Post by Deleted on Nov 28, 2015 16:59:38 GMT -7
"When all the odds are stacked against us and the demons laugh in our face, the only things left is our strength, courage... And Hope."
Character Appearance:
Arlen himself is tall with deep red hair, fair skin and brown eyes. Generally his postures and demeanor is straight and proper and rarely hunched; for he has little time to relax when he’s always working. His armor is adorned with various decor, including that of a Lion on his chestplate. Fur lines around the collar of his armor and other kinds of padding sits underneath parts of the plate providing warmth and comfort. He wears a tabard at the waist, with a crest of his own design: two lions dancing around a sword.
Character Personality:
Quirks:
- Arlen is a gentleman through and through, always using M’lady or Ma’am and Sir.
- In battle, he always puts himself between the enemy and his allies.
- Talks to his parents and 'the lady in red' in his morning prayers.
Arlen is a man that, from an early age, has learned about hard work. He knows his way around a smith’s hammer and a warrior’s sword and remains passionately driven by his goals. He’s nice, friendly, helpful and very much a loyal man to his friends. Despite this, he is a bit of a loner and has no friends, but those he gets attached to he would happily defend to the death. He is a man of honor and loyalty, but cannot abide by those who usurp power and twist it for their own gains. He holds great respect for honest, hardworking and kind people who help others. He does his best not to judge others on how they look, but how they act. Arlen has a love of smithing and swordplay, for most of his life that was all he ever knew. Nowadays his hobbies include listening to others sing and perform, as well as exploring the world and seeing new sights. Things are only a little bit easier, but Arlen doesn’t ease up on his workload and sets himself new tasks when the old ones have been completed. It would please him no greater than to have an honorable Lord or Lady to serve as a knight.
Likes: Swordplay, Exotic Fruits, Smithing, Music, Artistry, Traveling
Dislikes: Pompous Nobles, Politicians, Pollution, Alcohol, Deceit
Character Background:
Growing up, Arlen had a difficult lifestyle; for his father was not around since he was a baby and his mother, Alexus, had a hard time providing for the boy. When your family has virtually nothing to its name, you scrape from the bottom of the barrel and claw your way up, fighting tooth and nail for just simple scraps of wealth and prosperity. Each day was the same: wake up, hard labour, sleep, rinse and repeat. From an early age, Arlen was sympathetic to his mother who came home each day haggard to make it so they weren’t living in the gutter. The main source of income in Lin Rah came from the workshops and smithies and Arlen found himself quite attuned to working with tempered steel. As a favor to his mother, a local smith referred to as “Rusty” by townsfolk took Arlen on as an apprentice and made him work the tools of the forge. With this, he helped to make a decent living for himself and his mother.
In his teenage years, he grew up strong and healthy, despite the toxicity of the town and its people; with constant fighting and bar brawls, thievery and backstabbing, it was quite dangerous. Still, the more responsibility that Arlen took on in the forge, the less pressure that Alexus felt, but it did little to mend her failing health. He dreamed of one day becoming a noble knight, just like in the stories that Alexus told him as a young boy. Arlen had dreams of slaying deadly beasts, protecting the towns and all of his loved ones from danger, rescuing innocents from trouble and being recognised as a kind and noble figure. This interrupted his time smithing, but Rusty was an understanding person and could not n'or would he ever crush the young man's dreams. In him, Rusty saw a little bit of himself when he was younger and came to call the boy 'son' or 'sonny' from time-to-time.
“For a man to become a knight, they are to be just and true. They right the wrongs in the world, protect the innocent and show courage in the face of great evil or danger. Of course, they gotta have awesome armor and a big sword too!”
So on his 18th birthday, one of the swords that Arlen conveniently worked on was given to him as a gift from Rusty. Every day since then, he would go around the back and practice his swings; copying styles that he saw from other soldiers/guards in town and anywhere that he could find. Fate was a cruel and sinister entity, for as Arlen grew stronger and more independent; his mother grew weaker and frail to the point that she became bedridden. Life had then become more than a battle, but a nigh-insurmountable obstacle for the young man. Unbeknownst to Arlen, he had an innate strength of character. When his inner demons and that of his mother’s came down to break everything that they worked for, Arlen would fight back twice as hard. He began taking double shifts as well as caring for his mother in his time off. Day in day out it was like this for several years. Yet tragedy, unlike Arlen, does not need to rest. When Arlen was 22, one night his mother called for him.
“Look at you; my brave and hardworking little boy. I’m so sorry for putting you through all this. Oh how my baby’s grown up. .. Mommy’s very proud of her knight in shining armor, just like she was proud of your gallant father. I love you very much, and if your father were here, he would love you and be proud of you all the same.”
Arlen did not leave his mother’s side that whole night, sitting by her bedside all that time. The only break in this tragedy, the one good thing about it all, was that she passed away peacefully in the night. The funeral was brief for little could be said, but for the young man it was empty and unfulfilled. Tried as he did to work hard and earn money to make her better, there was nothing that worked and it hurt him more than her death; because deep down he felt he disappointed his mother for not having been there to help, despite knowing the fact that was nothing else he could’ve done. The claws of the grasping grave ripped a part of his life out from him, leaving it empty. There was much left that he wanted to learn and so much more that he wanted to show his mother, the only family he had. Arlen wanted to grow up and become a noble hero and he wanted his mother to be there to witness it all and cheer him on.
He resigned himself to the monotonous and joyless ritual of his day in day out job at the smithy. Everything became a robotic routine with no excitement and pleasure in store for him. Rusty saw the degeneration of this young man’s spirit over a couple of years and being the only one left to have any sway with him. As much as he couldn’t be a proper father, he felt responsibility for looking after the boy and tried one more wake-up call.
“Look, son. Your father and mother may be gone, but you shouldn’t give up your life yet! Your parents wouldn’t want to see you waste away and not pursue your dreams. Would you become one of the masses and disappear into the crowd? I thought you wanted better for yourself! Your mother saw a lot in you and she wouldn’t want you to give up the fight. She’s watching you from up there aside the great gods and goddesses of the world… They’re ALL watching you. Life is hard for you, I get that, but the point of being a man is about showing the courage to face all your fears and hardships, no matter how hard or fearsome they may be. There are people out there that will need you, and if you want to see your mother smiling down at you… Wake up and seize the day!”
Wake up and seize the day…
This is where Arlen’s true story began, where he turned his life around. He practiced harder, grew stronger, and trained for longer and even made his own set of armor. Upon the chest piece was the symbol of a lion: the epitome of bravery and ferocity. In the recent days, Arlen felt a calling; a figure in shining armor and intricate regalia touched his dreams and spoke to him when he prayed. Though he had no idea what she figure said, it was soft-spoken and warmed his soul. She comforted him, soothed him and when he felt at his lowest this armor-clad heroine would visit his dreams again and pull him into the light. Not once did Arlen see her face and he can't recall why, but the shining armor, bright regalia, lion sigil and the color of red were clear as day. From these dreams he garnered 2 names: Lyphion, and Rook. He had the distinct vision of the city of Rook in his mind thereafter. With that, he packed what he could and left for the metropolitan free city. Arriving in Rook, he saw many different men and women of varying shapes, sizes and demeanor… All of them gathered at this city for one purpose or another. Adventurers from all walks of life came to-and-fro among the streets and this was something that Arlen hadn't experienced before. It was here that Arlen would do two things: pursue his dreams of becoming a knight, and chasing after Lyphion, the armor-clad lady in red of his dreams. For it was Lyphion that gave Arlen his divine spark and motivation; giving him power and conviction he never thought he had. The city of Rook needed a man like Arlen, and he was quite happy to answer the hero's call and find his place.
Just when the inner demons thought they had won the fight, Arlen Senshi Seiichi fought back…