14-07-2019, 11:58 PM
In Game Name (IGN): Cutecrustacean
How did you find us? (friend) zeromeeco
About You: I have been a writer and a roleplayer for many years. For some reason, the only method of doing so that interests me tends to be minecraft. You can call me by any of my names IG or otherwise.
I have no gender, and as far as you know I am a space alien in a wig. I like to build things and do digital art in my spare time and I'm studying to be a chemist.
Age: 20
Gender: Male
Appearance: Shaltz has a slightly stocky build with a toned form with a height of 6ft. He has dark hair shaved short at the sides and brown eyes with an olive complexion
Personality: Shaltz is a typical introvert and what you could call grumpy. He rarely smiles and keeps only a short list of real friends of which he holds a strong bond with. Though he is normally quite stoic and standoffish there are some little joys in life for which Shaltz will lighten up that only those close to him will ever know about. Shaltz does not hold typical values, he values loyalty above all else. If he has pledged his loyalty to a strong leader he will set aside any of his moral objections to carrying out their tasks, just as he would expect from a subordinate of his. The only thing that could break a bond of loyalty would be a stronger bond to a friend.
Backstory: Shaltz was born in AV 29, 16 years into the civil war. His family was one of many constantly in a state of travel after being forced out of their home by the threat of war. They were able to survive for many years but as knews of the dusk gate spark spread it It became increasing hard to scrape by. People became shelfish, hoarding their supplies and giving nothing to the needy. Men grew cold and hard, resorting to robbery and kidnapping to make their money. With no options left his father turned to petty thievery to put food in their bellies. It wasn't long before they were found out and the local guards tracked him back to their wagon. At the time of his sentencing the lord was desperate for cheap labor. He had amassed a mountain of war debts and with the future uncertain in his land he became a greedy cold lord ready to label any criminals caught in his land as worthless low lives along with their families. The courts agreed, and saw to it that his father and brothers were put into slavery, sent to work in the mines where many never returned from. Shaltz and his mother were the only ones spared the mines. His mother was still pregnant with his youngest brother, so she and Shaltz were sent to work in keep of one of the lord's vassals until he was old enough to be shipped off to a labor camp.
Things could have been worse at the keep. Though the gruel smelled of sour old pigs feet and he was forced to scrub and mop the floors non-stop he at least knew he would have enough to survive another day. By now Shaltz was 8 and though he was not expected to break his body in the same manner of his older brothers he was still made to work all day. Lifting heavy boxes, pulling plows, keeping the halls clean. He was not the only boy in captivity there either. Many boys years older than him came from families of actual hardened criminals. Among them you were never safe, a fight could break out at any moment and normally Shaltz was on the wrong end of them. Day after day he was jumped and beaten for his daily bread, but every day he was more prepared. He learned how to fight little by little, holding his own long enough to get a few hits in. By the time he was 13 he had gained respect among the boys and formed a small posse of boys around his age. Like any hot headed boy he used his new found taste of power unwisely, picking fights with other groups of boys to cement his respect among them. But this got him little gains. He instead sought to improve his life in the little ways he could. He began sneaking around the kitchen with his posse, setting up lookouts and picking the keys off the guard's belt to steal extra food for themselves. He got better at sneaking around over time and soon enough didn't need his friends looking out for him every score.
At the age of 14 it was determined that Shalts and some of the older boys in the keep were capable enough to be sent off to a labor camp. And so Shaltz said his goodbyes to his mother and younger brother before being shipped off to the lumber plantation. When they arrived they were greeted by hard faces of the full grown men, it looked like the inside of a prison. Among them there were some women who were just as strong and built as the men around them, it seemed anyone the lord could ensnare was forced to work off his debts. The young boys there assumed they would be back at the bottom of the pile there, and so they remained isolated. Boys who would sooner spit at Shaltz feet than look him in the eye were in a few days of vulnerability turned into close friends. That was how it had to be, or so they thought until Shaltz met the captain. The captain claimed to be a captured officer in an opposing army. Normally one of his rank would merely be ransomed off, but according to the captain he had struck so much fear into the hearts of the enemy that he was a well known target for the opposing officers. And when a stroke a bad luck saw him captured by a vassal of the Lord he was sent to this labor camp to boost morale among his men. After that meeting the captain took Shaltz under his wing. He would train with him in the few hours of down time they had, and watch over him to make sure the guards didn't single him out. He showed him aspects of the camp he would have never discovered otherwise, like the families that had sprung up hidden away some. Some even had young children who Shaltz befriended, but when not among them he was reminded that they would be sent away from their parents when they were old enough. When the captain knew he could trust him he was let in on his secret plan. The captain was planning a break out, in one year they would have gathered enough preparations. But in order to be successful they needed to have everyone on board. It was his job to convince his friends to rally around the cause.
Shaltz never knew why the captain had chosen him. Perhaps he just looked like the grumpiest malcontent of the boys there, or perhaps there was something more he saw in him. Whatever the reason was, the captain had seen fit to make him his second in command. Over the next year Shaltz would recruit every young arrival into their cause, and help the captain with charting their hidden maps of cached tools and weapons. Slowly they build up their resources, Shaltz scouting ahead for guards before they moved supplies and stealing keys off the guards to get into locked supply closets. The armory was never a target, as it would be far too hard to get into with so many guards watching it and residing inside. Instead, Shaltz would track sleepy guards and either steal knives off their belts or wait for them to fall asleep and take their swords. These higher-profile missions were delicate business and required months in between to let the heat die down, but the payoff was a small collection of decent knives and short swords for their men. They mostly sharpened dull tools and worked on simple suits of armor from discarded wood and what cloth they could scrounge up. But most importantly over that year the captain taught him how to be second in command. He taught him lessons of leadership and duty. He regaled him with old war stories in which one small army had no right in hell to win but pulled through with the help of a strong leader. In time Shaltz grew to respect him not only as a friend but as a leader.
That night was one Shaltz would remember for all his days to come. Over a year had passed and Shaltz was 15. He and the others rallied under the light of the moon. Unearthing the caches of small arms and make shift weapons they had stashed away. Carefully they ambushed the patrolling guards, taking out many of their ranks before they were ever noticed. A well trained guard could take a couple of angry slaves on their own but with the coordinated guerrilla attacks designated by the captain they barely had a chance. Many slaves in their ranks fell that day, but many more guardsmen fell in their wake. With some difficulty, they had taken the camp. But all was not victorious. The remaining guards in the camp had taken a small girl hostage and dug themselves into the armory. For the captain's army the answer would be without question. But he was not dealing with his army in the camp. He had a force of angry freedom starved men, some with questionable morals and some who really did deserve to be here. He looked to his second in command, yet not in the stern commanding way he was known for. Shaltz could see it in his eyes, he had a choice to make here. Shaltz was no different than the men under his command. He had lived most of his young life in captivity and now his freedom was within his grasp. But he knew his captain needed his support, and of all things in his cruel life there was nothing he believed in more than that man. Standing tall, Shaltz raised his sword and reaffirmed his loyalty to the captain. As he did so, so too did the men around him raise their swords and pledge to their own victory. Shalts rallied the brunt of the force to the armory whilst the captain set about fortifying the camp, praying no guards had escaped to bring reinforcements. Little by little they broke their way into the armory, losing many men but slowly but surely buying victory with their lives. In the end Shaltz helped to return that young girl to her mother. But just as victory was once more in their grasp it seemed the captain's worst fears were realized. An army of horsemen descended from the local keep. In the haze of slaves running for their lives Shaltz was left wondering what he should do, before a loyal follower of the captain shouted his order to run hell for the wooded hills.
One by one the slaves were picked off by the horsemen. Shaltz just barely made it into the woods with the guardsmen nipping at their heels. By sun rise he was a free man again, for the first time in 7 years he felt his destiny was back in his own hands. Along the road he met a few of the captain's loyal followers, but they had no good news for him. Shaltz never found out what happened to his captain, but he accepted that he had paid for his life that day just like the other slaves who had fallen. Shaltz didn't have an easy time finding work, he tried to stay around the lands in hopes of raising an army to rescue his family. But as reality came crashing down on his childish fantasy he moved on to find work elsewhere. Most of the time he survived off of odd jobs around small villages repairing what he could and hauling what he could lift. It was only when he accepted a job as a bodyguard that things began to look up for him. He was able to survive for several years off of bodyguard details for those looking to travel across the dangerous roadways. He enjoyed the pay it earned him, but it left something to be desired, as all he was really working towards was staving off his own starvation. It wasn't until he was 20 that another opportunity would present itself. Shaltz met a store clerk, one incredibly enthused about cartography that told him of a blooming new town where there was plenty of jobs to go around. Packing up what little things he survived off of the young man put up all of his savings to pay for the boat ride across to the new land where he would hopefully make something of himself.
Capabilities:
Competent Martial Arts-
A sloppy unrefined style but bolstered by years of fighting for his own dinner against uneven odds.
Apprentice Sneaking-
A natural talent for sneaking coupled with years of petty thievery and some real-world experience in guerrilla warfare
Apprentice Melee weapon skills-
Some training from a distinguished officer as well as years of practice as a bodyguard
Novice Leadership-
Light experience with leading and rallying men with most experience serving him in his ability to take orders.
Novice lumbering-
Some light experience working in a lumbering plantation.
Novice Pick pocket-
Some experience picking pockets.
minor-
Weapon upkeep-
The ability to keep his weapon clean and in working order especially when on the road.
handyman's gut-
The uncanny ability to worm his way into odd jobs and do a decent job half of the time.
camping skills-
The ability to light fires, set up tents, craft torches, and cook rations without killing himself.
Items: Simple grey gambeson. Worm short sword. Sturdy targe. tattered tent. Hunting knife. Band of rope. Small pot. Chunk of overly salted meat. Bag of surplus oats. Lousy bedroll. Tinderbox. Box of pins and needles. Few coins. half bottle of oil. Old whetstone. Spare trousers and shirt.
How did you find us? (friend) zeromeeco
About You: I have been a writer and a roleplayer for many years. For some reason, the only method of doing so that interests me tends to be minecraft. You can call me by any of my names IG or otherwise.
I have no gender, and as far as you know I am a space alien in a wig. I like to build things and do digital art in my spare time and I'm studying to be a chemist.
CHARACTER INFORMATION
Name: Marc ShaltzAge: 20
Gender: Male
Appearance: Shaltz has a slightly stocky build with a toned form with a height of 6ft. He has dark hair shaved short at the sides and brown eyes with an olive complexion
Personality: Shaltz is a typical introvert and what you could call grumpy. He rarely smiles and keeps only a short list of real friends of which he holds a strong bond with. Though he is normally quite stoic and standoffish there are some little joys in life for which Shaltz will lighten up that only those close to him will ever know about. Shaltz does not hold typical values, he values loyalty above all else. If he has pledged his loyalty to a strong leader he will set aside any of his moral objections to carrying out their tasks, just as he would expect from a subordinate of his. The only thing that could break a bond of loyalty would be a stronger bond to a friend.
Backstory: Shaltz was born in AV 29, 16 years into the civil war. His family was one of many constantly in a state of travel after being forced out of their home by the threat of war. They were able to survive for many years but as knews of the dusk gate spark spread it It became increasing hard to scrape by. People became shelfish, hoarding their supplies and giving nothing to the needy. Men grew cold and hard, resorting to robbery and kidnapping to make their money. With no options left his father turned to petty thievery to put food in their bellies. It wasn't long before they were found out and the local guards tracked him back to their wagon. At the time of his sentencing the lord was desperate for cheap labor. He had amassed a mountain of war debts and with the future uncertain in his land he became a greedy cold lord ready to label any criminals caught in his land as worthless low lives along with their families. The courts agreed, and saw to it that his father and brothers were put into slavery, sent to work in the mines where many never returned from. Shaltz and his mother were the only ones spared the mines. His mother was still pregnant with his youngest brother, so she and Shaltz were sent to work in keep of one of the lord's vassals until he was old enough to be shipped off to a labor camp.
Things could have been worse at the keep. Though the gruel smelled of sour old pigs feet and he was forced to scrub and mop the floors non-stop he at least knew he would have enough to survive another day. By now Shaltz was 8 and though he was not expected to break his body in the same manner of his older brothers he was still made to work all day. Lifting heavy boxes, pulling plows, keeping the halls clean. He was not the only boy in captivity there either. Many boys years older than him came from families of actual hardened criminals. Among them you were never safe, a fight could break out at any moment and normally Shaltz was on the wrong end of them. Day after day he was jumped and beaten for his daily bread, but every day he was more prepared. He learned how to fight little by little, holding his own long enough to get a few hits in. By the time he was 13 he had gained respect among the boys and formed a small posse of boys around his age. Like any hot headed boy he used his new found taste of power unwisely, picking fights with other groups of boys to cement his respect among them. But this got him little gains. He instead sought to improve his life in the little ways he could. He began sneaking around the kitchen with his posse, setting up lookouts and picking the keys off the guard's belt to steal extra food for themselves. He got better at sneaking around over time and soon enough didn't need his friends looking out for him every score.
At the age of 14 it was determined that Shalts and some of the older boys in the keep were capable enough to be sent off to a labor camp. And so Shaltz said his goodbyes to his mother and younger brother before being shipped off to the lumber plantation. When they arrived they were greeted by hard faces of the full grown men, it looked like the inside of a prison. Among them there were some women who were just as strong and built as the men around them, it seemed anyone the lord could ensnare was forced to work off his debts. The young boys there assumed they would be back at the bottom of the pile there, and so they remained isolated. Boys who would sooner spit at Shaltz feet than look him in the eye were in a few days of vulnerability turned into close friends. That was how it had to be, or so they thought until Shaltz met the captain. The captain claimed to be a captured officer in an opposing army. Normally one of his rank would merely be ransomed off, but according to the captain he had struck so much fear into the hearts of the enemy that he was a well known target for the opposing officers. And when a stroke a bad luck saw him captured by a vassal of the Lord he was sent to this labor camp to boost morale among his men. After that meeting the captain took Shaltz under his wing. He would train with him in the few hours of down time they had, and watch over him to make sure the guards didn't single him out. He showed him aspects of the camp he would have never discovered otherwise, like the families that had sprung up hidden away some. Some even had young children who Shaltz befriended, but when not among them he was reminded that they would be sent away from their parents when they were old enough. When the captain knew he could trust him he was let in on his secret plan. The captain was planning a break out, in one year they would have gathered enough preparations. But in order to be successful they needed to have everyone on board. It was his job to convince his friends to rally around the cause.
Shaltz never knew why the captain had chosen him. Perhaps he just looked like the grumpiest malcontent of the boys there, or perhaps there was something more he saw in him. Whatever the reason was, the captain had seen fit to make him his second in command. Over the next year Shaltz would recruit every young arrival into their cause, and help the captain with charting their hidden maps of cached tools and weapons. Slowly they build up their resources, Shaltz scouting ahead for guards before they moved supplies and stealing keys off the guards to get into locked supply closets. The armory was never a target, as it would be far too hard to get into with so many guards watching it and residing inside. Instead, Shaltz would track sleepy guards and either steal knives off their belts or wait for them to fall asleep and take their swords. These higher-profile missions were delicate business and required months in between to let the heat die down, but the payoff was a small collection of decent knives and short swords for their men. They mostly sharpened dull tools and worked on simple suits of armor from discarded wood and what cloth they could scrounge up. But most importantly over that year the captain taught him how to be second in command. He taught him lessons of leadership and duty. He regaled him with old war stories in which one small army had no right in hell to win but pulled through with the help of a strong leader. In time Shaltz grew to respect him not only as a friend but as a leader.
That night was one Shaltz would remember for all his days to come. Over a year had passed and Shaltz was 15. He and the others rallied under the light of the moon. Unearthing the caches of small arms and make shift weapons they had stashed away. Carefully they ambushed the patrolling guards, taking out many of their ranks before they were ever noticed. A well trained guard could take a couple of angry slaves on their own but with the coordinated guerrilla attacks designated by the captain they barely had a chance. Many slaves in their ranks fell that day, but many more guardsmen fell in their wake. With some difficulty, they had taken the camp. But all was not victorious. The remaining guards in the camp had taken a small girl hostage and dug themselves into the armory. For the captain's army the answer would be without question. But he was not dealing with his army in the camp. He had a force of angry freedom starved men, some with questionable morals and some who really did deserve to be here. He looked to his second in command, yet not in the stern commanding way he was known for. Shaltz could see it in his eyes, he had a choice to make here. Shaltz was no different than the men under his command. He had lived most of his young life in captivity and now his freedom was within his grasp. But he knew his captain needed his support, and of all things in his cruel life there was nothing he believed in more than that man. Standing tall, Shaltz raised his sword and reaffirmed his loyalty to the captain. As he did so, so too did the men around him raise their swords and pledge to their own victory. Shalts rallied the brunt of the force to the armory whilst the captain set about fortifying the camp, praying no guards had escaped to bring reinforcements. Little by little they broke their way into the armory, losing many men but slowly but surely buying victory with their lives. In the end Shaltz helped to return that young girl to her mother. But just as victory was once more in their grasp it seemed the captain's worst fears were realized. An army of horsemen descended from the local keep. In the haze of slaves running for their lives Shaltz was left wondering what he should do, before a loyal follower of the captain shouted his order to run hell for the wooded hills.
One by one the slaves were picked off by the horsemen. Shaltz just barely made it into the woods with the guardsmen nipping at their heels. By sun rise he was a free man again, for the first time in 7 years he felt his destiny was back in his own hands. Along the road he met a few of the captain's loyal followers, but they had no good news for him. Shaltz never found out what happened to his captain, but he accepted that he had paid for his life that day just like the other slaves who had fallen. Shaltz didn't have an easy time finding work, he tried to stay around the lands in hopes of raising an army to rescue his family. But as reality came crashing down on his childish fantasy he moved on to find work elsewhere. Most of the time he survived off of odd jobs around small villages repairing what he could and hauling what he could lift. It was only when he accepted a job as a bodyguard that things began to look up for him. He was able to survive for several years off of bodyguard details for those looking to travel across the dangerous roadways. He enjoyed the pay it earned him, but it left something to be desired, as all he was really working towards was staving off his own starvation. It wasn't until he was 20 that another opportunity would present itself. Shaltz met a store clerk, one incredibly enthused about cartography that told him of a blooming new town where there was plenty of jobs to go around. Packing up what little things he survived off of the young man put up all of his savings to pay for the boat ride across to the new land where he would hopefully make something of himself.
Capabilities:
Competent Martial Arts-
A sloppy unrefined style but bolstered by years of fighting for his own dinner against uneven odds.
Apprentice Sneaking-
A natural talent for sneaking coupled with years of petty thievery and some real-world experience in guerrilla warfare
Apprentice Melee weapon skills-
Some training from a distinguished officer as well as years of practice as a bodyguard
Novice Leadership-
Light experience with leading and rallying men with most experience serving him in his ability to take orders.
Novice lumbering-
Some light experience working in a lumbering plantation.
Novice Pick pocket-
Some experience picking pockets.
minor-
Weapon upkeep-
The ability to keep his weapon clean and in working order especially when on the road.
handyman's gut-
The uncanny ability to worm his way into odd jobs and do a decent job half of the time.
camping skills-
The ability to light fires, set up tents, craft torches, and cook rations without killing himself.
Items: Simple grey gambeson. Worm short sword. Sturdy targe. tattered tent. Hunting knife. Band of rope. Small pot. Chunk of overly salted meat. Bag of surplus oats. Lousy bedroll. Tinderbox. Box of pins and needles. Few coins. half bottle of oil. Old whetstone. Spare trousers and shirt.
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