Elmoch

[Elmoch]

Elmoch (This layout is temporary) Basic Information Race: Human Birthday & Age : 32 years old (Winter 51, 479AV) Gender: Male Physical Description Elmoch isn't short, nor tall, somewhat broad-shouldered, but not tough-looking, and hardly intimidating. He is not well built, although his body does not seem to belong to a lazy man either. His beard is usually grown, being cut short once it gets too long. His brown hair is hardly ever combed, always a mess, but Elmoch usually keeps it short as well, just cutting it however he can, without much care for style. His eyes are blue, but a dull blue that hardly catches anyone's attention. His complexion is rather pale, and he has a few small scars, nothing remarkable though. He carries no piercings and has no tattoos, and abhors those unless they have a practical purpose. He does not care much about style when it comes to clothing, and he wears pretty much anything, or whatever he finds most comfortable. His attempts at wearing creative combinations of clothes just have been disastrous in the past, so he does not even try it anymore. As he sees little use on spending money on new good-looking clothes, he most usually wears the same cheap ones until they smell horrible or just aren't wearable anymore. As a result of this he may look like a beggar at times. He often carries a longsword tied to his belt, something he had learned to roughly wield in his travels as a young man, not that it helps much when it comes to protection though. Although he is hardly an expert at fighting with it, practicing is the way he had found not to become physically ill-looking. Character Concept Elmoch may seem mysterious, albeit he is rather honest to most people. He does not open his deep self to just anyone, and he hardly talks about his past. Although he is no longer the cave madman he once was, "feet on the ground" is not a very accurate description of him either, his bond to reality is rather frail. He may sometimes dive into his own delusions, or invent conspiracies and bizarre ideas where none exist. His concept of self is inconsistent, and changes everyday. He can be rather unpredictable and unstable at times. But he is mostly kind to others. Mostly. That, of course, if he doesn't accidentally scare them away first. He has learned from Anya how to be compassionate, and her death caused him to hate mischief and attempt to help those in need (the ones who he judge to be deserving of his help, at least). He isn't exactly always one who seeks to do what is morally good, but he enjoys helping people, as he sees it as a form of compensating the guilt of not being able to help Anya when she mostly needed him. He loves freedom and abhors all that is predictable. For him the joy of life is its unpredictability, and he rather values the chaotic part of human nature. Unpredictability is something he believes is inherent to all beings, and it's something he loves about people. He hates being bossed by others, and that is how he feels about many religions, people limiting their freedom for the sake of a deity. He is highly subversive, impulsive, doesn't usually think on long terms and hates the law. "Why think about what comes tomorrow? Tomorrow I will no longer be the man of today, my interests tomorrow certainly won't be the same of today, and may or may not be same ones of yesterday. Planning the future is like gambling, and the odds are not on your favor. It makes life predictable and boring. And if that wasn't enough, it stops people from enjoying the now, the present moments of their lives, they will idealize and seek something they believe to be what they need the most, only to realize years later that what they wanted wasn't as good as they thought. That's because people lie to themselves, all of the time, to justify their actions. Not that I am an exception to this rule, not at all, I hardly am reliable. But at least I know how to enjoy life." Character History Elmoch was the son of a prosperous farmer from Sunberth, the fourth of five siblings. His childhood couldn't have been any happier, he was a very curious child, and loved to play on the fields with his brothers and friends. Once, when visiting the city, he stumbled upon a dark alley. There he met a tall man who was much different from anyone the boy had seen before. He was always distracted, and it was never really understood by Elmoch what thoughts often drew the attention of the man, whom he not much later had befriended, and what reasons had brought him to that place. The man was foreign, his accent unusual, his clothes of exquisite materials, and his knowledge rich and exotic, something that immediatelly caught the interest of young Elmoch. It did not take long for the child to realize that the man he had met was a wizard, one of those much feared by his family! But once more, curiosity was stronger than fear, and it did not take long for the man to become Elmoch's mentor. Weirdly it was not even hard to achieve such, it was as if the man was very pleased to teach the secrets he had learned throughout his life. Elmoch's parents were sometimes worried about the child's frequent absence, but they often were surprised about the new knowledge the boy was bringing home every day, and could already see a good future for him. Garant was the man's name, and Elmoch then became his eager student. But long it took for Elmoch to learn any magic at all, first he was to study hard many unrelated subjects such as how to write and read, something the child overlooked at first, but much thanked himself for being taught after becoming an adult. And usually, after each task, the man once more went back to his intriguing daydreaming, getting lost in his own thoughts. As time went by, the kid could hardly wait to learn what he was mostly interested in though. How was it that the man could create sparks of fire from thin air? Elmoch was becoming much focused on the studies, and more distant from his old friends, except for one. A girl named Anya, daughter of one of his father's employees, and the girl was often interested on the boy's endeavors, for reasons he couldn't understand. After many years studying and also much insistence, he finally convinced the man to speak about magic, he could hide it no longer. Elmoch now had reached puberty, and the Garant agreed it was time for him to learn the magician's path, a dangerous one, and also a path that much excited the boy. Yet before he could do anything out of the ordinary he had to learn even more though, this time the basic concepts of magic, and more specifically, Reimancy. When the age was right, he was taken back to a secluded place in the fields not far from the farm, and there he lived one of the most painful moments of his life, his introduction to Reimancy. He had absolutely no idea of the pain he would have to go through to learn the art, but once that day became past magic suddenly felt much easier to understand for him, and it seemed like he had finally reached an advanced stage of his studies, for his own standards. In fact he was very proud for having learned a subject which most people had no courage to dabble into. But then Garant was gone. Suddenly, one day, for reasons unknown for Elmoch, he simply stopped appearing. And Elmoch's purposes on life suddenly became a void after the man's departure. 15 years old now, he suddenly realized how much time he had spent focusing on the studies, and how much everything around him had changed. His parents were much older now, most of his brothers were now grown men, and even him was now old enough to seek his own path. Everyone had changed the way they treated him, as if in a blink, suddenly he was no longer just a boy. But one person was still the same in his eyes, a childhood friend, a little girl not much younger than him that had always been curious about his activities. That was Anya, again, who accompanied him in his small adventure into the secrets of knowledge. But her family was to soon move with her to Syliras for a new job, and Elmoch suddenly realized that he could not afford to lose the only friend he had left. She agreed to flee with him to unknown lands, a foolish childish decision planned by Elmoch, who believed that his family and the farm were no longer necessary for him. He believed that his knowledge would solve all of his problems. Suddenly after leaving he felt the burden of not having gold, or food, and many apparently simple things of life he had never actually thought about. Most importantly, he no longer had protection. He had never truly realized that he was rather reliant on his family, and nowhere ready to leave for an adult life in the middle of nowhere. But at the same time his old curiosity pulled him and Anya to explore new lands and to engage in great adventures for the sake of learning more about the world. And this was the time for him to put theory into practice, and all that he had previously learned from his old mentor suddenly had become much useful now. Even much of the knowledge Elmoch had previously neglected now was being brought forth to his mind and hence he could find much purpose on the lessons he had had as a child. A few years later, the two had traveled far together, accompanying travelers and caravans, and the bond between them only grew with time. They never really had gotten tired of being with each other, but all of the travels certainly were beginning to burden them. Suddenly a feeling of nostalgia of the sedentary life started taking over the young adventurers' spirits, and they then had the idea of moving to Zeltiva. Not so long after arriving, they were to marry, and it was then that it happened, the most impacting event in Elmoch's life. She was murdered in front of him during a robbery not very far from the city, by few bandits, and he was there to see it. His magic did not help, his knowledge was useless to do anything about it. He was powerless, he was in pain. The bandits survived his attempts to destroy them, and easily ran away. As Anya's body fell lifeless his heart felt stabbed and for a moment visions took over his mind, breaking his bonds to reality. Fear took over every inch of his stunned body. It was like a nightmare, it could not be true. From this moment on he no longer felt alive, time went on fast as he had a mental breakdown. It all was devoid of meaning, nothing mattered anymore. For long he could not differ memories and dreams from reality, and he believed, or pretended, that Anya was still alive and with him. He allowed the emotions to take over his mind, and his sanity was long lost. It truly is a mystery for him how he managed to survive not far from the city in a small cave he had settled as a hermit, known as a madman by some. Perhaps his instincts still survived behind his flesh, allowing him to manage basic survival chores. Perhaps someone aided him as well. He can't tell, for this period of his life is rather enigmatic, one that brings back harsh feelings, a moment he sometimes would prefer to forget. Much time had passed then, Elmoch is not quite sure of how much he wasted there, living in his own delusions with an imaginary Anya, until he finally found a chance to grasp some reality. What brought him back was what seemed like a dream, but it could well have been an event that truly happened. It was a bright vision of Garant, which brought back hope to the insane man. Garant always told Elmoch that he had a beautiful future ahead, and now his image was there as a guide and savior to rescue Elmoch from nothingness. And reality came back to Elmoch's mind, he felt as if he had been slapped on the face once he realized that he was all alone again. The harsh memories he had been denying were now back, he had nobody, but he realized that it was time to move on with his life, to clear the last of his tears and become a man Garant would be proud of. He was back to the beginning, he had little left, no gold, and much of his knowledge was forgotten. He luckily managed to get a few coins from small jobs in town to sustain himself, and then he could begin the revival of the lost knowledge. It was not long until he could again create sparks out of nothing, much like Garant used to do. He now lived a more normal, urban life, and realized from remembering his birth date that he was already on his thirties. He felt as if something inside was lacking, and now the old flame of curiosity was suddenly lit again. It was the time for a new journey. He moved into Syliras, one of the most populated cities of the region, in order to seek the secrets of Mizahar. Skills Reimancy 30 (Fire+Earth) Starting Package (30) Writing 10 Starting Package (10) Weapon: Longsword 10 Starting Package (10) Wilderness Survival 10 Starting Package (10) Meditation 5 Starting Package (5) Languages: Common - Fluent Lore: Geography of Sylira (basic). Properties of Syliran mushrooms. Equipment and Possessions Cotton tunic Sackcloth breeches Leather belt Sandals Waterskin Backpack Set of toiletries which he rarely uses (comb, brush, razor, soap) Food for a week Eating knife Flint & steel Tent, one-person 50 ft of hemp rope Lantern, Hooded Torches (2) Bedroll Blanket, Winter Fishing kit Ledger +600 gold mizas (Starting package) -15 gm (Longsword)(Starting package) -2 gm (Tent, one-person)(Starting package) -1 gm (Rope, Hemp (50 ft.))(Starting package) -7 gm (Lantern, Hooded)(Starting package) -4 cm (2 torches)(Starting package) -1 sm (Bedroll)(Starting package) -5 sm (Blanket, Winter)(Starting package) -10 gm (Fishing kit)(Starting package) - 1 sm (Mug of Ale)([The Rearing Stallion] First Time in The Tavern) -10 gm (Caravan company for the trip)([North Kabrin Road] A Long Trip Ahead (Solo)) 554 gm, 2 sm, 6 cm Thread List Spring, 511 15th: Arrived in Syliras. 16th: http://www.mizahar.com/forums/post77048.html#p77048 17th: The Dancing Flame 20th: [The Rearing Stallion] First Time in The Tavern [Dream] The Unavoidable Doom 26th: [Kova's Wishing Well] Crying Wolf 29th: [The Stone Garden] Sharing Thoughts (solo) 31st: Left Syliras. 32nd: [North Kabrin Road] A Long Trip Ahead (Solo) 77th: Arrived in Ravok.