Topher Prog

[Topher Prog]

Topher "Toph" Prog Appearance Race: Human Gender: Male Age: 27 Birthday: 14, Summer, 488 Birthplace: Zeltiva Appearance: Height: 6'1" (185 cm) Weight: 203 lbs (92 kg) Build: Lean Skin: Pale Hair: Black, long, and straight Eyes: Hazel Character Concept Personality: In a word: competitive. Topher accepts every challenge given tohim and usually takes anything as a challenge. He in no way consciously believes himself better than others; rather, he believes that no one individual holds any more or less value than anyone else. Quick to excitement but slow to anger, Toph welcomes conflict but rarely holds malicious or spiteful feelings towards his opponents. He is neither quick nor dim witted and his thoughts stem more from emotion than logic; he revels in a good time and enjoys nearly any activity if the opportunity arises. If he ever fails at a task, Toph will drop everything to improve until he satisfies himself with his performance. Ethics: Topher believes wholly that arrogance, not money, is the root of all evil. Whether through birth, ability, or appearance, no one intelligent being holds any more or less worth than any other. However, Toph holds little respect for animal life; he views them as a renewable and expendable resource. Therefore he holds the Kelvic in the same regard as any non-sapient life form. Topher also understands that a central authority plays an important role in keeping life stable. He openly accepts instruction and restriction by law, but he believes that the system itself exclusively holds the power and that those who run the system ought act only as the oil of the metaphorical machine. He believes that family comes first and loathes any source of heightened domestic dispute. Toph will give anything a shot, and will offer a chance for personal redemption to any who show a desire to change the behavior with which he shows discontent. Likes: Games and sports (specifically races), sweet foods, spending time with children, laughter (both his own and that of others), dancing, spontaneity, tenacity, family, sailing, and the sea. Dislikes: Arrogance, complacency, horses, inattentive parents and family, bigotry and close-mindedness, sentimentalism, lethargy, and gluttony. Ideals: If Toph woke up in a world where everything existed exactly how he would prefer, everyone would treat one another as equals in status and always search to prove it. Game pieces would replace swords in conflict, every household would own their own watercraft, and all of the time spent on enjoying spectator sports and social gatherings would leave no time for conflict or worry. Every woman would offer intelligent debate, stand a solid 5'2" (158 cm) and sport olive skin with a petite-yet-fit frame. Every man would have the ability to perform whatever physical labor the toils of life required of them and spend the time away from work and their family laughing with their friends and working together to improve themselves and the world around them. All people in Topher's ideal fantasy would respect the sanctity of both proper courtship and marriage. Every person of age would desire or have a family, leaving the whole world in a constant state of fruitfulness. Flaws: Topher can and will take any sleight, joke, or mention of any difference between himself and anyone else as a challenge. He will go to extreme ends to prove that none may call themselves better than anyone else, especially himself. For all of his hatred of arrogance, others often view Toph as a hypocrite. He lacks in self-esteem and compensates by ensuring that everyone holds their place on the same social level. Character History In the summer of 488, Topher was born to parents Josephine and Adam Prog. Adam Prog worked his entire life on the docks, as his father before him, finally laying to rest in the winter of year 501. His wife, Josephine Deewon, moved from Syliras to Zelvita in 480 with her father, following his mistress who made her living sailing and traveling the routes between the ports of Syliras and Zelvita. The two of them proceeded to sail off together, leaving Josephine heartbroken and alone. She found a young docksman named Adam, and the two became inseparable. The Prog family adopted Josephine and, within five years, the two married and moved away from the elder Progs to start their own family. Upon finding herself with child Josephine made a solemn vow to prevent her kin from ever repeating the mistakes of her father. Adam, raised by two loving parents, agreed wholeheartedly with her sentiment and the pair set a goal for themselves to raise good and respectable children. Adam worked in the lowest part of the docks for nearly his entire life, picking up every job he could to build up enough wealth to support the family he knew he and his wife wanted. When Josephine gave birth to their first son in 486, they christened him Kaven after her father as a symbol of cleansing his name. Josephine once again bore a child in 488 and in that moment Topher entered the world. Every day for as long as Adam Prog lived, he reminded his children of who they were and from where they had come. And every day, he reminded them that they were no worse-- or better-- than anyone else because of it. Both of his sons carried that motto with them through their upbringing, applying it to everyone they met both inside and outside of the family. The two shared a constant rivalry, with Kaven consistently resolving as the victor. As the years went by Topher grew obsessed with proving that his older brother was not truly better, only that Topher had not yet grown to match him. But despite their rivalry the two remained very close through their youth, always finding solace in one another and each coming to the aid of his sibling if the need arose. Both began working the docks when they turned sixteen, having not the funds or drive to attend the college. After the deaths of their parents, the two boys shared a vow to construct and eventually sail a ship of Alahean caliber. But as the two continued to tread water, making no notable progress toward their goal, Kaven grew restless. In a fit of adrenaline, he stowed away on a ship whose identity Topher does not know. Kaven left a letter for his brother in a sealed envelope, which Topher has left untouched. A year after his brothers' departure, Topher traded the two small beds the siblings owned for one larger one and began moving beyond the depression that accompanied his loneliness. Today, one can find Topher working his fill at the docks. He loads and unloads cargo, occasionally finding a job assisting in some small repair on a ship of no reputation. By living as modestly as he can, Topher starts building a nest egg to fund his progress up the social ladder and fulfill the dreams his family failed to capture. When not working, he spends his time searching for more ways to generate revenue and for the lowest prices he can find on whatever goods and services he thinks he may need in the current or upcoming trials of life. In his leisure he strolls the streets of the slums, always taking the chance to entertain the youths with their ball games or to pursue whatever casual skill suits his fancy. Language Fluent Language: Common Skills Skill EXP Total Proficiency Shipbuilding 15 SP, RB 15 30 Competent Tactics 20 SP 20 Novice Dancing 15 SP 15 Novice Lores Helpful Lores: Lore of Zeltiva Streetplan Lore of History of Zeltivian Shipbuilding Possessions 1 Set of Clothing -Simple Shirt -Simple Pants -Simple Undergarments -Simple Cloak -Simple Boots 1 Waterskin 1 Backpack which contains: -Comb (Wood) -Brush (Wood) -Soap -Razor -Balanced Rations (1 Week's worth) -1 eating knife -Flint & Steel 100 Gold Mizas Heirloom: Original flag of the Royal Navy of Alahea Housing Location: A half-mile inland from the poorest area of the docks. House: A 19'x21' (5.8m x 6.4m) flat, equipped with one double sized bed, a small chest and hearth, and a small table with two chairs. Ledger Purchase Cost Total Starting +100 GM 100 GM Thread List None yet!