[hider=Gerick the Grey]
[b]Name:[/b] Gerick
[b]Title:[/b] The Grey
[b]Age:[/b] 24

[b]Appearance:[/b]
Gerick stands at a respectable six feet, with unkempt jet black hair streaked with grey. His eyes themselves are also a dull grey, with dark circles looming underneath. His face is angular and gaunt; his skin an almost sickly pale. There are some who say he never smiles (perhaps to hide his rotted, decaying teeth), but he has been known to smirk on some occasions. His nose is somewhat crooked, having been broken once or twice in the past. Lastly, he is of an average build, perhaps somewhat frailer than most, but makes up for this with a surprising speed and agility.

For attire, he wears a rather plain homespun shirt and breaches, frayed with age. They were once green, but have mostly faded to a dull grey. Or perhaps the green is simply the result of grass stains. Who can say? Anyhow, he wears a pair of brown leather boots that are actually surprisingly well-fitting and sturdy, stained with a small speck of blood that just refuses to come off. Over all this he wears a thick, warm, grey cloak, stained with mud from his travels.

He also carries a steel longsword - the blade has a couple notches and a few flecks of rust, but is otherwise serviceable enough - which is kept sheathed at his hip on a worn leather belt, alongside a dagger in similar condition. His final accessory is one that serves absolutely no combat value; an old, battered, rotted flute that he may occasionally blow. He possesses absolutely no aptitude for this instrument, but it is dear to him nonetheless.

[b]Personality:[/b]
Where to begin? At first glance, one would view him as grim, cynical, and depressed. He has a tendency to incline his head at an angle while speaking. As a result he may come across as rather creepy and unhinged - a fair assessment. He has a tendency to mutter or whisper to himself (but usually won't do this in front of others, unless he is deep in thought.) He is also generally pessimistic; quick to throw cold water onto other people's ideas, with a tendency to become paranoid, or to assume the worst when something has gone wrong.

Some may also note that he carries a dark sense of humour, with a tendency to take grisly or disturbing sights with nothing more than a grim remark - although he is in truth putting on a front, for both himself and others. He is not without altruism. He still has concern for others, but he does his best to suppress it, both as a coping mechanism and as a a means to avoid showing weakness. And for those who are just as jaded as he, his remarks may be genuinely amusing.

Also, don't mess with his flute.

[b]Background:[/b] 
Fifteen years ago, an attempt was made to start a new settlement. It started out small; various families and individuals from all over, who either voluntarily left their previous life or were driven out. Somehow they found each other, and for some reason or another, opted to stick together. Gerick was from one of these families. His mother was a scribe, driven from Illistair for reasons he never learned, while his father and uncle were hunters - the latter also being a renowned swordsman. They found a promising site - a flat-topped riverside hill - and set about the task of building a new civilization. 

Why they tried this when so many previous attempts had failed, Gerick does not remember. Perhaps they were optimistic to think that their fledgling village would be one of the rare exceptions. Or perhaps they simply thought they would have more time before the Filth took notice. Either way, they made quick progress. They cleared away trees, stockpiled resources, erected crude shelters, and even some rudimentary defenses.

Within days, it fell.

The monsters came. The villagers didn't stand a chance. Gerick saw his father, mother, and sister ripped apart before his very eyes. Gerick would have died too, but his uncle - the village's best fighter and hunter - saved him. While the villagers died, he and his uncle grabbed what they could. While the village burned, they ran. Somehow, against all odds, they made it.

From that moment onward, Gerick had to be raised by his uncle.

He remembered his uncle once being an optimistic, good-natured, and good-humoured man. That changed after the death of their family. His uncle became cold, stoic, and grim. Gone were the jokes and smiles. The only thing that mattered was survival. And survive they did, sustaining themselves on berries, mushrooms, and what animals they were able to hunt. They spent two years in Kendles, with his uncle serving as hired muscle for a peddler of narcotic substances, until said peddler was brutally stabbed and his uncle decided they had to leave. After that, it was back to the woods.

Overall, it was a rather unconventional childhood.

Eventually, when Gerick was sixteen, things had grown exceptionally desperate. It was in the middle of winter; no forage was available, and they had been having terrible luck in their hunts. And one day, his uncle simply didn't wake up. 

He was on his own after that, with nothing to do but wander aimlessly. All he had to remember his family was the aged flute once played by his sister, and the bow once wielded by his uncle, yet even when he held those objects close they still felt like distant memories. The bow was eventually broken and lost during a fight with brigands on the road, but he kept the flute. Although he would occasionally visit other settlements or temporarily join other groups, he lacked regular companionship, and quickly fell into the habit of talking to himself. Remembering the man his uncle used to be, he even took to making jokes about his circumstances, as a way of coping with the pain of it all, and he became increasingly numb to the hardship of life.

Because of his tragic past and his eerie demeanor, one might think Gerick is a broken man. But this isn't quite true. He has, despite everything that has happened, kept himself alive. While he has done some unsavoury things, he has never turned to banditry or unjustified murder like many others have. He may complain and appear unmotivated, yet his complaints are somewhat insightful, and his lack of motivation has rarely stopped him from doing what needed to be done.

Also: his favourite food is a hallucinogenic mushroom. He doesn't have a problem. Shut up. Now, why is this relevant? Well you see, in a moment of weakness he happened to over-indulge in said mushroom. After that, he received a vision of his deceased family urging him to never lose hope, that he still needed to 'go forth' and 'fulfill his destiny' - the exact wording is somewhat fuzzy. Anyway, for some reason he ended up walking naked into a river. While under the water, he glimpsed something shiny at the bottom, and the next thing he knew he woke up clutching a golden crown to his chest, bejeweled with small emeralds and rubies. 

It sits slightly crooked on his head, but hey - a crown is a crown, right?

[b]Skills:[/b]
Strength: A Man among Men (2)
Reflexes: Reflexes of a Mantis (4)
Fortitude: Skin of Paper (1)
Intellect: Quick (3)
Wisdom: Straightforward (2)
Willpower: Plenty of Will (3)

[b]Skills and Training:[/b]
Gerick is an exceptional swordsman and an adequate shot with a bow, having been trained by his uncle in both. He also knows a number of other survival skills, such as how to track, how to forage, and how to navigate. Finally, he has a very basic understanding of literacy, taught to him by his mother, and has an impressive knowledge of various myths and stories - passed on by his parents and his uncle.

[hr]

His most memorable moment is, of course, his village being butchered.
[/hider]