[hider=Andrew Harran Greenwood]
Name: Brother Andrew Harran Greenwood
Nicknames: Birdy, Brother Bird

Age: 17

Strengths:
 
Scavenger - This is a polite way of saying that Andrew is a thief. Since he was eight till he was thirteen, Andrew has been squeezing in and out of tight spaces to gain into places, pulling out hinge pins to open locked doors, and working at locks to make them open. Andrew has spent years on his own scavenging to survive. he has a way of finding things of value (to him) or are useful. An example, He might take a roll of string leaving coins. He has learned a fair amount about traps, mostly the hard way. People would set traps trying to keep him out and he has scars to prove it. 

Illusion and ward magic - Andrews gifts with magic are still growing. His first native station was a veil in a do not see me prayer that happened when he was stealing food from the Monastery. Hiding down a side hall he crouched holding a meat pie. Around the corner was Father Superior Robert who caught him. Since then he has been able to produce other minor illusions. Andrew was surprised to find that many wards are related to illusions. If he would have thought about it, he would have realized both are affecting the mind and senses. His wards are good as long as he stays stationary and remains focused, a skill he is working at. He is able to cover an area and he is able to do a small area if he is moving very slowly.m

Binding - under the right conditions,Andrew can bind a demon into a crystal. It requires Holy water and some other agents. It is dangerous and still experimental (for him) in nature. (Aka once it is beaten down by the party).

Jack-of- some skills - Andrew is good with his hands and is a quick study for things physical. He can do some basic craft skills like sewing a garment together, spinning thread, weaving things like baskets or cloth, can improvise an arrow head or a knife from metal, can smelt metal to cast. He can even make smoke bombs, a positive side effect of his youth.  He is not a blacksmith, tailor, alchemist, or metal worker and his items last for a while. 

(For flavor) Cooking - Andrew has learned the art of making most things edible and most of the time tasty. 

Weaknesses: 
Not a natural fighter - Running away, fighting from a distance, setting a trap, or the best way have someone else fight. That is the way he prefers to handle conflict. He is able to defend himself relying on his flexibility, speed, and a lot of luck. 

This might be useful - Andrew is a gatherer. He will pick up things that he thinks might be useful at some point - The bastard sword that he can’t swing, the broken crossbow, a metal shield. He is normally scavenging even when it is not needed. it shows that is worried about not having enough or something will go wrong in the future. 

Hear The demons in his head at times - There is something in Andrews family’s past that allows him the hear demons in his mind. The conversation the demon has is rarely pleasant. At times Andrew even agrees with his tormentor. He is the worst novice at the monastery. When he has a gem with a demon contained, the voice is louder.

Driven by food - Andrew is almost always hungry and is motivated by food. It is a trick that his Master figured out. Andrew was never late to a meal. It was how he was motivated to do his studies. 

Features:
 Andrew was not much to look at, short and gangly with sandy brown hair and clear emerald green eyes that look like he could have stolen them from the Holy Mother herself. His clothes, an assortment of garments that were handed down to him. Sewn together with as much care as the he could muster with the rod of his master on his back. Small scars and cuts run his hands and his arms from his days of thieving and working with animals. A pendent of Rose colored quarts from deep in the mine hangs on a strap around his neck. A belt of small pouches line his waist with items from herbs, to nails, to smooth stones, and crystals he found interesting. On his feet are soft boots that he collected from a man who died. A sling and sending stones are tucked into his belt with a couple daggers use more for cooking than for fighting. 
 
Connections:
TBD

Bio:

Andrew was born to the family of a mine manager on the edge of one of the seven villages. His mother was a farmer, tending to a little livestock, growing a little feed crops and gardening. His father mined bringing up iron ore and smelting it. It was a hard life and Andrew hated that all they ever did was work.

His young life was spent trying to get out of weeding, collecting eggs, slopping pigs, and “working” in the mine (mostly sorting through ore and throwing it in the smelter).

Andrew's mother was a woman of faith and took Andrew to the festivals, worship, and to lessons. In Andrews mind, this was work as well. 

Andrew always seemed to be at the spot where trouble occurred. If a cart of apples tipped, Andrew was probably near by. If a barrel leaked, Andrew was probably playing with a knife. Andrew was not bad, just a bit unlucky and way too curious for his own good.  

His parents died in a fire leaving Andrew to fend for himself. That resulted in Andrew taking up scavenging (stealing). He found he was good at it. His magic manifested when he had stolen an entire meat pie at the monastery. He had managed to hide and hoped, wished, and prayed that he would not be seen. Magic flared out of him, hiding him from Sisters hunting for the thief. Unfortunately, Father Superior Robert was standing around the corner where he hid. Andrew did not get to eat the pie. That was also the end of his sneaking food from the monastery and his real education began. 

[hr]

— Morning prayers —

As the light hit the stain glass a bright beam of light streamed down to the floor. Squirming a little Andrew watched the light make its path from the middle of the sanctuary to the altar. In his chest a drum beat loud enough to fill the hall and am rushing sound filled his ear. 

[i]Why me?[/i] the young lad. Sweat started to run down his back.
His Master Father Keiler whispered, “Just like we practiced.”
The old man stood within arms reach and Andrew closed his eyes as he sang the first words of the invocation. 
“Blessed Mother, we give you thanks for this meal we are about to receive..” we’re the words that came out of his mouth. 
Snickers came softly from the room as the Father Keiler sighed.
“Sit down Novice Andrew,” he said in a tone that indicated he expected this. 

At the thump of Andrews rump on the Acolyte’s Bench. Father Keiler restarted the morning prayers with a smile and much grandiose as if nothing happened. 

Looking at the floor as a boy having to confess his sins to his mother, Andrew started thinking of running away. 

As he sat, images in the shadows danced and leaped. A lone figure jumped from the mass of figures and took flight changing into a bird. The bird was red and sped around and upward as arrows flew till it rested on the index finger of Holy Mother’s out stretched hand. 

The room had gone quiet and now murmurs rumbled asking if this was a sign. Father Keiler stopped and looked at Andrew. 
“Andrew!” He said in a tone that was forceful. 
“Let it go,” He said just loud enough for Andrew to hear. 

Big hot tears dripped down on his robes and like a shot leaving a sling Andrew was out of the chapel and up one of the flying buttresses. 

Assembly Response:

Andrew’s time to take his monastic vows had come and passed with out even being mentioned. His friends were now Initiates and a few were now Sisters even. No mention was made about him taking vows. He did pray to the Holy Mother, just not the prayers the priests tried to teach him. He also did tended to lay on the bench looking up at the images contemplating them. His Master Keiler and The Father Superior normally called it hiding from his studies and chores. The brothers called it sleeping. Laziness was not accepted in the Holy Order.

With the Grand Assembly called, Andrew had been assigned to torch duty. This meant that he spent most of the day placing torches every so far apart around the green. 
Two young farm girls walked past as Andrew was placing a torch. As his hammer came down he nearly missed his thumb. dropping both the torch and hammer, and putting his thumb in his mouth to suck on it till the pain eased off. Laughter erupted from the girls as they headed off on their errand. 
Pounding torches was mindless work but it did have benefits. The first was he was not going to be beat for daydreaming. His stomach growled at the smell of cooking meat roasting over a grill. With his mouth watering he turned to follow the smell. Just a small snack would not hurt. As he headed that way Mother Osland caught his ear and redirected him back to work. Stealing was ground on by the Holy Order. The mother handed him a few coins when they got a break.

When it was time for the Assembly, Andrew was close to Brother Osric. He was short and with him came a procession of the Monastic Community. As Brother Osric took the stool and spoke.  A fat merchant had knocked the torch that almost fell, giving Andrew a reason to give him a dirty look and to move closer to the front.

Andrew listened to what was being spoken. Father Robert had told him about the Cup of Woe and not to touch it. Andrew had even seen the cup in passing. He was in the wrong place at the wrong time. In Andrew’s opinion the altar cup, being gold with gems seemed better to him. 

“A strange quest for Brother Osric to take,” he thought. Brother Osric was liked maybe even loved in the community. 

A warrior woman called out and strode to the front. She started heckling the crowd for volunteers to come forward. Some did.

The young woman’s words bit him hard. Cowards, yes he was. He was no warrior. He was not much of a Novice, or a monk. He was an unfortunate thief.

One of the Initiates teased him, “Well Birdy, do you have wings to fly?”
[/hider]