Post by Corrin on Aug 3, 2011 20:54:09 GMT -5
Corrin
”I hate to turn up out of the blue uninvited,
But I couldn’t stay away, I couldn’t fight it.
I hoped you’d see my face, and that you’d be reminded that for me, it isn’t over.”
Name
Corrin
Nicknames/titles
Corrin has quite a few nicknames, and even an official title. He got stripped off the title, though most of the nicknames tended to stick around. Corrin has a habit of using a nickname rather than his real name: Sternling. When he meets strangers, he will tell them his name is Sternling, and every official record refers to him as such. Only people whom he considers trustworthy know his true name, and out of those people, only the ones he feels emotionally close to are allowed to actually use the name Corrin. For everyone else, his name is Sternling.
Age
Corrin is 113 years old, around the dwarven equivalent of the early 40’s in human years. Although he has traces of grey in his hair and beard, one would describe him as seasoned rather than old.
Gender:
Male
Sexual Orientation:
Asexual, but if he’d really have to pick: straight.
Occupation:
Investor. Roaming the lands, Corrin is always searching for investment possibilities and ways to earn profit. This varies from simple merchandizing (buy it cheap, sell it for higher prices) and renting to investing money in promising projects, setting up expeditions and even raids. Whereas it generally yields him a lot of money, the ever present risk of losing the money he invested tends to sneak up on him when he least expects it.
Class:
As low as low can get.
Marital Status:
Widower.
Belongings:
Corrin owns several small houses, and he rents out all of them to fund his activities as an investor. Every one of these houses was bought with money he earned with his investment, thus creating a circle of buying more houses and using the rent to create more money to buy more houses. It’s Corrin’s strategy to rebuild the imperium he once had, and so far it is working.
Besides that, Corrin possesses several sets of clothes, most of which are in Dwarven upper-class style and quality, but also a leather chestarmour, which he only wears when expecting to end up in a fight. If he wears it, it’s underneath his clothes where only a very sharp eye can see that there is something under his shirt.
His weapons consist of one-handed steel war hammer and a decorated dagger. The hammer, his main weapon, is slightly decorated. The handle is made of ebony and has kept its natural dark colour, and to prevent splinters, the surface has been polished (the thing shines when you keep it in the right lighting) and the end has been wrapped in black leather to give Corrin more grip and comfort while wearing it. The head is made of a dark kind of steel and has been decorated with pieces of mica on the edges. The sides that are used to smack targets with are both flat. His off-hand weapon, the dagger, is a richly decorated. The handle is made of gold, and has been decorated with a small ruby at the point where the handle meets the blade, and an emerald at the other end of the handle. The blade is slightly curved and 8 inches long. A golden thread has been engraved, and it reaches from the handle to the point. The sheath is black, flashy, and looks expensive. Which it is. Corrin prefers to keep his dagger sheathed, only pulling it out on the very moment he needs it.
He also carries a bag of supplies and gear needed for long-distance travelling.
Physical Description:
Average height for a dwarf, Corrin stands 4 feet tall. His arms, legs, and torso are muscled, a typical build for dwarven males. His skin used to be pale, but a few years of travelling left a healthy tan on his face and arms. Corrin’s face is broad, wrinkled, and weathered. It isn’t exactly ugly, but certainly not beautiful. However, it does give him an air of experience and a generally seasoned look.
His hair has a natural dark color, but strings of grey hair mark that Corrin is aging. He keeps it short, and because it is quite rigid, it tends to be shaggy. Corrin’s beard is very short, well-kept, dark with hints of grey, and it covers his cheeks and chin. He is quite proud of it and doesn’t like it when people comment on it in a negative way.
His nose is, pretty much like the rest of his face, flat and broad and one would wonder how he actually smells with the thing. The nose on its own is quite large, but the nostrils are hardly visible. Corrin’s eyes are small, grey, and rest under two fuzzy black eyebrows.
Overall personality:
A person who doesn’t like being social. Cold and calculating, Corrin doesn’t care for moral. If you don’t have any business with him, bugger off. If you do, get to the point. He is grumpy, untrusting, and keeps everyone at a distance. If you are travelling with him, he doesn’t mind banter, but good luck trying to find out anything about his past. He cheers up when talking about money and economy, though.
He is very bitter about his past, but his nature as a dwarf drives him to rebuild what he had rather than complain about what he lost. His mood turns grim when his past self is mentioned. Even if people don’t know that he is actually the fallen merchant prince of Telr, every reminder makes him remember how far he has fallen.
Likes:
-Money
-People who take care of themselves
-Treasure hunting
-A down to earth view of the world
-Money
Dislikes:
-People who think they’re better simply on an ancestral claim (nobility, mostly)
-Losing money
-pickpockets
Strengths:
-Certainly can handle himself in a fight
-Excellent business instincts
-Built like a mountain
-Good endurance
Weaknesses:
-Lack of social skills tends to get in the way
-Often gets into trouble that involves money.
-Has a general problem with mixing up priorities
-Biased on the races. Dwarves are good at everything they do. Period.
Quirks:
-Has a habit of scratching the left side of his nose when deep in thought
-Can stare at an object or person for hours without saying a word or making a move, and never explains why he did it when he’s done.
Fears:
-Losing everything he worked for… again.
Secrets:
-He hasn’t sold his dagger because he is emotionally attached to it. He doesn’t even like it as a weapon, but he can’t bring himself to selling it.
-He also feels sorry for prostitutes and their fate.
Mother:
A prostitute that did her ‘job’ in a brothel, her stage name was Temptress, Ria for friends.
Father:
The man never told Ria his name during his visit, so it remains unknown.
Siblings:
None.
Pets:
None.
Other:
Corrin used to have a wife, Marlene, but she passed away. They never had any children. He is on his own and he prefers it that way.
Overall history:
A fatherless son of a prostitute, Corrin started out with nothing at all. No job, no family, no money, no future. His mother Ria raised him in the brothel she worked in, until the owner of the brothel found out about his existence and kicked him out. From that moment on, Corrin, age 5, was on his own in a city of gangs and crimes. Inevitably, he ended up in one of the many gangs as it was his only option besides ending up dead in a dark alley.
His superiors in the gang soon noticed how cold-blooded and cunning Corrin was, and the young boy rose through the ranks as he grew up.
At the age of 25, he had made it to the position of gang leader under the nickname ‘The Kid’, the youngest gangleader to walk around in Telr for a long time. But Corrin wanted more. Whereas he did not despise his life so far, he didn’t enjoy it either. It was known that he had a knack for selling, and once the opportunity struck, The Kid grabbed it with both hands and went undercover as the merchant whom called himself James. James, which became his new nickname since he had outgrown The Kid, started out as a modest little store-owner, but he had several things most other merchant didn’t have: an excellent instinct for business, and a controversial source of his goods: it had been stolen by the gang he still commanded. Making pure profit on his goods, ‘James’ quickly became a successful merchant. His imperium grew, as did his gang.
Years went by, and a cold mind, an excellent businessman, and good leadership secured the imperium’s steady growth. His gang had become one of the dominant ones in the city, as they were now financed by the profit made by the imperium. The imperium itself no longer depended on the thieves’ activities, as James had branched out to attract a broader public to sell to and other suppliers to buy from. The fact that James was, in fact, The Kid, was a well-kept secret. Corrin went by two nicknames at the age of 50: James the Merchant, a young man with a rapidly growing business, a stern look and an incredible sense for doing business. A secondary nickname people started using for James was Sternling, and revered his imperium as Sternling’s Shop. As the leader of the dominant gang in the city, he went by the alias ‘Shade’, a ruthless man who didn’t hesitate to kill his enemies and cared little for his employees.
It was only a matter of time before the upper classes noticed James and his rapidly growing business. There seemed to be nothing Sternling didn’t sell. He even had the luxury items only the higher classes could afford, and to them, they were relatively cheap. And thus James the merchant reached the upper classes, who patronizingly called him the Vending Scum. To them, he was just a meaningless one day fly whom they could exploit for his cheap goods and then dispose of him.
But they were wrong. As soon as Corrin got a grip in the world of the upper class, the wildfire that was his imperium spread even there. His goods were of the same quality and lower prices than the competition, so the Vending Scum became the dominant supplier for many an upper class household. It earned him serious money, and more intimidating, power. People in the high society started to fear the Vending Scum. And as soon as Corrin started to be treated as an actual member of the upper classes, some wanted this ‘danger to the culture of the rich’ to disappear, and several attempted to assassinate Corrin. Little did they know that the Vending Scum and the crime lord known as the Shade were actually one and the same person. And all people in Telr’s vast underworld knew that the Shade was a man who couldn’t easily be assassinated. And thus all the attempts failed. Every assassin sent after him was killed, even if they backed down after realizing that their target was the Shade. Corrin had to keep his double life a secret, and he didn’t take a single risk in protecting it.
It was around this time that Corrin married Marlene, a daughter of a noble but poor family. It was an arranged marriage. Corrin needed a noble title to set his clients’ minds at ease about buying wares from a low class merchant, and Marlene’s family needed his money to continue living their luxurious lives. There was no love, however. Neither partner liked the other, and they basically were married on paper only. Marlene never even knew his name was Corrin and until the day she died an untimely death by a nasty disease, she had only known him by the name of James.
Even after Marlene’s death, he kept his noble title, and once his enemies realized that sending assassins after him was useless, they begrudgingly accepted his presence. From now on, Corrin was known as James the Merchant Prince in the upper classes. It was an odd kind of relation Corrin had with the members of the high society. The nobility despised the fact that he was of low birth and was reluctant to accept their ways. Corrin on the other hand despised his new costumers for their smugness, corruption, and egocentrism. But as much as the two sides despised each other, they needed each other and thus they tried to get along. The tension eased over time, and Corrin more or less grew into the role of the Merchant Prince.
However, this was at the cost of his activities as the Shade. Grumbling voices started to rise in his gang. The Shade had become soft of late, as if he no longer cared about his followers. One night, Corrin’s second in command, Darren, visited him for their weekly talk. As second in command, Darren was one of the very few to know that the Shade and the Merchant Prince were one and the same person. As an old friend, Darren was Corrin’s most trusted associate and at moment the only person to know Corrin’s actual name.
However, that night they argued. Darren said Corrin was neglecting the gang in favour of the business, whereas Corrin claimed that the gang should show the man who made them big more respect. They realized how alienated they had become from each other, and the argument became hefty from there. In the end, they violently parted ways.
The next day, Darren exposed Corrin by revealing the secret of his dual identity. The nobles, furious, demanded Corrin’s death. Corrin had predicted this, however, and he managed to flee Telr in time. He only took what he could carry. His weapons. Several sets of clothes, some money.
From the moment Corrin fled Telr, he has been exiled. He swore that he’d rebuild what he had lost, and this time he wouldn’t make the mistake of building it on the back of a band of thieves. He also swore revenge on Darren. After Corrin’s exile, Darren had tried to take his place… and he failed. The imperium Corrin had worked so hard for crumbled, and the gang disbanded. Everything Corrin had worked for had vanished, as if it never existed. That is why Corrin wants revenge. Not for betraying him, but for crushing his work.
The last few years, Corrin has been busy rebuilding his imperium. This time though, he does it the legit way. He is still the cunning and cold dwarf who got successful as a gangleader and he still doesn’t care about moral, but he learned his lesson.
Hello there, my chat account is Ulysses.
I am 18 years old, and I've been actively role-playing for
Sample:
‘Are you sure?’
‘I am. This map shows a safe way into the Blightlands and the location of a shrine from the first Era.’
Frowning, Corrin looked from the map in his hands to the human who had handed it to him. The man seemed honest, but then again, that could very well be an act to sell a worthless piece of paper to a gullible merchant or to lure an inexperienced adventurer into a trap.
Luckily, Corrin was neither. He knew what he was doing. Slowly, he folded the map and handed it back. ‘And why should I believe you?’
The man took the map back with a calm look on his face –a good thing- and put it back in his bag. ‘Because I’ve made this map myself. I’ve been there.’
‘Nobody ever went to the Blightlands and returned.’
‘Then I should probably mention that I am a Thorn Warrior.’
Corrin narrowed his eyes. ‘Ah, I see. Quite the claim. You see, I’m Lady Sealros myself. Now, unless you can prove that you actually are a Thorn Warrior, I must be on my way.’
He already turned around to walk away, but the man had put a hand on the dwarf’s shoulder. ‘Wait. I can prove it.’
Corrin reluctantly turned around and faced the human once again. Taking a better look, it struck him that the man was quite old. Experienced. Not the kind of person that would set up a trap for budding adventurers. If this man was trying to trick him, it was by selling a fake. He sighed. ‘Fine. Show me your proof.’
The man nodded and pulled out an insignia, which he handed over to Corrin. He studied the thing for a while. It definitely looked like the real insignia used by the Thorn Warriors. Could still be stolen, though. ‘That settles that. Why approach me of all persons?’
The man seemed to be taken off guard for a moment, as if he hadn’t expected this question. ‘Well…’
Never start with ‘well’, you buffoon of a merchant, Corrin thought. The man continued.
‘… I’ve heard a thing or two about you, Sternling. You take an opportunity when you see it. You’ve got the guts, finances, and will to pull stunts like these. It takes someone like you to utilize a map like this.’
Corrin nodded. ‘Seems like you did some research. Good. But this opportunity is too good. There must be a catch.’
‘I think having to travel into the Blightlands is enough of a catch. Tell you what. Have the map for free.’
Corrin’s eyes immediately narrowed. This certainly wasn’t someone who just wanted to fill his pockets and disappear, but this made the trap all the more possible. ‘How do I know you’re not just going to ambush me on the location of this shrine?’
‘I know the Blightlands and I can tell you this: you need a crew, and a capable one on that. I know you are a man who can manage to collect one. You’d be too much of a challenge for a simple band of thieves, Sternling.’
A moment of silence. ‘You know, you’re one odd person to show up with a piece of paper, tell me all these things and then expect me to actually believe you. Why? Why do you want me to go there? Do you want a share of the profits I’d earn with the loot? Do you want to explore the Blightlands with me? Are you looking for a specific object? I know there is a catch. Just tell me what it is, it tends to make things easier.’
The man sighed. ‘Fine. I don’t want money. I don’t want to see the Blightlands. Not anymore, at least. And I most certainly am not interested in the objects you find in ancient shrines. I am looking for a person. A fellow Thorn Warrior. A woman named Selena. We lost her when we held the line last year. I want to know what happened to her. Can you do this for me, Sternling?’
Corrin said nothing. He just stared at the Thorn Warrior, occasionally scratching his nose with his left hand. The human stared back. At last, the dwarf spoke. ‘The shrine exists?’
‘Seen it with my own eyes.’
‘And you’re positive that there’s treasure to be found?’
‘Absolutely.’
‘What about the loot?’
‘All yours.’
‘Hand me the map.’
Delighted, the Thorn Warrior took the map out of his bag again and he handed it over to Corrin, who immediately grabbed it and put it in his own. ‘Then we have a deal. There’s only one last thing I need to know.’
‘Being?’
‘Your name, human, and your location in case I find your damsel in distress.’
‘Ask the owner of the Tavern in Niella about Echidias. He’ll know. Good luck, Sternling.’
Corrin, finally done with zipping up his bag – always completely close your bag, can’t be too careful about pickpockets-, frowned and looked up. ‘What is that even sup-’
Gone. Where the man who probably called himself Echidias had been a moment ago, there was only air now. Corrin frowned even deeper. Damnit, that sodding, long-legged, love-drunk, son of a [pig]! Who just walks away after saying something cryptic like that!?
Well, at least he got the map. Might as well follow up on the trail, this fish was too big to let go. But Echidias was right, he’d need a crew. He sighed. He had never liked recruiting.