Post by Mystery on Mar 4, 2013 17:14:50 GMT -5
KVOTHE
IMG IS SPOILERED CAUSE OF SIZE
Name: Kvothe
Pronunciation: Quothe
Age: Sixteen
Season Born In: Winter
Gender: Male
Sexuality: Bisexual
Appearance:
Perhaps Kvothe's most outstanding feature, by far, is his hair. He would describe it as a "sharding unflattering shade on any canvas" but others would probably describe it as red like fire ("Orange", is what they mean.), that manages to stand out no matter where he is standing or trying to blend with a crowd. Which is probably why Kvothe has long since stopped trying to blend with people ("They're too slow to keep up, that's all"). His hair is thick, and straight, longer than most boys keep it and leaving it to just brush his shoulders. Usually pulled back from his face by a small leather band that keeps it suitably neat and more importantly out of his face. His face is generally described as angled and strong, there's no softness in his face, despite the fact that he is of yet only sixteen turns old - he simply seems so much older. Straight brows are set above darkly hazel eyes that seem to almost change colour with his mood ("A trick of the light, I tell you.") and are almost always set in a flatly hostile or disinterested expression, daring people to try and break past the mask he wears. Kvothe's strong features continue to a nose that was very obviously broken at some point from the slight bump in the bridge, set in the middle of his face along with a strong jaw that has a stubborn set to it, even when the boy in question might be smiling.
Kvothe is by no means the most handsome man on Pern, though he has his own charms. Without being ugly, Kvothe's presence is what tends to draw people or turn them away, not his appearance. He's tall for a man at six feet and one inch (6'1") with a lean, sturdy frame, but strong despite that. His is the type of body that is worked to get, the type that is gotten because it is desired, not because his lifestyle particularly means it - though if he Impresses, his leanness may fill out into obvious muscle. Kvothe walks with a strong, striding gait and a firm, proud posture. He has places to be, and if you are in his way, then it would be best to get out of it before he steps on your toes. Kvothe's hands are probably his most noteable feature, if it were not his presence or hair, they are strong, but his fingers are long and slim for a man, with the type of heavily calloused fingers that comes from hours upon hours playing and playing again.
Kvothe rarely smiles, and is more often than not, completely controlled in his expressions. Preferring not to show any sign of emotion until he is comfortable with a person. His skin is the lightly tanned colour of one who spends a good majority of his time in Rukbat rather than indoors. Overall, Kvothe is a young man that looks younger than he acts.
Personality:
Kvothe could be described as a rather brilliant young man, but he would prefer to call it "curious". He has a burning love for knowledge of any kind and devours it like one would a good meal. There is nothing on Pern that Kvothe wouldn't want to learn about, if given the chance, and that is perhaps why he has become a candidate. He moves in his own world of knowledge though, and has little time or patience for people as a whole, though this is a trait that has developed over his life time. When it comes to learning something, he'll apply himself, heart and soul until it's learnt to perfection and then he'll simply experiment until he finds something new that works. It is this unsaitable curiousity that has found him shunning the attention of people and instead focusing his mind inward. Even without his curiousity, Kvothe has a cold sort of brilliance, a way of working through problems that is methodical and uncaring for whatever might have to be sacrificed in the search of answers.
Kvothe is cold and seemingly arrogant with people, mostly due to being uncomfortable with them, but by no means excuses his harsh nature towards them. Kvothe simply put, just does not have time for humanity as a whole. People, as he would say are simply a waste of time and energy that could be better spent on other things, more productive things. Jokes, laughter and play-time are things long banished from the young man's life and any attempts to engage him in conversation will usually have him simply yawning and waving a person on. He just prefers to be left alone, to himself.
Once he has a purpose in mind, Kvothe will move towards it with a single-minded intensity that won't end until it is finished, he'll work until he drops from exhaustion to manage everything that needs to be done, and won't care a jot for his own condition when that happens. He's stubborn and often sarcastic, refusing to give in on anything no matter how trivial or unimportant it may be to others, it is a battle that must be won to someone like Kvothe. And in the end, he will win, simply because he will wear away at someone until they are willing to give in, so it's usually best to have issues with him in the first place.
Kvothe's temper is hard to rile up, and it's best that it doesn't happen. When his long-lasting temper eventually snaps, his eyes will grow cold and fierce at the same time, simply staring down a person and giving a warning that whatever has annoyed him should be left alone. He's a fighter to the core, and is not afraid to be the one throwing punches if it means defending himself (then again, he's not above kicking and biting either), but despises what he sees as weakness in others. If a person is weak, they are dismissed, because they simply won't survive long, runts never do. Pride is a strong bone that runs deep in Kvothe, and he'll tilt his chin and bite his lip before he'll show any pain to anyone, whether it be physical or emotional, he'll block it all away in a part of his mind that is never visited so he can simply push on.
Underneath it all, if one bothers to chip away at the rough around him, Kvothe is a good man. He'll defend the weak and go out of his way to make sure that no one knows of the good deeds that he does, he'll do extra chores if someone is injured and he'll tear up at a ballad. He doesn't mind crowds as a whole, but prefers small groups as opposed to large ones, and strives constantly to at least give some people the time of day to talk to them. There is one thing that will always soften Kvothe's heart, and that is music. Music is something that he can not be without for long, it is a desire and a need, almost like an addiction. Though never actually apprenticed into Harpering, it is as much a part of his life as if he were, there is a deep passion for the music he plays and he treats his lute better than anything else he owns, and has learnt to play with only six or five strings as well as he can play with seven. Turns upon turns were spent perfecting the playing of things like 'the wind through the trees' and other feelings and sensations that music does not often grasp. He has a low, pleasant baritone when he sings, a voice that is not the perfection of beauty, but can stir one to tears.
But it must be added that this kinder, softer young man, is buried very deep.
Family: Karia / Mother / Deceased / Journeywoman Harper
Veote / Father / Deceased / Journeyman Harper
Tarkin / "Uncle" / Deceased / Trader
Lylia / "Aunt" / Deceased / Trader
Olin / "Uncle" / Deceased / Trader
Location: Trelis
Rank: N/A
History:
Both of Kvothe's parents were harpers, but in their journeyman days they joined a caravan of traders, desiring the chance to simply play and travel. For a long time they were simply content with each other, and then Kvothe was born, and everything simply got better. So Kvothe grew up in an environment where friends were fleeting and family was everything, there were several trades within the caravan and Kvothe burned to learn all of them, but most of all his parents craft. Music and stories drew him like a moth to fire, and the brightly intelligent boy who loved his family with everything he had learnt about everything he could get his hands on.
When he was nine or so, another traveller joined their party, a Chemist by the name of Ben (short for something that Kvothe doesn't remember), a man who was aged and more wise than anyone Kvothe had ever met. So he hung around the man, begging him to teach him and teach him Ben did. History, songs, writing, reading, the stars, chemistry. Bits of everything that Kvothe devoured and begged for more, never really caring for the troubles of the weyr that were so far beyond his need to know. Kvothe simply wanted to learn.
Thread fell, and it's out of season fall left the young man bereft of everything he loved, aside from the old Ben who had left their group only the sevenday before to marry a lovely woman whom Kvothe resented for taking his teacher. It was pure, blind luck that Kvothe escaped the rain of death from Thread, curiousity having him exploring caves and what not on the beaches near where his parents and the rest were resting for the day. He'd hoped to find a firelizard egg in the cave, if he just scrambled back far enough, or waited long enough then maybe he'd see just one. Kvothe refuses to remember what he found when he returned to the camp, blocking it deep in his memory. He only remembers his father's lute, which he remembers "waking up" holding the precious instrument.
With no where to go, and no knowledge of where he was, Kvothe opted to set out for the weyr, Trelis, it couldn't possibly be as far as they all made it out to be, since they were on their way anyway. So he began walking. Over the months that Kvothe was on his own, he learnt how to catch his food and forage for what he needed, he broke two strings on the lute and vowed to find new ones whenever he found the Weyr, to make sure he never lost or broke the lute that was his remaining link to his family. Being alone as he was, and using whatever stars he could to guide him on his way, it was no surprise that Kvothe heard nothing of the new colours, or what they meant for Pern. He learnt how to hide from Thread and survive, and he learnt how to be comfortable with himself.
Some time along that journey, Kvothe stopped fearing. He stopped being afraid of the dark, of the creatures that could lurk in the wilderness, he stopped fearing everything but Thread. Eventually he made it to the weyr, uneasy with people and looking like a walking ghost, but alive and determined to stay that way. He quickly developed a dislike for people, and avoided them as much as he could, focusing instead on learning everything he could about these "new colours". He'd never seen the like, or heard the tales, so he simply learnt. Some time along the way he was asked to be a Candidate, and Kvothe simply shrugged and accepted. Why not?
Craft: Harper/Trader
Ranking: Apprentice
Strengths: Naturally talented with music, extremely good with a lute, moderate voice, intelligent
Weaknesses: no people skills
