Caarsa Plainstalker

[Caarsa Plainstalker]

Caarsa Plainstalker of the Emerald Clan Appearance Race: Drykas Gender: Male Age: 20 Summers Birthday: 25th Day of Summer, 493AV Birthplace: The Sea of Grass Appearance: Well over six feet tall and crowned with a shaggy mane of black hair, Caarsa's looks are a product of a lifetime traversing the pitiless and vast Sea of Grass. Expected to pull his weight (or more) every day for his Pavillion, he possesses a sturdy, muscular build, especially in his arms, shooting the compact but taxing compound bows his people are famous for every day. Caarsa generally only shaves when his beard becomes coarse, so he usually has a few days stubble on his chin. However, few in his family can remember the last time he had his hair cut, and now its hangs in a thick, single braid down past his waist (though he usually tucks it into his breeches when on a hunt). With warm chestnut eyes and a quick smile for his friends and kin, Caarsa still looks like a hunter when you get close, seeing the hungry gleam that can flash across his gaze when him, his bow and his prey are in accord. His skin is pitted and scarred in several places from hunts that went bad, including an angry, raw tear down his side from a Zith attack when he was seventeen. Character Concept In many ways an atypical Drykas, Caarsa has done little to set himself apart from the crowd... and considering whom his father is, that rankles with the proud young man. But like most men with something bitter festering in him, Randel Plainstalker's middle son hides it with a blithe and generally cheerful personality. Gregarious and outgoing, a careful and shrewd observer would note that rarely does the chirpy smile reach his eyes. Six years after becoming "mature" by Drykas standards, Caarsa has yet to distinguish himself as a true son of one of his clan's most revered hunters and warriors. Yet to master the hunting and archery his clan is famous for. Worst of all, he has yet to bond with his Strider, and as his years wear on, he is still regarded as unworthy of being a Horse Lord. All these factors have made for a young man who is starting to doubt himself more than he should, but still perseveres. Unsure of himself and prone to crippling insecurity, he is beginning to truly despise the weaknesses he knows his race should not have. He no longer wishes to be a burden on the siblings, mother and grandfather he loves, and thus has set off for Endrykas. There he will make something of himself, gods willing. One point of pride that Caarsa does have is his Mark from Caiyha, which he gained not long before he left his pavilion. The Phylonura has certainly expanded his mind as to his place in the Sea of Grass... which is, like all Drykas, rather small in the grand scale of the vast grasslands, but the beauty and unlikely harmony he finds there is very comforting. However, one could say that Caarsa is finding too much comfort in his dedication to Caiyha, at the detriment of his loyalty to his people. Character History Twenty Summers ago, Caarsa Plainstalker was born into greatness. Well, more accurately, he was born in the shadow of greatness. His mother was a plain enough Drykas woman, though she had all the goat-like hardiness of all their females, but his father? His father was renowned and feared Emerald Clan warrior, tracker and hunter Randel Plainstalker. For nigh on forty years, Randel protected his clan, hunted and slew great beasts, fought against Zith and Yukmen and bandits and slavers and all the other heroic tales that Caarsa was weaned on. His older brother, Jamael and Hounsew, listened with the same rapt faces as uncles (by blood, marriage and Randel's comrades always introduced thus) and cousins told them story after story. The other Plainstrider children were proud enough to be the offspring of such a hero; Caarsa saw it differently. The older he got, the more he tried to emulate his father, in his pavilion's hunts and the tests thrown against them, sparring sessions and games as children... and he found himself wanting. His maternal grandfather Zander tried his best to reassure the youth, telling him that, "No man was a legend so young, nor a matchless warrior so soon after he picked up a sword and bow. It will come. Trust to the gods and your lessons." Caarsa didn't listen. The canker grew, and he blotted it with his work for his family. There was always something to do, after all, and as a pavilion in the Emerald Clan, it usually revolved around tracking, stalking and slaughtering something. When his father was home from Endrykas or whatever quest he'd embarked on, Caarsa soaked up his lessons about hunting, archery, swordsmanship, wilderness survival, the history of Webbing, anything the great man could impart to his son. He was so eager, and so desperate, and Randel privately had high hopes for his son... hopes he never shared. Not once. Came the day his enemies finally overwhelmed him. It was not with some Drykas war party, though: it was with his family, at his pavilion, when a Zith raiding party came across them. Had they known that the much-feared "Riding Butcher" was below, they may have let them be... or they may have attacked all the fiercer. Either way, a dozen of the beasts burst onto the Plainstalker family and battle was joined. Tents were burned, scorching the night and dwarfing the clashing figures into shadow-soaked monsters. Randel and his oldest boy laid about with kopesh and bow and ax and dead Zith streaked from the sky like fallen daemons. Caarsa and his older brother supported them, their grandfather doing the same. His mother wasn't about to go like a lamb, either: she disemboweled one of the monsters as expertly as she would a deer or bison when it threatened her daughter. Skill is a wonderful thing. Courage can be even greater. But numbers matter, too, and the Zith had more. Hounsew fell a Zith mage's fireball blasting open his back and Randel lost focus for one awful tick... enough time for three spears to pin him to the ground through his back, ribs and guts. Caarsa didn't see it. But his mother did. He will never forget the sounds she made. The family's fury forced off the remainder, Zander rallying them with his rage and his grief, his short, stubby daughter every bit as terrifying to the invaders now they had become her husband's murderers. Old Randel was tough, though: he held on through the night, wordlessly gifting his sons and daughter with heirlooms. Wounded through the side and limping, Caarsa accepted his own, the beautiful kopesh his father carried. Legends, they say, don't die. But no man is a legend: only his deeds are. Men die, and Randel was no exception. Oldest son Jamael became head of the pavilion. The physical damage was repaired and all honored and remembered Randel as a hero of the clan and the Drykas, and his slain son worthy of him. Even in his grief, Caarsa burned to hear those words, and hated himself for that. Years passed. Little changed. Jamael was bonded to a Strider, as was Caarsa's younger sister, Emli. His mother and grandfather didn't say anything, nor would they... but they could see their young man in pain and confusion. When Jamael finally married and the pavilion became larger but in fewer tents, Caarsa decided it was best for him to leave. He didn't want his mother to start pestering him to get chained to a female, either, and more and more his strong, handsome and irritatingly wise brother was reminding him of Randel. He left. Endrykas was not far and he hoped that there, in the epicenter of his people, he might prove worthy to be one of them. His few belongings were packed up onto a spare horse and his family bid him farewell. Language Fluent Language: Pavi Basic Language: Common Poor Language: Tukant Skills Skill EXP Total Proficiency Weaonn: Bow (Shortbow) 20SP 20XP Novice Hunting 20SP 20XP Novice Riding 10SP, 10RB 15XP Novice Lores Lore of Sea of Grass Geography Lore of Drykas Culture Possessions Item Cost Gained Description "Rame", Horse (Light) - Travel Package A no-nonsense mare that his pavilion had to spare, Rame as given to Caarsa as a sort of parting gift. Even-tempered if a little hard of hearing at times, she's a good enough mount until he (hopefully) finds his Strider Yvas - Travel Package - Yvas Saddle Bags - Travel Package - "Temptress", Dog (Hunting) 15gm - A stout but surprisingly quick hound that Caarsa raised from a pup, she's his closest friend now his pavilion is behind him Large Tent (four-person) - Travel Package large tarp, 100 ft of rope, flint & steel, lantern, 2 torches, bedroll, blanket, fishing tackle & hooks, a compass, a riding horse, a full set of tack, and a large set of saddlebags. Set of Clothing - Starting Package Shirt, pants, undergarments, cloak and boots. All are made from rough but sturdy leather, treated by Caarsa and his pavilion. They have been dyed with green and red and topaz, making for an eye-catching mix. Backpack 2gm - A sturdy pack containing a comb and brush of bone, a bar of soap and razor, a week's rations and eating knife Hunting/Trapping Kit 25gm - A medium-sized leather pouch containing a hunting knife, a roll of thin rope for making simple traps, a handful of vials containing common animal scents (rabbit, deer) and a preserving kit. Also includes two tiny and one small animal snare as well as a 10 square foot camouflage tarp Shortbow 30gm - - Shortbow Arrows (20) 1gm - - Archer's Arm Guard 1gm - - Dagger 2gm - - Heirloom: Caarsa's father, Randal Plainstalker, wore this curved, ornate-handled sword for over thirty years. He fought enemies from a dozen races with it and his admirers say he crafted it himself, when he was just a boy. Caarsa thinks that unlikely, considering his father had little-to-know metallurgic knowledge, but he shrugs off the suggestion. All he knows is that the razor-sharp sword, most definitely designed for use by a warrior at full gallop (though it is clearly not of Drykas design), was given to his father on his deathbed. Caarsa maintains and sharpens the sword regularly, but despite its beautiful lethality, he still secretly sees it as a subtle insult from his father. He, the middle son, was given his father's lesser weapon, whereas his oldest brother Jamael was given his prized recurve bow, Clangardeun. He even keeps the gold-inlaid hilt wrapped in leather, so one of the aforementioned admirers doesn't spy it and force him to endure more war stories. Housing Location: Endrykas House: One large tent (four person). Includes large tarp, 100 ft of rope, flint & steel, lantern, 2 torches, bedroll, blanket, fishing tackle & hooks, a compass, a riding horse, a full set of tack, and a large set of saddlebags. Ledger Purchase Cost Total Starting +100gm 100gm Dog, Hunting -15gm 85gm Hunting/Trapping Kit -25gm 60gm Shortbow -30gm 30gm Shortbow Arrows (20) -1gm 29gm Archer's Arm Guard -1gm 28gm Dagger -2gm 26gm Backpack -2gm 24gm Large Tent (four-person) | - | Travel Package | Set of Clothing | - | Starting Package | Shirt, pants, undergarments, cloak and boots. All are made from rough but sturdy leather, treated by Caarsa and his pavilion. They have been dyed with green and red and topaz, making for an eye-catching mix. Waterskin | - | Starting Package | - Backpack | - | Starting Package | A sturdy pack containing a comb and brush of bone, a bar of soap and razor, a week's rations, eating knife and a flint and steel for making fires Thread List