even speak with him, or try to console him. The adults had begun to avoid him, to the point that he would have to ask around for someone to stay with, since no one wanted to take him in any longer. Food was also becoming impossible for him to get, having to ask the village elders for something to eat while they stared at him with contempt. He had run into instances where the villagers flat out refused to feed him during his final year there, where villagers would be calling for him and his 'Devil Eyes' to leave their village before he causes any more problems for them, apparently having forgotten that he had, in a way, saved them all.

Not being able to take the contempt of the villagers any longer the young Cygnus left in the middle of the night. He would find a make his way to the nearest port and after nearly a month of working for a dirty old man in bar often visited by the scourge of sea, hoping to find one of the pirates that attacked his village. After speaking with some of the regulars he found out the old man had hired him so easily because he had been duping him, the pay for the work he did was a complete scam. After breaking a plate over the old mans head he would receive the worst beating him he had ever been through. That confrontation ended with the old man telling him that the band that Cygnus was looking for had already went over the great scar to sell the the 'merchandise' they were carrying. After being carried out by some of the nicer patrons, Cygnus used the next month to recover, already some of his permanent teeth replacing his knocked out baby teeth. Soon within that same year Cygnus would learn how to traverse the city, his sight becoming a valuable asset to the other children he'd become friends with. He would stand guard for them, standing guard being he was with them and occasionally looking back to check no one was after them while they stole. In turn they taught him how to pick pockets and regular locks, he'd long since figure out there was no other way he would raise the money to ferry across the great scar, thus he did what he had to in order to raise the money.

After a year of stealing Cygnus split off from his friends, having raised the money he needed to ferry across the great scar. Once across he would make his way towards Semerkhet, the place he had learned was the heart of all trade in northern Setkhantos. As he walked through the forest though he soon remembered that he did not know where he was really going, Semerkhet was north he knew, but was he really headed north he would ask himself during the long walks. He wanted desperately to ask for assistance but each time would bat away the idea, memories of the adults so far in his life resurfacing each time. After trudging on for a few days he came across a small clearing, an altar was in the center and a small pond was behind it. Thanking his god he rushed forward to fill his water jug, but stopped for a moment to inspect the situation. On the far left side he found that there was the remainder of a fire, and tools were strewn across the floor in every way. There were strange contraptions and on closer inspection he would see the altar wasn't really and altar. It a was a furnace of some sort, a slab of stone was placed over the top of the thing to keep heat in. Warily the ten year old Cygnus looked around and once he believed the coast to be clear he ran for the pond and filled his jug with whatever water he could get in a single dip into the pond. Taking it out he quickly he jumped up and turned to find someone slightly shorter than him looking him in the eye questioningly.

The Gnome was young and certainty something that Cygnus had never come across, or even believed to exist although he heard stories as a child. The Gnomish man was not bothered by Cygnus' intrusion, in fact he seemed to welcome it, blaming the forest of causing him loneliness. That night Cygnus stayed with the Gnome, he was wary of him but the food and water was too good to give up before he left on his journey again. But soon after Cygnus would come to learn of how under prepared he was for the rode ahead, the Gnome, who was called Trghon, told him of the number of challenges ranging from ghouls to bandits waiting for him out there. Explaining the reason for his journey was enough for Thrgon to see there was no stopping the young boy. After telling Cygnus to wait Thrgon scratched his beard and nodded at the young boy, answering a question that had long since been on his mind with a question. He asked Cygnus why did he think he was out there alone by himself. Cygnus knew something was coming so he readied himself to run if the answer was anything crazy. Thrgon answered because he was looking for a metal only found in those parts of Setkhantos. The metal was rare and had unique qualities mainly a strong affinity to magic. Forging an item out of the metal, Thrgon explained, would leave him in the annals of history. The problem was there were no mages to give the damn thing too, he would smile then and offer Cygnus a weapon then. There Cygnus was promised a weapon by Thrgon for his journey, the first of all the weapons to be 'created by a maser smith' he boasted. He also asked a simple request of Cygnus, to show his items to all the Gnomes he would come across in his journey so they could marvel at work of a 'true genius'.

Happily Cygnus stayed with Thrgon for a nearly a year while he crafted the weapon, in that time learning how to make small traps to hunt, as well as how to skin and prepares all manner of animals. That and how to use the wild berries to make medicine for his cuts and other useful tidbits were taught to Cygnus during his time with Thrgon. Soon though Cygnus knew he would have to leave, he could spend no more time with Thrgon, although the Gnome had become a good friend and mentor to him. On the day they parted Cygnus received an engraved knife made from the special metal, along with a ring and bracelet, all engraved with Thrgon's signature in gnomish. The ring and bracelet were special, Thrgon explained to Cygnus, The bracelet could extend out and cover his entire forearm with metal to protect it when Cygnus pressed the pin holding the two sides together, and the ring...the ring was meant to remind him of his good friend Thrgon. With a smile and a deep embrace he parted ways with the first adult he had liked in his entire life.

Making his way to the nearest town Cygnus began fiddling with his new weapon endlessly. Thrgon had gotten him a carriage that would take him to about three days out from Semerkhet. For three weeks Cygnus stayed with a random group of people, some were elves, a few were harsh looking humans, and an old priestess. For a nearly a month he stayed with those people. At one point later on in their journey one of the men yelled at him for ceaselessly flicking out the blade and putting it back, the clicking sound no longer being bearable. After that he would only flick the blade out when he was alone or with the old priestess, who seemed to enjoy watching him seeing as she only smiled as she watched him and fed him when food became scarce. He would repay he kindness on a night when he went out and caught a two rabbits for he and her to eat, while the others watched with avarice as they down their stale bread and water.

After making it to Semerkhet Cygnus would take the invitation of the old priestess extended to him. Coming into the city he understood there was no place for him to stay, and upon hearing the tales told by the others he had come to the city with, he would instill the belief that his hands were more important than anything there was to steal in the city. For the first month he would stay with the old priestess at the temple, apparently the life of Cygnus was a tragedy to her and she had decided to save him, adding one extra tally to her list of good deeds before she died which was very soon because Cygnus left a week after her death.

Living on the streets was something that Cygnus had become accustomed to already, within the first month he had found the poorer section of the city and found children his age just like him. For the next year he would live with them, teaching those who didn't know how to steal to steal, and learning from those who were his betters. Semerkhet's citizens were at wits end before Cygnus left, the rich especially particularly angered over the thefts. Valuables would be snatched off women, expensive canes and articles of clothing would go missing randomly, and as a whole money was being stolen all over the place. Collectively it wasn't something that didn't cause an uproar since it was already usual for the city, but stealing from the wealthy was something rarely done. But for Cygnus none of this mattered, he had found out that the pirate he was searching for had left topurchase a ship even further north, a ship that would allow him to plunder the islands between Darleone and Eyropa. With that information bought from a information seller he would leave out in search of once again.

For the next four years Cygnus would spend in between the islands of Darleone and Eyropa. Never going too far out into the mainlands, always one step behind the man he was searching for. At that point the memory of his brother had become just a reason, just a never ending fuel to an ever burning hate inside of him. Sixteen years old, battered and bruised, he would find himself one day kneeling before a fat ugly mule of a man who lead a group of bandits that terrorized a number of villages in Darleone. Without a doubt Cygnus could tell that the man was evil, from his smell to the ever apathetic black eyes of his that sent shivers down Cygnus' spine. For the next half of a year he would spend with this man, having been inducted as a member of the mans group after the man found Cygnus standing over two of his men. They had beaten him half to death, giving him a simple ultimatum, join or die then and there. He joined and for that half year he had seen rape, death, and theft, all at the end of a sword and even forced to partake in it. During his last month he would convert a few men to his side, and in the dead of night he sliced open the throat of the bandit and pissed in the wound as the others with Cygnus held him down. The scene was nostalgic in a sense, the bandit leader had done it to so many young women he had raped, and in the end he would die just like them.

After a year of running from the bandits and searching for any remnants of his brother, whom Cygnus had long since lost hope of finding or even in even in believing he was any longer among the living, Cygnus came into the mainland of Eyropa, to the town of Bellaza. There he would be mistaken for someone by a farmer, and after a careful interrogation he would find that the farmer had seen a young man that looked very much like Cygnus heading east. The farmer gave him the description of a sell sword, clearly, but Cygnus didn't care in the least bit, his brother was alive. With that in mind Cygnus renewed his search, believing that he may in fact find his brother alive and healthy. He had found the pirate/bandit when he was twelve, in the custody of some guards who said they were from the Eyropa empire. Cygnus knew the man was going nowhere any time soon and instead choose to continue seeking his brother. From Quijas he continued to go further east ward, asking about a man who resembles him among any band of mercenaries that passed through the area. He would search each city endlessly once inside and look in every tavern and stable he could, believing he would find his end goal. But for all those years that Cygnus hadn't seen Thgon he would still keep his promise to Gnome and sit with every Gnome who would come across, showing them the marvelous work that were his most valuable items. Some would yell at him to get out while other would marvel over it and ask if they could buy from him for a high price. He would always say no and continue to move, making sure he spoke of Thgon highly.

After a fnal year of nonstop travel Cygnus has made his way into the territory of Thar Shaddin. Quickly finding a group of travelers on the southern trade route he would find that they are headed to Marn, a large city filled with people from all walks of life. Upon his arrival at Marn he knows he has only two things to do before he leaves the city behind, search out the Gnomes, and the mercenaries.

[Niabi]

Hello Cygnus and welcome to Thar.

Here's a few questions I had from reading over this.

1. Why does Cygnus wear a breastplate but no armor on the rest of his body? And why sandals? Wouldn't he be worried about injuries to the lower half of his body? Also, this isn't standard issue guard attire. That can be found here.

2. Is his spear his only possession? Does he have any other weapons? Does he have any money? Does he have a place to stay or does he bunk at the Fort with the other guards? Does he have any items of value or something of sentimental value that he treasures? You don't have to list all belongings, just anything of value or special importance to the character.

3. Does he have any strengths not related to fighting? Does he possess any skills or talents? Does he have any hobbies that he might be good at?

4. Does he have any weaknesses in regard to his age and limited on the job experience?

5. Why would the guard beat his brother for something he had done as a child? Most guards would not take out their anger on a child or attack someone without good reason. There are also far more likely to arrest someone than to attack them.

6. What sort of problems has he had in regards to his self-teaching on how to fight? Is he inexperienced in fighting against someone who has received a formal education on fighting techniques?

7. Your history is very vague as to the passage of time; so I'm wondering how long you had thought he had been a member of the guard? All able-bodied citizens of Marn undergo two years of militia training from the ages of 16-18, but because Cygnus is not a citizen of Marn he would not be required to do this. However, that is usually the springboard into how one jump starts a career within the guard. It would be very rare to find a guard member who joined younger than 18 and in most circumstances it would involve someone lying about their age or not knowing their real age.

[Metarie]

Also, regarding citizenship - this is in the Setting Wiki under "Culture of Marn"

Citizens who bear the last name of one of the First Settlers are known as Descendants. The majority of government officials, particularly the Judges, are Descendants. Because Descendants have lived in Marn their whole lives, and because they carry the blood of the founders of the city, they are held in high regard and have an almost religious significance. Those who came to Marn following the First Settlers, but who lived at the same time as the First Settlers, are known as Synevives. The descendants of the Synevives are also held in high esteem, just below that of the true Descendants. Beyond Descendants and the descendants of the Synevives come those who were born in Marn. All others will always be inferior, and will always be treated as second class citizens in many respects, both socially and legally. It is possible, after living for several years in Marn and with the pardon (yes, it's called a pardon) of a high ranking city official, for someone who was not born in Marn to become an official citizen. It is not an easy process, and it will never equal the blood of a true Marnian.

So, you may want to consider this information when developing Cyg's history. Did you have a chance to read the getting started information?

[Cygnus]

Could one of you guys please look this over again. I think it's about ready.

[Niabi]

I'll look at it this evening after I get my boys to bed.

[Niabi]

I've read over it and I'm somewhat confused as to why he's a guard or how he has continued to be one. If he's slacking off on the job, passing off his duties on other people, looking the other way when he witnesses crimes committed by poor people and physically assaulting another guard, he would be dragged in front of the Captain or the High Inquisitor who would either fire him, imprison him or come up with some other form of punishment.

Reading it, it seems like this character lacks the discipline to be a guard, so I'm wondering if there's another else you would like him to do instead?

[Cygnus]

I'll add on to him. I'm busy at the moment so it'll have to be over the weekend, or even the next but goddamn it i'll have this guy accepted soon enough.

Plus you're right in that he doesn't necessarily have to be a guard. I'll have to change some parts to better show that then. If you read the previous post, the pre-edited one, then too bad. But if you haven't great! I was intoxicated on this own drug called weariness when i wrote it. So it shouldn't count for much.

[Niabi]

It took me longer than I thought to get to this, but I've read over the changes you've made to your character. Now I've asked a few other staff members to look at it as well and we've come to the conclusion that this might not be the right place for you or this character. You may want to look at our community page and check out a few of affiliated sites. I can't speak more highly of the people over at UV and all the things they do.