WHAT IS YOUR CHARACTER'S NAME? WHAT DO THEY PREFER TO BE CALLED?
Thomas Drennerson

HOW ARE THEY BEST RECOGNIZED IN A CROWD?
The fresh-faced, slight young man in a well-maintained soldier’s uniform, usually glancing about nervously or rigidly standing at attention.

WHAT IS A STRANGER'S FIRST IMPRESSION UPON MEETING THEM? HOW DOES YOUR CHARACTER SEE THEMSELVES?
On first impression, Thomas looks like a boy that’s about to jump out of his own skin. He’s nervous, awkward, constantly second-guessing himself and mumbling apologies to those around him. Everything he does is the result of careful, almost paranoid consideration, though the same can’t be said for everything he says. He sees himself more or less the same way, though you could add in a sense of inadequacy about his role as a soldier, stemming from the fact that he has never seen combat as well as his rather nervous demeanor.

WHERE DID THEY GROW UP? WHERE DO THEY FEEL AT HOME?
Thomas has lived all his life in the city of Glaifast. His mother was a young woman who worked as a barmaid in a sailor’s tavern on the docks, and she never liked speaking of his father very much. His earliest memories are from the fishing wharfs – the smell of salt and gutted fish, running with the other children across docks and through back alleys. The only place he feels at home now, of course, is his unit’s section of the Gleifast Army barracks – though as his fellow soldiers fell one by one to the sickness, even that place became more and more foreign to him.

WHO ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT PEOPLE IN THEIR LIVES?
His mother dominated his life in his youth – he was a friendless boy, and she did her best to educate and raise him on her own. After she died and he enlisted, the most important people in his life became his fellow soldiers and his commanding officer, Captain Archibald. While it’s probably an overstatement to call them ‘friends’, the older and more experienced members of his unit had a certain fondness for the nervous boy, and though the Captain was often stern and demanding, Thomas still latched onto him as something of a father figure.

WHAT IS THEIR PROFESSION, SKILL OR LIFESTYLE? WHAT DO THEY THINK THEIR STRENGTHS ARE? WHAT ARE THEIR ACTUAL STRENGTHS?
Thomas is a soldier – trained mainly to fight pirates on the open seas, though his education did cover the fundamentals of modern warfare, though he never saw actual combat before the plague overtook the city. He thinks his best qualities are his ability to follow orders and respect his superiors – not very useful in the situation he’s found himself in. His actual strengths are his sense of loyalty, his deep moral convictions, his ability to empathize and, though it’s difficult to tell by looking at him, his near-bottomless reserves of determination and courage.

WHAT ARE THEIR FEARS, FLAWS AND SECRETS?
More than anything, Thomas fears failing in his duty as protector of the Legend’s Forgery. Though his authority as military attaché is largely in name only, he’s still taking it deadly seriously, and is terrified of disaster striking because of his incompetence and disgracing the final command of Captain Archibald. His flaws are his tendency to second-guess himself and his desire to have someone else tell him what to do – he has a lot of trouble taking charge or showing initiative. In addition, he’s dreadfully awkward and has a tendency to put his foot in his mouth when he’s trying to win people over. His deepest secret is that he never learned to read – his mother didn’t know either and he managed to fake his way through that part of training (or at least he thinks he did – in truth, his superiors just liked having a message boy they knew wouldn’t read sensitive documents).

WHAT DO THEY WANT MOST? WHAT DO THEY ACTUALLY NEED?
Thomas wants, more than anything, to fulfill his duty to his city, his unit, and his fellow survivors and protect them all as best he can. What does he really need? To find his confidence, learn to forge his own path, and make his own choices about what he’ll devote his life to.

IF YOUR CHARACTER COULD HAVE ANY SUPERNATURAL ABILITY, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
To heal people – to mend their wounds and cure their illnesses, to ease their pain, to keep them from dying and leaving him alone.

HOW HAS THE PLAGUE AFFECTED THEM? WHY ARE THEY ABOARD THE LEGEND'S FORGERY?
Thomas’s life has been defined by the plague. Though he didn’t know it at the time, his mother was one of the first cases of the illness in the city of Gleifast – he was right there by her side the whole time, caring for her as her health waned and her mental state deteriorated. When she finally wasted away and the tavern they had worked at was condemned, he enlisted in the army, lacking anywhere else to go. Not long after his training was finished, the plague had become a crisis that threatened to wipe out civilization, and he stayed in the barracks as one by one, his fellow soldiers displayed the tell-tale symptoms and were escorted away. A few months later, he was alone, remaining in the barracks in accordance with the last orders he had received. A few days before the Legend’s Forgery departed, he was called to the office of Captain Archibald, now wasted away to nearly nothing. Between bites of stale bread, the Captain informed him, in a moment of lucidity, that he was now the acting commander of the Gleifast Army, on account of his being the only one that was neither dead nor dying. He was to serve as military authority and escort of the last ship to depart from Gleifast Harbor, carrying the few survivors of the city to a promised safe haven – and so, for the first time in his life, Thomas found himself in a position of terrifying importance.

HOW WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE THIS CHARACTER CHANGE AND DEVELOP?
I’d like to see him gain a bit of confidence, of course, but more than that I’d like to see him embrace the softer sides of his personality – his empathy, his kindness, his determination to protect those closest to him. In addition, I’d like to see him find a new sense of purpose, beyond the tasks that have been given him.

PITCH A SMALL SUBPLOT THAT WOULD BE PERSONALLY MEANINGFUL TO YOUR CHARACTER.
Word arrives that survivors of the shipwreck have been captured by natives and are being held as slaves – Thomas, feeling that it is still his duty to protect the people of the Legend’s Forgery, resolves to rescue them by any means necessary.

WHAT IS YOUR CHARACTER'S NAME? WHAT DO THEY PREFER TO BE CALLED?
Elliot Allard The Last

HOW ARE THEY BEST RECOGNIZED IN A CROWD?
Elliot is best recognized by the birthmark that covers the right half of his face. After that his piercing blue eyes. He has a fairly normal build for his age and as a result if he had no birthmark would blend in with a crowd rather than stand out.

WHAT IS A STRANGER'S FIRST IMPRESSION UPON MEETING THEM? HOW DOES YOUR CHARACTER SEE THEMSELVES?
Elliot is a bit off-putting. Not because he is rude, but because of his birthmark and how little he speaks. He often watches strangers carefully picking apart their actions and speech which alone can be disturbing. Although he is a bit odd to start, he is not unpleasant and even quite polite.

Elliot views himself as a patient man that knows the value of acting at the right time. He knows fully well his birthmark is a serious detractor to his initial impression, so he learned to be patient with people and wait to see if his disfiguration is enough to cause serious problems or if his polite demeanor is enough to change their mind. He knows fully well some people are not genuine and has learned to pay attention to tells and speech to see if they are genuine or false. He values the power of listening and feels that anyone that speaks too much has truly little to say.

WHERE DID THEY GROW UP? WHERE DO THEY FEEL AT HOME?
Elliot grew up in a large city called Rom. The city was built around a silver mine and eventually grew into textiles. He grew up in the keep of the city as the nephew of the lord mayor of the city. Being fortunate enough to learn how to read, Elliot spent most of his time in the city library as the smell of parchment was most comforting for him.

WHO ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT PEOPLE IN THEIR LIVES?
Uncle Thomas Allard has acted as Elliot’s guardian and educator for as long as he can remember. His uncle taught him to read and write, and he encouraged him to figure out for himself his own path. This freedom built up Elliot’s respect for his uncle so much that any time he had a question he came to his Uncle for advice under most circumstances. Whenever he could, his uncle made time to help Elliot out. Even so, any time that Elliot had questions about his errant father Uncle Thomas grew evasive and never gave a clear answer which often put a strain on their otherwise close relationship.

WHAT IS THEIR PROFESSION, SKILL OR LIFESTYLE? WHAT DO THEY THINK THEIR STRENGTHS ARE? WHAT ARE THEIR ACTUAL STRENGTHS?
Ask Elliot directly and he would say his desired profession is historian, and he has been acting as an apprentice for three years. He has a love for learning the story of the world and uncovering each mystery has an magical charm. He has a love for finding the truth behind the rumors and discovering what really happened and how. No piece of history is too small for him as he feels each part has its role to play in the whole.

Elliot’s true strength is in his investigative skills and particularly in his observation. In order to find out the truth behind the rumors he had to develop the skill to detect the lies and inconsistencies. He unintentionally has ruined a couple plots of varying degrees as a result of such behaviors in humanity. Some as small as a simple lighthearted prank to more mean spirited acts. Fortunately, he has been wise enough to know how to act according to each situation.

WHAT ARE THEIR FEARS, FLAWS AND SECRETS?
Elliot does not quite understand it, but he has a fear of meeting his real father. Uncle Thomas practically raised him as his mother was often ill and incapable to caring for him. He knows very little about his father and any questions raised brings about a very negative reaction along with an evasive response. He is afraid his father is a criminal or something and that if he should meet the man there would be only danger. The only thing he knows is his father left on an expedition ship never to be seen again, and he left very much against the wishes of his family.

Elliot’s greatest flaw is that he has a hard time trusting anything without hard evidence, and he does not trust his instincts if they hint at something being true without that proof. By extension words mean little to him without the action to back them up. He understands how easy it is for humanity to lie and trust is very difficult for him unless proven otherwise.

His next flaw is that he is slow to act. Often times he is the last to act. As a result he earned the title “the Last” by his peers as a mockery of his patience and apparent lethargy. He accepted it on with pride as he feels in many cases acting with patience and taking time to make a decision often delivers the correct or best results.

Elliot’s one and only secret is that as a result of an investigation preventing a cruel prank the prankster took great offense. The prankster cornered Elliot privately and assaulted him. Elliot defended himself vigorously and in the struggle the fight ended suddenly as Elliot accidentally broke his opponent’s neck. He ran away in a panic and later the body was found. Lucky enough there were no witnesses to his act of manslaughter, but the act itself weighs heavily on him to this day.

WHAT DO THEY WANT MOST? WHAT DO THEY ACTUALLY NEED?
Elliot would love to document and entire history of the world. Its origins. The rise and fall of civilization. Along with all the mysteries in between.

What he needs is to forgive himself for the life he took and move forward with his life.

IF YOUR CHARACTER COULD HAVE ANY SUPERNATURAL ABILITY, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
If Elliot were to have a supernatural ability he would want to have the ability to perceive and understand the history and events that have happened at any location, or around an item.

HOW HAS THE PLAGUE AFFECTED THEM? WHY ARE THEY ABOARD THE LEGEND'S FORGERY?
To Elliot the plague was worse than any war he had studied. Worse than any other epidemic in the history books. He lost every single person that mattered to him in life. His uncle. His mother. His cousins. The historian he apprenticed under. He documented every moment he could. He recorded the symptoms. He made every effort to try and find a pattern to the maddening disease, but to no avail. Every death reminded him of his own mistake which only sunk the knife of regret even further.

Eventually, it became clear he would need to escape the plague and find a new home. The entire population of Rom dwindled to merely a few hundred within months. The city simply died off. He took with him the recordings of all of the plague to act as a guardian of this disaster to protect its history as a reminder of just how vulnerable humanity is and left for the nearest port city, Gleifast. He was the last to leave Rom.

HOW WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE THIS CHARACTER CHANGE AND DEVELOP?
As I tend to develop a character intuitively and along the natural flow of the narrative I actually have no clue how I would like to see Elliot develop. I have the most fun watching a character surprise me as I work with them.

PITCH A SMALL SUBPLOT THAT WOULD BE PERSONALLY MEANINGFUL TO YOUR CHARACTER.
Elliot’s father is still alive and acting as a leader of the Artificers. He has started a new life there and is completely unprepared for the sudden appearance of his first son. Their first meeting will decide their future forever.

WHAT IS YOUR CHARACTER'S NAME? WHAT DO THEY PREFER TO BE CALLED?
Though "Ifor" was the name given to him at birth, he generally prefers to be called by his nickname..."Ifor".

HOW ARE THEY BEST RECOGNIZED IN A CROWD?
Shorter-than-average legs, longer-than-average arms, a heavily-set brow and wispy goatee the length of a cooking-ladle cast this particular 'man' as a rather strong break from the traditional mold. Yet despite his otherwise monstrous qualities, there's something serene about the stare that's eternally plastered to his tan visage; a collected and inquisitive tranquility neither unfazed by the glaring rays of the sun nor unshaken by the harsh bite of frost. Within a crowd, he may be one of the few fish looking upstream instead of down.

WHAT IS A STRANGER'S FIRST IMPRESSION UPON MEETING THEM? HOW DOES YOUR CHARACTER SEE THEMSELVES?
Ifor is a quiet fellow, rarely speaking - or making much noise at all for that matter. What activity he does make is done during life's softer moments: fiddling with an idle trinket here, observing a faint smudge there - dabbling where others would only see brief trivialities. His stare would seem to encompass the experiences of a lifetime within a single second...or alternatively, might merely be seen as rude, or even unnerving. It's in part due to the latter attitudes that his personal habit is to remain a part of the world rather than to act as its center - maintaining a distance from which he can safely relax, and observe the finer mundanities it has to offer.

WHERE DID THEY GROW UP? WHERE DO THEY FEEL AT HOME?
The past is a bit of an interesting dilemma for Ifor; on the one hand, he can recall the joys of feeling mud through his fingers, wheat-fields grazing his ankles as he hobbled past and the blissful delights of buttered sweetcorn. On the opposite end of the spectrum, however, he can't dispel the rancorous sound of coins clinking through uncaring hands - of the rotting stench of the dead and the searing heat of sun-baked irons upon exposed skin. For these reasons, he does and doesn't care to think much about times of yore, and feels most comfortable in places far away from those retched harbors of plague and misery. Coincidentally, the Legend's Forgery has traveled quite heavily throughout its days, and requires little more than a strong arm to help in running it.

WHO ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT PEOPLE IN THEIR LIVES?
Once, he might've thought his mother and father, siblings and neighbors to have taken the mantle as his guardians and friends; yet now he's not so sure, and so instead forgoes the usual attachments of guild and kin - seeking to do good turns to those that might do so for him. To Ifor's eye, respect is a privilege...not a birthright.

WHAT IS THEIR PROFESSION, SKILL OR LIFESTYLE? WHAT DO THEY THINK THEIR STRENGTHS ARE? WHAT ARE THEIR ACTUAL STRENGTHS?
Ifor is a veteran of the trickier or more taxing physical labors. He's harvested wheat and picked herbs, separated chaff and corpses alike - mined lime and dug pits as deep as barns. Most recently, he spent a good few months swabbing decks and maintaining rigging aboard one vessel, before becoming cast adrift by storm and doing the exact same thing aboard the next. Despite the relative mundanity of these conditions, however, the odd bird finds this type of work rather suiting; he'd get to go places in the ship few others would dare, to experience all the finer details others might miss...like the crack in a floorboard that leaks seaspray onto unwary passengers below, or the peculiar scenario of getting one's goatee stuck while retarring the hemp rigging. He believes his greatest attribute to be his ability to observe what others might miss...but in truth, it goes beyond that; for Ifor doesn't just examine everything he sees, but instead *catalogs each individual frame to an almost inhuman degree. This goes just as well for social interactions - for while a good deed is rarely forgotten, a grudge is never left overturned.

WHAT ARE THEIR FEARS, FLAWS AND SECRETS?
Curiously enough, Ifor has no fears - for every height is a new overwatch to explore, every abyss a depth yet untamed...every sound a host yet unseen. This leads into his biggest flaw, in which Curiosity Kills The Cat. Ifor's apparent lack of a survival instinct has earned him countless troubles in the past, and nearly ended his survival on more than one occasion. Because of this, he has learned to try and rely on the wisdom of past endeavors in order to successfully navigate the future...which leads into flaw #2: Stagnant Recall. Without trusted guidance to say otherwise, the man'll spend anything from minutes to hours contemplating the same questions, racking his brain as he proceeds to cycle through the whole of his human existence for the answers.

Speaking of trust, that's a principle Ifor has learned not to take lightly, and as such many of his worldly actions might be seen as secretive and recluse. Perhaps he stole some sweetcorn from his brother's yet unprepared birthday meal...perhaps all of the sweetcorn. Perhaps he clubbed a man over the head with a rock out of vengeance and then buried him in limestone - or maybe he even spits on those officers' goblets you admire so as to help r e a l l y bring out the polish in 'em. You'll never worry about these little things unless you ask him - which is, as far as he's concerned, just the way it should be.

WHAT DO THEY WANT MOST? WHAT DO THEY ACTUALLY NEED?
If you were to give Ifor a choice between the sun and the moon, his answer would be: "Both." If you were to then give him a choice between any gift of his choosing, it would end up: "All of them." In truth, Ifor isn't particularly picky because he lacks the imagination to be so; his world is only as visceral or as mundane as the one he sees before him...and its endless curiosities enthrall him to their discovery. Therefore, his entrenched desire to explore and catalog usurps all else, driving him ever-onward through heat and hail and even the presence of death itself in the pursuit of his quest to experience all that the universe has to offer him. If anything, he wishes to know everything...yet he believes himself lacking the time to do so - which of course, only intensifies his desire all the more. If anything, he needs a space separate from the laws of life and livelihood - where time and possibility can be expanded to the fullest...and where one need only think of something for it to be true.

Through some strange irony, he most requires the ability to Dream in order to satiate the maw of his desires - yet lacks the knowledge of such simplicity completely.

IF YOUR CHARACTER COULD HAVE ANY SUPERNATURAL ABILITY, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
To have dreams of that which is not or has yet to be, and to be able to acutely memorize them.

HOW HAS THE PLAGUE AFFECTED THEM? WHY ARE THEY ABOARD THE LEGEND'S FORGERY?
Because of the plague, Ifor was sold away for extra man-power; because of the plague, he experienced first-hand the trappings of slavery and the bliss of escape; because of the plague, he's known the loss of love, the loss of life and the loss of dignity - and from this he's grown robust and wise, and is not a book to be judged solely by cover. The Legend's Forgery is little more than a stepping-stone in that journey - yet where it will take him this time, none could ever truly say; perhaps to more sweetcorn?

HOW WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE THIS CHARACTER CHANGE AND DEVELOP?
Thinking it over, Ifor is an excessively disillusioned character - admiring or scorning the world for himself, by himself. He loves to observe the world around him, but seems to largely ignore those others living within it. With all that being said, I think it'd be interesting for him to learn to share his vision with others - to open their eyes to the subtle curiosities surrounding them as much as they do him. Gluttony never did anyone any favors.

PITCH A SMALL SUBPLOT THAT WOULD BE PERSONALLY MEANINGFUL TO YOUR CHARACTER.
There might come a day when he discovers a trinket no man has ever touched, which leads him to a place no man has ever entered. And from there, perhaps, might lie the answers to all his questions - of the untold sounds whispered in words unheard...of the unseen sights secluded from the violations of age and discovery.