Here's my CS. Let the gaaaaames begin!
Name: Rayf Calderwood
Age: 21
Appearance:
Rayf is around 5'10" and is of a lean build, with wide shoulders and thin hips. He has a dark green tattoo of three circles in descending size on his left palm, each circle contained within the previous. He wears dark, padded leather armour beneath a navy blue long, cotton coat designed to resemble the attire of a Priest of the Moon-Goddess when buttoned, Rayf being a firm believer of hiding in plain sight. This is coupled with a silver-pendant in the shape of a crescent moon. On his right hand is a black Cestus glove (leather with a thin layer of metal-plating on the top of the hand and fingers), the cuff reaches to about mid-forearm. His left hand is bare.
Background/history: Rayf is the seventh (and youngest) son of Alistair Calderwood, the now deceased master of the Alcea royal library and a seasoned archivist. His mother passed away whilst in labour with him, an event that caused his father to bury himself in his work. Coming from a large family coupled with his father's heavy workload meant Rayf and Alistair never really had a true connection, Alistair too busy pouring through old, forgotten tomes until the early hours. He was mainly raised by his brothers, the eldest being a Knight in training who taught him the art of the sword. All but two of his brothers were killed in the slaughter at the castle, trying desperately to defend the king to no avail. Being raised in such a large family helped Rayf acquire an acerbic wit and a decent amount of social skills, not nearly as much as his brother Remley (a noted charmer), but enough to hold his own in a conversation.
In his younger years Rayf would often sneak into the castle in an attempt to visit his father. In his earliest attempts he was often quickly found, but as time went by he began to become more proficient in avoiding the Guards' eyes. Rather than sticking to shadows and sneaking he started blending with crowds, attempting feats of persuasion and cover stories, even occasionally disguises. This continued until the age of 13, when it was discovered that Rayf had latent magical abilities. He'd always been able to manipulate small things, but he blended into the mass of his family so much nobody had ever noticed before. They'd been revealed when he'd attempted to hold hands with a girl, his shaky emotional state making his magic act up which resulted in her hand being badly burnt. Her father was a noted ruffian and threatened him violently, meaning Rayf was sent away to study his abilities under the eye of his maternal grandfather, a court wizard in a small castle called Plainsgate several hundred miles from the city.
His brothers excelled within the kingdom, each becoming notable in their fields. This shamed Rayf, who had thought his magical talent would lead to his own success. His grandfather was a kind man, but his years hadn't been kind to him and his memory wasn't what it used to be, meaning Rayf didn't get the best tutelage. He was retaught lessons several times, but he never had the heart to tell his tutor. After a week it was discovered he was a particular type of magic user, something called a "palmcaster". This meant he just didn't have the inclination to be a master magic user, being able to manipulate reality itself; instead, his ability extended as far as his hand could reach. Apparently, where-as great acts of magic require a colossal amount of energy, the small spells available to Rayf were more subtle, which awarded a greater quantity of uses. He dedicated his training to using this magic to augment his pre-existing abilities.
He became quite popular in the small court as the years passed, even courting a couple of the castle's staff, falling quite in love with a woman in the kitchens there. She, however, didn't see their relationship as something quite as story-book and quickly broke it off. This made Rayf quite cynical towards relationships, his luck never having been that good with the opposite sex. Like any moody teenager, he learned an instrument to cope with the loss. He picked the flute, having admired the flautists that would play at royal ceremonies. He continued under his grandfather's tutelage, occasionally working on his swordplay with the guards in their training grounds. He had the pick of the castle armoury, and eventually settled on a strange longsword that lacked a hilt the Commander called a "Bayonet". It's similar to a machete, a flat blade with extremely sharp edges, the only advantage over a machete being the fact it also has a point.
At the age of 17, word was sent of the massacre at the castle, and the fate of the majority of his family. His grandfather by this point had completely lost his mental faculties and required constant care, Rayf having trained himself for the last year of his tutelage. Rayf''s first instinct was to return to the city and exact revenge, but his grandfather in a moment of clarity persuaded him out of it, saying a moment would come later to avenge his family. He agreed, but secretly communicated with the Resistance through messenger birds as soon as he'd caught wind of it. His grandfather died a year later, after the dust of the attack had settled. He settled his affairs at the castle and met the Resistance, beginning operations under their behalf. He killed his first man, a lone guardsman who had caught him attempting to sneak into the castle. This sent him into a crisis, but the leader of the Resistance managed to talk him out of it, after which Rayf became fully committed to the cause.. and a lot more careful in his espionage.
Skills: A fair swordsman, relying on swift strikes, dodging and intermittent magical assistance; this style also requires a very good sense of timing. He's got a knack for blending into crowds, subterfuge and persuasion. He has contacts throughout Alcea due to his communications with the resistance. His magic requires constant practise to keep up to a certain standard as well as possessing a steep learning curve, as such he only knows three spells he can use from memory.
1: Burning Palm - The palm of his hand heats to the temperature of a roaring flame, damaging others but not himself.
2: Stone Palm - His hand becomes coated in a thick layer of rock, becoming very heavy but very resistant to damage.
3: Charm - Can be used when touching someone, makes it significantly easier to persuade, though with this spell it is still impossible to persuade someone to do something they would never ordinarily do, such as persuading an innocent to murder. Also impossible to persuade someone who already hates Rayf or is distrustful of him.
4: Healing Hand - Can heal minor wounds and abrasions.
Something else?: Rayf is still an amateur at magic, as it stands. This stems from the late age his magic was discovered and his grandfather's senility, primarily. The tattoo on his left palm partially amplifies his magic, making it stronger than a typical palmcaster of his proficiency. Palmcasters (like magic in general) have very little solid information regarding them, it's believed it has something to do with how the magic travels through a person's body, a fundamental different nature to the process, a different path energy is set on.
His two surviving brothers are Arnold and Petyr, a mercenary and a Priest of the Moonlight-Goddess, respectively. They are both out of the country for different reasons at the moment, but they may return to Alcea one day.
Name: Rayf Calderwood
Age: 21
Appearance:
Rayf is around 5'10" and is of a lean build, with wide shoulders and thin hips. He has a dark green tattoo of three circles in descending size on his left palm, each circle contained within the previous. He wears dark, padded leather armour beneath a navy blue long, cotton coat designed to resemble the attire of a Priest of the Moon-Goddess when buttoned, Rayf being a firm believer of hiding in plain sight. This is coupled with a silver-pendant in the shape of a crescent moon. On his right hand is a black Cestus glove (leather with a thin layer of metal-plating on the top of the hand and fingers), the cuff reaches to about mid-forearm. His left hand is bare.
Background/history: Rayf is the seventh (and youngest) son of Alistair Calderwood, the now deceased master of the Alcea royal library and a seasoned archivist. His mother passed away whilst in labour with him, an event that caused his father to bury himself in his work. Coming from a large family coupled with his father's heavy workload meant Rayf and Alistair never really had a true connection, Alistair too busy pouring through old, forgotten tomes until the early hours. He was mainly raised by his brothers, the eldest being a Knight in training who taught him the art of the sword. All but two of his brothers were killed in the slaughter at the castle, trying desperately to defend the king to no avail. Being raised in such a large family helped Rayf acquire an acerbic wit and a decent amount of social skills, not nearly as much as his brother Remley (a noted charmer), but enough to hold his own in a conversation.
In his younger years Rayf would often sneak into the castle in an attempt to visit his father. In his earliest attempts he was often quickly found, but as time went by he began to become more proficient in avoiding the Guards' eyes. Rather than sticking to shadows and sneaking he started blending with crowds, attempting feats of persuasion and cover stories, even occasionally disguises. This continued until the age of 13, when it was discovered that Rayf had latent magical abilities. He'd always been able to manipulate small things, but he blended into the mass of his family so much nobody had ever noticed before. They'd been revealed when he'd attempted to hold hands with a girl, his shaky emotional state making his magic act up which resulted in her hand being badly burnt. Her father was a noted ruffian and threatened him violently, meaning Rayf was sent away to study his abilities under the eye of his maternal grandfather, a court wizard in a small castle called Plainsgate several hundred miles from the city.
His brothers excelled within the kingdom, each becoming notable in their fields. This shamed Rayf, who had thought his magical talent would lead to his own success. His grandfather was a kind man, but his years hadn't been kind to him and his memory wasn't what it used to be, meaning Rayf didn't get the best tutelage. He was retaught lessons several times, but he never had the heart to tell his tutor. After a week it was discovered he was a particular type of magic user, something called a "palmcaster". This meant he just didn't have the inclination to be a master magic user, being able to manipulate reality itself; instead, his ability extended as far as his hand could reach. Apparently, where-as great acts of magic require a colossal amount of energy, the small spells available to Rayf were more subtle, which awarded a greater quantity of uses. He dedicated his training to using this magic to augment his pre-existing abilities.
He became quite popular in the small court as the years passed, even courting a couple of the castle's staff, falling quite in love with a woman in the kitchens there. She, however, didn't see their relationship as something quite as story-book and quickly broke it off. This made Rayf quite cynical towards relationships, his luck never having been that good with the opposite sex. Like any moody teenager, he learned an instrument to cope with the loss. He picked the flute, having admired the flautists that would play at royal ceremonies. He continued under his grandfather's tutelage, occasionally working on his swordplay with the guards in their training grounds. He had the pick of the castle armoury, and eventually settled on a strange longsword that lacked a hilt the Commander called a "Bayonet". It's similar to a machete, a flat blade with extremely sharp edges, the only advantage over a machete being the fact it also has a point.
At the age of 17, word was sent of the massacre at the castle, and the fate of the majority of his family. His grandfather by this point had completely lost his mental faculties and required constant care, Rayf having trained himself for the last year of his tutelage. Rayf''s first instinct was to return to the city and exact revenge, but his grandfather in a moment of clarity persuaded him out of it, saying a moment would come later to avenge his family. He agreed, but secretly communicated with the Resistance through messenger birds as soon as he'd caught wind of it. His grandfather died a year later, after the dust of the attack had settled. He settled his affairs at the castle and met the Resistance, beginning operations under their behalf. He killed his first man, a lone guardsman who had caught him attempting to sneak into the castle. This sent him into a crisis, but the leader of the Resistance managed to talk him out of it, after which Rayf became fully committed to the cause.. and a lot more careful in his espionage.
Skills: A fair swordsman, relying on swift strikes, dodging and intermittent magical assistance; this style also requires a very good sense of timing. He's got a knack for blending into crowds, subterfuge and persuasion. He has contacts throughout Alcea due to his communications with the resistance. His magic requires constant practise to keep up to a certain standard as well as possessing a steep learning curve, as such he only knows three spells he can use from memory.
1: Burning Palm - The palm of his hand heats to the temperature of a roaring flame, damaging others but not himself.
2: Stone Palm - His hand becomes coated in a thick layer of rock, becoming very heavy but very resistant to damage.
3: Charm - Can be used when touching someone, makes it significantly easier to persuade, though with this spell it is still impossible to persuade someone to do something they would never ordinarily do, such as persuading an innocent to murder. Also impossible to persuade someone who already hates Rayf or is distrustful of him.
4: Healing Hand - Can heal minor wounds and abrasions.
Something else?: Rayf is still an amateur at magic, as it stands. This stems from the late age his magic was discovered and his grandfather's senility, primarily. The tattoo on his left palm partially amplifies his magic, making it stronger than a typical palmcaster of his proficiency. Palmcasters (like magic in general) have very little solid information regarding them, it's believed it has something to do with how the magic travels through a person's body, a fundamental different nature to the process, a different path energy is set on.
His two surviving brothers are Arnold and Petyr, a mercenary and a Priest of the Moonlight-Goddess, respectively. They are both out of the country for different reasons at the moment, but they may return to Alcea one day.
So feel free to start posting your own intro-posts, and please PM me if you need something! :)
