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[center][h3][color=E09540]Hoogarth ‘the Hooligan’ Mysliwy[/color][/h3]
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[b][color=E09540]Race, Age, Time in the Caravan:[/color][/b] Hoogarth is a strigiforme, a somewhat rare variety of demi-human beastman who arose several centuries ago in a murky, magic-blighted region known as the Velvet Wood, where the aftermath of a legendary magical disaster known as the Hypnagogia left the entire forest valley irreversibly changed. With their obvious resemblance to owls, strigiformes are also called ‘hoomans’, and they have a reputation for being quaint, folksy naturalists, being both skilled hunters and oafish buffoons. Extremely light on their feet, keen of eye, and silent in motion, they are pure carnivores, and more dangerous than most people give them credit for, perhaps purposefully so. Their lifespan is shorter than humans, so Hoogarth is considered an adult at 14 years. He’s only been with the caravan for five days

[b][color=E09540]Appearance:[/color][/b] A proud member of the strigiforme race’s Great Horned Lineage, Hoogarth stands tall at 6’6”. The fluffy feathers that adorn his body are a desaturated dark brown with a slight mauve sheen in the light, a tint which persists on the bare gray skin of his five-fingered hands and two-toed feet with their short, sharp talons. His most prominent features are his big, expressive eyebrow tufts, which he uses to convey most of his emotions, although at rest their diagonal angle make him look surly. His eyes gleam like golden coins

[b][color=E09540]History:[/color][/b] Above the trackless pine expanses of the windy northeastern highlands tower the remote Samotny Mountains, which in turn shelter a forested valley once known to very few. Following the Hypnogogia, however, that place changed, the earth and forces of nature themselves forever altered. As if its bottom had simply fallen out, the valley became a massive pit stretching miles into the earth, where gravity extends omnidirectionally from the center. The result was a forest in the shape of a gargantuan tunnel, with plants and trees that grow at odd angles, and giant redwoods capable of twisted all the way from one side to the other. This Velvet Wood, clad in eternal twilight, is the home of the strigiforme race. The clans who remain here have hunted down the worst of the monsters and other threats that arose after the Hypnogogia, solidifying the woodland’s gentle silence, and with it their quiet dominion.

Many strigiformes emigrated from the Velvet Wood over the centuries, however, and Hoogarth’s clan is among them. Borne to Whoodrow and Mathoolda, he’s the oldest of three brothers, and from childhood he, Hoobert, and Hoosea were thick as thieves. Strigiformes found outside of their ancestral home often put on airs of sophistication and importance while styling themselves ‘Nobles from Afar’ as they settle into lives as merchants, clerks, and officials, but others serve as messengers or hunters, and Hoogarth’s family fell into that latter group. From an early age he got used to a fast and loose way of living, traveling from place to place propelled by the winds of fortune. Rather than go their separate ways like most strigiformes who came of age, however, the three brothers decided to stick together as the memorable Hooligans. Using gliders they ranged far and wide. Together they got into all sorts of scrapes and mischief, never thieves but always earnest practitioners of ‘finders keepers’, making plenty of friends and a couple enemies along the way. Sometimes they ate richly, sometimes they went hungry, and more than once they got chased out of town, but through ups and downs the brothers always had one another’s backs.

Still, after a while the trio yearned for something different, and they decided to split up to see what they could get up to on their own. Before parting ways, however, they swore to meet up again every six months, always agreeing on the next place to meet when they reunited to swap stories over a hot meal and strong drinks. During their most recent reunion, Hoogarth caught wind of the Pilgrim’s Caravan, and he decided to see what sort of adventures he could embark upon with that renowned motley crew.

[b][color=E09540]Personality:[/color][/b] One need only spend a couple hours with Hoogarth to realize that the stereotype of owls as stoic, wise, and mysterious is almost entirely off-base. He is emotive, outspoken, bombastic, short-tempered, and hot-blooded, not quick to fight but quick to say exactly what’s on his mind, and quicker still to poke fun at people, including himself; if he had a sleeve, Hoogarth would wear his heart upon it. Like most strigiformes, he thinks he’s a lot smarter than he actually is, and is a shameless boast with a boatload of confidence especially when it comes to tomfoolery, even if he constantly ends up putting his foot in his beak afterward. That said, he will also shamelessly bail on situations he feels bad about. He loves hype and adventure, so both the exciting journey and the rewarding destination keep him moving, especially because he tends to squander his money on fine dining and luxury the minute he gets his claws on any. There isn’t a great deal of depth to a freewheeling owl without two brain cells to rub together, but he does see himself above the rules, regulations, and norms of human society, reasoning that if he’s determined to be an outcast by birth, he’s not going to give a damn about what anyone else thinks of him. Life’s too short to give a hoot!

[b][color=E09540]Motivation:[/color][/b] Live life to the fullest!

[b][u][color=E09540]Skills, Strengths and Weaknesses, and Tools:[/color][/u][/b]
[list][*][b]+ Hunting[/b]: Hoogarth is an expert hunter, with a great deal of knowledge and experience when it comes to hunting small to medium animals for food and basic materials. He is familiar with common creatures’ traits and behaviors, including where to find them, how to kill them, and how to make the most of their remains. His knives are all he needs to do so, but he can also use traps pretty well
[*][b]+ Jerky Afficionado[/b]: Preparation is everything, and Hoogarth has mastered the craft of preparing the ultimate food. Tasty, protein-rich, and long-lasting, jerky is his ration of choice for the road. He has a kit that takes the form of a knapsack, which contains pouches of salt and whatever spices he can get his hands on, a miniature smoker, a tinderbox, and a couple other odds and ends that allow him to marinate, cure, and dry meat into jerky so long as he has enough time
[*][b]+ Stealth[/b]: Though not quite to the immaculate standard of real owls, partially because they cannot fly, strigiformes are uncannily good at silent movement. Their natural instincts translate well to sneak attacks and even assassination. Some tools that play into Hoogarth's roguish ways are caltrops, bolos, spare throwing knives, and smoke bombs
[*][b]+ Mobility[/b]: Physically fit strigiformes are fast and light, great jumpers and acrobatic maneuverers. Moving around especially in vertical environments comes easy to them, and they’re naturals when it comes to hit-and-run attacks. One extra tool Hoogarth possesses is a glider that he can unfurl after leaping into the air, allowing him to coast along at a good clip until he reaches the ground again
[*][b]+ Vision[/b]: The gift that strigiforme kind supposedly sacrificed half their brain power for, according to jokers and critics. Their night vision is excellent, bordering on magical, and thanks to necks that can rotate 270 degrees, not much can escape from their sight
[*][b]- Weak[/b]: Even the biggest and most martially skilled strigiformes are not good at traditional fighting. They’re too light, without the sturdiness or muscle for a sustained brawl, so they can’t take much damage especially from blunt force that could break their hollow bones. They also can’t lift or carry as much as humans of comparable size, which includes weapons and armor
[*][b] - Pigeonholed[/b]: Due to being on the weaker side physically, strigiformes are limited when it comes to combat. They cannot reliably take on any defensive roles, and even the strength it takes to draw bows is beyond them, forcing their rangers to use shortbows, hand crossbows, bolas, and boomerangs. Many strigiformes pursue their innate magical arts as a result, but Hoogarth never bothered to cultivate that talent, so the tricks and traps of a dextrous rogue are all he’s really got
[*][b]- Dumbass[/b]: Enough said. Outside of his areas of expertise, he’s pretty much a country bumpkin[/list]

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[b][color=E09540]Greatest Desire:[/color][/b] To live forever!
[b][color=E09540]Alignment:[/color][/b] Chaotic Good
[b][color=E09540]Three Likes:[/color][/b] Red meat, good snoozes in soft beds, ego trips
[b][color=E09540]Three Dislikes:[/color][/b] Getting wet, heavy loads, staying up late
[b][color=E09540]Driving Organ:[/color][/b] Heart
[b][color=E09540]Worst Fear:[/color][/b] His own mortality!
[b][color=E09540]Favorite Color:[/color][/b] Gold
[b][color=E09540]Most Like The Animal:[/color][/b] Some kind of bird, maybe…?
[b][color=E09540]Favorite Time of Day:[/color][/b] Just after midnight
[b][color=E09540]Style of Dress:[/color][/b] Like most strigiformes Hoogarth prefers to wear loose, baggy clothing that does not tamp down his feathers, so his garb is a set of ruddy brown hide supplemented pads that incorporate a dense weave of mint-green fibers, light but thick and tough to help dispel blunt force that could otherwise take a toll on his hollow bones. There are no extraneous elements that could make extra noise. Two knife scabbards cling to his belt, and tied to his left forearm is the skull of the largest Dire Rat he’s ever killed as a makeshift shield. Overall, his clothing gives gives him a look that lands smack dab in the center of a three-way Venn diagram between hunter, bandit, and shaman
[b][color=E09540]Favorite Season:[/color][/b] Winter
[b][color=E09540]Beliefs:[/color][/b] The strigiformes of Velvet Wood have a quiet reverence for the entity they call the Quiet, whose near-awakening formed the crux of the infamous Hypnogogia hundreds of years ago. While the band of heroes who quelled that threat and prevented untold disaster destroyed the Hypnogogic Order responsible for that event, with even the very name of their eldritch deity scrubbed from the annals of history, a faint vestige of its unfathomable glory remained in every root, leaf, and briar of the Velvet Wood, seared into the hearts of the first strigiformes who awoke amidst the arcane fallout. They both fear and revere their ‘creator’, assured that someday it will awaken in a world ripe for change. So they watch and wait, making the most of the lives granted to them, until the Quiet comes
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