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Old 10-06-2006, 06:28 PM   #106
Child of the 7th Age
Spirit of the Lonely Star
 
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Garen,

Glad to see you're here.

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My minor character is still to follow but here is my main one. I'll add in the name of Embla's clan/family later as well.

Linked ~*~ Pio

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Child of the 7the Age's character - Khandr

NAME: Khandr

AGE: 40

RACE: Eastern Man - Borrim

GENDER: male

WEAPONS: Unlike the other Borrim, most of whom wield curved blades, Khandr bears a straight sword. It is a blade of fine workmanship gifted to him by Maedhros as a recognition of loyal service in Bor's court. The hilt is silver, adorned with an intricate pattern of intertwining leaves, a pattern more typically elvish than is generally seen in a mannish blade. Khandr’s penchant for this unusual sword puzzles some of the Borrim, but he considers it a physical embodiment of his clan’s oath of loyalty and will not set it aside. He bears a serviceable crossbow that is a gift from his father along with a quiver of 25 arrows; a throwing dagger stashed inside his leather boots; a sturdy hunting knife; a shield of wrought iron; and two ancient spears that once belonged to his grandfather who dwelled far to the east. It is a dangerous world, and Khandr makes sure he is never without a weapon

APPEARANCE: Khandr stands 5’, 5” and weighs about 165 pounds. His black hair is kept short, although it curls a little around the nape of his neck. His skin is tanned from the sun, and one side of his face is marred with a scar that runs from the top of his right ear down to his nostril. Despite the troubling scar, his dark brown eyes look honest, a rare and sometimes dangerous trait in these troubled times. Khandr wears a leather thong about his neck that has a symbol of his clan suspended from it. This device is wrought from the tusk of one of the giant mûmakil and presumably reflects the region from which his clan originally came. Although the son of one of the more prominent members of the Borrim, he dresses simply: leather riding boots reaching to his knees, dark trousers and a tunic, a leather jerkin that’s usually left open, and, when needed, a heavy cloak.

PERSONALITY/STRENGTHS/WEAKNESSES:

Khandr is an honest man who would love to pass his days in quiet: hunting, supervising the herds, enjoying his beloved first wife, and passing on customs to the younger ones in the clan. Unfortunately, that is not to be. His own household and the wider world he inhabits are filled with strife, a situation he privately deplores. Living in the north, he has seen firsthand the ugly work of Morgoth and his minions, and he despises them. Khandr is by nature a peacemaker, but one born into an age when peace is not possible. In personal terms, he can be stubborn and inquisitive to the point of exasperating others. He is bright and observant and on occasion has learned things that would be better off left untouched.

HISTORY:

Khandr, his father, and brothers are in the personal service of Bor. Khandr has inherited a considerable stretch of lands, both forests and plains, in northern Beleriand and owns large herds of horses and flocks of goats and sheep. He employs servants to care for these, since most of his time is spent at Bor’s court or on official business for him, carrying messages to distant locations. Khandr’s most recent assignment brought him south where he is trying to negotiate a marriage agreement. One of Bor's nieces was looking for a husband, and it was thought wise to try and tighten the alliance with the Ulfings Since Khandr has a reputation as a peacemaker and someone skilled at building bridges, he was chosen to negotiate the settlement. Unfortunately, relations between the two peoples have now deteriorated to the point that Khandr finds himself frustrated at every turn in his efforts to forge a new marriage alliance. He is at the point of giving up and returning home, but hesitates to do so since it will disappoint Bor and his son.

Khandr is doubly frustrated in his personal life. His married his wife Briga at the age of seventeen and is still deeply in love with her. More recently, however, Bor asked him to enter into a second marriage for reasons of cementing an alliance with a powerful family. Taking a second wife is a common arrangement among the Borrim who still keep many of the old ways. He wearily acceded to this request without much enthusiasm. He vowed to treat Embla kindly but to make sure she understood that she was second to Briga. When the new bride arrived, Khandr quickly realized he had taken on more than he had bargained for. Much of his time is now spent trying to put out fires between the two women since they are frequently at odds.

Khandr has two daughters in their early twenties, one married and one single, but neither has travelled with him to the court of the Ulfing. He has always yearned for a son but that wish has not been granted.

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Child of the 7th Age's minor character -- Briga

NAME: Briga

AGE: 36

RACE: Borrim

GENDER: Female

WEAPONS: Briga owns a small bow which her husband has taught her how to shoot for purposes of sport, but she has never been in a physical fight.

APPEARANCE: Briga is short and lithe, standing less than five feet. She has brown curls that fall to her shoulder and, when she is happy, her dark eyes sparkle. Though approaching the age of thirty-six, she looks considerably younger than that. Her dress is modest, as befits the first wife of a high ranking official.

PERSONALITY/STRENGTHS/WEAKNESSES/HISTORY

Briga has been loved and sheltered for much of her life. Her parents showered her with love and affecton and her husband has done the same. Khandr and Briga played together as children. They were sweethearts from a young age and have continued to be extremely close as husband and wife, though Khandr protects her from the worst intrigues of the court and from comprehending the reality of Morgoth's attacks on Beleriand.

Shy and reserved with those outside the household, Briga focuses her energies on her husband and daughters and the few close friends she admits to her heart. She is from a wealthy family and has never had to struggle for money or position. She is naturally good natured and gentle but sometimes fails to see the very real problems that people face whose past have been far more difficult than hers, whether in personal or economic terms. As a result, Briga sometimes lacks real sympathy or understanding for those around her who are struggling with difficult issues that she has never had to face. And to make things just a bit more difficult, she is also a person whose feelings can be easily hurt. Her one sadness, which she keeps to herself, is that she has failed to give her beloved husband any sons.

Although Briga hates to argue, she will defend her loved ones with tooth and claw if she feels their best interests are threatened. She was prepared to accept the presence of a second wife in the household with grace, since that is part of traditional Borrim culture. She had hoped to make that second wife a sister and share things with her. What she did not count on was Embla's sharp tongue and open hostility from the very beginning. Briga can not understand the kind of problems that Embla has encountered in life and, as a result, has a hard time feeling any sympathy towards her. The real question for Briga is this: will she continue to ignore the complexity of life and fail to recognize that there are people around her struggling with things she can barely imagine, or will she grow in understanding, wisdom, and grace?


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Child of the 7the Age's post - Khandr

With a weary sigh, Khadr leaned back in his chair and tried without success to sort out the tangled events of the day. He had been home from the great hall for more than two hours, yet his head was still throbbing. He could hear the angry voice of his first wife Briga issuing from down the hall as she criticized second wife Embla for her lack of cooperation and continuing bad spirits. The two women constantly disagreed about household arrangements. Briga would point out when Embla was shirking her share of the work, while the latter would glare out at her, saying nothing but with a nasty scowl on her face.

Not that Khandr would place the major share of blame on Briga! The house had run flawlessly in the old days when she had been the only one on board. He had taken a second wife to extend his own network of alliances and influence and to provide a female friend for his first wife. All his good intentions did not seem to be working. The newcomer Embla had upset the delicate household balance with her sullen face and bitter words. As second wife, Embla should have the good sense to accept that she was not going to be the one on top. Khandr was not an unthinking brute, and a little graciousness and cheerfulness on Embla’s part would have gone far towards earning her many special favors and rewards.

The arguments, however, showed little sign of abating. While Embla did not openly challenge his authority or that of Briga, she sometimes flung out occasional side insults or vague sounding threats which left no doubt that she was bitterly unhappy. Once in a while Khandr glimpsed a real sadness in Embla’s eyes and wondered if he shouldn’t make some effort to sit down and talk to her and try to figure out what was wrong. He did not like confrontations, however, and tended to shy away from Embla rather than run the risk of finding himself in the middle of a very unpleasant conversation.

In any case, Khandr did not have the leisure to deal with the matter now. He had enough on his hands trying to untangle the increasingly confusing web of diplomacy. Any serious attempt to improve the situation with Embla would need to wait till they returned back home to the land of the Borrim. That day could not come too soon as far as Khandr was concerned. This was the fourth week that he and his wives had been in the encampment of the Ulfings. He missed his daughters, and there had been absolutely no progress in trying to forge a marriage alliance between the two kindred peoples. All his effort to negotiate a union between one of Ulfang’s sons and the young niece of Bor had been unsuccessful, despite the assurance that generous gifts would be made as part of the bride price. Some members of the Ulfing entourage even seemed to take offense that the woman would be designated a second wife. That was part of the traditional ways, and Khandr could not understand why this should be a problem.

Khandr felt increasingly baffled over what was happening with the Ulfings. He and his father had always enjoyed good relations with Ulfang. But Ulfang now seemed incapable of making a decision and constantly referred problems and issues over to his sons, especially Uldor. Khandr’s conversations with the sons had been singularly unproductive. They seemed to talk in circles, promising much but never committing themselves to signing an agreement. On top of all that, there were numerous rumors sweeping through the general populace that the delicate balance of peace and war was about to be upset, and they would all find themselves in the middle of a war. Khandr had heard nothing official along those lines, yet he could not help feeling that there was some truth behind these gloomy prognostications.

Khandr bent over his desk and began work on the list of gifts to be sent with the new bride once an agreement was reached. He was still having trouble concentrating. One further regret tugged at the back of Khandr’s mind. If only he had been blessed with a son! The young man could have acted as the arbiter in the disagreements between the two women or, even more likely, Khandr could have avoided the marriage and put forward his son as the bridegroom instead. His son would have been closer to Embla in age and perhaps understood her more. With a weary sigh, Khandr turned his mind away from personal affairs and redirected his attention to the matter of deciding whether twenty or twenty-five goats should be included as part of the bride price.

Last edited by Child of the 7th Age; 10-28-2006 at 01:24 PM.
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