Player Name- Matt/Jerial
Name- Astaran Dathremar
Race- Human (Bear/Wolf Shifter)
Age- 18
Hair/Eyes- Brown/Green
Physical Description-
Astaran is a surprisingly lean young man, not someone you would expect to shift into a wolf and much less into a bear. Maybe a fox. He immediately stands out even in a crowd of Zhaltev natives with his long stripe of straight black hair flanked by intricate tattoos that extend down his back and sides. He is missing the #5 tooth, not really noticeable in human form unless you're looking for it.
He typically wears a kilt when a human, not simple but not exactly extravagant (though some might think so). Most of the time, he will feel more 'in tune' with the wolf or bear, and it shows in his stature. When feeling like the bear, he will hunch his shoulders a bit and tend to exhibit more bearlike body language. Conversely, a wolfish feeling will bring appropriate body language. Some subtleties in diction also exist, but unless you know Astaran closely you wouldn't realize it (and if you do, then you don't care or notice).
Possessions-
Strengths-
Astaran can shift into both a bear and a wolf. He can half-shift in both forms. The wolfish side of him tends to wax and wane with the moon, and the bearish side inversely to that. Still, Astaran has an independent leaning one way or the other at any given time, caused by mood among other subtle factors. He finds himself showing traits of either the wolf or bear when 'influenced' by it, both physical and psychological.
It's easier for Astaran to shift into the form he's influenced by at a given point in time; shifting into the other form requires more focus and is much harder to do under stress. Furthermore, strong emotion makes Astaran sharply turn to the influence he's under, even if it's subtle at the time. He can even instinctually start to half-shift if he's not careful.
Years of overcoming conflicting natures, both externally and internally, has made him a natural arbitrator. Astaran is the man to go to if you need a dispute settled, one way or another.
He's physically strong, but that's not really a big perk in a place like Zhaltev where the majority of the population is just as strong.
He's a great forager and botanist...he just has a knack for identifying anything about a plant.
Weaknesses-
Astaran doesn't have a flair for flashy garb by any means, but even wearing the clothes he does makes him a bit...different in Zhaltev. And different is almost exclusively a bad thing.
Speaking of different, he's a half-breed Kharityn and Jorvyk. That's really awkward at family reunions. In reality, it makes him an outcast, even among the motley members of the Jorvyk clan. He's seen as a mongrel by the Kharityns and a Kharityn by Jorvyks (and that carries enough connotations).
Astaran walks, talks, and overall does everything slightly differently under each influence. This leads to joint discomfort and some clumsiness. A hidden strength in this is that Astaran is used to unsteadiness and can therefore conduct himself rather well when drunk (physically, at least).
When Astaran switches influences suddenly, he can have lapses of short-term memory that can extend to the past day or so. Other symptoms include dizziness and ataxia (which is exacerbated by his already-conflicting motor tendencies).
Has a violent streak when drunk, but only under the bear influence. Best not to pick fights with him anyway, just to be safe.
Tends not to have many friends due to conflicting natures (loyal comrade one week, complete loner the next).
Gets frustrated when his traits don't match what he wants (i.e. needing good eyesight but not being influenced by the wolf).
Physical problems have started to develop due to the physiological differences between the wolf and the bear (i.e. hip size and alignment and organ placement). He stands a high chance of organ complications later in life and is sure to be forced to walk with a cane by his fortieth winter.
Dignity and shame are two huge words to Astaran; he's a half-breed with a bizarre physical anomaly and it makes him very bitter. He feels like he doesn't deserve what 'friends' (that sounds like such a weak word) he has and is prone to strong cynicism.
Feels like he has something to prove, and it's disgusting to him because he feels like he has a gift and he shouldn't have to prove anything.
History-
It really was pretty unjust that the Kharityn syordan would exile Astaran's mother after she had been raped by a Jorvyk man...even if they did offer her her rapist's scalp...I wonder what they did with the scalp after she refused it. Must be awkward for an aunt to raise a nephew who was spawned by your brother raping a Kharityn. Man, Astaran's whole life is awkward.
[General premise will be that he has conflicting instincts between the wolf and bear mentalities and he has some budding physical problems due to the physiological differences of bears/wolves.]