Julen

[Julen]

Player Name: Falcon Bertille

Name: Julen

Age: 22

Race: Human

Height: 5’ 7”

Weight: 150 lbs

Physical Description: Julen is lean, with a long face, which gives people the impression that he’s taller than he actually is. He’s also tougher than he looks, having spent most of his life doing farm work. Unruly brown curls fall down just past his ears. His eyes, which are the color of milk chocolate, may not be the windows to his soul, but his thick, expressive eyebrows often betray his emotions.

As for dress, Julen will usually be found wearing armor. The bottom layer is a gambeson (sewn for him by his wife, awww), with a maille coat and bishop's mantle worn over that, topped by a brigandine. (A gambeson is a padded garment worn under armor to cushion blows, while a brigandine is a canvas jacket with metal plates sewn inside, and when used together they make for very effective protection.) Julen's head is protected by a an open-faced helmet (steel flaps to shield his cheeks and a sloped neckguard) while iron vambraces protect his forearms. The gambeson, the brigandine, and the horsehair crest on his helmet are all dyed blue, to identify him as a Lightsword (name of the warband under Karsimir's command).

Possessions: In town, Julen wears a weapon belt equipped with a arming sword and dagger. When traveling beyond the city, or when expecting a fight, Julen will also carry a spear, circular shield (with a domed metal boss in its center) and standard bow. A leather cord strung with trophy rings (currently three) circles his throat. The only two personal items that Julen keeps with him at all times are a locket containing a lock of his wife’s hair and a small pouch filled with dirt from his farm.

Powers Or Strengths: Julen possesses a powerful mix of determination and plain old stubborness. Even if threatened, or driven to despair, it is very hard to stop him from doing the things he feels it is duty to do. Also, empathy comes easily to Julen, making it easy for him to befriend a wide range of people. And once his friendship has been given, he will stand by that person with unshakeable firmness. In particular, he fiercely loyal to his his wife (Rosemary) and his mentor (Karsimir Von Greyssen).

Julen also has a captivating singing voice. Unfortunately, due to an extremely unwelcome natural talent, he is able to cast illusions while singing -- in fact, he finds it difficult to avoid casting them. Generally, the illusions are very limited in scope. A vine growing up a wall, a single figure dancing, or a small cloud of swirling colors. Whole scenes are too complex for him to orchestrate. And since the illusions result from the things Julen sees in his head when he sings, they must be related to the subject of the song, and they only last for the song's duration. Also, because of the concentration needed to focus on his inner visions, Julen can only cast the illusions while his eyes are shut.

Growing up on a farm taught Julen some basic skills in blacksmithing, carpentry, and animal medicine, although he is not as good at any of them as a specialized tradesman would be. He can also care for tools and sew.

Finally, since entering Karsimir's service, Julen has undergone intensive battle training. Part of this involves the use of weapons, and he's learned to be quite good with a spear, decent with a sword, and is beginning to get the hang of shooting with a bow. Railtus's lessons have also dealt with combat techniques, such as formation fighting and maximising the use of armor. All in all, Julen has become a well-trained fighter, with a style that focuses on reach and trapping enemy weapons while striking (as opposed to acrobatic fighting or power).

Weaknesses:

Julen still has only a very limited ability to exploit his talent for illusions. Recently, he experimented with trying to gain more control of his gift. After practicing all afternoon, he was able to cast a very precise and detailed illusion (still while singing, and still with his eyes closed). However, the practice required him to channel his power for far longer than he ever had before, and led to a buildup of magic in his body. Since no one had ever taught him how to release it safely, it manifested itself physically as crippling body spasms, and manifested itself magically as the creation of extreme, uncontrolled illusions. This has made Julen even more reluctant to use his power until he recieves some sort of training.

Also, Julen is terrified of the Judges and battlemages, which has kept him from registering his magic with the proper authorities. This effectively makes him an outlaw.

Julen can be naive, particularly about city life, and gives people the benefit of the doubt way past what they deserve. In addition, he can be impulsive and rash. Although his intentions are good, he tends to speak or act without thinking, which often gets him in trouble. He has two powerful enemies (Phelan Anstrun and Dominic Snyde) who are determined to destroy him. Also, his deep love for Rosemary makes him vulnerable to anyone capable of using her against him (by, for instance, threatening her life). Finally, although well-trained in fighting, Julen is only just beginning to experience the horrors of the battlefield, and can be quite disturbed by them.

History: Julen grew up on a farm outside of Shim. He had no other siblings, so when his father died (his mother had already passed on when he was very young) Julen inherited the land. After several good harvests, he finally worked up the courage to ask a local girl to be his wife. The girl in question, Rosemary, was quite a beauty. But Julen’s kindness and good nature caused her to choose him over richer or more handsome suitors.

Sadly, once they were married, everything began to go wrong. Crops failed, equipment broke and livestock died for no apparent reason. A more suspicious man might imagine that one of Rosemary’s spurned suitors was attempting to destroy them, but this hasn’t occurred to Julen. (In fact, Rosemary's old flame, Phelan Anstrun, is responsible)

Finally, with their funds exhausted, Julen was forced to go into Marn, seeking work so he could send the money back to his wife. Since he didn't belong to any of the local guilds, this didn't go well at first. But then he seemed to get a lucky break. A barmaid overheard him singing to himself and invited him to perform at the tavern where she worked. Julen accepted. However, that night Julen concentrated so hard on trying to sing well, he inadvertently awakened his talent, creating an illusion of the woman described in the song he was performing. Fortunately, his creation was dismissed at being a ghost rumored to haunt the tavern. But Julen knew what had really happened.

Word of Julen’s singing voice spread, and he got offers to perform at other places, which he accepted when he was desperate enough. Disaster finally struck one night when Julen again lost control of his ability, and this time there was no convenient ghost to blame. Faced by an angry and scared mob of tavern patrons, Julen only managed to escape with the help of a half-elf named Aranel, who he briefly offered shelter to. While demonstrating his talent for her, Julen inadvertently created the illusion of an angelic being, which attracted the attention of Karsimir Von Greyssen, an aspiring paladin newly arrived in Marn to stay with his kin (including, yes, Phelan). Seeing the trouble Julen was in, Karsimir offered to hire Julen. It was an offer Julen quickly accepted. Since then, Karsimir has been training Julen in a variety of combat skills, and Julen recently proved himself in his first battle, where he and Karsimir were vastly outnumbered by a group of mercenaries attempting to take advantage of Rosemary. With the rather unexpected help of a great orc, Julen and Karsimir prevailed, and Julen won the armor he now wears. After the fight, the quartet (Julen, Rosemary, Karsimir, and the orc) journeyed to Marn, in order to regroup and make preparations for dealing with the remaining mercenaries.

In Marn, they found some abandoned buildings in the Industrial District, which they converted into a compound. The compound shelters a number of refugees from the shanty town, a duskling and her family, and the warriors that have joined their cause (known collectively as Lightswords). And now, with all that in place, they are finally ready to return to Shim and confront the mercenaries once more.