[b]Tobias Ilingard[/b]

Age: 25

Gender: Male

Race: Human

[b]Appearance:[/b]
Tobias is an above average looking man. He has a sharp face, with brown eyes and sharp brows that take in the world narrowly, processing information quickly and immediately converting into something useful. He stands around 5’9”. He has a lean frame, besides his arms which are strong and supple, well-honed after years of pulling back a bowstring. He keeps his light brown hair short, and has grown a beard to further disguise himself from anyone who might recognize him from his time spent as a nobleman.

[b]Brief character concept: [/b]
Tobias is a relatively affable man. He is quick to make jokes at his own expense, and often is self-deprecating. Despite this, he has a high self-worth, and still remembers his time in the court and the blood that flows through his veins. He is quick to accept that he has much to learn. Despite all this, Tobias is somewhat sensitive and neurotic, though he can put these things aside when the situation demands it. He also has a sort of biting wit that has made him just as many friends as enemies.

[b]History:[/b]
Tobias is the bastard child of a middling lord and his mistress. His father is Count Reufeld, a stern man who has a deep connection to his daughter. His mother, Itlyonne, is believed to be dead. He is the middle child. His older half-brother, Aran, is the naive heir to his father’s small castle and county surrounding it. His ruthless younger half-sister, Jaysla, detests Tobias greatly. His family possessed Lormanie Castle, a small hold in the South of Areta.   

Tobias was born in a noble family, though he always knew he was different from his older half-brother. While he trained for battle, his brother focused on academics and strategy. Although he had a good relationship with his brother, it was often made clear that he was a bastard, and lucky to be living such a life. Tobias’s father was warm and tended to dote on Tobias while he was young. In contrast, his father’s wife detested him greatly for most of his childhood, until she died giving birth to his sister, who seemed determined to carry that hate with her. 

After his wife’s death, Count Reufeld’s temperament became far more grave, as he invested all that he could into Aran, the eventual heir. Tobias continued to learn, as he imagined himself being the right-hand man to his brother’s eventual rule. Tobias never questioned what had come of his mother, though he found out one night when his father, particularly sodden, let it slip while trying to discipline Aran. He heard his father mention “the whore who was now dead” but before he could hear any more, his father spotted him eavesdropping and beat him.

In the years following, Tobias thought often of his mother but never left the castle for fear of his father’s rage. However, Tobias never truly found a comfortable space in the castle or his father’s heart. As he grew older, his sister’s resentment only deepened, and so he was not quite surprised when his father confronted him, speaking of a supposed plot for Tobias to usurp his brother’s throne. Tobias had no such intentions, but realized that a father convinced by his youngest daughter would not be reasoned with, and so left the castle shortly afterwards. In doing so, he cemented the rumours into truth, or at least that was how others viewed it. 

Tobias was disheartened to leave his brother and did not even receive the opportunity to say goodbye. Despite this, he felt a sort of relief as he left what he had called home for so many years. He was left to go free, though many clamoured for his head as he left the county.

Tobias traveled for many years, and eventually settled down in a small Vicennan town in need of a hunter. He enjoyed the sense of being welcomed by the community and quickly established himself as an aloof hunter and woodsman. Still, he gained clout among the community as the stranger who would often come to their aid when they required it. He grew attached to the country that was not his own, more than he had ever when he was nobility in Areta.