Physical Information Race: Human Birthday & Age : 20; 489AV, Spring, Day 5. Gender: Male Physical Description A tall, slender and long-legged youth with straggly, unkempt and somewhat oily black hair; a tanned complexion illuminated with a boyish, charming grin that emanates from a pair of wide lips which open to reveal a surprisingly white set of teeth; small, bright green eyes with dark eyelashes that have a tendency to blink rapidly under stress or excitement; pinned back ears, a small but slightly pointed nose and a similarly sharp chin. Guido walks in a languid, lethargic manner as though every step constitutes a major physical effort. However, the muscles on his arms are well developed, indicative of time spent in labouring activity. He usually wears a white linen shirt, dark brown tunic, plain cloth leggings and high leather boots of moderate quality, with a plain leather belt securely tied around his waist. In addition, he frequently wears a long dark green woollen coat and matching woollen cap. Character Concept Guido is frustrated with this current life as assistant to his father and is desperate to improve himself. Unfortunately, he tends to be a dreamer and rather lazy: he dislikes hard work and is not a man of action. Consequently, he spends his time daydreaming of being either a historian/archaeologist investigating the past or a great mage. Whilst his indolence can be exasperating to some, his natural charm tempers this and enables him to “get away” with behaviour that might not be forgivable in others. He has a sharp, inquiring and logical mind but he rarely puts it to use in a practical context. He feels a bit isolated in his local community and is desperate to meet others who share his interests. He is generally polite, always willing to talk about history and myths but his eyes glaze over at any talk of more practical matters. He has recently learnt that he has latent magical abilities and has received some training by his mentor. In summary: he is bright but lazy, a thinker rather than practical and charming but acutely frustrated at his current situation. Character History Guido was born the son of Emilio and Imelda Faragas in Sylira in 489AV. His father made his living by doing a variety of odd jobs for local traders, generally of a fairly menial nature. However, as he grew older, Emilio became increasingly obsessed with searching the surrounding area for ruins and artefacts, convinced that this would make his fortune. Of course, it never did, but he was able to sell a few finds for modest sums of money. Whilst he liked to style himself an archaeologist, Emilio was in truth little more than a scavenger. From a young age, Guido accompanied his father on his trips, eventually developing a decent appreciation of the geography of the local area and some basic archaeological skills. Digging in old ruins fired the boy’s imagination and he soon became interested in the history and archaeology of the region. It was whilst on one of his father’s expeditions that the pair found an elegantly carved bow; seeing the delight in his son’s eyes, Emilio let the boy keep the bow and he developed a moderate level of skill in the weapon. As he grew into a young man, Guido would increasingly weave tall tales about the history of his father’s finds to all who would listen in his local tavern; he was sufficiently adroit at this to earn himself a few drinks in return for his stories. It was Guido’s task to deliver the items his father found to those who might be able to pay for such things. Chief amongst these was a secretive old fellow, Silven, who collected historical artefacts and displayed them in a room in a rather grand apartment in one of the better areas of the castle. It was rumoured that the frail human was, or had once been, a powerful wizard; however, no-one was able to provide any evidence that this had been the case and it became one of the many myths that circulated around local taverns. As Silven became increasingly infirm, he asked Guido to help him with some errands, delivering and collecting strange artefacts and parcels. Guido gladly performed these duties, for he liked the old man and it offered him the opportunity to listen to the many tales of ancient times that the old man had collected during his long life. Indeed, in many ways the old man became a second father to Guido, although the youth still spent most of his time assisting his real father with a variety of uninspiring tasks. It also became increasingly clear that the rumours of Silven’s abilities were true; indeed, he confided in Guido that his powers had once been considerable but were declining with age; he also claimed that he recognised a similar latent ability in Guido. After much deliberation, the old man rewarded Guido with two gifts: first, a small one room home in a far flung corner of Syliras that he had acquired many years ago but had lain vacant for some time; and second, the gift of some basic training in Reimancy and glyphing. To his surprise, Guido found that Silven’s intuition was correct for he found it relatively easy to master the basics of these skills. Yet his abilities further fuelled his frustration and intensified his desire to do more with his life... |