Bard "Dual-Strike" Alrikson
Feb 4, 2014 10:40:46 GMT -8
Post by Bard "Dual-Strike" Alrikson on Feb 4, 2014 10:40:46 GMT -8
Character Information
Bard “Dual-Strike” Alrikson
Gender: Male
Age: 36
Rank or Title: Former Captain of the “Bridgeburners” Elite Cohort, Royal Army; Affectionately referred to as "The Minotaur" by his men when they thought he wasn't within earshot due to the helmet he wore in battle.
Appearance:
Physical: 6' 5''|200lbs|Powerful Musculature|Athletic Build
Constitution: Hardy|Dark|Stoic
Poise Confident|Alert|Formidable|Unexpectedly Fluid
Aesthetics: Shaggy Brown Hair|Strong Jaw|Stubbly Beard|Green Eyes|Bridgeburner's Tattoo
Standard Attire: Usually comfortable, functional, simple clothes in dark, earthy tones.
Battle Attire: Chain Mail|Half-Helm|Greaves & Vambraces| Jää ja Tuuli
Formal Attire: Formal? What makes you think a tavern owner has formal wear?
Bard is a hardy man, large in stature. He stands at just under six and a half feet in height. He has appropriately long arms and legs. His sickness thinned him out a bit, making him appear leaner and more toned. Before his illness, he weighed about 235lbs, though now he weighs about 200lbs even.
Bard is very fit, with a swarthy complexion and a deep set tan from the large amount of time he spends out and about. He works hard in his day to day life, and this helps keeps him healthy and active.
Being former military, Bard carries himself with his back straight and shoulders squared. He walks with an easy, confident gait.
Bard’s hair is brown and straight. He wears it in a loose tail, a few bangs left hanging over his brow. He has a strong, square jaw covered in thick brown stubble, which runs up into his hairline in a pair of nearly trimmed sideburns. Thinner stubble runs over his cheeks and down his throat. His eyes are hazel colored, and he has a stout, aquiline nose; the bridge was left slightly crooked after a bad reset. He has a jagged scar in his left pectoral, about four and a half inches long, and a thinner scar that arcs around his right calf. In addition to these, he also bears a series of five long, thin scars across his upper back and shoulders, arranged in a hashmarked pattern. An emblem is tattooed on the underside of his right forearm: an arching stone bridge bathed in crimson flames. The emblem marks him as member of the Bridgeburners.
Free from the trappings of uniforms, Bard typically wears long sleeved shirts of dark colored cotton, with a short length of laces near the throat to keep it comfortable. Often times he’ll wear a lighter cotton undershirt beneath it, and roll the sleeves of both up to his elbows. Around his waist is a thick leather belt, from which his axes usually hang. To cover his legs, he usually wears cotton pants of a stiffer weave, typically dyed a dark brown and tucked into sturdy leather boots; Bard usually keeps his boots clean as a force of habit. The black leather is worn and old, but Bard doesn’t seem intent on buying a new pair any time soon.
Though Bard is more accustomed to wearing heavy armor, he had to give up the steel plate in favor of a well crafted chain shirt, long enough to reach his wrists and backed by toughened leather. If he expects there to be trouble, he’s usually wearing it between the two cloth shirts he normally wears. In addition to his chain-mail shirt, he also wears a steel helmet. This helmet is the only piece of his original armor he refused to give back. Intricately carved into the shape of a bull's head, the helm has two sturdy bull's horns curving out from just above the temples. These horns are lacquered and molded onto steel to make them an ingrained part of the helm, and thus less likely to break. Stout, steel plated greaves normally guard his shins, with shaped caps to protect his knees as well. He's also prone to tying studded leather vambraces over his forearms. His twin war axes are perpetually at his belt, one on each hip.
Personality:
Intimate: Warm|Kind|Compassionate
Acquaintance: Imposing|Capable of Small Talk|Guarded
Professional: Controlled|Amicable|Passionate|Gives Respect where it's due
Unknown: Cautious|Investigative|Adaptive|Intimidating
Dreams, Goals: Regain former strength|Rebuild his family business|Make a new Life|Protect Southpeak
Likes, Loves: Wynne Fletcher(He hasn't lost hope)|Training|Fighting|Cooking|Brewing Alcohol|Drinking|Hunting|Good Company|Surprisingly fond of children
Dislikes, Hates: Bullies, Bandits, and Brutes|Nobles|Cowards|Dishonesty
Fears, Phobias: Taphophobia (buried alive)|Losing Wynne|Becoming useless
Bard is a difficult man to approach, and even more difficult to come to know. It's in his nature to keep people at arm's length, and he treats everyone with the same professional cool. He's seen and done things in combat that make him hesitant to share with people, and most simply come to know Bard as an imposing, quiet, and surprisingly easy man to work with and be around. He behaves with a sense of duty and respect, and seems very careful about what he says and who he says it to.
Those that take the time and make the effort to get to know him find a man who enjoys good company, laughter, and peace. These traits make him the perfect man to have behind the bar in your tavern, as he is respectful of everyone until they prove they're not worth it. He can be prideful and sometimes even a little arrogant, but most people who are this close to him know he has a good heart and it's usually in the right place.
Most of Bard's closest friends died in the Battle of Pinemarsh. The few that remain know a slightly different Bard from the rest of the world. The Bard they know is bold, decisive, and confident. Fearsome in battle, and loyal to his last breath, Bard's friends know that the Notched Axe will always be a safe haven with open doors to them, and that the tavern's owner will be their staunchest guardian. Bard's friends find he has a grim sense of humor, and loves to drink fine brews. The best place to befriend Bard is a place where delicious food, satisfying beers, and good music are in abundance.
Only one person came to know Bard on an intimate level, and that was Wynne Fletcher. Bard has no idea, to this day, what drew her in, but he was attracted to her the moment they met. Her strengths complimented his own. Where he was bold and direct, she was subtle and elusive. Where Bard could be quarrelsome and stubborn, Wynne was diplomatic. In his relations with Wynne, Bard proved to be reliable, supportive, and passionate. He made time to be with her, and trusted her implicitly. He loved Wynne deeply, and still does to this day.
There is one more facet to Bard's personality that no one is fully aware of. Bard's aggressive nature stems from an internal need for conflict, for opportunities to prove himself and his abilities. Bard came to know this savage, primal nature quite well when he trained to master his Eiphyre weapon and the powers it granted him. This ruthless savagery is what makes him so lethal in combat. When in the throws of battle, Bard can give himself over to the frenzy at will, prioritizing victory through the completion of mission objectives, and putting things like emotional influences and pain in their place, but it is extremely limited in that regard: It's a discipline, not a super power. One should never forget that, as kind-hearted as Bard may be, he is still a trained soldier, and can kill at will.
Bard is not a particularly religious man, in fact he prefers to have as little to do with the gods as possible. He does not doubt their existence, nor does he challenge the doctrine of the Clergy, but Bard himself has little use for deities. Bard believes in earning your own way through life, without help from on high, and his religious views reflect that. Bard practices an ancient Pagan belief passed down from his forefathers, in which the virtues one seeks are embodied by the animals that best represent them. When Bard finds himself in need of Spiritual Comfort or Support, it is these spirits he prays to.
History:TimelineBorn the son of a tavern owner and his wife, Bard was gifted with a bold, adventurous spirit from a young age. His early life was dull and uneventful, spend wandering in the woods around Southpeak and working in his father’s tavern. Little occurred in the village, though Bard’s hot-headed nature did land him in trouble on more than one occasion. At one point, he was arrested and locked away for punching Lord Eventine in the nose and dragging the man out of the tavern, into the muddy streets of Southpeak. If not for the intervention of the young Lady Gwyneth Eventine, Bard would have spent more than a few long years doing hard labor as a convict. Instead, he was merely flogged and sent home to lick his wounds. He had never cared for nobles, but that day he earned a small measure of respect and admiration for her.
- 1965 - Bard is born to Astrid and Alric of Southpeak
- 1980 - Bard is flogged for throwing Southpeak’s resident Lord Eventine out of his father’s tavern, meets Gwyneth Eventine and learns that not all nobles are quite so bad.
- 1981 - Bard left home at the age of sixteen, became a recruit in the King’s Army, and began training in Vertholt
- 1983 - A year after being cleared for active duty, Bard is assigned to a company of one hundred and fifty soldiers tasked with driving out bandit clans and eliminating rogue mercenary groups.
- 1988 - Bard gains his first rank, corporal, and is made responsible for a small squad of 10 soldiers
- 1989 - Bard gains another rank, rising to Lieutenant by showing exceptional tactical competence and leadership in combat.
- 1992 - Bard rises to Captain, first as a field promotion, then later confirmed officially. The Bridgeburners are formed. Bard is 27. Bard receives his Eiphyre Weapon, Jää ja Tuuli, shortly after.
- 1993 - After extensive practice and training, Bard taps into Jää ja Tuuli's true powers.
- 1994 - Bard encounters a young boy named Ephraim, and takes the lad on as his assistant in exchange for training Ephraim to fight.
- 1999 - Bard is critically injured in combat and, after a long sickness due to infection, is discharged from the military. Upon recovery, he learns that his parents had passed away, leaving their tavern to him.
- 2001 - Stuck in Vertholt following his discharging from the military, Bard is penniless and forced to find work in one of Vertholt’s inns as a cook.
A year’s passing found Bard as a recruit in the King’s Army, driven by tales of glory from the great revolution years past. Longing to find fame and fortune, Bard had an admirable military career. Following the end of the war, many of the Tyrant’s surviving forces fled all over the country. Some merely went home and laid low, but others organized and formed bandit clans and mercenary groups. Bard was assigned to a company dedicated to the extermination of these dangerous groups, lest they spark rebellion or further harass the commoners. Among this cohort of soldiers, Bard thrived and flourished. When he was twenty-seven, he rose to the rank of Captain following an incredible victory over a massive bandit clan that sought to assault the village of Hearthfire. The only way the bandits could cross the Aluiet River was by use of a broad, widely used bridge. Bard was actually a lieutenant at the time, but an ambush on the way to the bridge cleared the way for a field promotion. With his leader dead, Bard found himself as Captain, with a job to complete and lives in the balance.
Though outnumbered, Bard and his men did an excellent job defending the bridge. By holding a single, narrow point, and stationing soldiers on the other side of the bridge, in the village itself, Bard’s cohort lasted for three days, fighting and bleeding against men hardened in the fires of the Great War. In the end, they had to abandon their position and retreat across the bridge...but Bard would have been damned before he permitted the bandits to make it across and into the town beyond. He ordered the handful of Gifted assigned to his cohort to destroy the bridge no matter what. They succeeded in the nick of time, plunging at least seventy charging enemy troops into the raging river below, where they were dragged down by their armor and weapons to drown and die. On that day, the Bridgeburners were born.
Bard and his Bridgeburners earned a reputation among the King’s Army. They were the meanest, most brutal soldiers: one-hundred and fifty men and women armed to the teeth and ready to give anyone over to the Abyss at the drop of a hat. Bard himself became infamous for his habit of fighting with two war-axes, though he was equally skilled with a larger Great Axe. The Tavern Owner’s son was going places, making a name for himself.
Following the incident, Bard and his Bridgeburners returned to Vertholt, where Bard was given the official rank of Captain, and granted a weapon made of the famed star metal: Eiphyre. Jää ja Tuuli, as the mighty double-axe came to be called, woke something within Bard, drawing out an internal power that he had never felt before. Fighting with Jää ja Tuuli allowed Bard to perform incredible new feats: Launching shards of razor sharp ice as hard as knife blades, and even creating freezing ice storms from even the warmest summer breeze. Thus armed, Bard and his Bridgeburners adopted a stone bridge awash in ruby and orange flames as their sigil. They returned to the field, and their legend was born. In the years that followed, The Bridgeburners swept across the land. Going wherever they were ordered, the tight-knit unit earned an almost legendary status. The commoners and nobles alike, wherever the Bridgeburners went, came to know their emblem as a symbol of hope: The Bridgeburners would always be the first to take the field, and always the last to leave it. This held so true that their motto became "First in, Last Out". Many of the men and women within the unit even went so far as to tattoo the emblem somewhere on their person. In the long history of the Empire, few units have ever achieved such a mythic status. Their enemies were cunning, crafty, strong, and many. Through one battle after another, the legend grew. The Bridgeburners couldn't be beaten, they'd always find a way through.
At one point, while stationed in the Bull Run, Bard encountered a boy named Ephraim. Recognizing many of the same traits in this young man that Bard had seen in himself, the warrior came to realize that he might be a positive influence in the life of this boy. When Ephraim asked Bard to take him on as an apprentice, Bard initially rejected the request. His life was dangerous, difficult, and not at all conducive to mentoring a student. He told Ephraim to go to Vertholt and enlist at the academy, but the boy outright refused. Over the next couple of weeks, Bard couldn't go anywhere in the village without Ephraim turning up. Eventually, he got good at flat out avoiding the kid...or so he though.
When Ephraim and a young village girl had found themselves trapped against a tree by a large, deadly viper, Bard and two of his soldiers had come to their aid. While Bard had been preparing to throw one of his axes and kill the thing before it struck, the snake was spooked and attacked. Bard witnessed Ephraim's quick thinking and incredible reflex, and realized he had been wrong about this boy. There was talent there, and if he didn't nurture it, help it grow into a skill Ephraim could use, then someone else would. Someone else might do it wrong.
Once the children were safe, Bard took Ephraim aside and spoke with the boy about the realities of life on the march. He didn't sugar coat the experience. Ephraim had to know and understand what he was getting in to. The boy impressed Bard again by accepting all of this, and so Bard gained an apprentice to teach in the ways of battle. He wrote to Ephraim's parents constantly, keeping them informed on their son's progress and health. He kept the boy busy, but was never harsh or cruel to him. The Bridgeburners came to respect Ephraim for his hard working nature, and before long he was simply one of the family.
Bard took his mentor role seriously. He taught Ephraim his methods of fighting, and shared stories of battle. Emphraim would learn Bard's code of honor and decency, whether he followed it or not, and benefited from insight gathered from Bard's exciting career. He was glad to teach, glad to instill his discipline and sense duty in someone else, so that even if something happened to Bard, the good he put out into the world would still be there. Ephraim, in turn, was an excellent student.
Bard's career was tragically cut short in an engagement with a large mercenary group in the swamps southwest of Pinemarsh, Bard was cut down by a heavily armored warrior, wielding a sword and shield. He broke Bard’s left arm in three places, slashed his right Achilles Tendon, and stabbed him through the chest. Outnumbered and fighting over rough terrain, the Bridgeburners were ripped apart, and many did not survive the encounter. Their sacrifice, however, was not in vain. Though defeated, they had done enough damage to the enemy to prevent them from assaulting Pinemarsh. Left for dead, Bard would have bled out from his injuries if he had not been found by Ephraim, who had been sent away on Bard's orders when the captain realized that they were going to lose this fight. Ephraim saved his mentor's life by bringing medics to his position, and stayed with the man during his recovery. Bard’s injuries were a long time in healing, growing infected from the silty water of the bog he had been fighting in. When his fever finally broke, the captain of the Bridgeburners was left too weak to resume command of the remainder of his unit. He was honorably discharged from the military, given his back pay, and sent along his way.
While he had been ill, Bard had been unable to write, or read mail, even in the rare moments when he was actually awake. As such, he didn’t learn of his parents’ deaths until several months after the fact. Their Tavern, in Southpeak, had been bequeathed to him to do as he pleased with. Bard had intended to go straight from Vertholt to Southpeak, but without weapons and armor, the journey would be too dangerous for him to undertake. Ephraim, now grown and as well trained as he could ever be from Bard's mentoring, eventually left the former captain to seek his own fortunes. Bard used what little money he had left to buy his young protege a proper sword, and a messenger hawk so that he could stay in touch. Left penniless and alone in Vertholt, Bard has been trying to get back to Southpeak ever since, working any jobs he could find and saving his money.
