A Bit About You
Your Name ∙ Roy/Spatzi
Contact Information ∙ PM or e-mail
Time Zone ∙ CST USA
Introductions
Character痴 Name ∙ Samden of Kennan
Age ∙ 35 (May 165 HE)
Gender ∙ Male
Residing ∙ Palace
Character Class ∙ Knight
Occupation ∙ King's Champion
Mindset
Sexual Orientation ∙ Heterosexual.
Overall Personality ∙
Sam is, at his worst, stubborn and introverted. Aside from that, he is compassionate and responsible, and always concerned about what is in his son痴 best interest. He is a very reserved sort of person who generally speaks little. When he does speak, it is only after he has spent time considering what it is he will say. To carry on a conversation with him requires a certain patiences that most people don't possess. Therefore, over the years Sam has developed very few close friendships and has earned a reputation of being difficult to get to know. For the most part Sam appears and acts calm, but he is admittably short tempered when either his son or his stomach pains get the better of his nerves.
His seemingly impassive nature often receives judgment that he lacks hardly any emotion. In truth, Sam is a very compassionate person, but the compassion he feels for others is so subtle that it is hardly ever noticed. Another overlooked quality in Sam is that he is intensely loyal to those he chooses to be. His impersonal and taciturn fa軋de conceals the soft heart and selfless nature that is his weakness. Sam is willing to sacrifice himself to a person or a cause he believes in, is loyal to or loves.
Lastly, Sam is a responsible man with a strong sense of work ethic. When there is something to be finished, he will see that it is done in a timely, quality and efficient fashion. Where in other aspects of his personality Sam requires that others be patient with him, he is very conscious of deadlines and never allows for himself to finish something late. If someone asks him to do something, and he agrees, Sam will uphold his promise to the highest degree he is able. While he is bound by his duty to the Realm to punish those who threaten it, Sam has earned a reputation (and criticism) for being a merciful man. That is not to say that Sam lets these persons 'off the hook', but instead seeks an alternative sentence that spares them in one way but at the same time serves them as a stern reprimand.
Reflection
Height ∙ 6'2"
Weight ∙ 165lbs
Overall Appearance ∙ Sam is dark and in the summer can seem quite swarthy, undoubtedly a throwback to one of his Bazhir ancestors. His hair, when allowed to grow, is a dark brown that tends to silver and curl. At present, his head is shorn to a rough buzz, appearing a silvery black instead of brown末not grey, but silvery. Typically, for purposes of propriety, Sam keeps himself cleanshaven, but it isn't uncommon to find him with dark smatter of stubble along his jaw.
His eyes are a soft, sometimes honey-brown, contrasting with the rough, but well defined, edges of his features. Both his brow and jaw are square and stern, making for a very stubborn appearance, while his nose and lips are rounded softly, alluringly. These self-same lips, while deceivingly gentle, can also be very firm and grim. Also present in Sam's features is the lingering shadow of grief, coupled in his later years with lines of worry.
A tall man, Sam suits his frame with a lean, muscled build that befits a person living an active lifestyle. His movements are lithe and agile, almost as if he is constantly on his guard末comparable perhaps to a stag, or some other primal creature. This same appearance has long deceived his fellow competitors and even his enemies into believing he didn't have enough muscle weight to put behind his blows. In his younger days, his leanness resulted from a high metabolism that he never seemed able to overcome no matter how much he ate.
Nowadays, it is largely stress that keeps him from eating anything but the plainest, driest of foods末which gives him more of a wearied look than a lank one. A few scars appear fadingly and frequently on different parts of his body; even a few line his face where the skin was perhaps split from a vicious blow. In other places, there are hints of broken bones末particularly in the ribs, arms and hands. It is hard even for Sam to discern which scars and old breaks are from training, from jousting or from battle末he's accumulated so many he's lost track over the years.
Backstory
Family History ∙ Situated in the capricious hill country bordering Bazhir territory, if the fief's holdings aren't bone-dry they're flooded末droughts and wet years come in lengthy spells. Only once in a great while are the pastures lush and the fields fruitful, and usually only for a brief period of time. These years have been bad years for the fief: while the rest of Tortall is just beginning to feel the strain of drought, Kennan's holdings have already been suffering for five years. This summer a wildfire has scorched the southern holdings black, and more than likely the ashes will be blown away before they can give life back to the parched earth.
Family ∙ Derrick of Kennan - Father, deceased
Olwen of Kennan - Mother, deceased
Gwen of xxx - Older sister, 49
Rennick of Kennan - Older brother, 44
Jayera of Kennan - Wife, deceased
Braden of Kennan - Son, 16
Birthplace ∙ Fief Kennan
Background ∙
Samden was born the third child and second son of Derrick and Olwen of Kennan. His sister Gwen married while he was still very young, and consequently the two are quite distant from one another. The age gap between Sam and Rennick was enough to keep them from becoming as close as other brothers do, especially since most of Rennick's time was spent in Corus as a page and abroad as a squire. Throughout his childhood Sam had regarded Rennick with the deep admiration often found in younger siblings, so much so that when Derrick decided the means could be expended for Samden to earn his shield, he feared he wouldn't be able to match Rennick's precedent. The ironic truth was that Rennick had gone through his years as page and squire with a lackluster effort and promised to be a mediocre knight at best. Derrick however allowed Samden to believe that he had a long shadow to overcome, believing it might push the boy to perform much better than his older brother.
Samden entered page training very determined to live up to the reputation he had built for his brother. He strove to work harder than all of his peers in every aspect of his training, and while he excelled brilliantly, he failed to make any friends during his first two years. Because of his more reserved nature and his drive attitude, most of his fellow pages took him for unsociable and oftentimes avoided approaching him. When they did Sam did not always know what to say and if it weren't for his aptitude with strategies, probably would have been taunted and called a dummy. This was especially hard on Sam because he knew his brother Rennick had been popular amongst his peers. While he didn't know how to be outgoing, Sam knew he could offer a softly spoken pointer to a page struggling with a new drill, and earn their respect that way instead. By doing this, Sam gained a few friends who in exchange for help with their training, would try to help Sam break a little more out of his shell.
As a squire, Samden had the same knightmaster as his brother. He had sought Sir --- out because he felt that the knight would be the best judge of how he compared to Rennick. Throughout his page training, he had proven himself as one of the most promising knights-to-be in the realm末but Sam could not bring himself to accept the truth of this unless it came from his own brother's knightmaster. It was only a matter of days before Sir --- realized how much more dedicated and talented Samden was than Rennick. Like Derrick, however, Sir --- believed it to be in Sam's best interests to allow him to think he still had a gap to close between his brother and himself. His chances to prove himself against Rennick were few, since Rennick prefered to dawdle at the University and dally at Court than to spend time with his little brother.
Sir --- provided Sam with an outlet to his bottled up competitiveness that his page masters couldn't give him: he honed him to compete in tournaments against full-fledged knights. What gains he made from tournament prizes and purses, Sam wisely kept and saved, knowing that as a second son his chances to tap into his family's wealth were very slim. The best way he could secure his livelihood was through war, but there was hardly a battle or skirmish to be had. I a short time, Sam became one of the most well-rounded and successful competitors in the field. At the time Sam earned his shield, there was little active duty to offer young knights fresh from their Ordeals, so he continued to compete and enjoy the flush of success.
The wild thrill and excitement of the tournament grounds also introduced him to Jayera of ---, an independent and spontaneous squire to Lord ---. The two had only a handful of encounters in various tournaments across Tortall before Sam found himself painfully and hopelessly smitten with her. He decided the best way to get her attention was to earn the respect and admiration of her older brother. This he did, though it meant beating him several times in the sword ring末and thus initially earning her disdain. But --- enjoyed competing against Sam because the younger knight kept him on his toes, and the two of them developed a mutual rivalry-friendship. As a result --- eventually introduced Sam to his sister, but after all his hard work to reach that point, Samden made an entire fool of himself: he hardly said more than three sensible things to her, and the rest was all jumbled together in senseless, mumbly banter.
His shyness and humbleness softened her opinion of him and endeared him to her. She began to seek him out at tournaments, laughing as he blushed and fumbled while she lavished him with playfulness and flirtation. Jayera would rarely miss a match or a tilt in which Sam competed, and always found a way to come bounding towards him with exuberant praise after he had finished. They were constantly in each other痴 company during the tournament months, but Sam never had the courage to ask if he may court her even though it was quite plain that the two of them adored one another.
With the come of late fall, their bliss came to an end. By this time, Sam still hadn't been appointed to a post, so he returned home to Kennan. Lord Derrick was not expected to make it through the winter: the disease from which he suffered was too advanced and the family couldn't afford a better healer. By December, Derrick had wasted away to a ghost of his former self and in the eve of that month passed to the Peaceful Realms. Rennick succeeded his father as Lord of Kennan and felt the brunt of Olwen's pressures for him to marry. On this subject Samden made no remark; he knew enough of his brother's preferences and had heard enough gossip about him to surmise that his Rennick would never marry.
Meanwhile, the subject in light of his own circumstances invoked very tender feelings on his part. Very rarely did Sam approach his older brother about anything, but he persuaded Rennick to go with him under Corus. The two of them went under the pretense of finding a wife for Rennick, but the truth of the matter was Sam missed Jayera's company sorely. Fate played in Sam's favour for once and the Kennans found Jayera and her knightmaster to be present at the palace the remainder of the season. During the month that Sam and Rennick stayed at the palace, Lord --- noticed a steady decline in his squire's once robust enthusiasm, a growing carelessness with her marksmanship and an alarming shift in her priorities. Rennick meanwhile noticed the smiles and laughter came more readily to his brother, that he was suddenly prone to daydreaming and most distinctly Sam had become reckless. Needless to say, nobody and yet everybody was surprised to find that the two made promises to wed末Rennick readily gave the blessing and a few persuasive letters later and he had secured Jayera's family's blessing as well.
Their decision to marry was a poor one financially, but it was one of the happiest times in Sam's life. The two of them stayed at Kennan for the remainder of the winter with plans to spend the spring and summer going from tournament to tournament末granted war or border skirmishes didn't intervene. Sam saw it as an opportunity to earn money to augment Jayera's meager dowry and his previous earnings; the tournament spoils would be their livelihood until Sam had a chance to prove himself in battle and earn rewards for his services. Jayera, who loved the atmosphere and the excitement of the tournaments was more than content to spend the summer following her husband from one tournament to the next. Her plans to try for her shield had dissolved not long after her marriage when she discovered she was with child; about this she surprisingly had no regrets末she was instead very optimistic about the new turns her life would take and very obviously wrapped up in being in love.
While the season proved to be his best season yet, Sam began to slip in the later months of summer. Out of concern for the child and mother, Olwen had sent for Jayera to come home and spend the last months of her pregnancy at Kennan. By this time, Jayera was quite fed up of being pregnant: she was constantly cosseted, told to rest, told to relax末but for a spirited, restless soul like Jayera, these things were torture. Even when Sam arrived home to be with her, she could not tolerate his indulgent and adoring company. Her ill humours only worsened as her pregnancy continued to drag on; she was reassured that it would be over with soon, only this reassurance quickly adapted an anxious timber. The fear began to settle in that it was in fact much later than sooner, and it wasn't until Jayera was frighteningly overdue that she finally went into labour. After more than two exhausting days, Jayera began to fade and it became evident that the only chance that mother and child had at surviving would be to cut the child from the womb. Jayera was too delirious and Sam too desperate to protest the idea, and the healer set about doing the grim work. The healer made an honest effort, but not for the first time Kennan felt the smarting pang of its financial shortcomings: what the healer didn't lack in skill she lacked in speed and Gift. Jayera, already weakened, faded fast with the loss of blood; the child was extracted, slightly blue and breathing shallowly, but nothing a few slaps on the rump and the shock of being bathed in water couldn't fix.
A devastated Sam hardly knew what to do, and for several days he did not eat, sleep or drink. Eventually he returned to his senses, though still numb with his grief and loss, by reminding himself that he had a son to care for. The boy was as healthy as could be hoped for, especially considering the scare he'd given everyone at the start, and after two weeks of going unnamed, Sam named him Braden. Eventually Sam left Kennan for Corus, aiming to take up a position training pages. He was reluctant to leave his young son, but at the same time Braden was a painful reminder of what he had lost. Opportunities came over the next year for Sam to serve under the Knight Commander, and in the following year he found himself a favourite of many of the king's council members. His visits to Kennan were few and far between the more involved he became with political matters, but each time he visited Sam was overwhelmed with the strong similarities Braden was beginning to share with his mother. He had her auburn hair, her green eyes, her easy laugh and boundless energy. These similarities, which had first kept Sam at a distance from his son, were slowly rendering his desires to be more often at Kennan than away.
Coming down to his attitude toward his son, Sam tries his best to be an earnest and dedicated parent. He does not spoil Braden by any means, but neither is his discipline overly harsh. More than anything, Sam fears losing Braden末a fear that sometimes brings out an overbearing, protective and almost maternal quality in him. If it had been his choice, Sam would have preferred that his son attend the University and safely settle into the life of a scholar rather than the road of knighthood. But Braden had grown up in a household where wild stories were told about his father's adventures as a tournament champion, and as a result Braden naturally wanted to try for his shield. Rennick didn't discourage it and felt that it was only proper that his nephew earn his shield末he was after all named the heir of Kennan. So it was settled, and Braden entered pagehood with great anticipation.
At present, Braden is now a squire and believes he is now free of his overbearing and fretful father. As a page, Braden was a gifted athlete and a wily prankster末but hardly much of a scholar. Like Jayera, Braden is very spirited and impulsive, but like his father he shows the promise of becoming an excellent knight.
During his service in the Yamani Wars, Sam's exploits caught the attention and regard of the king himself, who with encouragement from the council has named him Champion. New to the title, Sam is unsure of what is expected of him.
Contract
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--Roy