Enervation Application

[reticence]

character application info

basic info

Name: Faolan
Age: 22
Canon: The Bridei Chronicles
History: Unfortunately the series does not have a wiki but here I have written out a history of Faolan's life through the canon point I am planning on apping him from.

personality

Strengths: Faolan is self-confident in himself and his abilities. He is unafraid to speak his mind and unafraid of what other people might think of him when he does. He is a highly capable man, very self-aware and understanding of the skills he has to offer, and of his own short-comings as well for that matter. As one of his friends describes trying to imagine Faolan growing up, he seems to be the sort of man who "would not have let anyone hold his hands. He would have learned to walk all by himself". Determined to do the job and do it well and to accept the consequences himself if things should go south because he knows that he has done everything he can to keep that from happening.

Faolan survived and escaped from what was essentially a torture prison, and that left its mark on him. Because of the injustices he suffered in Breakstone Hollow, he follows his own rules, his own code, his own sense of right and wrong. He witnessed a lot of cruel things while in prison, the prisoners treating the incarcerated men like scum. That experience makes him sympathetic to the suffering of the innocent, and one might even say protective of them. He got himself out of that place after all, and hyper aware of the fact that there were a great many more who were not so lucky. Breakstone made him wary of authority until that person has proven they are worth believing in, but once he has judged them to be true he will devote his life to serving and protecting that person at all costs. He is a deeply loyal man, and despite the fact that he is an assassin and spy he values the loyalty of his friendships above all else. He would never make a promise nor a vow that he did not have the intention of keeping.

Faolan used to be a bard, and even though he says he has sworn it off, he still has a bard's heart and sentimentalities. He still remembers how to compose a song, to play the harp, many many ballads of his apprenticeship, and musical theory in general. He is creative, quick, witty, and observant, able to think quickly on his feet and make split-second decisions, whether they are in regards to the job that he is working or the conversation he is having. He can read subtleties in a person's words and expression, all of which are skills that aid him in his career as an assassin and spy for the King.

Flaws: There are perhaps a great deal more flaws to Faolan's character than there might be identified strengths. Certainly Faolan himself would be quicker to point out his flaws than his strengths, although he has many of each. He has been hurt in the past, both by outsiders and also by people he had loved, and this makes him wary of new relationships, of truly allowing himself to grow close to another person. He believes himself unworthy of friendship, not because he thinks himself incapable of returning it, but because he is afraid of hurting that friend in turn. Of disappointing them.

At the heart of this is the fact that he believes he destroyed his family on that day when he killed his brother to save the rest of them, a belief that is furthered by the fact that they turned him out the next day, packing his bag and sending him away without even so much as a goodbye. Killing his brother, losing his family in the process, he buried the man that he used to be down deep within himself and has never made peace with his past because of this. He says that men die of despair in Breakstone Hollow but he had lived because he was already beyond despair, that he had lost all of his capacity to feel already because of what had happened to him as a teen. He puts up a front to the world of sly indifference, a mask to hide behind and keep people from knowing the fact that he truly does care.

He pushes himself too hard at times, especially when there is no one around to remind him to take a break, that he is only human. He does not like to demonstrate weakness, for he knows underneath everything he has built up to hide behind he is still a bard with a bard's sensibilities, and he sees that as a weakness as well. He considers emotions to be a weakness he cannot afford in his career, a weakness that may leave him wide open to his enemies. While he considers his emotions a weakness, however, they are strong, and the strength of them makes them a flaw as well. He loves so deep it is all-consuming, yearns with all his heart, and his anger and jealousy are dangerous foes. He would kill a man out of jealousy if it came down to it, and in truth would have little qualms or regrets in doing so.

Faolan is witty, but sometimes his wit can get him in trouble in any given conversation. He will analyze, observe, and pick apart a person far deeper than they truly care for him to be able to see, and this sometimes gets him in trouble with those people as well. He is curious to a fault, he can come off as slightly arrogant at times, and if he has time to spend in his head he will quickly grow melancholy and bitter.

Miscellaneous: Faolan is a man who takes risks, but calculated ones. He does not (usually) risk himself or another unless he is certain he will succeed (not unless there is no other option). He can get reckless when his emotions come into the mix though, and it is on account of his emotions getting in the way of his sound judgment that he starts to make errors. He can be ruthless, especially when someone he cares for, or someone he is paid to care for for that matter, is endangered.

As he used to be a bard, music reminds him of his past and all the terrible things that happened to him back then, and his feeling of loss when faced with those memories is so strong that he generally avoids music altogether. Going so far as to physically remove himself from the room if need be. He does not talk about his past unless pressed, and even then with only the most trusted of friends. He murdered his own brother, which was a terrible crime, and even if it was to save the rest of his family he cannot imagine that would not change his friends' opinions of him. Not that he will admit to having friends in the first place, of course.

Getting to know Faolan is an exercise in patience. On the front, he is confident and self-assured, taciturn, standoffish, and forbidding. He is expert in assuming many different guises, and to a person who doesn't know him he has no problem lying, cheating, or pretending his way into being whoever he needs to be for that given situation, for the information he seeks. It is once you start to get to know him that you recognize his depth of character, you start to see the goodness in him, the fact that he does in fact care for his friends, but the reticence he has in letting himself get too close, and his fear of loss if he does.

Finally, for all that he says he is his own man, he needs such a person or cause to give him purpose. He is not a man that is self-motivated to follow his own path, but rather motivated to support that of others. His reason to keep existing will always be something beyond himself, and so long as he has that, then even at his darkest times he will never truly lose hope.

game plans

Starting Faction: The Empress
Goals: In Faolan’s canon, he works as an assassin and a spy for his king. I would very much like to be able to establish the same sort of situation for him here in this game as well. He will pretty quickly come to the conclusion that he cannot just leave while this situation stands -- something must be done about it, and he will do whatever he can himself. In Faolan’s own words, he is best at taking orders and slitting throats. He will recognize that the Empress needs men like him on her side if she has any chance of success against one such as the Warlord.

I understand that this is a difficult and dangerous path for him to take, but it’s what he is used to. I am looking forward to being able to rack up the points to award him with abilities that might better aid him in such a position. I am also looking forward to hopefully being able to get him to play both sides and the complicated morality behind that. He would in the end empathize with those who were in the Warlord’s ranks out of fear, and I’d love to have him be able to help them escape. He would see it as paying it forward for all the people he never got to save from Breakstone himself -- aiding those people as well as any sort of mission from the Empress would be very important to him.