[B]Name:[/B] Oliver C. Pike (the C stands for Clementine, obviously.) [B]Race:[/B] Human [B]Age:[/B] 26 [B]Gender: [/B] Male [B]Appearance:[/B] Oliver is a spry looking young man with a lean athletic build but little muscle to speak of. Although a bit taller than the average man, he remains looking rather young due to his skinny features, something that he finds rather difficult to deal with when trying to get others to take him seriously. He has somewhat handsome features and prefers to stay clean shaven, but generally leaves his short dark brown hair somewhat unkempt and shaggy. Oliver prefers to maintain a somewhat grave and ambivalent expression while on the job, something that makes him come off as a bit cold, but he prefers to think of it as professionalism.[hider=Oliver][IMG]http://i59.tinypic.com/154wr51.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i59.tinypic.com/5w03g4.jpg[/IMG][/hider] [B]Clothing/Armor:[/B] Given that Oliver is seldom out of work due to the demands of his employers, he has little need for casual clothes unless he's unwinding at home, in which case he just wears simple tunics and trousers; he rarely attends events worth dressing up for, so his wardrobe is rather limited when it comes to occasional garb. When on the job, Oliver prefers a look that is functional as well as memorable, as he does not have the luxury of a squire or a page to help him in and out of heavy armor, and never liked all the weight anyway. Instead he prefers to wear a set of scalemail greaves and boots affixed to a pair of thick black trousers for aided comfort and maneuverability. In addition to this he wears a navy blue hoodless arming doublet and a scalemail cuirass with metal plated pauldrons and spaulders. For added dexterity, Oliver chose to forgo articulated metal gauntlets in favor of a pair of simple fingerless cloth gloves. For an extra bit of flair, Oliver wears a blue cloth mantle down his back that has become positively ragged and tattered after seeing many fierce battles. Given to him on his 18th birthday by his mother, Oliver's father, Sir Cecil Pike (known among some Ikana as Swiftblade) wore this very same cloak while he braved the dangerous Termina field under the command of Igos Du Ikana himself. Oliver is rarely seen without a bandana of some kind on his head (usually worn [url=http://image.made-in-china.com/43f34j00AeyENHvgGwqk/Pirate-Bandana-JRO060-.jpg]pirate-style[/url]); his go-to is a dark blue one, but he does have spares just in case.[hider=Armor Reference Pics] Upper Body [IMG]http://i62.tinypic.com/220xmp.jpg[/IMG] Lower Body [IMG]http://i60.tinypic.com/34ns8lk.jpg[/IMG] Tattered Cape [IMG]http://i61.tinypic.com/2uhbr7b.jpg[/IMG][/hider] [B]Weapons:[/B] Oliver's weapon of choice is the sword, like the very knights of Ikana he has come to idolize. His blade is an arming sword made of fine steel and ornamented with a gold hilt and pommel. It is a sturdy and well-balanced weapon, but is otherwise unremarkable.[hider=Fine Steel Sword][IMG]http://i62.tinypic.com/10pow2o.jpg[/IMG][/hider] He keeps a hidden dagger strapped to his lower back just in case he's disarmed. [B]Skills:[/B] Athletics (Expert) - Worthy of being called the son of Swiftblade, Oliver is incredibly quick and can outrun just about anyone even in his armor. Given that being able to escape pursuit is incredibly important when you spend most of your time in the untamed wild of Termina field, Oliver can not only run like the wind but also outpace anyone fool enough to dream of catching him. He may not be a very good swordsman, but he can win fights by simply wearing his opponents down due to his superior stamina. Acrobatics (Major) - A limber and graceful young man, Oliver can traverse obstacles with finesse and speed and is most definitely light on his feet. This aids him considerably in fights, where he often has to outmaneuver his opponent to make up for his lack of skill with the blade. Light Armor (Major) - Oliver has spent so much time in his armor that it almost feels like a second skin to him. Not only is he well protected on the battlefield, but he's only slightly hindered by his suit of mail. Thievery (Major) - Oliver has managed to make quite a bit of side income from plundering the camps of other travelers out in the field, although only when he's on his own. He tries his best to only steal from bandits and other ruffians, but if he hasn't had a particularly lucrative week, he may be compelled to select less guilty targets. Sometimes, if he has a poor experience with a particular contract, he may consider stealing from his own clientele. Sneaking (Major) - See above. Long Blade (Minor) - Although he rarely hesitates to boast about his skill with the blade, Oliver is only an above average swordsman at best. In a fair fight he can quickly be overwhelmed by superior fighters, but he tends to use his superior agility to compensate for a weak and untrained sword arm. [B]Magic:[/B] N/A [B]Inventory:[/B] Oliver prefers to travel light, and depending on the trip he may prefer to take certain tools along instead of others. When out on the road, his gear is kept in a mid-sized backpack made of thick brown canvas cloth, which has one large main pocket sealed by a leather buckle and flap and two side pockets with button clasps. If he’s traveling with a caravan, he’ll usually toss his pack onto one of the wagons to keep himself light. He will almost always discard his backpack when entering battle or attempting to move stealthily, although it still doesn’t slow him down much. The following items are kept in his backpack:[hider=Backpack] • Metal flask containing cheap rum. Kept in left side pocket. • Lockpicking set (includes picks, skeleton key, files, chisel, and crooks.) Main pocket. • Whetstone and cleaning cloth for blade maintenance. Main pocket. • Pen, parchment, ink. Right side pocket, in cloth stationery wrap. • Sewing kit (needles, thread, awl, thimble). Right side pocket, small cloth drawstring bag. • Small armor repair parts (rivets, bolts, a handful of spare scales). Main pocket, cloth pouch. • Flint striking rocks (small drawstring bag, main pocket). • Small corked glass bottle of dry leaves and twigs for tinder. Main pocket. • One spare set of clothes. Black short sleeved cloth shirt, forest green light vest, dark brown trousers. Some undergarments too, although it’s none of your business. • Three spare bandannas, two dark blue and one black. Left side pocket for quick access. • One red potion. Glass bottle, main pocket. • Map of Termina field and compass. An older forgery of one of the highly valued original maps by the elusive and eccentric Tingle. Contains many personal notes from Oliver’s travels in the field. Main pocket. • Metal canteen, filled with water. Hooked to right side pocket. • Cloth bedroll. Rolled up and clipped to bottom of the backpack.[/hider] On any given day, Oliver will typically carry the following items on his person:[hider=Inventory] • Rupee pouch (affixed securely to his belt and clasped shut with a leather flap). • Clock Caravan Company badge (a small silver badge depicting a wagon wheel superimposed over a clock face. Clipped to his belt, next to his sword). • 10 Deku Nuts (kept in a pouch strapped to his outer right thigh for fast access. The thigh pouch is kept shut with a snap fastener and can be opened quickly in a pinch.) • Sword (sheathed at his waist on the left side for a fast draw). • Iron dagger (strapped to the small of his back as a concealed, last resort weapon. Typically covered by the tatters of his cape.)[/hider] [B]Backstory:[/B] From as early as he can remember, Oliver lived in a small apartment in Noon Square with his mother, right across from the Oathkeeper Shrine. As a young boy he loved to explore, much to the chagrin of his mother, who would often have to spend all night wandering the streets looking for him, often to no avail. It eventually reached the point where the poor woman would just give up going after him and expect him to be back by the next morning, which usually ended up being a safe bet (save for a few rare occasions where the town guard had to get involved, but those were, according to Oliver in retrospect, "isolated and scarce moments of poor planning.") Oliver reveled in his freedom, but soon came to realize that his mother had become rather lonely at home alone and elected to keep his excursions to a minimum for her sake. Oliver began to question his father's absence as he grew older, and Oliver's mother reluctantly began to tell him stories of the man. Oliver's father, Sir Cecil Pike, was one of the first to migrate to Ikana when the kingdom resurfaced, and also the very first outsider to be promoted to the rank of Knight. Renowned for his skill with the blade and his swiftness of foot, he was dubbed [url=http://zeldawiki.org/Blade_Brothers#Swiftblade]Swiftblade[/url] by his fellow knights. Swiftblade and his men were some of the most famous Ikana soldiers to patrol the fields, and their good deeds were known to many in Termina. Oliver's mother (Yvette) had only recently moved to Ikana when she first met (and quickly fell in love with) Cecil. When Cecil propsed to Yvette, her father (a lowly tailor) was understandably hesitant to consent; after all, Swiftblade was a renowned knight, and could've married any woman he wished. He eventually blessed the marriage, and a year later, Yvette had given birth to Oliver. It was at this point that King Igos Du Ikana announced that Ikana would be closing its borders permanently. Yvette sensed that something was amiss, and wished to flee the kingdom at once; unfortunately, Swiftblade was out on patrol at the time, and Yvette had no way to contact him. Knowing that this would be her only chance to leave, she fled the valley with her sister and her husband only hours before the gates closed, leaving behind a letter for Cecil explaining where she'd gone and urging him to follow. Years passed, and still she waited. Although Yvette still seemed bitter, Oliver seemed fascinated to hear that hero's blood coursed through his veins, and was always asking his mother for more stories of Sir Cecil Pike. Oliver dreamed (and still dreams) of meeting his father and becoming a Knight of Ikana. Yvette, however, urged him to keep his heritage a secret; she didn't want her son to grow up with his father's legacy surrounding him. Although Oliver did not understand at the time, he agreed to stay quiet on the subject. The few that he did tell never believed him anyway. At the age of seven, Oliver's mother lost her job as a tailor due to her employer going out of business, forcing the two of them to move in with Oliver's aunt and uncle. Oliver's aunt (Patricia) did not particularly care for Oliver (she didn't like children, and never got along with her sister), and in turn he did not particularly care for her (she was kind of a bitch). Oliver began to skip school and leave home for weeks at a time, often venturing out into the field just to get away from his horrible aunt. Yvette consistently tried to convince Oliver to straighten up and start learning a trade, but Oliver would have none of it, indignantly claiming that he was the son of Swiftblade, not some commoner who would grow up to be a tailor or a blacksmith. At eighteen Patricia officially kicked Oliver out of the house, although it wasn't as if the boy particularly wanted to stay. Yvette, who had become somewhat disillusioned with Oliver herself, did not offer much protest, but gave him Swiftblade's old cape as a parting gift. She believed that, like always, Oliver would eventually return home and settle down. Oliver was finally free again, but he was not particularly well prepared for life on his own. He hadn't kept with his studies and neglected to learn a trade skill like many of his friends growing up. It wasn't long before he ran out of what little pocket change he had left; living in Clock Town was much too expensive and too small for him, he decided, and so he set out into the field to make his living on the road. This more or less led to him living a paltry existence out in the wild; Termina field was not a very hospitable place, but Oliver knew that he, like his father was capable of braving the dangers of the field. Although he nearly met his end multiple times, he eventually adapted to life in the wild and managed to fall in with a merchant caravan that traveled all over Termina. The leader of the caravan, Zunari, took a liking to Oliver and passed along what guidance he could to the young vagabond before offering him a permanent position as a caravan escort. Oliver started sending letters home to his mother as often as he could, letters which included, much to Patricia's dismay, rather sizable parcels of rupees along with stories of Oliver's travels. Soon Oliver learned the secret of how Zunari managed to keep such a small merchant caravan so lucrative; as a "supplementary" source of income, Zunari and his employees would often "acquire" merchandise and spare rupees from other caravans they passed on their travels. Simply put, they were thieves, and skilled ones at that; they rarely had to take things by force. Most items just happened to be "misplaced" during caravan crossings, it would seem. Oliver learned how to "supplement" his own income as well, although he exercised a bit more discretion when selecting which merchandise he would deign to "acquire." It was not, after all, very knightly to steal from those who didn't deserve it. Zunari eventually amassed enough capital to dissolve the caravan and launch a different business venture; the Clock Caravan Company, a contracting service based in Clock Town that assisted itinerant merchants and other caravans with their travels by supplying wagons, supplies, horses, drivers, guides, and security guards for hire. Zunari gracefully offered Oliver a position as a contractor with the CCC, a job he gladly accepted. He'd come to enjoy life on the road, after all, and working for Zunari certainly guaranteed financial stability. Now 22, Oliver unexpectedly returned home for the first time in four years, only to find that none of his letters had ever made it to his mother. Yvette left Clock Town only a few months after Oliver was kicked out, claiming that she "needed to find Oliver and tell him something important." Patricia had been receiving his letters, keeping the money for herself, and forging responses from Yvette to make sure Oliver wouldn't come back to check on her. This discovery threw Oliver into a spiral of despair, not only because he felt responsible for his mother's disappearance, but also because he couldn't stop wondering what this important news could possibly be. For nearly a month Oliver wallowed in misery and began to drink heavily, talking to no one and rarely venturing outside his apartment. Zunari finally intervened, concerned that Oliver had not been responding to any of his letters or summons to begin work. He found Oliver to be an emotional wreck, believing his mother to be dead because he left her alone to play out in the field. Although it took nearly a week of very difficult conversations, Zunari finally motivated Oliver to pull himself together and start working, convincing him that it was very likely his mother was still out there, and even if she wasn't, he shouldn't blame himself for making her come after him. Oliver reluctantly went about working for the CCC, and although he initially made sure to ask around about his mother wherever he went, nothing came of his inquiries. After all, it had been four years since she'd left the safety of Clock Town, so the trail wasn't exactly warm. Now 26, Oliver has all but given up the search for his mother, but he tries his best to not let the matter trouble him. Working for the CCC keeps his schedule full and his wallet fuller, so he has plenty to keep his mind off such thoughts, especially right now; with all the merchants travelling to Clock Town for the upcoming Carnival of Time, the CCC can barely manage to fill all the contracts flooding in. News of the arrival of the Prince of Ikana has considerably lifted his spirits, however; although details surrounding the diplomatic envoy of Ikana are scarce, Oliver is hoping that he may finally get a chance to meet his father, Swiftblade, for the first time in his life. [B]Wallet:[/B] 80