[b]Name:[/b] Ardghal Umiros [b]Sex:[/b] Male [b]Age:[/b] 35 years old [b]Patron:[/b] Camvor [b]Appearance:[/b] [url]https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://digital-art-gallery.com/oid/113/562x700_19528_Dragon_Slayer_Concept_2d_fantasy_concept_art_barbarian_picture_image_digital_art.jpg&imgrefurl=http://digital-art-gallery.com/picture/gallery/barbarian&h=700&w=562&tbnid=CuiacOZIm6bsdM:&docid=1MTU8viYLrjXFM&ei=LyDeVr-0EofImAHw-Ze4AQ&tbm=isch&client=tablet-android-alco&ved=0ahUKEwj_h-f07a_LAhUHJCYKHfD8BRcQMwgpKAYwBg[/url] Ardghal has many pattern-like tattoos which he feels depict ferocity and determination. On his back is a tattoo serpentine dragon being bitten by a skull. He feels this announces his allegiance to the Dead God to any who care to look. [b]Personality:[/b] Ardghal was once a darkly cheerful lad interested in the ways of war. Now, he knows the ways of war and is a rather grim fellow. To see him grin either means he is determined to destroy you or you have earned his respect and approval to some extent. He is a paragon of loyalty to those who have earned it from him and does his best to keep his word should he give it (he will however, lie like a rug to those he has not given his word to someone and he feels it would benefit him or the clan). He is dedicated to Camvor because Camvor's determination is his inspiration to keep at his goals and never give up. After all, a silly thing like death didn't get Camvor down and that is truly worthy of respect in Ardghal's eyes as Camvor did it to keep an oath. Ardghal is quiet and likes to negotiate but when leadership or war is necessary he speaks and leads by example. His view is that peace is desirable but not always possible, it should be noted that for him being strong enough to frighten away any aggressors counts as peace. Along with loyalty and binding oaths, Ardghal values order greatly. His punishments are harsh and strict but he tries to keep innocents from being wrongfully punished and reins in his sadistic tendencies in punishment to avoid backlash. He also has a soft spot for children and he understands he is not a happy man and wishes for children to live and not be like him except in determination, loyalty and truth to one's word. [b]Background:[/b] Ardghal was born to a family of craftsmen (and women) back in the Old Kingdom. He was raised with the expectation of continuing the family business of blacksmithing but displayed an unhealthy interest in strategic warfare. He learned his first strategy game at the age of three. For the longest time, this was merely a hobby. Then came the banishment of the clan when he was fifteen. Ardghal's family was hit hard by being cast from grace. His father had the bravery (or folly) to speak out against the banishment and was beheaded for his dissent. Ardghal wished to take up a sword and charge to slay the High King on the spot. Fortunately, his mother reminded him that it was suicide and he lacked the ability to fight an army of Gallocmen since he was one untrained youth. His mother had thought the matter had dropped but in his heart, Ardghal swore to Camvor that he would do his very best to see the High King destroyed. This oath sworn in the headstrong, impulsive wrath of his youth became his main driving force. In what would have been free time, he constantly asked the Gallocmen to mentor him. For the longest time they ignored him. Then one day, his mother married an abusive drunken lout out of desperation to regain some of the wealth the family had lost in the banishment. Ardghal only put up with the man at his mother's request until one day, the drunken fool went too far. The scoundrel beat Ardghal's mother far worse than any other time before. Enraged, Ardghal challenged the man to a duel. As the two had always despised each other, the stepfather was drunk and Ardghal was underestimated greatly, the man accepted. Ardghal met his stepfather in the duelers field with swords. While his stepfather was more experienced and better trained, Ardghal had a ferocity that left his stepfather off-guard. Ardghal pressed the attack and the stepfather stood his ground but dared not attempt a counter-attack for fear of ensuring his own destruction as well. The fight dragged on and Ardghal's youth and bloodlust kept exhaustion off him even though his body was beginning to strain. His stepfather however did not know that Ardghal was tiring and began to despair as the onslaught showed no reprieve and the crowd jeered at him for being a coward. Fearing for his life, he tried to bribe, to cajole and to parley but this was met by an icy response of "By Camvor the Oathkeeper, one of us goes to the grave today." This was accompanied by a look of such intense malice, determination and rage that the stepfather's will broke a little and he at last faltered. This opening was enough and Ardghal's blade slashed across his throat. Sadly, Ardghal's mother had died of internal bleeding during the fight as the healer could not treat it. When Ardghal heard the news, he crumpled, dead inside. He grieved for his last known blood relative, not caring that the possessions of his bloodline and his stepfather were his. All that came out of this was that a Gallocman finally decided to mentor him. Ardghal set his jaw and did his best to train and learn how to fulfill the oath he made. Using some of the resources of his family, he studied the ways of his patron deity Camvor. His rise to the Council came during an enemy raid. He was at the thick of the fight calling upon the power of his ancestors and hacking with his axe. His predecessor fell and Ardghal took command without intending to. After leading the defense successfully, he was soon chosen for the Council. [b]Personal Goals:[/b] VENGEANCE. For now, Ardghal is pretty much dead inside. What he wants for himself above all else is the head of the High King on a platter. Despite this, he watches out for the clan and wants the best for them due to his strong sense of duty. [b]Clan Goals:[/b] Ardghal wants his clan to be invincible and never subject to the whims of an outsider again, so that no other family is destroyed like his own. He thinks the best way to do this is to have the strength to vanquish any mortal foe through military strength. He desires union with allies and the destruction of foes. [b]Estate:[/b] Ardghal lives in what was once a beautiful home but has become jagged and fortified, more like a grim citadel than a home. Some say it would take a siege to enter Ardghal's home without his permission. Ardghal keeps no thralls, thinking they might murder him in his sleep. Instead, he employs several kerns to maintain and guard his home (he is also their landlord). These servants are each armed with a bow and a short sword and know how to use them if the clan is raided. Ardghal chooses only those he trusts to watch over his home as during such a raid he is likely to be fighting elsewhere. The house is three stories tall and has passable furnishings within but there is a grim touch of gloom about the place. Since he cares about the children of the clan, they are permitted to hide in his home in the event of a raid. He has no concern that they will steal or break anything since he keeps his valuables locked away. [b]Traits:[/b] [list][*] 15/15 [*]Loud -1 [*]Greedy -1 [*]Unlucky -2 [*]Slow -2 [*]Proud -2 [*]Charismatic +2 [*]Intelligent +2 [*]War-Mage +3 [*]Tactician +2 [*]Warrior +1 [*]Intermediate Weapons +2 [*]Rider +1 [*]Hardy +1 [*]Imposing +1 [/list]