Capre Diem

[Diem]

Name: Diem Race: Human Age: 24 (485 AV) Music Link Appearance 6 ' 0 ft even Brown Eyes, Bald Diem has strange tattoos on his head, arms, legs, and most extensively on his chest and back. He puts no more or less emphasis on his movements in order to display or hide these features, giving the appearance he is not even aware of them. The mark on his right hand is different from all the others. Where the ones across the rest of his body appear to be simply black inked tattoos, the on on his right hand appears to be a small swirling vortex of light. It is in fact a gnosis mark granted to him by Priskil. Diem is not the kind to brag about it, so while he does display it openly he lets others believe what they will. Character Concept Their is a kindness in Diem's eyes that is offset of his athletic form and poised figure. His fluent movements suggest combat experience but he carries no weapons to speak of and wears no further protection then the shirt on his back. He has hired himself out as a guard for caravans in the past but has trouble finding work that way due to the fact that he can honestly claim no skill with a weapon. As a faithful follower of Priskil, and one who has respect for other such gods like Tyenth, Diem hopes to eventually start a community or group of people that can support each other and help uphold the beliefs. During the time Diem spent in Zeltiva he got a job working with an older fisherman, who taught him a great deal of things, among them Auristics and the combat form known as Savate. Despite his calm and pleasant nature, Diem is ever vigilante. He has a natural talent for spotting innocuous details and has learned how too ask the right questions at the right time. With some practice Diem might be able to develop this natural talent into an actual skill. Clothing Brown boots low, Brown leather Pants, Brown Linen Shirt, Tan wool jacket, Brown Canvas gloves, Tan Cotton vest, Tan Cotton Sash Horse a full set of tack a large set of saddlebags 1 Mountain Pony with a plain white coat, 12hh, named oddly enough spot. Diem bought the horse trained, and no matter how hard he tried the person he purchased the horse form would no tell him why her name was spot. Spot is an even tempered horse who doesn't seem to react much to anything accept obvious dangers to her own health or someone trying to ride her. Diem has her carry his gear in two large saddle bags he has. Any attempts at friendship with the pony has been rebuffed, and it seems spot simply wants to keep things professional. She carries stuff, he feeds and takes care of her. Possessions 1 large tent (4 person) 1 large tarp 100 ft of rope 1 flint & steel 1 lantern, 2 torches, bedroll, blanket 1 Waterskin 1 Backpack which contains: 1 Set of Toiletries (razor, soap) 1 eating knife 1 Blanket (Winter) Fishing tackle & hooks Food for a week Ledger 99 gm, 91 sm, 95 cm -Spring living Expenses (Poor) -5 gm 94 gm, 91 sm, 95 cm Skills Unarmed Combat - [23/100] (Learned - 0, Starting Package - 23) Acrobatics - [5/100] (Learned - 0, Starting Package - 5) Aurisitics - [11/100] (Learned - 1, Starting Package - 10) Interrogation - [8/100] (Learned - 0, Starting Package - Investigation - [12/100] (Learned - 0, Starting Package - 12) Fishing - [7/100] (Learned - 0, Starting Package - 7) Cooking - [1/100] (Learned - 1, Starting Package - 0) Lore Lore of The Goddess Priskil Lore of The God Tyenth Gnosis Marks Priskil's 1st mark Threads Spring 510 AV 21st day of Spring 510 AV A Caged in Feeling Winter 509 AV 10th day of Winter 509 AV Cold Shoulder Finished History For such a simple looking man Diem has a complicated history. His Mother was for three years courted by two squires of the Syliran knights. The first, Allister, brought her flowers and jewelry. He came from a simple background. The second, Fredrick, attempted to impress her through winning duels in her name. Naura, Diem's mother, was neither from a wealthy family nor a well connected one. In fact her mother was an herbalist and her father a blacksmith, though neither true experts in their craft they made a living. It was rather her frail beauty that attracted these two would be knights. Like a delicate flower was Naura's beauty. Soon the would be knights became knights, and their courting after the beautiful Naura became a proposal. And so it was they both came before her with an offer. The first, Allister, who brought her flowers and admired Naura for her intelligence and wit as much as her beauty, said this to her, "I offer you my heart and my soul. Were you to choose me I would live every day in an attempt to make you happy just so I could see your smile." The second, Fredrick, scoffed at this offer and turned to the beautiful Naura with an arrogant grin. He who coveted her beauty and cared not for her intelligence offered her this, "I offer you my families name and my blade. Were you to accept my offer I would bring you fame and glory. I intend to rise through the ranks of the Syliran Knights and bring wealth and glory to my name. If you marry me you will share in that wealth and bask in that glory next to me." Naura looked neither at Fredrick nor Allister but in between the two. Her response was this, "I ask that you give me one day to consider, so that I may consult my parents." The two knights left. Allister with a heart heavy with worry, and Fredricks' thoughts on celebration. Both realized that should that parents be given a choice in the matter they would choose the wealthy suitor for their child. Allister was a knight, born from a line of knights who never further in rank but always served dutifully. His offer to Naura was not simply a romantic notion, it was all he had. Fredrick to was a knight, but his father had been a prominent and versatile merchant, building a great deal of capital by outmaneuvering the competition. He left his son Fredrick enough money to live on comfortably for the days standard and Fredrick was a knight for glory not duty. The next day both knights returned and were seated in the same fashion before Naura. The blacksmiths daughter looked first to Fredrick, then to Allister, then finally back to Fredrick reassuring herself of the choice she had made. Allisters heart sank as he saw her gaze land on his rival and stood to leave. Naura, seeing that he had misunderstood her actions acted quickly before he left and thus inadvertently recalled his offer of marriage. "Good Allister, I ask that while you are up you open the door for sir Fredrick so that he may leave. I wish to have some time alone with you, my future husband." Allister, to stunned to think and to surprised to act of his own volition, simply followed her instructions. Fredrick, with a scowl on his face. Stood up and stormed out of the room. As he passed Allister, who was dutifully and mindlessly holding the door open for him, Fredrick whispered this, "I will see you pay for taking my prize." Allister, enthralled by Naura and caught up in what had just taken place, did not hear the comment and did not recognize the danger it implied. A month later they were married, and a year after that Diem was born. It was around Diem's tenth year that his father was killed in ambush while patrolling a popular trade route. Fredrick, having never truly forgotten being scorned for Naura quickly moved to try and fill the place Allister's death left empty. While not truly gaining Naura's love, Diem's mother realized she herself could not support her son through the commissions she received as a painter. So it seemed that Fredrick finally got what he wanted. It was however not enough for him now. His goal in life, other then trying to go even further in the ranks of the knights was to turn his pent up anger against Diem. And there was a great deal of said anger when he found out the other knights had seen him for what he truly was, and moved to keep him from any further advancement by giving him a job as a glorified bean counter. With all Diem dealt with at home it was only natural to suffer some problems in the rest of his life. The problems soon escalated from mischief making to brawls and thievery. And of course there was Fredrick, making sure that Diem was taught well the lessons that law required. Being flogged was a monthly occurrence for Diem, and the original reason for getting the tattoos was to hide the hideous marker of his past. It was during Diem's 15th year that during a rather violent drink binge that Fredrick let loose the secret that it was in fact he would had informed the bandits of Allister's patrol route and schedule after having learned about it through a report he had been made to file involving supplies for the group. when Diem recovered a few days later he immediately went to the authorities. Being a known thief and general trouble maker they did not believe Diem. So it was that Fredrick plotted the end of the last remaining piece of Allister, the first of many to thwart him in his efforts for further power. To build his courage for the act he was about to commit, Fredrick drank himself into a rage. When Diem finally returned home after unsuccessfully trying to speak to the authorities Fredrick was waiting, the blade assigned to him by the knights in his hand. Driven by anger and jealousy and mentally strengthened by alcohol Fredrick lunged at the surprised Diem. Only it was Naura, hiding in the doorway leading to the hallway, who jumped in front of the blade and took the killing blow. With her dying breath Naura urged Diem to run. And so Diem ran. He ran from his home and he ran the city of Syliras. It was to no avail though. Diem did not prepare for the journey, and beyond the basics that all have he had no skills in survival. He knew not which plants were edible and which were poisonous. He did not know how to hunt or track game, and he knew nothing of how to find water where none was to be had. By chasing him away Fredrick had as good as succeeded. The Mirahil pass had been Diem's choice to escape the city of Syliras. He had been able to purchase only a small amount of food and water with some of the silver mizas he had kept on his person, leaving him with only a few copper mizas. Diem was left totally unprepared for the long journey. Only a three days in he ran out of bread, and a day after he ran out of water. As any traveler knows a man can survive at most a month without food. A man can't survive more then a few days without water. Diem continued on though, every moment imagining Fredrick hot on his heels, sword raised and coated in his mothers blood. It came to the point where Diem began to hallucinate, shadows suddenly sprang to life, all in the shape of Fredrick. Suddenly the open road frightened him as much as the city had, and the only thing he could think of was that it was his fault his mother had died. Perhaps he deserved this, perhaps this was justice for his sins. It was in this shape that Diem, almost mad with guilt and hunger and thrist all gnawing at his gut in a uniform fashion, came across one of the stops that populates the well traveled pass on the fifth night of his escape. A sort of small inn that seemed brimming with people. It was so much so that Diem actually saw a few outside. Some were well off enough, travelers or merchants who had tents prepared for such occasions. Others were like Diem wearing ragged clothes and whose hair was mated with dirt and mud. One person out of all of them though caught Diem's attention. A person with a form smaller then the others, whose hair could have been any color but was so dirty that brown was the only one that could be seen. Her form, for Diem could see that it was inf act a girl no matter the thinness, was covered in a blanket so old that it was torn in several places, and even though the temperature was only moderately cold she was shaking. Diem weakly shuffled over to the girl, who had stopped shaking when she heard him approaching. Her head lifted and Diem saw the girls eyes, a sight that pushed all other thoughts aside. Suddenly he felt his self pity washing away. He no longer felt like giving up, no longer felt like dieing simply because someone wanted him to. The loss of his mother, kind as she had been, still hurt him. But it no longer consumed him. His fear of Fredrick shrunk to that of an after thought. It was no more important then his fear of heights or spiders. Because of the shape the girl was in, thinner then Diem had thought possible. Because her only comfort was a torn blanket almost as dirty as her. Because she had been shaking with what now Diem could see was tears. Because of all of this the young man thought he would see the same hopelessness he felt mirrored in her eyes. He had been mistaken. What he saw in those sharp Azure blue eyes was neither surrender nor hopelessness. There was a fierce determination in them that Diem doubted even Dira in all of her cold glory could take away. The fire of hope burned brightly in her, even though she was unlikely to survive another night in her condition. So, enamored by the determination he saw in those eyes, Diem walked into the tavern and spent his last bit of copper mizas on a piece of bread and some water. Then he carried both out, walked back to the girl, who had bowed her head again the blanket to shelter it from the cold night, and placed them both before her. She had given him something that no food or drink, as helpful as they would have been, could have given him. Hope. And so he gave her the food she would need to survive another night. Before Diem could stand up to begin looking for a place outside to sleep, a voice as light as a bell spoke from underneath the dirt, grime and rags that sat before Diem. "Thank you for your kindness." As she spoke, she lifted her head and once more gazed into Diem's eyes. Diem lost his breath at the vision he saw and whatever thoughts he had of leaving were instantly banished from his mind. The eyes had changed. The determination was still their, as was the burning fire of hope. But now they softened by sympathy and kindness. If Diem had any thoughts of his own to put into what he was seeing, it would be that these eyes didn't belong to one who still might not survive another night, even with the food he had given her. Diem however was to captivated by the girls eyes to notice such a thing. In fact he hardly noticed when she raised her hand, which had taken to glowing with a white light that neither blinded nor burned but somehow warmed him, and placed it on his bald forehead. If anyone else had done that Diem would have jumped as if he were preparing to be struck. A lesson from Fredrick that had taught Diem how much it hurt to have ones hair ripped out of their head, that same lesson that had left Diem shaving his head bald to avoid a repeat lesson. With this girl before him, whose eyes seemed to convey both hope and strength, Diem did not even flinch. "I would ask, that with the help of this light, you would try and share that same kindness with others who need it." There was a flash of light brilliant in its glory and beauty and suddenly the hand on Diem's head was gone and the girl with hope in her eyes along with it. Something had replaced the hand though, and it was no less comforting. Diem began tracing the marks on his head perfectly, even though he couldn't see them. And Priskil, for that was her name he knew, was not gone in the sense a person would be gone when they left. Diem could still feel her presence, thought it was a great distance away now. The hand tracing the mark on his head stopped and Diem lowered the arm to his chest. Then he called upon the same light he had seen Priskil use. From the center of his hand came a small glow of light, nowhere near as brilliant and pure, yet the somehow the same. For a moment, Diem simply looked at it and wondered to himself who was he to be blessed with such a gift, and tasked with such a charge. Idle thoughts did little to help him though. A miracle had occurred for Diem today, and unless he wanted to waste it he had to get moving. Not wanting to tax himself or call unwanted attention Diem reluctantly let the light fade and began to stand up when he noticed that the food he had brought out was still on the ground. Strengthened by the events that had transpired and the ever comforting presence of the Goddess of light, Diem ate the food left for him and went back into the tavern. Inside he found a merchant who was in need of an assistant. His destination was Zeltiva as well, and so Diem was hired on to help the merchant for some silver and food and water for the journey. That night Diem slept on the floor of the room the merchant had booked and the next day they were off to Zeltiva. It had turned out that the merchants idea of an assistant was actually simply someone to carry all of the heavy items he intended to sell at the port. Diem bore the weight throughout the journey. Every night after he had set up the merchants tent and laid out his own mat and blanket under the stars, Diem would let the light from his hand glow, if only for a moment, and every night it filled him with the strength needed to face the next day. When the two had finally reached the port city and when Diem finished assisting the merchant with setting up his wares and a stall he had rented, the bald marked boy set off to find more work and a place to stay, if only for a few more nights. Diem's search carried him through the city to the port itself where a ship had just sailed in. Since he had never left the city of Syliras, and therefore had never seen the ocean, it was with open eyed wonder that Diem gazed upon the port itself. The rolling waves and the endless horizon were almost as captivating as Priskil had been. Allies NPC's Gemmy - A young woman in Sunberth who helped Diem by warning him his crazy preacher routine was liable to get him killed. The bald young man found Gemmy to be an interesting person, some who commands respect without the need to demand it.