[Eorl of Rohan]

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Name: Scyrr Silvershield
Age: 24
Gender: Male
Where From: Edoras

Appearance: I have closely read the posts involving Scyrr, and I have found only one description of his appearance: swarthy, that is, of a dusky skin color. But a rider of the Riddermark would be golden-haired and blue-eyed, unless Scyrr is of mixed blood, in which case the haughty personality would not make much sense. Developmental Psychology tells us that unfortunate disadvantages such as a funny name, or a different skin color in a mostly homogeneous culture, tend to put a damp on the development of I-am-of-a-higher-rank-than-you kind of attitude. I would assume that he is actually quite handsome and more importantly typically Rohirrim in appearance. The personality that is outlined in Legate of Amon Lanc's biography of Scyrr can be developed by a strong sense of affiliation with his heritage and an awareness of where he stands in the social hierarchy, and if this trait is so evident, then, well, he probably *looks* Rohirrim to the Core. This includes long and flowing golden hair and limpid blue eyes (I know, cheesy, but there you have it).

Scyrr is likely to be slender, quick to move out of his opponent’s range, relying on his nimbleness and dexterity to keep him out of harm’s way should it come to a direct clash. This is in continuity with the description of the brawl between Erbrand and Scyrr. He moves out of harm’s way and attacks from the side. Techniques over pure muscle, so to speak of. And people who *have* muscle don’t bother overmuch with techniques or keeping out of harm’s way. Scyrr does his best to do so, therefore, he must needs be a slender man – with fuzz on his chins, hardly more than a boy – who would never cut an imposing figure even if his swordskill is on par with those more experienced than himself. Of course, the technique-oriented style might be because he is yet young, who have learned fighting only from fencing masters and mock duels instead of engaging in real battles where his life is always on the line. He could have an aversion to actually getting his hand dirty, so to speak. But even so, the ease with which Erbrand pummeled Scyrr when they were both on the ground (and therefore had equal advantages, even considering Scyrr’s broken leg) suggests that Scyrr doesn’t have muscle enough to acquit himself well when it comes to a physical brawl.

Personality: He is not someone who endears himself to many. But at the same time, he is one who speaks his mind openly about all matters, so he is not an obnoxious snob who bows and scrapes in front of his betters and takes out all his frustrations on his lessers. An honest man, even if that honesty is not to the liking of many. If he is seen as arrogant and self-centered, perhaps it has a measure of truth, but it comes from the brashness of youth rather than a fundamental flaw in his personality. He is conscious of the social hierarchy, perhaps unwisely overmuch, so that he would not be patient with having his authority challenged by tradesmen and craftsmen who is of lower rank than he. This is probably what sparked the brawl between he and Erbrand. Not to mention that he has a tendency to speak whatever he wants to. Being young, he also has the tendency to see the world in black-and-white: for instance, enemy-and-friend, or good-and-bad. Perhaps age and experience might teach him otherwise, and beat patience and understanding into the proud flash in his eyes, but for now he is nothing but a brash young soldier who doesn’t know where to draw the line. He feels a certain kinship with those that he has ridden alongside for many a month, however, and would listen to their counsel… albeit grudgingly. And in the same way he considers himself above the common tradesmen and craftsmen as a soldier of Lord Athenar, he genuinely respects those with authority even if their morality or intelligence is suspect. He follows the law, and does his duty faithfully. He has a good heart - if badly misguided, arrogant, and brash – but still that of a true Rider of the Mark.

As an aside, Scyrr is going to be my character, so I wanted to interpret him in such a way that was enjoyable to play for me. I hope this interpretation of his personality is not too jarring or discontinuous, because, well, I could always make a new character if this doesn’t suit you. I am from an East Asian country, where the last thing that anyone would even dream of doing is to say what they are thinking, and I am not at all sure whether I could roleplay a character who spoke what he wanted to for sheer childishness. Now if it was a matter of rank and social hierarchy (which my culture is intimately familiar with, considering that you’re supposed to bow every time you come across some bloke in your class who’s two days older than you just because he’s two days older than you), then I could understand exactly what kind of problem he had with Erbrand and why he acted the way he did. I hope this isn’t too much of a problem with you.

History: Scyrr was born the second son to Lieutenant Roryn, a Rider of the Mark. (Well, I’m thinking a middling rank. With perhaps fifty men under his command? I don’t know what military title to apply, since ‘captain’ seemed too high for someone who just held a position of an officer who led a patrol squad.) Roryn was one of the poor unlucky sods who were executed by Wormtongue for insubordination when he refused to carry out a redoubtable order that might have ended in a lot of his own men getting killed. He had a public trial, but a farce of a one with Theoden repeating what Wormtongue whispered in his ear, and was summarily hanged. There were a lot of men who were chagrined at this – for he was a good man, and a faithful one – and the widow and her two sons and a daughter received financial and emotional support from those who were his friends. Enough for Scyrr to have a decent education and a good fencing instructor, apparently, (or he wouldn’t have been able to dodge Erbrand’s blows with such ease). When Scyrr came of age, he followed in his father’s footsteps and pledged himself to a lord’s service in his own right. In Lord Athanar’s service, in fact, as Athanar knew of his father and kindly accepted the young and yet unproven youngster into his guard.

However, Scyrr has strong ambivalent feelings toward his father – who got himself killed for insubordination, no matter for what just cause, and left his young wife a widow pregnant with a third child and his two sons fatherless – which has left him somewhat obsessed about duty and social hierarchy and following orders without question.
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