Skadi Trinketsnatch

[Skadi Trinketsnatch]

Skadi Trinketsnatch Basics Name: Skadi (Trinketsnatch among other birds) Race: Kelvic(Magpie) Birthday and Age: Birthday unknown. Age 7(24 human years). Gender: Male Height: 1’6”, Wingspan 3’2”, Length 2’3”; 5’7” in human form. Weight: 5 lbs; 137lbs in human form General Appearance Secret : Skadi is of respectable size for a magpie, being comparable with larger crows. His plumage is rich in color, with deep blacks and sheer whites framing his bright blue and green feathers. He is considered to be exceedingly handsome, even among fellow magpies (who are already exceedingly handsome birds to begin with). His eyes are black beads, and glimmer with a constant curiosity. His beak is long and sharp, and his claws are quick and clever. By comparison, his human form is quite blasé. He has a diminutive form, with slight shoulders and light olive skin. His face is vaguely princeling, with a pinch of plain. He has short black hair, which in the back glints green/blue in certain lightings. His eyes appear quite human, although under close examination his irises are not dark black, but a deep, deep green. While in human form, Skadi compensates for his lack of lustrous feathers by wearing garish, rainbow clothing. Various trinkets dangle from his wrists, neck, and clothes. Despite his smaller stature and frame, he appears to be a full grown adult, although there is a vague innocence and immaturity which pervades his behavior. Character Concept/Personality Secret : Skadi Trinketsnatch is a kleptomaniac, a compulsive thief. He simply cannot resist the temptation to grab nearby shiny objects. He is particularly fascinated with silverware—the ornate ones that rich people use. He also hates the color yellow. Skadi is barely human at all; he rarely finds it necessary to make the change. Skadi can communicate roughly in Common even in bird form, although his “M”s and “P”s are rather inarticulate, and he primarily speaks poems and song, rather than conversation. Besides, why would you want to be an ugly landwalker to begin with? Skadi is well content with the simple things in life. He spends his time eavesdropping on gossip, and making crude songs out of all of it later to sing in the streets, and occasionally finding a trinket worth taking home to his collection. What time he does not spend causing trouble is usually spent frittering with the lady-birds, who are generally impressed with his collection of spoons and forks. Skadi has gotten in his fair share of fights, typically with other magpies who attempted to steal his treasure. He once fought off a hawk though. The lady-birds had fawned over him for hours after that. He has never had to attack a human before, though he once had to dodge the wild blows of an enraged noble after a particularly offensive verse. Skadi is rather incompetent in his human form, inarticulate and shy. His confidence tends to vaporize with his feathers. That said, he is a fair hand with a lock pick and has a sharp eye and a sharper ear. Unlike most Kelvics, Skadi is relatively independent, and lives as a normal bird would most of the time. However, he is very easily bribed with trinkets, should the trinket fixate his interest sufficiently. He is quite intelligent, but not in a human way. His goals and motivations are extremely simplistic; even his higher intellectual faculties do not change this. He thinks like a bird. Skills/Lore Secret : 9/100 Music Composition (5sp, 4xp) 9/100 Singing (5sp, 4xp) 5/100 Acrobatics (From Starter Package; note: bird form only) 10/100 Hunting (Racial Bonus) 8/100 Intelligence (From Starter Package) 14/100 Larceny (10sp, 4xp) 5/100 Stealth (Starter Package) 5/100 Unarmed Combat (Starter Package; note: bird form only) 7/100 Wilderness Survival (Starter Package) Lore: Geography of Zeltiva Bird Culture and Grooming Clothes Secret : -A garish cloak, thick with layers of sloppily stitched fabric of every color except yellow. The inner lining of the cloak is lined with thirteen uneven pockets. Includes a hood. -A bright green jacket, frayed but very clean. The front of the jacket is lined with eleven mismatched buttons of varying value and quality. The cuff of each sleeve has a small silver bell attached, causing the owner to jingle merrily with every movement. -A pair of purple-maroon baggy pants, with orange patches sewn across the knees in four different colored threads. -A pair of luxurious blue slippers, decorated with intricate designs in silver thread. Almost completely unused. Skadi also has a spare white dress shirt and black dress pants that fit him poorly. Belongings Secret : Skadi's heirloom consists of his collection of treasures, obtained over the course of his life thus far: One chipped china teacup, filled with marbles and beads of every color except yellow. Eighteen silver spoons, nine silver forks, one silver sugar spoon with an opal in its handle (The prize of the lot). A pink silk cloth. The lace hem of a white wedding dress, delicately detailed. An empty silver locket. An assorted collection of nuts and beetles. Twelve white polished buttons. Skadi also has 600 gold-rimmed mikas, which are neatly stacked in the very back of his roost--not that he needs them. He is a bird, after all!

[Skadi Trinketsnatch]

Personal History Secret : Skadi’s life has been remarkable for a bird, but quite boring for a hero. He was born seven years ago to a mother who he does not remember. His earliest memories are those of his adopted family, a roost of natural magpies, untainted by magic. His parents had abandoned him, or so he later concluded. And so he was raised as a normal bird, and had no idea that he was Kelvic. He lived in a nest in a small grotto of trees in those early months, outside of a human settlement. Early in life, it was clear that Skadi was gifted. He was a genius among birds, large and strong. He was fascinated by humans, and as soon as he could fly he would sit and perch in windowsills, listening to them talk. Their language was beautiful to him, articulate and expressive. Common Bird was nice enough, but it lacked subtlety and could not convey complicated ideas, or even some simple ones. Skadi committed himself to learning the human language. He listened every day, slowly grasping the meaning of words. Among his “siblings” he would often say what he had learned, impressing them and worrying his surrogate mother, who knew the truth. The first time that Skadi turned happened quite by accident. He had been playing hop-rock with his friends when one of them fell into the water, becoming waterlogged and sinking. Without thinking, Skadi burst into light and stood as a naked human youth. After pulling the bird safely from the water, he discovered that his friends had ran away in terror. Realizing then what he was, Skadi was greatly dismayed, and fled. He ran and ran, until he collapsed far away in exhaustion. By miraculous happenstance, he was not eaten by wild beasts, not that day, or any of the days after. He stumbled through the land, north towards Zeltiva. Having never walked on human legs before, his progress was slow, giving him time to reflect on what he was and what had happened. Was he stuck as a human forever now? He occasionally would attempt to shift back, but he had no idea what he was supposed to do to accomplish it. It was many days before he succeeded. Airborne once more, it occurred to Skadi to turn back. But he had no idea where he was, let alone how to return home. He was no carrier pigeon. To the north, however, he saw roads and the promise of human civilization over the mountains. He settled in the roof of a building that he later found out was called an inn, The Proud Stallion. There was a narrow niche sheltered against the weather and right up against the chimney, providing a perfect nest. In the coming months, Skadi came to call the inn home. Skadi has come a long way since then. Those early days are all but forgotten now.

[Skadi Trinketsnatch]

Threads

The Finding of the Sugar Spoon