[hider=Garth of Tronach] [center][color=black][h1] [i]Garth of Tronach[/i] [/h1] ☩ [b]ℬ[/b]roacien tessera omni armatura fortior ☩[/color][/center] [center][color=black]█║▌│█│║▌║││█║▌│║║█║█║▌│█║▌│║║█[/color][/center] [center][img]http://i.imgur.com/1vbcpox.png[/img][/center] [center][color=black]█║▌│█│║▌║││█║▌│║║█║█║▌│█║▌│║║█[/color][/center] [center][color=black][h2][i]ℬasic ℭharacteristics[/i][/h2] [sub]“You can have your glory, I'd rather keep my life”[/sub][/color][/center] [indent][color=black][b]☩[/b] [b] ℕ[i]ame[/i][/b]-- [indent][i]Garth of Tronach[/i][/indent][/color][/indent] [indent][color=black][b]☩[/b] [b] Ⱥ[i]liases[/i][/b]-- [indent][i]Simply “Garth”, having been stripped of his tiles, he can no longer claim to hail from his birthplace. Garth Blackhorse, a name he jokingly gave himself and even started using in his dealings with others. Of course, it is named in honour of the black stallion which brought him back to Broacien.[/i][/indent][/color][/indent] [indent][color=black][b]☩[/b] [b] Ⱥ[i]ge[/i][/b]-- [indent][i]36[/i][/indent][/color][/indent] [indent][color=black][b]☩[/b] [b] G[i]ender[/i][/b]-- [indent][i][b]♂[/b][/i][/indent][/color][/indent] [indent][color=black][b]☩[/b] [b] Ѻ[i]rientation[/i][/b]-- [indent][i]Heterosexual[/i][/indent][/color][/indent] [indent][color=black][b]☩[/b] [b] ℜ[i]eligion[/i][/b]-- [indent][i]Monarchist, though he is not a true believer.[/i][/indent][/color][/indent] [center][color=black]█║▌│█│║▌║││█║▌│║║█║█║▌│█║▌│║║█[/color][/center] [center][color=black][h2][i]Ⱥppearance[/i][/h2] [sub]Ⱥb ipso ferro[/sub][/color][/center] [indent][color=black][b]☩[/b] [b] ℘[i]ortrayal[/i][/b]-- [indent][i]Garth has a haggard appearance, though he is in his mid-thirties, he appears to be somewhere closer to forty-five. His face is crisscrossed by both scars and wrinkles, with a few prominent worry-lines etched on his wide forehead. His brows are naturally furrowed, so he always appears to be frowning at something. Garth’s wide nose appears to have been broken a few times, though given the rest of his looks that isn’t too surprising. To his chagrin Garth is going bald, his greying black hair is receding from his head’s midsection, leaving him with a little on top and most of it growing at the back and the sides. At this rate, he’ll probably lose most of it by the time he’s forty. Further down, facial hair grows in patches on his face, most prominently around his mouth and lower lip, where he has shaped it in a crude moustache. Either way you look at it, it doesn’t seem like he’s been able to afford a barber in a long, long while. One look at Garth’s body and physique is enough to tell you that he’s lived a fighter’s life. His big hands are calloused from handling a sword, while a multitude of scars and old wounds dot his body. If one were to see him naked, they would immediately notice an abnormal number of scars on his back – the result of hundreds of lashes, layered upon one another. From his attire it’s obvious that he isn’t well off. Instead of plate or chain, as one would expect from a knight, he wears a simple leather hauberk with a couple of steel plates sewed around the vital areas. It is held by a leather belt from which a plain-looking longsword hangs, along with a dagger on his other side. A pair of sturdy boots and a faded black cloak complete his outfit. [/i][/indent][/color][/indent] [indent][color=black][b]☩[/b] [b] ℋ[i]eight[/i][/b]-- [indent][i]178 cm / 5’10”[/i][/indent][/color][/indent] [indent][color=black][b]☩[/b] [b] ω[i]eight[/i][/b]-- [indent][i]88 kg / 192 lbs[/i][/indent][/color][/indent] [indent][color=black][b]☩[/b] [b] ℇ[i]yes[/i][/b]-- [indent][i]Black, slightly upturned eyes of average size [/i][/indent][/color][/indent] [indent][color=black][b]☩[/b] [b] Ƀ[i]uild[/i][/b]-- [indent][i]Garth is solidly built, with broad shoulders and a large chest. His muscles are not overly defined, but he has thick, strong arms and legs, suggesting he is no stranger to physical activity.[/i][/indent][/color][/indent] [center][color=black]█║▌│█│║▌║││█║▌│║║█║█║▌│█║▌│║║█[/color][/center] [center][color=black][h2][i]℘ersonality[/i][/h2] [sub]Ⱥd Maiorem Dei Gloriam[/sub][/color][/center] [indent][color=black][b]☩[/b] [b] ℘[i]ersonality[/i][/b]-- [indent][i]Garth is all around an unpleasant man, a sworn cynic he seems to see only evil and ugliness in the world. He speaks in a gruff manner and doesn’t care for the feelings of others, nor does he expect someone to care for his own. To him life is all about surviving and he honestly believes that everyone, regardless of outward appearances, is out for themselves. Needless to say, he doesn’t trust anyone and has few people he can call acquaintances, let alone friends. Garth is envious and bitter, often faulting others for his own misfortunes, though he is not completely blind to his own shortfallings. Rather, he believes that everyone else is just as rotten as he is. Though he was brought up to be a Monarchist, there is little faith left in Garth these days. After witnessing the horrors of war and suffering in captivity, he finds it hard to believe that there is a higher power out there. It should be noted that he isn’t a fool and will not openly speak of this. All in all, Garth would rather place his trust in his skill at arms and wits, rather than some abstract entity. Going up against one’s upbringing is no easy task however and he frequently leads an internal struggle, wondering if he is right or wrong. Despite his reputation, Garth isn’t a coward or at least, he doesn’t consider himself to be one. He can hold his own, both physically and mentally, but he will not sacrifice himself for a cause. He has yet to encounter an idea or a person to inspire such blind faith in him; as of now, the most important thing for Garth is Garth himself. Despite being groomed to rule as a firstborn, he is not much of a leader. It’s not easy to inspire loyalty or admiration with his personality, though Garth doesn’t seem to care. Garth isn’t a completely lost cause, as behind the grim-faced façade, he often second-guesses himself and questions his motivations. He views this as a sign of weakness and tries his best to hide it, suppressing his feelings and refusing to share his burden with anyone. In turn, this makes him even more isolated from those around him, trapping him in a vicious circle of sorts. [/i][/indent][/color][/indent] [indent][color=black][b]☩[/b] [b] Ⱦ[i]raits[/i][/b]-- [indent][i][list] [*]Selfish [*]Cynical [*]Morally flexible [*]Survivor [*]Realist[/list][/i][/indent][/color][/indent] [indent][color=black][b]☩[/b] [b] Ⱥ[i]version[/i][/b]-- [indent][i][list] [*]Those more successful than himself [*]Desert lords, he hates them with a passion [*]Holier-than-thou personalities[/list][/i][/indent][/color][/indent] [indent][color=black][b]☩[/b] [b] Ⱥ[i]mbitions and[/i] ℱ[i]ears[/i][/b]-- [indent][i]Garth doesn’t really have any defined long-term goals. Obviously, he wishes to regain his social standing, lands and titles, but he has no idea how to go about it. His last years have left him feeling empty, so he is looking for a purpose in life or at the very least, something to get him started on the “right path”, whatever that is. In the short-term, he has decided to join the expedition for St. Friedrich’s banner, hoping it would provide him with a chance to prove himself and earn some much-needed coin. Removing the stain of cowardice from his name is also a priority and what better way than a religious quest? His greatest fear is losing his freedom again - his dreams are often haunted by memories of slavery under the Sawarim. In recent months another concern has been gnawing at him, the realisation that he may die without leaving a legacy behind. This is one of the main reasons he decided to join the expedition, even if he won’t admit it, a chance to be part of something greater than himself. [/i][/indent][/color][/indent] [center][color=black]█║▌│█│║▌║││█║▌│║║█║█║▌│█║▌│║║█[/color][/center] [center][color=black][h2][i]ℋistory[/i][/h2] [sub]Ⱥmator ℭrucis[/sub][/color][/center] [indent][color=black][b]☩[/b] [b] ℱ[i]amily[/i][/b]-- [indent][i][list] [*]His father was [b]lord Gwyn of Tronach[/b], a minor, but respected noble in the region. Gwyn gained some fame and wealth during the War of Vengeance, but apart from that his name will be unremembered by history. He passed away in 122 P.B., believing that Garth had died at the hands of the desert lords. [*]His mother was [b]Grida of Lochan[/b], the daughter of one Tronach’s neighbouring lords. A sickly woman, she died shortly after birthing her second child, Garth has little memory of her. It’s said that his father loved her deeply and never remarried out of respect for her. [*]His only sibling and younger brother is [b]Lorran of Tronach[/b], who now rules over the family lands. Lorran always looked up to Garth as his idol and sought to follow in his footsteps, but after finding out his brother surrendered, instead of dying like a true Monarchist, he lost all respect for him. In his mind, his older brother is long dead and he intends to keep it that way. [*][b]Alira of Ashbarrow[/b] is Garth’s former wife, whom he wed after proving his valour in her father’s tourney. He spent about a year with her and fathered a son, before departing to fight the Sawarim. She gladly remarried Lorran, still being a young woman of child-bearing age. Alira has since gifted him with two more children, a son and a daughter. She bears no ill will towards Garth, but believes he no longer has a place in Tronach.[/list][/i][/indent][/color][/indent] [indent][color=black][b]☩[/b] [b] ℂ[i]haracter relations[/i][/b]-- [indent][i]None as of yet.[/i][/indent][/color][/indent] [indent][color=black][b]☩[/b] [b] Ƀ[i]iography[/i][/b]-- [indent][i]Garth was born thirty-six years ago, in 91 P.B., during the reign of King Tristan. He was the elder child out of two and it was expected that he would inherit his father’s lands when the time came. Tronach was a small holding in the western reaches of Grosswick and not particularly rich, but Garth still received an education befitting a minor noble – he was taught letters, studied Monarchist religious texts and practiced the knightly arts: swordplay, horse-riding and archery. His early life passed without much else of note. When he came of age, at sixteen, he immediately joined the war with Restwaerd, where he fought well and was knighted at the end of it by King Tristan himself. Garth returned to his lands and made a bit of a name for himself by competing in local tourneys; he wasn’t a particularly good jouster, but he seemed to have a knack for melees and even won a few. When Cherwin declared war, Garth, along with many others, answered the King’s call and marched to war. After Tristan’s death, Garth subsequently served Queen Ella and then the Bastard King, Gregar Balin. Though he never achieved great fame, his experience and skills were acknowledged, enough to win the hand of a nearby lord’s daughter. He married and sired a child, thereby securing his family’s future. Garth fought in the last war with the Sultanate and this is when his life took a turn for the worse. During the heavy fighting, his company was surrounded and cut off from the rest of King Gregar’s forces. Instead of going down in a blaze of glory with their commander, some of the men, including Garth, laid down their arms and surrendered. They were taken captive by the Sawarim, who were eventually beaten back, but not before they withdrew with their new prisoners. The next four years he spent as a slave, sold and traded between a few different masters. It was a gruelling time, full of hard labour, beatings and humiliation, but Garth endured and refused to be broken. On one fateful day, he took advantage of the chaos surrounding his master’s grand funeral, managed to steal a horse and rode away before the guards could stop him. With a combination of sheer will, equestrian skill and a lot of luck, Garth eventually managed to make his way back to Broacien. Much to his dismay, he discovered that those who didn’t consider him dead knew of his company’s surrender. He found out he had been stripped of his lands and titles, which had passed on to his younger brother, Lorran. Branded a coward, Garth was spurned from the capital. Back home he learned that his father had passed away years ago, while his brother had not only taken his lands, but his wife and son as his own. Lorran met him with scorn, refusing entry into the castle and banished him from Tronach under pain of death. With nothing left to his name but the clothes on his back, he began wandering Broacien, working as a common sword for hire in order to earn a living. Garth’s spirits sank and he took to vices – women, drinking, gambling, among other things. For a period of two years he lived as a vagabond, growing more jaded and callous by the day, a far cry from the knight he had once been. Upon hearing news of the expedition for St.Friedrich’s Banner, Garth decided that his was his last chance to make something of himself. Despite his better judgment he made his way to Hoffburgt and joined the seekers. [/i][/indent][/color][/indent] [/hider]