Out of Character:
Name: Ywain Lazarev
Pseudonym: -
Titles: -
Age: 24
Race: Human
Hair Color: Black
Eye Color: Blue
Height: 179cm (5'11")
Weight: 73kg (161lb)
Details
Occupation: Bodyguard, Survivor, Vigilante
Personality: Ywain often makes a point of coming across as sarcastic and cynical, but at heart he is an empathic young man who cannot turn a blind eye to the difficulties of others. He prefers to work for the common people rather than the rich merchants and nobility, declining coin and influence in favour of food and lodgings. Growing up as an outcast in the wilds of Berevar caused Ywain to develop a dislike for the Salvic nobility and church, with particular emphasis on those who abused their power to take advantage of others. Again, however, although he emphasises this facet of his personality to the point of exaggeration, he makes individual judgements based on the occasion and doesn't allow it to colour his perceptions of the few who are genuinely good.
His experiences of surviving being an orphan in Berevar have had a profound effect on his personality - he can be relentless, stubborn, and harbours a ruthless streak - but he has also managed to retain the aforementioned caring and helpful side to his nature. Despite his relative youth, Ywain already has great awareness and knowledge of the world around him, and is quite comfortable with the person he is and his role within it. He is very rarely prone to depression and hesitation, and is not afraid to take difficult matters into his own hands. Throughout his travels and his experiences as a knight, he has decided that taking the law into his own hands can sometimes be the only way to ensure that villains are punished; on the other hand, he is fully aware, and worried, that in doing so he risks becoming a person that is just as evil as those whom he despises.
Appearance: A leanly muscular young man honed by years of training and hard living, Ywain is representative of the numerous mercenaries and hirelings that ply their trade in post-Civil War Salvar. His hair is a dirty dark brown, falling in straight lines to his shoulder-blades, while his eyes are a bright blue and extremely perceptive. His features are handsome and relatively fine, if slightly weather-beaten; he wears them casually, as if unaware of his good looks, but is not beyond making use of them if they will give him a crucial advantage somehow. He doesn't like doing this, however, and avoids it as much as possible.
Ywain often dresses in utilitarian fashion, generally black breeches and shirt with an armoured leather vest on top. His belt is laden with the accoutrements of his trade, and his gloves - which he wears at all times except when bathing - are well worn and used to regular abuse. On first glance, many people find that there's something noticeably strange about his overall appearance; this is due to the fact that he passes as left-handed, and thus wears his sword on the 'wrong' side of his body. Apart from this, however, there is little to distinguish him from the crowd - a practiced appearance, and one that is only broken by a fidgety habit of juggling anything within reach.
Ywain's voice is a surprisingly deep baritone, not quite a bass, that seems quite incongruous in his slim frame.
Belongings
Weapons:
- A basket-hilted claymore of a style favoured by baronial knights from the northern fiefdoms of Salvar, descended in turn from the larger two-handed weapons often wielded by the barbarians of the Skavian tundra. The blade is single-edged and approximately ninety centimetres long, forged of relatively fine steel and with an intricate hilt inlaid with silver. It is not particularly special, with its only noteworthy aspect being the perfect balance of the weapon - integral to Ywain's swashbuckling style of swordfighting. Usually worn at Ywain's waist in a simple leather and metal scabbard or, when battle is anticipated, slung nonchalantly over his shoulder by a strip of cloth below the guard.
- Two nondescript steel dirks, each a thirty centimetre blade mounted on an oaken hilt and carefully balanced such as to be usable for both stabbing and for throwing. Ywain keeps one tucked into his belt at his back, and the other strapped to the inside of his right leg.
- A handheld crossbow, a custom-made miniature of military models, good at puncturing armour and shields, but ineffective at ranges of over ten metres or so. Due to the unique nature of the weapon, it requires specialised ammunition that Ywain often procures from village blacksmiths in between jobs; at present he has ten bolts, of which one is loaded into the (safetied) weapon. The spare bolts are kept in a leather quiver on his belt, while the crossbow itself is fastened in a holster next to it.
Armour and Clothing:
- A leather vest, sturdy and weatherworn, dyed black and stained with the evidence of long miles on the trail. Heavy enough to stop most light weapons and absorb a fair amount of blunt trauma, it only protects Ywain's torso and thus is not too weighty as to inhibit his martial acrobatics.
- A pair of leather gloves, of which the right hand is studded with metal knuckles.
- Woolen breeches, cotton shirt, leather boots and belt, and a cold-weather cape, all not dissimilar to what any other Salvic traveller would wear.
Accessories:
- Two tiny vials of a minor healing draught, purchased from the caravan cleric on his latest job. The draughts are powerful enough to staunch bleeding and provide temporary relief against pain as well as infuse their imbiber with a temporary burst of energy, but do not actually "heal" as such (i.e., a broken arm is still broken).
- A small pouch worn on the belt, carrying coin and the aforementioned potions.
Skills and Abilities
Bodyguard: Ywain's time spent as a knight in the service of Baron Alexei allowed him to learn the basis of the martial techniques known as Artes, the application of focused arcana on an extremely limited scale to augment standard weapons fighting. His skills as a fighter are undeniable, and he has experience with sword and dirk, crossbow, axes (specifically light woodsman axes, as opposed to heavy war or battle axes), and unarmed combat. His style of fighting is somewhat unique, employing unpredictable strikes with his fists and feet in tandem with his main weapon. He is competent in evasive footwork and acrobatics, and reinforces this by coming up with and utilising various combat manoeuvres involving the environment, such as sneak attacks, disarming attempts, trips, and feints. Ywain is also adept at incorporating flamboyant tricks and flashy juggling into his swordsmanship, aided by his exceptional reflexes, dexterity, and eye-hand coordination. He is fully ambidextrous as well, but likes to conceal this fact until such time as he can use it to his advantage, and thus appears to be left-handed most of the time.
- Stun Edge: A short-ranged projectile Arte utilising his primary weapon; steel slices through the air at incredible speed, creating a vacuum that crushes the enemy. The vacuum lasts for approximately five metres, travelling at the speed of a standard arrow. The primary effect is that of blunt trauma, crumpling armour and crushing bones; although on its own rarely fatal, the strike is used to open up the foe for a killing blow.
- Evasion: Ywain is naturally talented at reading and dodging attacks, and when he concentrates upon it exclusively, is nigh untouchable to those of common skill. The rogue's feet dance and blade weaves as he goads the foe into overextending, often accompanying his movements with biting sarcastic remarks. He cannot keep this up for long, however, since it takes a lot of effort both mental and physical to focus that much.
Survivor: Ywain is a born survivor, somebody who is able to eke out a living in the bleakest of landscapes, one who can track prey with the instincts of a predator and avoid traps and dangerous encounters with consummate ease. His skills are extremely useful as a guide and as a guard, and are one of the reasons why he rarely has trouble signing up with the next caravan to take him further along the road. Less obvious is his natural affinity with the creatures of the wild, a talent he learnt very young when orphaned in the wastelands of Berevar, that allow him to pick up on and interpret less obvious trail signs at a level unmatched by most other guards. The denizens of the Frozen North seem to regard him with respect in turn, such that Ywain is often placed in the dangerous outrider position when travelling with a convoy - one that he prefers himself, as it relieves him of the tedium of dealing with broken wagon-wheels or chatting with bored traders. His skills at survival extend to the social arena as well: Ywain is skilled at dealing with people, in the sense that he can be very perceptive in sensing their motives. He knows instinctively when to be diplomatic or when to be intimidating, when to bluff and when to be honest and open. Although his conscience rarely allows him to utilise these abilities to the detriment of others, there have been times when he has resorted to such tactics in order to garner information from recalcitrant sources or persuade a stubborn trader to allow him to travel with them.
Vigilante: "I will do what must be done, no matter what it costs me." Ywain has taken the law into his own hands on at least one occasion in his past, and has learnt the hard way that sometimes where patience and law do not bring justice, stealth and sleight of hand do. He has the useful ability to utilise the environment and the shadows to move undetected when necessary, although obviously this ability does not apply if he is caught by surprise, out in the open, or is otherwise unable to take advantage of his surroundings. As stated above, he is also quite adept at tricky movements and dextrous feats of arms, which to many can seem almost magical in nature.
- Shadow Walker: Ywain calls upon the shadows to cloak him in darkness, allowing him to slip past guards and sentinel spells unseen. The ability is not infallible, however, and focused detection will catch him out, as will any action beyond deliberate movement (such as attacking a foe). Ywain is able to maintain this cloak for up to a minute at most, after which he had better not still be out in the open...
Aegis of the Titans: Perhaps the greatest mystery surrounding Ywain is that of his birth and his parentage. Although he can pass as a human even upon close inspection, those who know him well remark that every now and again, he is capable of doing things that are completely beyond their comprehension. On the other hand, even if the young man does know anything, he hasn't said. Ywain is renowned for his resilience and endurance, although his physical strength is still comparable with a 'normal' human.
Character History
Ywain Lazarev never knew his parents. By the time he realised it, he was already on his own, an outcast amongst outcasts on the fringes of a human-orc settlement deep within the wilderness of Berevar. It took all of his wits and skill to eke out a meagre existence in the village of Ratatosk, scavenging what food he could hunt and gather in the surrounding land and crossing a dangerous line by stealing from the more affluent members of the community when that failed. The young boy knew no other life until the age of nine, when he tried to rob the tent of a questing Salvic knight and met Finath Scifion for the first time.
His hand perhaps stayed by the fact that he had a son of roughly the same age back home, Finath did not punish the young thief. Instead, when he returned to Salvar and the lower town of Rousay that was his responsibility, he brought Ywain home with him, perhaps seeing in the boy a glimmer of the man that he could become. In Rousay, Ywain grew up alongside Fionan Scifion, Finath's son, and Argurios Duinain, Finath's squire, who after much effort became the first people that he could call friends. Finath also provided Ywain with his first true home, becoming somewhat of a surrogate father figure to the young man and teaching him the basics of swordplay alongside a rudimentary education.
Unlike the idealistic Fionan and the martially-inclined Argurios, Ywain remained a free spirit, often disappearing for days at a time to walk the surrounding villages and wilderness. It was on one of these trips that he finally realised his true calling in life - that he wanted to somehow repay the kindness that Finath had shown him, by helping and protecting the people of Rousay and its hinterlands.
Driven by this motivation, Ywain joined Fionan and Argurios in entering the service of Baron Alexei Smirnov, under whom Finath was also a knight. Unfortunately, he was unprepared for and ill-suited to deal with the internal politicking and bureaucracy that stymied his efforts to act for the common people. The nobles of the court were interested only in their own personal profits and amusements, excepting Finath and a handful of others who put their heads down and concentrated on their jobs. Disillusioned by the corruption, and driven to action when matters finally came to a head, Ywain bid farewell to his friends and left the Baron's employ, concentrating instead on travelling the lands and aiding the people in a more direct manner.
A year passed, and between the constant stream of jobs and the occasional bout of do-gooding, Ywain did not regret his decision in the slightest. Until one day, when his old friend Fionan pressured him into accepting a bodyguard job to the Princess of Fauchard's Tip... and things began to spiral rapidly downwards from there.
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