Post by Brandwyn on Dec 8, 2010 11:43:55 GMT -5
Age: 42
Gender: Male
Profession: Knight Errant (outlaw)
Appearance:
Gender: Male
Profession: Knight Errant (outlaw)
Appearance:
Tim is 5’11” tall with wavy dark auburn hair that he is letting grow out long and it now reaches down just barely between his shoulder blades. He normally wears a circlet made of a narrow band of brass with a knotwork design etched into it. At regular intervals around the circlet were six set-in sapphires. He wears black trousers with a black wool under tunic. Over that is a dark gray tunic with long sleeves made of soft leather he tanned himself and dark gray riding boots that laced all the way up to his knees also made by him. His hands are normally covered in black suede leather gloves and over everything he wears a black woolen cloak with a wolf fur trim that hangs all the way to the floor. He has it clasped at his neck with an elaborate cloak pin in the design of a falcon with tiny sapphires for the eyes. The sapphires match not only the stones in the circlet but also the bright blue of his eyes. The woolen clothing used to be of high quality, though it was a bit travel worn and there were mends in several locations where the rents in the fabric most likely were caused from battle. His craftsmanship with the leather items is quite good.Personality:
His face is angular with high cheek bones, straight forehead and a long straight nose. His chin is slightly rounded, and his lips are full and expressive. Overall he is quite pleasant to look at. At first glance most women would find him attractive, but with his normally guarded expression, they would deem him unapproachable unless he is trying to be friendly or charming and then he is quite likable. He sometimes has a beard and mustache and at other times he is clean shaven. When he does grow a beard he lets it grow long, but keeps it trimmed nice and shapely so he still looks tidy.
He wears very fine plate armor of high quality steel that has been blackened to make it harder to see at night. The armor is definitely made for him as it fits him perfectly and he is very comfortable in it. On the chest plate is etched a knotwork design sporting two falcons, one on each breast that are facing to the center. His right shoulder is adorned with a leather pad hooked to his armor, the kind a bird of prey would sit upon when not in-flight. On close inspection of his gloves, one can see that the right hand is reinforced with thicker leather so that a landing falcon would not tear into his hand, yet the fingers are not hindered by the thickness of the leather.
The sword at his hip is a longsword of highest quality and has a very elaborate hilt. The pommel is in the shape of a falcon and there are sapphires set into it for the falcon’s eyes, matching the cloak pin. The cross guard is wide and has gold filigree knotwork on both sides that trail down onto the wide base of the blade. There is writing on the blade in flowing script that is in Gallican. The writing on the blade is: Montent libre. Vivre avec noblesse. In dur! Which means: Soar free. Live nobly. Die hard! The scabbard is black with reinforced black studded leather tip and accents.
He rides a huge black warhorse that has long, narrow yet sturdy legs with big bushy fetlocks. The horses black tail falls in gentle waves all the way to the ground. His arched neck is completely covered by a long wavy black mane that falls down to the horse’s knees. The forelock goes all the way to the nostrils. The horse has a very intelligent look in his eye and is very docile around Tim, but will not let anyone else near him. He wears a black leather bridle with silver studs inlaid with tiny sapphires. The breast strap and padded saddle match. The saddle is a custom design with a moderately high back, but a lower, hornless pommel. There is a split in the seat, but each side is highly padded and the underside is soft leather with wool padding. This allows the horse to feel the slightest shifts in Tim’s balance or leg positions, even to the contraction of certain muscles that cue the horse as to his rider’s wishes. The blanket under the saddle is black wool and tied to the back of the saddle are a set of large black saddle bags with silver buckles.
Between the saddle bags is a bedroll and on top of that is a hard, waxed leather case containing a hurdy-gurdy that Tim often uses to accompany himself when visiting Inns or Taverns when he is in need of some extra cash. The instrument case is waxed on the outside to keep out the water. A black waxed leather water bladder hangs from a loop on the front of the saddle and a horseman’s crossbow hangs from the loop on the opposite side, along with a double quiver full of bolts.
Timothy is a tortured soul and as a result can be very moody swinging dramatically from jovial to morose with the slightest of stimuli. His life is ruled by guilt over a terrible act he committed in his youth. To atone for that act, he feels that he must help the feeble and battle evil wherever he can. He does not accept much in the way of payment for these services, only the barest minimums to live on such as food or clothing or services if he cannot pay for them. Normally he will turn down offers of coin when he helps someone unless he is really desperate.History:
He can be very charming and fun-loving at times, particularly if he is in an ale house enjoying the company of the fairer sex, or trying to persuade a potential foe that they do not want to cross blades with him. He is very charismatic and enjoys manipulating others and swaying their opinions to match his own although he does not have a great deal of opportunity to interact with people on a daily basis.
A great deal of the time he is somber and enigmatic, preferring not to speak and sulking in some dark morass of fear and guilt and self-loathing. A haunted look often occupies his face when he is remembering the past and then it is swiftly followed by a look of guilt. He has nothing to lose, so he is fearless in battle, figuring that he will one day die by the sword. He is at peace with that and he is surprised that he has survived this long. He often tackles impossible odds when he is in a dark mood so that some might think he has a death wish, yet his sense of self-preservation is exceedingly high.
Timothy is also very intelligent and loves the finer things in life and to study books of science and philosophy. He likes to figure out how things work and how he can improve upon designs. He is an excellent artist and carries a hand-bound book of parchment that is filled with all manner of sketches of animals, people, landscapes and studies of various subjects. His creative side is often at war with his analytic and scientific side, just as his emotions rage back and forth within him.
He is a man wound very tightly and with his knowledge of weapons, warfare, strategy and the baser arts of thievery, outlawry and banditry, he is a dangerous man, although he considers himself a victim of his circumstance and that he was forced down the path he is on.
Timothy was born in Norgate to a wealthy, noble family. His father was a Knight as was his father before him and so forth back as far as anyone in the family could remember. They did not hold any lands granted to them by the Baron or the King, but over the years the family had made several good businesses and they now owned a couple of estates, land and several mills dotting the Norgate countryside. Timothy was the 5th child and the 2nd son born of his father, Thomas Baskerville and his Gallican mother, Gabrielle Du Lac. He was raised as a page to the Baron of Norgate until he reached the age to enter the battleschool.Additional Information:
His mother taught him Gallican and he learned to speak, read and write Araluen, Gallican and Celtic and studied all manner of topics with the local monastery while he was a page and in his early years as a squire until his battle training took precedence.
He excelled in the battleschool, having a great deal of natural ability, undoubtedly handed down from years of military service. He could ride the feistiest of stallions with ease and won many a competition with sword and lance during his five years as an apprentice. His future was very bright and all laid out before him in a neat little package on the day of his graduation and his knighting ceremony. He was eager to follow that path and everyone thought he would have a long and prosperous life.
It wasn’t until two years later when his entire life unraveled with a single, rash act. He committed murder, driven by rage and betrayal. The act was particularly vicious and the authorities were going to hang him for his heinous act. Timothy managed to escape the night before he was to be executed, with the help of a friend from battleschool.
He ran from the castle, taking his armor, weapons, horse and a small number of personal possessions including his instrument of choice, a hurdy-gurdy. Disowned and shunned by his own family, he had nowhere to turn but into the deep woods of Grimsdale. Posters went up all over Norgate and then a bit later, he found out as he travelled farther away from home, all over Araluen.
Several times he was recognized and nearly caught until he finally grew a long beard and mustache and dyed his hair a lighter color for many months. Pursued by rangers and guardsmen, he stayed on the move, living off the land and occasionally singing for his supper or a room to sleep. Eluding capture time and again, he kept to himself as much as he could until a couple of years had passed and the wanted posters faded and were not replaced. He learned to melt into the forest, leaving no trace, much like a ranger can do.
He felt terrible that he had killed two people and knew he was damned. .Because of his guilt, Sir Timothy felt that he needed to atone for his sins and so he decided that the only way he could do that in his current situation was to use his sword for good. He now roams the country, mostly in Norgate, ridding the area of bandits and outlaws, but also helping the oppressed live better lives, defending the border against Scotti invasions, rescuing people when he happens to be in the right place at the right time and other general good deeds that involve not only his sword, but also his strength. Sometimes he will help bring in a crop or raise a barn or house or plant the fields or deliver a cow. Whenever he is able to right a wrong he does so, even to the point of risking capture on occasion.
After 20 years or so of living by the sword, Timothy has grown into an expert swordsman and hunter. He is very adept at tracking animals or humans through the wilderness as well. He goes by the names of Timothy of Norgate or Timothy Du Lac now, to avoid being recognized. Though it has been so long, there are few left who know or care about him or his heinous deeds when he was young and foolish. He has not seen an updated wanted poster on him in over 15 years and wonders if he is still hunted.
Occasionally he has gone back to Norgate castle during some holiday or celebration and checked on his family. It has been 7 years since the last time he had done so and at that time he had made contact with the first girl he’d ever known to be admitted to the battleschool. Timothy had known her father when he was a child and had looked up to the now Duke as a hero, following the Duke around and soaking up all the information he could while acting as a page for Duke Montgomery. Timothy had befriended young Katrina and given her some private swordsmanship lessons in their arranged meetings out in the wilderness for the first two years of her apprenticeship. In return she kept him informed as to the happenings in the castle. They’d had to end their sessions, however when her duties as squire heated up and she no longer was able to sneak off into the woods on a regular basis. It was now three years since he had last spoken with her.
His original horse was killed by mountain lions and he managed to purloin a colt from the battleschool stables in Norgate, leaving behind all the gold he had at the time to pay for it. The amount was probably not half what the horse was worth, but he had been forced into the action, needing a battlehorse in order to ply his trade as a knight errant. The colt he stole is now over 15 years old and is Timothy’s closest friend. His horse’s name is Tonnerre which means ‘thunder’ in Gallican.
He also has had a couple of different hunting birds over the years. His current bird is a female Peregrine Falcon he calls Fléchette which is ‘dart’ in Gallican.