[u]Accepted Characters[/u]

[u]IRONWOOD COMPANY[/u] - @5 free slots

Zamokra41
[hider=Sylas]
Name : Sylas Greenbark

Appearance :
[img=http://s16.postimg.org/fbbfeekxh/Untitled.jpg]
1,78m tall. A strong yet not bulky build. Long brown hair and a trimmed goatee. Dark brown eyes, slightly tanned skin and 2 scars, one on his left cheek and a smaller one on his lower lip. 

Race : Human

Age : 24

Gender : Male

Side : Ironwood Company.

Title : Armsman 

Abilities : Sylas is a skilled warrior capable of decently wielding almost any close combat weapon. He prefers to wear medium-weight armor which gives a decent protection while not being overly encumbering. He also prefers to carrying a shield which would indicate a fondness towards 1-handed weapons and a defensive stance yet he is known to be easily adaptable at wielding a variety of weapons.

Skills : Orientation, first-aid, playing the flute, decent cooking allowing him to quickly whip something up from whatever scraps he can find. He is a decent leader but there is place for improvement on that regard.

Gear : A simple brown tunic underneath a chaimail shirt with a light iron pauldron on his left shoulder and a light green cloak over that. A pair of hard leather gloves with some steel plating on the left one. A pair of light leather trousers with light plating strapped on the knees. A pair of hard leather boots. A steel longsword. A reinforced wooden kiteshield. A one-handed axe slung on his lower back. A simple gold pendant with no real value or magical proprieties. 

Backpack : Food supplies for 1 person, a skin of fresh water, a skin of wine, a rolled up map, an old sleeping bag, a wooden flute, a pack of bandages, a vial half-filled with a pain-numbing potion, a book titled “Tales of Chivalry” gift from Hakon. 

Personality : Sylas can be described as an ambitious and adventurous youth who probably bit more than he could chew by starting and leading his own mercenary company after only 3 to 4 years of experience in the field. However, he is not willing to give up and will do his best to lead the company to the best of his abilities. While willing to undertake all kinds of contracts he will struggle follow a code of honor and not lower himself to rotten deeds just for the sake of profit. A flexible sense of morality but with a kind heart, Sylas will bear the new responsibilities he was to the best of his abilities.

Bio : Sylas was an adventurous sort since he was a child, always playing outside with make-shift swords and fighting in make-belief battle against all sorts of foes. By the time he was old enough to even half-way wield a proper sword, he left the comfort of his simple farm-home in search for adventure and glory, certain that his fate has much more in store for him than farming. When he was 19 he joined his first mercenary band, a small group with people who were more-or-less alike to him. They did simple jobs and Sylas was capable of learning how to fight better each day. After only 1 year, this small band soon found themselves out of business and in the end joined forces with another small group of more questionable mercenaries. Thus, the Stoneborn were made. However, Sylas was starting to dislike his new companions more and more as they only seemed interested in profit and wouldn’t hesitate on doing the worst things that a sell-sword can do only for extra coins. Bribery, pillaging, even betraying their original employers in favor of a more profitable counter offer. After 3 years, Sylas had enough. He confronted the Stoneborn’s leader, Jarll the Bonebreaker, and after a heated argument he ultimately abandoned the Stoneborn and along with his good friend Hakon Ironside, started their own mercenary band which they called the Ironwood company. The company grew in the one year of their work, lead by Sylas and with Hakon as the 2nd in command, they seek to make a living carve their own destinies in the troubled times live in these days. 
[/hider] 
[hider=Hakon]
Name : Hakon Ironside

Appearance : 
[img=http://img32.imageshack.us/img32/6770/d7a6.jpg]
1,82 m tall. A broad build even at old age. Short balding grey hair and a shortly cropped beard. Light hazel eyes. A stern, old visage.

Race : Human

Age : 48 

Gender : Male

Side : Ironwood Company

Title : Ex-Knight 

Abilities : As a former Knight, Hakon is a strong and skilled warrior with years of experience behind. He wears heavy armor for great protection and prefers to wield a two-handed mace yet he also carries a lighter one-handed sword in case of need. 

Skills : Tactics and Leadership which he hopes to pass down to Sylas. Combat trainer. Vigilance and sharp instincts. 

Gear : A simple linen tunic underneath a solid and used plated armor. A pair of plated gauntlets. A pair of leather trousers underneath the tasset of the armor. A pair of plated greaves. An old crimson cloak with the Imperial Guard’s golden shield emblem. A two-handed heavy flanged mace. A 1-handed sword sheathed at his hip.

Backpack : A small package with military rations. A skin of water. 2 torches. An old sleeping bag. Some rope. 

Personality : An old knight with a strong sense of honor and loyalty to his friends and companions, Hakon is a man of traditions who keeps his feet on the ground and is always ready to share some wisdom about how the world works. With a young warrior spirit and a strong arm, the old knight considers that it is his destiny to fight for what he believes in until his back gives up and he won’t be able to wield a weapon anymore. 

Bio : In his golden years, Hakon used to be a strong and valiant Imperial knight with plenty of victorious battles under his belt and a strong loyalty for the Empire. However, that loyalty started to run dry when his superiors demoted him to a lowly guard position the moment his hair started to turn gray. Although he protested and repeatedly claimed that he his arm was still strong he was still capable of doing his duty to the Empire, his words fell on deaf ears. After a few years of playing guard to the houses of the rich from the capital city, Hakon was feed up and ultimately cast away his guard badge and left with little more than his old armor and weapons. He started his new life as a mercenary which is how he met Sylas, an ambitious lad which reminded him much of himself in his youth. The two quickly became good friends and it was no surprise that when Sylas left the old group to start the Ironwood Company, Hakon was right there besides him ready to help him bear the burden. With years of experience in both combat and leadership to share with his new leader, Hakon is a valuable member of the company and is anxious to see what the future will hold and hoping that one day he will die the way he is meant, on the battlefield with a weapon in hand. 
[/hider] 

[u]EASTERN WANDERERS[/u] - @ 3 free slots

Zamokra41
[hider=Saito]
Name : Saito Wakeshima

Appearance : 
[img=http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_3jCYqzQgz0c/TUrnid5wovI/AAAAAAAAAUU/U2Jx-gLxNug/s1600/214239-art_24_super.gif]
1,80 m tall. A lean athletic build. Long charcoal black hair tied in a ponytail. Bushy eyebrows, green eyes, a thin beard and moustache, slightly pale skin.

Race : Human

Age : 28 

Gender : Male

Side : Eastern Wanderers 

Title : Samurai 

Abilities : As a samurai, Saito is a warrior who values strength, speed and dexterity in equal measures. His armor is strong enough to offer proper protection especially against arrows and blades but is also light enough to permit mobility. Proficient with wielding a dai-katana with both hands as well as being a skilled archer. 

Skills : Keen sight, orientation, high mobility, sailing, tracking, hunting, cooking, meditation, gardening, calligraphy 

Gear : The armor of the samurai which mostly consists of decorated plated scales which serve for proper protection and mobility. Underneath it he wears a black silk shirt with white floral decorations. A pair of gauntlets of the same make as the armor. A pair of black cloth trousers. A pair of greaves of the same make as the armor. A dai-katana with the decoration of a golden lion on the guard. A longbow slung on his shoulder and a pack of arrows on his lower back.

Backpack : Rations consisting mostly of riceballs with various fillings. A few dried fish. A skin of water. A small bottle of a rice based alcoholic beverage. A rolled up map. A carving knife. Multiple sheets of paper. A black inkpot. A calligraphy feather. 

Personality : Saito is a man of a strong moral sense, seeing the world mostly as black and white. A strong sense of honor which is characteristic for any samurai as well as a strong spirit and an iron loyalty to his land are his fundamental taints. He strongly believes in doing what is right and that any form of injustice must be punished appropriately. 

Bio : Saito is the first born son of a prominent and loyal family from the distant eastern land of Taiyoku. From his youth he has been taught with a strict discipline about traditions as well as combat instructions. Ultimately, when he was of age he became one of the loyal samurais of the land, ready to serve and bring honor to his family. Saito quickly made himself marked as a particularly proficient tracker and hunter, capable of sniffing out any outlaws and runaways no matter where they would hide. These skills as well as his combat proficiency, were called into service multiple times in the past and for each of his victories he was commended highly. However, in the present Saito is dealing with a delicate situation. One of his samurai brothers, a close friend, Haruno Akimaru, has turned and betrayed both his brothers and his land. Haruno stole a relic of the royal family, a great and old sword known as Makoto and used to slay many of his samurai brothers as well as gravely injuring the heir to the throne before fleeing by boat. When Saito was briefed about the events he was in shock, not being able to fathom what could determine Haruno to commit such a heinous deed. Regardless, duty and honor demanded that Saito set out to find him and bring him to justice, as such he gathered a small party and after acquiring the information from the shinobi about the possible destination to which Haruno fled, he set sail and found himself on this strange new land. 
[/hider] 

[u]IMPERIAL TROOPS[/u] - @ 2 free slots

Zamokra41
[hider=Markos]
Name : Markos Helmshear

Appearance : 
[img=http://s2.postimg.org/8yir8ojs9/Untitled.jpg]
1.84 m tall. A strong frame with an equally strong body and a constitution to match. Bald. A short black goatee. Gold hued eyes. A scar across the dome of his head. 

Race : Human.

Age : 32 

Gender : Male

Side : Imperial Troops

Title : Knight Captain 

Abilities : As a Knight Captain, Markos is a strong warrior with a strong constitution. Wearing the heavy armor of a knight and a strong shield, he is capable of holding his ground against the most aggressive and strongest of foes and his skill in wielding 1-handed swords is matched by few and his strong resilience and fiery spirit can inspire those around him.

Skills : Leadership, strong frame, vigilance, tactical and strategic thinking. 

Gear : The heavy and gold-decorated armor of an Imperial Knight captain. A crimson undertunic. Strong plated gauntlets with decorations to match the armor. Black reinforced leather trousers. A pair of plated greaves decorated to match the armor. A one-handed longsword with a flat blade. A strong metal round shield decorated to match the armor set. 

Backpack : A small package of military rations. A skin of water. A rolled up map. A whetstone. A skin of wine. A small golden badge denoting a high military rank. 

Personality : A fiercely loyal and aggressive leader. Those would be the words that would describe Markos briefly. A man with a strong sense of duty and an unshakable loyalty to the Phoenix Empire combined with a commanding attitude and an iron will make him easily a strong ally to the Empire’s cause. 

Bio : Markos was abandoned to an orphanage after both his parents were condemned to a life in prison, the boy caught the attention of a passing monk after overhearing that although he didn’t exactly know their crime, he was certain that they broke the Imperial law and thus deserved their fate. After reporting of what he heard to the rest of the clergy, Markos was adopted by a priest and with the help of others he was raised to become one of the most loyal subjects of the Empire and a great military leader in the future. When he was of age he was promptly signed up to the Imperial military where he practically dominated over his peers and gained the praise of his trainers. As a soldier, Markos won plenty of battles, dedicating his victories to the Phoenix Empire which made him the prime candidate to a promotion as Imperial Knight and later as Knight Captain. It was his pride that made him question his most recent assignment but his loyalty wouldn’t allow him to refuse. Markos was called by the Imperial Commander to lead an escort mission for a Priest of the Phoenix Clergy, to some remote place marked on a map he was given. When he asked about details, the commander only told him that he should treat this mission as seriously as he would treat any other and that the Priest was an important subject of the Empire may not come to harm. With the lack of information, Markos found himself unable to do anything but reluctantly accept and assemble a small squad to undertake the mission. 
[/hider]
Englandlied
[hider=Muse][b]Name[/b] : Muse Engelke

[b]Appearance[/b] : 
[img]http://pathfinder.zhmp.net/uploads/Notes/npc_SamarithaBeldusk.png[/img]
The picture above with a few minor differences (refer to “Gear” and “Backpack”).

[b]Race[/b] : Human

[b]Age[/b] : 33

[b]Gender[/b] : Female

[b]Side[/b] : Imperial Troops

[b]Title[/b] : Light Infantry

[b]Abilities[/b] : As a light infantryman, Muse is often thrown into the midst of rush fighting and skirmishes. Therefore, she spent years developing the talents required for quick pace fighting, with her most prominent being horsemanship. In fact, she has honed her horsemanship to a point that one might say she fights on a horse better than she does on her own two feet. As for her swordsmanship, it is a tad lacking. While she may be able to hold her own against regular bandits and such, she would be at a significant advantage when it comes to other soldiers. Of course, she makes up for this with formidable agility and stamina that allows her to ware enemies down or take the heat off her allies. This correctly suggests she has some acrobatic skills and, while she may not be able to scale a wall or perform a back flip, she does possess the skills necessary to dodge incoming blows with simple modesty.

[b]Skills[/b] : Strangely, Muse’s favorite hobby is basket weaving. She also has an impressive knowledge of geography and breaking horses, as well as caring for them.

[b]Gear[/b] : Muse’s profession requires that she constantly be on the move. Therefore, it’s vital she dresses light. Her regular uniform consists of a red, sleeveless shirt that coils tightly around her person. To make up for the lack of sleeves, she regularly covers her arms and hands with bandages, making her hands more resistant to long-term combat. Her trousers are a tanned leather, making the motion of sliding across a rough surface more bearable. As not to get her trouser cuffs caught on something, she tucks them neatly into her boots. Above all this, she covers her body with a gold-colored cloak with red trim, though, this is mostly to denote rank rather than provide any combat advantages. When it comes to weaponry, she tries to pack lightly whilst making sure she’s armed with the vital tools. As such, her weapon of choice is a five-foot iron spear, a weapon that makes her lethal on horseback and able to keep a good distance from opponents on foot. The spear is typically strapped to her back with a leather sash.

[b]Backpack[/b] : The backpack, in the form of a satchel strapped to her waist (under her coat) contains a roll of bandages, two skins of water, a small coil of rope, a wrapped up bread bun, and a small dagger not fit for combat. She also carries a few coins on her person for emergencies.

[b]Personality[/b] : You may not think so from simple observation, but Muse is quite passionate about serving the weak and helpless. After all, she fully believes this is the sole purpose of a soldier, not to seek glory or amass wealth. Neither does she believe a soldier should just blindly follow orders, but rather act according to their own morals. Above all, she holds a personal distain for the needless sacrifice of others and especially for authority figures that do so. You might think these qualities make it difficult to cooperate with authority, and you’d be spot on; but, she does tend to make up for this with other traits. Among these redeeming qualities are her empathy (not to be confused with sympathy) and intuitive nature. This, evidently, makes her idea for team-work oriented combat in which tactics may be altered on a whim.

As stated, these are not personality traits that can be derived from mere observation, with the reason being a reserved demeanor explainable by many years of service to the Phoenix Empire. While she does not mean to come off as cold, she understands that it may be necessary to keep focused on assignments, lest it cost someone’s life. Other times, she may be just plain assertive in her opinions, often refusing to be ignored. In other aspects, she’s not very fond of humor and is easily agitated by immature behavior. On a few rare occasions, she may spare a grin if the moment is appropriate; and even more rarely does she deem something worthy of celebration, giving her the appearance of a workaholic.

[b]Bio[/b] : Muse was born as the first daughter of a prestigious family, one whose ancestors are believed to have been one of the great heroes who helped liberate Crematia from the necromancers. While this prestige did not necessarily make her family beyond wealthy, it did put them in one of the safer areas of the continent: Calvion town, a humble and peaceful settlement with a long history to boot. Of course, this also meant it was found to be boring by many of the town's children, including Muse. Thus, she and many her age were notorious for their pranks, the most memorable being when they covered the town statute with manure (if you’re curious how it ended, they were all forced to clean it themselves). Home life was almost the same, except for her grandfather's stories of being a soldier in the Phoenix Empire. Indeed, the tale of how he defeated a nasty gang of thugs by himself was by far her favorite. Her father, on the other hand, found the stories quite irritating and often described the soldiers as, "People stupid enough to die because someone tells them to." Despite this, Muse knew from an early age that she wanted to be a mighty warrior, a hero of valor.

When she finally came of age, Muse enlisted into the military. Unfortunately, enlisting was the easy part. The training portion proved to be some of the most brutal years of her life but not because it was exceedingly difficult; but rather because she had not outgrown her immature attitude – an affliction that caused her to neglect much of her training. Even so, she passed, just barely. Shortly afterwards, she was placed into the light infantry division, specifically under Captain Louis's command. Captain Louis was a hardened man whose main concern was getting the job done at any cost, something he expected from his subordinates as well. As one might guess, putting Muse and Captain Louis next together was a poor choice. By the end of her first week under Captain Louis's command, Muse was cleaning the barracks with her own socks. That’s not to say it wall bad: she had quickly made a friend named Siliton, a man who covered for Muse’s wrongdoings on countless occasions.

For the most part, things stayed this way until, at the age of twenty-five, Muse along with Louis and a small group of men were sent to a minor fishing village to quell a group of rebels. The reason for this minnor revolt was ultimately due to a small group of bandits taking advantage of the village, which was ripe with disease at the time. Louis, however, had underestimated the number of enemies and was forced into a tactical retreat. Rather than inform his superiors of his failure though, he ordered the group to return to the village and burn it down. With a blind trust in their adamant captain, Muse and the group did just that. The village and its rebellious inhabitants were quickly consumed by the fire, ensuring a future celebration for the group; that is, until the cries of children came from within the fire. Those specific screams are the ones that would forever cling to Muse and break her fantasy of soldiers being heroes. Finally, the immature little girl had died and become a true soldier, one who knew the dark side of military life.

As it would turn out a month later, a portion of the bandits who started the revolt had escaped the village and set up small camps along the Deborah Mountains. Louis, afraid of any blemish on his record, responded with a plan to lure the bandits to an inescapable portion of the mountain. Siliton, ever the optimistic, volunteered to lure them. It would later become evident, however, that Louis had neglected to mention to Siliton that he too would be unable to escape. When Siliton had finally lured the bandit gang into the ambush point, he found himself without a place to retreat and was quickly outnumbered and ultimately died from a slash to the throat. When the last bandit had fallen, it was Muse who buried her fallen comrade. In a suspicious irony, Louis was found several days later in his own bed with his throat slashed…

Not long after, Muse finally began taking her training seriously, if not to an extreme. She was determined to become a great soldier. It wasn’t valor that drove her this time though, but rather a resentment to see innocents – comrades and civilians – die. It wasn’t long before she became a first lieutenant under Captain Zeigenbein. A relaxed (though skilled) individual, Zeigenbein proved to be the exact opposite of Louis. Beyond that, life was normal in Muse’s life for the next decade until she was specially selected by Knight Captain Markos Helmshear for a seemingly boring escort mission.

[b]Other[/b] : FRAMPT[/hider]
TeddyBearMafia

[hider=Rokanos "Ro" Seaborn][b]Name[/b]: Sergeant Rokanos “Ro” Seaborn

[b]Appearance[/b]:
[img]http://i57.tinypic.com/egtgmg.jpg[/img]
The picture above, plus descriptions in gear and backpack. Hair is a dark blue/black with very dark brown eyes. This is an action shot of Rokanos checking his wards, hence the observed paranoia and suspicion. (Full credit to WotC obviously).

[b]Race[/b]: Human

[b]Age[/b]: 32

[b]Gender[/b]: Male

[b]Side[/b]: Imperial Troops (FRAMPT!)

[b]Title[/b]: Tactical Warmage

[b]Abilities[/b]: though typically used in large scale engagements as a variety of specialist spellcasters, the role of “tactical warmage” in the Imperial army is actually much more flexible. When an expedition is not large or important enough to merit a the full coterie of an archmage, clerics, communications specialists, defensive spellcasters, and so on, the tactical magician is called upon to fill all of these roles. Thus, though Ro’s magical training was far more specific than the standardized training that Imperial warmages typically receive, it was further diversified and made very eclectic by his five years of small-unit operations.

[list][*][b]Spellcasting[/b]: Like all warmages trained at the Imperial College, Ro casts spells through use of the standardized IPGREL (Imperial Phoenix Geometrical and Runic Evocation Language). This style means that the raw magical ability of the individual is concentrated through precise drawings, gestures, and intonations which are clearly recognizable to allied spellcasters on the battlefield to avoid magical catastrophes. However, out of necessity (read: boredom) Ro began to experiment (read: improve) upon the IPGREL to the point where some of his spells are unrecognizable to his fellow warmages. His natural talent for maths and languages has helped him further utilize his raw magical talent and made him a great asset to whatever unit to which he is attached. It is important to note that though Ro is an apprentice in many traditional magical disciplines, he is a master in few to none. The one area in which he truly excels is in defensive spellcasting, particularly with regard to defensive abjurations, shields, and counterspells. Thus, despite his weakness in traditional offensive blasting and evocation, Ro has found his niche in small-unit tactical operations.[/*]
[*][b]Military Skills[/b]: Though he is certainly not an expert soldier by any means, Ro is not incapable of holding his own in a brawl. His swordsmanship is average by Imperial standards, his horsemanship is better than normal, and his physique leaves little to be desired. Despite his experience, however, Ro’s left arm was shattered in seven places during a battle four years ago and it was nigh impossible to heal correctly; the elbow alone was little more than pulp. This has meant that he is incapable of holding a shield in battle and rarely straws near the very front lines of an engagement if he can help it. Instead, he prefers to utilize his semi-autonomous position and extensive memories of enemy tactics to assist more capable soldiers in carrying out his commanding officer’s orders.[/*]
[*][b]Literacy[/b]: Finally, Ro speaks and writes a number of languages to varying degrees. Usually, if it is a language spoken somewhere in the Empire or by a major trade partner, Ro can be counted upon to at least know a formal greeting and a few basic sentences or have recorded them somewhere. As per Imperial warmage protocol, Ro makes detailed after action reports on all engagements deemed ‘noteworthy’ and submits them for review along with the observations of the commanding officer. Thus, he is a capable historian and adept at noticing details that might prove important later.[/*][/list]
[b]Skills[/b]: Ro is also knowledgeable in a number of fields seemingly unrelated to his work, as well as a few directly resulting from his hours spent poring over dusty tomes and carefully recreating runes. First of all, he is an adept sketcher and adorns his observatory notes with a number of sketches and diagrams of anything that he thinks is interesting or might even prove useful to his spellcasting; Ro gets many of his best ideas from nature. Secondly, he has an intensely (read: regrettably) deep knowledge of proper court protocol and fashion, drawn primarily from his aristocratic upbringing. Finally, he also enjoys carving, though it has become harder since the loss of his left hand, and he will regularly spend hours at a time working at creating runes or simply anything that catches his attention.

[b]Gear[/b]: Ro does not carry much on him, by choice. As protocol dictates, he retains his family’s traditional high-collared black coat, but the family crest has long since worn off and Ro has seen no real pressing need to replace it. Thus, the coat is quite scuffed and worn, though in incredible condition for a near decade worth of service; the amount of magic spent keeping this coat together over Ro’s military career would likely save a dying man from death if released all at once. The only real ornamentation to be found on it are the quadruple silver crosses on his collar which signify his rank and the medal he received after having his arm obliterated by a mace while distracted by the task of driving an upstart bandit hedge-mage insane. Below the coat he wears practical and simple military fare: a half-body light scaled mail, studded greaves, and open-ended plate gauntlets designed by the Imperial College to keep a warmage’s hands or wrists from being easily crushed by a smart opponent. They cover only the lower arm and not the elbow or above, an oversight that Ro was sure to point out bitterly to the Imperial College medical mage who “fixed” his arm. Finally, though he doesn’t always need the use of it, his left arm is often in a tastefully designed sling that holds his arm in place; otherwise the sometimes terrible twitching from the irreparable nerve damage in his arm would drive him to distraction.

[b]Spellcasting Gear[/b]: Ro has three implements that he uses for casting his spells. The first is the “book”, really a dictionary of the IPGREL that Ro has heavily edited and adapted to suit his own needs. This he keeps hanging off of his belt in a special carrying case – it is enchanted to be unusually light and flip to whatever page number Ro wishes when it is opened, which allows him to carry it in the crook of his mostly useless left arm when he is in combat. The second instrument that he uses is his sword: functionally a light steel thrusting sword which he keeps slung over his back, it is flexible enough to be Ro’s tool of choice when he starts to trace his geometric patterns in the air or the ground in order to release his magic. Though it is not necessary that he uses an instrument to do so, Ro enjoys the comforting feel of a sword in his hand and therefore regularly channels his magic through it when spellcasting. This has made the sword itself unnaturally resistant and strong, but also very reactive to foreign magic. Therefore, if caught in a battle with an enemy spellcaster, Ro will typically sheathe his sword and use his final tool, the “rune-weaver”. Actually an amulet kept tucked under his shirt, the rune-weaver allows Ro to store carefully pre-written patterns and runes that can be released individually, sequentially, or all at once. Typically, to avoid exhausting himself utterly each day when storing his magic, Ro keeps five or six key runes that might be needed almost instantaneously or when in battle with another spellcaster – this is already two more than the recommended maximum limit set by the Imperial College.

[b]Backpack[/b]: Ro’s “backpack” contains standard travel fare: bedrolls, tent, rations, knives, a hatchet, and waterskins. If not mounted and carrying them in a saddlebag, Ro keeps these bare minimums for rough survival in a grey satchel on his back with an extra knife tied to the side of his right greave. Typically, he can also be expected to have multiple rolls of paper, ink, and other writing utensils as required. A small pouch of assorted round pebbles is also kept at his side at all times, mainly for the odd time that Ro is the only one in a group equipped engage in long-distance combat; these pebbles tend to find themselves embedded in the skulls of those poor souls not lucky enough to duck.

[b]Personality[/b]: Despite the obscurity and complete illegibility of what he is doing to most of those who serve beside him, Ro is fundamentally an outgoing individual. He enjoys the regular companionship of others, and especially enjoys sharing stories with people who actually want to listen. Despite this, however, he has not escaped the hardening influences of constant travel, injury, and combat, and therefore can be quite dour and dark at times. Though he is not prone to breakdowns, he can get paranoid about doing his job correctly, sacrificing sleep to double or triple check the wards he has placed on the encampment. He relies on the familiar bustle of an army campsite to calm him during these periods, even if he is taking a moment to sit silently on the sidelines. When most distressed, Ro will simply delve into his work even harder, ultimately only succeeding in feeding his neuroses.

In combat or when facing a crisis, Ro is mathematical and systematic in his problem-solving. He is not overly brave but holds his own magical skill in enough esteem that he can often appear to be abnormally brave to those who serve alongside him. He also rigorously follows the chain of command when as it relates to overall objectives; when it comes to style and the manner of achieving those objectives Ro demands some flexibility. This reflects his desire to constantly prove himself and his skill at innovation and execution to some higher authority, whether that be his captain, his emperor, or his father. It would not be incorrect to label Ro a perfectionist, but that is more a side-effect born out of his constant drive for self-improvement rather than a quality inherent to him. In most other aspects of his surface personality, however, Ro displays qualities typical of a career Imperial soldier, and rarely if ever stops to ponder any pangs of regret he might feel for having chosen this life.

[b]History[/b]: Ro was born into a wealthy aristocratic line in a major provincial city, but as the fourth son of his father’s second wife (ninth overall) he was almost completely invisible in his father’s eyes despite his exceptional academic aptitude manifested in early schooling. He was to be assigned to apprentice to a steward position in another noble house his father intended to make friends with, but found the silence of the balance books to be unbearable, even if the math came easy. After but a single year of that apprenticeship, Ro happened upon an Imperial captain who was being put up at the mansion in which he worked. After a few drinks, the captain opened up about his next assignment: he was to be deployed hundreds of miles away on the eastern front in the early stages of yet another border dispute. The tales he spun of gold and glory were undoubtedly exaggerated, but to a boy raised in a library for a sedentary and political lifestyle, they sounded romantic. To escape the bureaucratic heart of the empire that in the sergeant’s words had “lost its martial spirit” became Ro’s primary goal from that point on. The easiest way to do that and disappear was to join the army.

Ro did just that, shortening his name to the moniker by which he is now popularly known, and using a generic surname commonly used by those who wished to disappear. It was obvious to most around him that he came from wealth, but those signs were quickly washed away by the day to day life of the seventeenth Imperial legion. Ro was recruited as a legionnaire initially, learning to fight with sword and shield until his limbs could take no more abuse. However, he spent barely a single campaign in that role before his entire world shifted around him. It was during the infamous Battle of Norrington Hill (where half of the twelfth and a quarter of the seventeenth legions were wiped out) that his magic manifested. Ro’s battalion had been tasked with holding the rear of hill from the enemy assault when one of the warmages holding the magical shields around the soldiers failed to properly form one of his defensive runes and took an arrow in the neck because of it. With his shield broken, the enemy mages exploited the gap and proceeded to systematically eliminate almost all of the battalion’s Imperial warmages. With fire raining down on their heads, Ro’s flank collapsed almost immediately and left him almost alone and face to face with a tattooed and scarred barbarian druid. Ro doesn’t remember how, but from the stories that he was told after the event the druid tried to incinerate Ro and found his magic turned back not only upon himself but upon the advancing warriors behind him. This was hardly enough to win the battle, but it provided the nearby legionnaires with some courage and the rearguard held long enough for reinforcements to arrive.

Though not the most auspicious display of magic, the story got out and Ro found himself suddenly removed from his military lifestyle and shunted off to the Imperial College for aptitude testing. With the elimination of so many of the limited number of trained warmages at Norrington Hill, the College was desperate to restore their numbers, and so Ro joined the first class of ‘tactical warmages’ drawn from all walks of life with the only requirement being a certain degree of raw magical talent. Previous to this, the College had been an elite institution for aristocrats and a few particularly skilled savants discovered by College recruiters. Thus, Ro joined a class of hedge-mages, witches, fortune-tellers, prisoners, circus-performers and a whole range of riff-raff that showed magical aptitude but had never been good enough to meet the standards of the College before. Learning from their mistakes, however, the College decided that they would sort these various ‘tactical’ spellcasters into divisions according to their strengths rather than rely on generalist warmages in large-scale pitched battles. It was no surprise that Ro showed particular aptitude in his testing for defensive magic, and so his three years of expedited training focused mainly on that before he was sent off to the Western Front to “learn practical lessons” and fight yet another border conflict as the Empire continued to try and secure its boundaries.

Throughout this period, Ro’s family continued to pretend that he didn’t exist. The military was not an inauspicious role for son ninth in the line for the head of the family, but with his enlistment as a private and not an officer, and with the recent changes to the College to make it less exclusive, he was regarded as having tarnished the family name. Thus, though Ro was required to wear his family’s colours (black and light blue) as part of ancient College tradition for aristocratic warmages, he did so with little joy and no further support. He certainly received little special treatment for his background – in fact, he was regarded as a second-class mage by most of the existing warmages. This is because the training for full offensive mages traditionally began in childhood and one would spend almost ten or twelve years honing their talent before being allowed to go out in the field. Though Ro had been trained heavily in one aspect of standard Imperial magic, it was still only one facet and not the multitude of options that full warmages had available to them.

Therefore, Ro ended up being used as a frontline ‘shield’ for years in wars of conquest. In this time however, he became part of a trend amongst the other tactical warmages of slowly expanding their pool of knowledge through practice rather than study. The haphazard and often impromptu ways that they innovated disturbed the College but was undoubtedly effective, so many were allowed to continue. For Ro, he began to develop a set of refined runes that deflected blasts of magical energy back upon their casters. Thus, after two more campaigns Ro became fairly well-known in his unit for his talent for assassinating enemy mages. He was moved to smaller-scale unit tactics as a result, typically operating in tandem with an offensive mage as part of commando raids. In this role he was effective though not extraordinary, and over time he managed to finally move up the ranks and gain some degree of autonomy. However, his rise was cut short after his arm was shattered in a raid on a bandit encampment (they had a tame bear honestly who has a tame bear). 

Ro was forced to continue innovating after that point in order to accommodate his injury, and became a popular ‘jack of all trades’ for commando units... though he was nowhere near the best. Frustrated and feeling somewhat limited, Ro found himself serving escort duty more often than not, taking risks in hopes of finding an opportunity to prove himself worthy of the frontlines again. With the medal he received for his injury and his respectable rank, his family did finally take notice of him once more, and an offer was extended to return to the family fold. After all, a twice decorated warmage was a handy tool in the pocket of his father as he sought a senatorial seat in the capital. As feelings of uselessness continue to grow, Ro is ever tempted to finally return home and take on a mission that might actually make his father think of him as something more than just tool. On the other hand, he wants nothing to do with the manipulation and the politics of the city – he has internalized life in the legion and could not live without it. As such, when he was directed to serve as the tactical support for Capt. Markos Helmshear on another routine escort mission, Ro simply packed his bags and showed up on time for departure.[/hider]