Julian Meredith

[Julian]

Julian Meredith Basic Information Race: Human Gender: Male Height: 6'1 Weight: 155lbs Birthday: Winter, day 83, 485 AV (Aged 25 yrs.) As he appears: The splitting image of his father, Julian's slender frame is tall, poised, and controlled. Regardless of his social standing, he boasts an accommodating taste in fashion. Even when forced to wear rags, an innate sense of regality is apparent in his uncanny ability to present himself with class, whether he's currently worth half a miza or a thousand. For better or worse, he also shares with his father the same pallid complexion and the raven hair, which he's allowed to grow long - never felt he quite had the jawline to pull off a short-cut hair style. To keep it downplayed, he almost always ties it back, or occasionally braids it. Most of the time, he trims all his facial hair, but has been known to sometimes sport a sleek goatee. The look is polished with a steely, ice-blue gaze that rarely betrays what lies beneath. As he seems: Despite his outwardly cold demeanor, a smile is never very far from Julian's lips. He's quick to please, and though he's generally a quiet creature, he can be talkative and is usually polite. A dry sense of humor hints at his underlying bitterness and a malignant cynicism. However, he's not hard at all to get along with, if sometimes a tad difficult to talk to. Julian is very agreeable and harbors a deep sense of humility, willing to pull his weight for a profitable exchange. Julian is very invested in his music, having learned to play cello at a young age. He writes some of his own melodies, but usually plays other, more well-known compositions for public entertainment. Ethics: Unscrupulous. Julian recognizes rules of fairness, treating most people with respect as much as he can manage. When it comes to seeing injustice happening to others, he is rarely moved. People's problems are largely their own, and while a younger, more impressionable Julian might have been moved by heroics, the best he might do is offer shallow condolences. He's much too comfortable in his complacency to risk anything for another person. However, Julian will not easily forget a debt, nor a personal grudge. Rarely will he allow either to go unpaid. When it comes to self preservation, Julian is entirely careless. He enjoys gambling, even if it means losing everything. This can be in the form of a betting game, or risking his own life to get a thrill. He can certainly be described as reckless. Not an idealist, Julian gives up very easily. Likes: Music, art, stories, fine fashion, a good challenge, and impossible odds. Dislikes: Pleasantries, silence. The list is fairly short, Julian isn't easy to agitate. The life he's led: Early life and Parentage: Julian's father, Rowan Meredith, was a wealthy merchant with a large homestead in Syliras he shared with his wife, Evelyn. In Rowan's younger days, he'd been a master swordsman, and an eccentric self-proclaimed adventurer. When he lost his right eye, it hardly slowed him down. In fact, it made him more cavalier, and he'd boast that the eye patch made him all the more dashing. It was the loss of his right arm many years later that finally tamed him. By then, he'd married his childhood friend and inherited his late father's fortune. Julian was a growing, bright young boy, who seemed to inherit both his father's taste for danger and his mother's caution. A father's descent: Over the years, Rowan seemed to unravel. He quickly grew weary of his caged life, but knew that both his wife and son needed him. The process was gradual. Slowly, he began to stop caring about everything. Money became frivolous, and he was so careless about it that Evelyn appointed accountants to take control of his finances. Later, Rowan would barely even look at Julian, and when he did it was only a passing, uncertain glance. Then he stopped talking to his wife, and began sleeping in his own separate room. More and more, he isolated himself and resented the world. He was becoming completely nihilist and apathetic, ignoring everything and everyone. He spent much of his time reading and scrawling down his thoughts. It was when he began to take up the practice of Malediction that Evelyn decided to intervene. By this point, she'd taken to heavy drinking, torturing herself over the idea that Rowan no longer loved her. Even she stopped paying attention to Julian, and the servants cared for him instead. He still has memories of Evelyn's attempted confrontations with Rowan, which ended up in angry shouting matches and occasionally violence. One concerned servant took Julian out of the homestead and placed him in the care of Rowan's cousin, Edward - a well-to-do weaponmaster not quite as wealthy as the Merediths, but able to support a child. Julian lived in uncertainty while he wondered what was happening between his parents. He was too young to understand Rowan's growing weariness of the world, nor Evelyn's self-concerned torment. It was all he could do to make himself believe that, now that he was out of the way, things would eventually calm down and return to normal. Some months after Julian was removed from the home, Rowan suddenly disappeared. Some weeks later, they found Evelyn dead in her bed, a cup of poisoned tea spilled on her covers. Murder was presumed as Evelyn was not well versed in poisons, nor did she have any in her home. Rowan was never found, but it was presumed he'd killed himself. Often he'd speak of walking into the Suvan Sea, but what really happened to him is anyone's guess. Edward was sympathetic, but not prepared to be a parent. He moved the young boy into an orphanage, and promise that the Meredith fortune would be his when he was old enough to claim it. Rowan left so many debts, however, that the entire fortune was squandered, to the point that it actually made Julian Meredith, nine years old, OWE money to them. Edward was able to clear up the debt and free him, but it was all he could do. The last of the Meredith fortune came down to a leatherbound tome, Rowan's personal journal. When Julian was old enough to leave the orphanage, Edward gave him the journal, hoping it would provide some insight into what happened between his father and mother. Fearing he might end up like Rowan, Julian avoided being alone at all costs. He made as many friends as he could manage and maintained a light and airy attitude. He was helpful to others, and volunteered at the orphanage to help the children he had once been like. Courtship and Marriage: It wasn't long into his adulthood that he met Liara, a remarkable young woman, orphaned like himself. She was a thief, or attempted to be one, but was caught and jailed by Syliran knights. Captivated by her beauty, charm, and her stark disinterest in Julian himself, he pursued her relentlessly. He would go out of his way to prevent her from stealing, worried about the trouble she might get into. She gave in, eventually, and they married just a few short years later. Life was hard, and Julian struggled with his own isolationist tendencies. Liara was much too insightful to let him become too bitter and self centered, and tested him constantly. He grew frustrated with her easily, but neither could easily imagine life without the other. It wasn't an idyllic life by any means, but they got by, and Julian let himself forget the troubles he went through in his youth. Stolen before they could be given: When Liara miscarried her first pregnancy, it tested their strength as a couple. She was devastated at first, but Julian was there to support her and help her through it. Soon enough, she was pregnant again, and after nine months past, they were excited to receive their new child. They'd picked out a name for a boy, couldn't decide between four different ones for a girl. Julian, who still rich by blood, was relieved to be continuing the Meredith line. Though he knew his father was responsible for his mother's death, he could never quite grow to hate him. The family still meant something to him. The child was stillborn. The shock was enough to nearly kill an exhausted and anemic Liara, but she pulled through with Julian nearby. His heart was heavy, almost more than he could bear, but he didn't want to lose his wife. He helped nurse her back to health, until death was no longer an imminent risk. Panic freed from his mind, he suffered more from the loss than he was prepared to handle. An overwhelming bitterness overtook him, and he couldn't help but ask why this could happen to him. First, his father murders his mother. His second-cousin Edward leaves him at an orphanage. Then he and Liara lose their second unborn child. It felt was though something was testing him - no, more pulling him toward something. As if fate were trying to tell him that this was not the life he was meant to live. Overcome by his own grief, he left Liara to travel to Zeltiva. She begged him to stay with her, and that she would suffer more if he left. Juian angrily told her that, while he understood that the child's death had devastated her, she couldn't possibly understand his own pain. Having read his father's journals, he began to fear that like his father, he was beginning to lose his mind. All this suffering and Liara's overwhelming depression was too much for him to bear. He promised to return in a month or two, but said he needed this time on his own to try to heal himself. Reluctantly, she let him go. By the time he returned, he discovered that Liara had taken her own life - just a day or two before he came back home. Seeing his wife's body, no longer the beauty he'd once known it to be, he wasn't sure what he felt. There was some pain, and certainly shock. It felt more like something utterly died in him when he saw her. Every emotion he felt was muted and distant. It took a while to collect himself before he could bring himself to notify a guard. After her body was was cremated at Li Mauta, he kept her wedding ring. Solitary: Julian returned home and gathered what money he had, then left his home without turning back. With barely more than the clothes on his back, Julian sought a way out of Syliras, no long able to stand the place. He would not sit here and stagnate as his father did. Coming across a trade caravan that had arrived in Syliras just a few days ago, he bartered with them to give him passage to whatever city they might be traveling to next.

[Julian]

Skills Play Music Instrument (cello): 38 Hypnotism: 22 Weapon (Knife): 15 Music Composition: 10 Brawling: 5 Meditation: 3 Rhetoric: 6 Observation: 3 Intimidation: 1 Negotiation: 1 Running: 1 Philosophy: 1 Interrogation: 1 Storytelling: 1 Bodybuilding: 1 Acquisition: +15 Play Music Instrument - human bonus +1 Hypnotism, +2 Cello, +3 Meditation - Unequal Worth +5 Brawling, +3 Cello, +2 Observation, +1 Knife, +1 Intimidation, +1 Negotiation - Don't Bring a Cello to a Knife Fight +2 Rhetoric - Love Haunts to the End +1 Cello, +1 Rhetoric - I Never Even Knew Your Name +2 Cello, +2 Hypnotism, +1 Observation - Look into My Eyes +3 Rhetoric, +1 Bodybuilding, +1 Hypnotism - It's About Control +1 Philosophy, +1 Interrogation, +1 Storytelling - Squire's Duty   Lores Layout of Syliras Knowledge of Syliras-Composed Songs Layout of Lhavit - Poor Lost in a New City Recognition of Tunes and Keys A Knife's Gift to Music Cello Gauging an Audience Kelp Bar Rules Banned from Kelp Bar Chased by Baddies Beaten Up Hysterical Laughter in Awkward Moments Saving Damsels in Distress Overgiving without Realising Pain/Elhaym (Partial) When the Hard Rain Comes Gratitude Over a Gift The emotions that come with taking a life Turning into your father? Hagiri (And it's a Sentimental Value) A Change of Heart Thawing the Heart Old Habits Die Hard Tuning a Cello Giving into the Temptation of Wine A Widower's Guilt The Cosmic Plan A Change in Agenda I Had A Lover Once... Making Excuses Afraid of Heights Shinya Meditation Training Alone The Wrong Idea About Elhaym Territorial Jealousy Friendship Forged In Blood Liara's Replacement? Disliking Kota Lhavit Has A Soul Pettiness   Languages Common - Fluent Tukant - Basic Isur - Poor   Possessions 1 waterskin 1 Backpack - set of toiletries, eating knife, Flint & Steel 1 Pair Leather Boots Standard Outfit Father's leatherbound journal - Heirloom Cello - Acquired Day 18 of Spring, 511AV Hagiri (Tanto Knife) - gifted by Elhaym Furuma on Spring 65th, 511AV Sets of Clothing Wardrobe Catalogue : Wardrobe Value - 86g36sm 10x Over and Undershirts - total value: 30g3sm 2x Vests - 2g1sm *1x Cotton - 1sm *1x Velvet - 2gm Velvet Tunic - 2gm Silk Nightshirt - 6gm 6x Shirt - 20g2sm *1x Velvet - 5gm *2x Linen - 2sm *3x Silk - 15gm 4x Breeches - total value: 4gm17sm *1x Cotton - 1sm *1x Velvet - 4gm *2x Leather 16sm 4x Outer Wear - total value: 8g5sm Broad-brim Hat - 8gm 2x Pair Leather Shoes - 6sm Wool Cloak - 5sm 3x Accessories - total value: 50g5sm 2x Fine Belt - 50gm Leather Gloves - 5sm   Ledger Currently: 517.64kina (total value 517g64sm) Book: 600gm Starting(100gm + 500gm [does not own a home or tent]) -75gm ~ Purchased Cello -86g36sm New Wardrobe -135gm Cost of Living (Common) (Spring 511) -150gm Weekly Fare at the Shining Star for 10 weeks +364gm Seasonal Wages (Spring 511) Thread List: Running: Flashbacks: Spring, Day 3, 496 AV - [Flashback][Syliras]Unwanted Children - Stitch - On Hold Spring, Day 12, 507 - [Flashback]A Chance Encounter - Renaria (Guest Mod) - Up to Date Fall, Day 35, 509AV - [Flashback]Ode to Strings Rebellious - Amireh - Up to Date Summer, Day 50, 510AV - [Flashback]Tavern Inspection! - Lucas Arias - Up to Date Spring, Day 25, 511AV - [Lhavit]Loosen That Tongue of Yours - Naama - Up to Date Spring, Day 39, 511AV - [Lhavit]A Song to the Night - Haeli - Up to Date Spring, Day 49, 511AV - [Lhavit]By Word or By String - Wrenmae - Need to Post Spring, Day 70, 511AV - [Lhavit]The Third Party - Ophelia (Modded) - Up to Date Spring, Day 78, 511AV - [Lhavit]Walking in Circles - Aselia Timandre - Up to Date Current Season: Summer, Day 15, 511AV - [Lhavit]Eyes Gently Closed - Dor - Up to Date Finished: Flashbacks: Spring, Day 41, 510 AV - [Flashback][Syliras]Squire's Duty - Dimitri Fall, Day 1, 510AV - [Flashback][Zeltiva]Don't Bring a Cello to Knife Fight - Tshaka Winter, Day 19 - 510AV - [Flashback][Syliras]Love Haunts to the End(Solo) Spring, Day 47, 511AV - [Lhavit]Look Into My Eyes - Shri Spring, Day 18 - 511AV - [Lhavit]Unequal Worth (Solo) Spring, Day 41, 511AV - [Lhavit]The Sky Was Bruised, and So Was I - Pain Spring, Day 65, 511AV - [Lhavit]I Never Even Knew Your Name - Elhaym Spring, Day 67, 511AV - [Lhavit]It's About Control - Elhaym Current Season: Summer, Day 14 511AV - [Lhavit]Broken - Elhaym - Ungraded

[Julian]

General Information : 1. What is your Name? Julian. 2. Do you go by a nickname or pet name? Not often. You can call me Jules if you'd like to make an enemy. 3. How old are you? Twenty-five. I feel older. 4. What is your height? Six feet and a bit. 5. What is your weight? Beg your pardon. Aesthetics : 1. Describe yourself as you see yourself. Though I would like to say that I'm confident, I think it may be more accurate to say that I long ago stopped finding social situations daunting. I'd like to think that I'm capable of being funny and charming when I'm not acting like a complete dunce. I personally do think that I'm "handsome," but not in a sense that everyone finds appealing. It's very often my deep interest in proving that looks can be deceiving. And I don't mean surprising anyone by telling them I'm actually male. 2. Describe yourself as others typically see you. People seem to react well to my cordiality and dry sense of humor. When I'm not being openly friendly, however, I suppose I come off as aloof and quiet. As far as looks, I do like to think that some women find me attractive. I know I'm no monument to masculinity. I've heard the word "womanly" more than once. A lot of women are fond of the hair though. 3. What is your favorite body feature? Oh gods, let me think on it. I suppose I am rather fond of my hair. It doesn't help my 'womanly' case any, but I definitely prefer the way it looks long and tied back than cropped like a domesticated house slave. No offense to any of those who keep their hair short. 4. How physically fit are you? I'm strong enough for my own purposes. 5. How do you typically dress and what is your style? That's usually self-evident. I prefer to present myself with a bit of class and grace, whether it befits me or not. I'm partial to vests and silk, and velvet is a guilty love of mine. I prefer to stand out amongst the rabble. Color coordination is also key. Family : 1. Who are your parents and what are they like? Ah, what a topic. My parents both died when I was a boy, but I do remember them. My mother, before she became a self-obsessed, weeping drunk, was actually a very kind and nurturing woman. She always seemed a little... tragic. As if she had been witness to some devastating truth that the rest of us couldn't quite comprehend. She and I spoke often, when I was very young, but she often went on to talk about rhetoric I couldn't understand. My father... was an enigma. He was very distant and preoccupied with his own world, even before my parents began to have their problems. I sometimes used to think he didn't even know I existed, but other times he would be very insistent on spending time with me and learning about my interests. Before he lost his arm, he began teaching me the cello, and told me fantastic stories of his younger escapades. I never really knew whether his stories were true, but I liked to believe they were. It's hard to say whether the father I remember is the same man I've read about in his journals, which I received when I was seventeen. He was very troubled, but I have recently come to find that in many ways, he and I were cut from the same cloth. 2. Do you have any brothers or sisters? None that I know of. Considering my own extra-marital sins and the similarities between my father and I, I wouldn't be surprised if there was a bastard half-sibling running around. 3. What is your extended family like? I have a cousin-once-removed on my father's side named Edward, but I never knew him that well. He reminds me a little of my mother - kind but tragic. He never spoke much about himself, but I always got the feeling that he and my father did not get along. Edward cared for me after my parents died, but although I can see he cares for me as family, he continues to keep his distance. I haven't spoken to him in years. 4. Do you consider close friends as important or more/less important than family? It's hard for me to judge. The meaning of the word "family" has never been static for me. I suppose I'm more used to the idea that every person you meet in life is transient, and before long you'll move on without them and you must make new friends. 5. Do you treat animals like family? I've never owned any. I just can't see myself picking up after one. Location : 1. Where were you born? Syliras. 2. Where do you live now? Er... Lhavit, I suppose. For how much longer, I can't be certain. 3. If you could live anywhere in Mizahar where would that be? Anywhere but Syliras. 4. Do you have a favorite place to vacation or spend leisure time? I was an avid tavern-goer a long while ago. Those are days I have no interest in revisiting. For now I simply busy myself with hobbies like writing and playing music. 5. Where do you fear to be? Back where I started. Traits : 1. Do you have any physical weaknesses (disease, scars, and missing limbs?) Goodness no. I have some interesting scars in interesting places, but they don't come up often in polite conversation. 2. Are you right handed or left handed? Right handed, though I've become adept with my left after playing the cello. 3. What languages do you speak? What do you sound like? Do you have an accent? I was educated in Tukant by an Akalak friend of mine in Syliras. When I was younger I used to idolize their culture out of some dire need to overcompensate for my own perceived lack of masculinity. I've come to terms with that by now of course. I also know some basic Isurian, but only from reading. I'm sure my accents in both languages is utterly atrocious. 4. Do you have any odd mannerisms, annoying habits, or other defining characteristics? I suppose someone paying attention might be annoyed with my social facade. I'm really not the same person behind closed doors as I am when making small talk. But honestly, no one is. I've been called arrogant more than once. While I don't think I'm the sort of person everyone can get along with, I don't recall anything specific that I do which could be considered annoying. If there is, it hasn't been pointed out. 5. Do you have (or want to get) any tattoos or piercing? Why do you have them (or will get them)? Tattoos? I don't see the point. I do have a piercings in both ears - some youthful and brash decision I made when I was still a teenager. I don't regret it now, but... well it's an interesting era in my childhood development I'm not overfond of getting into. Basically, I was confused. Today though, I do find myself fond of occasional silver loop earrings. Beyond that... I suppose there's my Lacun mark. I don't see a need to go into detail about it. Occupations : 1. What is your occupation? Musician, by trade. I'm a cellist. It's my only talent. 2. Do you like/dislike your work? Why? I like it, though sometimes it drains me. I enjoy expressing myself through musical talent, and its something I can do that doesn't insult my personal integrity. For example I have nothing against metalsmiths, but you won't find me holding a hammer. 3. If you could be anything you wanted to, what would you be? I haven't put much thought into it, really. Write my own music and compose as well as play, perhaps. 4. What occupation do you admire the most? Why? I don't compare myself to others often enough to have an adequate answer. I'm satisfied with what I do. 5. What occupation do you least like? Why? Stablehand. I don't even need to elaborate. It was often a punishment when I was a boy. So I'm very intimate with how it's done. Childhood : 1. What sort of child were you? Gods. Moody and bratty, without a doubt. 2. What is your favorite memory from childhood? The first time my father handed me the cello bow and asked if I wanted to play. You cannot imagine my excitement. It was probably the happiest moment in my childhood. 3. What is your worst memory from childhood? It's difficult to pick. It could be anything from my mother's drunken rants, my parents' more violent battles, the moment I was told they were dead, or the poorly handled process of being placed in an orphanage by people too frightened to be honest with a child. 4. What sort of relationship did you have with your parents? In the later years before my parents died, I felt quite unnecessary. Before then I was more nurtured, though how much of it was real love or them smiling through their teeth, it's hard to judge. I was too young to know the difference. After their deaths, our relationship is a lot less turbulent. 5. Who was your most influential rolemodel? I admired my father when I was very young. I stopped later on. After that I found it hard to trust that anyone was truly what they seemed. So I suppose my answer is no one. Or it's someone, but he doesn't exist and never existed, except in my own imagination. (To be cont.)