[hider=Roderick]
[CENTER][h1][color=slategray][b]RODERICK[/b][/color][/h1][hr][h3][sup][sup][color=silver]RODERICK LA ROCHELLE[color=slategray]◼[/color]   40   [color=slategray]◼[/color]   MALE   [color=slategray]◼[/color]   VASILIUS  [/color][/sup][/sup][/h3][center][IMG]https://i.imgur.com/BnmA85X.png[/IMG]
[sup][color=silver]"Hrmph."[/color][/sup][/CENTER][/center]
[COLOR=SLATEGRAY][INDENT][B][SUP][SUB][H3]▼ A P P E A R A N C E:[/H3][/SUB][/SUP][/B][/INDENT][hr][/COLOR][indent][indent][i]With a stocky build, Roderick is barrel-chested with a slightly protruding stomach. From head to toe he is covered in body hair, ranging from the dark hair on the top of his head which he combs back, thick eyebrows and a prominent mustache. More often than not, Louis has faint stubble around his jawline which rapidly devolves into a beard if he cannot get his hands on a razor quick enough. His nose is ever-so-slightly crooked and the lines on his face appear to be from decades of frowning.[/i][/indent][/indent]
[COLOR=SLATEGRAY][INDENT][B][SUP][SUB][H3]▼ B I O G R A P H Y:[/H3][/SUB][/SUP][/B][/INDENT][hr][/COLOR][indent][indent][i]
Roderick started his life at the bottom. One of thousands living in the slums of Vasilius, he spent a tumultuous youth being a pain in the arse towards anyone who gave him the time of day. With so much energy to burn and not enough room at home with all of his siblings, his weary mother found him drudge work as a stable hand for Baron Vandille. The Baron held a retinue of knights as most landed gentry did around the Capital, but his work was more political in nature and the Knights were more for show. They cajoled the young boy when he first started working but took a liking to his enthusiasm. 

On Roderick's part, the horses provided a fresh challenge each and every day and the ornery old stable master wasn't shy of piling on the work for decent pay. After a couple of years some of the regulars who fussed over their steeds trusted the lad enough to try his hand at riding them around the fields so they could get some decent exercise. The long hours and eager involvement in his job kept Roderick out of trouble and garnered the respect of the knight Captain who offered training to join the retinue at age fourteen. He worked hard to match his peers, but his city-slum upbringing was a fracture that only widened with resentment and contempt for the retinue's flagrant waste of coin and resources. Eager to find like-minded people to work alongside, Roderick left the retinue when he was 23 and found greater excitement in a low budget, questionably immoral mercenary company known as the Ratcatchers after three years of working solo.

They weren't his proudest years, but they were his most memorable ones. Roderick was a womaniser, a bailiff, a menace in the far flung reaches of the kingdom. He got what he wanted, when he wanted it - by any means necessary. His fellow ratcatchers only encouraged his hedonism and made excuses for their wrongdoing. Seven years into his restless wandering around the kingdom, Lord Bourdonne hired the Ratcatchers to take care of highwaymen that were hindering trade in and out of his fiefdom. Since it was a small job in comparison, only Roderick and two others were sent to deal with it. During the few weeks of hunting down and bringing the culprits to the castle, Lord Bourdonne took a liking to Roderick's thorough understanding of upper class society mixed in with his cruder resourcefulness - his willingness to get his hands dirty came as a bonus. The lord offered Roderick a much better job as part of his own retinue, offering bed and board in return for his services. Roderick tentatively agreed.

He's been working for the family for over a decade since. He protected their eldest son during his duties as an heir and witnessed the birth of their youngest daughter. The Bourdonne 'retinue' was comprised of similar characters as Roderick; polite, courteous, and unflinchingly loyal to the family regardless of what they were ordered to do. There weren't many who came from the fiefdom which made matters of security and aggression towards the townsfolk a little more palatable. His life was split between patrolling the fiefdom and protecting the Bourdonne children, though after the death of the heir he was almost permanently assigned to shadow young Alexi and ensure that no opportunists tried to get rid of their remaining child.

When the Blight began to worsen and Lord Bourdonne's paranoia inched ever closer to madness, Roderick found himself back in the fields; this time he, along with several other knights, was ordered to cut down any infected civilians trying to cross into the fiefdom. It was grisly work and he wasn't the same ruthless bastard that he was in his youth. His fellow knights were disgusted with themselves and, slowly but surely, they started to align with the rioting peasantry. Roderick sealed his fate by reporting this to the lord and was made one of the dozen or so witnesses to the change in all of the writs and wills of the family. With everything signed into Alexi's name, none of their rivals or relatives could gut the treasury and take the deeds should the inevitable occur. The originals were kept in the castle, a copy was sent to the capital to update the registries and Roderick's final task involved burying a small lockbox containing a third copy of the paperwork under the floorboards of an abandoned village called Finitte. 

He was given the monumental duty to take Alexi far from the fiefdom and distract her with the fruitless endeavour of finding a cure; by the time she came to her senses and realised the ruse, her parents would either be dead or ousted from their home. Out of respect for his employers and a fierce protectiveness towards the girl, Roderick vowed to lord Bourdonne that she shall reclaim what is rightfully hers.

 [/i][/indent][/indent]
[COLOR=SLATEGRAY][INDENT][B][SUP][SUB][H3]▼ C H A R A C T E R  G O A L S:[/H3][/SUB][/SUP][/B][/INDENT][hr][/COLOR][indent][indent][i]It is unlikely Roderick believes a cure can be found. His goal is simple - protect the surviving Bourdonne heiress until she can return and reclaim her title.[/i][/indent][/indent]
[COLOR=SLATEGRAY][INDENT][B][SUP][SUB][H3]▼ S K I L L S:[/H3][/SUB][/SUP][/B][/INDENT][hr][/COLOR][indent][b][color=CADETBLUE]//SKILLS AND ABILITIES:[/color][/b]
[indent][B][COLOR=SILVER]◼ Swordsmanship |[/COLOR][/B] [i]Trained by nobility and set into practice by mercenary work, Roderick has gotten very good at wielding a weapon simply through the process of staying alive every time he uses it. He's especially good at fighting on horseback.[/i][/indent]
[indent][B][COLOR=SILVER]◼ Survival Skills|[/COLOR][/B] [i]No knight that's worth their salt neglects the other important facet of self preservation: fixing the wounds you receive and keeping healthy regardless of circumstances. A lot of Roderick's expertise lies in battle related injuries. He knows how to set a fractured bone, basic debridement and how to clean, stitch and dress lacerations on top of the basics such as cooking, gear maintenance and building rudimentary shelters.[/i][/indent]
[indent][B][COLOR=SILVER]◼ Horsemanship |[/COLOR][/B] [i]A feared cavalryman in the Bourdonne region, Roderick's mastery of mounted combat extends beyond his military prowess. To truly become a menace on horseback, you have to know how to thoroughly care for one and ride it outside of combat. He's spent the past few years teaching dressage and showmanship for Alice when he wasn't sent on assignment. He maintains the health of his steeds and the quality of their tack mostly by himself.[/i][/indent]
[b][color=CADETBLUE]//FEARS AND WEAKNESSES:[/color][/b]
[indent][B][COLOR=SILVER]◼ Alice |[/COLOR][/B] [i] Over the years, Roderick's indifferent surveillance of Alexi Bourdonne had hardened and coalesced into a steadfast paternal bond. Now that she's the sole heiress of the family title and assets, Roderick will do whatever it takes to ensure her safety and, if possible, her happiness. He fears failing to protect her more than he fears dying.[/i][/indent]
[indent][B][COLOR=SILVER]◼ The Plague|[/COLOR][/B] [i]Omnipresent, mysterious, indiscriminate in its spread... Roderick, like many others, fears the Blight sweeping across the land. He doesn't so much as fear the disease itself, but what it's capable of doing on a larger scale - and the lengths people will go to prevent it.[/i][/indent]
[indent][B][COLOR=SILVER]◼ Bad Leg|[/COLOR][/B] [i] The old war wound healed funny in his youth but galvanized his transformation into a cavalryman. He can't run for long distances and a day's travel by foot will leave him hindered.[/i][/indent][/indent]
[COLOR=SLATEGRAY][INDENT][B][SUP][SUB][H3]▼ N O T E S:[/H3][/SUB][/SUP][/B][/INDENT][hr][/COLOR][indent]
[b][color=CADETBLUE]//PARAPHERNALIA[/color][/b]
[indent][B][COLOR=SILVER]◼ Steadfast |[/COLOR][/B] [i]Roderick's stallion. He's a spirited young thing, reared by the knight himself. Carries his gear, his self and oftentimes Alice as well. Built for strength, resilience and stamina instead of speed.[/i][/indent]
[indent][B][COLOR=SILVER]◼ Truesteel Longsword|[/COLOR][/B] [i]A viciously sharp weapon that Roderick was gifted by lord Bourdonne in recognition of his service. Roderick looks after it meticulously and uses it well.[/i][/indent]
[indent][B][COLOR=SILVER]◼ Bourdonne Writs and Wills (Buried) |[/COLOR][/B] [i]A secret copy of all the paperwork required to ensure Alexi Bourdonne inherits her parents' fortune. Not on his person - presently buried under the floorboards of an old house in the abandoned town of Finitte.[/i][/indent][/indent]

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