Aleksis Zharkov

[Aleksis]

Name: Aleksis Zharkov
Age: 33
Race: Human/Wolf Shifter
Height: 6'7"


Physical Description:

Aleksis is like the human version of a puppy. He's always smiling, green eyes always twinkling, always ready to crack a joke or try and make someone laugh. He's a veritable giant of man, with broad shoulders and a deep voice. He has brown hair, almost a chestnut color when it's clean. It rarely is. Like the rest of his body, it's usually powdered white with salt residue. Just like his goatee, his mustache, the cracks and crevices of his face. His hands are heavily calloused from working hard, and scars from before his life as a shifter pepper his form. Aleksis usually wears a pair of fur boots and heavy wool trousers, but generally doesn't wear a shirt. The only other nod to the cold he makes is the fur ushanka he wears, the ear flaps tugged down over his ears but not tied off. It's not an uncommon sight to see the giant of a man walking towards the city, a yoke over his shoulders with baskets of gathered salt and the ear flaps of his hat bouncing up and down as he sings a song.

Aleksis is very broadly build, with well defined muscles in his upper body and legs. He's also a very hairy man, which usually makes up for his lack of a shirt. If he was silent, his appearance would possibly intimidate people. But he isn't silent, and it's hard to be scared of a man who walks around singing and telling jokes to people. In the three years he's been in Zhaltev, he's made quite a few friends, simply by his personality. He likes to hear people laugh, and he likes to laugh. You'll never see him without a smile on his face.


Possessions:

His Pack: Aleksis has a travelers pack that he keeps around with him, where he stores his clothes and a few trinkets, mostly tools. A blanket or two. Being clanless in Zhaltev, a place to sleep is rarely guaranteed, even if it was agreed on for services rendered. And his tools continue to help him get a place to stay. Some people would think that such a large man would be heavy handed, but Aleksis has a very light touch. And with his tools in his hands, if he can find a empty place, it doesn't matter how many locks the door has. He's going to get into it, and he'll stay warm. It can hold a bit more, and Aleksis isn't above taking a little bit here or there to make sure he's fed and warm at night. After all, it's a wolf eat wolf world out there.

Tools: Some of them are simple enough. A hammer, a saw blade, a hand drill. A few things to get some small jobs here or there, doing manual labour. Usually in exchange for some warm food or a halfway decent pile of straw to sleep on. Some of the tools though, are exotic little pieces of metal. All twisty bits and jagged edges, Aleksis calls them his keys to the city. Any city. Any home, any lock, anything that would bar his way, those keys open for him.

Fishing Gear: Aleksis carries around a fishing line and a small saw-knife for ice fishing. A braided line for string, a few metal hooks, and a small piece of wood to act as a bobber. He sits out on the ice for hours at a time, hoping to catch a taste of fresh fish. Not only is it easily traded to those that are the more ursine persuasion, it's one of his favorite meals if prepared right. He just has to dig down to the dirt to get it prepared.

Powers or Strengths:

Lockpick:

Aleksis is a fairly competent lockpick. And by competent, he means that almost any lock is so much putty in his hands. The simpler ones, he can breeze through like they are nothing. A more complex one will take him a while, but he can generally get it to open. Many would doubt the big mans light touch, but he does have one. He twists and turns the picks, light as a feather, cooing to the cold metal of both his tools and the lock, encouraging one and begging the other to open to him. He talks to locks the same way most men would talk to a woman they were either in bed with or trying to get in bed, depending on how well the current picking is going.

Strength and Endurance:

Aleksis is strong. A lifetime of hard work that only served to build up his strength has given him the ability to lift seriously heavy items. Which may not be a feat, in and of itself. But where Aleksis' muscle strength really comes through for him isn't in just lifting the heavy items, but the ability to hold them. Many people can pick up a large stone once, if the need called for it. But Aleksis can pick it up and hold it, moving it to where he needs it. And then he can pick it up again, and carry it again. It's what helped him so in Zhaltev, carrying yoked buckets of salt between the sea camps and the city. And before his life as a shifter and the city, carrying logs from the forest into the lumber village he was born and worked in.

Friendly:

One of his greatest skills is how easily he makes friends. Aleksis doesn't get angry at people. And if he does, he's never been known to show it. He's able to talk to anyone, pick up their games of knucklebones or dice and play, content with losing, and has the rare ability to leave a gambling table without those he's won on being angry at him. He's the kind of person that once you are around him for five minutes, he treats you like a member of his family, and he remembers you later, even if you only talked the one time. He's always willing to share his meal, always willing to make room at a table for a friend to sit down, ready to introduce everyone to everyone. He'll make friends with anyone, and he just does not comprehend someone not wanting to be his friend. So he even hangs around the people who don't want him around.

Weaknesses and Flaws:

Naive:

Aleksis doesn't understand intrigue. He doesn't really understand politics or clan and blood ties. He thinks that everyone is friendly, everyone is good at the bottom of their hearts, they just sometimes need a little push. And he doesn't take things seriously, even if they need to be taken seriously. A man could pull a knife on him, and Aleksis would think it was a joke until he was cut. And even then, he'd be confused as to why his friend or potential friend has hurt him in this way. Aleksis lives his entire life like everything is just a giant joke, and it gets him into trouble with those he considers friends. And no matter how serious he needs to be at that time, he's just trying to continue laughing his way through life. Everyone is his friend, everyone is a good person. Even if they've done something bad before, Aleksis thinks they're going to be a good person if they're given friendship and shown that someone cares for them. He is aware that some people do bad things, but it's more or less the view point you have when a child knocks over another child because they don't know better. The person who has done bad merely did not know of a better way, and he feels that he can show them the better way. So it's not so much that he is unaware of bad things that happen, or that people are doing bad things, more that they just don't know any better.

Fear of Magic/Magic Users:

Aleksis is afraid of those that use magic, and the magic itself. He grew up in a small village on the edge of a forest, so he was raised with a wealth of stories about evil witches that lived in the woods, ready to pounce on little boys that didn't eat all their food. It only got worse as he got older, working with the loggers and hearing the strange sounds in the woods, the fact that men went missing now and then, never to return. Aleksis only believed in the use of magic once in his entire life, and it has put him in the situation he is in now. One of the few exceptions he makes to his 'friends with everyone' mentality is being friends with magic users. They scare him, make his skin crawl, make the wolf inside of him hackles stand up and the beast snarls. So no. No magic users or magic for him, please and thank you.

Aleksis sees magic as an ultimate corrupter. Even if it's used for something good, it's still achieved by magic. So there's a trace of taint in it somewhere. Eventually, good will become sour because of magic. He looks at his own situation as proof of this, that his good intentions were so corrupted by magic. This extends to race made by magic, or races where magic is heavily ingrained into the people. Because of the magic, they have no choice but to be evil, or to be feared, because no matter how many good works they do or accomplish, they have been corrupted by their very birthright of magic. While he can forgive someone else, can try to show them a better way, with magic or a magic user, they cannot be forgiven. They are corrupted by magic, and the magic will eventually drive them to hurt someone, or their magic will always turn awry and hurt others, even if they're thinking they're helping.

Hip Dysplasia:

Aleksis has a hip problem. Since he has an inherent fear of both magic users and healing magic, he's never gotten it looked at. It's like the bone doesn't fit into the socket right. The bone clicks when he's moving, or when he squats down, and sometimes the pain makes it hard for him to walk. Or to do much of anything, if he'd listen to it. He tries to grit his teeth and move on through it, but it's a problem. Especially since his job involves a lot of walking, and lifting, and requires him to squat and have strong legs and hips to continue moving things. There is the potential to get it fixed, but he's too afraid of what magic can do to him to try and see what it would be like to live without the pain. When it gets too hard on him, he merely shifts into his wolf form, the pain not affecting him as much while he's a beast.


History:

So, you want to know the story of how I, the great and strong Aleksis Zharkov, came to be in Zhaltev? It's a very simple story. Small town boy falls in love with girl, listens to witch who lives in the forest on how to get her to fall in love with him, and he becomes a wolf as payment. What? That story isn't simple? Well. I guess you deserve the full story then, aye? Here, come, come, sit down and I will tell you. Just push Oleg out of the way, he doesn't need to take up as much seat as he is taking. Now, listen carefully, because it is a long story, and i will only tell it once.

I grew up in a very small village. We weren't even a village really, just a large group of families, mostly cousins, that had built homes around my grandfathers lumber mill. My father was Aleksandr, and my mother was Anastasia. I had six uncles and eight aunts. My fathers sisters had never married. I had six brothers and six sisters. So not only was I the seventh son of a seventh son, but I was the thirteenth child. My parents didn't know if I was going to be lucky, or if I was going to be unlucky. But they decided to keep me anyways. Don't laugh, it was possible! They could have abandoned me in the woods! Then the Baba Yaga would have eaten me! But she comes later in this story, like she always does. Where was I... ah yes. My childhood.

My father was short. So was my mother. The only tall person in my entire family was my grandfather, and by the time I was 14, I was taller than him. And then I kept growing. So did my home. Soon enough, the village that had once only been my families homes added three more families to it, and it was nice. One had a little girl that was close to my age. So pretty. Red hair. Blue eyes. A voice like bells. I remember, she always wore her hair in pigtails. Beautiful Rada. She used to bring us food, when we were working in the forest. By the time I was old enough to carry an axe, that was what I did. Worked in the forest, cutting down trees and helping get them to my grandfathers mill. Then the merchants would come, and the wood would go out, and we would get gold. And the village grew.

I got bigger. I got stronger. Soon enough, I would haul large logs out of the woods myself, thrown over my shoulder and singing songs. Rada always encouraged me to sing. She said she liked my voice, and it reminded her of someone. Her mother had remarried, so maybe her father? I never asked her. I never got the chance to. As we grew older, I decided I wanted to marry her. You can imagine my face when she told me that she didn't want to marry me. She wanted to marry Misha, my older brother! Oh, how I hurt. How my heart cried out in pain. And that is when I made my great mistake. I ran into the woods. And oh, how I cried underneath the moon, like a wolf pup that was hungry! But what can I say? My heart was broken, and the woman I loved was in love with my brother. And I would never go against my brother, and how could I make Rada love me? She didn't see me like that, she had already told me so. And that's when I heard it. The Baba. I see the looks of confusion on your faces. The old woman flies around on a mortar and pestle, and it makes a peculiar sound. Like bones rubbing together.

"Who is this crying in my forest?" She cried out, and I did not answer at first. She cried out again, "Who has woken me up from my slumber? Who cries? Is it a wolf cub?" [Aleksis mimes a sneaky look, acting like he is looking through bushes and trees] "Is it a human child, far from home? Come to the Baba. She can warm you up, and we can have dinner." And my father had told me about the Baba. that she ate children. That she tried to scare men, but if you were brave, she may help you. Still heartbroken for my Rada and the fact she didn't love me, I found my courage. I stood, and shouted back, "I am the one crying in the forest, crying for a broken heart! But I know what you eat for dinner Baba Yaga, and trust me, I will not taste good!" And I was afraid, because she was magic. A witch, and I always had, and still do, fear them. But she laughed. The ugly old woman, for that is exactly what she looked like, sat down on her mortar and talked to me, concern in her voice. Like an old grandmother listening to where her favorite grandson was sad. I told her everything, and she patted my hand and told me of a solution.

"Take this scroll into the forests, and take this copper knife as well. Find a freshly hewn tree, and stab the knife into it. Then you walk around the tree, reciting the spell on the paper. It will give you animal magnetism, like the wolf. The one you care for will be attracted to you, and others will accept you as their leader, like they accept the leader of the wolf pack when he takes control. Do not worry my child, it will do no other harm to you, will not change you in any way. You will merely be a wolf among men, and your love will be drawn to you. Trust Baba Yaga." And for some reason, I did. She was a witch, but the stories said that she could help those that she liked. And she seemed like she cared for me, and had listened to my story so concerned for what was wrong with me. She could help me. Rada would love me! And like a stupid child, that's all I cared for. So I found the freshly hewn tree, and I did what the Baba told me. I stabbed it with the copper knife, and then recited the spell.

On the sea, on the ocean, on the island, on Buyan,
On the empty pasture gleams the moon, on an ashstock lying
In a green wood, in a gloomy vale.
Toward the stock wandereth a shaggy wolf.
Horned cattle seeking for his sharp white fangs;
But the wolf enters not the forest,
But the wolf dives not into the shadowy vale,
Moon, moon, gold-horned moon,
Cheek the flight of arrows, blunt the hunters' knives,
Break the shepherds' cudgels,
Cast wild fear upon all cattle,
On men, on all creeping things,
That they may not catch the grey wolf,
That they may not rend his warm skin
My word is binding, more binding than sleep,
More binding than the promise of a hero!


As you can tell, the spell did more than make me a 'wolf among men'. But I couldn't stop. Once I started to speak it aloud, I could not cast it aside. I had to follow the spell. She told me I had to jump the tree three times. And I did so, cursing the Baba Yaga the whole time. On the third jump, my body shredded, racked with pain, my human skin left behind as I took on the form of a grey wolf. Howling in misery, I ran to my home. I was not thinking, battling the animal inside of me. I just wanted the safety of home. When the men saw this great grey wolf running towards their homes, their children, their families, they got their bows, their axes, their spears. They attacked me. I felt arrows penetrate my hide. The spell did not work in that regard at least. The wolf... the wolf took my mind, too interested in his own self-preservation, too interested in saving himself. He attacked the first man that stood in his way, trying to get back to the forest. I watched through the eyes of a wolf as he ripped out the throat of my brother Misha. I swear to this day, I still hear the laughter of the old witch when it happened. I have always thought that must have been her plan, how she would keep her promise. With my brother dead, how could Rada marry anyone but me? The wolf ran, and I screamed inside my soul.

I couldn't go home. How could I look in my fathers eyes, knowing I had killed Misha? Still, I hung around, to watch his burial. To hear my family think that the wolf had killed me in the forest, and then the mad beast had tracked my scent back home. It was best that way. So I left, traveling through the woods, traveling to find a new home. I was almost killed by another wolf, and changed my shape to fight him better. But when he saw me shift, he stopped trying to harm me and turned human. So I reverted back, and he told me of Zhaltev, and we shared meat and water. The next morning, all of my supplies were gone. He must have needed them more. But I had a heading, a place to go. So I came here, thirteen years ago. I have kept my head down, and made many friends. I haven't joined a clan, because why join a clan? They limit who I can be friends with, who I can love. They have not shown me a reason to join that weighs past that. I am content. I miss my quiet little village in the southern forests, but I am content here. There is good ice fishing.

[Katona]

Approved.