Post by Galdrohk on Nov 6, 2011 23:07:28 GMT -5
Hey every one, I've been pining for a bit of a creative outlet recently, re-read the books over the summer, and figured what better time to get back into the RP scene than the eve of the conclusion of the story that brought me in in the first place! Some forewarning, I'm not as good as the submissions may seem, I just had some extra time to write them for Galdrohk and Jacobla, so, here goes!
Your username: Galdrohk
Character's name: Galdrohk
Character's age: 130
Character's attitude:
Galdrohk has played many roles in his lifetime: adventurer, courier, diplomat, guide, recruiter, spell caster and warrior alike have all been his life, time has a way of rending change upon all things. He has cared about a great many things in the past, Elvenkind, The Varden, the mysteries of magic, but now he finds himself in a place he has only rarely contemplated before. As more and more heroes sought their place in battle, Galdrohk did so less and less, and even now as the war is more fierce than ever, he finds he hardly participates at all. Unsure of what to pursue next he wandered aimlessly around Varden territory, until he found his new calling. Natural philosophy.
Galdrohk seeks to apply himself to understanding more about the world around him, mixing his great depths of magical knowledge with the new emerging sciences. He is fascinated by the interactions between magic and natural forces, and has made it his goal to better understand both, not because it may be some great aid in battle, but because he feels it is something fundamental that should not be left to mystery. The more Galdrohk reads of emerging theories the more he feels compelled to research them. All of the wisdom he can find seems either to be magic lore written by magicians, or physical theory written by non-magic users, never any overlap, and this gives him a great sense of purpose that what he is doing may turn out to be worth while, a feeling that had escaped him in endless years of war.
Before stumbling upon his new found hobby Galdrohk had grown lethargic, he rarely spoke to people and spent several years slowly alienating himself, feeling pointless in the struggle where once he was a valuable asset. Now though he is excited for life once again, he had lost all non-professional contacts but now finds he craves the thrill of exploration and the companionship of those new generation of warriors he had began to think of as foolhardy. Meeting Galdrohk today would be a much more pleasant experience than meeting him several months ago now that he has grown friendly again and regained the zeal that had made him a great recruiter.
Galdrohk has also regained his political fire. He does not research specifically to aid the Varden militarily but more so to prove to those who would call the group he has dedicated his life to a group of unorganized anarchists that not only is the Varden fair and lawful, but capable of the advancement of civilization as well. He feels that any legitimacy the people still see in the Empire is in its stability, the work it does to endow scholarship, even if it is always for a specifically violent application. He aims to show that the Varden are hardly a rag-tag group of rebels but an established government with the ability to provide for academics simply for the fact that it benefits society. Simply put, Galdrohk no longer fights the war with swords and bow but with thought and word. His main frustration however is that he is dealing with a government who is at war, and appropriating funds for purely theoretical endeavors is near impossible. He takes cynical comfort in how the Varden is able to replicate the bureaucracy of a legitimate government even while most of its members live in tents.
Around other people Galdrohk is friendly and energetic, he always loves to explain his ideas to people and see if any are interested in joining him on some expedition for some obscure reagent or building some grand experimental apparatus that will never be approved. He would readily agree to travel as long as he can bring plenty of texts to keep himself occupied when there are no interesting phenomenon to be observed, for he feels new ideas can pop up anywhere. Galdrohk is still prone to the occasional philosophical brooding however, something that is difficult to avoid when pondering the connections between magic and the natural world, but he prefers them to the internal rantings of an endless war.
Ultimately Galdrohk is driven by a desire to explore, discover and share, to help the Varden over throw a corrupt tyrant, and to try and carve out some small piece in a story that is bigger than himself.
Character's Race: Elf
Character's appearance:
Like most elves, Galdrohk is taller and more slender than the average human. He has long brown hair and blue green eyes. What sets him apart from other elves is not great beauty, but rather a great, average-ness. You wouldn’t mistake him as a human because the differences between the two races are so great but among elves he is neither short nor tall. He is un-extraordinary, which is a pretty extraordinary trait as far as elves are concerned.
Character's allegiance: Varden
Weapons: Galdrohk may not have participated in battle for some time but he is an excellent archer and fierce duelist with light swords, preferring to wield to simultaneously. Magic of course was always his go to weapon, nothing was ever as quick or convenient for resolving a situation than a well worded spell. As far the physical weapons though, Galdrohk may not be at the skill level he once was but he is still a fairer shot than most with a bow and remembers a few tricks with swords that time had proven to be useful.
Other Info: The areas of natural philosophy Galdrohk is most interested in lay in the physical domain: light, sound, motion, the celestial sphere and, of particular importance to his research, occurrences of 'natural' or primal magic that predate civilization's meddling. He does have family in Ellesmera but I was never good at, or particularly enjoyed, RP-ing Ralnka so they will probably only exist in passing reference. Most of what he will do will probably be expeditions for reagents or to observe areas of strange phenomenon, or setting up strange or elaborate experiments, he probably won't be fighting in many battles unless they're very large or important ones. He is not as interested in alchemical sciences since he feels those have been more thoroughly covered by humans, and even less so in biological sciences, feeling elves have already obtained a fairly profound understanding of the flora and fauna of the world.
History:
Galdrohk was born in Ellesmera and had spent most of his life there. It was there he learned all he knew about archery. It was there he spent countless days seeking to learn more of the ancient language and becoming masterful in spell craft. It was there, where he lived, learned, and was endlessly secluded away by Du Weldenvarden. Certainly he loved the forest, but eventually it felt stale, he felt he was learning without understanding, and what he was doing had no real purpose. He desired some adventure, to be a part of something that would matter.
So, moving into the next chapter of his life, Galdrohk left the forest to be a courier for the Varden, he never made a return trip however, his skills in magic were prized highly by the early group, then still sparse in spell craft before the mysterious arrival of the sixty dragon eggs and the ancients. The next few years of his life were perhaps the most hectic, he went through many roles: Healer, teacher, warrior, recruiter, envoy to the elves and due to his calm nerve a lower diplomat in general. No full month went by where he did the same thing and he loved it. Eventually though, fate saw fit that sixty dragon eggs were distributed to the Varden, Empire and wilderness alike. The sudden influx of riders gave Galdrohk a multitude of teaching responsibilities but as they learned there was less need for him with the Varden. This was not a problem then however, as Galdrohk merrily took the chance to adventure with the riders whenever possible, to battle for the Varden whom he felt great dedication for.
Eventually though, even that stopped. Galdrohk did not travel widely any more, he was unfamiliar with newer riders and his need as a teacher declined by the arrival of the ancients. As the war escalated more elves joined and his magic was less prized, more soldiers enlisted and his bow was less needed. At first it was a welcomed break from the years of constant activity but boredom brought him into an unnatural lethargy. He spent most of his time sequestered away, leaving only when called for some menial task and took to philosophical ponderings exacerbated by the endless war.
Gradually his sulky days spent reading lead his interest to works in natural philosophy that humans had pursued before the war broke out in earnest. He was intrigued by how incomplete most worked seemed and tried to find more but it was as though people no longer cared during the time of strife. He felt that so much more could have been accomplished had the humans spell casters of elven quality to help them in their experiments and began to wonder how magic and these sciences might be related. This was interesting enough to break in apathy and reignite the excitement for life that he had had before, albeit this time it would probably involve less killing of kull.
Role Play Sample:
“You want to... What?”
“Build a telescope.” Galdrohk said patiently, looking at the man across from him; burly, dark, and with beads of sweat starting to form around his forehead as the day reach its peak.
“Like, a ship's scope? For naval engagements?” he asked.
“No, well, yes, like a ship's scope but not for naval engagements. A larger version of that, they've only ever made ship's scopes because it is difficult to work with glass on much larger scales, I think magic can remedy that problem. It will be much larger, and ground based.”
The man stated at him blankly. “What for?”
“What for? For observations of course, not just terrestrial either, I believe with a device large enough we could gain new knowledge about the sky above us, possibly even foreign continents.”
The man stared blankly again. “Why? What's the sky or some rock in the sea got to do with anything?”
“Well...” Galdrohk paused, he wasn't quite sure how to better explain it, the prospect certainly excited him enough when he first thought of it. “I mean, you want a sizable amount of materials here, as many spell casters that can be spared up to three and an acre sized plot to build this thing that can't really do anything a mage that knows how to scry can't do already.”
“Well, we might not always have mages available for scrying.” Galdrohk said, his previous experience in recruiting and diplomacy coming back to him. “And you can only scry something you have seen before. With this device we could spy on the Empire from far away, and in so doing gain the ability to scry there without putting our casters or riders in danger! What if the empire employs wards against scrying? Or triggers across its land to notify them if we attempt to communicate magically with the elves in the north? If the elves built a telescope as well we could communicate without that risk, they cannot place a ward against seeing unless they try to camouflage their entire countryside, which is ludicrous. The possibilities for this device are literally limitless. No one has ever attempted to build one on this scale before, certainly no one has tried to apply this much magic to the task.”
“I can't give you the magnitude of funding you ask here though, its simply unfeasible.” the man said. “And I can't assign mages to work with you on some whimsical possibility of something useful, there are other more pressing issues to be looked in to. In your proposal you say you don't even want to build until you can get a large sample of floating crystal from Eoam to see if it might be used as a lens, that's imperial territory. I can give you some funding, any help you require you will have to find from some one else who is not currently in active duty or is not currently assigned to a mission. I'm sorry but I just can't commit these resources without proof of return possibility, no matter how long you've served with us.”
“But I have permission?” Galdrohk asked excitedly.
“Well, yes, but if you want to do this, you'll have to do it yourself, at least until you can bring me some proof it is worth our investing in instead of making more weapons for our soldiers, a method of war we know to be effective.
“Thank you sir, I can promise you, this is going to happen, and even after this war it will be a wonder people travel from all over to behold, and the discoveries will be beyond anything we know now. If its finished during the war, it may be a missing piece we can use to topple Galbatorix. I promise you won't be disappointed.”
The man simply grunted and waved him away after handing him some papers. Galdrohk couldn't believe it, he was finally going to be able to attempt his first large scale experiment and see how science might relate to magic, he just needed to find some people heading to Eoam...
Your username: Galdrohk
Character's name: Galdrohk
Character's age: 130
Character's attitude:
Galdrohk has played many roles in his lifetime: adventurer, courier, diplomat, guide, recruiter, spell caster and warrior alike have all been his life, time has a way of rending change upon all things. He has cared about a great many things in the past, Elvenkind, The Varden, the mysteries of magic, but now he finds himself in a place he has only rarely contemplated before. As more and more heroes sought their place in battle, Galdrohk did so less and less, and even now as the war is more fierce than ever, he finds he hardly participates at all. Unsure of what to pursue next he wandered aimlessly around Varden territory, until he found his new calling. Natural philosophy.
Galdrohk seeks to apply himself to understanding more about the world around him, mixing his great depths of magical knowledge with the new emerging sciences. He is fascinated by the interactions between magic and natural forces, and has made it his goal to better understand both, not because it may be some great aid in battle, but because he feels it is something fundamental that should not be left to mystery. The more Galdrohk reads of emerging theories the more he feels compelled to research them. All of the wisdom he can find seems either to be magic lore written by magicians, or physical theory written by non-magic users, never any overlap, and this gives him a great sense of purpose that what he is doing may turn out to be worth while, a feeling that had escaped him in endless years of war.
Before stumbling upon his new found hobby Galdrohk had grown lethargic, he rarely spoke to people and spent several years slowly alienating himself, feeling pointless in the struggle where once he was a valuable asset. Now though he is excited for life once again, he had lost all non-professional contacts but now finds he craves the thrill of exploration and the companionship of those new generation of warriors he had began to think of as foolhardy. Meeting Galdrohk today would be a much more pleasant experience than meeting him several months ago now that he has grown friendly again and regained the zeal that had made him a great recruiter.
Galdrohk has also regained his political fire. He does not research specifically to aid the Varden militarily but more so to prove to those who would call the group he has dedicated his life to a group of unorganized anarchists that not only is the Varden fair and lawful, but capable of the advancement of civilization as well. He feels that any legitimacy the people still see in the Empire is in its stability, the work it does to endow scholarship, even if it is always for a specifically violent application. He aims to show that the Varden are hardly a rag-tag group of rebels but an established government with the ability to provide for academics simply for the fact that it benefits society. Simply put, Galdrohk no longer fights the war with swords and bow but with thought and word. His main frustration however is that he is dealing with a government who is at war, and appropriating funds for purely theoretical endeavors is near impossible. He takes cynical comfort in how the Varden is able to replicate the bureaucracy of a legitimate government even while most of its members live in tents.
Around other people Galdrohk is friendly and energetic, he always loves to explain his ideas to people and see if any are interested in joining him on some expedition for some obscure reagent or building some grand experimental apparatus that will never be approved. He would readily agree to travel as long as he can bring plenty of texts to keep himself occupied when there are no interesting phenomenon to be observed, for he feels new ideas can pop up anywhere. Galdrohk is still prone to the occasional philosophical brooding however, something that is difficult to avoid when pondering the connections between magic and the natural world, but he prefers them to the internal rantings of an endless war.
Ultimately Galdrohk is driven by a desire to explore, discover and share, to help the Varden over throw a corrupt tyrant, and to try and carve out some small piece in a story that is bigger than himself.
Character's Race: Elf
Character's appearance:
Like most elves, Galdrohk is taller and more slender than the average human. He has long brown hair and blue green eyes. What sets him apart from other elves is not great beauty, but rather a great, average-ness. You wouldn’t mistake him as a human because the differences between the two races are so great but among elves he is neither short nor tall. He is un-extraordinary, which is a pretty extraordinary trait as far as elves are concerned.
Character's allegiance: Varden
Weapons: Galdrohk may not have participated in battle for some time but he is an excellent archer and fierce duelist with light swords, preferring to wield to simultaneously. Magic of course was always his go to weapon, nothing was ever as quick or convenient for resolving a situation than a well worded spell. As far the physical weapons though, Galdrohk may not be at the skill level he once was but he is still a fairer shot than most with a bow and remembers a few tricks with swords that time had proven to be useful.
Other Info: The areas of natural philosophy Galdrohk is most interested in lay in the physical domain: light, sound, motion, the celestial sphere and, of particular importance to his research, occurrences of 'natural' or primal magic that predate civilization's meddling. He does have family in Ellesmera but I was never good at, or particularly enjoyed, RP-ing Ralnka so they will probably only exist in passing reference. Most of what he will do will probably be expeditions for reagents or to observe areas of strange phenomenon, or setting up strange or elaborate experiments, he probably won't be fighting in many battles unless they're very large or important ones. He is not as interested in alchemical sciences since he feels those have been more thoroughly covered by humans, and even less so in biological sciences, feeling elves have already obtained a fairly profound understanding of the flora and fauna of the world.
History:
Galdrohk was born in Ellesmera and had spent most of his life there. It was there he learned all he knew about archery. It was there he spent countless days seeking to learn more of the ancient language and becoming masterful in spell craft. It was there, where he lived, learned, and was endlessly secluded away by Du Weldenvarden. Certainly he loved the forest, but eventually it felt stale, he felt he was learning without understanding, and what he was doing had no real purpose. He desired some adventure, to be a part of something that would matter.
So, moving into the next chapter of his life, Galdrohk left the forest to be a courier for the Varden, he never made a return trip however, his skills in magic were prized highly by the early group, then still sparse in spell craft before the mysterious arrival of the sixty dragon eggs and the ancients. The next few years of his life were perhaps the most hectic, he went through many roles: Healer, teacher, warrior, recruiter, envoy to the elves and due to his calm nerve a lower diplomat in general. No full month went by where he did the same thing and he loved it. Eventually though, fate saw fit that sixty dragon eggs were distributed to the Varden, Empire and wilderness alike. The sudden influx of riders gave Galdrohk a multitude of teaching responsibilities but as they learned there was less need for him with the Varden. This was not a problem then however, as Galdrohk merrily took the chance to adventure with the riders whenever possible, to battle for the Varden whom he felt great dedication for.
Eventually though, even that stopped. Galdrohk did not travel widely any more, he was unfamiliar with newer riders and his need as a teacher declined by the arrival of the ancients. As the war escalated more elves joined and his magic was less prized, more soldiers enlisted and his bow was less needed. At first it was a welcomed break from the years of constant activity but boredom brought him into an unnatural lethargy. He spent most of his time sequestered away, leaving only when called for some menial task and took to philosophical ponderings exacerbated by the endless war.
Gradually his sulky days spent reading lead his interest to works in natural philosophy that humans had pursued before the war broke out in earnest. He was intrigued by how incomplete most worked seemed and tried to find more but it was as though people no longer cared during the time of strife. He felt that so much more could have been accomplished had the humans spell casters of elven quality to help them in their experiments and began to wonder how magic and these sciences might be related. This was interesting enough to break in apathy and reignite the excitement for life that he had had before, albeit this time it would probably involve less killing of kull.
Role Play Sample:
“You want to... What?”
“Build a telescope.” Galdrohk said patiently, looking at the man across from him; burly, dark, and with beads of sweat starting to form around his forehead as the day reach its peak.
“Like, a ship's scope? For naval engagements?” he asked.
“No, well, yes, like a ship's scope but not for naval engagements. A larger version of that, they've only ever made ship's scopes because it is difficult to work with glass on much larger scales, I think magic can remedy that problem. It will be much larger, and ground based.”
The man stated at him blankly. “What for?”
“What for? For observations of course, not just terrestrial either, I believe with a device large enough we could gain new knowledge about the sky above us, possibly even foreign continents.”
The man stared blankly again. “Why? What's the sky or some rock in the sea got to do with anything?”
“Well...” Galdrohk paused, he wasn't quite sure how to better explain it, the prospect certainly excited him enough when he first thought of it. “I mean, you want a sizable amount of materials here, as many spell casters that can be spared up to three and an acre sized plot to build this thing that can't really do anything a mage that knows how to scry can't do already.”
“Well, we might not always have mages available for scrying.” Galdrohk said, his previous experience in recruiting and diplomacy coming back to him. “And you can only scry something you have seen before. With this device we could spy on the Empire from far away, and in so doing gain the ability to scry there without putting our casters or riders in danger! What if the empire employs wards against scrying? Or triggers across its land to notify them if we attempt to communicate magically with the elves in the north? If the elves built a telescope as well we could communicate without that risk, they cannot place a ward against seeing unless they try to camouflage their entire countryside, which is ludicrous. The possibilities for this device are literally limitless. No one has ever attempted to build one on this scale before, certainly no one has tried to apply this much magic to the task.”
“I can't give you the magnitude of funding you ask here though, its simply unfeasible.” the man said. “And I can't assign mages to work with you on some whimsical possibility of something useful, there are other more pressing issues to be looked in to. In your proposal you say you don't even want to build until you can get a large sample of floating crystal from Eoam to see if it might be used as a lens, that's imperial territory. I can give you some funding, any help you require you will have to find from some one else who is not currently in active duty or is not currently assigned to a mission. I'm sorry but I just can't commit these resources without proof of return possibility, no matter how long you've served with us.”
“But I have permission?” Galdrohk asked excitedly.
“Well, yes, but if you want to do this, you'll have to do it yourself, at least until you can bring me some proof it is worth our investing in instead of making more weapons for our soldiers, a method of war we know to be effective.
“Thank you sir, I can promise you, this is going to happen, and even after this war it will be a wonder people travel from all over to behold, and the discoveries will be beyond anything we know now. If its finished during the war, it may be a missing piece we can use to topple Galbatorix. I promise you won't be disappointed.”
The man simply grunted and waved him away after handing him some papers. Galdrohk couldn't believe it, he was finally going to be able to attempt his first large scale experiment and see how science might relate to magic, he just needed to find some people heading to Eoam...
