Name:Benjamin Shepherd
The Boy who Cried Wolf

Nickname: Crook

Species: Human

Gender: Male

Appearance:


Generally a bit of a mess, Crook isn't the sharpest dressed kid on the block. He's not too scrawny - all of the time spent working in the fields has granted him a fair bit of lean muscle - but he's certainly no bodybuilder, and he never quite seems to look neat and tidy in his day-to-day life despite the intelligence that glitters in his brown eyes. Whether it's his scruffy clothes, his five-day old stubble or his messy black curls, there's no denying that he just doesn't seem all that well put together. He normally wears wool clothes, and his favourite jacket is a patchwork of different coloured squares that only makes him look more of a mess. He also carries around a shepherd's crook, made from polished and fairly sturdy oak wood.



Job: A journalist of sorts, writing reports for 'The Town Crier', a notoriously sensationalised and borderline malicious tabloid magazine that's full of gossip and drama. It's the thing everyone reads, but no-one will admit to reading. Of course, the better it sells, the better he gets paid - so he's not shy about spicing up the truth a little, or publishing a few dirty little secrets.

Personality: If asked, he'd call himself a dealer of secrets, a firm but fair information broker. If you asked anyone else, they'd tell you he's a no-good snitch and a weaselly little informer. The truth is probably somewhere in between. As it is, he's seen as a pretty pathetic figure in general.

Shifty is the word most people would use to describe him. He's certainly quite conniving, and wouldn't hesitate to stab someone in the back if it suited him. While he's certainly no fan of strict moral codes, he also won't go out of his way to harm others, and thinks of himself as a pretty decent person at heart. He just figures he's trying to get by, and hasn't been dealt the best hand - and he doesn't appreciate people making premature judgements. While he was once an honest if misguided prankster, once people stopped believing a word he said anyway, why bother trying to change their minds?



He doesn't take kindly to people who claim to be completely honest, though. Everyone lies, that's his philosophy, whether to themselves or other people. As long as he tries to give everyone a fair shake, there's no point in pretending he's above it all or a better person than anyone else. Besides, what's the point in being better?

Fable:
Once upon a time, there was a boy. A boy who spent his days looking after a field of sheep, and just wanted a little bit of excitement in his life. A boy who could look at a field of fifty sheep and call each one by name, because he just had that little to do. So who could blame him when he started to play a few tricks? It started harmlessly, a bit of paint here and a water balloon there, but that got boring! So he decided he'd find a way to really get their attention - and that was the first time he cried wolf to bring the whole town running. So he did it again. And again. Until they stopped coming.

It didn't matter to him, really. Who cared if they believed him? It wasn't like anything he said really mattered. At least, until the Adversary's army appeared on the horizon, and they didn't believe him then either. He could never convince them, no matter how honest he tried to be. So he gave up on trying. It wasn't worth it, and they'd find out soon enough anyway. At least, that was what he told himself.

He could have stayed, and tried to convince them, but he'd never been that type of guy. No, he started running, knowing that they'd believe him in the morning. And then he'd found himself in Fabletown, a place where no-one really knew what was happening. A place where nobody really existed. A place where he had a chance to be the one writing the stories, where he could make something new for himself.

"The perfect place for someone like me."

Abilities:
Cry Wolf
Once per day, Crook can convince one creature that what he's saying is the absolute truth, even when he's lying to their face. When he's using this ability, they will feel as though he's completely sincere and wholeheartedly believe whatever statement he makes. One day after he uses the ability, however, the person he used it on will realise what he's said, and they tend not to be very happy about it. As such, he's a little reluctant to use it when he doesn't need to.

Liar Liar
People instinctively don't trust what he's saying. The more sincere he's being, the more likely it is that people won't believe him - which makes it very difficult to get people on his side. As such, he tends to deal in half truths and lies, because it's the only way people won't instinctively dismiss everything he says.