Lowe
“I have absolutely no idea what i’m doing, or where i’m going most of the time, but I think I’ve got most this stuff figured out by now. At least I hope I’ve got it figured it out... "
B I R T H N A M E: Lowe Harmond ♦ A G E: 12 ♦ S E X: Male ♦ A L I G N M E N T: Chaotic Good
Ω O R I G I N S:
Lowe was a boy whose entire family line has been sustained in the walls of the Barbed Church. His parents, though they cared for him, died pretty early in his life from a deadly disease that seems to be plaguing the whole country as of late. He was taken in at the age of 4 by Minister Florentus, a man who is as cruel as the punishments he serves. He was taken in as Minister Florentus’ ward, and Florentus taught him how to be a scribe and proper librarian. Lowe was not very good in his studies though, and this conflicted with him becoming a good scribe. Minister Florentus believed it was because of his incompetence that he could not work in a classroom environment, but it had more to do with the beatings he received than his comprehension. Or rather, the two were clearly linked. Due to the severe trauma from the beatings, he went deaf in his right ear at the age 6, and has not been able to hear out that ear ever since. Lowe is prone to sickness, and has a very weak immune system for a child his age. He had been told his parents died of the very plague striking fear into the citizens of Vassidia, but he’d like to think he will not fall pray to the same fate.
His sisters, who were never really around for him, worked for the other ministers in the Church, and the oldest worked as a scribe for the First Thorn herself. Lowe had five sisters in total, and he had always wondered what it was they did in their private studies. Lowe suspected it had something to do with magick, but he was forbidden from using it at the behest of Minister Florentus. Every week or so, a small caravan of ministers and peasants would venture out past the gates of the Barbed Church. Lowe thought that the things they packed with them must be food, or clothing for people in the neighboring towns, but was never really sure what it was for, and Minister Florentus told him it didn’t matter to him. “A scribe has no use for curiosity, Lowe. You’d do best to keep your heads in your books, and out of the streets below.” But Lowe didn’t listen. Every night, since he had first seen the mysterious caravan, he’d wondered what was inside of the covered wagons, and where his sisters and the ministers went every week? He tried asking around the Church, but they all seemed to think that the Caravan should remain a secret from him.
Lowe, to himself, thought that if it was really not that big of a deal, than there wouldn’t be any harm in him doing some investigating of his own, would there? The Church was always giving away to charities, so Lowe assumed he’d find clothing and food inside the wagons for poor people. One day, while Minister Florentus was away attending a small class of assistants and other wards of the Church, Lowe snuck outside and made his way to the caravan that was about to leave. His sisters were there, like they always were, and he managed to avoid them, by hastily jumping into one of the covered wagons, and shrinking down low to fit in between the large crates that were packed in the cargo hold. He heard the distinct voice of his sisters talking to one another, Maridia (The Eldest) seemed concerned the cargo wasn’t secure enough, so Erika (The Third Eldest) tied hemp rope around the cargo, locking the crates, and Lowe, inside of the cramped wagon space.
The journey through the woods past the Church was very bumpy, and Lowe didn’t get to see most of it because he was stuck in the wagon. They rode on for sometime, and Lowe could only guess that it had been an entire afternoon afternoon before something changed in the wagons path. The wagon gave a violent jerk upwards, almost sending Lowe flying out of it, and then it hit a tree making it break, and spill the contents it was holding. Lowe was laid out on the forest floor, completely disoriented. The wagon had somehow gotten lost from the group. The bolt that held it to the other wagons in front was snapped completely. He had been left behind near an old shack, with nothing but a few oil lamps and food. The shack held a very valuable secret though, that being a Cartographers Map making set and journal. Lowe was never really good at studies, but he was very well acquainted with maps. Minister Florentus thought reading maps was useless, but Lowe took a liking to them because they were somewhat easier for him to understand. The map was pretty straight forward, the journal not so much. The Cartography set held 3 maps, the first showing the way to a small town named River Sway. Lowe headed off to find River Sway, and made it there in the span of a few hours.
A nice inn keeper by the name of Maruna picked him up off the streets, and told him he could stay with her for a few days if he put his map making abilities to the test. “River’sway’s been cut off for about a week now, and I can’t get anyone to come to the shop. So what yer’ gonna do is make it so they get here.” She had said. “I’m not sure if its the plague that’s keepin’ em’ away, but I know it’s not my food. And them damned Knights blocking the river port probably have something to do with it, too. Find a different way into this town: you got yer’ self a new home. Fail, and it’s back on the streets with ya’.” Lowe solved his dilemma that day by showing Maruna the way he came into the city using the map. Maruna had patted him on the head, and gave him a closet of a room to sleep in.
As soon as news of this new road was heard around town though, it spelled bad news for Maruna. The “Knights” she had mentioned seemed strange, and not at all like proper Knights set for protecting a town. They were obsessed with keeping everyone inside of River Sway on the orders of a man named Minister Plike. Lowe had certainly heard of a Minister Plike, before. He had seen the man walking through the Church, communing with the First Thorn herself on matters Lowe didn’t really understand. Minister Plike was also his Second eldest sister’s master, and he was supposed to be training her to be a healer of magick. What a man of the Barbed Church, let alone a Minister of Healing, would need with Knights, Lowe did not know. The Knights weren’t too keen on giving explanations either.
They did not like that Lowe had showed Maruna another way into this town, and made him pay dearly for it. They attacked the inn and Maruna had been killed easily, but Lowe escaped on the only mount that Maruna had on hand running away down the river’s bend. His attackers would not leave though, and one loose arrow to the mounts legs later, he found himself falling in the river gasping for breath. His attackers, because of his small size, assumed that he would die from the river’s current. He didn’t though, and was washed up on the shores of Ferros, the Iron City.
When Lowe checked the Cartographers set again, he found that all three maps were still there, but that the strange journal was gone. He racked his brain for where he could’ve placed it, until he remembered he left it on his bed in Maruna’s inn. He’s far from home, both the Inn and the Church, and has no idea what the Knights were doing at River Sway, or why Minister Plike blocked off an entire town full of people. One thing he is sure of is finding his way back to Kafarra. He never found out what the caravan was for, but perhaps he can find out on his journey home. He has no idea how to get there though, and the maps revealed nothing. They all seem to lead to places he’s never heard of before. It is here that he has nothing but an apple core, a vial of oil he managed to pilfer from Maruna when she wasn’t looking, and a few pens and bottles of ink from his Cartographers set, as well as the last two maps he has yet to follow.
Ω A B I L I T I E S / S K I L L S:
//ABILITIES:
◼ Crawl Space | He is surprisingly agile when he wants to be, as climbing atop dusty bookshelves has added to his abilities. When he wants to hide, he’s also able to fit into small places due to his small stature.
◼A mouse’s Tread| He can be very quiet when he wants to be, and it helps him often when he wants to sneak around. He was able to sneak past his sister’s when getting on the wagon, but looking back that probably wasn’t the best idea.
◼Alter Boy | Lowe is very keen on telling the truth, and can tell when something is not right, or when he is being duped by someone. Years of piety in a Church has made him very aware of when someone is lying to him.
//SKILLS:
◼ Pigeon Soup | Minister Florentus thought it was useless for a boy to learn how to cook, but his mother knew better and taught him to make the basics of food when he was 3. Things like porridge, and pigeon soup (A simple dish made from bird bones, and mushrooms).
◼ Map Reading: He is very good with reading maps, and thanks to finding the cartographers set, has gotten a lot better at reading in general. He knows how to read the maps almost perfectly now.
//LIMITATIONS:
◼ Non-Magick user| He is unable to do Magick, and can’t learn any spells because he, well- can’t read that well yet.
◼ House Cleaning| He isn’t very organized with his things, so they often get lost.
◼Collection Tithe| He is not a fighter, nor a lover, so running into sellswords or beggars would usually spell trouble for him.
◼Church Mouse| Because of his sheltered life inside of the Church he does not know how to read people very well. Which causes problems sometimes. He doesn’t fall for every trick he sees, but he is prone to promises of sweets and a warm bed.
//WEAKNESSES:
◼ Sick Bay| Sickness: He is very weak, and may or may not be coming down with some kind of flu or worse. The Ministers were sure that if anything drastic were to happen, they would be able to help him with their Magick. But with Lowe so far away from home, he has a very high chance of getting sicker than usual. Most of the symptoms include dizziness, vomiting, and sometimes the occasional rash. Though it doesn’t happen often, he does get sickly sometimes,and when he does it could be days before he recovers fully.
◼ Hearing: Lowe is deaf in his right ear, and is not able to hear out of it at all. This never caused a lot of problems in the Church, but now it serves as a very difficult hurtle. He lost the right ear after getting multiple severe beatings from Minister Florentus, and any other ornery adults who needed a punching bag.
Ω N O T E S:
◼ Lowe’s only interaction with Pontiff Silvene was when he was a small baby in his mother’s arm. The First Thorn came to give blessings to the new parents, and then moved on. Lowe, of course, does not remember this. Whether or not the First Thorn remembers is not something I know. Lowe also has a deep seated bitterness towards knights. This is because of the incident with Maruna in River Sway. Lowe has never looked at a Knight the same way after that day.
◼ He has a pack with him, but it does not hold a lot of stuff. Most of the space is being taken up by the Cartography set, and some food. He has no means of healing himself, or vials of spells to help him heal faster. He has a few stones, and a long stick he found along the way to defend himself with. If need arises though he may just throw rocks to try to get away.
◼ He cannot last long in any environment that is not warm, cozy, and filled with lots of people. He is 12 after all.
◼ Is it wise if he knows not to cross Minister Florentus on a bad day? Jokes aside, he isn’t what one would call wise, as he is a small child of 12 who hasn’t actually experienced a whole lot, but he is wise enough to know when to keep certain things secret from now on. His time with Maruna taught him that.
◼ Despite not being the brightest or the strongest, he certainly has a sassy personality. He absolutely won’t let the other’s quiet him, or even speak over him. He’s thankful he was born with such a loud voice, otherwise everyone would probably look him over and ignore him. He’s very opinionated for a 12yr old. He will say what he thinks, as long as he thinks he can run fast enough to escape punishment. (And he usually is.) He can be helpful, and very dependable but only if you give him something in return. Maruna used to bribe him with sweets, and extra night hours to clean her kitchen and rooms, and even that was a hard nut to crack sometimes.