Name: Ioannis (with variations depending on audience like John, Ivan, Johannes, etc...) Fabianou Sveinaldsson
Nobility: Konostaulos
Sex: Male
Race:Varangian
Age: 2 (Born August 3rd 1793)
Physical Description:



Rank: Lance-Corporal
Magic-Rank: N/A
Goals/Aspirations:


Personality:


Backstory:

Name: Theodoros Speros
Nobility: —
Sex: Male
Race: Greek
Age: 20
Physical Description: Not quite the tallest, Theodoros is a lean man with built muscles albeit on a man under six feet. His skin is olive in complexion, suitable for sweating under the golden sun. His hair is dark and black, abundantly warn on his face and soon to begin some stylizing to better equip his manhood for rising in the ranks. His shoulders are broad and held squarely, all for better holding scythes and other machinery in the wheat fields without permanently damaging his back. His eyes are also dark in color and not easily deterred by daylight due to thick lashes and bushy eyebrows.
Rank: Stratiotis
Magic-Rank: —
Goals/Aspirations: Not everyone is readily equipped with a life that can fight the Noetic Battle in the comfort of their family lives, and Theodoros, having been convinced that his spiritual life was indeed one of disaster, sees more clearly his struggles through the eyes of a soldier in battle, defending the Holy Empire from her enemies. He believes in order to redeem himself in the Mercies of the Godhead, his duties to serve are imperative. With humility and honor, he has accepted this undertaking.

Perhaps, he would enjoy finding himself a suitable woman to wed, which was a small portion of his decision making when deciding to join the Byzantine Army (not particularly fond of watching his own mother and sister bask in less well-pleasing attire while toiling in the fields). However, he is more concerned with his struggle towards salvation and has spent much of his spare time in literature that was so foreign and new to him as a younger man, he had never dreamed of attempting to consume in knowledge.
Personality: A nervous type of man with some disposition to wear his fingernails short, which came in good use for keeping the worms from hiding underneath them when he worked the fields, Theodoros is probably more distinguished as a man all so worried about his spiritual life that he has managed to lose enough hope for his eyes to entertain the an unshakeable worriment. It is probably his worrying that has driven his motivation, and as such, it is a life long habit that only Confession could perhaps relinquish. Despite his nervous habit, Theodoros has been saved but such a rampant disquieted heart on several occasions; he is nimble of heart and nimble of mind and spirit. His tempo is also quick through his feet, and seemingly enough his mind is not one for slumber, like a typical man who has dedicated much of his time in the fields of Byzantium.

His downfall is his temper, which he bottles until he explodes. It is hoped that he will channel this energy to something more useful in battle, such as a heart that understands bloodshed sometimes must happen.
Backstory: In the midst of the grandiose gold and glittering embroidery that laced the rich and luxurious vines of the Holy Roman Empire with laurel crowns and pompous, religious pageantry, the Empire's royal drapes of the divine extended into the green fields and frayed like the fringes of a presbyter's epitrachelion. Her thin gold threads were spread throughout the land like hay for the herds, tended by faithful subjects toiling in honest servitude and prayer. All was not lost in their humility, drenched with sweat and often jealous by their aristocratic counterparts. There was some stitch of hope tended in this backbone that learned of the worthy praises, which bestowed to past Byzas like Justin I and Leo V. They saw the sun rise every morning in the East, as Saint Ezekiel saw the Glory of God — the same prominence from which the Son of Man shall return. Should God grant such tender mercies to them through His Divine Will, their souls would light as candles in Heaven for eternity.

However, not all peasants had such glory in mind. For Nikodimos and Serafeima, their prayers for their marital union to be blessed with children had been left unfulfilled by the intercessions through Saints Joachim and Anna. Serafeima was reaching her later years, and Nikodimos' health was uncertain in all but the Eyes of the Lord. Both were lowly field workers with barely enough to feed themselves. It might as well have been a blessing that the two had no children. However, Nikodimos and his wife, in fervent penitence were determined to pass themselves a lineage before their time of living in the temporal world was no longer a burden.


Serafeima would often times joke in this manner. Her musings were merely humors that seemed darker and darker with each turning day. However tasteful Nikodimos believed his wife's cooking to be, he was certain with the their methods of acting, the strict order was not in the least bit enticing for either of them — at least, it was not something he wanted to endure, and if it was not for him, the he would not permit it to be anymore tempting for his wife.

Alas, after a long day of talons uncovered and weeds pulled from the wheat fields, the couple found themselves in another banter, although more weary than usual at the coming to the end of another Liturgical Year. Serafeima was huffing about their misfortune when Nikodimos, finally impatient with her persistence, drank his wine — bitter from strange rain cycle the years prior — and slammed his dusty fist upon the wooden table, lopsided from his younger years of a differing impatience. While it was true that by their age it was most embarrassing they had not even conceived one child, but they should be thankful the Godhead had granted mercy upon them to never know the heartache and humility attributed to losing an infant. However, during this particular evening, Nikodimos was not going to lecture his wife about repentance and thanksgiving. Instead, he angrily commanded her to cease her constant complaining — he was her husband, not her priest. Instead, he commanded her to pray to the venerate the Holy Cincture of the Theotokos.


And sure enough, not quite nine months later, right after Pascha, their first son was born. After some time, the couple came to have five children (shortly before Serafeima reached her age); four sons and one daughter. Their first son was Baptized Kodros; their second son was Baptized Geórgios; their third son was Baptized Demetrios; their fourth son was Baptized Theodoros; and their daughter was Baptized Anekah. Like their parents, they helped farm on the wheat fields in their loyal agrarian methods, which had become more mechanical in the past century. This yielded greater revenue for their life in the small village, trying to swell with pride and hard work.

There was not much to the name for obvious reasons of a family that lived in a chorion. The Speros family stories rarely lasted more than a generation, and the stories that did last seemed so classical to the follies of human nature, they might as well have been stories from anyone's family. The Speros were not ones for priding themselves in their names. It was inevitably for this reason that Kodros took up his cross and decidedly was the first to leave the family and the village. He left in pursuit of the monastic life, fulfilling some duty his mother must have secretly desired prior to his conception. According to words, Kodros, so caught in his fairy tales of other cultures, was granted a blessing to travel abroad to other nations in pursuit of enchanting and enticing foreign citizens with the mythos of Orthodoxy.

Geórgios was the second to leave the family but not the village. Due to Kodros' vow, Geórgios became the heir of the family, even if the inheritance would be nothing much more than honor and namesake. Geórgios followed the footsteps of his older brother to the best of his ability and was humbled by the tradition of the family to be given to him. However, in his religious journey, he stumbled into the priesthood and was made worthy of the title Father Geórgios. Due to his profession, he handed over any garden of inheritance to his younger brother, Demetrios.

Demetrios was the only son to stay in the family and village. He would see to it that the Speros' garden and few slaves were honored and preserved, and if by the grace of God, expanded. Only months after Geórgios relinquished his family duty, Nikodimos fell asleep in the Lord and was able to witness boiled some delicious kolyva in his memory every year after his passing.

Anekah was the third to leave the family and village. She was supple in frame and pretty in face. Upon running the smallest of errands to the Bakery, some wealthy landowner came across her. It was supposed that he prayed an Akathist to Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker for Forty Days and upon seeing Anekah, he was so piously drawn to her love and humility that he could not resist crowning her as his eternal wife to journey with him through the passions of time. The Speros family was proud of Anekah, and Serafeima stubbornly insisted on weaving their crowns.

Theodoros was the fourth to leave the family and the third to leave the village. He had lost his competitive spirit, at least the fight in which he was to prove himself against his older brothers, both who had turned their paths to the East. Generally caught in his own literate pursuits (often times childish due to lack of education but nonetheless fanciful and entertaining for Anekah) Theodoros turned to his Patron, Saint Theodoros of Tiron, after the Holy Matrimony of his sister. Saint Theodore was a strong courageous soldier, martyred by through the sentencing of being burned to Eternal Life like the wick on a candle; and thus, he decided his position in the Holy War was to join the Byzantine Army. There was much honor to be had in this endeavor; and he believed the regime would do his spirit good. The Military was abundantly active across the lands. Why, Theodoros had even been mended by a Medic of the Forces when he was younger, overlooking the village's doctor.

He had heard stories of the conquests as a child, and many of them had lasted as his favorites. His mother was not too fond of them, however. It was also exceptional that she took guard over her youngest son's interests, which seemed to dwell in fits of rage that fumed longer than her three eldest sons. In fact, it was probably this way because he was not only disciplined by the lady of the household but by the three older brothers, as well, and unfortunately, by the end of the scolds, Theodoros was nurtured into a nervous man who had bouts of rage from trying to bottle himself too frequently. Nevertheless and despite Serafeima's wishes, Theodoros followed God's Will to the Imperial Tagmata. It was for the best, really and not just because the aristocrats were impeaching once again on peasantry territory, but because Byzantium was notorious for its soldier's pay, and extra incentives of land were granted along the way. Theodore knew these privileges came with cost and understood that not all men are born to endure the struggle of the monastic life, just as not all men are born to endure the struggle of the soldier life. For such a reason, Theodoros has instilled this prayer into his heart:

Name:
Aro Danius

Nobility:
No

Sex:
Male

Race: Greek/Serbian/Norman/etc
Romanian

Age:
26

Physical Description:
Rather tall, 6'5''
Very nice teeth, all things considered
Has a permanent never smiling face. Even when he does smile, it's only a small one that looks like he's less unhappy.


Rank:
Trooper

Goals/Aspirations:
Aro wants to serve and protect, to do what he couldn't when he was a civilian. He couldn't protect his family from their deaths, so he wants to protect others, in any way he can.

Personality:
Aro is a protector of the people. He would gladly sacrifice himself if it meant keeping others safe. Although, he doesn't believe he can save everyone. Some people can't be saved. He also believes that the good of the many is better than the good of the few, so he'd much rather kill someone hurting hundreds than someone that is hurting one.
Aro is loyal to his country, his family, his group, and his leader. He would do anything for them, within reason. He will kill for his people, but only those that he thinks deserve it or those that are in his way. He will not kill children, animals, or anyone he believes to be innocent. If they have nothing wrong, they don't deserve pain or death.
Aro isn't very open about anything and would rather shoot himself than talk feelings. He believes people shouldn't worry about him and should worry about themselves. He believe's he's just a soldier that is fulfilling his purpose. He bottles up everything to the point where it hurts him, but again, he would never share aloud his troubles. Since he bottles everything up, he's very unstable. The metaphorical pot he keeps inside often pours over, letting out outbursts of anger or other strong feelings. Aro doesn't have very good emotional control, but at least he doesn't cry.

Backstory: Three paragraphs minimum
I would never die for my beliefs because I might be wrong.

Both of Aro's parents were hung for believing that the church was wrong and had no place in their town and was stealing from their people. They were hung when he was just 10, but he was old enough to remember. He remembers the sound of the rope snapping after the lever being pulled. He remembered the gasp and murmurs of the crowd. He remembered the look on both of his parents' faces before they died. They were ready to die for their beliefs, even when Aro wasn't.
After that, he was raised by his only remaining relative, which was his grandfather. His grandfather strongly believed in the ways of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Oradea Mare church. Aro was angry that his grandfather spat on his children's names, so they never really saw eye to eye. His grandfather didn't have a very good job, so for the rest of his life with him, they lived in poverty. His grandfather refused to change, and when asked why, he simply said, "Viața este plină de suferință. Dacă nu suferiți, nu trăiți. Dacă nu trăiești, cum te poți aștepta să mori?" ("Life is full of suffering. If you don't suffer, you don't live. If you don't live, how can you expect to die?") Aro still goes by a similar philosophy. He believes that you can't truly live without a little hardship. If you don't know unhappiness, how can you know happiness?

When Aro when finally old enough to live on his own, he left his grandfather as soon as he got the chance. After a few years on his own, he found the love of his life. Doina Lonesco. That was her name. They had met in the market, and hit it off right away. It felt like some terrible play trope. She had always said, "Era ca și soarta. Când m-am uitat la el, am știut că el este singurul care mi-ar plăcea." ("
It was like fate. When I looked at him, I knew he was the only one I would love.") How right she was. A few years together, they married (only because his grandfather pleaded him to before Aro even thought of children), and had two little boys, Cosmin and Viorel.

Aro was coming home from work. He saw his home burning. He could smell the smoke, hear his family's screams. He ran to the house, but the door was unmovable. The entire house was on fire, there was no way in. He stood back and painfully watched as his family died. He could do nothing. His only thoughts were, "I should've been able to save them. I shouldn't have left them alone." His boys were only two, and they were dead. His wife was right, Aro would be the only man she'd ever love because she'd never get another chance.

Aro ran from the house. He had nothing left. Nothing but his grandfather, but he would probably make things worse. His grandfather probably would've said Aro deserved it because he never believed in the faith. Aro wanted to get away from everything. The memory, the pain, his grandfather. He ran with tears on his cheeks. This would be the last time he cried. His family didn't need tears, they needed to be saved, but it was too late now. Aro signed into the military as soon as he could. It was the only way to escape. He didn't have enough money to flee the country, but they would take him. The army would take him away from everything.