Aegis of Espiridion
08-26-10, 03:08 PM
Name: Ywain Lazarev
Pseudonym: -
Age: 22
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 payment in the form of food and lodgings. Having grown up as an outcast in the wilds of Berevar, upon moving to Salvar Ywain quickly developed a dislike for the nobility and church, particularly those who abused their power to take advantage of others. However, although he usually emphasises this facet of his personality to the point of exaggeration, he is fully capable of making individual judgements based on the person in question and doesn't allow his opinions to colour his perception of the few who are genuinely good.
His experiences of surviving orphanage 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, largely due to the efforts of his adoptive family. Despite his relative youth, Ywain 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 experiences as a knight and his travels that followed, he has decided that enforcing the law himself 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 bright blue and extremely perceptive. His features are renowned as 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 gain him a crucial advantage in some way. He doesn't like doing this, however, and avoids such occasions 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 slightly strange about his overall appearance; this is largely 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, 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 fine steel and with an intricate hilt inlaid with silver. As a weapon, however, it is not particularly special, its only noteworthy aspect being the perfect balance - integral to Ywain's swashbuckling style of sword-fighting. Usually worn at Ywain's waist in a simple leather and metal scabbard or, when battle is anticipated, held nonchalantly over his shoulder in readiness.
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 crafted from oak and steel, 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 steel 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 steel knuckles.
Woollen 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 moderate 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 will remain broken). They are of little use against life-threatening injuries, designed to allow a lightly-wounded warrior to fight on without feeling much ill effect.
A small pouch worn on the belt, carrying coin and the aforementioned potions.
Skills
Bodyguard: Ywain's time spent as a knight in the service of Baron Alexei Smirnov provided him with both the skills and the contacts necessary to set himself up as a mercenary and caravan bodyguard when he left. His skills as a warrior are undeniable, and he has average skill with sword and dirk, average skill with crossbows, below average skill with axes (specifically light woodsman axes, as opposed to heavy war or battle axes), and average skill in unarmed combat. He is at best average in evasive footwork and acrobatics, but makes up for this by being competent at coming up with and utilising various combat manoeuvres involving the environment, such as sneak attacks, attempts at disarming, trips, and feints.
His style of fighting is somewhat unique, employing unpredictable strikes with his fists and feet in tandem with his main weapon. 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.
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 picked up very young when orphaned in the wastelands of Berevar, that allows him to pick up on and interpret trail signs at a level unmatched by most other scouts. 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 used to 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. On the other hand, he has little patience for the foppish or the bombastic, and will quickly make these feelings known.
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 is average in his ability to utilise the environment and the shadows to move undetected, 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 a layman can seem almost magical in nature but in fact are merely innovative applications of mortal skill.
Aegis of the Titans: Perhaps the greatest mystery surrounding Ywain is that of his birth and his parentage. Even if the young man does know anything about his origins, he certainly hasn't spoken of it even to his closest friends. 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 feats that are completely beyond their comprehension. Ywain is renowned for his resilience and endurance (above average) and can increase his average physical strength to twice its normal level once a day for no more than half a minute, the strain of which tires him out greatly afterwards.
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 has since passed, and between the constant stream of jobs and the occasional bout of do-gooding, Ywain has not regretted his decision in the slightest.
Pseudonym: -
Age: 22
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 payment in the form of food and lodgings. Having grown up as an outcast in the wilds of Berevar, upon moving to Salvar Ywain quickly developed a dislike for the nobility and church, particularly those who abused their power to take advantage of others. However, although he usually emphasises this facet of his personality to the point of exaggeration, he is fully capable of making individual judgements based on the person in question and doesn't allow his opinions to colour his perception of the few who are genuinely good.
His experiences of surviving orphanage 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, largely due to the efforts of his adoptive family. Despite his relative youth, Ywain 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 experiences as a knight and his travels that followed, he has decided that enforcing the law himself 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 bright blue and extremely perceptive. His features are renowned as 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 gain him a crucial advantage in some way. He doesn't like doing this, however, and avoids such occasions 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 slightly strange about his overall appearance; this is largely 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, 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 fine steel and with an intricate hilt inlaid with silver. As a weapon, however, it is not particularly special, its only noteworthy aspect being the perfect balance - integral to Ywain's swashbuckling style of sword-fighting. Usually worn at Ywain's waist in a simple leather and metal scabbard or, when battle is anticipated, held nonchalantly over his shoulder in readiness.
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 crafted from oak and steel, 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 steel 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 steel knuckles.
Woollen 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 moderate 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 will remain broken). They are of little use against life-threatening injuries, designed to allow a lightly-wounded warrior to fight on without feeling much ill effect.
A small pouch worn on the belt, carrying coin and the aforementioned potions.
Skills
Bodyguard: Ywain's time spent as a knight in the service of Baron Alexei Smirnov provided him with both the skills and the contacts necessary to set himself up as a mercenary and caravan bodyguard when he left. His skills as a warrior are undeniable, and he has average skill with sword and dirk, average skill with crossbows, below average skill with axes (specifically light woodsman axes, as opposed to heavy war or battle axes), and average skill in unarmed combat. He is at best average in evasive footwork and acrobatics, but makes up for this by being competent at coming up with and utilising various combat manoeuvres involving the environment, such as sneak attacks, attempts at disarming, trips, and feints.
His style of fighting is somewhat unique, employing unpredictable strikes with his fists and feet in tandem with his main weapon. 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.
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 picked up very young when orphaned in the wastelands of Berevar, that allows him to pick up on and interpret trail signs at a level unmatched by most other scouts. 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 used to 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. On the other hand, he has little patience for the foppish or the bombastic, and will quickly make these feelings known.
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 is average in his ability to utilise the environment and the shadows to move undetected, 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 a layman can seem almost magical in nature but in fact are merely innovative applications of mortal skill.
Aegis of the Titans: Perhaps the greatest mystery surrounding Ywain is that of his birth and his parentage. Even if the young man does know anything about his origins, he certainly hasn't spoken of it even to his closest friends. 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 feats that are completely beyond their comprehension. Ywain is renowned for his resilience and endurance (above average) and can increase his average physical strength to twice its normal level once a day for no more than half a minute, the strain of which tires him out greatly afterwards.
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 has since passed, and between the constant stream of jobs and the occasional bout of do-gooding, Ywain has not regretted his decision in the slightest.