The New Yorker — Roleplayer Guild

CHARACTER RELATIONSHIPS

Cillian O’Houlihan

Age:35 | Role: Adventurer 2  | Reason for being here: A break from the drunks, a chance to be happy. Friends  ☺  | Romantic Interest  ♥  | Neutral  ◑  | Friends with benefits/flirtation/together  ♥♥  | Enemies  ☠
☠ Emmett Warde II ☠
"If the kid could get over his baggage, he could become a respectable man."
Emmett is a kid with a lot of potential. He has the passion and the skill necessary to do great things some day, but as it stands he is overcompensating for his lack of experience. Cillian would much prefer if the boy were humble and accepted his inadiquacies. Then Cillian thinks of himself at the same age and laughs as he considers how humble he was, which is to say not at all. In reality, Emmett reminds Cillian a great deal of his former self, the memories of which repel his current demeanor. 
☺ Othen Perelyn ☺
"He knows nothing about me and cares not for class. He sometimes makes me forget that places like Lusk ever existed."
As far as Cillian is concerned Othen is a good man, with a strong frame, and an even stronger moral spirit. In any case he behaves as one would expect from his established character as he approaches situations from a simple, yet impeccable stance; whether that be morally or physically. 
◑ Rook Warde ◑
"He’s a smart guy. He seems to have his hands in everything, which is a sign of inscrutable motives."
Cillian doesn’t know why Rook does what he does. He dislikes his mysteriousness and the pomp and circumstance of his recruitment methods. But ultimately the man is effective, and considerate. Cillian can’t complain about much concerning Rook, but he doesn’t complain in general. 
☺ Floure Camlo ☺
"There will come a time when you’re not sure if it’s worth the risk to come and save me—it isn’t."
Cillian decided when he joined the party that he might as well become friendly with the physician. They’d be seeing a lot of each other and there’s no reason to make it awkward. Their relationship is only helped by the fact that Floure is a patient listener and a calm, insightful soul. Cillian doesn’t want to take advantage of her patience and so hasn’t said a word of his past plights. Though he knows it would be healthy for him to do so. 
♥  Grace O'Faolain ♥
"It’s… It’s incredible to see you here. How are the Northern Winds?"
The moment her auburn touched hair crested the edge of the door, Cillian knew who it was. As she ordered her drink Cillian was already making it. In a flash, all his memories of their time spent in the Northern Islands rushed back to him and he was 25 again. Confident, strong, independent, undefeatable. Then a sense of time returned to him and he was himself again, as he stood in the dark dingy bar with the red clay sand wafting in through the cracks in the walls. He felt he would never be able to live with himself if he didn’t learn what had happened to her after she left Falkrik for the other surrounding Isles. She revealed she was on a mission and heading out of town soon. Then Rook approached knowingly, recruited him quietly. Cillian wasn’t going to let the party leave without him anyway, whether Rook had expected to recruit him or not. 

For a week Cillian has been considering why he truly came on this mission. Was it for Grace? Was it for glory? Was it for death? He still doesn’t have an answer. But when he looks at Grace as she studies a map, he can’t help but feel that she’s the reason why he’s ever done anything. He can’t help but feel that the only reason he won his trial by combat was so that he could have the chance to be happy with her again. He doesn’t care whether he lives to love her or dies to protect her, nothing could stop him from doing now what he should have done a decade ago: follow her to the ends of the earth. 

Cillian O’Houlihan
"Die."
Cillian sees himself as a pure mass of living chaos. He entered this world in a blur and took it by storm as he sought a path for himself. He’s learned that there are only certain people in the world who have a safe predestined path, everyone else has to make their own, and Cillian has never had a great sense of direction He’s wandered through hell and back and everywhere in between, he can’t find a respite here or a way to rinse his hands clean.

Cillian “Cill” O’Houlihan

"Rules are meant to be broken… and so are bones."

Name
Cillian O’Houlihan

Nicknames
Killin’ Cillian- A name given to him while working under Rorik O’Faolain. It may just have been created due to it’s simplicity, but Cillian has earned it all the same.

Killin’ Hands/Hands- A nickname which has followed Cillian around his entire life. From the orphanage, to the killing fields, to the noble halls Cillian has always been known for delivering raucous knockouts.

Role
Adventurer 2

Age
35

Gender
Male

Reputation
Cillian is known in different places for different things. Depending on who you ask, and where, you’ll get appropriate reactions. If you ask a Luskian merchant, he’ll respond with a gruff “murderer”. A Falkrik Islander may say “rogue”, or “deserter”, or “who?”. A Badland’s traveler would know him simply as Cill, a laidback barman with little patience for idiots and fiends. In all places Cillian is known for his hard knuckles, slick wit, and undying pessimism. Back home in the northern Islands he had a reputation as a problem solver, and that reputation continued to precede him, even when he failed. Now he’s a big fish in a little pond. A man of great skill and perception being used to watch oversized children and host low-talent fights.

Appearance 
Cillian has always been a rather handsome man. In the orphanage they would make fun of his ears, which were proportionally large compared to his head. But even then he would get compliments from ladies on how handsome he was. Later in life those compliments would be partnered with sultry eyes and parted, painted lips. Cill is a man of average height and weight with dark, thoughtful eyes. His face is a mixture of smooth curves and straight lines. Tight weathered skin spans his forehead as his full brows furrow in disapproval. His hands are a testament to his craft and creed; the knuckles calloused and rough, still bearing the stains of forgotten blood. His facial hair changes with the times, as does his hairstyle, but the color remains the same at a deep, soothing brown. 

Cillian’s toned body is well complimented by his array of outfits and accessories, collected earnestly since his young adulthood. Cillian is now the product of a life lived running from one’s past. A poor boy trying to hide his classlessness, a lost man looking for his lost love, a criminal trying to make people forget his brutishness. Everything from the broken bridge of his nose to the width of his forearms betray the finery he wears and the jewelry he dons.

Height 
6 feet 1 inches

Weight 
186 lbs

Positive Traits:
Clever mind
Unrelenting bravery
Martial adept

Negative Traits:
Easily drawn into violence
Unrelenting bravery
Mean streak

Personality Description
Cillian’s life has always been surrounded by violence, and he’s never complained, even when it took the life of this wife and child. Cillian is the sort of man who accepts his fate, who sees the wood within the trees and smiles as others miss it. During his youth, when he wasn’t weighed down by the enduring hopelessness of life, Cillian was a boastful man, taking pride in his employable skills and independent nature. Now he remains quite, hiding his abilities among his other plain, inoffensive features. 

Cillian knows now that his skills are not the same liberating, pride inducing things that could both free him from the orphanage as well as provide him a healthy living. He knew now that these skills were as much death warrants as they were blessings. His unquestioning bravery doesn’t come from some noble, moral place, but instead is derived from a driving need to feel the rush of adrenaline one gets from a brush with death. His cleverness only helps him solve the problems he gets himself into during his next search for adrenaline, and almost never stops him from rushing headlong into the situation in the first place. Cillian never shy’s away from fighting words, but never lets a fight get too far at the bar.

Likes
Drinking
Fighting
Fucking
Cooking

Dislikes
Talking
Fighting
Leaving
Losing

Skills
Improvisation: No matter the situation Cill is presented, he can conceive and execute a sensible and effective resolution.
Inextricably dangerous: A man is composed of many different things, some of which are dichotomous. Cillian is a man who both loves and despises his martial prowess. He’s learned hundreds of different ways to break a man, and thousands of variations in which to try. Traveling the world has provided Cillian with the opportunity to learn new and innovative styles of fighting, while his insatiable passion for the craft has allowed him to master them. If these new styles fail to grant him advantage in a grappling scenario, he can always fall back on his patented haymaker. Whatever his reaction to this trait, which has secured Cillian’s livelihood for the past three and a half decades, it is an irremovable aspect of his personality.
Strong Jaw: Cillian has been beaten his whole life. He’s always found a way to beat the odds, despite them being set against him. Often times this has to do with his literally strong jaw which can take a solid punch and still not yield a knockout. But more often than not, Cillian has a passion and luck which work in tandem to keep his precariously balanced life ever teetering, further and further along the boundary between life and death.
Acrobat: Over the past couple of decades Cillian learned that understanding how to move one's body around difficult obstacles is necessary for his skirmishing style of combat. It took him many years of practice and training, but he's come out on the other end with an acrobat's body.

Weapon(s) Description
Fists- Cillian always keeps his best weapons near him at all times. His fists are known for being able to knock men out with a quick one two. They bear scars from battles over the years, but he often keeps them wrapped in cloth, and protects them in iron gauntlets. 

Hand Crossbow- When Cillian was working for a Luskian King he learned the skills of  ranged combat with a hand held crossbow. This allows him a quick reaction to threats around him without needing to be up close. This thing is usually tied to a strap bound around his leg for ease of use and access. It must be reloaded after each shot so it tends to be useless later in combat. 

Whip- Cillian has always carried this whip with him, almost as long as he’s carried his primary weapons. As a young man fresh out of the orphanage, he found easy work on farms and ranches. In his youth he was known for being an excellent herder of cows, and sheep. This whip has been with him since then, some twenty years ago.

Quirks
Gambler: If there’s a game to be played with cards or dice, Cillian will be there.
Drinker: Cillian drinks when he’s bored, or tired, or annoyed, or happy, or sad...
Deep sleeper: The only thing in Cillian’s life that isn’t tainted by facts. His dreams are mere projections of his untarnished memories; not quite fantasy, but not quite reality. Realizing that his life is only good when he’s unconscious makes Cillian a man who lives to dream, and an effigy which dreams to live.

Weaknesses
Undiplomatic- Cillian has tried becoming more diplomatic since he fled Lusk, but that form of diplomacy exclusively involves intimidation. He can’t really sweet talk his way out of a fight, because… well… he doesn’t want to.
Alcoholic- All the jokes about medicinal uses and stress relieving aside, Cillian is an alcoholic and he needs help.
Self-destructive- Whether it be running away from home, loving someone of a higher station than himself, or bartending in one of the most dangerous places in the world, Cillian always makes the worst of decisions. He is prone to making choices that lead to horrible conclusions, either consciously or unconsciously. Despite knowing full well of this disposition, he never takes excessive actions to divert his fate. He’ll do what it takes to stay alive, but that’s as far as he’ll ever go. As Cillian sees it, he’s a man on a path, and that path leads straight to hell.

Fears 
Commitment- Commitment comes with love, and love comes with pain.
Darkness- Cillian despises the darkness, it effortlessly conceals threats and painfully heightens his other senses. If he must be in the dark for some reason, he can be, but he’d just as soon prefer a fire.

Secret(s)
When Cillian lived in Lusk he was married to a noble woman with whom he shared a child. They loved each other intensely and had built a happy life for themselves. Her father however disagreed with their love, and had disowned his daughter for her defiance of his word. In fact, he did more than that. The King wanted his princess back, and was intent on doing it without setting her against him. He attempted to frame Cillian for the death of his son. An assassin came in the night, subdued Cillian after a brief struggle, drugged him, and placed Cillian's bloodied, unconscious body near the corpse of his ravaged infant son. Waking up to the horrible scene he attempted to explain the situation to his shocked wife. She wasn't going to accept any of his protestations however. 

The fact is, the assassin only killed Cillian's son, being an agent of the King. And yet, the house where Cillian and his family lived ended up burning down that night; with the bodies of his wife, his son, and the staff which served them burned into the foundations of the wreckage of the home. Cillian doesn't think about that night very often. The months which succeeded them, in the stinking prison, takes up the majority of his waking thoughts now. While the months preceding them still haunt him in his dreams and remind him of the life he could have had.

History
Not much is known of Cillian’s past, and even less of his true family. As far as he knows, he was discovered in a nunnery in the farming town of Glacier Hill on Falkrik Isle. From there he went to the orphanage and eventually ended up in the home of the ranching family, the O’Houlihans. He worked the ranch for several years for his foster parents until he decided to use his hands for something other than plowing the field and wrestling the rams. He started punching faces professionally at the tender age of 19 as a mercenary for the Falkrik lords and ladies. He made good money as he traveled to and fro, delivering important cargo, stealing information, kidnapping, rescuing, anything that may require a strong fist and a sharp mind. Eventually he came under the employ of Lord Rorik, who was looking forward to an epic campaign along the Isle’s. 

Around this time he met a lovely young woman by the name of Grace. They bonded over the promise of treasure, seeking a long forgotten hoard along the coasts. There was in fact no treasure when they found the requisite cave, but they remained all the same as they spoke on their dreams and desires. Cillian foolishly fell in love with this girl, who he learned soon enough was the daughter of his current employer. He cared not for the social stigma as he imagined the life they could live together. After several weeks of meeting in the cave Cillian decided he would propose to Grace, ask her to run away with him. Unbeknownst to him, Grace was to set sail with her father on his next campaign. She left the next day without giving him an answer. Though Cillian was set to leave as an ancillary force a day behind Rorik’s forces, he decided against it. He booked passage the next day for Lusk, a far off tropical country along the western continent. The Journey took him a year as he stopped off at the many islands along the way, finding work and building up a repertoire of skills. He reached Lusk with the business of Island hopping behind him. He would work to forget Falkrik and all its woes. 

Lusk was a lush work environment for him as crime was rampant and the local guard couldn’t get enough assistance. He built up a name for himself as a precise vigilante, which almost always brought the criminals in alive for the hangman. This bought him a position on a local Monarch’s security team. Only a year or so of perfectly guarding King Orel afforded Cillian a comfortable lifestyle and a seat on the King’s council. Once again, however, Cillian had made a tremendous mistake. He’d fallen in love with the King’s daughter, Johna. Orel disapproved of their relationship but there was nothing that could be done. They’d fallen in love in an instant and that’s all it took to decide to wed. Any protests the King made were met with swift rejections by Johna. She was regretfully disowned and promptly married Cillian. 

They had a child and formed a respectable little life for themselves along the farm lands of Lusk. At 2 years old the boy seemed to be taking rather well after his father. He seemed tough and vibrantly filled with life. Until he wasn’t. The story goes that Cillian lost his family in a fire, barely making it out alive himself. The King, who did not believe this story, kept Cillian alive as his investigators developed a case. No foul play could have been said to have taken place in the house and so Cillian was given a trial by combat, which is afforded for cases such as these under suspicious circumstances. Cillian faced the Luskian knight in the blazing heat of high noon after months chained in a cell. The odds were utterly stacked against him in every way as the full plated knight swung his halberd expertly around his body. Cillian scored the killing blow, however, as he sawed into the throat of the knight with a rock after disarming him. 

Upon winning his trial by combat he was free; free to be killed by the King’s assassins and other frustrated sources. Cillian knew that he needed to flee that circumstance entirely. So he stowed away on a ship to the only place he knew his past would never catch up to him, The Whispering Badlands. Upon arriving he had no prospects, until he met the traveling merchant Y’uril of Cord, a man who owned several businesses across the world, and who was currently building a bar in the Badland enclave of Red Rock. Y’uril could see that Cillian was a world wearied man with little patience and great power, he would make the perfect bartender for his little dive in this veritable hellhole known as the Badlands. Cillian has been tending bar in The Screaming Rock for several years now, trying to leave the mercenary lifestyle behind him. But, like a dog trying to outrun his tail, Cillian would never be able to outrun his past. A week ago Grace O’Faolain walked into the bar with a group of explorers on some expedition or another. It hardly mattered to Cillian. He took whatever money he could get for the gig, and told his only friend in the city, Corkran, to watch the bar for him while he was gone. Cillian dusted off his battle attire and followed the party out of Red Rock, proving to himself for the last time that he would never learn from his mistakes.

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