NAME: Bruoch Horntree
RACE: Reachman
GENDER: Male
AGE: Thirty-three
BIRTHSIGN: The Atronach
HEIGHT: Five Foot, Seven Inches
APPEARANCE: Bruoch is a toadish man with a broad, ugly face, and large lips. His sunken brow suggests to most that he is almost constantly perturbed, while his narrow brown eyes suggest something snake-like and inquisitive in him. Deep creases at the corners of his mouth and on his forehead make him seem a bit older than he really is, and early-balding hair has done little to aid against the illusion. His thick black-brown beard is braided into three thick, dangling ropes of hair. They give him, despite being high-effort hair pieces, a look of lacked refinement. His hair itself is receded back to the middle of his head. What hasn't been lost, however, is long and roped. The hair on his brow is, itself, rather thorough as well. His brow hair suggests something wild in his appearance, and most aids the illusion that he's just one of the more brutal Reachman like those that associate with the Forsworn.
In terms of shape, he is broad. His shoulders and chest are fit, and his long arms and legs are defined enough in musculature to keep him in proportion. Were he any fatter or any thinner though he'd look a bit off-shape. He takes little effort in the taming of his body hair, and is understandably quite ragged as a result. Several scarified symbols are visible on his back. Most notable is a depiction of the stars in the Atronach sign. He calls this, rather lovingly, his Golem. Beyond that, he frequently paints himself in the spiral symbols commonly found in giant camps, mixed with many of the symbols and signs more conventionally used by Reachmen.
EQUIPMENT: He is a more traditional sort, but not nearly as frivolous in decoration as his kinsmen. The result is a mix of basic hides and furs meant to warm and protect mixed with the various bone amulets and decoration pieces worn by Reachmen. His headdress is the most traditional thing on him, and clumsily depicts the deer-head of Hircine with bone, antlers, and elk-hide. He cares little for exposed flesh, especially in the harsh environment common in Skyrim, the Jerals, and the edge territories of High Rock. To facilitate his warmth then, he wears plenty of layered furs. Beyond that though, he has little else. His sandals are carefully designed to aid in his traversal of the rocky terrain of the Reach, and are rather uncomfortable on flat ground. The result is a lot of complaining.
In terms of arms, he keeps light. His work as a guide in the Reach has earned him access to some higher quality materials, including enchanting materials. The resulting tools were a climbing pick, an iron shortsword, and an enchanted knife called Butcher.
His supply pack is a large satchel in which he keeps alchemy ingredients, food, and other useful necessities. He keeps about fifteen feet of hemp rope with him at any one time (though this is often kept tied around his waist and shoulders rather than in his bag), and a fire drill (bow-drill). Out of habit he keeps a handful of soul gems on him, but he does not know the soul trap spell. Finally, he keeps enough extra furs to erect a small fur tent if he must during travels.
PERSONALITY: He's a pious sort, and will often leave offerings to Hircine. He's wary of being too pious, though. Nothing would make him happier than serving Hircine, but he does not want the Wolf Curse or the Bear Curse. He sees them as beneficial but doesn't like the idea of skin-changing.
There are plenty of ways to approach defining Bruoch, but two stand out. He is kind, and passive. He does what he sees as good for the sake of being good, rather than for reward. He is stoic in his emotional inclination, and values hard work above almost all else. His reasoning for becoming a guide for foreigners in Reach land is for those exact reasons: He thinks the Forsworn are too emotional, and sees them as taking the lazy path. He wants to be good, and as such guides people around Forsworn encampments and traps as a profession.
WEAKNESSES: Nothing of any particular oddity is to be noted. Most of his weakness is visible in his attributes, where he's consistently lacking in the luck, personality, and willpower. Beyond that is his lack of magicka regeneration due to his birth season. There's the constant persecution that has to be handled as well, given that few like the Reachmen. Then there's his issue with tech. Ever since he was a small child he's been largely incapable of being around Dwemer tech without things going terribly wrong. The stuff just makes him destructively clumsy when he's near it.
SKILL REPERTOIRE: (Also Attributes)
Endurance Focus, Speed Focus
STEALTH Character
Master: N/A
Expert: Cold Weather Survival, Athletics
Journeyman: Sneak, Medium Armor, Acrobatics
Apprentice: Short Blade, Alchemy
POLITICAL AFFILIATIONS: Informally he supports the Nords in their rebellion against the Empire. His vision of Skyrim is one that's unified. That means Nords, Reachmen, Hagravens, Giants, and the various other local sentients working together. He thinks that the rebellion against the Empire is misguided, however, and that following Ulfric is going to have no long term impact. Specific to the Markarth issue, he supports the Silver-Blood family and the local Nord populations. It's his opinion that forces like Madanach's are working against the well-being of the Reachmen tribes in the area and the well-being of the Nords. His family is from a South-Western pocket that lives on the edge of the Reach and Falkreath Hold, and as such he sees the leadership of those holds and their opinions as favorable to those in other holds. He prefers Dengeir of Stuhn's reign over Siddgeir, who he sees as childish. He is content with the current Jarl of Markarth, though wish the Silver-Blood Clan would simply be given the seat so that it could rule the city with more economic efficiency in mind.
GUILD AFFILIATIONS: None, though he has been contacted at one time or the other by the Companions to act as a guide for finding particularly secluded groves with righteous game to hunt. He does not know their secret.
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BACKSTORY: Bruoch grew up in the South-West Reach with a small tribe that was mostly his extended family. They kept to themselves, and remained distant from the conflicts that preceded the war. He himself has no children, but that's in part due to his choices. While his direct kin are more moderate considering their close relations with local Nords at Falkreath and in the southern Reach, they do not quite approve of Bruoch's decision to actively aid the Nords. Indifference is one thing, help is another. He was almost thrown out when he joined Ulfric's forces in toppling Markarth's brief period of independence. The only thing keeping him with his family was his closeness to his Grandmother, a powerful Hagraven which acted as the matriarch of the family.
When Bruoch was a boy, his cousins didn't hold his attention. His elder brother was a bore, obsessed only with the hunt and politicking about the affairs of the Reachmen and the Nords. He found himself no affection for his female cousins, as he thought of them too well as sisters and so took not to the idea of keeping the family in the family. With no one else around, he tended to his Grandmother. For much of his childhood she was a simple witch, enacting rituals and providing the family magical protections against those few mercenaries or adventurers that attacked them. She was, for much of his life, his idol. When she underwent the ritual to become a Hagraven, he became a tool to her. His willingness as a teenager to prove himself to her and seek her affection was and is easily abused. During this period though, she willingly taught him bits about alchemy. When he was away though, he was sent out to hunt and survey land and track the growth of particular groves. Little did he know, he was planning out an attack against the local Spriggans. His Grandmother needed the sap and taproots of the Spriggans, and so used her Grandson to do the heavy lifting of the information collection.
When sixteen, he was sent alone to kill and collect a Spriggan for use by his grandmother. He did so, though was maimed when one of the creatures cut deep against his chest. Half-bled out, he returned to camp. His grandmother took the whole mess as an indication that he would become the family's first briarheart upon his death, a hint from Hircine that it must be so. Carefully, in an attempt to maintain her nervous grandson's loyalty, she gifted him an enchanted knife. It was unique in its ability to hack through dead flesh and bone with ridiculous efficiency. He keeps and cleans it as a memento, though he has not seen his grandmother for quite the spot.
The plans to undergo such that procedure began and would unfold over several years. He's had difficulties accepting the ritual, however, and has homesteaded at a small site just West of the Whiterun Hold-Reach border, along the main road. His little shack there has been where he's operated for the past three or four years. With rumors of dragons about and other terrifying creatures though, he goes south to the Jerals. He has no real interest in returning to family, though he knows he must one day, and has grown exhausted with his environment. Surely a different set of cold mountains will help him with that? Surely.
Following a tough night just North of this Roxey village he's heard so little about. His stomach turned a bit as he felt through his empty pack. He needed food. And septims. That was a realization that hit him with a bit of weight. He found a bit of Elves Ear near the bottom of his pack and began to chew on it, content on letting that hold him over. Surely he was Stoic enough to last, yes? Most certainly.
It's always a good morning when your first concern is feeding yourself.
