Alrighty then, here you go: [B]Name:[/B] Thane Cress [B]Age:[/B] 20 [B]Gender:[/B] Male [B]Race:[/B] Human [hider=Appearance] [IMG]http://i1118.photobucket.com/albums/k602/lightning421253k/4e24a02c-ee5e-4e52-9ae4-5afa8eee786b_zps6e8479f8.jpg[/IMG] [/hider] [B]Profession:[/B] Courier, though he takes up the occasional odd job [B]Personality:[/B] Despite having only adopted this particular philosophy relatively recently in his life, Thane values personal freedom and holds steadfast in the belief that one should pursue their desires, whatever they may be. The only things not worth it are those you regret, and if you're doing what you truly want, how can you be wrong? As such, Thane's rather quick to forgive and forget, which has caused him grief more times than one. The young redhead's more or less a pleasant young man (or tries his best to be at the very least), willing to listen and give advice while being generally tolerant of others' quirks, though he can be a bit blunt and and abrasive at times. He's also quite bashful, never one to go out of his way to make friends, though he won't brush someone off if they want to talk to him. [B]Equipment/Weapons:[/B][*]Messenger Bag: A bag that he uses to carry packages, among other things, around with him. There's also usually an apple in there for snacking.[/*][*]'The' Hat: A cap that seems to hold some kind of sentimental value due to his insistence on having it on his person at all times... Or maybe he just likes wearing it a lot.[/*][*]Dagger: A 'just-in-case' precaution. Though it's used less (read: almost never) as a weapon and more as a utility item.[/*][B]Abilities:[/B][*][url=http://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/14587/posts/ooc?page=4#post-345602]Spatial Distortion Magic[/url][/*][*]Parkour: Thane is extremely proficient in the art of parkour, a skill which is greatly amplified by his choice in magic. His competence in the skill allows him to use his above-average natural agility for a variety of means that all tend to boil down to 'get from A to B as soon as possible'. He mostly uses it to run around the rooftops of Karstberg, usually for leisure or his choice in occupation[/*][*]Close Quarters Combat: Thane possesses general knowledge of basic close quarters combat techniques for the sake of self-defense. Couriers tend to carry valuables after all, and there's definitely more than one person who would choose to exploit that knowledge. However, given the fact his skill set is more or less [i]perfect[/i] for getting out of bad situations, this is rarely used. Even less than that previously mentioned dagger, even.[/*][B]Brief Backstory:[/B] Throughout many generations, the Cress lineage, an affluent family based in a continent north of Karstberg, has pursued the goal of reaching a magic that can bend space-time to their whims. Jumping between parallel worlds, turning back time, wiping enemies from existence... a rather impossible goal to achieve, but probability be damned! They were gonna get this magic made one way or another, or die trying! Which they did, several times through the generations from ways such as the acceleration of aging turning a bloke into dust, to bisecting oneself while attempting to make a portal to a parallel world, to just plain [i]vanishing[/i], and everything in between. Fortunately, Thane's particular branch of the family tree was the one designated with researching the 'space' part of their ancestral thaumaturgy, which was much safer... More or less. Eventually, through his great-grandfather's research, the family was able to create a ritual that could temporarily distort space without some kind of side-effect like explosive decompression or stretching a practitioner's body out like spaghetti. Though it was quite inefficient at first, what with being a ritual and all, after investigating it thoroughly Thane's mother was able to bring about the present, much more practical version of Spatial Distortion. And then roughly nine months after a huge celebration dedicated to that achievement, Thane was born. Sure, he never actually got to know his father's identity (there was also a nagging feeling that his mother didn't either...) and his mother pretended he didn't exist by virtue of him being a bastard child, but he managed to live a comfortably ordinary existence. He was content with spending his days staying out of his mother's way, learning life skills and the family magic from his grandfather. Eventually though, Thane would grow to the point where his mother just couldn't ignore that he was there anymore, so she dealt with it by sending her 10-year old son off to Karstberg's own Almagest's Academy of Arcane Arts. And while he was quite young, there was a lot you could do by filling the right pockets and pulling the right strings. The fact that he was [i]technically[/i] a specialist in a unique form of magic also helped. Academy life was... okay, he supposed. Given the fact that he was a preteen, he wasn't really able to use his free time going out and about the city like he would've wanted to. Rather, he was sent to run errands for the teachers, which was where he discovered the art of parkour and his magic's affinity towards supporting it. Soon enough, he fell into the groove of going to classes and helping out around campus afterwards. Although, one day he asked himself a question that more or less changed the direction he was going in life: 'Why am I doing this?' At first, he was able to answer it with 'Because my family told me to', but at the age of roughly 15, he realized that, 'Hey, I don't want to do this for the rest of my life'. And so, he stupidly told his mother he had no interest in continuing the family research. She, as well as the rest of the family, replied by cutting off the allowance of money allotted to him for tuition and personal use, as well as their support. Unfortunately, despite the fact it seemed a huge weight was taken off his shoulders, Thane still wanted to get through Academy life - didn't want those years already spent there to be a waste after all - so he looked out for ways to make coin. Eventually someone suggested putting his magic and agility to use as a courier. He had always been good with running errands after all, and the rooftops of the city [i]did[/i] make for speedy travel. Plus, it's not often you get paid to do what you love. --- And there it is. Hope the image isn't [i]too[/i] anachronistic. Looks more like 1900s than 1800s, but at least it isn't jeans and a T-shirt or anything. *shrug* ...Now as I look back on the CS, my 'Brief Backstory' isn't as brief as it seemed in the Word doc.