Astrolabe

[Astrolabe]

ASTROLABE ABELARD DUSK The 17th of that name ”Magic . . . isn’t for everyone." Kalvale Twilight Basic Information Race: Human Birthday: Winter, 489 A.V. Gender: Male Physical Description Astrolabe is a good size, though not huge. He has a muscular build and is in good shape. His coloring is light, with dark hair and blue eyes.. Usually, he wears fairly simple but well made clothes of linen or wool. His typical garb consists of trousers, shirt, sometimes a vest, and cloak when it’s cold, leather boots and belt, and often a leather satchel. Character Concept Astrolabe is a quiet guy, very wrapped up in his own thoughts. He isn’t exactly anti-social, or introverted. He just tends to spend a lot of time day-dreaming and seems to be off somewhere else. Lacking focus, and drive, he hasn’t excelled in his training as a mage. Nor has he shone as an intellectual star in his academic pursuits. To compensate for these shortcomings, perhaps, he has become quite good at wrestling and at metalsmithing – skills that have no place in the course his family has set for him. Astrolabe hasn’t pushed to be allowed to follow his own dreams, because he knows how crushed his family would be if he did so. So for now, he keeps those to himself and tries, in a lackadasical way, to improve himself, so he can return to Lhavit and make his family proud. Character History Astrolabe comes from a long line of mages, going back to the time of the Kao’tani tribe. His ancestors have lived in Lhavit since the Valterrian. Despite his family history, Astrolabe himself is, at best, an indifferent wizard, both in skill and temperament. His family is a bit disappointed in him, and he is more disappointed in himself. He grew up in a city soaked in both magic and history – a place where the inhabitants appreciate and pursue knowledge as others might pursue wealth. From his earliest days, though, Astrolabe struggled to acquire the teachings of first his own family members and then the more formal school he attended. Year by year, it became more apparent to both the boy and his parents that he was not going to be the type whose name would go down in the annals of the city. If he even got to the level of being semi-competent as a mage, they would all heave a sigh of relief. In his eighteenth year, his parents, not knowing what else to do, sent him to study at the university in Zeltiva. It was their vague hope that somehow Astrolabe would come into his own – either as a mage or in some other area of academics. To date, this still hasn’t happened. Astrolabe, at first reluctant to be so far away from his family, was excited to find something in Zeltiva that really sparked his imagination – sailing, ships, and anything to do with the sea. At the university, he has taken courses on navigation and astronomy. He has also spent countless hours at the docks, the one place where he will open up a bit and talk to the sailors and merchants. He has spent perhaps even more hours in the shipbuilding yards, and even talked his way into being allowed to learn some of the metalsmithing that goes into crafting the fittings for the vessels that ply the waters of Mizahar. To his surprise, he is actually fairly good at it – finding that, for some perverse reason, his brain is quite adept at such a craft, as opposed to the more finely tuned art of magic. Gladly, he would toss aside all pretense of being a mage, or an academic, and take a job as an apprentice at the yards. But, knowing that his family would probably disown him if he did so, he simply keeps his personal desires to himself. He’s never even written of this new hobby to his parents. In the course of his venturing down to the harbor, Astrolabe has also found it possible to continue the one pastime he has always found some satisfaction in – wrestling. It began when he was a boy – a physical outlet for his mental frustrations. He never took it too seriously – matches could be spur of the moment, or more organized amateur competitions – always friendly and in good fun. But amongst the merchant sailors, and the Zeltivan navy types, he has found that they take their wrestling seriously, with a lot of betting on the outcome of matches and tournaments, and prize money for the winners. Though far from being a champion, Astrolabe has done well enough, and has a reputation for being a fierce, but fair, competitor. He likes to wrestle, though he often wonders why fate blessed him with physical strength and agility, when what he really needs is a good brain and that more nebulous quality that makes a mage a mage. ”There are more things in heaven and earth, Kalvale, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.” ascribed to Zintila NPC Anais/Andy : ANAIS Name: Anais Wexham, aka Andreas “Andy” Ingle Race: Human Age: 21, dob Spring 50, 490 A.V. Brief description: Anais was born and raised in Zeltiva. She is the eldest daughter of a now deceased merchant, and is occupied running her late father’s home and raising her younger siblings. At the same time, she leads a double life, passing for a young man who works as a bookkeeper. Her goal is to save enough of her own money to leave her family home and claim her life as her own – someday. In the course of her escapades as a young man, she has encountered a student at the university – Astrolabe Dusk. They were first acquaintances, then friends, then lovers, and now they are back to being primarily “just friends.” Detailed History: Anais was the first child born to Nicholas and Revulon Wexham. Nicholas was a successful merchant based out of Zeltiva, owning and operating a small number of trading vessels. He also had a store in Zeltiva which sold primarily spices, perfumes, inks and dyes. After Anais’ birth, Revulon popped out, in quick succession, three boys (Alan, Benedict and Darwin) and then another daughter (Dahlia). Sadly, when Anais was only nine, her mother succumbed to the exhaustion and weakness such rapid fire reproduction was prone to cause in women. For the next seven years, Nicholas relied on Anais to stand in for her late mother and raise her younger siblings during his long absences at sea. With little choice, the young girl stepped into those large shoes and by the time she was sixteen she was firmly established as the “lady of the house.” By this age, Anais was looking forward to soon having her own husband and household to manage. But Nicholas showed no signs of being in any hurry to marry off his older daughter (and thereby lose a housekeeper and nanny). Out of the blue, though, Anais thought that her father would soon free her when he came home from a trading journey with a new bride. At first, Anais was elated, thinking that Nicohlas’ new wife, Lettice, would relieve her of the many duties and drudgery of being in charge of her father’s household. But in fact, the girl had grown very used to doing things her own way. Nicholas had given her pretty much free rein to run the show on the domestic front, and Anais found herself constantly locking horns with the woman who she quickly came to see as a threat to her position in the family. It was hard to give up the power that she had never really understood herself as having. For two years, Anais’ life was mired in the misery of wanting to be both child and woman – to be free of the crushing responsibility which her young shoulder head learned to bear, but unable to fully let go. She longed most for her father to find her a suitable husband, but still Nicholas dragged his feet. He was vaguely aware of this clash of the females in his household, but he was gone most of the time and thought the two should work things out themselves. Life, for the girl, was horrible. On her eighteenth birthday, Anais told her father there was only one present that he could give her that she truly wanted – and that was to be married. Nicholas promised that he would finally begin looking for a suitable match. He promised his daughter that she would be wed before her next birthday, and Anais told herself that she could hold on. With almost unbearable anticipation, she waited for her father to return from his next trading voyage. But he never returned. His ship was caught in a storm and lost at sea. Her step-mother, who had been very much in love with Nicholas, was swept away by her grief and went into seclusion. Once again, Anais stepped up to take on the duties of running the house, and caring for the two younger siblings who were still at home. Alan and Benedict were already off, serving on ships belonging to their father and learning the trade. Once more, Anais’ hopes of ever having a home, husband, and children of her own were put on indefinite hold. Over the next two years, though, it slowly sank in that her step-mother was suffering from a malady of the spirit, so dark that she could not even be roused by the arrival of her newborn baby five months after her husband’s death – a son – Nicholas’ last contribution to the world of men. Anais, without hesitation, took this fifth sibling under her wing just as she had the others - but not so much without question. She had many questions, as to where her life was going, and what lay in store for her in the next year, or five years, or ten. She had no wish to play housekeeper for her siblings. She wanted her own life. When Alan returned from sea, she spoke to him at length about it – in the end begging him to do something – to arrange a marriage for her – or let her find a husband for herself. Alan, though not cold hearted, insisted that she wait a bit. Once he himself married, then his wife could take over the family home and then Anais could marry. Wait, he said, and then he was off again. Frustrated beyond belief, Anais considered her position long and hard. For so many years she had longed for a husband and home. But, in reality, she now saw it would only mean a physical move from one building to another. Always, the men in her life would rule over her, making decision for her and bending her life to their will. A husband was just a substitute for a father, or a brother. And Alan would decide who she would marry, and she could hardly be picky, after all her pleading. With every passing day, the young woman’s conviction grew. She did not want to wait. She did not necessarily want to marry. She did not want to be dependant on a man and allow anyone to dictate the terms of her life. But . . . what options did she have? Women had few choices. Girls from well-off families didn’t go into trade or open shops or work. Only the sons of such families were permitted to do those things. Only the sons . . . She needed a way to support herself. She needed money. She needed a job or a trade or some source of income. She needed to be able to do this while still maintaining her family’s home, and taking care of everyone – at least until Alan did have a wife to take over. She needed to have the freedom of a boy, and the wiles of a girl who was fighting for her ability to run her own life. She needed . . . to cut her hair. To don her brother’s clothes and adopt the voice and mannerisms of a young man and take what skills she had out into the town and find a position. Sewing and embroidery and overseeing cooks and servants were certainly not tasks a young man would know. The only other skill she had was bookkeeping. Nicholas had allowed her to help with that aspect of his business – and she had proven so adept at juggling figures and keeping everything in order that he had gladly given her a great deal of latitude. Accountancy was certainly a field of endeavor in which a quiet young man could excel. If she could slip out and find some merchants who would pay her to do their books – if she had a little room somewhere that passed as her workspace, how would they know if most of what she did occurred at home? She could work, and save, and ultimately, when Alan married, she would slip away. Finally, she would be free – mistress of her own life. Who needed a husband? Who needed children? She wanted a[/i]life[/i] – and if she worked hard enough, and if luck was on her side, she just might have one. Skills: book keeping: 26 organization: 10 running a large household: 9 disguise: 5 Training Wrestling -- 26 [Starting Package (16), Racial Bonus (10)] -- Competent Metalsmithing -- 9 [Starting Package (9)] -- Novice Philtering -- 5 [Starting Package (5)] -- Novice Reimancy-- 5 [Starting Package (5)] -- Novice Auristics -- 5 [Starting Package (5)] -- Novice Glyphing -- 5 [Starting Package (5)] -- Novice Flux -- 5 [Starting Package (5)] -- Novice Earned Skill Points: Childcare -- 1 Novice Negotiation -- 1 Novice Socialization -- 3 Novice Observation -- 2 Novice Interrogation -- 1 Novice Arcana None Gnosis None Lore History of Lhavit History and traditions of the Dusk family of mages A Child's Logic A Sudden Cold Dip Meeting a Charoda Confusing Common with Char Charoda Greetings (basic) Making a Friend Languages Fluent: Common Basic: none Poor: Fratava Equipment and Possessions 1 Set of Clothing [cloak/coat & footwear included] 1 Waterskin 1 Backpack which contains: 1 Set of Toiletries, Food for a week, 1 eating knife, Flint & Steel 1 basic 20x20 single room cottage (400 sq feet) with a hearth, bunk, chest, chair, and small table. Family Heirloom: His mother’s ancient cat Ledger +100 gold [Starting Package] Thread List Fall, 511 A.V. : The Go Getter (incomplete) No Holds Barred (incomplete) It's Not A Fish Either (incomplete) All The Stars Were Shining Bright (incomplete) That's Not A Fish (finished)