Post by Mista P on Nov 23, 2011 14:24:59 GMT -5
SPOILER ALERT!
Name: Swift Eindride Axehound
Meaning of Name: Derived from the Old Norse name Eindriði, possibly from the elements ein "one, alone" and ríða "to ride".(quoted from http://www.behindthename.org)
Nickname: Rider
Gender: Male
Age: 19 years old
Species: Sea Otter from the Northern Coast
Occupation: Messenger between Salamandastron and the Rogue Crew; Tracker; Son of the Son of the WarChief of the High North Coast
Physical Appearance: Swift Eindride Axehound, or Rider as he likes to be called, is a tall, lithe otterlad with a solid build. Many who know him say that he looks very much like his Grandfather Skor. Rider stands a smidgen taller than the average otter, but about equal in height to his father Ruggan (a fact that Ruggan dislikes). He is broad shouldered, and well muscled, but lean. Rider also has large calloused paws with a tough grip, and on his left paw he has red mark shaped like a spade (like one that would be found in a deck of cards) on his big thick black pad. Rider has thick sea otter fur that becomes quite a hindrance in warm weather. His fur is dark brown all the way around his body, with no separate color for an undercoat. Rider also inherited his Grandfather’s startling green eyes and protruding eye teeth, giving him a slightly barbaric look. However, Rider has something that his Grandfather and his father did not. Rider indeed, does look tough and fierce like his father and Grandfather, but he has what he calls ‘the smolder’. Really, ‘the smolder’ is simply Rider’s roguish smile. He calls it ‘the smolder’ because that’s what all the ottermaids do when he smiles. They smolder and melt, smiling and giggling uncontrollably.
Rider also has quite a few scars from the fights he has been in over the years. Most of them are small and are easily hidden by his thick, unruly fur, but two long pale gashes on his rudder are visibly seen. They start mid-rudder and look like lightening bolts that strike perpendicular to his rudder. Rider received his scars from an adder (or poisonfang as the Crew calls them) when he was a young lad (more detail in history).
Rider dresses in some of the common attire found on the High Northern Coast. He dons a chainmail vest with mid upper arm sleeves that comes to his waist. Over that he wears a simple sleeve-less green jerkin with a grey shark-leather belt. Rider also wears a thigh-length woven bark kilt with a plaid pattern of greens, reds and blacks. Now, it’s a kilt, not a skirt, and if you call it a skirt, you’ll only be looking through one eye instead of two (and that’s if you’re lucky!). Lastly, Rider will wear a cloak. Rider has two different cloaks, a thinner grey cloak, and a thick woven brown cloak, depending on if he is at home in the High North or if he is down visiting the warmer Salamandastron.
Possessions: Rider has few possessions that he doesn’t carry on him at all times. Most of the times Rider is traveling anyways so he doesn’t have any place to store them but on his person.
Hung on his back with a black leather strap Rider carries his shield. Rider’s shield is a medium size circle; it’s diameter a few inches bigger than the length of Rider’s forearm. It is made of a dark sea washed wood and on the underside it has two thick leather straps pinned to the wood with large metal staples so Rider can loosen or tighten the straps as necessary. On the outer side, the shield has a thick silver metal band around the edge and a silver metal dome like protrusion in the center. Around the dome the shield is painted green with a symbol painted in white. The symbol is the same symbol that is painted on the sail of the Posy Gurdy (the arm of a hare and the arm of a sea otter grasped in friendship).
That same symbol is also upon Rider’s vambraces. Rider’s vembraces come just to the edge of his elbow. They are silver and are open a bit on the underside so they can slide on and off but stay upon Rider’s arms when he wants them too. They aren’t very dazzling; they had engraved edges and the symbol on the outer-facing edges, but they have no other engravings.
Rider also carries on his back (underneath his shield, it fits better that way) his bow and arrow set. The otters of the Rogue Crew are traditionally astounding archers. Rider is no exception. With his pale colored bow with grey leather grip, Rider can shoot like the best of them. Rider’s arrows are fishbone tipped with red fletching (traditional make up of Rogue Crew arrows) and are kept in a brown leather quiver that hangs from his belt on his right side.
On his right side, Rider carries his sword. Rider, although a decent archer, is a much better swordsbeast, even though his grandfather and father both use axes. Rider, although he can use an axe, likes his sword much better. Rider’s sword is a long thick blade. It is silver and has a well-used, slightly chipped in places look about it, but don’t judge by appearance, it’s as sharp as any shiny new blade that looks more like it should be used for decoration than fighting. The blade has a cross tree hilt and a black leather grip with a simple steel pommel. No shiny, fancy stones for this otter. Rider’s blade is plain and simple, but very effective. It hangs on his right side in a thick leather sheath.
The last things that Rider carries with him can be found in his leather messenger bag. The bag is a simple thing, one big brown leather strap with the brown leather bag part attached at the bottom with big thick black sewing. It has the pattern that makes it look like the bag is inside out when it really isn’t. Inside the bag, Rider keeps his letters that he delivers, a piece of flint, a canteen of water, a shell bowl, a small knife in the same make as his sword, some spare strips of cloth for emergency bandages, and some food for the trip.
Also in his bag, Rider keeps his journal and charcoal pencil, along with any other books that he happens to be reading at the moment. Rider, although a warrior and tracker, is an avid reader. He loves a good adventure tale, or a somber mystery. Reading lets Rider get away from the troubles of life, if only for a few short minutes. In his journal Rider records his journeys, any adventures he has, tracks he finds, and any stories he may come up with in his head that he wants to write down. (Although he would never tell the Crew back home about his journal. They’d all think it was a sappy ‘diary’.)
Personality: As seen by his personality, it is quite obvious that Rider is an Axehound. He carries many personality traits from his father and grandfather, along with his uncle, but still manages to have a spunk all his own.
Like his father, Rider is very reckless and hot headed. He rushes into things without sitting down to ponder what might happen to him if he does. He replies more on gut instinct than reason. If it feels right and works, why not do it? Rider also has an incredible temper. It doesn’t take much to put Rider on edge. A simple wrong or comment and Rider is read to start throwing punches. That temper and impulsiveness gets Rider into some rather sticky situations, especially with authority. But Rider is incredibly stubborn and will not budge, even if he thinks he might be wrong, he will still hold his ground.
Rider is also a bit like his uncle Swiffo (for whom he was named Swift), in the fact that Rider gets what he calls “itchy paws”. Rider always has to be moving. Rider likes the fresh air and the changing scenery. He hates being cooped up in one place for long. When he does, he gets irritated and rather grumpy. He’ll even been seen pacing about because he can’t stand sitting still!
Another reason Rider likes to wander is because he has family issues. Rider’s stubbornness and fiery temper often will get him in trouble with his father and his grandfather. Sometimes the arguments can get rather intense. Similarly, Rider hates the fact that with his new baby sister he feels that he has taken a back seat in the family. With everyone’s attention on the new baby, Rider feels left out, like no one pays attention to him anymore. Feeling alone and left out, Rider likes to travel and get away from it all.
He’s also an amazing tracker. With his sharp green eyes, it has been said that Rider could track a crow on a dark night and a mouse after a rain storm. Rider neither objects nor denies the stories told about his talents, but he will say that he hasn’t met a beast yet who could track as he can.
Now Rider, like his middle name describes, is a bit of a loner. Rider likes to keep to himself most of the time. It’s not that Rider isn’t social. He is quite the talker when he’s around his few friends, but if not, or he’s in a large crowd, he normally keeps to himself, most often with his nose in a book or something. When Rider’s alone his temper is down (most of the time) and he finds the problems of life easier to handle. When he is alone, Rider has no authority riding over him or telling him what to do. He can make his own choices and read as much as he wants. Rider is a warrior by nature and has the slightly ruthless demeanor of the Rogue Crew, but is a literary bug. Sure he loves to fight and the pump of adrenaline is incredible feeling that he will often crave, but a give Rider a good book and he’ll be happily preoccupied for a few hours.
Strengths:
-Talented WarriorRider was born to a family of warriors into a clan of warriors. Fighting is in Rider’s blood. He loves it and craves it from time to time. Practically any weapon that is put in Rider’s paws he can use. Although he specializes in sword fighting and archery, he can use many other weapons. Rider also is a fairly decent boxer (taught by Sergeant Miggory himself). Although he’s not a boxing champion, he does have a nasty left hook that leaves beasts senseless.
-Skilled TrackerRider is an incredibly skilled tracker. As long as there is a trail to find, Rider can find it. Sure the trail may be a week old or so, but Rider will find it, that can be counted on and every track he finds he records in his journal.
-Hidden Stamina ReservesRider has an amazing amount of stamina that, when forced, he can pull from within himself to survive. This talent, that his mother said Rider inherited from her side of the family (the bloodpaw clan = cometolora.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=gatehouse&thread=2909 ), comes in very handy when Rider gets into sticky situations, which is an unfortunate common occurrence for Rider.
-Natural SwimmerOtters are naturally powerful swimmers, and Rider is no exception. Rider, in fact, is one of the fastest swimmers of the Rogue Crew. He takes much pride in that, and loves to go swimming whenever he can.
-Fluent in WhoomerThe Rogue Crew has always been friendly with the Whoomers and through his travels, Rider has come to be quite friendly with the Whoomers (also known as the seals) and has taken the time to become quite fluent in their language.
Weaknesses:
-Trouble ProneRider, for what reason he has yet to find out, is constantly running into trouble. Rider tries to find an upside and calls it adventure, but in all honest truth, it’s trouble. Rider is constantly trying to stay away from trouble, or find a way out of trouble. Quite often, however, Rider has to be rescued from trouble. Not that Rider can’t fend for himself. Rider is very capable, he simply gets in over his head.
- A Bit Over ConfidantRider can be a bit over confidant at times (part of the reason why he gets into trouble). Rider often thinks that he can do something alone, when really he needs help. Rider will find so much confidence in his abilities that he will even go to refusing help, which gets him into even deeper trouble.
-Fear of Poisonfangs (Snakes)Rider, through a terrifying experience in his youth (described in history), is petrified of poisonfangs. Even at the mention of a posionfang, Rider breaks into a cold sweat, his knees all a quake. Seeing a posionfang, now that’s even worse. At the sight of a posionfang, Rider freezes. He can’t fight, nor can he speak. He can only stand there, staring at it, shaking and stammering. Rider, is deathly afraid of poisonfangs.
-Hate of hot weatherRider really hates hot weather. With his naturally thick northern coat, warm weather is horrible for Rider. When the weather gets hot, Rider gets sweaty and very, very irritable. If hot enough, Rider will be come so irritable he may get into fights with his own friends. (Not fist fights normally, but Rider tries to avoid that, but when Rider gets angry, Rider gets angry.)
-Struggling ClimberAlthough Rider is a tall, strong otter who is a fantastic swimmer, Rider can’t climb very well. Rider will tell you outright that he is not afraid of heights, which is true, but the best that Rider can climb is a ladder. Rider could be out matched by the littlest squirrelbabe and he knows that. So Rider tries to stay away from climbing when he can and prefers to stick to the land or the water.
History: Swift Eindride Axehound (also known as Rider) was born to Ruggan Axehound and Kenna Axehound on a cold winter’s night. Rider was born 2 years after the death of Razzid Wearat. During those 2 years Ruggan, after returning to the High North Coast, met and began a beautiful relationship with Kenna Bloodpaw, a native to the North, but a recent addition to the Rogue Crew. Bit by bit, their relationship grew and led to their happy marriage. Rider was born a year later and named Swift in memory of his late Uncle Swiffo.
Rider was raised in the true Rogue Crew fashion, being taught how to fight and survive in the rough Northern coast. From the time he could toddle, Rider was taught how to carry a shield and a weapon. He was also taught how to swim and how shoot a bow. Rider was also taught to read a write, but mostly by his mother, who although was warrior, wanted to make sure that her son was literate. Rider was even taught how to sail the Posy Gurdy from his father who is Captain of the ship while it is at sea.
Although while he was young, Rider was not able to sail long distances with his father, he did get a chance to meet many a hare from Salamandastron including the Land Captain of the Posy Gurdy, Sergeant Miggory, who taught Rider how to box. It was also on the ship that Rider found his journal and few books and discovered his passion for reading.
For the longest time, things were going fairly well at home. Rider, although still a bit hot tempered and a trouble maker, was still fairly obedient to his parents. It was only when he started to think that he was growing up did he start acting out a bit. One of those events almost cost Rider his life.
Rider (age 10) was out with his father and his mother on the Posy Gurdy one time when it was his father’s turn with the craft. The voyage had been a simple one, not much vermin activity to speak of, so Ruggan decided that they should sail South a bit and explore some of the islands, just to make sure that none of the vermin were hiding out on those tropical isles.
While stopping on a small isle to refurbish some supplies (after discovering that the isle had large freshwater ponds and some tasty fruit), Rider had wandered off a bit from the main group. Rider had wanted to do some discovering on his own, with out parental supervision. It was during that time, however, that the Crew discovered that the isle was home to poisonfangs (adders) and big ones too. Ruggan quickly called the Crew back to the ship, but Rider, who was out of ear shot, did not come.
Ruggan, concerned that his son may be in trouble (because most of the time he was), gathered a small group of warriors and headed out in search parties. They had just begun to search when a loud holler echoed across the isle. Hurrying to the source of the yelling, Ruggan’s worst fears came to light. Rider was crumpled on the ground, a very small poisonfang hissing up a storm near by. The posionfang (which was no bigger than Rider’s leg at the time) was quickly dispatched and Rider was rushed to the ship. The posionfang had bitten Rider’s rudder and it was swelling quickly.
Back at the ship, under the care of his mother and a healer, most of the poison was drained from Rider’s wound; he however was not in the clear. Not all of the poison could be removed. For the next 2 weeks (the Posy Gurdy immediately sailing home), Rider was bedridden and often very feverish. Rider did survive his encounter with the poisonfangs, with only the scars on his rudder and a deathly fear of poisonfangs.
After that experience, Ruggan seemed even more reluctant to let Rider be responsible for himself and often was at odds with his growing teenage son. Rider (who at this time started addressing himself as Rider) wanted more freedom, more adventure, and less of his father ruling over his every decision. It soon became a common occurrence to see Rider and his father arguing with each other over the simplest thing which would escalate if somebeast didn’t separate them.
It was also about this time that Rider started developing into a loner. He had a few good friends in the Crew, but not many. Normally Rider would keep to himself, either reading or practicing his sword work or honing his tracking skills.
When Rider was 16, Kenna had another child, a little girl named Nanna. Now Rider, like the rest of the family was happy at the babe’s arrival. He was proud to be a big brother to such a cute little girl. But as time grew on, Rider began starting to feel left out. Everyone was always talking about Nanna. What had Nanna done today? She was such a cute little thing. Had Nanna spoken yet? What was her first word? Had Nanna started walking? Rider began to feel like he was being pushed aside so the baby could take center stage.
Sure Rider loved his sister, she was family after all, but she could get so annoying! She was just a baby! Why did everybeast have to fawn over her? She cried all night, never letting anybeast get any sleep and she couldn’t take care of herself. So what was the big fuss about? Whenever Rider could, he found himself wandering away for a while so he could get some peace, but of course when he got back he somehow always managed to get into another yelling match with his father. Where had he been? Why hadn’t he told anyone where he was going? And so on…
Now Rider’s wanderings had not gone unnoticed on his mother’s radar. Realizing that Rider was growing up and he needed sometime to figure things out, she came up with the idea that Rider should deliver some messages to Salamandastron. Ruggan had been meaning to send somebeast with a message, and with both father and son tense, it seemed like a good idea. Ruggan, although opposed to his son wandering off on his own agreed and Rider was sent of with the message and some provisions.
Rider loved the trip! He got to be on his own, he got to travel on his own, and he didn’t have to be yelled at for every little thing he did! Plus, he got to spend a few days at Salamandastron (during which he met Lyra Nightfur in the library and they quickly became good friends).
When Rider returned to his home alive and quite happy, Ruggan and Kenna realized that giving Rider the position of Messenger for the Rogue Crew to Salamandastron may be a good idea. It gave both father and son a chance to cool off after their arguments and it gave Rider a sense of purpose and duty to fulfill.
For the last 2 years, Rider has been faithfully bringing messages back and forth from the Crew to Salamandastron. Each trip for him is a new adventure and he can’t wait to go on the next, he even wonders if he will ever go beyond Salamandastron some time, maybe even to Redwall?...
Relationships:
- Skor Axehound = Grandfather = Getting on in years, but still as spry as ever
- Ruggan Axehound = Father = Living
- Kenna (Bloodpaw) Axehound = Mother = Living
- Nanna Axehound = Younger Sister = Living
- Damon Warhound = Very Distant Cousin (mother’s side) = Living
-Tampa Tiderunner = Very Distant Cousin (mother’s side) = Living
- Corporal Lyrielle Nightfur = Good Friend = Living
- Hares at Salamandastron including Sergeant Miggory and Captain Rake Nightfur = Old and New friends = Living
- Albin, Eirik, and Finn = Friends in Rogue Crew = Living
Other:
- Rider is left pawed
- Rider's inspiration came during a conversation with Fawn about her character Lyra Nightfur. I thought it would be cool to have a friendship between a descendant of Rake (Lyra) and a descendant of Skor (Rider). That way we could show the still existing partnership between the Long Patrol and the Rogue Crew, and plus, we both thought it was a fun idea. Hopefully I made this profile so that it fits the time line that Fawn has with Lyra's profile so the distance between the book and the site stays the same, and what not. I don't think I've changed anything that was copyright to Brian Jacques. I've tired to keep the characters the same as he wrote them. Copyright to the Rogue Crew and all of it's members (besides Rider) belong to Mr. Jacques.
-Copyright to all whose characters I have mentioned here given to thier creators (such as Lyra, Damon, and Tampa)
-Copyright to the “smolder” is given totally to Disney from the movie Tangled and to Flynn Rider.
