Post by catseye on Dec 2, 2008 19:18:03 GMT -5
Name: Kortu Catseye
Gender: Male
Age: 22
Species: Rat
Occupation: Ex-sea cook (a.k.a. unemployed and preying on hapless travelers)
Physical Appearance:
Kortu is rather skinny, and lanky for a rat, with a long, dark tail to match. Everything about him seems elongated. His face is lean, drawn with aristocratic lines (or "snooty" as his former captain would jeeringly say), and sports long, well-tended whiskers. His wide, gleaming yellow eyes are often slightly narrowed in what some creatures might call a disdainful or mistrusting look, depending on the circumstances, and have a hint of hidden cruelty lurking about the corners. His fur is an uneven brownish charcoal with soft greys shading his belly and throat, and funny-looking (according to Kortu and his shipmates) splashes of dusty white at the tips of all four paws, as if he’d dipped them lightly and daintily in white flour. His dark-edged ears are large and thin with a small piece torn out of the left one, and the right sporting a shiny gold ring. Being a rather vain sort of creature, Catseye is surprisingly clean for vermin; he regularly combs his fur and whiskers and rubs his teeth and claws clean with soft twigs. However, he wouldn’t go so far as taking a bath--baths are only for those who wish to catch cold and die from washing away all of their natural protection, as far as he's concerned.
Having until just recently been a corsair, Kortu's attire reflects his seagoing experience, being comprised of tough canvas breeches and linen shirt, decorated with myriad tattered silks and sashes in jewel tones that go well with his dark fur. He likes to wear a particularly fetching red kerchief tied round his head that peeks out from under his hat. In colder weather he shivers in a worn old black frock coat slightly too large for his skinny frame, the brass buttons fastidiously polished to a gleaming shine like his eyes.
Possessions
Catseye doesn’t have very much by way of personal belongings, having been marooned with nothing but the clothing on his back and a long, keen-edged dagger in his belt. Aside from the gold earring, he has little else of value. What food he can find or steal is dumped unceremoniously in a tattered sack, alongside a battered canteen for water. He’d rather it were seaweed grog or perhaps a bit of damson wine, but as an aimless rat cast adrift in strange country, he’s grateful enough for the water.
Personality:
A somewhat peculiar, fickle creature, Kortu tends to divide everybeast into two types: those he likes and those he doesn’t like, with no apparent middle ground. It is easy for him to develop a profound personal dislike toward certain individuals; on the same token, he has also been known to form deep attachments, regardless of species and whether the other creature cares for him at all. Like most rats and vermin in general, Catseye is naturally bloody-minded with a hidden capacity for great cruelty and immorality. He is also quite selfish; after all, why should he sacrifice his own comfort for somebeast else? He has something of an amoral mindset--a “what’s-in-it-for-me” mentality combined with a liberal dose of greed. Even so, Kortu is somewhat easily pleased--some decent food and safety and it’s likely he’ll be in a good mood.
Kortu is flighty and excitable, with an unstable emotional state which means it can sometimes be difficult to predict his actions. He’s vain and a bit on the patronizing side--he was well-brought up after all, with a proper education and everything, as a rat-lord’s only son should be--but he effects a typical searat attitude in an effort to be accepted (since to not be accepted in such a harsh community means a great deal of discomfort), and also to keep otherbeasts from pinpointing him immediately as different. His father might still be looking for him, after all, and Catseye has no desire to be either dragged back home in disgrace, or assassinated.
Strengths:
- Self-preservation. Catseye is surprisingly resilient and careful for the sake of survival, to the point that most would call it cowardice.
- Literacy. He was actually quite well-brought up with a proper education, a rare thing among corsairs. However, for the sake of fitting in, Kortu tends to speak and act in the manner of his fellow searats, though he does slip up often.
- Agility. Although he will never be a match for a squirrel, he is an excellent climber and relies more on speed and a surprising flexibility than strength.
- Cooking. Maybe he’s not up to the standards of famed Redwall fare, but at least he won’t poison you. Unless of course he doesn't like you.
- Bloodlust. Both a strength and a weakness, Kortu suffers rather infrequently from an affliction similar to the badger lords’ Bloodwrath, which overcomes his natural cowardice in battle. However, this can also lead to endangering himself (never a good thing in Kortu's mind) and others, sometimes needlessly.
Weaknesses:
- Amoral. His selfishness knows no bounds, and he frequently disregards questions of right and wrong when it is to his advantage. Only fear and greed will have him following a leader, not bravery, or respect (well, maybe), or a sense of honor and duty.
- Vanity. Kortu may not exactly believe he is the handsomest creature in all of Mossflower, but he does care a lot for his appearance and can be quite fastidious. This might almost be considered a good thing, except that it makes him seem as though he’s putting on airs and acting “snooty” which tends to rub most pirates the wrong way, sometimes earning him more enmity than he can handle.
- Cowardice. Simply put, he's a coward, or as Catseye would rather have it, a survivor. If the odds are against him, he will bail out with no qualms. He may be vain, but that doesn't mean he isn't willing to swallow pride in favor of survival.
- Excitable, flighty and moody. This particular rat is highstrung, easily excited or upset, and appears to suffer from frequent mood swings. At times he seems filled with frenetic energy, so much that he almost shakes. He is easily pleased, and just as easily dissatisfied. He hates idleness and rarely sits still, except in sleep when he is completely comatose. Occasionally he plummets from this high-energy state into black depression during which his personality is at its worst.
- Bloodlust. Though it might be considered a strength in that he overcomes his inherent cowardice, this rare occurrence can make him dangerous to himself and his allies, as he becomes a rabid monster seeking only blood and death. He loses control over himself completely and it's difficult to regain sanity.
History:
As the first-born son of Lord Sangor, Kortu was expected to follow in his father’s pawsteps and eventually inherit his title. Sangor was as tyrannical with his family as he was with his lordship, and Kortu, being a rebellious youth, didn’t much appreciate that. Neither did his mother, apparently, who was caught trying to poison her mate’s dinner and was promptly executed at a word from Sangor. In a way, the death of his mother was the last straw for Catseye, which combined with the animosity he felt for one of his sisters and his father (and a few otherbeasts of less importance), drove the young rat to take the classic runaway route. He was, and still is, a capricious creature, without the slightest interest in taking over his father’s position, never mind his natural greed--it simply looks like too hard and boring a set-up for him. Besides, his other sister Mena, though still quite young, had secretly expressed a desire to take the fort for herself, and as Kortu was exceptionally fond of her (although it’s likely she doesn’t care an acorn for him), he felt he would only be in the way of her ambitions.
Kortu was drawn almost immediately to the sea and the life of a corsair. Not only was it an exhilarating and dangerous lifestyle, but it was the simplest way of losing the hunters his enraged father sent after him (as he didn’t exactly run off empty-pawed…). He quickly fell in with some proper bad fellows, and drifted between ships a few times before settling in as cook for the Rusty Chain. Everything seemed to be going quite well, for a short while. Then he and the captain began to get on each other's bad side, accidentally at first, then more and more with malicious intent, just to see who would snap first. Unfortunately for Catseye, Cap’n Fangar lost it first (Kortu served him something rather disgusting for supper after Fangar mocked him mercilessly for his fastidious habits) and promptly marooned his cook on the nearest bit of rock. Originally the two were going to fight it out, but luckily for the health of both, one of Fangar's old enemies made an appearance in a frightening, ghost-like fashion which left little time for a fight. Kortu still isn't sure if he likes or loathes that particular enemy for disrupting them.
Anyway, after a day on the tiny islet, Kortu had had quite enough of the castaway jaunt and waited for the tide to ebb before making a swim for the nearby shoreline. He made it, barely, and spent some time recovering on the rather cold, barren coast before striking west into the woods. It didn't take long for him to discover he had landed in northern Mossflower, thanks to a talkative old water rat he met briefly (and burgled). And that brings us to close to present time, with Kortu slowly making his meandering way south in search of a direction and further adventure (or misadventure, depending on your viewpoint), now that he is no longer a cook aboard a corsair ship.
It's been some four years since Kortu left his birthplace; he's uncertain whether Sangor is still hunting for him, or even still alive (Mena might have been able to accomplish her schemes by now). Unbeknownst to him, Sangor is very much alive and still fuming over his only son’s insubordination and impudence; Mena is under house arrest with constant surveillance, much to her annoyance; and Sleaca is slowly taking over and has recently sent somebeast clever and ruthless to bring her wayward brother home--or at least his pretty, aristocratic head.
Relationships:
Family:
- Father, Lord Sangor. A rather tyrannical ruler of a smallish mountain fort and surrounding country somewhere in the north. Kortu is the first of three children, and his only son. The two don’t quite see eye to eye--in fact, they hate each other’s guts.
- Mother, Fenclaw, deceased. She was executed for treason several seasons back--she tried to poison Sangor.
- Sisters, Mena and Sleaca. They’re a pair of rather pretty twins, about 17 years old. Sleaca and Kortu detest each other, and Mena is following in her mother’s pawsteps and plotting patricide and usurpation. Kortu is actually quite fond of her.
Friends and others:
- Cap’n Fangar (fox) of the Rusty Chain. Catseye’s former captain who marooned him on a small islet off the coast of northern Mossflower. Needless to say, they abhor each other.
- Iceclaw, albino weasel with a limp. Kortu’s former assistant cook, they got along swimmingly. Catseye has no idea what’s happened to his friend since he was marooned.
Other
- He can swim all right.
- He’s lost himself in a battle craze only twice so far, with some bloody results.
Gender: Male
Age: 22
Species: Rat
Occupation: Ex-sea cook (a.k.a. unemployed and preying on hapless travelers)
Physical Appearance:
Kortu is rather skinny, and lanky for a rat, with a long, dark tail to match. Everything about him seems elongated. His face is lean, drawn with aristocratic lines (or "snooty" as his former captain would jeeringly say), and sports long, well-tended whiskers. His wide, gleaming yellow eyes are often slightly narrowed in what some creatures might call a disdainful or mistrusting look, depending on the circumstances, and have a hint of hidden cruelty lurking about the corners. His fur is an uneven brownish charcoal with soft greys shading his belly and throat, and funny-looking (according to Kortu and his shipmates) splashes of dusty white at the tips of all four paws, as if he’d dipped them lightly and daintily in white flour. His dark-edged ears are large and thin with a small piece torn out of the left one, and the right sporting a shiny gold ring. Being a rather vain sort of creature, Catseye is surprisingly clean for vermin; he regularly combs his fur and whiskers and rubs his teeth and claws clean with soft twigs. However, he wouldn’t go so far as taking a bath--baths are only for those who wish to catch cold and die from washing away all of their natural protection, as far as he's concerned.
Having until just recently been a corsair, Kortu's attire reflects his seagoing experience, being comprised of tough canvas breeches and linen shirt, decorated with myriad tattered silks and sashes in jewel tones that go well with his dark fur. He likes to wear a particularly fetching red kerchief tied round his head that peeks out from under his hat. In colder weather he shivers in a worn old black frock coat slightly too large for his skinny frame, the brass buttons fastidiously polished to a gleaming shine like his eyes.
Possessions
Catseye doesn’t have very much by way of personal belongings, having been marooned with nothing but the clothing on his back and a long, keen-edged dagger in his belt. Aside from the gold earring, he has little else of value. What food he can find or steal is dumped unceremoniously in a tattered sack, alongside a battered canteen for water. He’d rather it were seaweed grog or perhaps a bit of damson wine, but as an aimless rat cast adrift in strange country, he’s grateful enough for the water.
Personality:
A somewhat peculiar, fickle creature, Kortu tends to divide everybeast into two types: those he likes and those he doesn’t like, with no apparent middle ground. It is easy for him to develop a profound personal dislike toward certain individuals; on the same token, he has also been known to form deep attachments, regardless of species and whether the other creature cares for him at all. Like most rats and vermin in general, Catseye is naturally bloody-minded with a hidden capacity for great cruelty and immorality. He is also quite selfish; after all, why should he sacrifice his own comfort for somebeast else? He has something of an amoral mindset--a “what’s-in-it-for-me” mentality combined with a liberal dose of greed. Even so, Kortu is somewhat easily pleased--some decent food and safety and it’s likely he’ll be in a good mood.
Kortu is flighty and excitable, with an unstable emotional state which means it can sometimes be difficult to predict his actions. He’s vain and a bit on the patronizing side--he was well-brought up after all, with a proper education and everything, as a rat-lord’s only son should be--but he effects a typical searat attitude in an effort to be accepted (since to not be accepted in such a harsh community means a great deal of discomfort), and also to keep otherbeasts from pinpointing him immediately as different. His father might still be looking for him, after all, and Catseye has no desire to be either dragged back home in disgrace, or assassinated.
Strengths:
- Self-preservation. Catseye is surprisingly resilient and careful for the sake of survival, to the point that most would call it cowardice.
- Literacy. He was actually quite well-brought up with a proper education, a rare thing among corsairs. However, for the sake of fitting in, Kortu tends to speak and act in the manner of his fellow searats, though he does slip up often.
- Agility. Although he will never be a match for a squirrel, he is an excellent climber and relies more on speed and a surprising flexibility than strength.
- Cooking. Maybe he’s not up to the standards of famed Redwall fare, but at least he won’t poison you. Unless of course he doesn't like you.
- Bloodlust. Both a strength and a weakness, Kortu suffers rather infrequently from an affliction similar to the badger lords’ Bloodwrath, which overcomes his natural cowardice in battle. However, this can also lead to endangering himself (never a good thing in Kortu's mind) and others, sometimes needlessly.
Weaknesses:
- Amoral. His selfishness knows no bounds, and he frequently disregards questions of right and wrong when it is to his advantage. Only fear and greed will have him following a leader, not bravery, or respect (well, maybe), or a sense of honor and duty.
- Vanity. Kortu may not exactly believe he is the handsomest creature in all of Mossflower, but he does care a lot for his appearance and can be quite fastidious. This might almost be considered a good thing, except that it makes him seem as though he’s putting on airs and acting “snooty” which tends to rub most pirates the wrong way, sometimes earning him more enmity than he can handle.
- Cowardice. Simply put, he's a coward, or as Catseye would rather have it, a survivor. If the odds are against him, he will bail out with no qualms. He may be vain, but that doesn't mean he isn't willing to swallow pride in favor of survival.
- Excitable, flighty and moody. This particular rat is highstrung, easily excited or upset, and appears to suffer from frequent mood swings. At times he seems filled with frenetic energy, so much that he almost shakes. He is easily pleased, and just as easily dissatisfied. He hates idleness and rarely sits still, except in sleep when he is completely comatose. Occasionally he plummets from this high-energy state into black depression during which his personality is at its worst.
- Bloodlust. Though it might be considered a strength in that he overcomes his inherent cowardice, this rare occurrence can make him dangerous to himself and his allies, as he becomes a rabid monster seeking only blood and death. He loses control over himself completely and it's difficult to regain sanity.
History:
As the first-born son of Lord Sangor, Kortu was expected to follow in his father’s pawsteps and eventually inherit his title. Sangor was as tyrannical with his family as he was with his lordship, and Kortu, being a rebellious youth, didn’t much appreciate that. Neither did his mother, apparently, who was caught trying to poison her mate’s dinner and was promptly executed at a word from Sangor. In a way, the death of his mother was the last straw for Catseye, which combined with the animosity he felt for one of his sisters and his father (and a few otherbeasts of less importance), drove the young rat to take the classic runaway route. He was, and still is, a capricious creature, without the slightest interest in taking over his father’s position, never mind his natural greed--it simply looks like too hard and boring a set-up for him. Besides, his other sister Mena, though still quite young, had secretly expressed a desire to take the fort for herself, and as Kortu was exceptionally fond of her (although it’s likely she doesn’t care an acorn for him), he felt he would only be in the way of her ambitions.
Kortu was drawn almost immediately to the sea and the life of a corsair. Not only was it an exhilarating and dangerous lifestyle, but it was the simplest way of losing the hunters his enraged father sent after him (as he didn’t exactly run off empty-pawed…). He quickly fell in with some proper bad fellows, and drifted between ships a few times before settling in as cook for the Rusty Chain. Everything seemed to be going quite well, for a short while. Then he and the captain began to get on each other's bad side, accidentally at first, then more and more with malicious intent, just to see who would snap first. Unfortunately for Catseye, Cap’n Fangar lost it first (Kortu served him something rather disgusting for supper after Fangar mocked him mercilessly for his fastidious habits) and promptly marooned his cook on the nearest bit of rock. Originally the two were going to fight it out, but luckily for the health of both, one of Fangar's old enemies made an appearance in a frightening, ghost-like fashion which left little time for a fight. Kortu still isn't sure if he likes or loathes that particular enemy for disrupting them.
Anyway, after a day on the tiny islet, Kortu had had quite enough of the castaway jaunt and waited for the tide to ebb before making a swim for the nearby shoreline. He made it, barely, and spent some time recovering on the rather cold, barren coast before striking west into the woods. It didn't take long for him to discover he had landed in northern Mossflower, thanks to a talkative old water rat he met briefly (and burgled). And that brings us to close to present time, with Kortu slowly making his meandering way south in search of a direction and further adventure (or misadventure, depending on your viewpoint), now that he is no longer a cook aboard a corsair ship.
It's been some four years since Kortu left his birthplace; he's uncertain whether Sangor is still hunting for him, or even still alive (Mena might have been able to accomplish her schemes by now). Unbeknownst to him, Sangor is very much alive and still fuming over his only son’s insubordination and impudence; Mena is under house arrest with constant surveillance, much to her annoyance; and Sleaca is slowly taking over and has recently sent somebeast clever and ruthless to bring her wayward brother home--or at least his pretty, aristocratic head.
Relationships:
Family:
- Father, Lord Sangor. A rather tyrannical ruler of a smallish mountain fort and surrounding country somewhere in the north. Kortu is the first of three children, and his only son. The two don’t quite see eye to eye--in fact, they hate each other’s guts.
- Mother, Fenclaw, deceased. She was executed for treason several seasons back--she tried to poison Sangor.
- Sisters, Mena and Sleaca. They’re a pair of rather pretty twins, about 17 years old. Sleaca and Kortu detest each other, and Mena is following in her mother’s pawsteps and plotting patricide and usurpation. Kortu is actually quite fond of her.
Friends and others:
- Cap’n Fangar (fox) of the Rusty Chain. Catseye’s former captain who marooned him on a small islet off the coast of northern Mossflower. Needless to say, they abhor each other.
- Iceclaw, albino weasel with a limp. Kortu’s former assistant cook, they got along swimmingly. Catseye has no idea what’s happened to his friend since he was marooned.
Other
- He can swim all right.
- He’s lost himself in a battle craze only twice so far, with some bloody results.
