[hider=Varian Sigmund][B]Varian Sigmund[/B]
[B]Age:[/B] 27
[B]Gender:[/B] Male
[B]Nationality:[/B] Highmen (Miraaheim)

[B]Appearance:[/B] Many of the people of Miraheim have an established reputation for their appearance. Varian’s appearance doesn’t trail too far from the conception of a typical Highman. Like many of the people of the north, he has an imposing stature, standing at a height of 6 ft 4 in, or about 1.93 m. He has fairly pale skin, mostly due to the underexposure of being in the sun, which is rarely seen around Miraheim. His body is well-proportioned. He is not overly muscled, but rather well-toned, neither being too skinny nor too large. He does however, have fairly long legs due to high length, allowing him to make long strides, especially useful in combat, making him not only quite large, but also exceptionally agile for his height. 

Varian is usually found with a small beard, a bit different than that of normal people of Miraaheim, who sport rather large beards. Varian dislikes the look, and prefers a smaller, kept one. His skin is generally rough, with a set of three distinct scars going in a line across his cheek, many of which believe he has received from an encounter with a wolf, but Varian would never be the one to tell if that is really the case. His eyes are brown and his gaze appears as if he is always in a foul mood. However, that is just his normal gaze. Varian has relatively long, shoulder-length light-brown hair, which has been slightly combed back, but also chopped a bit to the side, giving him, as he would say, a perfect look for a mercenary.

Varian’s clothing isn’t exactly traditional, but combines a bit of his cultural background into it. He is found wearing a sleeveless grey leather vest. Around his vest is a baldric which extends across his chest and over his right shoulder, which is used to holster his two hand axes on his back, which are prominently displayed in an ‘X’ shape on his back. On his right shoulder attached to the baldric is a mass of grayish-white fur believed to originally be from a wolf, perhaps the same one that gave him the scars on his cheek, but again, Varian would never say. Varian also has a belt fitted tightly across his waist, and below that a pair of black pants of common fabric of the time. He wears boots, which are grey in color and reach just above his ankles.

[B]Personality:[/B] Despite his appearance, Varian tends to somewhat break the norm of how most people view the average Highman, at least, to an extent. Where most Highmen are loud and rash, many will find that Varian is composed and a bit quiet. At least, compared to the average Highman. When in a group of familiar people, or people he feels more comfortable around, he would usually become more talkative. He does not wish to do so in front of people he is unfamiliar with, especially clients. However, when he does talk, many might notice his rather dark sense of humor. He often finds humorous that which others might believe to be sinister. He would more likely be the one to laugh at other’s pain and misery, especially if the circumstance of it is ironic, far-fetched, or unusual. With that is added a second dimension of Varian being slightly critical of others, and rather unsympathetic of their troubles, unless they are clients, in which case he is very sympathetic, especially if the compensation is good. This is to say that Varian may be a bit cold, but he is also practical and smart about it. He knows when he should and shouldn’t say certain things, especially if the consequences be the removal of his head. His true feelings, beliefs, and personality would never reveal themselves to anyone but close friends, and because of the very nature of his work, he has few of those.

Although he has mostly attempts o break away from the traditions of his forefathers, Varian finds himself instilled with a few values from his homeland. He is not religious, but still finds comfort in the words and sayings of the ancient tongue in Miraheim, almost treating it as good luck charms. Although he has long strayed from the Highmen tradition of honor and family, some of those views still continue to work its way through his mercenary work, mostly having to do with family. Although he has long since lost any conventional family, he almost treats his mercenary group like an extended family. As their leader, it can almost be said that he could be seen as a head of a family, and as such, it is his job to keep the rest of his family safe, both with conventional and alternative methods. 

[B]History:[/B] Varian was born in the southern part of Miraheim, in a village called Renvall. He came from a long line of Highmen who defended the Maerrun in the province there. His father is the latest to have taken up the guard of the Maerr, his mother dying in childbirth. It was expected of Varian to one day grow up to become the next guard of the Maerr, and continue the tradition the family held. However, Varian realized even as a child that the life of servitude was not for him. In his opinion, why should he have to pledge himself to someone without getting something in return? The concepts of honor and tradition alluded Varian, even as a small boy. His father would reprimand him in the hopes that he would eventually accept that this was his ordained purpose, but Varian never could say that he did.

However, as he became an adolescent, he was taught in the ways of combat. This part of Miraheim tradition was one he cherished. It was taught in Miraheim that a man who could not fight was not a man at all. Varian learned early on that there was wisdom to these words. But Miraheim weren’t particular in terms of what weapons can be used. Varian wasn’t particularly fond of the large, single axe that had become common in Miraheim’s culture. He preferred to be more agile and moveable in combat. In the end, he chose as his preferred weapon choice a set of hand axes. This allowed him to keep within the tradition of the axe, while still maintaining his agility. Varian learned early on in his life that he had a talent for combat, and very much enjoyed it.

As he grew and became a young man, an event happened in his life that altered his fate. Being from Southern Miraheim, the villages to the south were prone to attacks from orcs and other foul creatures of the mountains. One night, orcs came down from the mountain and attacked the village. Varian’s father was among the men who defended the village, but by day’s end, he was murdered. In a single night, Varian’s life was changed completely. His father had left him everything. His property, his land, his money. Varian found himself for the next few weeks struggling to decide what he was to do. Although he had never wanted to before, he expected he would have to grow up to become a guard of the Maerr. That was his destiny. But that was the destiny his father had laid out for him. Now that he was gone, there was nothing truly keeping him there. So on a whim, one day, Varian packed a few of his belongings, and left Renvall, never to return.

For a while, Varian wandered. It would be an understatement to say that he was ill-prepared for the travels of life in the wild of Miraheim. From the cold, harsh winter to the beasts that roam the country, Varian found himself realizing something crucial: He was taught how to fight, but not how to survive. His was supposed to be the life of servitude in a grand hall of a Maerr, not roaming the wilds. The day came when a large grey wolf had approached him, seeing Varian as his next meal. Although Varian didn’t know it that day, the wolf would be his test to see if he could truly learn to survive. A battle occurred, Varian’s steel matching against the wolf’s fangs and claws. Varian triumphed in a grueling contest, but not before the beast left a permanent mark on his face. He skinned the wolf for his pelt, and wore it with him ever since. 

In the following town he visited after the event, he had heard about a merchant who needed passage between towns, and that he would pay anyone willing to accompany him as a guard. Varian heard, and decided to apply right away. It was his first true job as a mercenary. The first of many. His cargo had apparently been threatened by a bandit the day before, and the merchant expected an attack while on the road, which evidently did happen. The bandits came in a trio, but as Varian soon found out, were both quite slow and extremely ill-trained. Varian took care of them fairly easily, and lead the merchant to his destination. It seemed that Varian had finally found his calling.

Varian traveled all across Miraheim for mercenary work. Because of the adaptation to the weather, Varian removed a part of the wolf pelt off of his back, but kept a piece of it embedded on his shoulder, as a constant reminder to him of the day he considers he became a man, a tale he will probably never tell to anyone.

[B]Weapon Preference[/B]: A set of hand axes. Varian prefers to move agile through combat, and instead of choosing a single larger axe as his standard weapon, chose two smaller ones which he uses to hash, slash, and bash opponents. Varian constantly maintains the sharpness and quality of the axes, although a chip could be seen on one of them.[/hider]