[OOC] The Elder Scrolls: Fruits of Contention - Chapter 1 (Completed)

[ButtsnBalls]

I expect they'll turn on us in the future anyway, but I figured they could be of some help against the cogs right now.

Then again, Ashlanders, so, not to be trusted, I guess.

@Peik

Vote?

[MacabreFox]

I'm voting for the talking approach as well, just because there may be valuable information we can get out of them, and if things turn sour, I mean, we can kill them off.

I won't be volunteering Leif to be one of the spokespersons, simply because he is in no condition to do any speaking, because who wants to talk to anyone after having their ass zapped by evil Dwemer spiders?

[Dervish]

I feel it's worth noting it's worth a shot to subdue rather than kill them for intel reasons and to avoid the whole "I just merc'd an innocent" fiasco.

[Frizan]

Sagax would want to just talk, being the nice dude that he is. Also potential allies against the murdertrons are always worth putting in the effort.

[Dervish]

True story: the second last Elder Scrolls game The Shaft and I were running was totally going to end up featuring a dwemer centurion named Optimus Prime.

[Leidenschaft]

True story: the second last Elder Scrolls game The Shaft and I were running was totally going to end up featuring a dwemer centurion named Optimus Prime.

@Dervish

One day we'll do it. Maybe it'll be in this game.

[Dervish]

<Snipped quote by Dervish>

One day we'll do it. Maybe it'll be in this game.

@Leidenschaft

We best.

We'll still have to top Nigel Thorsberry the Ogre.

[Peik]

<Snipped quote by Peik>

Vote?

@gcold

I'm with Dervs, I guess. Subdue.

[Chrononaut]

I vote talking, on account of the fact they seem like the sort of people with experience in this exact sort of situation we've already been brutally mauled in.

Edit: Also maybe if they turn out to be hostile, Raelyn can join them and get some sick treasure.

[ButtsnBalls]

Remember guys, it's not what you want do, it's what your character want to do.

5 for talking and 3 for sneak attack. Waiting for @Scout and last minute swaps.

[Dervish]

Remember guys, it's not what you want do, it's what your character want to do.

5 for talking and 3 for sneak attack. Waiting for @Scout and last minute swaps.

@gcold

Of course.

DK is all about not murdiddlyurdlering people, but beating them up in the interest of the team is totally kosher. He assumes the whole area's hostile until proven otherwise.

[Mortarion]

Remember guys, it's not what you want do, it's what your character want to do.

5 for talking and 3 for sneak attack. Waiting for @Scout and last minute swaps.

@gcold

Tsleeixth would prefer to talk. They jsut came from a battle where two members of the group were gravely injured so he'd rather prefer that they didn't get into another fight so soon after the last.

[Graviloquence]

@Dervish @gcold Uh, well, after much deliberation and painstaking attention to detail (and perhaps an enormous overuse of it, too, sorry), I finally finished my CS. Terribly sorry for the wait, but hope things look halfway decent! Things may increase and decrease in quality due to how broken up the time I was able to work on this happened to be, and consequently I was in varying states of alertness and creativeness, so I apologize in advance for any incredibly noticeable disparities. Thank you so much for your patience with me. Also, I had a few questions about my own CS, so I hope you don't mind that I included them in parenthesis, haha.

Bharzak gra-Sharad

But seriously, I did finish. Here.

Bharzak gra-Sharad

Female Orsimer | 27 | The Apprentice

Basic Information

Birthplace: Larkegh Kraz, Dragontail Mountains

Appearance:

• Physique: Bharzak’s stature appears to have the most similarities with the typical ectomorphic body type, as she’s a bit on the short side for an orc, and definitely skinnier than the average one too. Her shoulders are relatively narrow and her body’s general shape is rather linear, with very little of either body fat or muscle on her frame. She’s built up enough of the latter to be lightly muscled enough able to swing around a one-handed axe, but her strength is less than average in terms of the typical individual. She also happens to have a very fast metabolism, making it very difficult for her to gain weight at all, unless she actually put effort into doing such a thing. Bharzak is not exactly unfit, but she’s not at the peak of her physical prowess either, as she far prefers scholarly pursuits to physical ones, but frequent travel and outings to find ingredients and supplies have kept her endurance up. Her constitution is rather weak, as she is slight of frame and relies on speed and distance for purposes of fighting, but her pain tolerance is much higher than average, likely as a byproduct of dealing with her very rowdy siblings. She is somewhat long-legged, adding a bit more height to her appearance than she actually has, and her features have an almost chiseled look to them, they’re so sharp yet smooth. Her face can be considered somewhat rectangular in shape, with her strong and defined jawline and slightly wide forehead. Her cheekbones are relatively prominent but not particularly high, and her rounded chin, while well-defined, softens the more angular parts of her face somewhat. She happens to look slightly older than she actually is, although this characteristic may be attributed to the stress of her early life and more recent events.
• Gait / Posture: She tends to move at a more or less average and somewhat relaxed pace, although when excited or in a hurry it becomes very uneven and erratic in nature. Her posture is decent enough, as growing up in the setting she did resulted in her being nagged and trained into sitting and standing with a ramrod straight back and even shoulders, giving her an almost militaristic air when she ‘stands at attention’. Nothing about the way she moves is particularly quirky or odd, although she does not actively try to be unassuming either to blend in with a crowd (in the way that a rogue or thief might). Bharzak’s stance gives off the impression that, while she’s not a particularly threatening figure, she can look out for herself, and that she’s almost always fully aware of her surroundings.
• Height: 6’1” (Alternatively 1.85 m)
• Hair: While it was once shaved close to her head in a practical if austere fashion, Bharzak has since allowed to grow out a bit over the years, and her coarse, coal black hair now reaches slightly past her shoulder blades in terms of length. It’s very thick and wiry in texture, and she has a good deal of it, which gives it a very voluminous and full appearance. She puts slightly more than a regular amount of effort into making it presentable when she can, and it’s usually very clean and pleasant-looking. On a day-to-day basis, she styles it in a large low bun, pinning her hair in place with a thin but sturdy blunted nine-inch wooden hairpin, with the larger tip wrapped in black leather in a modest attempt at decoration. However, she can also be found wearing it down on numerous occasions, but she does not frequently style it in any other fashion aside from those already mentioned.
• Eyes: Bharzak’s irises are a striking, intense crimson color at the center near the pupil, though it gradually darkens into a sort of bloodred around the edges. As is typical for orsimer, her sclera are a regular deep maroon color. They usually have a somewhat inquisitive and observant look to them, and are relatively unguarded, so it is not particularly difficult for one to tell how she feels about a situation or person at any given time.
• Skin: Her skin is an ashy yellow-green shade with undertones of tan, and it is ever so slightly tanned due to a childhood spent mostly outdoors. She does not sunburn easily at all, but she is prone to slight freckling when exposed to copious amounts of sunlight.
• Scars / Markings / Etc.: Bharzak has accumulated more than her fair share of scars both due to growing up in a stronghold and the large amounts of time she spends outside in the ‘wilds’ of Skyrim. In general, she has many small scratches and cicatrixes of varying newness and visibility, as relatively few of the blemishes on her skin are noticeable or striking enough to be worthy of note. However, she has a cluster of particularly visible and deep scars sweeping diagonally over her mouth and chin of varying lengths, width, and depths. She acquired these, as well as a few scars across the bridge of her nose, from a particularly disgruntled cave bear during her ‘escape’ from her former stronghold. During a childhood spent amongst very rambunctious and sometimes volatile siblings, she also bears scars from brawls with her relatives, her most visible one being a long and nearly faded horizontal scar located just below her collarbone. Another more recent and relatively acquired disfiguration would be a hypertrophic mass of scar tissue located on her right side, starting at roughly the middle of her waist and ending just above the hip and stretching about three inches in terms of width. She gained this marking when she accidentally stumbled into a necromancer’s lair during her travels, and although she kill them before they did her, they left her an unpleasant-looking ‘reminder’ to remember them by. In terms of piercings, her ears are double-pierced, although she wears nothing in them aside from rather plain steel studs. Bharzak has no tattoos, but she is relatively practiced at using warpaint, and frequently uses light blue paint made from blue mountain flowers for this purpose. The designs she utilizes vary depending on the time and energy she has at the time of putting warpaint on, but they’re all very traditional orcish patterns.
• Habits / Quirks: While she’s not the most talkative person by nature, if one finds the right subject, she often can get carried away when talking about an area of interest to her, and if she’s not aware of herself while speaking, will rarely let the unfortunate asker get a word in edgewise unless they outright interrupt her. Bharzak also has a habit of cracking her knuckles or neck when feeling stiff, bored, or tired, which, depending on the individual, can be more annoying or less than her tendency to ramble. She tends to speak very formally, and generally doesn’t curse for any reason at all, which can border on almost being uncomfortably scholastic and almost pretentious at times—although she never means it to sound that way.

Personality:

The first impression Bharzak generally leaves people with is that she is a somewhat reserved and highly independent individual, as well as being confusingly traditionalistic in spite of her unconventional skill set and interests. She is by no means an outgoing or extroverted person, instead preferring to keep her thoughts to herself unless explicitly asked to share them. She will usually respond to respectful attempts to instigate conversations initiated by another party, but depending on her mood and the subject may or may not make an effort to keep it going, as she’s not really one for engaging in idle chatting. However, Bharzak is by no means a creature of habit, and is very open to new experiences and traveling to unfamiliar places—she left the need for a comfort zone behind her long ago. She is a very open-minded individual, at least, when dealing with those with differing ideologies and heritages than her own, and is accepting of pretty much anything when it comes to others’ beliefs, and unless it seems harmful to others or something of that nature, she will be both respectful of it and be interested in learning more about an individual’s faith or customs. Being a very inquisitive individual with a drive to learn and experience whatever life has to offer, she often tries to seek out individuals or places that she could learn from in some form. Bharzak deals with situational changes well enough, although she is prone to falling into routines and may not be particularly pleased with having to alter hers in any major ways after she’s had time to get used to them.

She is not overly confident in herself and her own abilities, but she’s hardly insecure either; she can be a bit hard on herself and tends to underestimate her own abilities, but she isn’t particularly concerned with whatever opinions most other people have of her. She is far from vain, and also is not one to view herself as ‘above’ anyone else in any way, despite her extensive knowledge in some fields—scholastic snobbery is a trait she managed to avoid acquiring. In terms of intelligence, Bharzak is a very bright and creative individual, though her experience with how the ‘real world’ works is seriously lacking, and while she isn’t completely devoid of common sense, she doesn’t always put it to practical use when confronted with a dilemma. She tends to rely a bit too heavily on her ‘book smarts’ to get by. She is neither particularly observant nor ignorant of her surroundings or the actions and feelings of those around her, but may choose to appear more unaware than she actually is out of embarrassment, uncertainty, or unfamiliarity with how to deal with a certain situation. But, should she get an idea to take a particular course of action and decide to go through with it, there’s almost no stopping her. She has a rather obstinate side to her when it comes to decision-making, and she’s not overly fond of compromise. However, she can be made to see reason in most cases, though she’ll acknowledge flaws in her plans very begrudgingly when called out on it. As far as a sense of humor goes, Bharzak’s is somewhat odd, as she doesn’t always pick up on sarcasm or amusing euphemisms, yet she appreciates dark humor or situational irony quite a bit. Crude jokes don’t bother her, per se, but she doesn’t see the appeal of them, either. She rarely ever cracks a joke herself, however, and if she does, it’s likely a sign she’s in a particularly good mood.

Bharzak is very slow to anger, and it takes quite a bit of effort for something or someone to effectively annoy her. She generally doesn’t tend to express her displeasure with a person or object in passing, as she’s not much of a complainer, although while she might not say anything, she may become even more terse and quiet than usual as she attempts to ignore what’s bothering her. However, if a bothersome distraction goes on long enough that she can’t stand it, she’ll do her best to make it stop, if such a thing is possible. If a person is causing said disturbance, if it reaches a level of awfulness that she cannot ignore or avoid, she will eventually confront them, although she’ll attempt to do this as politely and impartially as possible, not wanting to assume any actions on their part were intentional (Unless it’s incredibly obvious that they were). Should she end up in an argument with someone over something of significant importance to her, she’ll attempt to keep things civil and use logic and reason to support her view of things rather than blind, raw feelings, and can generally keep her part void of the latter unless she gets particularly enraged.

And should she reach her boiling point during such an interaction, the person she becomes afterwards is rather disagreeable and threatening. She turns into a seething, passive-aggressive fiend, who, while not being outwardly unpleasant or violent, can be particularly cruel through inaction and pettiness. If someone causes her to reach this point and then tries to interact with her, she will be very chilly and impersonal towards them, and, depending on just how furious she is, might even give them misinformation or make scathing remarks about some aspect of their character. However, Bharzak would never actually respond with violence towards a regular person, no matter how heated or personal a dispute became between them. She finds that shows a lack of self-restraint, and she very rarely ever loses her composure, even in times of extreme stress. She is not above being petty, if she feels someone offended her enough, but she is not entirely unreasonable, either. If given a heartfelt apology, she will usually let quite a good many things slide, especially if she feels that their disagreement was foolish or heavily influenced by destructive feelings or outside influences. But, while she is willing to forgive people if they express their regret sincerely enough, she won’t forget about what transpired between them. If she happens to be in the wrong, however, she is usually quick to admit to it, and will apologize if she thinks she said or acted in a way that might’ve been hurtful to another party. She is more than willing to admit an overreaction on her part if she’s aware of it, and will do just about anything to make amends for any offense she caused.

Having dealt with grief several times over the course of her life, Bharzak is practiced in dealing with unpleasant feelings and emotions, and generally is able to keep her expression of said feelings from becoming destructive in any way. While she will initially express feelings of sorrow when something particularly traumatizing such as a death of a loved one transpires, she will do so in healthy ways, and will generally endeavor to do so in private as well. Deaths generally bother her more if the person in question did not die naturally or ‘honorably’, and she will generally spend less time being upset over someone dying a ‘good death’ and will move to a respectful acceptance of the fact somewhat quickly. However, during such a time, she will be more withdrawn and pensive than usual, and far less aware of her immediate surroundings, and may end up being more tired or prone to getting sick than usual during the temporary decrease of her self-awareness. She never goes out of her way to try and share her problems or suffering with anyone else, either for comfort or commiseration, as she prefers to deal with emotional anguish on her own—she’s used to it, for one, and also sees allowing oneself to be vulnerable in front of others without very good cause to be highly humiliating and pathetic. Something truly horrible would have to happen to her or someone she cared about for her to ever fully break down in front of another human being. Bharzak is generally able to move on from a personal tragedy in a very reasonable amount of time, and, while, from time to time, she may be reminded of it, she’s not the type to relapse back into grieving, as she takes a healthy amount of time to come to terms with misfortune when it first hits.

As far as moral alignments go, Bharzak’s code of ethics and morality would most closely match with “True Neutral”. While she sees the need for rules and regulations, she is not blind to the fact that some put into place were not made with those required to follow them in mind, and that people in power are not always worthy of respect. However, she does not see herself as one to judge the moral worth of a person, and therefore takes a near completely neutral position, more out of a philosophical preference, as she acknowledges that good and evil can be very subjective, and that a world of one cannot exist without at least a bit of the other, and it's not her place to try and influence it in the favor of either extreme. Therefore she generally doesn't care what a person does unless it negatively affects her, someone she cares about, or an ally, and may be more likely to completely ignore a thief or make a conscious effort to avoid wandering near a bandit camp not out of fear, but because she has no grudge against them. As for herself, Bharzak attempts to uphold the Code of Malacath the best she's able, despite having deserted stronghold life: she has never committed theft or murder (and it almost goes without saying she'd never willingly or knowingly commit a crime for anyone or for any purpose), nor does she actively instigate conflicts with intelligent entities - and she's not afraid to settle matters with someone who has wronged her person-to-person. While she no longer observes the traditions and rules of her former stronghold, she sees no problem to adhering to the other parts of her former way of life.

Bharzak is neither ‘easy’ nor ‘difficult’ to befriend; she is not the kind of individual to be particularly open with someone unless she’s known them for quite some time and enjoys their company, though it helps if they share a common interest with her, or at least enjoy intelligent discussion or learning about new things. And, as she’s not overly chatty to begin with, getting to know her can be somewhat of a challenge, unless one catches her at a good time or asks the right questions—though it helps considerably if they’ve earned her trust. Once one has gotten into her good graces, however, she makes for a very reliable and generous friend. She is an incredibly loyal person, and once her confidence has been placed in someone, it’s near impossible for her to lose faith in them and their integrity—in fact, for those she values and considers close to her, she’d defend their honor to her dying breath. Also, should her friends and loved ones ever be in need of anything, if it is in her power to give them the item in question legally, she will do her utmost to see that they receive it. She is a relatively good listener, too, although she’s not much of an advice giver, as her solutions to friends’ problems are either offers to back them up in a fight or telling them not to let a problem get to them, that they’re above even giving the issue any further thought (Which usually isn’t too helpful). That’s not to say she doesn’t care about their problems—really, she does, she’s just bad at advice-giving, but will gladly offer to just sit, listen, and offer words of encouragement if it’s requested of her. Bharzak is willing to go to just about any amount of trouble to help a friend in need, and tends to prioritize their needs above her own, when she can. However, her loyalty can become blind very easily, as she is not practiced in telling the sincerity of another person’s feelings or actions towards her, and could very easily end up staying with someone who is just using her to further their own interests or simply doesn’t care in the slightest about her, but wants to keep up appearances. That aside, however, one couldn’t ask for a more steadfast and honorable ally.

Background:

Childhood
^Theme

Bharzak was born into a stronghold of relatively middling power and size within the Dragontail Mountains—Larkegh Kraz. As the second youngest of five children of Malkm gro-Karash, and being a female, there was no shining future set out for her in the stronghold, but there was a plan made for her nonetheless by the Code of Malacath. From almost the day she was born, she was made to know the code in its entirety, and not just to know it, but live it. Her place in society was made known to her immediately, and there was no question about her doing as she was told to in order to fit such a societal mold. At first, this didn’t bother or affect her much at all, as, being a young child, all that she really comprehended was that she was being taught to fight and hunt like her siblings had been, and that if she worked hard, she could be just as strong and talented as they were, if not more so. She certainly did put a lot of effort into trying to excel in what she was taught by both her mother, step-mothers, and siblings, and it showed, initially. She made just as much progress in learning how to fight as her siblings had at her age, and showed some promise with a war axe as well. Her father showed just as much interest in her progress as he did her other siblings, and even led some of her training sessions himself, as he was a very skilled warrior with many wisdoms and stratagems to pass on to future generations. During this unfortunately brief span of her life, Bharzak felt both accepted and supported by her blood family, and put her all into trying to become what was expected of her.

One thing that would soon set her apart from the rest of her family, however, would be her slight frame and generally scrawny stature. Initially, it was believed that she’d have a growth spurt some time in her childhood and fill out into a sturdier form, but such a thing never occurred. She began to lag behind in areas where she was supposedly meant to excel. Her ability to shoot accurately and with any actual power was abysmal, and she was nowhere near strong enough to make a skilled smith. The only weaponry she was half decent with were war axes and daggers, anything else became as good as useless in her hands when she attempted to use it in a duel. It became evident to her father and the other older members of the clan that she was not likely to be as much of an asset to her clan as any of her other siblings would.

She was not unaware of the change in their thoughts about her, either. Bharzak noticed their general loss of interest in training with her, and eventually, her siblings’ picked up on it too. Most of them didn’t react to it positively. She had been branded as weak before she’d even been allowed to find her strengths, and weakness was an ugly thing, something to be pitied, shunned, or sneered at. Oftentimes, from her siblings, it was the latter two of those things. Saying she was picked on might be an understatement, as she often faced derisive commentary from the brothers and sisters she once looked up to, and even more frequently found herself getting rather beaten up during training or honor-driven ‘duels’ over derisive remarks siblings made concerning her usefulness, most of which did not resolve in her favor. The adults in the stronghold did nothing to stop this, and, in fact, seemed either fully unaware of the situation or didn’t care enough to pay attention to the fact Bharzak frequently looked a bit worse for wear. It seemed that her biological brother, Shural, happened to be the only one who looked out for her, seeming to pity her a good deal, and if he caught any of the others picking on her he often would take her side, making for quite the show of honorable leadership to any adult that might witness such an occurrence. Bharzak wasn’t sure if she grew to dislike him or the others more because of that, as having to be defended was more humiliating than being beaten in ‘fair’ fights, the way she saw it. While she is not proud of this, she began to lash out at Shural when he attempted to aid her, taking out her own self-hate and insecurities on him rather undeservedly. It’s very likely he knew this was the case, but he took the hint, and, though he never once raised a hand against her or sought to bring her harm, did eventually stop trying to protect her. Unsurprisingly, things didn’t improve in the slightest.

For seventeen years of her life, Bharzak bore the life she was told she had an obligation to lead. She did not complain, and she did not act out towards her superiors. Because of her silent obedience and acceptance of her current quality of life, she was very unhappy. And this discontent simmered within the very core of her being and only grew as time progressed, to the point where it became almost suffocating. She learned that the only person she could rely upon in life was herself, and began to question whether or not the Code was as flawless as it had been made out to be in her early childhood. It appeared that someone like her was not meant to ‘happen’ in her society, and as she grew older and closer to a marriageable age, she was not exactly comfortable with the idea of being married off to a complete stranger. She knew that there were other ways of life beyond the rigidity of that she led in the stronghold, as sometimes caravaners, traveling merchants, and mercenaries would drop by to offer wares or services, and though few were ever let past stronghold walls, she had managed to glean from their mannerisms and stories that life was very different for most other folks. And Bharzak began to want the freedom to choose her own path for herself. The main problem was finding the courage to voice her discontent and her desire to leave the stifling and silently oppressive family she belonged to. Once she might’ve considered going to Shural for advice on the matter, but she figured she’d lost his support, so instead she merely waited in indecision, deciding to bide her time until she found the strength to leave everything she knew behind her.

As it would turn out, life wouldn’t wait for her to do that. After some searching, her father found a suitable chieftan to marry her off to, one whose family was relatively better off than their own, never mind the fact that the man was twice her age and she was to be his third wife. When Bharzak had been unpleasantly surprised to hear this news, her father’s response to her would stick with her for the rest of her life: “It’s lucky that anyone was interested. Be glad for the opportunities you’ve been given.”

That would turn out to be the final straw.

It was thanks to that statement that Bharzak, for the first time in her life, finally acted on her feelings. In a cold, concise fury that stunned those present to hear it, she gave a piece of her mind to those she felt had wronged her, and was particularly harsh towards her siblings — though she did leave Shural out of her ranting entirely. Though she felt slightly guilty about losing her temper afterwards, it was a somewhat cathartic experience for her, getting to finally express exactly how she felt about her treatment by her family just because she didn’t live up to expectations that never should’ve been placed upon her in the first place. She finished with a surprisingly bold ultimatum, saying that she either expected to be treated with a bit more respect or she would leave, regardless of what promises her family had made on her behalf to her supposed ‘future husband’. It was only after she said this that she fully realized what she’d done, and, while, much to her surprise, Shural attempted to smooth things over, but Malkm was furious at her for such blatant disrespect towards her superiors. It almost goes without saying that she was promptly disowned, as she had clearly become more of a liability than she was worth to her kin, and was given three days to get ready to leave. She left before the first day was over, taking nothing but the minimum amount of supplies she figured she’d need to survive, all while being entirely unsure of what awaited her in the wild, vast world she’d not had the chance to see much of before now. While Bharzak couldn’t pretend that it didn’t hurt terribly to lose everything she’d ever known, and the people she still thought she cared about, despite being angry with them, deep down, she knew that her departure was for the best. There was nothing for her in Larkegh Kraz. She would just have to find a life for herself elsewhere.

Exile
^Theme

Living on her own would be much more difficult than Bharzak initially imagined. She had just started out merely wanting to leave her unsupportive former home, but hadn't really had a solid destination in mind. Having no map, no compass, or any other materials she could use by which to chart a course, she was forced to wander in the wilderness somewhat blindly, trying her best to follow what she assumed to be roads until she came across something resembling a settlement or even a signpost. Coming across any such indications ended up taking a while to occur, however, but she did run into several individuals during her travels, including bandits and two destruction mages in a heated battle with one another. Unfortunately, neither grouping of individuals was particularly helpful in answering her questions about her current location, as all attacked on sight with what Bharzak believed was for no discernible reason - except perhaps for the purpose of loot, in the bandit’s case. Her encounter with the mages would turn out to be somewhat useful to her in another way, however, as, once both the hedge witches had expired, she discovered an odd sort of book, one that the two might've been fighting over. It was a worn, orange-red tome with an odd symbol emblazoned across the front cover, one that most resembled a tree, the right half of its branches seeming full and healthy, and the left appearing entirely bare and dead. Intrigued, she picked it up and added it to her meager belongings, intending to study it in further detail later on, once she was in an area that would be relatively safe to stop in for a while.

However, she would not get such an opportunity for a while, and she forgot about taking a chance to look into the mysterious tome between exhaustion and dealing with hostile wildlife. At long last, she managed to come across a very clear dirt crossroads, illuminated by a lantern hanging down from a post and accompanied by several signs on another. Bharzak recognized the names of Windhelm and Solitude almost instantly as being those of Nordic holds, and figured she must've ended up in Skyrim. Now actually given the option to choose where she wanted to go, she decided to head towards Solitude, as she'd seen its location on a map once and it seemed like, thanks to its proximity to the sea, it likely saw all manners of different people, and she might have a better chance of figuring out what to do with her life there. There had to be something out there she was good at, and Solitude was as good a place as any to start her search for purpose. She started down the road with a new sense of direction, now feeling more eager than she did apprehensive. But she was not to Solitude quite yet, and little did she know that, despite how close she actually was, she would not see the city for several more months.

Later that evening, Bharzak had the misfortune of running into a threat much more serious than a few mangy, half-starved wolves or ill-equipped bandits. A cave bear had happened to wander into the marshlands of Hjaalmarch, and, being likely both very far from its natural habitat and hungry, it was almost upon the orc before she knew what was happening. She was quick to defend herself, but the bear had already managed to land a blow against her before she could react, and the following fight was exhausting and bloody. Both she and the bear were desperate and fierce fighters, and, for a frightening amount of time, were more or less evenly matched, blow for blow. Bharzak finally did manage to emerge victorious, but had acquired an unhealthy amount of wounds from her previous altercation—and, unbeknownst to her, the cave bear had been a carrier of Rockjoint. She knew something as pathetic as a mudcrab might become her undoing if she didn't come across civilization soon, but blood loss had slowed her down considerably, and soon her strength failed her, as her limbs grew oddly stiff and then refused to work for her altogether. In the middle of the unpleasant and bug-infested marshes of Hjaalmarch, she collapsed as the sun rose, unable to reach her desired destination.

Her life was far from over despite this, as, by sheer luck, she was discovered by an elderly alchemist and his daughter during a short expedition they’d taken to gather ingredients. In an act of selflessness and compassion, they abandoned their earlier plans and took her back to their home, saving her from a lonely and painful death. A few days later, Bharzak reawakened in a small but cosy wooden shack, her two rescuers waiting close by. It was in this way that she met Julien and Isaure Desrochers, the breton scholar and imperial swordswoman who would soon become the best and closest friends she'd ever made. She made her gratitude known to the two, and expressed that though she had very little coin of her own, she wished to repay them in some equal manner, if she could. It would turn out that she could, as Julien mentioned he planned on visiting an Ancient Nordic ruin by the name of Frostmere Crypt to study its structural design and decorations in a few days, and that he could use some extra help should the inhabitants of the ruin happen to be restless dead. But, until that day arrived, he was more than happy to allow Bharzak to stay in his house. As she continued to recover her strength, she did many menial chores in an attempt to be useful, and it was at this time she realized she could finally look into the book she'd discovered in depth. Even though her ability to read Cyrodilic was somewhat rudimentary at the time, she could tell she'd found a spell tome—and for some reason, its contents actually made sense to her. This particular tome held the Alteration spell, Candlelight, and, within less than an hour, she'd learned how to cast the brilliant, albeit small, glowing light without much difficulty. Julien had watched her rather unexpected magical capabilities with some interest, and asked if she had much experience with spellcasting. After telling him she hadn't, he replied that he would be glad to offer to try and teach her a few more spells to see what particular schools she had an aptitude for. She accepted, although she was still somewhat stunned at the realization that, all this time, she'd never once realized that she might have some luck with becoming a spellcaster.

Soon, she fell into a routine, as if she planned on spending more than a week or two with the Desrochers. She spent the mornings doing random chores or running short errands, and the afternoons sparring with Isaure, who'd been nothing short of elated to know their guest had a similar fighting style to her own, and evenings studying with Julien, either attempting to learn or successfully learning spells that he knew or had tomes for on hand. By the time the three set out for the crypt, there was really no question as to whether or not Bharzak would be leaving them anytime soon. She hadn't felt pressured or out of place once during her time amongst them, and they respected and valued her despite her obvious “oddities”. For this, she resolved to stay with them, if they would have her. And, as things would turn out, they would be happy to have her around.

Belonging
^Theme

Life in the marshes of Hjaalmarch turned out to be far more enjoyable for Bharzak than it might sound considering the location. While it was a dismal looking area of skyrim, to be sure, the years she spent there were some of the happiest of her life. She made massive improvements in her ability to read Cyrodilic, and, as her trips to Nordic ruins became more and more frequent, she came to learn enough about the Atmoran script to be able to translate some of the epithets and dedications in their tombs and temples. She gained experience with the latter of these two languages through the frequent excursions she took with Julien and Isaure to further supplement Julien’s extensive research on Ancient Nordic culture and art, which, while some might consider her constant accompaniment a chore, she always looked forward to these outings. And, with time and quite a bit of practice, she became a much quicker and more effective fighter, as did Isaure as they continued to practice with one another, their matches becoming progressively longer and more challenging for both parties involved. However, perhaps the most important and memorable part of her time spent with the Desrochers were the times she spent learning and practicing spellcasting with Julien, as she discovered she was practically a natural in the school of Alteration and showed some promise with alchemy and enchantment-casting. He seemed to enjoy having someone else who was interested in the arcane arts as much as he was around, as, while Isaure was willing to help him with his research projects, her interests lay elsewhere.

The relationship between Julien and Isaure confused Bharzak at first as she observed them, as they were very different people with different talents, yet they worked together very well and they seemed close and happy with one another despite this. She would later learn that this was how a healthy family unit functioned, one that did not adhere strictly to a code or religion before common human decency (and this applies even to strongholds, as hers was uncommonly unpleasant to her). And, with her addition to their family unit, nothing between the two changed—at least, not for a while yet—, which brought her great relief. As the years went by, she felt more and more a part of their family, with Isaure becoming almost a sister to her and Julien like a father, Bharzak came to call their small hut in the middle of a cold and unpleasantly humid swamp home. She did finally get to visit Solitude and on more than one occasion while living with them—as well as taking several trips to Dragon Bridge—, as their primary form of income came from the sales of the potions Julien and, eventually, Bharzak, made to local alchemists, healers, or people in need. Julien did eventually intend on presenting his ‘magnum opus’ to some academic guild or another, but always found his work lacking in some form or another, and continually put off trying to wrap up a tome on the subject matter he’d written on for a good twenty years of his life. While this frustrated his daughter and eventually even Bharzak to no end, they never gave him trouble over it, figuring that he’d get around to it eventually.

And he might have, if not for what transpired during her twenty-third summer. Before her death, Isaure’s mother (and Julien’s wife) had been a member of the Legion, albeit retired before her death, the young woman wished to join for the purpose of honoring her mother’s memory as tensions between the Empire and Skyrim grew in 4E 201. While initially Julien was very much opposed to this, he did not wish to give his daughter any reason to resent him, so he allowed her to enlist. At this time, Bharzak knew nothing about the tensions between provinces, and every mention of a faction in conversations between Isaure and Julien were news to her. Up until this point, the Empire, the Stormcloaks, and even the far-reaching Thalmor themselves had no impact upon her life whatsoever—and, once they did, they did not enhance it in any way that could be seen as favorable. She had no idea how complex Tamriel’s politics were, but even she got the feeling that taking a side in this Civil War was not a particularly wise course of action.

Bharzak could tell that Julien felt similarly, and, once Isaure had left to join the Legion, a tense, uncomfortable air settled over the now noticeably smaller household. The breton buried himself in work and research, and accomplished more over the following four months than he had in the past couple years concerning his studies of Ancient Nords. It was easy for the orsimer to tell that he was distracting himself from his fears about his child’s well-being, and attempted to help him do so in a healthy manner. She did this to distract herself, too, as she while she knew little about war, she had enough sense to know that there typically tended to be a high number of casualties before anything of importance was resolved by it. And while she clung to the hope that things would end in the Legion’s favor, solely on the basis that it meant a higher chance of Isaure surviving, even if the Empire did retain control of Skyrim, there was no guarantee that it meant she’d come home. So rather than allowing herself to ruminate on the subject, she dedicated herself to her studies, as well as taking on the duties and chores that once belonged to Isaure—although that tended to make her notice the lack of Isaure’s presence more.

She had no idea what she was in for when the young imperial’s absence was made permanent.

Dissolution
^Theme

On the fifth of Last Seed, a courier showed up at their residence with imperial condolences. Isaure had been killed in action during the Stormcloak attack on Falkreath Hold, which they'd successfully taken. This news took Bharzak completely by surprise, and, although she didn't think it was possible, she felt her old friend's absence magnify by a thousandfold. It was some small comfort to know that she had—hopefully—died honorably and in the service of a cause she’d believed in, but the orc was greatly saddened to know she would never see Isaure alive again. The adventures and memories they’d shared together felt like lifetimes ago, and she clung to them desperately during this time of grief, as they provided some small scrap of comfort to her. At least she had gotten the chance to know her at all.

The only thing that hurt worse than learning the sad fate that had befallen Isaure was having to inform Julien. Needless to say, it didn’t go over well. Having lost both his wife and daughter ‘before their natural time’, the old man’s disposition changed dramatically. He became listless and despondent, finding little interest or joy in the things he’d once loved, and, while he still treated Bharzak as well as he had previously, he grew increasingly bitter about life, and sometimes wouldn’t even allow her to go off on her own to visit the holds to sell their creations or even do certain chores that took her far from the house. She did her best to adhere to his overprotective whims, even if it did make money and provisions a bit tighter than she would have liked them to be, and for a while, they managed well enough, although it was a depressing existence they led for the following few years. While Bharzak was able to move on from the tragedy that had befallen the household, Julien never did. He allowed his depression to consume him, and it did so in a mockingly slow and gradual manner, starting by killing his interest in things that had once been everything to him, and then attacking his desire to even do the most menial tasks.

During this time, Bharzak learned no more about magic or Atmoran history from Julien, and had to do the work of three to support her old friend. She didn’t mind doing it, but the time she spent in the now dismal hut started to take its toll on her, feeling stifled and dark where it once felt cheerful and cosy. It was almost impossible not to fall into the same sort of disheartenment he displayed, but by keeping herself as busy as possible and continuing to attempt to get Julien to show some of his old fascination with his former interests. The latter of the two aforementioned things was generally very unsuccessful, but Bharzak had never been one to give up, especially considering the things he’d done for her before this time. She was not about to abandon the aged breton in his time of need, but it was painful how powerless she was to help him snap out of his melancholy, and she felt as if she could do naught but watch him grow more and more distant with each passing day. Eventually, the day came that he left the waking world entirely, after which he was given a decent burial by his former house. And Bharzak was alone, once again.

She tried to tend to the house alone. She really did. She lasted about three days before the silence drove her out. As had happened with Larkegh Kraz, the small alchemist’s shack was no longer her home. There were no friendly, familiar faces to stay for. She would move, and find somewhere else to be useful. Now that she had an idea of what she was capable of, and knew the general layout of Skyrim’s wilderness, the thought of traveling alone scared her no longer. But, no matter how far she wandered, she would never forget the people she’d considered her family, and the gifts they’d given her—a place to belong, and a sense of self-worth, among many other things. Even though she never once returned to the wilds of Hjaalmarch after this, it still remains an important—and bright—piece of her past.

Exploration
^Theme

For the past several months prior to present day, Bharzak has wandered, looking for work and, underlying her need for a reliable source of income, a purpose. She has managed to scrape together enough money for a decent on-the-road living by taking on bounties to find and deal with dangerous groups of bandits or particularly problematic thieves, but from time to time, the amount of jobs available to her of this nature can be rather scarce, which has led to her searching for a more stable occupation that wouldn’t require to settle down anywhere. Seeing as Skyrim’s political situation has grown more and more unstable, the orsimer came to the conclusion that she didn’t want to stay in any one place long enough to witness something horrible happen to its residents, and that, until the province’s political state settled down, she wouldn’t either. In her time as a wanderer, she hasn’t accomplished anything particularly worthy of note, although she’s done her fair share of ‘cleaning up’ pesky highwaymen and amoral budding necromancers that might have given passing caravans and merchants trouble. (I’d like to finish off her history by sending her somewhere she’ll be relevant/easily incorporated into something, but I’m not sure how to do so. Sorry for leaving this 1/99th incomplete, haha.)

Capabilities

Skills:

• Expert Alteration
• Adept Alchemy
• Adept One-Handed Axe
• Adept Enchanting
• Apprentice Unarmored
• Apprentice Atmoran Language/Script
• Novice Speech

Weaknesses:

• Inexperienced: It’s not too much of a stretch to say that Bharzak was ‘sheltered’ for so much of her life that her ability to develop ‘street smarts’ of any kind have been seriously inhibited. She tends to make decisions to trust people or their word off the assumption that they all follow something even remotely resembling a code of honor, and could very easily be taken advantage of by someone crafty and convincing enough. Furthermore, she has never experienced shakedowns or other similar scams before in her life, and won't necessarily realize something is awry. She also doesn't know too much about current events, aside from the biased conversations she's overheard and the general unpleasantness that Skyrim’s Civil War had caused her ‘family’, which can be particularly dangerous should she ask the wrong person a question worded in a way they might find offensive.
• Lightweight: Having never particularly enjoyed alcoholic beverages to begin with, Bharzak has not built up much of an alcohol tolerance whatsoever, and at her size, her ability to drink and not get drunk is rather abysmal. This tends to make traditional Nordic “bonding” difficult for her, not to mention it severely inconveniences her the day after an attempt to drink-even if she had something as tame as a few pints of ale, she'll be feeling every ounce of it the next morning.
• Weak Immune System: One of her most detrimental physical weaknesses is her susceptibility to contracting sickness from her surroundings or another being. The chance of Bharzak catching something during a fight or even just traveling in unfavorable conditions is considerably higher than that of the average person. This can range from being a minor annoyance to a life-threatening issue, although so far she's managed to avoid serious harm.
• Stubbornly Independent: While this may not sound like a particularly terrible trait to have, Bharzak tends to take self-reliancy to a whole new extreme. She does not like accepting any form of aid from others if she can help it, to the point where she could inadvertently cause harm to others and herself through her obstinacy. Her unwillingness to depend on someone for anything is a flaw she has yet to overcome, and may stem from her forced self-reliancy as a child.
• Very Conspicuous: It's not often one comes across an orcish mage, not to mention the fact that Bharzak sports some memorable scarring on her face. This, along with the fact that she couldn't be stealthy unless her very life depended on it and her issues with committing any sort of subterfuge herself, make her a very undesirable candidate for any sort of missions requiring such skillsets and anonymity.
• Self-Image Issues: Thanks to her upbringing, Bharzak still has not fully accepted herself in terms of what she is and isn’t capable of, and still feels some shame over not being a more ‘conventional’ person. While living with Julien and Isaure for a time helped her considerably, their deaths caused her progress to regress a bit. She’s still somewhat insecure about her strengths and weaknesses class-wise, and may or may not still feel massive guilt over taking control of her own life and abandoning tradition in favor of trying to find happiness.

Spells:

Alteration

• Magelight
• Equilibrium
• Candlelight
• Detect Dead
• Ironflesh
• Telekinesis

Combat Style: Bharzak’s fighting style is a bizarre mix of traditional and somewhat unorthodox methods, although it is most similar to that of a spellsword’s. While she would never stoop to using cheap tactics to win a fight against a tough opponent, the ways she utilizes alteration magic and her surroundings can be very creative, if not bordering on ‘cheating’ as far as the traditional guidelines of a fair fight are concerned—she has used telekinesis to ensure she landed a physical blow with her axe on more than one occasion, executing moves that would’ve been impossible without her particular skillset, although use of this particular spell in battle can exhaust her very quickly. She typically utilizes Ironflesh before throwing herself into the thick of the fight, relying on speed, endurance, and the duration of her spellcasting to keep her from getting severely injured. There is an almost restrained brutality about the way she fights, reminiscent of the tactics she learned as a child but somewhat softened and refined by training outside of it, as well as her own personal limitations.

Relations and Affiliations:

• Family:
  
  • Malkm gro-Kharash: Father, living
  • Sharad gra-Urzag: Mother, living
  • Amaz gra-Tharm: Malkm’s second wife, living
  • Glarob gra-Urzoth: Malkm’s third wife, living
  • Belbat gra-Azlakh: Paternal grandmother, presumed living
  • Shural gro-Malkm: Eldest brother, half-sibling, living
  • Durhzmul gro-Malkm: Second Eldest brother, living
  • Durga gra-Amaz: Younger sister, half-sibling, living

• Friends and Acquaintances:
  
  • Khazor gro-Ular: Intended husband via arranged marriage, status unknown
  • Julien Desrochers: Mentor and father-figure, deceased (Cause(s): Old age, possibly grief)
  • Isaure Desrochers: Julien’s daughter and close friend of Bharzak’s, deceased (Cause(s): Died in the Civil War, sided with Imperials and was killed in action)

Opinions of Group Members: Bharzak hasn’t met anyone yet!

Other Capabilities:

• In some of her particular areas of expertise, being able to sketch something accurately is almost integral, and Bharzak has, through practice and some natural talent, become quite a skilled artist. She can easily draw accurate and detailed pictures of flora and fauna she's seen before, or just about anything if a reference is present. She does attempt to sketch people from time to time, but she is far less adept at creating portraits than she is practical botanical and archaeological references.
• Although she has never taken courses on the matter, Bharzak greatly enjoys listening to and participating in philosophical debates, as she feels she can learn more both about others and herself through thorough examination of one's values and beliefs about the world, those around them, and themselves. Her points may lack a verbose or refined quality to them, but the heart of a tough and legitimate topic to debate is usually present.

Inventory

Categories

Cash: 246 septims (200 came from her inheritance from Julien, keeps it separate from the other 46)

Keys and Lockpicks:

• Key to Julien’s Cabin (bequeathed to her via his will)

Tools and Crafting Materials: None

Clothing and Armor:

• Clothing: Bharzak’s typical choice of clothing consists of a set of lived-in brown linen robes, the seams of the clothes rather visible and almost crude in the nature of the typical Nordic fashion. The edges of the shoulders and sewn-together wraparound front of the garment are accentuated by simple embroidery in cream-colored thread, the pattern stitched into it looking most similar to two intertwined stylized vines. She wears a plaited, fawn colored linen belt at her waist, and off of it hang two small bags, one being a simple leather alchemist’s satchel with a simplistic nordic design tooled into the front of its flap, and the other being a plain, colorless canvas bag with its drawstrings tied firmly around the tasseled sash. In terms of footwear, Bharzak owns a pair of thick, calf length, chocolate-colored boiled leather boots with steel toes. And, due to Skyrim’s generally inhospitably chilly climate, she also has in her possession a hooded shawl made from a linen and wool blend that happens to be of the same color as her robes, which she keeps pinned up on one shoulder with a circular corundum brooch with a one and a half inch diameter. Should her robes be ruined or unwearable for any reason, she also has a couple sets of plain, monochromatic earth-toned shirts and trousers of low to middling quality in make.
  

• Armor: None at present. (I may add a gardbrace to her ensemble, if that seems reasonable? I know that mismatched armor parts aren’t 100% accurate to lore but it would work with the current getup she has now. And considering her general lack of strength it’s doubtful a full set of armor would be practical for her.)
  

Weapon and Ammunition:

• Orcish axe with a soul trap enchantment (currently ⅖ charged)

Potion and Arcane Supplies:

• Two Potions of Healing
• Three Potions of Minor Healing
• Three Potions of Magicka
• One Potion of Cure Disease
• Five Lesser Soul Gems (Two filled, three empty)
• One Common Soul Gem (Empty)

Jewelry, Valuables and Personal Belongings:

• An onyx and silver circlet, unenchanted (gift from Isaure)

Books and Documents:

• Catalogue of Weapon Enchantments (Somewhat incomplete, secondhand copy)
• Herbalist’s Guide to Skyrim
• Father of the Niben
• A Study of Atmoran Architecture and Reliefs (Unfinished and currently unpublished volume written by Julien)
• A personal journal stuffed with loose papers, all bound together by a thick leather cord

Food, Drinks and Ingredients:

• Slightly more than a dozen strips of salted venison jerky wrapped in parchment to aid in its preservation.
• Three apples, two green, one red.
• Two loaves of sourdough bread.
• Two waterskins filled with water, purified.
• Some salt, frost mirriam, and garlic cloves for seasoning purposes.

Load Bearing Equipment:

• One canvas and leather satchel with modified leather strap on the exterior to contain a rolled-up bedroll
• Canvas pouch on belt for holding soul gems
• Small leather alchemist’s satchel sewed into belt for alchemical ingredients (or small samples of them)

Other:

• Sheepskin bedroll
• Knitted Blanket (kept bundled inside bedroll for travel, dyed a warm pumpkin color)
• Four pieces of charcoal
• Several decently sized sheets of blank white parchment, folded into four sections to save space and somewhat wrinkled.
• An enchanting kit

[Dervish]

I haven't had a chance to read the whole thing yet (I got to the beginning of the history), so far so good and absurdly detailed to the point of over-analysis... you wrote a lot of stuff I wouldn't have considered unless it came up in context!

She seems like a wonderfully fleshed out and lived in personality with a number of believable flaws, insecurities, and quirks, and I look forward to reading the substantial backstory to come.

[Hellis]

Look at me. I am roleplayer now

[Peik]

By the way, I forgot to mention, I have stable internet access now. Cheers.

[MacabreFox]

Welcome back to the land of the living @Peik!

[POOHEAD189]

In a night or two, prepare to receive swift vengeance from the Hist!

[Chrononaut]

In a night or two, prepare to receive swift vengeance from the Hist!

@POOHEAD189

"Any century now, that tree will grow into your cobble pathway, then what will happen to foot traffic? Haha!"

[Leidenschaft]

Look at me. I am roleplayer now

@Hellis

I wish I was roleplayer