Post by Erlan on Aug 8, 2013 10:33:23 GMT -6
Full Name: Erlan Mullonde
Species: Beorc
Class: Thief
Age: 32
Hair Color: Brown
Eye Color: Blue
Appearance: Erlan is an adult beorc of moderate height and trim build with lightly tanned skin and light facial hair. He is physically fit and, although he is now getting older, still accustomed to performing feats of acrobatics. He dresses most often in simple, earth-toned linens; the thief who wears eye-catching colors is the thief who gets caught. When "on the job" he covers his face, just in case. Erlan has an appraising eye and is the kind of person who can take in details with a single glance, which is a skill that many thieves acquire to minimize raising suspicion.
Erlan is a gruff and somewhat bitter man whose more positive experiences in life have been more or less centered on doing what he's told and then receiving payment. Barely literate, he has no faith or even morality to speak of, and thinks of such things as liabilities rather than noble qualities worth possessing.
History: Erlan comes from a small town in the far north reaches of Begnion where, at the age of eleven, he was orphaned during a border dispute. Opportunistic Daein, attempting to wrest previously held territory from the Begnion Empire during a particularly severe bout of infighting in the Begnion Senate, occupied the province where Erlan's family lived. What should have been a relatively peaceful event went badly wrong when the villagers, who supported Begnion, became belligerent toward the foreign occupants. The situation escalated unintentionally, and Erlan's parents were among the few casualties that occurred in the hysteria.
Young, naive, and upset, Erlan chose to pursue the retreating Daein forces when Begion's response finally arrived to reassert their authority over the area. He would have frozen to death had he not been fortunate enough to stumble into the path of a trade caravan returning to Hatari from Crimea, travling by land to avoid piracy. They took him with them on their road around the Desert of Death in spite of his protests, and Erlan traveled with them through Sanaa and much of Hatari. He was still with them when their band, while resting in a coastal city, was attacked by Faraji pirates. Some of the traders and all of their property were captured, and Erlan spent a summer serving aboard a pirate vessel on the high seas.
Life again took a turn for the worse when the pirates who had captured the trading caravan were themselves attacked by slavers who dealt in the illegal trafficking of both beorc and laguz. As part of their boarding agreement, the Faraji pirates handed over some of their captives including Erlan, now 14, who was eventually sold along the southern coast to an abusive Begnion nobleman under the terms of an intentionally vague indentured servitude law. Erlan quickly broke his contract and fled north to Begnion proper, where he first took up stealing in the empire's capital as a means of survival.
Unfortunately for Erlan, though the decisions of Begnion's senators were often ineffective, Begnion's law enforcement branch was anything but. Inexperienced at his new trade, it wasn't long before Erlan was caught while prowling the streets of Sienne and taken to a state-run orphanage that doubled as a strict seminary, which he quickly grew to loathe. Erlan abandoned the home at the earliest opportunity and stowed away on a ship bound for the island nation of Animus, where he lived and thrived for years before he wore out his welcome and was imprisoned for several counts of assault, theft, burglary, and related charges.
Rather than stay and repay his debts to society, Erlan orchestrated an escape that earned him his first "wanted" poster and a small but not insubstantial bounty. Content with leaving Animus and never returning, Erlan cautiously journeyed back to his homeland and took up residence in a small inland village to wait out any potential manhunts. However, his attempts to keep a low profile weren't effective for very long. The thief was soon uncovered by a junior cavalry commander of the Begnion Army whose forces were out in the countryside conducting practice drills. He recognized Erlan's face and knew from the way the villagers treated him that he wasn't a local, but his suspicions were confirmed when Erlan made a break for it. Erlan led the mounted soldiers on a grand chase through all of the town's two roads and was then promptly arrested.
Faced with the prospect of being returned to Animus to complete his prison sentence, now with a longer term and increased security to reflect his earlier escape, Erlan had reached a low point in his life. He was due to be shipped back to prison when he was approached by a man who set out a bargain: if Erlan would agree to plant some damning evidence in one of the senator's countryside estates, then the man would make all of Erlan's problems in Animus go away. When Erlan asked who he was, the man implied that he was merely representing another party but would not say who that might be. Erlan consented and agreed to fulfill his part of the bargain with the mysterious figure, who then provided more detailed instructions and enough money to compensate for travel expenses.
The reasons for his recruitment quickly became apparent. The enormous mansion that was his target was remote and very securely guarded. As someone who had escaped from all kinds of institutions, Erlan(and his desperate need and lack of political affiliation) was a good fit for the job. With the stringent warning that if he were caught he would be left to his own devices- and, most likely, the noose- Erlan carefully planned his incursion and retreat and only managed to accomplish his assignment by the skin of his teeth. Afterward he met with his anonymous employer, who delivered his end of the contract and offered Erlan another job, this time for pay. Since it was considerably easier than sneaking into a politician's summer home while it was crawling with armed guards, Erlan could not turn him down.
For six years Erlan performed various services for this man until, at the age of 27, he decided that he'd had enough and would like to live a little less dangerously for a time. Although he had tried on several occasions to decipher who his employer was working for, Erlan could detect no pattern in the assignments he was offered, which seemed to be chosen indiscriminately. In either case, since he knew nothing beyond his own involvement and had no reason to discuss that with anyone, Erlan was reminded that if he divulged anything he would be killed, and then he was permitted to "retire" as long as he stayed out of Begnion territory for a lengthy period of time- five years, in fact.
Erlan took his savings and migrated back to Hatari to ply his light-fingered trade as a gambler, subtly cheating at dice and cards when it made for a convenient profit. However, the duration of his forced sabbatical is over, and he has recently begun to receive encoded messages from Begnion gauging his interest in new career opportunities.
Species: Beorc
Class: Thief
Age: 32
Hair Color: Brown
Eye Color: Blue
Appearance: Erlan is an adult beorc of moderate height and trim build with lightly tanned skin and light facial hair. He is physically fit and, although he is now getting older, still accustomed to performing feats of acrobatics. He dresses most often in simple, earth-toned linens; the thief who wears eye-catching colors is the thief who gets caught. When "on the job" he covers his face, just in case. Erlan has an appraising eye and is the kind of person who can take in details with a single glance, which is a skill that many thieves acquire to minimize raising suspicion.
Erlan is a gruff and somewhat bitter man whose more positive experiences in life have been more or less centered on doing what he's told and then receiving payment. Barely literate, he has no faith or even morality to speak of, and thinks of such things as liabilities rather than noble qualities worth possessing.
History: Erlan comes from a small town in the far north reaches of Begnion where, at the age of eleven, he was orphaned during a border dispute. Opportunistic Daein, attempting to wrest previously held territory from the Begnion Empire during a particularly severe bout of infighting in the Begnion Senate, occupied the province where Erlan's family lived. What should have been a relatively peaceful event went badly wrong when the villagers, who supported Begnion, became belligerent toward the foreign occupants. The situation escalated unintentionally, and Erlan's parents were among the few casualties that occurred in the hysteria.
Young, naive, and upset, Erlan chose to pursue the retreating Daein forces when Begion's response finally arrived to reassert their authority over the area. He would have frozen to death had he not been fortunate enough to stumble into the path of a trade caravan returning to Hatari from Crimea, travling by land to avoid piracy. They took him with them on their road around the Desert of Death in spite of his protests, and Erlan traveled with them through Sanaa and much of Hatari. He was still with them when their band, while resting in a coastal city, was attacked by Faraji pirates. Some of the traders and all of their property were captured, and Erlan spent a summer serving aboard a pirate vessel on the high seas.
Life again took a turn for the worse when the pirates who had captured the trading caravan were themselves attacked by slavers who dealt in the illegal trafficking of both beorc and laguz. As part of their boarding agreement, the Faraji pirates handed over some of their captives including Erlan, now 14, who was eventually sold along the southern coast to an abusive Begnion nobleman under the terms of an intentionally vague indentured servitude law. Erlan quickly broke his contract and fled north to Begnion proper, where he first took up stealing in the empire's capital as a means of survival.
Unfortunately for Erlan, though the decisions of Begnion's senators were often ineffective, Begnion's law enforcement branch was anything but. Inexperienced at his new trade, it wasn't long before Erlan was caught while prowling the streets of Sienne and taken to a state-run orphanage that doubled as a strict seminary, which he quickly grew to loathe. Erlan abandoned the home at the earliest opportunity and stowed away on a ship bound for the island nation of Animus, where he lived and thrived for years before he wore out his welcome and was imprisoned for several counts of assault, theft, burglary, and related charges.
Rather than stay and repay his debts to society, Erlan orchestrated an escape that earned him his first "wanted" poster and a small but not insubstantial bounty. Content with leaving Animus and never returning, Erlan cautiously journeyed back to his homeland and took up residence in a small inland village to wait out any potential manhunts. However, his attempts to keep a low profile weren't effective for very long. The thief was soon uncovered by a junior cavalry commander of the Begnion Army whose forces were out in the countryside conducting practice drills. He recognized Erlan's face and knew from the way the villagers treated him that he wasn't a local, but his suspicions were confirmed when Erlan made a break for it. Erlan led the mounted soldiers on a grand chase through all of the town's two roads and was then promptly arrested.
Faced with the prospect of being returned to Animus to complete his prison sentence, now with a longer term and increased security to reflect his earlier escape, Erlan had reached a low point in his life. He was due to be shipped back to prison when he was approached by a man who set out a bargain: if Erlan would agree to plant some damning evidence in one of the senator's countryside estates, then the man would make all of Erlan's problems in Animus go away. When Erlan asked who he was, the man implied that he was merely representing another party but would not say who that might be. Erlan consented and agreed to fulfill his part of the bargain with the mysterious figure, who then provided more detailed instructions and enough money to compensate for travel expenses.
The reasons for his recruitment quickly became apparent. The enormous mansion that was his target was remote and very securely guarded. As someone who had escaped from all kinds of institutions, Erlan(and his desperate need and lack of political affiliation) was a good fit for the job. With the stringent warning that if he were caught he would be left to his own devices- and, most likely, the noose- Erlan carefully planned his incursion and retreat and only managed to accomplish his assignment by the skin of his teeth. Afterward he met with his anonymous employer, who delivered his end of the contract and offered Erlan another job, this time for pay. Since it was considerably easier than sneaking into a politician's summer home while it was crawling with armed guards, Erlan could not turn him down.
For six years Erlan performed various services for this man until, at the age of 27, he decided that he'd had enough and would like to live a little less dangerously for a time. Although he had tried on several occasions to decipher who his employer was working for, Erlan could detect no pattern in the assignments he was offered, which seemed to be chosen indiscriminately. In either case, since he knew nothing beyond his own involvement and had no reason to discuss that with anyone, Erlan was reminded that if he divulged anything he would be killed, and then he was permitted to "retire" as long as he stayed out of Begnion territory for a lengthy period of time- five years, in fact.
Erlan took his savings and migrated back to Hatari to ply his light-fingered trade as a gambler, subtly cheating at dice and cards when it made for a convenient profit. However, the duration of his forced sabbatical is over, and he has recently begun to receive encoded messages from Begnion gauging his interest in new career opportunities.
