Caius Nuëmenoïr
Feb 11, 2015 8:25:36 GMT -8
Post by Caius Nuëmenoïr on Feb 11, 2015 8:25:36 GMT -8
Character Information
Name: Caius Nuëmenoïr
Gender: Male
Age: 17
Rank or Title: Noble
Appearance:Physical 135 pounds | 5 feet 10 inches in height
Constitution: Lean | Wiry | Athletic |
Poise: Inconspicuous | Loose and Relaxed
Aesthetics: Caucasian | Chocolate brown hair | Golden hued eye | Eyepatch over his Left Eye Socket | Clean shaven | Green Nuëmenoïr Tattoos
Standard Attire: Caius wears well made, comfortable clothes that have been tailored to fit him well. Typically, he covers his chest with a dark green jerkin which bears the Nuëmenoïr family crest over his left breast, embroidered in gold thread. Under this he normally wears a cotton, long sleeved shirt of light, caramel brown. He prefers trousers of dark, brown color, the legs of which are usually tucked into a pair of calf length riding boots of black leather. A black eyepatch covers his missing left eye at all times. He also wears the pelt of the Sabercat who took his eye as a cloak. The paws cross over his chest and pin together, while the head is now part of a deep hood.
Battle Attire: In battle, Caius prefers to go lightly armored. His gear is formed of tough, overlapping pieces of leather riveted together and studded with steel across the chest, shoulders, and thighs. The armor across his torso, thighs, and shoulders is thick, hardened and tough, while that on his arms and anywhere that requires a more fluid range of motion is thin. Caius wears steel bracers over his forearms that have been carved to resemble the heads of great horses. A steel Barbute style helm usually completes the ensemble, with a nasal guard carved to match the bracers, and a trailing mane of black horse-hair along the crown. Scaled steel sabatons cover his feet and calves to protect them while mounted.
Formal Attire: When formality is required, Caius makes an effort to look good. Typically this means wearing a doublet of fine fabric, colored a rich pine green and hemmed with gold over a white, long sleeved shirt. A pair of leggings cut from dark brown leather covers the lower half of his body. His riding boots are replaced with a finer, more comfortable pair that buckle around the ankles.
Caius Nuëmenoïr was, at one point, a handsome young man with sharp, hawklike features. However, when he lost his eye, the left side of his face was scared, marring his features. The scar tissue tugs the left corner of his mouth up slightly in a barely noticeable, crooked smile. His hair is straight, chocolate brown, and shoulder length. Some times he'll tie it back, especially if he feels he needs a clear line of sight between himself and a target, but mostly he leaves it loose. His one remaining eye is a dark, rich gold color, almond shaped, and bright with cunning and intelligence.
Personality:Intimate Compassionate, Creative
Acquaintance Joking, affectionate, friendly, and sarcastic
Professional Quiet, cool, clever
Unknown Observant, cautious
Dreams, Goals Learn to overcome his missing eye, become the greatest bowman in Akatokiyami, Reconcile with his brother
Likes, Loves Cathlyn, Sweets, books, peace & quiet, writing, poetry, music
Dislikes, Hates Idiots, cruelty, alcohol
Fears, Phobias Death, Becoming Blind
Unique QualifierWanderlust
Caius has little interest in violence and bloodshed. He's a young man entering into the prime of his life. Once he was skilled with a bow, now he is simply adequate. He takes great joy in reading, loving myths, legends, and histories, as well as indulging in poetry and other more scholarly texts. Caius is a creative soul, and loves to write. In his spare time, whether he's on the trail or at home in the family estate, he will typically be scribbling down ideas, poems, or stories in his journal, a thick, leather bound folio of parchment paper.
Quiet and introspective by nature, Caius is used to getting lost in the background, and is a man of few words. He prefers a solitary, quiet existence, but is more than capable of playing well with others. When people get closer to him, he opens up and shows his more light-hearted side. Humor and sarcasm come easily to him, but in situations of extreme duress or grim circumstance, it turns to gallows-humor, and can easily grate on other peoples' nerves.
After losing one of his eyes, Caius has a deep seated fear of blindness. The thought of trying to live without sight, without being able to read or write, terrifies him to the extreme. Caius greatly enjoys traveling, preferring to avoid Bullgate and his family estate.
History:Timeline
- 1984 - Caius is born to Gareth and Elora of High House Nuëmenoïr
- 1989 - Caius's younger brother, Garulf, is born. Lady Elora dies in childbirth
- 1994 - Caius, estranged from his brother, begins spending time with his cousin Cathlyn. The two grow to be friends.
- 1997 - Cauis earns the right to choose his first mount, and after much difficulty, claims the horse Wickan as his own.
- 1999 - Cathlyn invites Caius along on a hunting trip, as the two have developed a friendly rivalry. Caius is rescued by Caden Reainhart, and loses an eye to a Sabercat.
- 2000 - Caius withdraws from the rest of his family, giving in to a sense of Wanderlust.
- 2000 - Caius is pursued across the Southern tip of the Aluiet Wastelands by bandits. Desperate to defend himself, he manifests an ability for the first time.
- Current - Caius is returning to Bullgate by way of Vertholt, feeling homesick after a year abroad.
Born into the noble house of the Horselords, Caius Nuëmenoïr was the firstborn son of Gareth and Elora. Usually left in the care of his mother, Caius was a precocious child with a love of stories, and his earliest memories were of his mother reading to him by the fireplace. In his fourth year, lady Elora became pregnant with his younger brother Garulf, and gave birth a few months after the boy's birthday. Unfortunately, as is so often the case in these matters, the birthing process was taxing and difficult on the mother. Lady Elora died bringing Garulf into the world, a wound that the young Caius never truly got over. As the years went by, Caius tried not to resent his brother and honor his mother's memory, but the effort was too much for the young boy. He became quiet and withdrawn, and eventually ceased having anything to do with Garulf. While Caius didn't blame his little sibling for the death of their mother, he could not help but resent the fact that if Garulf had never been born, Lady Elora would still be alive.
When he was ten, he was sent to visit his Aunt and Uncle, and there met his cousin Cathlyn. She was twenty at the time, but she made an effort to bring her dour cousin out of his shell. Eventually, he warmed up to her, and came to view her as an older sister. The two carried on an affectionate rivalry. Even when they fought, there was a certain restraint that made it clear they wouldn't let their quarreling get in the way of their friendship. Cat encouraged him to take up the bow, taught him how to shoot and ride and hunt, and put up with his generally sullen mood when it reared its ugly head.
When he was thirteen, Caius was brought to the Nuëmenoïr ranch to pick his first steed, the horse he would claim as his own for years to come. Cathlyn tried to convince him to choose from a number of animals, but Caius's eyes were drawn to a young stallion in one of the training corrals. He was warned the beast was an ill-tempered, wild animal. It had refused all attempts to saddle or ride it, and had a habit of biting or kicking anyone who came to close. Caius was determined that the stallion would be his mount, and set to work trying to tame the two year old horse.
It was not easy. Many of his family thought it was an effort in futility. For two weeks, Caius would try repeatedly to ride the horse within the confines of the corral. He was thrown over and over again, bitten twice, and kicked in the ass by the mean spirited brute at least once. Through all of this, he refused to give up. Finally, he wore the horse down. Managing to get a saddle on its back through deceit and trickery, Caius proceeded to ride the wild, bucking stallion for nearly ten minutes before it finally tired and gave up. For some time after, the two began training in earnest. Caius was always aware that the beast beneath him was a cunning and intelligent creature, but with time and patience, the horse grew to trust and obey its young rider. Since then, Caius and Wickan have been nearly inseparable.
Over the years, Caius had become a skilled bowman, learning to shoot from horseback and on foot with equal ease. With Cathlyn gone so often, Caius developed his own talents and became quite the writer, composing poems and stories in his free time. The rift between he and his brother never quite healed, though Caius kept his resentment in tight check. Finding it difficult to make friends among his family, Caius withdrew further inward, and came to enjoy solitude, peace, and quiet. When Cathlyn visited during one of her breaks from military service, she invited Caius along on a hunt in the Bullrun so they could catch up...and also stoke the fires of their rivalry back into a full blaze.
During the hunt, Caius and his cousin were separated in a mudslide, and he was washed into a nearby river before being carried several miles down stream. He would have drowned and died then and there, if not for the intervention of a wandering member of the Order of the Sun. Caden Reainhart, a good and honest man, dragged the young Horse Lord from the river, treated his injuries, and stayed with Caius until he awoke. Together, the two began the long trek home to Bullgate on foot, little realizing that the hunter was now the hunted. A wild Mountain Sabercat picked up Caius's trail, and followed the two on their journey. When Caius realized he was being stalked and pursued, he insisted they try to flee, but the sun was setting, and Caden cautioned that flight would mean their certain death. The cat made its move in the dark of night, and would have slain Caius if not for quick thinking on the young Horse Lord's part. The fight with the Sabercat saw Caden injured and cost Caius his left eye when the feral beast's claws slashed across his face, but an arrow stabbed through its heart rendered the feline dead. Wounded and exhausted, Caius let Caden heal the torn flesh around his now empty eye socket, skinned the cat's pelt, and continued the trek back to the Nuëmenoïr estate, where he was reunited with his cousin and faithful steed. The pelt was turned into a cloak for him, something he wears with pride. Caius, knowing he had made a friend in Caden, thanked the man for all his help.
Having lost his left eye, Caius could no longer shoot with the same accuracy he'd had before. Distressed by this, the young man threw himself into training, trying to learn how to accurately aim with only one eye. He got better, but has yet to regain the accuracy he once had. After a confrontation with his younger brother, in which Caius let his resentment of the boy get the better of him, he left the Nuëmenoïr Estate to wander the lands of Akatokiyami, regretting the harsh words he'd shared with his brother the night of his departure. He ranged far, careful to avoid places of trouble, on a quest to find himself, to understand why he had so much resentment for his brother in his heart, and to learn how to move past that, in the hopes that he might one day be able to reconcile with his brother.
His father saw to it that his eldest son was well provisioned and armed for his quest, and he set off after a farewell breakfast with his parents and Cathryn. His brother declined to attend. Though he started off on the wrong foot, Caius soon grew to love the sense of adventure, and the life on the road. His journey lasted over a year. From Bullgate, he travelled south, to Three-Forks, and then on to Southpeak, intent on circling the continent. He wrote along the way, hunted and bartered for food, slept in Inns and taverns when the weather was cold or when he grew tired of sleeping under the stars. He met strangers and helped others where he could, and those strangers became friends. He learned to see the good in people, and so his outlook on life began to change.
As he was skirting the Wastelands, Caius found himself pursued by a band of raiders, intent on chasing him down and stealing more than just his valuables. They pursued him on fast, strong horses, and while they could not hope to match the speed of Caius and Wickan, the fleeing nobleman knew he and his loyal steed would soon become to weary to run. When it became clear they could no longer hope that the bandits would give up their pursuit, Caius chose a rocky outcropping to make his stand. Drawing forth his bow, Heartseeker, and stringing it, he tossed a prayer to the God of the Northern Winds that his aim be true and the winds be kind to him, and slowly drew his bow back. Aiming, an action that had once been as natural as breathing to him, had become difficult since he'd lost his eye. In his travels, he had somewhat learned to compensate, but he still sorely missed his Left Eye.
A dry wind howled, and it would surely effect his aim. He was desperate. This was his only hope to buy himself some time, and he only had twenty arrows. Even if each one found a target, he would still be outnumbered five to one when it eventually came to melee combat. His heart was bursting with fear as he second guessed and third guessed his aim, trying to compensate for the wind. Then he noticed Wickan's ears twisting in the direction of the wind, and he listened. The heavy, rushing sound was fading, lessening. The wind began to die down, and suddenly Caius Nuëmenoïr found himself becalmed in a wasteland devoid of sound. His pulse began to slow as his confidence soared, and he found a new strength of will bolstering his failing courage. He aimed for the lead raider, who was almost a hundred yards away, and fired. He was disappointed to note the arrow falling short of the target, and instead buried itself in the chest of his horse, which nosedived and threw its rider up and forward into the dusty earth. Caius watched with grim satisfaction as the raider flopped and rolled bonelessly through the dirt, his neck broken.
He had no time to consider his lucky shot, as the bandits returned fire. Though most of the arrows fell short or missed him completely, one sliced past his left ear, snagging his eyepatch and dragging it down his face as it sliced across his cheekbone. With a start, he realized that he could see a flickering, whitish blue light infusing each and every bandit, the beasts they road, Wickan, even his own hands were all glowing with this light. The bandits had staggered, surrounding their dead leader and quickly sorting out the new command structure. As they formed rank and resumed their attack, Caius fired two more arrows, charged with the glowing red light, into their midst, nailing one bandit in the thigh, the other arrow finding purchase in a man's chest, sinking into his leather armor, sending both men toppling from their mounts.
The ravagers never got close to him, after five more lethal shots, they broke ranks and fled. They had clearly not considered that he might be one of the Gifted. The revelation of his new power surprised him, though he felt himself growing weary, sagging in the saddle. Wickan nickered softly, stomping in the gravely earth beneath him, concerned for his master. Caius slid his eyepatch back over the gaping socket, took up the bridles once more, and turned Wickan around, towards the heart of the continent. He needed to go home. He needed to know more about these gifts. As he traveled for home, he logged the events in his journal, and experimented and questioned the nature of his abilities, curious as to how they functioned and from whence they came. Finally deciding he needed more help uncovering the nature of his new found gifts, he decided it was best to travel to Vertholt and seek out the Order of the Sun to learn more.
