Horizon's End
04-24-06, 08:11 PM
Profile
Full Name: Thalassos Earessar
Race: Human
Age: 24
Gender: Male
Height: 6’
Weight: 155 lbs.
Hair Color: Black
Eye Color: Ash
Appearance:
Thalassos is a man who is not easy to forget. He has a striking look and though perhaps he is not one people would refer to as an Adonis, he has been known to turn some notable heads. His hair is usually kept cropped short yet not military short and is normally well taken care of so that it shines with a lustrous sheen of deep black. His face, however, is where his persona resides. Much like him it is soft on the outside yet on closer inspection chiseled beyond a mid-twenties appearance, not terribly so, though, he still has the shine of youth plainly visible. His eyes are of an opaque ashen coloring, odd considering how few people in his kingdom have any besides brown or the imperial blue. He is not particularly built having instead a wiry build as if he rarely had a full meal yet a more trained eye would see the finely toned muscles. He wears an assortment of clothing yet usually prefers something in the light hues of most colors with his favorite being a pure white, though he does not allow himself to wear it save for special occasions as any respectable citizen might. Yet this is hardly where the important information hides, now isn’t it?
Background
History
Ah, Thalassos, where to begin? His history is riddled with contradictions, tales of woe, auguries of epic destiny and the hope of all mankind. At least for him it is, alas he was cursed with the tragedy of a mediocre history. No heroes have a run-of-the-mill upbringing now do they? Raised in a normal nuclear family, youngest of three with an elder sister of four years the day he was born and a brother not quite one, They lived in the Kingdom of Ead’Nith, located in the very north of Salvar where it is known barely by traders as it lies a goodly distance from the only trading city of Knife’s Edge. His brother was an adept scholar particularly in regards to history and what passes for anthropological studies in Althanas which was quite prodigious as few really bothered to learn the cultures of the outside whereas his sister was a(nother) child prodigy in the arts of the sword doubly notable for being a female practicer. Thalassos, however, from an early age excelled at nothing; at school he was but one of the crowd in a daring war with the class average whose battles he usually won, if barely, and at the mandatory training sessions had to be given a Royal Pardon to avoid another accident which almost cost him his life.
His parents supported their child as good parents do with love and understanding as he grew up to be a normal man. Sadly by this point Thalassos was, well, not quite sound in the head and much like a modern…ancient…parallel? Quixote dreamt up scenarios where he was a hero. Unlike this crazed Terran man, however, they were not so much like delusions as paranoias in that he drew irrational connections to shady evils which he vanquished by doing such things as poisoning their water supply with their weakness, powdered nuts. This, incidentally, led to his arrest when a woman in his district almost died from a nut allergy. He served his time amenably yet something surprising happened soon afterwards (besides his hero delusion strengthening to the point where he aggrandized his adventures and narrated his own life), he had found reading.
In school due to the “advanced” teaching methods employed children had barely been given books and instead were merely educated by brilliant individuals who engaged their minds and intellects with dialectics and thought-puzzles, rote-memorization and books were hardly the tools of the cultured society beyond that necessary for literacy which the children were encouraged to develop further on their own. As the reader may have guessed Thalassos was not one of those who did that, books being something he didn’t have the luxury of time for. Once he discovered them, though, he devoured books. He read like a fiend on every topic his local branch’s library had, petitioned and obtained a permit to access any library in the kingdom and went through each in turn reading a wide selection from each. This was all very good and all but it helped his job as an apprentice to his father’s lock-making business not at all so again he petitioned and was granted the job of librarian at the West branch. It was still close to his home in the South yet it left him plenty of time to wonder about the mysteries of life during the walk to and from.
Years passed and though he became an excellent librarian knowing which book was in/out and where it was no one commented on it, his brother was now a Royal Historian and due to his knowledge of different cultures none-too-often a member of diplomatic envoys and his sister had like-wise become a Royal Blueguard entrusted to protect the son-heir himself. One might expect he would be entrusted to the Royal Librarian Society yet no, year after year even his requests for even a visit were turned down, he had not even been promoted to Head Librarian in his own branch. It was during the coronation of the new king due to his sister talking him up to her charge that he was allowed access for a day. This day did change his life by making him realize something as profound as the fact that he loved books, more, even: magic was real. Big shock, you say, the world is filled with denizens whose very existence depends on it yet this is why the Kingdom of Ead’Nith is not widely known outside its not-too-surprisingly-magical walls save to the wise and the elder. The history of the kingdom is a history in and of itself, one which I might write someday if time allows but suffice to say that magic could not come in nor affect it, and foreigners were allowed entrance only by royal decree as were its inhabitants allowed leave of exit.
One must try to understand how his life was shaken, the magic of books and heroes was one which not only existed but could be taught? Here he found the literature to be a little contradictory as some said it was hereditary and others said it had nothing to do with heredity but was inborn yet some converged on the fact that anyone could learn it. This was where most of the feverish hours went yet he did read a little of the founding of the city and of the way its founders had established what they considered to be necessary isolation. He went back home dazed and ablaze with knowledge little knowing, pardon the pun, his reactions were being monitored to decide his fate. Thalassos had decided he must attempt to learn magic and, perhaps foolishly, confided in his brother about this fact. Come morning he awoke with most of his possessions including a hardy coat, a days worth of rations and a letter stamped with the royal seal:
“Thalassos Earessar, by Royal Decree you are hereby banished from Ead’Nith. Attempting reentry will result in your death.”
That was it. No more, no less, no explanations yet Thalassos was a bright man and figured that magic was probably the reason for his expulsion. He, however, was not at all distraught as he had been planning how to escape into the world outside. He narrated his exodus as his first true trial and for the first day he wandered around Salvar describing his many hardships and victories noting that it was with these humble beginnings that a hero would rise. He knew enough to go southwards but had not the experience to know how long it would take. By the fourth day he had stopped narrating, he was cold, his feet a bloody mess, and he was hungry yet more importantly he had run out of water. He collapsed that day and it was by what he would attribute to destiny’s hand that traders returning from even further north than the Kingdom found him. For two days he remained unconscious as their caravan traveled on and when he awoke realized how much of a death sentence his exile had been.
He was slowly nursed back to health yet he recovered well. He was a little baffled by the Salvic the men spoke, it was much like that of children to him, somewhat simpler to his eyes and riddled with expressions and wording that would have had them the mockery of the kingdom. They dropped him off in Knife’s Edge, a 23 year old man with no relatives, friends or acquaintances not to mention a budding hero complex. Well, perhaps by this point it was not so much a desire to be a hero but a desire to have his life mean something, have it be interesting and thrilling. His first night was hard, he knew not where to go, who to talk to or what to do and was forced to sleep outside in the biting cold. He awoke resolved to do something so he asked around and discovered various libraries, he inquired to the natives about getting permission to use them but was met only by baffled expressions and amused remarks as to his accent. He did not quite get the latter, it was they who barely knew how to speak it.
Entering one of the libraries he was mistaken for a foreigner and was greeted in Common. That did not go too well as though he was not terrible at the written form, learning it by the few books back home which helped in that regard, the spoken Tradespeak was quite unintelligible. Quickly answering in Salvic, Thalassos managed to obtain a temporary residence and a job by impressing the keeper with his knowledge of “arcane” tomes thought to be lost, even if the man did remark that his knowledge of contemporary works needed some looking to. He settled in amenably amongst the staff becoming good friends with some of them and their friends. He learned much of the other Salvar, the one most people knew, it seemed, and gained a very rough knowledge of Tradespeak in the oral sense. In the months that followed the quest for magic took a slight respite in his need to establish a secure source of food and money even in the face of wonders which left him agog on a regular basis, foreign races, magics and the normalcy of all of this made him somewhat of an introvert outside his friends. As stated before he learned much of Salvar yet due to what he would never admit as fear barely read through the libraries he had at his disposal, he wasn’t ready. He began aching for magic yet paced himself as running around wildly would help not at all, so it was only after more than a year that he began to inquire as to learning it, now that he was familiar and not (completely) taken aback by even the simplest lighting spell, it was now he began exploring the literature in earnest. This is where our story trails off and where his begins truly.
Personality
Well, as should be obvious from his past our Thalassos is quite the character. Perpetually overshadowed he always sought to prove himself, never quite doing so successfully. He is a brilliant(ly eccentric) man, however, especially after his book frenzy began, however he is also quite absentminded at times and very easily sidetracked. He does not find making friends to be too hard as long as something about them can be worked into his inner narrative. Right, there is that too, he likes to pretend in his inner monologue that things are grander and more interesting than they are. His hero complex has been almost completely substituted with this narration though every now and then it shows its face. Another detail related to some his mental quirks is that he often becomes really feverish about a particular ideal, goal, quest or whim and pursues it almost single-mindedly breaking out of it voluntarily only after great force of will once he realizes his problem. For the most part, though, Thalassos is jovial and eccentric, good-natured and willing to help others, often ignoring the cost to himself.
Inventory
Weapons
Nyx: Well, not so much a weapon as a gnarled oak staff this helps him with his image and allows him to pretend he would be ready for anything though his ‘training’ amounts to copious battles with foliage or unseen foes, in his room, when he’s alone.
Traits
Knowledges Acquired
Knowledge of Salvic Tomes: He has read a decent amount of ancient Salvic literature which details the distant past of the region as well as things long forgotten. However none of these tomes mentioned magic directly or anything pertaining to magic save for those he read in his last day in the Kingdom. Many of the tomes he took as fantasy where in fact they were not.
Knowledge of Books: Besides the Salvic tomes which to others might be novel, he is well-versed in many other books, if not any contemporary ones. As before no book which explicitly spoke of magic as true is in his repertoire which as above has led to large gaps in the books he knows though some of this has changed in the year he spent in Knife’s Edge.
Knowledge of Magic: He knows practically nothing of magic theory, little more than it exists and even that is still somewhat hard to swallow for him. It is a curious note that some of the books he read contained very advanced magic theory that he is unable to even grasp as that which he sought to find, this particular knowledge is latent. This is subject to change quickly as he has begun exploring the literature on true magic.
Knowledge of Languages: He knows a somewhat archaic Salvic and is well read in it, knowing how to write very well. He is also decent with written Tradespeak if very sub-par with the spoken form. He knows other languages exist yet has never heard them and read only words and fragments faithfully transcribed in some of the old tomes.
Knowledge of Althanas: He knows basic maps of the mainlands and has only outdated and sketchy knowledge of the governments that rule in them. The inhabitants of some of these regions would surprise him and he knows next to nothing about Hadia. He now knows the basic culture and status of modern Salvar and through this something of the other regions in the sense that they impacted upon Salvar’s history.
Knowledge of Races: Besides man he knows very little of the other denizens of his world. Dwarves, he’s met in Knife’s Edge, as well as some drow and high elves (though very few of these last two) yet besides these he is practically ignorant of the existence of the many others. Some of the tomes detailed races yet to him many of them exist only in story. He is still quite unconvinced the elves live for such great spans.
Knowledge of Weapons: He knows next to nothing about how to use weapons. In fact, his inability to use them is so pronounced it deserves special mention. Thalassos is not a clumsy man yet put a stick in his hand while he’s blindfolded and tell him it’s a sword and he will turn into a drunk 3 year old in terms of coordination. In terms of knowledge about them, however, he is pretty well versed (by means of historic battles and mostly fantasy) as to how weapons are theoretically used and the limitations many of them have.
Skills
Abilities
Mental Library:
Lvl 0: He is able to read rather fast and not forget a single word. This is not as powerful as it seems, however, as knowledge is organized in an infinite library within his head, a mnemonic method he taught himself. This library thus contains everything he’s read but more often than not he will only stumble across random facts rather than what he wishes to find. True need tends to allow him to find it, however.
Dexterity:
Lvl 0: For a bookworm Thalassos is pretty deft with his fingers courtesy of the years spent as his father’s apprentice making locks. He would find sleight of hand would come easily if he tried and is somewhat adept at picking simple locks.
Magic Affinity:
Lvl 0: Unbeknownst to him, Thalassos will find learning magic pretty simple provided the instructor (in whatever form) adequately articulates the theory behind it. This will only translate to simple spells for now, and even then only once the framework is properly set up.
Spells
None, sadly. But as his story is beginning perhaps it is best to go check on the budding hero to find out more about how long this will be the case.
Full Name: Thalassos Earessar
Race: Human
Age: 24
Gender: Male
Height: 6’
Weight: 155 lbs.
Hair Color: Black
Eye Color: Ash
Appearance:
Thalassos is a man who is not easy to forget. He has a striking look and though perhaps he is not one people would refer to as an Adonis, he has been known to turn some notable heads. His hair is usually kept cropped short yet not military short and is normally well taken care of so that it shines with a lustrous sheen of deep black. His face, however, is where his persona resides. Much like him it is soft on the outside yet on closer inspection chiseled beyond a mid-twenties appearance, not terribly so, though, he still has the shine of youth plainly visible. His eyes are of an opaque ashen coloring, odd considering how few people in his kingdom have any besides brown or the imperial blue. He is not particularly built having instead a wiry build as if he rarely had a full meal yet a more trained eye would see the finely toned muscles. He wears an assortment of clothing yet usually prefers something in the light hues of most colors with his favorite being a pure white, though he does not allow himself to wear it save for special occasions as any respectable citizen might. Yet this is hardly where the important information hides, now isn’t it?
Background
History
Ah, Thalassos, where to begin? His history is riddled with contradictions, tales of woe, auguries of epic destiny and the hope of all mankind. At least for him it is, alas he was cursed with the tragedy of a mediocre history. No heroes have a run-of-the-mill upbringing now do they? Raised in a normal nuclear family, youngest of three with an elder sister of four years the day he was born and a brother not quite one, They lived in the Kingdom of Ead’Nith, located in the very north of Salvar where it is known barely by traders as it lies a goodly distance from the only trading city of Knife’s Edge. His brother was an adept scholar particularly in regards to history and what passes for anthropological studies in Althanas which was quite prodigious as few really bothered to learn the cultures of the outside whereas his sister was a(nother) child prodigy in the arts of the sword doubly notable for being a female practicer. Thalassos, however, from an early age excelled at nothing; at school he was but one of the crowd in a daring war with the class average whose battles he usually won, if barely, and at the mandatory training sessions had to be given a Royal Pardon to avoid another accident which almost cost him his life.
His parents supported their child as good parents do with love and understanding as he grew up to be a normal man. Sadly by this point Thalassos was, well, not quite sound in the head and much like a modern…ancient…parallel? Quixote dreamt up scenarios where he was a hero. Unlike this crazed Terran man, however, they were not so much like delusions as paranoias in that he drew irrational connections to shady evils which he vanquished by doing such things as poisoning their water supply with their weakness, powdered nuts. This, incidentally, led to his arrest when a woman in his district almost died from a nut allergy. He served his time amenably yet something surprising happened soon afterwards (besides his hero delusion strengthening to the point where he aggrandized his adventures and narrated his own life), he had found reading.
In school due to the “advanced” teaching methods employed children had barely been given books and instead were merely educated by brilliant individuals who engaged their minds and intellects with dialectics and thought-puzzles, rote-memorization and books were hardly the tools of the cultured society beyond that necessary for literacy which the children were encouraged to develop further on their own. As the reader may have guessed Thalassos was not one of those who did that, books being something he didn’t have the luxury of time for. Once he discovered them, though, he devoured books. He read like a fiend on every topic his local branch’s library had, petitioned and obtained a permit to access any library in the kingdom and went through each in turn reading a wide selection from each. This was all very good and all but it helped his job as an apprentice to his father’s lock-making business not at all so again he petitioned and was granted the job of librarian at the West branch. It was still close to his home in the South yet it left him plenty of time to wonder about the mysteries of life during the walk to and from.
Years passed and though he became an excellent librarian knowing which book was in/out and where it was no one commented on it, his brother was now a Royal Historian and due to his knowledge of different cultures none-too-often a member of diplomatic envoys and his sister had like-wise become a Royal Blueguard entrusted to protect the son-heir himself. One might expect he would be entrusted to the Royal Librarian Society yet no, year after year even his requests for even a visit were turned down, he had not even been promoted to Head Librarian in his own branch. It was during the coronation of the new king due to his sister talking him up to her charge that he was allowed access for a day. This day did change his life by making him realize something as profound as the fact that he loved books, more, even: magic was real. Big shock, you say, the world is filled with denizens whose very existence depends on it yet this is why the Kingdom of Ead’Nith is not widely known outside its not-too-surprisingly-magical walls save to the wise and the elder. The history of the kingdom is a history in and of itself, one which I might write someday if time allows but suffice to say that magic could not come in nor affect it, and foreigners were allowed entrance only by royal decree as were its inhabitants allowed leave of exit.
One must try to understand how his life was shaken, the magic of books and heroes was one which not only existed but could be taught? Here he found the literature to be a little contradictory as some said it was hereditary and others said it had nothing to do with heredity but was inborn yet some converged on the fact that anyone could learn it. This was where most of the feverish hours went yet he did read a little of the founding of the city and of the way its founders had established what they considered to be necessary isolation. He went back home dazed and ablaze with knowledge little knowing, pardon the pun, his reactions were being monitored to decide his fate. Thalassos had decided he must attempt to learn magic and, perhaps foolishly, confided in his brother about this fact. Come morning he awoke with most of his possessions including a hardy coat, a days worth of rations and a letter stamped with the royal seal:
“Thalassos Earessar, by Royal Decree you are hereby banished from Ead’Nith. Attempting reentry will result in your death.”
That was it. No more, no less, no explanations yet Thalassos was a bright man and figured that magic was probably the reason for his expulsion. He, however, was not at all distraught as he had been planning how to escape into the world outside. He narrated his exodus as his first true trial and for the first day he wandered around Salvar describing his many hardships and victories noting that it was with these humble beginnings that a hero would rise. He knew enough to go southwards but had not the experience to know how long it would take. By the fourth day he had stopped narrating, he was cold, his feet a bloody mess, and he was hungry yet more importantly he had run out of water. He collapsed that day and it was by what he would attribute to destiny’s hand that traders returning from even further north than the Kingdom found him. For two days he remained unconscious as their caravan traveled on and when he awoke realized how much of a death sentence his exile had been.
He was slowly nursed back to health yet he recovered well. He was a little baffled by the Salvic the men spoke, it was much like that of children to him, somewhat simpler to his eyes and riddled with expressions and wording that would have had them the mockery of the kingdom. They dropped him off in Knife’s Edge, a 23 year old man with no relatives, friends or acquaintances not to mention a budding hero complex. Well, perhaps by this point it was not so much a desire to be a hero but a desire to have his life mean something, have it be interesting and thrilling. His first night was hard, he knew not where to go, who to talk to or what to do and was forced to sleep outside in the biting cold. He awoke resolved to do something so he asked around and discovered various libraries, he inquired to the natives about getting permission to use them but was met only by baffled expressions and amused remarks as to his accent. He did not quite get the latter, it was they who barely knew how to speak it.
Entering one of the libraries he was mistaken for a foreigner and was greeted in Common. That did not go too well as though he was not terrible at the written form, learning it by the few books back home which helped in that regard, the spoken Tradespeak was quite unintelligible. Quickly answering in Salvic, Thalassos managed to obtain a temporary residence and a job by impressing the keeper with his knowledge of “arcane” tomes thought to be lost, even if the man did remark that his knowledge of contemporary works needed some looking to. He settled in amenably amongst the staff becoming good friends with some of them and their friends. He learned much of the other Salvar, the one most people knew, it seemed, and gained a very rough knowledge of Tradespeak in the oral sense. In the months that followed the quest for magic took a slight respite in his need to establish a secure source of food and money even in the face of wonders which left him agog on a regular basis, foreign races, magics and the normalcy of all of this made him somewhat of an introvert outside his friends. As stated before he learned much of Salvar yet due to what he would never admit as fear barely read through the libraries he had at his disposal, he wasn’t ready. He began aching for magic yet paced himself as running around wildly would help not at all, so it was only after more than a year that he began to inquire as to learning it, now that he was familiar and not (completely) taken aback by even the simplest lighting spell, it was now he began exploring the literature in earnest. This is where our story trails off and where his begins truly.
Personality
Well, as should be obvious from his past our Thalassos is quite the character. Perpetually overshadowed he always sought to prove himself, never quite doing so successfully. He is a brilliant(ly eccentric) man, however, especially after his book frenzy began, however he is also quite absentminded at times and very easily sidetracked. He does not find making friends to be too hard as long as something about them can be worked into his inner narrative. Right, there is that too, he likes to pretend in his inner monologue that things are grander and more interesting than they are. His hero complex has been almost completely substituted with this narration though every now and then it shows its face. Another detail related to some his mental quirks is that he often becomes really feverish about a particular ideal, goal, quest or whim and pursues it almost single-mindedly breaking out of it voluntarily only after great force of will once he realizes his problem. For the most part, though, Thalassos is jovial and eccentric, good-natured and willing to help others, often ignoring the cost to himself.
Inventory
Weapons
Nyx: Well, not so much a weapon as a gnarled oak staff this helps him with his image and allows him to pretend he would be ready for anything though his ‘training’ amounts to copious battles with foliage or unseen foes, in his room, when he’s alone.
Traits
Knowledges Acquired
Knowledge of Salvic Tomes: He has read a decent amount of ancient Salvic literature which details the distant past of the region as well as things long forgotten. However none of these tomes mentioned magic directly or anything pertaining to magic save for those he read in his last day in the Kingdom. Many of the tomes he took as fantasy where in fact they were not.
Knowledge of Books: Besides the Salvic tomes which to others might be novel, he is well-versed in many other books, if not any contemporary ones. As before no book which explicitly spoke of magic as true is in his repertoire which as above has led to large gaps in the books he knows though some of this has changed in the year he spent in Knife’s Edge.
Knowledge of Magic: He knows practically nothing of magic theory, little more than it exists and even that is still somewhat hard to swallow for him. It is a curious note that some of the books he read contained very advanced magic theory that he is unable to even grasp as that which he sought to find, this particular knowledge is latent. This is subject to change quickly as he has begun exploring the literature on true magic.
Knowledge of Languages: He knows a somewhat archaic Salvic and is well read in it, knowing how to write very well. He is also decent with written Tradespeak if very sub-par with the spoken form. He knows other languages exist yet has never heard them and read only words and fragments faithfully transcribed in some of the old tomes.
Knowledge of Althanas: He knows basic maps of the mainlands and has only outdated and sketchy knowledge of the governments that rule in them. The inhabitants of some of these regions would surprise him and he knows next to nothing about Hadia. He now knows the basic culture and status of modern Salvar and through this something of the other regions in the sense that they impacted upon Salvar’s history.
Knowledge of Races: Besides man he knows very little of the other denizens of his world. Dwarves, he’s met in Knife’s Edge, as well as some drow and high elves (though very few of these last two) yet besides these he is practically ignorant of the existence of the many others. Some of the tomes detailed races yet to him many of them exist only in story. He is still quite unconvinced the elves live for such great spans.
Knowledge of Weapons: He knows next to nothing about how to use weapons. In fact, his inability to use them is so pronounced it deserves special mention. Thalassos is not a clumsy man yet put a stick in his hand while he’s blindfolded and tell him it’s a sword and he will turn into a drunk 3 year old in terms of coordination. In terms of knowledge about them, however, he is pretty well versed (by means of historic battles and mostly fantasy) as to how weapons are theoretically used and the limitations many of them have.
Skills
Abilities
Mental Library:
Lvl 0: He is able to read rather fast and not forget a single word. This is not as powerful as it seems, however, as knowledge is organized in an infinite library within his head, a mnemonic method he taught himself. This library thus contains everything he’s read but more often than not he will only stumble across random facts rather than what he wishes to find. True need tends to allow him to find it, however.
Dexterity:
Lvl 0: For a bookworm Thalassos is pretty deft with his fingers courtesy of the years spent as his father’s apprentice making locks. He would find sleight of hand would come easily if he tried and is somewhat adept at picking simple locks.
Magic Affinity:
Lvl 0: Unbeknownst to him, Thalassos will find learning magic pretty simple provided the instructor (in whatever form) adequately articulates the theory behind it. This will only translate to simple spells for now, and even then only once the framework is properly set up.
Spells
None, sadly. But as his story is beginning perhaps it is best to go check on the budding hero to find out more about how long this will be the case.