Arden Tide

[Arden Tide]

Arden Tide Appearance Race: Human. Gender: Male. Age: 19 Birthday: 16, Fall, 493 Birthplace: Ravok. Appearance: Arden is a beast of a man, with a body full of muscles like taut, corded steel and standing close to halfway past six feet tall. His jet-black hair is often tousled and cut above the shoulder, and etched into his features is a permanent look of blasé disinterest that is betrayed by the intensity given off by his ice blue eyes. He is most often seen with a day or so's worth of stubble on his face and wearing comfortable and loose dark clothing. Character Concept Simply put, Arden is a common criminal and street thug. And he wants to come across as such, and he works at presenting that perception in as many ways as he can, mainly with physical cues such as looming above someone while giving them The Look™ or flexing his muscles while cracking his knuckles. He rarely speaks, preferring action to words (and incidentally finding it useful to seem like a dumb thug by keeping things simple- grunts, shrugs and gestures where words would be generally superfluous, answering questions that require words with as few of them as possible), though one would find a laconic sort of wit that betrays his carefully crafted image if one is lucky or unlucky enough to witness it. Character History Arden looked down and turned the dagger over in his hand as he leaned against the side of a building near the entrance to a small alleyway by a small wooden bridge. Concealed as he was by the shadow cast by the building itself, he could not actually see the blackened blade- which was the main reason why he preferred this weapon over others. It was a simple, efficient and elegant tool. The first two were requirements, the last was incidental, but not unwelcome. He was early, but that wasn't unusual. He preferred to have a little time to get the lay of the land, so to speak. The task was simple, the target predictable, and the pay adequate, making tonight fit his criteria for a successful evening. Visualize. Focus. Execute. Escape. Arsinoe's words- her lessons- came into his mind automatically, as did the application of them. One thing he could never find fault about Arsinoe was the fact that she drilled him relentlessly, drove home her lessons with examples- even if she had to use him to illustrate them. Pain fades away, and words can become garbled in the transmission, but scars will always be there to remind you. Another one of her many, many gems. He takes a deep breath and closes his eyes. Visualize. In roughly ten minutes, the man he was contracted to kill would walk by the empty street which this alley emptied into alone while on his way to a discreet assignation. Predictably. Arden would then grab the man, clamp a meaty, powerful hand over his victim's mouth, and drive the dagger in his other hand up into his throat, slicing back, then forth, then shoving the man away deeper into the alley. Arden's eyes open as he hears the sound of new leather boots upon creaking wood. Focus. His muscles tense as he prepares to spring into action. Time slows down. Execute. He moves, and it's all over much faster than it always seems, in just the way he visualized. These sorts of things usually do, especially when done correctly. Arsinoe would be proud, he thinks with some amusement as he crouches down to wipe his blade clean of blood before sheathing it and proceeding to rob the corpse of everything of value- "a mugging gone wrong, how tragic," they'll say- before making his escape, deeper down the alley, into another, narrow side one leading to a canal and a carefully concealed ravosala- lent to him for this purpose- that would take him to his rendezvous, whereupon he would be paid. Proud, yes. But no less dead. ********* Arden Tide grew up along the docks of Ravok, his father was a dock worker and his mother's profession nominally was laundress, though how she supplemented her income when her husband was off wasting his money at dice is best left unmentioned. He was always bigger than other children, and he used this to his advantage by becoming something of a bully. He was unusual in this regard, not simply picking on the small and fearful, but on pretty much anyone he could get away with- even other bully types, not from any sense of poetic justice, but instead to ensure he would keep everyone on their toes with his seemingly intractable and often violent unpredictability. When he was twelve years old, his mother's side work was discovered one fine evening when Arden's father's money had run out far earlier than usual, and in true Ravokian fashion, this betrayal resulted in Arden becoming an orphan after his father murdered her and his mother's 'client' murdered Arden's father in turn. Arden, having never been particularly fond of either neglectful parent and having been apparently born with a practicality streak as long as he was large, he took every bit of miza he could scrounge up, everything he thought he could sell, and his all-important citizenship papers, and bolted. He very gladly pointed the Ebonstryfe in the direction of the man who killed his parents, and vanished into the seedier parts of town to eke out a living by his own wit and might. Three years of thievery, bullying, extortion, kneecapping and various other less-than-wholesome jobs later, he caught the attention of an older woman known only as Arsinoe, who was something of a talented thief and reputed killer who was rumored to work for the Galatos- something that could never be substantiated nor refuted. For reasons of her own, Arsinoe took Arden under her wing and began to mold and shape his natural talents into something far more than the simple thug he had been up to that point, teaching him how to observe people, how to more effectively use his natural talent for intimidation for greater gain, and most importantly, how to kill someone with nothing more than his hands, his mind and a small, sharp piece of metal. Teacher, taskmistress, employer, lover. Whatever he needed her to be in the three years that followed, Arsinoe became. And in turn, Arsinoe had Arden wrapped around her finger- there was nothing Arsinoe would ask of Arden that he would hesitate to do. One could almost call it love, albeit somewhat codependant. Arsinoe seemed rather happy with the arrangement, and Arden was about as blissful as he'd ever been in his life. And then one night after a furious bout of lovemaking, she tried to kill him. Arden still bears numerous scars from that particular fight, as Arsinoe had taught him everything he knew about fighting, especially dirty. But Arden had a few surprises of his own and in the end, in spite of stumbling away from the bedroom with her dagger stuck to his shoulder, he was the only one of the pair still breathing. To this day he has no idea what prompted her to turn on him so suddenly and irrevocably, and if he was honest with himself, he stopped caring much after he'd been patched up. He has no time to wonder about such things, especially not in this city, of all places. Rhysol was the God of Betrayal, after all, and maybe He'd decided in all his Godly glory and wisdom to make her dance to his tune for whatever unfathomable reason. He may never know, and it's honestly not all that important in the final analysis. Her wisdom remains, and that's all that matters. Language Fluent Language: Common. Skills Skill EXP Total Proficiency Dagger 15 RB, 5 SP 20 Novice Intimidation 20 SP 20 Novice Brawling 15 SP 15 Novice Intelligence 5 SP 5 Novice Acting 5 SP 5 Novice Lores Helpful Lores: Lore of Ravok Layout Lore of Ravok Culture Possessions 1 Set of Clothing -Dark shirt -Dark pants -Simple undergarments -Dark-colored coat -Dark soft-soled boots 1 Waterskin 1 Backpack which contains: -Comb (Wood) -Brush (Wood) -Soap -Razor -Balanced Rations (1 Week’s Worth) -1 eating knife -Flint & Steel 100 Gold Mizas Heirloom: Arsinoe's Dagger- A thin, unadorned and simple blade of blackened metal with a pointed butt and its accompanying simple black leather sheath. Housing Location: Ravok. House: An average sized, single room apartment with a bed, table, a couple chairs, wardrobe, and complimentary chamber pot. Ledger Purchase Cost Total Starting +100 GM 100 GM Thread List None yet.