OOC - DDD application
Player nickname: Orlando
Player LJ: elspeth_vimes
Way to contact you:
Email: agreylady@gmail.com
AIM: Elspeth Vimes
Other: I live on plurk.
Are you at least 15?: Y.
Current Characters: Batou, Gesicht, Robert Philip, Karibusa Tanyuu, Pam Landy
Character: Alberich
Fandom: Mercedes Lackey's Heralds of Valdemar series
Character Notes:
History:
- Alberich is Karsite. He was the bastard child of a very poor (but beautiful) woman and the wealthiest man in the village. As such, he was frequently looked down upon and verbally abused by other villagers, though his mother got the worst treatment.
-However, the local Sunpriest, Father Kentoch, took on protection of Alberich and his mother. Alberich spent most of his time in the temple, and learned the basics of reading and writing, as well as a great deal about the Writ and Rule of Vkandis.
-When he was somewhat older, Alberich and his mother moved, and both began to live and work at an inn. They were the lowest of the servants, but nevertheless were decently provided for.
-Aware of the fact that the only way to advance his status and make sure his mother was provided for would be by serving in the army, Alberich made certain to capture the attention of the recruiters for the Sunsguard when they came to town. Due to his efforts and losses in a recent war, he was accepted into the cadet school.
-While at the school, Alberich spent nearly every moment he wasn't sleeping either training or studying. As a result, he excelled. He became particularly close to the weaponsmasters, who took him on as a sort of protege.
-At this point, Alberich was painfully aware of the extent to which the Sunpriests who ruled Karse were corrupt. However, he was determined to do what he could to protect who he could, and entered his formal career with the Sunsguard cavalry.
-Alberich served on and around the northern border, fighting the bandits the Karsite leadership had previously allowed to hide there in the hopes that the bandits would just attack and weaken Karse's enemy, Valdemar. Alberich quickly rose through the ranks, becoming a captain at an unusually young age (headcanon says he was around 28).
-But some of Alberich's success on the field were due to his possession of a "witch-power," which sometimes granted him visions of the near future. Shortly after he attained the rank of Captain, a Sunpriest found out. Alberich was instantly condemned to the fires.
-He would, indeed, have been burned to death. But it turned out that the horse he had acquired recently was not a horse, but one of the "White Demons" of Valdemar. Kantor (as the Companion's name would prove to be), saved him from the fires, though not without Alberich suffering from severe burns. ...It was possibly the most dramatic Choosing a Herald has had (and Choosings get pretty dang dramatic).
-Kantor took Alberich to Valdemar with magical speed, and quickly ensured that Alberich got treatment from full Healers.
-This did not mean that Alberich was left unscarred, or that it did not take him months to heal. During his convalescence, Alberich had to deal with some rather lifechanging facts and a crisis of faith. Eventually, with help from Kantor, some of the Heralds, and two Sunpriests who had fled Karse, Alberich came to the conclusion that Valdemar and its Herarlds were not evil, that he had not broken with his faith, and even that being a Herald would not mean he would break with his faith. Still, he was reluctant to serve another country. Even if he could aid Karsites by serving Valdemar, it seemed like betraying his people.
-It was only when he was fully healed and brought to meet the Collegium's aged and arthritic (though still mentally very sharp) Weaponsmaster Dethor, that it became clear there was a valuable position that they needed Alberich to fill. A position he wanted. Alberich formally decided to stay in Valdemar, and became the Weaponsmaster's Second.
-In time, Alberich also took on the role of bodyguard for the heir, Princess Selenay, during her trips to the Courts in the city proper.
-He also eventually took on another role left vacant by Dethor's physical decline- that of a mixture of undercover cop and spy in all parts of Valdemar's capital city, Haven. Alberich discovered he had a gift for subterfuge and figuring out the games of others, even if he disliked the games themselves.
-This role took on even greater importance when Karse hired the Tedrel mercenaries to wage war against Valdemar. In addition to training people for the war as the Weaponsmaster's Second, Alberich uncovered criminals dealing in information regarding the war and smuggling goods.
-At this point in canon, the Tedrel Wars have been going on for two years. (Which means he's firmly in between the first and second parts of Exile's Honor.)
Personality:
Alberich manages, with a supremely practical mindset, to embody a number of contradictions.
He's been in serious, and often dangerous, situations his entire life. He's used to thinking about and confronting the worst possibilities, and doing what he can to address those problems. In this, he's got an interesting mix of small-picture and big-picture thinking. If he's confronted with a person in danger, he'll do whatever he reasonably can to save them. But in general, he thinks in terms of how to maximize the good that can be done. For example, harshly training people to survive, so that they can protect more people. It's this grasp of the big picture that allows him to do some fairly dirty work without compromising his sense of honor. He's in it for the big goals of protecting people and fulfilling the vows he makes. To protect people, he will lay careful plans which may result in him beating people up or one of the personas he takes on breaking vows to criminals.
In spite of his experiences with the worst the Sunpriests can offer, Alberich remains a devout man. Thanks to his early experiences with Father Kentoch, he is aware that the real faith and the dogma of the Sunpriests are often entirely different things. He's also learned to be pretty open-minded. What helps people get along in their lives isn't a bad thing, as long as it's not hurting anyone else. Tolerance makes everybody's lives easier. It just makes sense.
Alberich is very much in control of himself and how he appears to others. He's a serious-minded man most of the time, and comes across as grave (if not forbidding). This suits him. After all, the guy training you so that you won't get yourself killed can't really afford to be nice. Aside from the imposing impression he gives many people, he's able to go unnoticed surprisingly easily. This also suits him. He has a sense of humor, but doesn't let it show much, simply because it's not of much use to him in the roles he plays. He thinks in strategic terms, in many ways. For example, he is capable of speaking in better Valdemaran than he usually does, but the misperception of his abilities can be useful (besides, all his friends understand him anyway). Alberich is, for the most part, content to serve a purpose. He can and does put personal considerations on hold. He has never been a very social person, and is happy to have a few close friends. (As a side note: his experience with women is close to nonexistent. The ones he's met have mostly been either off-limits or the kind you pay to be with for a few hours.)
He doesn't make large decisions lightly, and will, if possible, give any course of action a fair amount of thought. He likes to consider things from as many angles as he can. Still, if he knows he hasn't got the time for that, he'll act quickly, in accordance with his morals and his practicality. Once he's made a decision, he's not inclined to second-guess himself. You can't change what's happened, you can only focus on what lies ahead. (For these reasons, he doesn't dwell on his past much at all, even though he has a properly Heraldic Tragic Backstory.) It is true, though, that he can commit himself too fully once he's made a decision, almost running himself into the ground in the process.
Alberich believes, very strongly, in doing what he can to protect people. That is at the root of his morals, his honor, his faith, and his mission.
Other:
Alberich has two Gifts, very limited ForeSight and very strong Mindspeech. In spite of its strength, he doesn't use the Mindspeech for much beyond talking to Kantor and sometimes other Heralds. He relies on more concrete skills, for the most part.
Alberich refuses to wear the traditional uniform of the Heralds, the Whites. Instead, he wears a uniform that has the same cut, but is a dark gray (darker than the Grays the Trainees wear). This partly because he can't get used to a uniform that makes such a target out of a person, and partly for symbolic reasons.
The Trainees often refer to him as "the Great Stoneheart."
In the books, there's a distinct disconnect between how Alberich expresses himself in thought and Karsite, and how he ends up sounding in Valdemaran. He's got a notable accent, and struggles with Valdemaran syntax, with the result that he sounds a bit like Yoda if Yoda had occasional difficulties in choosing the right word. The community, though, will appear to be in Karsite to him. So his distinctive speech will not be in evidence.
Additional Links:
Valdemar Wiki
First Person (entry type): ((note: these are notes to himself in Karsite))
Activity around Exile's Gate appears to have slowed. The number of thieves and thefts seems to remain constant, but the scale of the jobs they undertake is not as great. That might just be due to a lack of targets. The smugglers have pulled back for now, likely thanks to the arrest of the Marse gang.
Dealers in information have also gone underground. They must realize that the Guard is focusing its energy on anyone who could be undermining the war effort.
The market for information and smuggled goods won't let this last long. If I continue to make "Guillam" available, I should be able to catch things as soon as they start back up.
I should ask Talamir to speak with some of the Lord Provost's agents about this. If one or two of them can be spared for the city, we might be able to keep a lid on things for a while.
Third Person:
There were days when Alberich truly regretted having to train the aristocratic Blues. This was one of them.
In theory, there was nothing wrong with the practice. It made sense for the highborn of the Court to have their children taught at the Collegium, it was right next to the palace, after all. The Blues didn't put the work in that the other Trainees did, but they didn't have to unless their parents demanded it of them. Dethor had told Alberich to largely ignore the apathetic ones, and he'd done so. The other Trainees, after all, were the ones who were likely to need his instruction to keep themselves alive.
But since the Tedrel Wars began, the Blues had begun to grate on him, somewhat. They weren't, technically, taking the place of anyone else in the classes. And, as Talamir had pointed out, there was no reason for certain peacetime institutions not to continue. But they would not be heading for the front lines, or working equally dangerous jobs in equally dangerous territory. They didn't have to take things as seriously as the other Trainees. Which led to events like today's, where a group of Blues had continually harassed the other Trainees with a host of small "pranks," from tripping one of the Grays to giving one of the Greens incorrect equipment. They had been smart enough not to plead innocent or make excuses when Alberich called them out on it, and hadn't complained about the punishment Dethor had given them. But it was part of a disturbing trend.
The Blues, most of whom had no relatives or friends closely involved in the worst of the war, had no real concept of what was happening in their country. They stayed, and would likely continue to stay, safely ensconced in Haven.
As would Alberich. But he knew what was being done, to both his countries. He was not, exactly, trapped. His duties tied him to this city, after all.
But when he was also forbidden from leaving, what else could he call it?
Player LJ: elspeth_vimes
Way to contact you:
Email: agreylady@gmail.com
AIM: Elspeth Vimes
Other: I live on plurk.
Are you at least 15?: Y.
Current Characters: Batou, Gesicht, Robert Philip, Karibusa Tanyuu, Pam Landy
Character: Alberich
Fandom: Mercedes Lackey's Heralds of Valdemar series
Character Notes:
History:
- Alberich is Karsite. He was the bastard child of a very poor (but beautiful) woman and the wealthiest man in the village. As such, he was frequently looked down upon and verbally abused by other villagers, though his mother got the worst treatment.
-However, the local Sunpriest, Father Kentoch, took on protection of Alberich and his mother. Alberich spent most of his time in the temple, and learned the basics of reading and writing, as well as a great deal about the Writ and Rule of Vkandis.
-When he was somewhat older, Alberich and his mother moved, and both began to live and work at an inn. They were the lowest of the servants, but nevertheless were decently provided for.
-Aware of the fact that the only way to advance his status and make sure his mother was provided for would be by serving in the army, Alberich made certain to capture the attention of the recruiters for the Sunsguard when they came to town. Due to his efforts and losses in a recent war, he was accepted into the cadet school.
-While at the school, Alberich spent nearly every moment he wasn't sleeping either training or studying. As a result, he excelled. He became particularly close to the weaponsmasters, who took him on as a sort of protege.
-At this point, Alberich was painfully aware of the extent to which the Sunpriests who ruled Karse were corrupt. However, he was determined to do what he could to protect who he could, and entered his formal career with the Sunsguard cavalry.
-Alberich served on and around the northern border, fighting the bandits the Karsite leadership had previously allowed to hide there in the hopes that the bandits would just attack and weaken Karse's enemy, Valdemar. Alberich quickly rose through the ranks, becoming a captain at an unusually young age (headcanon says he was around 28).
-But some of Alberich's success on the field were due to his possession of a "witch-power," which sometimes granted him visions of the near future. Shortly after he attained the rank of Captain, a Sunpriest found out. Alberich was instantly condemned to the fires.
-He would, indeed, have been burned to death. But it turned out that the horse he had acquired recently was not a horse, but one of the "White Demons" of Valdemar. Kantor (as the Companion's name would prove to be), saved him from the fires, though not without Alberich suffering from severe burns. ...It was possibly the most dramatic Choosing a Herald has had (and Choosings get pretty dang dramatic).
-Kantor took Alberich to Valdemar with magical speed, and quickly ensured that Alberich got treatment from full Healers.
-This did not mean that Alberich was left unscarred, or that it did not take him months to heal. During his convalescence, Alberich had to deal with some rather lifechanging facts and a crisis of faith. Eventually, with help from Kantor, some of the Heralds, and two Sunpriests who had fled Karse, Alberich came to the conclusion that Valdemar and its Herarlds were not evil, that he had not broken with his faith, and even that being a Herald would not mean he would break with his faith. Still, he was reluctant to serve another country. Even if he could aid Karsites by serving Valdemar, it seemed like betraying his people.
-It was only when he was fully healed and brought to meet the Collegium's aged and arthritic (though still mentally very sharp) Weaponsmaster Dethor, that it became clear there was a valuable position that they needed Alberich to fill. A position he wanted. Alberich formally decided to stay in Valdemar, and became the Weaponsmaster's Second.
-In time, Alberich also took on the role of bodyguard for the heir, Princess Selenay, during her trips to the Courts in the city proper.
-He also eventually took on another role left vacant by Dethor's physical decline- that of a mixture of undercover cop and spy in all parts of Valdemar's capital city, Haven. Alberich discovered he had a gift for subterfuge and figuring out the games of others, even if he disliked the games themselves.
-This role took on even greater importance when Karse hired the Tedrel mercenaries to wage war against Valdemar. In addition to training people for the war as the Weaponsmaster's Second, Alberich uncovered criminals dealing in information regarding the war and smuggling goods.
-At this point in canon, the Tedrel Wars have been going on for two years. (Which means he's firmly in between the first and second parts of Exile's Honor.)
Personality:
Alberich manages, with a supremely practical mindset, to embody a number of contradictions.
He's been in serious, and often dangerous, situations his entire life. He's used to thinking about and confronting the worst possibilities, and doing what he can to address those problems. In this, he's got an interesting mix of small-picture and big-picture thinking. If he's confronted with a person in danger, he'll do whatever he reasonably can to save them. But in general, he thinks in terms of how to maximize the good that can be done. For example, harshly training people to survive, so that they can protect more people. It's this grasp of the big picture that allows him to do some fairly dirty work without compromising his sense of honor. He's in it for the big goals of protecting people and fulfilling the vows he makes. To protect people, he will lay careful plans which may result in him beating people up or one of the personas he takes on breaking vows to criminals.
In spite of his experiences with the worst the Sunpriests can offer, Alberich remains a devout man. Thanks to his early experiences with Father Kentoch, he is aware that the real faith and the dogma of the Sunpriests are often entirely different things. He's also learned to be pretty open-minded. What helps people get along in their lives isn't a bad thing, as long as it's not hurting anyone else. Tolerance makes everybody's lives easier. It just makes sense.
Alberich is very much in control of himself and how he appears to others. He's a serious-minded man most of the time, and comes across as grave (if not forbidding). This suits him. After all, the guy training you so that you won't get yourself killed can't really afford to be nice. Aside from the imposing impression he gives many people, he's able to go unnoticed surprisingly easily. This also suits him. He has a sense of humor, but doesn't let it show much, simply because it's not of much use to him in the roles he plays. He thinks in strategic terms, in many ways. For example, he is capable of speaking in better Valdemaran than he usually does, but the misperception of his abilities can be useful (besides, all his friends understand him anyway). Alberich is, for the most part, content to serve a purpose. He can and does put personal considerations on hold. He has never been a very social person, and is happy to have a few close friends. (As a side note: his experience with women is close to nonexistent. The ones he's met have mostly been either off-limits or the kind you pay to be with for a few hours.)
He doesn't make large decisions lightly, and will, if possible, give any course of action a fair amount of thought. He likes to consider things from as many angles as he can. Still, if he knows he hasn't got the time for that, he'll act quickly, in accordance with his morals and his practicality. Once he's made a decision, he's not inclined to second-guess himself. You can't change what's happened, you can only focus on what lies ahead. (For these reasons, he doesn't dwell on his past much at all, even though he has a properly Heraldic Tragic Backstory.) It is true, though, that he can commit himself too fully once he's made a decision, almost running himself into the ground in the process.
Alberich believes, very strongly, in doing what he can to protect people. That is at the root of his morals, his honor, his faith, and his mission.
Other:
Alberich has two Gifts, very limited ForeSight and very strong Mindspeech. In spite of its strength, he doesn't use the Mindspeech for much beyond talking to Kantor and sometimes other Heralds. He relies on more concrete skills, for the most part.
Alberich refuses to wear the traditional uniform of the Heralds, the Whites. Instead, he wears a uniform that has the same cut, but is a dark gray (darker than the Grays the Trainees wear). This partly because he can't get used to a uniform that makes such a target out of a person, and partly for symbolic reasons.
The Trainees often refer to him as "the Great Stoneheart."
In the books, there's a distinct disconnect between how Alberich expresses himself in thought and Karsite, and how he ends up sounding in Valdemaran. He's got a notable accent, and struggles with Valdemaran syntax, with the result that he sounds a bit like Yoda if Yoda had occasional difficulties in choosing the right word. The community, though, will appear to be in Karsite to him. So his distinctive speech will not be in evidence.
Additional Links:
Valdemar Wiki
First Person (entry type): ((note: these are notes to himself in Karsite))
Activity around Exile's Gate appears to have slowed. The number of thieves and thefts seems to remain constant, but the scale of the jobs they undertake is not as great. That might just be due to a lack of targets. The smugglers have pulled back for now, likely thanks to the arrest of the Marse gang.
Dealers in information have also gone underground. They must realize that the Guard is focusing its energy on anyone who could be undermining the war effort.
The market for information and smuggled goods won't let this last long. If I continue to make "Guillam" available, I should be able to catch things as soon as they start back up.
I should ask Talamir to speak with some of the Lord Provost's agents about this. If one or two of them can be spared for the city, we might be able to keep a lid on things for a while.
Third Person:
There were days when Alberich truly regretted having to train the aristocratic Blues. This was one of them.
In theory, there was nothing wrong with the practice. It made sense for the highborn of the Court to have their children taught at the Collegium, it was right next to the palace, after all. The Blues didn't put the work in that the other Trainees did, but they didn't have to unless their parents demanded it of them. Dethor had told Alberich to largely ignore the apathetic ones, and he'd done so. The other Trainees, after all, were the ones who were likely to need his instruction to keep themselves alive.
But since the Tedrel Wars began, the Blues had begun to grate on him, somewhat. They weren't, technically, taking the place of anyone else in the classes. And, as Talamir had pointed out, there was no reason for certain peacetime institutions not to continue. But they would not be heading for the front lines, or working equally dangerous jobs in equally dangerous territory. They didn't have to take things as seriously as the other Trainees. Which led to events like today's, where a group of Blues had continually harassed the other Trainees with a host of small "pranks," from tripping one of the Grays to giving one of the Greens incorrect equipment. They had been smart enough not to plead innocent or make excuses when Alberich called them out on it, and hadn't complained about the punishment Dethor had given them. But it was part of a disturbing trend.
The Blues, most of whom had no relatives or friends closely involved in the worst of the war, had no real concept of what was happening in their country. They stayed, and would likely continue to stay, safely ensconced in Haven.
As would Alberich. But he knew what was being done, to both his countries. He was not, exactly, trapped. His duties tied him to this city, after all.
But when he was also forbidden from leaving, what else could he call it?