[hider=Rodrick Malentine]
 [img]https://i.pinimg.com/564x/b7/05/21/b7052111f38525f6005720787ffde80f.jpg[/img]

[color=DC143C][u][b]Name:[/b][/u][/color] Rodrick Malentine

[color=DC143C][u][b]Race:[/b][/u][/color] Tiefling (A race of former humans whose ancestors were cursed, giving them a devilish appearance)

[color=DC143C][u][b]Age:[/b][/u][/color] 19

[color=DC143C][u][b]Gender:[/b][/u][/color] Male 

[color=DC143C][u][b]Appearance:[/b][/u][/color] Rodrick stands at roughly 6' tall with a medium and toned frame, and light red skin. His hair a deep, rich and he tends to keep it long, but this is more out of a hatred of dealing with a barber then out of any sense of fashion. His eyes are a golden yellow in color and he has semi large horns that stick out from his forehead. He goes back and forth between being clean shaven and having a short beard. His clothes are a hodgepodge of whatever is comfortable and offers a little bit of protection from the elements. Most of his clothes do tend to have small pockets or pouches sewn into them, as one can never have enough pockets. He tends to be smiling most of the time, whether he is actually happy or not. 

[color=DC143C][u][b]Class:[/b][/u][/color] Bard/ Swashbuckler (Rodrick uses a vibration in order to to strengthen his allies and himself, and to cause general mischief to his enemies. He is also skilled with a rapier and a dagger and tends to excel more in one on one combat.)

[color=DC143C][u][b]Personality:[/b][/u][/color] Rodrick is surprisingly quiet for a bard. He rarely is loud or boisterous unless it benefits a situation. He generally comes off as confident and outgoing. This is an act. Rodrick is, in general, terrified of most social interactions. He is secretly in a constant state of panic when he has to deal with others and he always feels as if he is going to say something stupid. In order to cope with this he has a tendency to stay on the more... intoxicated, side of life. He especially has difficulties around woman, even though he comes off as charming and polite. 

Despite his social shortcoming Rodrick is quick to act in dangerous situations. He has a quick wit and a sharp tongue when needed, and he learns quickly. He has a great love for art and music and appreciates them in all of their forms. 

In the past few years Rodrick has noticed a strange anger that seems to lie in the back of his mind. He's not sure what causes it, but there have been a few moments were he has become overwhelmingly enraged and blacks out. The anger feels alien to him, almost like its coming from something else. He has no memory of what happens when he black out, which worries him even more. 

[color=DC143C][u][b]Strengths:[/b][/u][/color]
- Rodrick is a rather talented musician and singer. He seems to have a knack of being able to play any instrument he picks up. 
- He is rather good with a rapier and a knife, and he has some natural talent with vibration magic. 
- He is agile and quick. 
- He is intelligent and a quick study when it comes to learning new things. 
- He is a talented liar 
- In moments of extreme anger or stress he gains an unnatural strength, and seems to feel almost no pain.

[color=DC143C][u][b]Weaknesses: [/b][/u][/color]
- Unbeknownst to Rodrick he is inflicted by a curse known as 'Mephestos' Mark.' It is this curse that causes him to blackout in moments of extreme stress or rage.
- He is terrified of embarrassing himself in front of others and lives in an almost constant state of mild panic. 
- He relies on alcohol to dull his panic and negative emotions. 
- He is a talented liar. Which means being open and honest with others is difficult. 
- He is incapable of using incantations or runic magic. He is also incapable of making a pact with a spirit. 
 
[color=DC143C][u][b]Biography:[/b][/u][/color] Rodrick’s life has never been an easy one. His mother, [url=https://i.pinimg.com/564x/36/5d/ec/365dec778aa31f4610f69fa8b559a159.jpg]Anabella[/url] was a tiefling who was a skilled performer. She was an extremely talented dancer and singer and could seemingly play any instrument she picked up. She taught Rodrick everything she knew about how to perform and schmooze. She was talented swordswoman as well and made sure that Rodrick knew how to defend himself. Rodrick and Anabella would travel from town to town, sometimes with other mistrals and sometimes by themselves. His mother’s performances made them enough to get by, but never enough for them to settle down anywhere. It was far from easy, as life on the road is often hard and filled with dangers, but the two had each other and that was all that mattered to Rodrick. 

As he grew older Rodrick became curious about his father, but Anabella would give him a sad smile and only say that he was a great warrior. She would never describe him or give Rodrick a name, which left Rodrick confused, but he would always drop it as he could see the pain in his mothers eyes. She would never even confirm if he was still alive or not. After a time Rodrick stopped asking about him, though his curiosity never truly faded. 

As time passed Anabella became more and more ill. She tried to brush it off as nothing, but before to long she was no longer able to travel. Rodrick looked everywhere to try and find help. He visited every doctor and cleric he could reach, but none were able to do anything for her. When Rodrick was only 14 his mother passed away. She left him her lute and her ornate Rapier and what little money she had managed to save up. 

Rodrick buried her under a small cherry tree and the north of Balmoria. He stayed near her grave for a few months after her passing, unsure of what to do with himself. He mostly just sat and played her lute wishing for some miracle that would return her to him. Time became a blur for a while. 

But life must continue..... And Rodrick was not quite ready to give in completely to despair. 

Eventually when he ran out of food and money Rodrick traveled to Balmoria and attempted to make a living there. It was difficult going, as there is little for love tieflings in Balmoria, and even less love for orphans. Somehow though he managed to get buy. He was forced to sell his mothers rapier at one point in order to buy, but refused to part with the lute for anything. Rodrick would often perform on street corners and in shady taverns for whatever he could get. 

After over a year of struggling Rodrick finally started to make a slight name for himself. His talent at the lute was obvious and he had a deep rich singing voice that many found pleasant. He found a regular job at the Red Warden Inn, a small inn close to the merchant district of the city. They gave him a room and 2 meals a day, and allowed him to keep whatever tips he made for performing. It wasn't an extravagant life but it was pleasant enough. 

Still life in Balmoria was never easy. Rodrick was attacked, robbed, and beaten half to death more then once during his time there. At one point he woke up covered in blood in an alleyway, a dead man laying nearby. Rodrick could remember nothing of what happened in the past day and fled the scene as quickly as he could. He learned to lie to get what he needed and to try and stay out of trouble as much as he could. His unhappiness grew as time passed. He started to miss the road, but was sure how to save enough money to get away from the city. 

It was on his 19th birthday that something rather strange happened. Rodrick found a letter hidden among his few possessions. He had never seen the letter and was convinced that it had not been there before. What was even stranger, was that it was an acceptance letter to Hoseforn’s Academy for Gifted Adventurers. Rodrick had never applied for to Hoseforns, or to any other academy for that matter, and was convinced it had to be some kind of scam or trap. But the longer he thought about it, the more the idea called to him. He was tired of Balmoria, tired of struggling just to survive. It was a chance, even if it was a small one. 

And so Rodrick packed up his meager belongings and used almost all the money he had stashed away to buy passage with a caravan to Hoseforn’s, the tiniest flame of hope burning his heart that he could find a better life for himself. [/hider]