Enarr — Roleplayer Guild

A L D E N   T H E   B L A C K
A L D E N   K O L E   ◼   3 0   ◼   M A L E   ◼   K A F A A R A  

"Everyone deserves a second chance. The fact that I'm here means that you must have already blown yours."

▼ A P P E A R A N C E:
Alden is of short, burly stock. He'd once been covered in a bushlike robe of rock-hard, jet-black fur but the fire has left him as hairless as a looking glass. His sagging, roasted exterior betrays the otherwise enviable colony of muscle that lurks beneath his surface. His once proud demeanor has largely given way to a reverent silence, as he stands idle with his arms at rest, folded neatly across his barrel chest. He conceals his once-handsome face behind a stainless steel helmet, and every inch of his flesh beneath an all-consuming shroud of black fabric, having been humbled by his injury.

▼ B I O G R A P H Y:
Alden was born outside the city limits of Kafaara, to the Kole family. Their surname was owed to the fact that Alden's father, Arlen, owned and operated The Blackstar Mining Company, the primary supplier of coal to the majority of the Kafaaran peninsula with a healthy exporting business to boot. While they were, by all means, thoroughly financially secure, they had not yet gained the social acceptance of the nobility proper when their troubles began.

Around the time that Alden was twenty-six years old, having lost his elder brother to illness, he was being groomed to assume leadership of the company in the coming years, as his father turned his attention toward more social endeavors, shoehorning himself into whatever political intrigue he could. His mother, on the other hand, had been staying in Kafaara, just as she often had ever since Arlen's business had taken off, giving most all of her time and attention toward her devout study of the doctrine of The Barbed Church.

While The Blackstars were mining one fateful day, both Arlen and Alden, father and son, and many of their men were trapped in an underground coal fire that resulted in a cave-in, as a consequence of a burnt support beam giving way. Trapped within the toxic subterranean oven, most of the men died agonizing deaths. But it would seem that the world had other ends in mind for Alden. As dire as things were, he clung to life, even as the mine's infernal vapors seeped into his lungs before he was ultimately dug out by the company's response crew. Things were never the same again.

Alden's youngest brother, Adler, assumed control over The Blackstar's operations. If rumors were to be believed, he had orchestrated the cave-in in a fratricidal coup. No one ever seemed to have bothered investigating. In the fire's aftermath, Alden's molten skin took on a permanent ghoulish quality, like a wax sculpture that had been left under the summer sun. Beneath the surface, his lungs had also been marred, giving him a persistent cough, courtesy of the severe case of pneumonia he'd developed. Due to the ashen coat that he had been fished out of the mine wearing, he was gifted with the moniker "Alden the Black".

He'd never considered himself particularly religious, but nearly losing his life gave him a new perspective on things. The shame that came from his appearance led to him shrouding himself in an impenetrable wall of fabric, shielding every last inch of his skin from sight.

▼ C H A R A C T E R  G O A L S:
Having thoroughly aligned himself with The Barbed Church following his near-death experience, he imagines that helping the kingdom find salvation from its penance is the reason for which he continues living. Anything less than answering the High Lord's call would be a demonstration of ingratitude for the mercy he was shown when he was rescued from the fire.

▼ S K I L L S:
//SKILLS AND ABILITIES:
◼ Brute Strength | From years of working in a coal mine
◼ Chivalry | Literally the discipline of riding a horse learned from journeying on horseback to Kafaara with his father
◼ Eyesight | From years of working in a coal mine
◼ Hearing | From years of working in a coal mine

//FEARS AND WEAKNESSES:
◼ Gullible | If an official of The Barbed Church says something, he'll probably believe it.
◼ Insensitivity | The fire killed many of the nerves in his body. Sometimes he is entirely numb for hours. Sometimes he feels random pain. Sometimes, he mistakes the extent of his injuries.
◼ Miner's Lung | While he would otherwise be quite good at sneaking, his ability to remain silent is impeded by uncontrollable bouts of sudden, violent coughing
◼ Pyrophobia | It twists his gut up into a know just to think about being close to another flame

▼ N O T E S:
//PARAPHERNALIA
◼ Nightstick | A relatively lightweight, though dense, blunt instrument particularly well attuned for inflicting concussions
◼ Rope (Spider-Silk) | Just enough to hang himself with. Or someone else if it came to that.
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