Eric Cary

[Eric Cary]

Player Name: Wihan Cahill
Name: Eric Cary
Age: 19
Height: 6ft
Weight: 160lbs
Physical Description: Eric, with his steel gray eyes and raven hair, is often seen wearing his hooded, full length black coat. It has one sleeve, the left, the other being cut off at the shoulder, and has clasps instead of buttons. He also wears gloves, of dark, soft leather and boots of a sturdy black leather, that reach to about half of his shin. Trousers cover his legs, being baggy and comfortable. but not enough so to be a burden when sneaking. A tight vest is worn under his coat, gray, sleeveless and made of an almost woolen fabric. He is lithe and thin, preferring to sacrifice raw power for dexterity and speed. That isn't to say he is weak, but only able to at least handle his own body weight, for climbing and the like.
Possessions: Living off the street is something he has learnt well and only owns the bare minimum like:

* Dagger - A double-edged dagger worn on his right hip, with an ivory handle, light steel blade of about 7 inches for protection and other various purposes.
* Small pouch of Bishani - Stolen or won from gambling
* Lockpick - Used for unlocking doors and chest, a tool Eric finds invaluable
* Box of tinder and matches - For those cold nights when a fire gives warmth to the soul or for when a distraction is needed.


Powers or Strengths:

* Very good at picking locks and pockets - Years of living on the streets, having to fend for himself has made stealing a second nature.
* Dextrous and good with sneaking - Having to pick pockets or breaking into houses has made Eric good and keeping quiet and using light and shadows to his advantage.
* Daggers, small swords or light swords(rapier) - Adept with most lighter, bladed weaponry, but prefers a dagger, because it is easier to carry and conceal.
* Archery - Fairly skilled in archery, but doesn't carry a bow or arrows since they can be noisy and cumbersome.
* Speaking/Lying - When faced with thugs or even the guard, a sly tongue and a quick mind has saved Eric on more than one occasion, even if just to stall to make an escape.

Weaknesses:

* Cowardly - When faced with an enemy demanding an outright fight, Eric would prefer running away or trying to talk himself out of it.
* Gambling - Has a weakness for gambling, whether it be cards, dice or even a dare perhaps, he is always willing to place money on it, though he is too cowardly to risk life or limb in such endeavours.
* Axes, Broadswords, Longswords, Maces, Heavy weaponry - Though able to lift and swing these weapons, is likely to lose balance or be fatigued easily, because of their sheer weight and size.
* Crossbow, Guns - Crossbow. being to large and heavy, guns, being noisy and requiring ammunition that can't be recovered like arrows, has caused Eric to never bother trying to train or use them.
* Charitable - Even though he is in and out of the gutter, Eric has a weak spot, to the point of giving his last Bishan, for people in need of help, especially a child or woman.

History:
Eric Cary was raised on the streets of Marn, never knowing his parents or any other blood-relatives, but even though the horrid circumstances, has always been a rather cheery and talkative boy. Most things tended to be an adventure to him and, in the abscence of adults who cared, he explored and played everywhere in the city, causing quite a worry for Melanie (Nellie for short), the girl, five years older than himself, that looked after him when he was a babe.
Their home consisted of a lean-to with a sink roof, set in an alley to keep wind and rain at bay, whilst a fire in a barrel kept the cold away. Otherwise blankets and clothing had to do while food was procured from stealing or begging. Eric quickly learned how to spin a story to get pity from a random stranger or street vendor.
It was not long before he started running out of places to explore and ended up "exploring" the homes of others. This, as well as other boyish mischief, quickly branded him a troublemaker in the eyes of the Guard and, to their dismay, he found their games of chase quite a joy. It was soon a common occurrence finding a guard or two pursuing him down a street or alley and as he grew older, his "survival" prowess also increased making these chases even more serious.
He learned of gambling on the streets as well as in some of the inns he snuck into and it always amazed him how a little luck can turn a man rich, or at least rich by his standards. Men could be made by gambling or broken, but since he had little to lose he soon started playing various games in the hope of becoming rich and saving himself and his "sister" from poverty's clutches. His favourite was dice, since he was able to bluff fairly well, but all games were alluring to him and even though he never did gain extreme wealth he was pleased.
He lives for the day and rarely thinks about things that are not in the near future. He also has an eye for the fairer sex, never letting a chance pass to flirt or cop a feel, but always showing respect to his "older sister". This has caused him a lot of trouble in the past, especially from the husbands or fathers of these women. It was because of this trouble that he had to learn how to defend himself when he couldn't run and thus became proficient with light blades. Archery came later, more out of the need to shoot a rope to climb a roof than for combat. He hasn't yet used his dagger to lethally wound another being.
It was never that he truly had trouble with the Guard or government. Since he never showed any true magical ability they never troubled him except with the things that were his fault. Even though he wasn't against the Judges, he wasn't with them either. He always found magic awe inspiring and frequently wished he was able to use it, especially when one cold night Nellie created fire for them.
After that night her powers slowly grew and, even though there were laws against it, they used the abilities when they were in need of heat or perhaps something else. Life wasn't perfect, but Eric was content and spent his days, pestering various guards, flirting with girls and women and in general having fun.
Nothing stays the same however. One day as the sun was busy setting and Eric and Nellie were standing just outside their home, three guards came to them. Eric was ready to sprint as soon as they showed any signs of apprehending him, but to his surprise they grabbed Nellie instead. They began dragging her away, screams echoing through the still streets. Eric threw himself at them immediately, but was soon swatted away and then beaten for assaulting them.
The last he saw as darkness consumed his sight, was Melanie being carried away, the guards laughing and boasting about locking up a filthy witch and the pathetic boy he was. It took him a few days to recover from his wounds and longer to recover from his sadness, but it has been a year now. He still has his light step and upbeat attitude even after various failures at rescuing his sister. He still holds the hope of finding her again one day.

[Katona]

Welcome to Thar and thanks for the application. Sorry, my reply's a bit long, but it's really only a few key aspects I need to clarify and ask you to expand on.

I'll start with his appearance. Generally someone who spends their time sneaking around isn't going to want to sacrifice dexterity for the sake of wearing a coat that might get caught on things or whatever else, specifically with such a noticeable feature as an entire missing sleeve. People would remember something like that, and blending in is a lot more favorable for someone in Eric's position.

He'd want to keep more than one lockpick on him, and if he was carrying around the tinder and matches, he'd be wary of getting them wet (not unlikely for a thief), or lost/stolen, so keep that in mind.

We do welcome cheerful characters on Thar, but I think in Eric's situation he wouldn't be quite so positive. He would have spent a lot of time hungry and cold, and rarely do people come out of a childhood like that so happy-go-lucky. Perhaps you could try to find some weaknesses that could come from living such a hard life throughout his childhood?

You don't necessarily have to go into who his parents were or what happened to them, but you need to explain who Nellie is, how she came across Eric, and why she'd bother caring for him at her own expense if she isn't related to him at all. How did she have the means to care for another child? If it began so far back that Eric can't even remember his own parents, then she must have been only 7 or 8 when she started caring for Eric which is rather young when a child would struggle to live alone at that age. Did they have any other people in their lives? Perhaps other kids in similar situations, or adults who might have helped them out?

If he was known by the Guard and caused as much trouble as you suggest, I imagine the least they would have done is arrest him. The guards in Marn are well-trained and he wouldn't have been able to escape them every time, if he was just a mischievous kid looking for trouble. They also probably would have locked him up or killed him if he tried to stop them from arresting Nellie, firstly for attacking a guard, secondly for defending an illegal magic user, and thirdly for not reporting her in the first place.

He probably wouldn't have become proficient with blades simply from fighting with random men, only moderately skilled at best. Archery, on the other hand, requires training, and since bows and arrows cost money, I doubt he would've seen it as a worthwhile endeavor. Besides, it really isn't that likely he'd be skilled enough to use a rope and arrow for climbing - it just doesn't work like that.

Can you explain more about his failed attempts to rescue Nellie? And, again, he probably wouldn't be that upbeat if he suddenly lost the person he considers his sister, who may very well be dead for all he knows, and is now alone (assuming from his history that there's no one else significant in his life). An important question I'd like to ask you is: what exactly are Eric's goals in life? What does he want and what motivates him?

Thanks again. Just reply to this thread when you want us to look over it again.