Kesh Baldur

[Kesh Baldur]

• Name: Kesh Baldur

• Physical Information:
o Race: Jamoura
o Age: 200
o Birthday: 08/Winter/317
o Gender: Male

• Physical Description:
Kesh stands at 8' tall when standing fully upright, 6' tall when he is standing on all fours, he weighs 525 lbs., strong natural build from years of long walks in the forests as well as climbing and moving trees that have died and fallen. His arms and legs are like the trunks of the great trees that he has grown up in, his feet are like his hands and allow him to grab with them making climbing easier and hand to hand combat more difficult for his opponents. His hair is long and jet black, his hide is a dark gray that only shows at the front of his torso, hands, feet and part of his face. His eyes are the colour of redwood much like the part of the forest in which he was born. His teeth are mostly flat with only his canines and a couple others beside them that are sharp but are covered unless he opens his mouth. The only real distinguishing mark that Kesh has of him is a crescent shaped scar that goes around the left side of his left eye reaching from his brow to his cheek.

• Character Concept:
o Personality - Kesh is much like his other kin, meditating, walking in the forest, climbing, and observing nature. The one thing that his brethren don't quite agree with him is his use of a particular herbal plant that he smokes with a homemade pipe that was made from an old branch that had fallen from one of the trees. He believes that this particular herb allows him to delve deeper into his own thoughts when he meditates, to feel more in touch with the forest when he is observing nature. But it also allows him to keep his wits, as well as focus on tasks that would seem boring to others. He is more humorous than most, curious like his brethren in order to expand his knowledge, intelligent from the teachings of his elders and his time meditating, brave in the fact that he will do whatever it takes to defend his home as well as not afraid to leave it in search for things that will help his people and kind to the people of the world as long as they don't pose a threat to him or his home and the inhabitants of it. He can and will speak common tongue but often finds it easier to use his body to speak with light grunts to catch the ears of his companions. The final thing that drives him is the continuous evolution of his species, as he and his kind are large and bulky they lack speed and sometimes that can be a real detriment to them. He wishes to learn if there is a way to make oneself faster, either by magic or artifact. By learning of such things he wishes to learn and teach others of a way in order to make them a stronger species overall.

o Ethics - Tries to be as passive as he can, but when others are in danger he will not hesitate to spring into action. He trusts those that show him that they can be trusted. He also wishes to strengthen bonds of his kind and the other races because he knows that alone, his race stand outnumbered, and although they may live longer, friendships and allies for the present time could only benefit them. He believes that the search for knowledge is by not being confined to one area and to explore and communicate with others, because of other races short lives they tend to innovate much quicker than his kind and knowing what they come up with will only benefit them in the future.

o Likes - He is driven by some kind of force that makes him search for ancient weapons and armour, to him it feels like by doing so him and his tribe are gaining more knowledge by studying these artifacts. He also wants to find and store them for the purpose of protecting his people, either by using the weapons and armour themselves to defend in case of an attack, but to also to keep out of the hands of others that may use it to do harm to him or others. He enjoys his meditations and travels. He also enjoys his herbal plants that can be found in the forest and always keeps some with him in case he travels far for a long period of time. Also, people who dedicate themselves to a craft interest him and often wishes to learn from them if he can.

o Dislikes - Anyone who would dare to attack his home and the inhabitants of it. He doesn't like people who hunt for sport or kill for no reason other than greed or power. He also does not like deep water, as his centre of gravity is around his chest he cannot swim, he just spins forward and sinks. He does not like horses because of past events with the animals combined with the fact he has no use for such an animal makes him feel that they are very unnecessary.

• Character History:

• Pre-Creation - **NOTE: Instead of writing 200 years in paragraph form, I am going to point out specific times in his life that were significant. During time gaps Kesh is doing what all Jamoura would be doing. That is meditating, wandering the forest, observing nature as well as constantly learning survival skills, how to be silent even when you are as big as his kind are, to camouflage and hide the scent of oneself, and to be passive, patient, kind, humble and calm. He is also training with others of his kind in hand to hand combat as well as use of minor weapons such as staffs, clubs, wooden javelins, throwing rocks and other things that can be found naturally in the forest in the case where words can no longer be had and hostility from the enemy is inevitable.

o Birth: Kesh was born into a tribe that lived close to the Spires, during the 8th day of winter. As all Jamoura, he was cared for and raised by his entire tribe of 17 others.

o First 100 years: Kesh would be trained by his father, the alpha male of the tribe as well as the others. He was taught how to speak common as well as the intricate body and grunting language of his kind. He was also taught early about how to meditate and the reason why it is important to their culture. He was trained survival skills like foraging, hunting, the study of plants, climbing, acrobatics, how to be as quiet as possible and how to be even at their size as well as the fact that his kind should not go into deep waters, because of their center of gravity they cannot float in water and would sink if ever left alone in the deep waters, after learning what drowning was he took heed to their words as he thought it would be an absolutely terrible way to die. He has stayed away from deep waters whenever possible. He was also taught more specialized skills such as the gift given to them by their goddess of nature Caiyha to be able to camouflage his fur and hide his sent. During this time he would not be left alone, always with one or two of his tribe with him, teaching him of the forest, his culture, and to be all the things that were mentioned before. Not much else of importance took place during this time as he was not able to go far into the woods and was kept quite close to his tribe to ensure he grew up properly knowing. They always pressed on the need for knowledge, to use words instead of violence. But also trained in unarmed combat as well as making use of weapons that are commonly found in the forest in the case of someone or something not listening to reason and increasing the possibility of violence. For this training he was taught to use all four limbs since they are all hands and the advantages of disadvantages of this type of fighting, that they have great strength and size but lack in speed and agility, in order to not be overtaken by someone who is faster and more agile, he was taught how to protect himself from it as best as he could. This type of teaching and training would take place throughout his life.

o 110 years old first day of spring: Kesh meets his first human being; these were a group of peaceful travelers that try to be as kind to nature as the Jamoura. It fascinated him, the look of these hairless animals that, how frail they looked, how they had to wear clothing to keep warm and distinguish themselves from others. How when they spoke they would have such different and weird accents. Once they were deemed safe by the alpha male to stay for a number of weeks to rest and replenish their supplies for their journey, he wasted no time trying to listen to whatever they said and to take in the whole experience. He learned that they were travelers on a pilgrimage to get close to the Spires and pray to the goddess of nature so close to a highly concentrated spiritual place. Through their time with them, he was able to learn much about the different cultures and species that inhabit the world outside of the forest. As well as names of some of the villages, towns and cities that these people once inhabited. The one thing that he took from this group of people was the discovery of a herb found in the woods that was said to expand the mind. Some of the people would take the plant, crush it, light it in a long narrow wooden structure and inhale the smoke in it. At first he didn’t think what they were saying was true so he asked the human if he could try. The man obliged and handed over the wooden structure that he was then told was called a pipe. He inhaled the contents and immediately began to cough from the harshness of the smoke. But then the pain went away and in its place was a flush of wonderful colours, the forest shined brightly, the man’s words sounded like music and everything seemed to be calm. He talked to the man for a long time about it, what it was, where he could find it and how he would be able to make a pipe such as his. He was glad that the man taught him all that he knew and was very grateful that he would take the time to teach him such things. There would be other visits from future generations of this group that would come by on their pilgrimage and he would converse with them every time. But he would always remember the time he first met outsiders.

o 115 years old, 22nd day of summer: Kesh was still having to be followed by two other members of the tribe but he was able to wander the forest more, during one such walk he noticed a four legged animal with hair covering its body and weird feet kind of like some of the other animals that lived in the forest, but it lacked horns like the other animals. He was told by the two accompanying him that it was called a horse, rare in these parts, especially one without something called a saddle and its rider. In his curiosity he crept up to the animal from behind to see if he could more about it, even though his tribesmen told him to leave it alone. As he went to touch it, its hind legs shot up with great speed and strength, catching the left side of his left eye. When he woke up he could see his companions looking down on him, their faces looked scared and worried at first but when Kessir moved and opened his eyes they began to chuckle and laugh telling him that they had warned him and to let it be a lesson to him in the future. Of course when they got back to the tribe they all had a good laugh at the tale and Kessir's pride took a hit, but luckily his kind take it as a lesson learned and then move on. It has now turned into a scar, a reminder to him of his one moment carelessness. He has not liked horses since.

o 119 years old, 16th day of autumn: Kesh learned that not everything can be saved in the forest. He was on a walk in the woods with a member of his tribe when he heard some rustling close to his proximity, so they calmly gestured to each other and decided to walk over there to see what it was. It was a deer, eating grass, they used their natural ability to camouflage themselves and observe what was going on. The deer was fully grown, peaceful and none the wiser that it had two Jamoura sitting off to the side observing it. All of a sudden, a long cylinder shaped wooden piece pierced the deer's side just behind its front right leg, right into its heart. The deer fell to the ground taking its last breaths. A man and boy came out of the woods and walked up to the deer. Kesh not knowing what was happening and witnessing his first, what seemed to him an unnatural death, thought that they were doing harm to the forest and it's inhabitants and nearly sprung into action to attack the man and boy. But his kinsman put his firm hand on Kesh's shoulder, and shook his head. So Kesh stayed and watched. The man put his own hand on the boys shoulder and told him that the gods had smiled upon them. That they would have food for weeks to come and to be able to sell some off to help with their home. He then told his son that you must thank the deer and the land for allowing them to live for if it were not for them, they may have starved or had to resort to other means of finding food. So the boy and father raised their hands to the sky and then to the ground thanking all for what has just been given to them before grabbing a sled type construction and carried it off back into the woods. Later Kesh would be told about them witnessing nature taking its course. That it was all in the makings of the world that this event was to take place. As long as the people who hunt here in these woods are respectful of the forest and what lives in it is able to grow from it. But there are others that hunt for greed or for pride, that you can see it in the eyes of the hunter what his/her intentions truly are. That if he were to come by such a being, then would be the time to avenge it.

o 127 years old, 45th morning of summer: Kesh was meditating when he thought he felt something he had not felt himself ever since he began, usually he would feel the warmth of the forest, the sounds of the trees keeping him calm and a sense of safe. But this time, he felt pain, a ringing of noises, sounds of cries that he had never heard before began to pierce his ears. He then felt a sense of loneliness, as if he was all alone, trapped in something that isolated himself from his friends, family and home. The cries continued, they made no sense, just fear, anger to the point where it broke his concentration and he came out of his meditation in a cold sweat. He went to his elders and explained to them what had happened; they explained to him that what he experienced was from a passed life. He was told that before they were what they are now they were treated no less than the animals that they protect now. What he experienced was the feeling of being caged, held against their will, and isolated from others only to hear the screams of another one of his kind dying by the hands of people, human beings. Kesh didn't know what to do, what to think, he felt anger in his heart for human beings. But then at that moment, his elders gathered around him, holding out their arms touching him and told him that they have all experienced this pain, to some, that was it, the feeling never returned and they were able to continue on without another incident but for a few others it sparked a journey down the path of his kinds history. No one knows how or why they are chosen, but that it is a great honour from Caiyha to receive these visions. He was also told that this now puts him in a path with a fork in the road, that there are others out there that do not choose the path that they have, that they let out their anger and rage, they go out attacking people and committing the act of murder to generations of people who were not the same people of the past. But his fellow Jamoura told him that the others that commit the act of killing fear of it happening again and seem to justify it as preventing it from ever happening again. His choice was whether to continue with his teachings, to become something better, or to embrace the new path given to him like some others have. If he chose this new path he would have to leave the forest, his tribe would no longer accept him because they do not accept this path. He would be on his own. With all this given to him after some time to think he chose to stay, after seeing the kindness of other human beings and speaking to them, experiencing them first hand, he couldn't do it. Punishing humans that were detached from the events of the past was not justice, it was cold blooded murder. He would continue with his teachings to further better himself in hopes that one day he would be gifted with a further glimpse of the past, to further help his own kind as well as the others that inhabit this land.

o 139 years old, 10th night of winter: The cries were heard from miles away, BANDITS! He had only heard about them coming to invade for resources, artifacts, Jamoura skins, or just pride to say that they had the guts to try to attack the Jamoura. He prepared himself for what was to come, he grabbed whatever was close to him, at the time, in this case it was a large broken branch. He prepared himself, his training was taking over but he kept in mind that no lives will be taken; the bandits will be subdued and left at the edge of the forests where they are sent on their way, stripped of their possessions and suffering defeat. He looked to his brethren and gave a grunt in support that things would be ok. The first set of bandits came running in with swords drawn and cries in hopes to break the hearts of the Jamoura clan. But they would not succeed this day, Kesh met their cries with his own fierce roar, the others followed and the battle began. The Jamoura with their strength 10 times stronger than any man made quick work of the first set of bandits, Kesh never even had the chance to enter combat. He wondered if they were truly that weak of a species, but then came a different noise, one from his past that he did not like. A group of horses with riders on them began to charge with more men on foot behind them. Two of the riders headed straight for Kesh spinning long chains, he stood his ground and reached up with his branch to knock one of the men from their horse. But the humans were too quick; Kesh soon felt the cold metal wrap around his arms disabling him from making the intended move he was planning on doing. The horses then began to do their job and pulled their captive backwards knocking him onto his back. Kesh realized that he had to think quick, or they were going to possibly end his life or keep him as a slave. As he passed a tree he used his feet to grab hold around the trunk and prayed that the tree held. Luck or fate was on his side that night, the tree held and the chains tightened from the horses pulling, the pain was excruciating but he held on. He then began to focus on bringing the men to him with the help of these chains wrapped around his arms. He grabbed the links of the chain and pulled down to his chest as quickly as he could, he could feel the chains loosen as he pulled indicating that the men either let go of the chains or had fallen of their horses. Either way he knew then that he had to get up, he turned over and stood up, when he looked the men were still on their horses and coming around fast with swords drawn this time, he only had a enough time to lift his arms to protect his face when he heard the grinding of metal hit his right arm, the chain wrapped around him blocked the blow, but the rider on his left was more fortunate, it cut into his hide. The pain burned like nothing he had felt before, he let out a cry of pain, and felt some warmth on his arm. The horsemen ran in a semi-circle to attack again. Kesh checked his arm and found he was still able to move it. He had to think fast, they were coming at him again, they were too fast for him to react again but then an idea popped into his head, the chains. He grabbed the chains and whipped them forward towards his targets. He felt that the horses could run fast in a straight line and with them being this close they would not be able to react quick enough to get out of the way. He hit both of the men in the chest knocking them to the ground and their horses running past him. They shrieked in pain as they tried to catch their breath, Kesh approached them and as he did he looked at the chains. They were cold to the touch, about 16' in length and had a v-shaped hook on both the ends. He felt as if he could use these new gifts for a greater purpose, so he wrapped them completely around his arms and brought the men back to the tribes' camp. The fight was soon over and all the bandits were apprehended, no one in the tribe was dead and the wounded were given medical care by their healers. Then the bandits were searched, had all their possessions confiscated and the sent back the fields outside the forest. Kesh learned many things today that began to occupy his time of thought, first of which was the issue of speed. It seemed like his kind were fast to a point but in the case of running and agility, especially combined with the speed of a horse can put his kind into all kinds of trouble. There had to be a way to match their style of fighting, he looked to the chains that were still wrapped across his arm. They seemed useful; they could extend his reach, tie his enemies up and knock them off places where he might have trouble reaching. He also had some other ideas that would need some testing on.

o 150 years old, 34th day of summer: Kesh was in an open field holding the chains that were in his that he kept from the attempted bandit raid, he was practicing some circular motions and movements that would help keep his enemies away from getting too close unless he allowed them to do so. They moved faster than he could because they were so light compared to his body and was able to handle them as if they were becoming an extension of his strength and transferred it into speed and force. After he was content with his new tools for the time being he pulled them back towards him but missed the link of chains on his left arm and it knocked him on the head, obviously more practice was needed, but they would serve their purpose as well as become more skilled with more practice.

o 150 years old, 26th day of autumn – 200 years old, 5th day of spring: Kesh was meditating for some time, when he opened his eyes and began to stretch noticed a tall shadowy figure in front of him. When his vision cleared up he realized that it was the Alpha Male of his tribe. He had not seen him in some time due to a gathering in the Spires, he greeted him and was greeted back, the alpha had a task for him, and he explained that it would be a test of all his training for the last 150 years. A mysterious group of people had built a home on the outside of the forest and had taken occupancy there; his task was to oversee this building and its inhabitants. He was to only be an observer, to not be seen or heard. Kesh agreed to the task and made his way over to the location that was given to him. He would watch the people, not observing them only during times of meditation and to eat and sleep. He then began to realize that this task served another purpose, since he was close to the age of adulthood he believed that the alpha male of the tribe was testing to see if his training towards Kesh would make him an honorable Jamoura. He took the assignment even more seriously than all the assignments that were given to him by his other elders, even to the point where he left his pipe at home to not leave a scent that could get him daughter. After some searching he set up a small livable space high up in the trees and some distance away from the building so that he may still meditate and safely make his way to his observation post and observe. At first there were just two, a man and a woman, they would work the land around them for the first few years. Kesh had a weird feeling develop about the man, like he hid his true self, his smell gave of a feeling of a someone who wore metal and leathers over regular clothes. The woman carried a smell of paper and spoke well when he would catch hearing them talking to each other. They seemed content and happy together. Some years later the couple added a third to their clan, a frail, little being which he would find out was a boy. Many years after the birth he observed the growth of the child since the focus of the parents were all on him. He saw the child's first steps, beginning to speak, his first accident and a great many other events. One thing that he had not seen before was when the boy ran out of the house with a sword in his hands. The sword did not look like any sword he had seen before, it had markings on it in a language that was very old and couldn't understand it. The father quickly rushed out after the boy and took the sword. He scolded the child and yelled at him to never touch it again. That he wasn't ready, but for what Kesh wondered. For the rest of the time there were not many instances, the boy matured into a young man, The father began to became frail, his hair gray. The woman also showed that time was taking its toll on her. She was the first of the three to pass away, quietly and in the night. The father and son came out with long sad faces and performed a burial ritual for her. More time would pass and soon the old man would not come out as often, it was the son that would be taking on the majority of the chores. Then a group of mysterious figures arrived at their home, dressed in dark robes. The two members of the house met the robed beings, the old man holding the sword that he had not seen in years. The robed figures held out their hands and began making strange motions while one of them began making demands to the old man. Kesh could not make out what they were saying, but he knew they were demanding something, perhaps the sword. The old man refused and looked ready to strike, but the robed figures struck first they distracted the old man by releasing bolts of fire from their hands that struck their home instead of him. He looked back and in the moment was hit by lightning that came from the leader of the robed figures. Knocking the man to the ground and his sword falling beside him. The figures looked down at the sword and started to make their way towards it, but the boy who had now become a man grabbed the sword, and with a cry he slashed towards the group. What followed was something he had never seen, the sword seemed to sharpen the wind around it, slicing through the hooded figures as if they were not event there. Then a black flame emerged from the wounds of the men, burning like nothing Kesh had ever seen before. He sat there wide eyed in disbelief, so this is what the man held so dearly in his house, he must have been a warrior or thief of some kind, had taken the sword and ran off, hoping to never be seen again. Unfortunately someone had caught word and the people that once held the sword were hunting for it and lead them to this place. At least that is what he hypothesized. His eyes turned back to the sword and the man. Only ash laid in front of him now, no other remnants of who or what they were stood in front of him. The man then looked to his father, he began to cry and fell to his knees beside him. Kesh then saw him put the sword down, hold onto his father, saying something to him that Kesh couldn't hear and then took the sword and left his home. After a long while and he saw that they had all gone and the house was a pile of wood sitting on the floor. He made his way to look at what remained. The whole time he wondered of the weapon, what gave this weapon such devastating power, are there more of these weapons in the world. His mind began to spin and he felt that he had to tell the alpha of what happened. He then came to realize a purpose for himself, if there were such things out in the world if he were to find these things, study them, take them back home to protect them from harming others and to protect his kind of needed. With this in mind he made his way back to his village and spoke to his alpha and requested to speak to the council. He knew that they must know of these weapons, what he wanted to know was if he could find these things and bring them home in order to keep them safe and protected, studied or destroyed. And so he began his journey to the centre of the forest to speak to the high elders and to gain their guidance...

o Post Creation -

Training & Skill Points

o Starting package:
▪ 15 pts. Tactician
▪ 5 pts. Negotiating
▪ 5 pts. Unarmed Combat: Specialty Grappling
▪ 5 pts. Observation
▪ 5 pts. Weapon: Chains
▪ 5 pts. Archeology
▪ 5 pts. Appraising
▪ 5 pts. Scavenging

• Earned Skill/Points:

• Equipment/Possessions:
o Heirloom: 2x 16 ft. long common chains
o 1 Set of Clothing (cloak & footwear included)
o 1 Waterskin
o 1 Backpack which contains:
▪ 1 Set of Toiletries (comb, brush, razor, soap)
▪ Food for a week
▪ Wooden pipe
▪ 1 eating knife
▪ Flint & Steel

• Ledger:
100 gold Mizas.

• Thread List:
- How much wood?