Flashback The Art of Disguise

[Verin Rush]

17th Day of Fall, 506AV

It was a simple enough concept, Verin thought, as he read further and further along each of the pages, his finger following the familiar runes which formed words on the worn parchment. His interest in the art of disguise had started long ago… not long after he began trading places with his brother, in order to offer the younger twin some reprieve from the violence. It was soon after Verin had first heard of Rhysol’s devout organisation of followers, known as The Black Sun. At the time, he had not known much about them, but knew enough to know that they were a powerful cause, and that he should like to stand with them, if ever given the chance.

"Disguise is the art of creating an external image of oneself which misrepresents one's true nature. It involves the use of a variety of cosmetic implements, such as make-up or accessories to change the appearance of one’s hair, among a great many other things. On a far simpler level, disguises can involve the changing of clothing garments." Lifting his head from the book, the Rush scion stared out of the window, and watched the waxing moon against the midnight sky. Clothing was easy enough to do, though he imagined that, if he were ever in the situation where he needed to make a quick getaway, it was unlikely that he would just happen to have a spare pair of clothing with him at the time.

Frowning, it occurred to him that the same applied to each of the implements used to disguise oneself described in the book. However, he wondered if disguise was mainly used when one was planning for it, and so equipment wouldn’t need to be present then. "Those skilled in the art of disguise are sometimes involved in entertaining others through various theatrical pursuits, which serves to enhance the visual performance, even though the audience is fully aware that they are wearing costumes." Like actors, the young blond supposed. He couldn’t remember when the last time that he went to a theatrical performance was, but he remembered that many actors had dressed up from their normal attire, or worn make-up and wigs.

"However, a vast amount of the use of disguises are by people who have far more underhanded reasons, though this is not to say that these people are inherently lawless. Thieves, con-men and spies all make heavy use of disguise in their routine lives, as it is an effective way of hiding one’s appearance." As if that much wasn’t obvious. The boy froze as he heard movement from the bed on the other side of the small room, and he glanced over to see his younger twin brother roll over.

He held up his hand to cover the flickering candle flame – it didn’t make much of a difference, but at least it would stop the glare. Verin was keen not to wake his brother up; the pair had been unharmed tonight, but that only made it more likely that their father might lunge for Venser tomorrow so, for now, he needed his rest. Once the elder brother was sure that Venser was asleep, he returned to reading the worn tome.

[Verin Rush]

"One of the first principles that any beginner in the art of disguise must learn is that, but hiding certain recognisable features, particularly facial features, a person immediately becomes less recognisable by those around him. Distinctive eyes, or hair colour can both give away a person for who they truly are and, if one is trying to disguise oneself, this is something this is something to avoid." He soaked up the details, his young mind a sponge to anything he found remotely interesting.

Though Verin had not shown a particular desire to learn the Ancient Tongue, his father had insisted, and Verin’s only real motivation for learning it came from the knowledge that his brother craved the knowledge. For what purpose Venser wanted to know the Ancient Tongue, Verin was not sure, but he obliged nonetheless, sharing any knew knowledge that he had learnt that day with his brother. He was not the best teacher, so he was sure that some information slipped through the net, but he knew that his brother was grateful for even the smallest slices of learning.

"Even though one may be able to disguise themselves to look like someone or something else, it doesn't necessarily mean that they are able to adequately impersonate another person, as disguising only changes the physical, outward appearance of a person. Arguably, skills in disguise and impersonation fall hand in hand, and each helps a person to be better at the other. But impersonation involves the mind, as well as the body."

That stopped Verin for a moment, as he thought back to all the times that he had pretended to be his brother in order to save him from the pain that his father would inevitably inflict. The pair, though identical, were discernable from each other by anyone who knew them well enough. Vilkas Rush was one of those few people, and knew the different trademarks of each of his twin sons, thus could tell them apart most of the time.

As Verin had quickly learnt, however, his father could not tell the difference when he was drunk. The Rush scion had never been drunk himself, but he imagined that whatever was in the alcohol to heighten and effect people’s behaviour, also affected their motor controls, and possibly even their vision. Vilkas’ movements were sloppy at best when he was drunk, and, as long as Verin agreed that he was Venser, the man would not question it. In such cases, no disguises were necessary; Verin even had similar scars webbing his back from all the flayings that he had received since he started pretending to be his brother.

However eternal the torment and overbearing hand of their father felt, the elder brother knew that it would not hold them in its grasp forever. Their time was nearing, they were nearing an age where they did not need support, an age where they could father their own children. He would not have to pretend to be Venser much longer, and so his knowledge needed to be expanded.

[Verin Rush]

The young adolescent shifted from where he was lying and rubbed his eyes lightly. From canals in the distance, he could hear cat-calling and laughter as banter from the older people in the city continued in their night of revelry in the canals in the distance, towards the Docks and all around where the drinks were to be had. One night, on his birthday most recently passed, Vilkas Rush had introduced his eldest, favourite son to what he described as the delights of ale and whisky. Verin had tried a sip form each and found that the ale was far too bitter, leaving a foul taste in his mouth, and the whisky had felt like it burnt his mouth and throat. He had been sure that he was going to die from ingesting poison.

It might have been because of his father’s habits in turning to the drink each and ever night that meant the alcohol left a foul taste in his mouth, but he did not appreciate the liquor, and swore to himself and his father that he would never drink again. At the time, his father had laughed and clapped him on the back, promising that one day he, too, would enjoy a stiff drink after a long day’s work. Verin didn’t believe it, but he bit his tongue, glad that his brother was not around at the time.

He was growing more and more weary with each passing chime; soon, he would have to end for the night and sleep. But not now; he did not know when his tutor would request the old worn book back… surely not the day after lending it to him, but he did not want to take the risk, so he blinked furiously a few times, rubbed his eyes once more, and returned to the faded pages of the cursive script that he was learning from.

"As well as make-up and headwear (for example wigs and bandanas), a person might wish to utilise materials to darken or lighten their skin tone, such as charcoals or mud." Verin couldn’t believe that this was a necessarily effective way of hiding one’s true identity – even the slightest amount of rain, or even sweat dripping from the brow, would be cause to show that they were wearing something with which to cover themselves up. He couldn’t even imagine that mud, in particular, would be very effective in mimicking the natural appearance of skin; he had seen mud dry on his own hands before. It had flaked, and had a rough texture which would not fool anyone, unless they were at a great distance.

The boy frowned as he flicked through the book briefly, wondering if this was a legitimate source of information. But then it occurred to him that, were he to just be trying to appear inconspicuous, such a technique would not work. But were he trying to appear different from himself, and people were only giving him fleeting glances, he would probably have more success at using something like mud to darken his skin. The illusion would, of course, be ruined if another person gave him more than just the one casual glance, though. That was something that he would have to remember.

[Verin Rush]

Like all other things, Verin had already worked out that learning this craft to a proficient level would require for him to practise over and over – it was the only way that he might be able to succeed at being good at it, which, as he read more and more, was something that seemed more within his reach. The knowledge of what he had to do was frightening, to say the least, but he was further down the line than he was before.

Coming across the relevant equipment to be competent at this art was not going to be easy; ever since Verin had expressed even a modicum of interest in Ravok’s patron God, Vilkas had taken great pains to ensure that nothing would ever come of it. Verin thought that the man hopes that it was nothing more than a flighting fancy, something that, like the spots appearing on his face, would disappear at the end of adolescence. Verin was not so sure; he had taken the time to learn about the God, and, whilst he had ignored most of what his father told him about Sylir (Vilkas’s God), he knew a little, and had made his own decision between the two. But, to keep things simple, he wanted to avoid confrontation with his father, and so would not alert him to any interests that may appear to be angled towards the Defiler.

Turning back to the book, Verin flipped forward to where he found more notes on clothing. He wasn’t from a rich family, though Vilkas managed to clothe and feed the twins and even educate the elder twin. But he did wonder if the aspect of clothing, seemingly one of the simplest ways of masking an identity from those around you, would be forever out of his reach. As he thought on it, one method would be to ruin the clothes on his back in order to appear less well-to-do than he was. Of course, it would mean destroying some of what he owned, but it was something to keep in mind.

The city frowned upon stealing, but, in such situations where he might need to quickly disguise himself, if he was fleeing a scene or person, perhaps, (and he hoped that he would never be in such a situation) then he doubted that he would be above stealing the odd item of clothing while moving somewhere… or maybe even persuading someone to swap clothing with him… since he was trying to learn the art of Hypnotism, he thought that that wouldn’t be unfathomable.

A third option, though he might have been a little foggy from lack of sleep and imagining something that couldn’t be, would be reversible clothing of some kind – particularly a cloak of a coat, which could be quickly removed and switched around whilst on the move. He smiled at the thought, and wondered if he might ever be able to find such a garment, and how much it would cost him. He returned to the book, and once again read over the important note which it kept repeating on every comment it made:

"At low levels, a beginner will most likely not be able to create a reliable enough disguise to suit his needs under close scrutiny," well, that answered his earlier musings about whether or not he would be using disguise to hide or to infiltrate. There was no way, with little skill, he would get away with infiltration, which would undoubtedly involve close scrutiny from those around him. "Disguises are generally used, at this level, in order to avoid detection, usually by concealing a noticeable physical feature, such as bright hair, skin tone, clothing or unusual markings."

Closing the book, the young Rush yawned and half stretched in his bed. Sitting up to place the book on the table between his bed and his brother’s, he looked over to check on the younger Rush twin. The boy was sleeping peacefully and Verin smiled as he leaned over, placed his hand around the back of the candle flame, and blew it out.

[Abstract]

Grade Awarded!

Verin

Skills

~ Disguise - 3
~ Observation - 1
~

Lores

~ Disguise: Changing an External Image
~ Uses of Disguise: Entertainment and Underworld
~ Disguise: Hide Obvious Details
~ Materials Used in Disguise

Other

N/A

Notes

Short, quick, and not too much to give... but you got a bunch of good lores!