Post by Harlequin on Jan 20, 2010 2:11:55 GMT -8
Harlequin
Let's Play, Darling.
[/size][/color][/center]Let's Play, Darling.
Basics
Name: Harlequin, may also introduce himself as Harlin or Harley as the mood takes him
Gender: Male
Age: 64
Birthday: Final day of the Thunder Moon
Species: Shifter - Hunter
Affinity: Dark
Abilities: Night Vision, Fortune Telling
Artifact: A bead necklace strung with a grinning skull and the teeth of unidentifiable sea creatures. Contains the ability Fortune Telling
Role: Pirate/Master Trickster
Alignment: Neutral Good, liable to shift alliances as it suits him
Appearance
Features: Harlequin is elegant and attractive with sharp, symmetrical features hinting at exotic origins. Although he is a Shifter, not a Fae, his ears are long and pointed. They differ from the people of the forest in that they have a light fur at their tips, the hint of a hunting animal.
Complexion: Flawless with a grey, shadowy and insubstantial quality from his Dark affinity. You will find that if you touch his skin it is indeed solid but he appears almost ghost-like with his opaque, smoky complexion. He never, ever flushes red - his skin is always colourless and shadowy.
Hair: Shaggy and greyish-black with soft ends. This too has a dark, shadowy quality related to his affinity.
Eyes: Harlequin has pale purple eyes, almost lilac. These are slightly slanted, very expressive and ringed with pretty dark lashes. This unobtrusive colour is the only one decorating this gray and black creature, though it is very subtle.
Body: This elegant Hunter is relatively tall, slender rather than bulky and built for speed and climbing, which came in useful as a pirate. Everything about him is long and elegant, from his slender torso to his piano player's fingers tipped with vicious black claws.
Attire: There is only one word to describe what Harlequin wears; eclectic. Or perhaps two; shabby. Every item of clothing has been hastily thrown together, repaired or homemade. Included is a floppy patched top hat decorated with a feather, a flared pirate's jacket that hangs to his knees over a typical pirate shirt, breeches, fingerless gloves and high boots. All are in various states of disarray and all are some shade of grey or black. Many are decorated with feathers, skulls or silver rings. The latter two he wears many of, with multiple piercings in both ears and a heavy enchanted necklace at his throat.
Distinguishing Marks: Black tattoos over both cheeks, the meanings of which are obscure. Hidden beneath the tattered though somehow fitting clothing are several scars from his sea-faring days, the most prominent of which a nasty burn scar along his left side from a cannon explosion that marked the beginning of his life as a pirate.
In his true form Harlequin is little more than smoke and shadow in the shape of an elegant man, sort of like his skin is all the time but less substantial, more unrefined.
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Personality
Harlequin. It's an interesting name for an interesting person. This jaunty Hunter is first and foremost a pirate, traveller of the High Seas beyond Illinor from whence the mortals came. He'd been the Captain for over forty years and highly successful - he'd built up quite the fortune over time. Needless to say this lends itself to certain qualities: Harlequin is smart and very resourceful. He can be merciless when he needs to be though a streak of unacknowledged decency runs through him. In fact, whispers are that this ruthless pirate may even be occassionally virtuous. Who would have thought?
But 'it's a pirate's life for me' can't last forever. At least not for Harlequin who decided he needed a break. And what better way to adapt his skills than trickery? As it happens this subtle Hunter is quite clever and very adept at using his Dark Affinity to trick people out of food, money, drink, artifacts - whatever they have on them that he desires. He is not often nasty but he is delightful and charming, absolutely fascinating to be around. Just, keep an eye out for deft pick-pocketing fingers and creative tricks.
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Abilities
Night Vision (Base): The base abiltiy of his Dark Affinity means Harlequin can see even on the darkest of nights. Useful, since theivery and spying are among his interests.
Fortune Telling (Artifact): That rather grotesque necklace comprised of teeth and a grinning skull? Well, it is pretty appropriate for a pirate but it's not just for show. It contains the ability Fortune Telling, allowing Harlequin to essentially see into the future. Very, very handy for his trickery. It's pretty much impossible for him to lose at cards, you see.
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History
A Hunter child, dark and tantalising...
Born to Hunter parents living on the forest fringe, Harlequin had always loved the sea. As a child he spent hours slipping from the shadows of the trees to the frothing, angry waves. He was comfortable in the water and within the forest. A charming enigma of a child, his youth was largely pleasant. At the age of thirteen he left his parents and took a job on a merchant ship as little more than a slave but it allowed him to explore the unknown regions beyond the shore. His curious, adventurous nature could not turn down such an opportunity.
Make a choice...death or darkness?
It was less than two years after he first took to the seas that the merchant ship he worked on was besieged by pirates. He and the crew watched in numb, helpless horror as the black-flagged ship approached. It was beautiful; smooth wood weathered to silver grey, intricate carvings decorating the sides, charcoal sails. But it spelt nothing but doom for the stricken merchants.
It was all over in less than an hour. Harlequin had never grown close to the men he worked for but they had given him a home, and he mourned their deaths for that if nothing else. His survival was little more than a streak of luck; a stray cannon blast threw him into the water, unconscious, only for one of the pirate crew to mistake him for their cabin boy and haul him aboard. By the time he came around the mortal pirates had realised what he was and were tying his feet to throw him overboard. His race saved him. He showed them his shifting abilties and they offered him a choice - die, or join them. The fifteen year old chose the latter. He'd escape at the first opportunity.
It's a pirate's life for me...
The opportunity never came. After a year or so, Harlequin stopped looking. The pirates were rough, dark, merciless men; weathered and wild, cruel and confident. They taught him to steal and murder. They taught him to be one of them. He started as little more than a deck hand but in less than four years worked his way up to navigator. He learned the sciences of tracking the stars and the currents, of finding his way across the unpredictable seas. Two years later, he became Captain of the Silver Phoenix. Over the next thirty years, he built himself a reputation.
Captain Harlequin...
The Silver Phoenix became the most feared ship for the forty years Harlequin captained her. His crew were intelligent and ruthless; he was clever, had good instincts and chose his victims well. Under his natural and firm leadership the crew of the Silver Phoenix became rich and almost legendary. But Harlequin grew tired of the sea-faring life. Some whispered that despite rumours of his cruelty and darkness, some shred of decency actually remained in the Shifter pirate. Perhaps they were right. On the eve of his fifty-sixth birthday Harlequin gave the Phoenix to his second in command for safe keeping and returned to the shores of Illinor.
A pirate without a ship? Still a pirate...
The forest welcomed him back. Why shouldn't it? He was still a Shifter, still belonged there. Only he returned to unexpected changes, huge changes! The forest was inexplicably devoid of his people. No longer did he stumble onto werebeasts slipping stealthily among the trunks. No longer did the celestials drift sadly through the trees. Even the sprites were gone. He travelled to the High Council and learned that the Alpha had allied the Shifters with the mortals.
He couldn't figure out why.
It mattered little. Harlequin didn't retain the species loyalty so many individuals clung to. He was out for himself and he would use the mortals as well as the forest dwellers to make his living. He spends his time now travelling from city to city, town to village, forest to lake to mountain. Everywhere he goes he slips easily into the skills gained from piracy - spying, thievery, assassination, pick-pocketing, trickery. He is talented. He earns money, food, clothing, artifacts - anything that takes his interest, this way.
This jaunty, cheerful pirate had adapted to life on land. Though he still looks like the jewelled sea-farer he once was he is content in his life, for now. For the most part he is a loner although he gets on with almost everyone well, at least until he tricks them. His life is a nomadic one. He takes things as he wants and needs them. He doesn't put down roots. He has a weakness for women, drink and gambling. He lives life to the full.
One day he will undoubtedly return to the sea. His heart still rests there, with the harsh life of piracy and the beautiful ship named the Silver Phoenix. But for now, you may find him wandering among the trees - a dark, ghostly pirate with a mischevious glint in his purple eyes.
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