RE: Twelve Realms: The Worlds Divided
10-01-2019, 04:09 AM
(This post was last modified: 10-08-2019, 01:10 AM by Protoman.)
Character Name: Kayin Taiwo
Appearance: Dark skinned, about 5'1"; blonde hair, about three inches long, roughly cut as if by a blade; grey eyes, soft features. Typically can be seen wearing travelers' clothes underneath a dark green cloak with a red sash around their waist. Carries a blade at their hip and a large pack full of blacksmithing tools upon their back.
Hometown/Home Realm: The Aryk Monastery. Originally an attempt at a Zhidean colony on Entira, Aryk was immediately separated from its mother-country two-hundred years ago by a celestial disruption which prevented any sort of reconnection. The Aryka managed to survive in the dark of the Great Entiran Forest, scrounging first, then thriving. They emerged as a new culture entirely, eschewing the strict hierarchical orderliness of their homeland in favor of a loose, spiritualist society. A philo-religion formed from their contemplations on the nature of their new home: it was a land dominated by nature. No order was imposed upon it, and yet harmony emerged nonetheless. The only way to achieve peace - real, internal peace - was to embrace the chaos and disorderliness of life, and to find perfection within it. Only by mastering oneself could they see the beauty in this chaos; only by reaching internal perfection could one see the perfection in nature.
Bio: Born to a monk father and a mother who did scouting work, Kayin found themselves drawn deep into Otiellan practice very early on. They would follow their father around the monastery grounds, and eagerly listen to stories their mother told about the world outside the monastery walls. Their faith in nature was soon tested, though, when one day their mother did not come back. She had been killed by a Balrus (a creature with the form of a bear but the tusks and weight of a walrus) and now there was nothing left of her but her blade.
Kayin's father did not take it well. He lost the faith, descended into alcoholism. Kayin took the opposite reaction - these things happened. To try and understand was foolish. To try and insist that random, chaotic deaths had to have a reason behind them was blindness.
Still, even with the faith, Kayin found themself held tight by rage. They were compelled to train with the blade their mother left behind without reason, some deep, unfathomed part of them yearning for revenge. They practiced in the courtyard, near a Wildtree, until one day a woman watched them - a monk. She commented on their poor stance, and poorer sword. Met with Kayin's protests and insistence that it was their mother's sword, she simply responded: "No wonder she died with a blade like that."
Rage filled Kayin's heart, and they took a swing. The woman caught the blade with the flat of his hand. It cut him - but not too deep. Immediately repentant, Kayin first went to bandage him, then noticed the lightness of the wound with shock. Before any questions could be asked, he told the child that if they wanted to master themselves - and the blade - then they would have to first understand it.
And so started Kayin's apprenticeship as a blacksmith. They spent the remainder of their youth training in all things relating to the sword. They found peace, and were taught by the woman - a monk named Adetokunbo - a philosophy that would guide them through life. Internal mastery could only be attained with utter peace. Peace could only be attained through a single method: a perfect blade, a perfect kill, against a perfect opponent, restoring harmony to a world of tyrants. They reforged their mother's sword, offered a solemn goodbye to their father, and gave their master one final bow, making a promise:
They would create a perfect blade; they would find god; and when they found god, god would be cut.
Ascent: Mostly practice. Kayin has been travelling the land, slaying despots, killing monsters, and forging better blades from their bones for years now. Only by putting their life on the line will they ever reach greater heights. They plunge into danger without fear of what comes next.
Contacts:
Appearance: Dark skinned, about 5'1"; blonde hair, about three inches long, roughly cut as if by a blade; grey eyes, soft features. Typically can be seen wearing travelers' clothes underneath a dark green cloak with a red sash around their waist. Carries a blade at their hip and a large pack full of blacksmithing tools upon their back.
Hometown/Home Realm: The Aryk Monastery. Originally an attempt at a Zhidean colony on Entira, Aryk was immediately separated from its mother-country two-hundred years ago by a celestial disruption which prevented any sort of reconnection. The Aryka managed to survive in the dark of the Great Entiran Forest, scrounging first, then thriving. They emerged as a new culture entirely, eschewing the strict hierarchical orderliness of their homeland in favor of a loose, spiritualist society. A philo-religion formed from their contemplations on the nature of their new home: it was a land dominated by nature. No order was imposed upon it, and yet harmony emerged nonetheless. The only way to achieve peace - real, internal peace - was to embrace the chaos and disorderliness of life, and to find perfection within it. Only by mastering oneself could they see the beauty in this chaos; only by reaching internal perfection could one see the perfection in nature.
Bio: Born to a monk father and a mother who did scouting work, Kayin found themselves drawn deep into Otiellan practice very early on. They would follow their father around the monastery grounds, and eagerly listen to stories their mother told about the world outside the monastery walls. Their faith in nature was soon tested, though, when one day their mother did not come back. She had been killed by a Balrus (a creature with the form of a bear but the tusks and weight of a walrus) and now there was nothing left of her but her blade.
Kayin's father did not take it well. He lost the faith, descended into alcoholism. Kayin took the opposite reaction - these things happened. To try and understand was foolish. To try and insist that random, chaotic deaths had to have a reason behind them was blindness.
Still, even with the faith, Kayin found themself held tight by rage. They were compelled to train with the blade their mother left behind without reason, some deep, unfathomed part of them yearning for revenge. They practiced in the courtyard, near a Wildtree, until one day a woman watched them - a monk. She commented on their poor stance, and poorer sword. Met with Kayin's protests and insistence that it was their mother's sword, she simply responded: "No wonder she died with a blade like that."
Rage filled Kayin's heart, and they took a swing. The woman caught the blade with the flat of his hand. It cut him - but not too deep. Immediately repentant, Kayin first went to bandage him, then noticed the lightness of the wound with shock. Before any questions could be asked, he told the child that if they wanted to master themselves - and the blade - then they would have to first understand it.
And so started Kayin's apprenticeship as a blacksmith. They spent the remainder of their youth training in all things relating to the sword. They found peace, and were taught by the woman - a monk named Adetokunbo - a philosophy that would guide them through life. Internal mastery could only be attained with utter peace. Peace could only be attained through a single method: a perfect blade, a perfect kill, against a perfect opponent, restoring harmony to a world of tyrants. They reforged their mother's sword, offered a solemn goodbye to their father, and gave their master one final bow, making a promise:
They would create a perfect blade; they would find god; and when they found god, god would be cut.
Ascent: Mostly practice. Kayin has been travelling the land, slaying despots, killing monsters, and forging better blades from their bones for years now. Only by putting their life on the line will they ever reach greater heights. They plunge into danger without fear of what comes next.
Contacts: