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Shu
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Charley
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Archazen
Quintus Gefjenssen
The Gold Coast Scarecrow
Age: 28
Gender: Male
Race: Nord
Origins: Gold Coast, Cyrodiil
Appearance
At 6 foot tall, Quintus looks more the part of a town guard or a sell-sword rather than a simple farmer. His towering physique and wide sloping bear-like shoulders are courtesy of his Nordic heritage and years spent toiling in his family’s farm. Yet, in spite of his intimidating size, Quintus bears a rather easy-going and unrefined disposition from a humble life of peasantry. Talking is less of a game to him and more of a tool, combining uncouth remarks and rude swears in a gruff, personable tone. He never quite stands upright, often looking as though he’s leaning on one side. His copper hair is uncombed, resulting in it becoming a wild, tangled mess interspersed with burs, straw and cat hairs. His warm blue eyes brim with a boisterous confidence, yet, are burdened with a strained grief. Throughout it all, his ever-present impish grin is framed by a thick bushy beard.
The fair northern skin of the Nords has been blemished by days spent out in Cyrodiil’s sweltering sun, where it has turned his complexion into a shade of boiled leather. His ham-sized hands are overgrown with clumps of calluses, popped blisters and faded scars that are a nostalgic reminder of more peaceful, honest days in the Gold Coast. Being thrust into the role of a small-time revolutionary hasn’t exactly been good for Quintus’s health either. An arrowhead can be found lodged deep within his left shoulder and his time hiding in the countryside from Imperial authorities without any methods to clean himself means he stinks of horker shit.
In terms of attire, Quintus is a firm believer of practicality and durability. He still wears the sodden, roughshod apparel of a farmer, albeit, with modifications made to suit his new lifestyle as an outlaw revolutionary. His work apron has been trimmed down for comfort, clasped with a wide belt, with a steel pauldron strapped over on his left shoulder for support. Thick fingerless gauntlets made of mammoth’s hide shroud his hands. His work boots and leather breeches are caked in dried mud and soil. Ctesphesius or Fair Rock can be usually seen occupying or lazing on his shoulders.
Personality
Contrary to his current reputation, Quintus is not a ‘crazed psychopathic radical’ but rather, is a humble, confident farmer who takes solace in simple pleasures. His intimidating stature and physicality belies a friendly and polite, albeit in his own coarse manner, personality who is willing to pass you a mug of mead and shoot the wind with you from dawn till dusk. Two decades of farm life and peasantry have mellowed out his Nordic sensibilities for anger and adventure, resulting in a lack of lofty ambitions. Now, with 5000 septims painting a target on his back, thanks to his own fool-hardy decisions, and his family farm burnt down to cinders, his ambitions have now included accidentally becoming a peasant revolutionary and joining Isobel’s group of rebels.
Under his friendly exterior, however, lies a bitter doubt that claws at him from the inside like a parasite. He harbors deep regret and grief for his role in galvanizing the short lived rebellion that led to the downfall of the Farmer’s Guild. However, he knows that as long as the shadow of the Empire stares down at them, his father’s vision of a pastoral life for him and the rest of his family cannot come to fruition. A constant battle is waged between his desires to seek retribution from the Empire and his (or his father’s?) wishes to live the simple life of a farmer.
When it comes to his perspective of Tamriel nobility and the merchant class. Quintus’s opinion on them can be summarised as, in his own words, ‘ a bunch of horker milk-drinking greedy sod-swallops who force us to eat their manure’. Thus, Quintus does not pay much attention to the court politics of the Empire or treat it with serious gravity. During casual interactions with them, he usually treats them with a heaping dose of passive hostility and laden sarcasm.
History
SPRING HARVEST
To understand Quintus, we first must begin with who the Gefjenssens are.
Firstly, the Gefjenssens, unlike the vast majority of Nordic families who are voraciously violent and head-strong, are known for being polite pacifists. This has earned them the enmity and respect of other Nordic families who are simultaneously in amazement at how a line has gone so long without producing a single warrior and disgust at their seeming weak-willingness to fight last, talk first. Secondly, It is a strict belief in the Gefjenssen family that adventure and all matters of wild escapades are nonsense. Gefjenssens were born on the farm, lived on the farm and died on the farm. Lastly, as a small mention, all Gefjenssens are habitually superstitious. For example, all family members were birthed on the First Seed, as an old family tradition to bless the harvest and ensure good future welfare of their family.
So, Quintus Gefjenssen nearly frightened his mom and dad when he was born at the bell’s end of First Seed, 3E420, nearly breaking their centuries old tradition. His father, Elbi, and mother, Sigund, were unsure of whether to take it as a sign of good or bad luck from Mara. The discussion was closed when Fair-Rock, the family’s century old heirloom chicken, was found closely guarding him by his crib. It was later discussed again when Quintus was discovered missing from his crib, only to be found chasing ravens in the wheat fields. And then another time when he wandered near a mudcrab nest. And when they had to stop him from trying to ride the back of a mammoth. Eventually, they finally decided that Quintus was a Gefjenssen and that his proclivities towards adventure would mellow out as he grew older.
Growing up, Quintus didn’t live a lavish life of luxury, learning firsthand to be grateful for what he had available. Being the second eldest amongst three children didn’t particularly allow Elbi or Sigund to pay attention equally to all of them. Whilst he was somewhat put-off by the fact that his parents didn’t dote on him in particular, this proved to be a boon as Quintus had a wealth of time to explore the wild fields of Whiterun by himself. His eldest brother, Gerold, encouraged him to follow his pursuits and live a life outside of the pastoral one Father was determined to set them on. Unfortunately, Elbi didn’t see eye to eye with his firstborn and nights of arguments escalated into Quintus waving goodbye to Gerold as he left for Winterhold College, never to be seen again.
With Gerold gone, Quintus began taking on more responsibilities at a young age alongside his second eldest brother, Verren. defending the chicken coop from wolves, spinning wool and flax into rope, making repairs to the barn, getting rid of mice infestations and accompanying his father to the market to sell their goods. Life settled into a restless monotony and Quintus was oddly enough content. The geopolitical events which shook Tamriel during this period such as the Oblivion Crisis were largely ignored by the Gefjenssens who continued to plow the fields and plant for the next harvest.
Disaster then struck one winter when Quintus turned the bold right age of 10. A nomadic giant colony had trampled all over the winter crops that Elbi had planted. By the time the local militia managed to fend them off, what was left was barely salvageable. The skyrocketing taxes enforced by the new Jarl of Whiterun wasn’t doing Elbi any favors and taking care of two children simultaneously was strenuous with the amount of gold they had. For the first time in the history of the Gefjenssens, Elbi took a gamble and sold his family’s long cherished farm in Whiterun. With the remaining savings, he bought the deed to a patch of arable land in Cyrodiil, in the region of the Gold Coast. Whilst Quintus was notably saddened to leave his childhood home, there was a spark of excitement in him as he looked outside the carriage towards new, foreign lands.
SUMMER HARVEST
Hot, sticky and insufferable. Those were the first 3 words that came to Quintus’s mind when he first arrived in the Gold Coast. Growing used to frigid winters and Nordic frankness had made him unprepared for Cyrodiil’s Nibenese who he encountered during their trip through the Jerall Mountains. They were like slippery eels to Quintus; unpredictable and alien in the charismatic disposition. Luckily, the Colovians in Sutch were more familiar and easy for the Nord farmer to interact with. Settling down in the Gold Coast was harder than the trip itself. Unpacking everything, building a new barn and re-ploughing the fields took the course of several months but by the time they harvested their first crop of millet and wheat, things were looking up for the Gefjenssens.
Determined not to let an incident such as what happened in Whiterun affect them again, Elbi reluctantly became a member of the nascent Farmer’s Guild, an budding organisation based in the west of Cyrodiil that was made up of former members of the Brewer’s and Vinter’s Guild and Colovian farmers who were eager to join the cause. The rebuilding of the guild arose from dissatisfaction within some parts of the guild that the regulations and rules brokered by the Guild Act of the Second Era was insufficient to the socio-economic needs of brewers and vineyard owners and that the current guilds only served to line the pockets of officials in the Empire. Elbi could care less about political ideology and was only concerned with the access to valuable trade deals and security that membership granted him. Quintus, however, found himself enamored with the ideals the Guild was espousing and soon found himself acquainted with Thessa, a young female Bosmer, who was part of a goat herding family and became quick friends, often debating with one another on the future of farmers in the Empire.
It was on his second trade trip to Skingrad that Quintus found Ctesephesius. His father was making repairs to the barn alongside Verren and encouraged Quintus to go along with Sigund, instead, believing it to be an opportunity for a mother and son bonding experience. Unfortunately for Quintus, Sigund used the trip to measure up her son’s “shoddy” alchemy skills. In the middle of another alchemy lesson, Quintus suddenly heard loud mewling outside in the tent that he and his mother had set up. Running out with a lamp, he discovered a small kitten shivering in the rain, a pool of dried blood around it, with its tail curled up around its almost skeletal body. Scooping it up gently in his arms, Quintus slowly nursed it back to healh over the next few days, feeding it milk from the sow they brought with them on their trip and curing the rot-infection that had plagued its right eye. It was only on the 7th day that they discovered a collar with a small-tag on it: “Ctesephesius.” When they returned back to the Gold Coast, Ctesephesius officially became a new part of the Gefjenssen family, much to the displeasure of Fair-Rock, who wrestled for territorial control with the feline for the next few years.
The next five years passed by in an instant. Quintus rose up the echelons of the Farmers Guild, eventually becoming a council representative which was a point of contention between him and his father. The Gefjenssen farmstead was thriving. Verren had parted with the family on more amiable terms than Gerold, attracted not by the lure of academic knowledge but of the high seas, becoming a fisherman. The friendship between Quintus and Thessa had blossomed into intimacy but things soured unexpectedly when Thessa’s father was severely injured at the hands of Imperial debt collectors. Thessa, in a fit of grief, revealed her plans to Quintus in private to kill them in kind and burn down the Count of Anvil’s house for attacking her father and asked for his assistance in brewing an undetectable poison for her.
Of course, like any good Gefjenssen, Quintus was horrified at the nature of her plans and quickly objected to it, believing that any altercation between her and the Imperial authorities would only result in severe tragedy and would not bring her the justice she desired. Thessa responded by throwing him out of her house. Quintus reported her to the guardsmen of Sutch, hoping that a few days in the dungeons would make her see the light again and that she would be unable to harm anyone.
However, he was unable to predict that he would play a role in Thessa’s death as the day of her execution was announced publicly, her crime being “sedition against the Empire”. Quintus watched as Thessa was forced onto her knees, for a moment, her eyes locking with his in the crowd, the surge of anger and fear in her bubbling away to resignation. The axe fell, the ravens crowed and the world, for a moment, in Quintus’s eyes seemed to fade in color.
Once every year, Quintus goes to her grave and drinks a glass of cider out of remembrance and grief for their friendship.
FALL HARVEST
Red Plague. That was what the healers told him. It was a benign plague amongst the young. However, with Elbi approaching the age of 80 and years of constant physical hard labor taking a toll on his body, it was a death sentence. Quintus felt that his ascendance to becoming the head of the Gefjenssen family was unearned, as if he had cheated himself of a victory. It was supposed to be ceremonial, a father granting his scion the right to lead his line. Quintus didn’t like unwelcome surprises and this would be one of the many portents that would fortell the doom of the Gefjenssen farm.
Tensions were beginning to rise between the Farmers Guild, now composed of several vital farms in the west of Cyrodiil, and the Empire, now under the direction of Thules the Gibbering. The Red Dawn had decimated Vvardenfell and its rich volcanic soils that supplied Cyrodill’s markets with untold amounts of fresh goods. Imperial decrees were legislated and issued out to every farmstead to increase production in order to ensure security in these new troubling times. It was only made worse with the arrival of refugees from Vvrdenfall in the ports of Anvil where most farmers, out of foolhardy altruism, decided to take them in.
At the same time, within the Farmers Guild, Quintus was receiving offers to become the head of the Senior Council, rejecting every request made to him, out of respect for his father’s wishes to not become deeply involved in politics. Eventually, he had to break his promise the moment Imperial tax collectors came knocking on his barn, informing him of the new tax laws and how it was only temporary to consolidate Thules the Gibbering rule.
That was the final straw for Quintus.
Soon, in unified protests, the Farmers Guild stopped all harvesting and sent a letter to the local imperial commander, Gaius Olen, of the Gold Coast Garrison, stating their demands and conditions for lower taxes, fair land ownership laws and punishment of Imperial officers for intimidating and physically flogging farmers. Olen replied back generously by sending a group of 20 imperial soldiers and the adjutant tax officer of Gold Coast, Dervis Plinian.
The mistake on their part was believing that they could take on nearly a hundred angry farmers armed to the brim with farming tools and succeed. Digging out pits filled with carved sticks and hiding under piles of hay, the force of farmers managed to ambush and capture them all alive, wounding some of them in the process. Quintus hoped that they could use the captured soldiers as a means of bargaining for some of their terms. Diplomacy slowly deteriorated over the course of several letters where Olen asked them to release all the prisoners at once or face certain death.
The constant taunting of Adjutant Tax Officer Plinian didn’t help with Quintus’s patience as he continued to jibe and berate them for their actions, stating that each and every servant of the Empire would be willing to die before they surrendered to a lowly group of peasants. The torrent of relentless insults came to a head one night in the middle of a frenzied discussion between Quintus and the rest of the Guild on which direction to proceed in.
“ You are nothing peasant, you hear me! You are just chaff! Straw!”
In that moment, Quintus saw Thessa’s headless body. His father’s chest-wracking coughs which kept him up at night. He stood up, his stony face inscrutable, before picking up the scythe resting by the barn’s wall and hoisting it over his shoulder. Facing the farmer, he spoke back in a casual manner, as if he was heading down for a walk to the tavern.
“ Aye, verily. For I am straw and yet, yer still scared of me. If that’s enough to preserve the field, then, a man of straw I shall be.”
Then, Quintus brought the scythe overhead and brought it down, steel singing in the air. Warm warm blood sprayed all over his skin as Plinian’s head was lopped off, eyes blinking aimlessly and his mouth slightly ajar. The fingers kept moving for over a minute before they went still. Quintus breathed, the metallic taste of iron on his lips, before he dropped the scythe and stumbled back in shock and relief for what he had done.
Now was the end of the beginning.
Olen, outraged by Quintus’s act of brutality, was determined not to fail this time and sent a group of 50 heavily armed soldiers, of which included an Imperial battlemage, to crush them for their insolence. This completely routed the short-lived rebellion and resulted in over dozens of farmers being slaughtered on the fields of Gold Coast. Seeing no other option, Quintus called for a retreat and along with other farmers, began the process of evacuating their farmsteads. The Imperials, however, were unwilling to give them any mercy for they lighted their torches and began burning down farm houses across the Gold Coast who had participated in Quintus’s folly. It was dawn by the time he arrived at his farmhouse, the Imperials an hour behind him on horseback and occupied with the destruction of other farming families.
His mother was there on the porch, stricken-faced. She’d heard rumors of what he’d done spread across the Gold Coast like wildfire, both literally and figuratively. He ignored her ceaseless demands and questions, as he hastily began combing through the house for vital supplies. Her safety was of more concern than her enquiries. She then asked one final questions in the middle whilst hoisting herself up on the family horse in the barn with a poignant tone.
“ Is this what your father would have wanted for us?”
Quintus didn’t even bother replying, keeping silent and watching her ride away from the house, the form growing smaller and smaller in the distance. Walking around the house, he looked at a painted family portrait his father had commissioned for them in Whiterun. Maybe, it was the fatigue that got to him but he could see his father’s face in the painting shift, stare at him with an unrecognizable expression. Was it anger? Disapproval? Sadness at what he’d done to their family? With Ctesephesius and Fair-Rock behind him, he departed from his family home and for the first time, the Gefjenssen barn was completely empty.
Life on the run from the Empire wouldn’t be difficult if it wasn’t for the enormous bounty that they’d placed on his head. Quintus was forced to stay within the forests of Anvil and Skingrad, never going to any well-populated towns out of fear that they might recognise him. Then again, why was he still fighting? Wouldn’t it be better if he’d give himself up so that he wouldn’t cause any more harm? For a time, Quintus battled with surviving in the elements and his own responsibility in the massacre he’d caused. It was only due to the company of his pets as well as his determination to see justice for what the Empire had done that kept his spirit alive.
Half a year later, in Skingrad, Quintus found himself resting by a communal campfire in the middle of the Gold Path, sharing company for the first time with other individuals who weren’t chickens or cats. Good, heartening conversation quickly turned into political debate as his ears pricked up at the mention of a group of rebels. Seeing no other course of action, Quintus joined Isobel’s band of rebels in the hopes of redeeming himself for his past failures and to earn back the quaint life that the Empire had taken from him.
Favoured Attributes
Major: Strength
Minor: Intelligence
Favoured Skills
Adept
- Spear
- Woodworking
- Alchemy
- Mercantile
- Provisioning
Journeyman
- Clothier
- Smithing
- Archery
Equipment
- A three pronged oak handle steel pitchfork.
- A short bow nocked with boar sinew.
- Quiver with 20 wood-carved arrows made from Fair-Rock’s feathers, flint and
- Satchel of common herbs, reagents and ingredients used for brewing potions.
- Separate leather jerkin of poisonous herbs used for brewing poisons.
- Water pouch made from a deer’s stomach.
- Woodcarving kit containing horsetail paper, a chisel, steel knife and a hammer.
- A Draught of Regeneration
Belongings
- Gefjenssen family ring, inscribed with quote: “ Family is the greatest treasure of them all.”
- Leather work apron
- Rawhide boots.
- 10 pound jade whetstone and a phial of whale oil.
- Leather-bound journal containing various recipes and notes
- Bottle of ink
- Block of sheep cheese wrapped in dried lilypad.
- Pound of smoked trout and deer fat
- 2 pounds of dried wild assorted grain
Birth Sign
The Lord.
Miscellaneous
Fair Rock
A white rooster and Quintus’s eternal companion. Said to have been passed down from his great grandfather. Said to have been present in his family for generations. Extremely flamboyant whilst also being protective of Quintus. Has a proclivity for hoarding small objects with no discernable pattern in his behaviour. Has a taste for barley, yet, despises oats.
Ctesephesius
Quintus’s pet ginger cat. Found abandoned by his owners on the roadside during a trade trip from Anvil to Skingrad. Has a missing right eye due to flesh rot. Gets along well with everyone except Bretons for some unexplainable reason. Likes back rubs. Hates belly rubs.
A white rooster and Quintus’s eternal companion. Said to have been passed down from his great grandfather. Said to have been present in his family for generations. Extremely flamboyant whilst also being protective of Quintus. Has a proclivity for hoarding small objects with no discernable pattern in his behaviour. Has a taste for barley, yet, despises oats.
Ctesephesius
Quintus’s pet ginger cat. Found abandoned by his owners on the roadside during a trade trip from Anvil to Skingrad. Has a missing right eye due to flesh rot. Gets along well with everyone except Bretons for some unexplainable reason. Likes back rubs. Hates belly rubs.
