[hider=Marcus Roman][center][h3][i][u]M a r c u s   R o m a n[/u][/i][/h3][/center]
[center][IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v285/Icmastic/590x788_4114_Near_final_male_head_3d_sci_fi_portrait_male_picture_image_digital_art_zpss521kcyc.jpg[/IMG][/center]
[center][sub][h3][i]Age - Thirty Five || Birthplace - The Outer Ring,  Scion || Magic User - No[/i][/h3][/sub][/center]

[u][sub][sub][h3][i]Physical description[/i][/h3][/sub][/sub][/u]
[indent]With piercing green eyes and a stone cold expression, Marcus Roman appears as a man hardened to the world around him. He stands just an inch over six feet and with a frame that would neither be large enough to describe him as hulking nor lean enough to label him slender. His torso is tight with muscular definition and scars leading into a "V"-shaped upper back--equally scarred--and broad shoulders. His limbs are proportioned and though his arms and legs aren't especially thick, they are cut with the definition provided by years of service and private jobs. His face has light facial hair and his once full head of hair is now shaved down due to his current situation. Other than scars, Marcus has no defining marks on his body such as tattoos and he elects to wear no jewelry at any time.[/indent] 
[u][sub][sub][h3][i]Armor[/i][/h3][/sub][/sub][/u]
[indent]Marcus wears a specially crafted set of [URL=http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v285/Icmastic/abb9c7869cf8593305e433835385e531_zps44l56tfy.jpg]light armor[/URL] that was given to him as a gift. It is composed of thin sheets of plate metal combined with cloth to give him light protection while keeping the weight down so his movement is more free. The blacksmith who made it knew that Marcus was not the kind of person to fight directly.[/indent]
[u][sub][sub][h3][i]Stamina Rating[/i][/h3][/sub][/sub][/u]
[indent]6/6[/indent]
[u][sub][sub][h3][i]Weapon(s)[/i][/h3][/sub][/sub][/u]
[indent]As his main weapon, Marcus carries a double-edged long sword. The blade is 45 inches and is smithed into the hilt with a full tang negating the need for a guard. It is composed of steel and meant for hard combat though, unlike most of the age, Marcus carries the blade and sheath on his back. Also carried on his back is his secondary weapon, a hand-crafted longbow made of finished oak.[/indent]
[u][sub][sub][h3][i]Personality[/i][/h3][/sub][/sub][/u] 
[indent]Due to the rather blank and angry looking expression Marcus wears, most assume him to be a man that is cold and short with his words. In his case, Marcus is actually more world-weary than strong and alone. He is a broken man who has seen his share of suffering and tragedy and these experiences have molded and shaped him into more of a realist than the idealist he used to be. His dialogue--though tinged with sarcasm and malicious wit--is often sharp and honest, almost begging others to heed the words and underlying tones behind them. He does not mind the company of others though he does not actively seek it out, but in his time in the military he grew used to working as a team member and relying on others in dangerous situations. 

Having said this, deep within, Marcus is not yet ready to share his true self with others. Especially because of his past, he is adept at wearing facades to adapt to the different situations he finds himself in and this act even gains his friends and comrades every once in a while. In truth though, Marcus yearns to one day unleash his true persona and bring himself back from the dark pit of his mind he locked part of himself into.[/indent]
[u][sub][sub][h3][i]History[/i][/h3][/sub][/sub][/u]
[indent]Marcus Roman was born to disgraced parents in the Outer Ring on Scion. At one time, his parents were highly respected scholars within the community of Scion Prime. They were head of a team that was responsible for researching the pre-Catastrophe era and magical poisoning. Though they never made any breakthroughs on the cause or origins of magical poisoning, they did manage to write and archive a good chunk of the books that currently exist on anything pre-Catastrophe. However, it was soon revealed that their work had been stolen from a fellow leading mind and the disgrace came quick and hard. Being proven as frauds, the Roman couple was forced to move into the Outer Ring where they had their first and only child. 

To add insult to injury, Marcus was clearly not destined to be a scholar. From an early age he had a hard time making friends and found it easier to pick fights and arguments instead. Being home-schooled by extremely intelligent parents only gave him the ability to rationally plan out his mischievous activities and his bad behavior eventually wrought dire consequences. In one of his stints of rebellion, Marcus was travelling alone in the Ring at the age of twelve. A group of thugs followed and swiftly kidnapped the boy in the broad light of day. His captors sold him to slavers at first who locked him in a home to be a child servant and object of taboo affections. Only two years later, the slavers' home was raided by a band of traveling knights as part of an annexation of the city by the Markovian empire. Upon finding the hidden, dirty, and malnourished child, the knights spared him from death and took him to Markovia where he was quickly thrown into training to eventually become conscripted into military service. 

As Marcus grew older, he learned the ways of combat and tactics while serving in the Markovian army. Initially becoming a heavy armored soldier in front line warfare, Marcus was afforded the opportunity to travel the continent and see just how dark and, in his words, fucked up the world had truly become. He saw things he would never forget and did things he would come to regret for the rest of natural born life. After ten years in the army--he officially joined when he turned eighteen--the disillusioned knight deserted while on an emissary trip to Sorei on Eteria. His company left with no knowledge of his betrayal and Marcus decided to put his skills to use as a mercenary who took on jobs from the highest bidder. These jobs morphed into a career of smuggling. 

During these criminal years, Marcus met a woman as hardened men often do. Unheard of in this era, she was a blacksmith at the master craftsmen level. The two fell in love rather quickly and though Marcus continued to use his skills to lead a life of crime, his partner supported him back crafting armor and weapons for her soulmate. Of course, smuggling humans is very much frowned upon and it wasn't long until the ICC got wind of his growing reputation and Marcus was caught. He was tried and sentenced to death while his partner's whereabouts became unknown. 

Marcus Roman wasted away on death row in the dungeons of Armistice awaiting his execution until he was informed his sentencing had been changed suddenly. Marcus had been ordered by the ICC to be released and placed in a traveling party of individuals who would search for the secret of magical immunity in the wilds of the world. Realizing instantly that the ICC was sentencing him to death by the beasts that roamed the world instead of a swift death by hanging, Marcus tried to decline, but was forced to join. His armor and weapons were returned to him and he was taken to meet the group he'd be travelling with.[/indent]  
[u][sub][sub][h3][i]Motivation[/i][/h3][/sub][/sub][/u] 
[indent]Though he knows he is not truly free, Marcus only desires to find the woman who was taken from him before he resigns himself to death by the beasts he's been forced to encounter in a quest he deems stupid and ridiculous.[/indent]
[u][sub][sub][h3][i]Significant Relations[/i][/h3][/sub][/sub][/u]
[indent]The blacksmith woman who captured his heart--Varrina.[/indent][/hider]