Post by Romulus on Oct 3, 2011 18:58:04 GMT -5
Because you lot fancied him so much, here's Cordin. Hope he's as great as you all seem to think. ((Warning, slightly long.))
Name: Cordin Fuzthrite Liztine Harlington Dorchester (Nicknames include[but are not limited to]: Cordy, Fuzzy Lizard, Fuzz, Chester, etc.)
Gender: Male
Age: 25
Species: Mountain Hare
Occupation: Corporal
Physical Appearance:
Cordin is a tall hare with a lean, muscular build. He's got the body of a fighter, long and lithe. His fur is a rich tan speckled with dark brown flecks along his limbs and such, and the flecks are more apparent across his back, in a large patch across his shoulders. He sports a thick patch of cream beginning at his snout, and continuing down the inside of his arms, chest, underbelly, the inside of his legs, and the underside of his short bobbed tail. More cream color is evident on the undersides of his paws, both forepaws and hind paws, and the insides of his ears. Dark brown flecks tip his tall, erect ears.
His eyes are a bright gold in color, and his paw pads are a dull tan. He has rather prominent brows set above his ever-flashing eyes, and his features are handsomely angled.
His most defining features, though not always visible, are the long, jagged scars on the inside of his right bicep that run down along the entire right side of his torso, ending just above his right knee. The scars are carved deep into his fur and skin, but they've healed pretty well. He prefers to wear at least quarter-sleeved shirts and breeches that end past his knees at all times.
Clothing: Cordin normally wears a red uniform shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows and the gold-trimmed collar upturned (to piss off the senior officers). The shirt itself stays unbuttoned rather low on his muscular chest. Impractical? Maybe, but Cordin likes to see the looks on the officers' faces whenever he walks into the room. He wears tan breeches and a black leather belt with a circular brass buckle. He also has a curious habit of wrapping thick black twine around his forearms and forepaws.
His casual wear is a simple white cotton long-sleeved shirt and dark brown breeches that end at his calves.
Possessions:
Cordin's prized possession is his weapon, passed down to him from his father. It is basically a halberd with a shaft the length of a spear. It has a broad, silver axe-like blade, a long, wide, silver spearhead, and two black leather grips on the staff.
He also wears a simple circular gold medallion on a black cord around his neck. He carries an extra dagger in his belt and occasionally a longbow and a quiver of arrows.
Personality:
Cordin is a cheeky devil, with a tolerant sense of humor and a streak of pride a mile wide. He likes to look good, hence the slight modifications to his uniform, and he is constantly training to keep himself in shape. Even though he is an excellent fighter, he is rarely satisfied with his performance in battles. He always believes he could be better, and is constantly striving to be the absolute best he can be. He has learned how to use a sword, a spear (and halberd), a longbow, a dagger, and he has learned how to box. When he's feeling upset, he usually finds a spot on the training grounds not in use and practices his skills until he feels better. He tends to avoid conflict, and usually makes every effort to forestall disputes, but he will confront somebeast if he firmly believes they are in the wrong.
With a chronic case of tongue-in-cheek, Cordin loves to poke fun at his messmates. It is this funny side of him that seems to offset his obsession with training. He jokes about every beast, and rarely apologizes for a snarky comment. He can be quite insensitive at times, but only to those he doesn't like.
Curious about any species that aren't hares, Cordin enjoys learning about mice, hedgehogs, moles, squirrels, and the like. Let's face it, a mountain full of hares gets rather dull after awhile.
The biggest romantic in the fortress, Cordin thoroughly enjoys listening to ancient love stories. He often wishes to have a girl for his own, but he knows the life of a soldier leaves little time for love. So he settles for the stories. But he never gives up that spark of hope.
With his remarkable fighting skills, Cordin lives up to the name perilous hare for sure. He would die for the mountain, for his Badgerlord, for his family and friends. Loyal to the core, he despises cowards and traitors. Blatant cowardice is actually a form of treason to him. Fear, however, is a different matter. He knows there are things in the world to fear, but Cordin is a courageous hare. He never backs down from a battle. After all, courage is just well-concealed fear, right?
Cordin is a fast learner and can pick up on skills quite easily. He also has an ability to assume the personality and even speech pattern of another beast. Once he studies the other beast closely enough for a week or more, he is able to seamlessly act and speak like them. It's an enormously fun talent, and Cordin uses it often to make fun of the higher officers.
Strengths:
Loyal and courageous, Cordin does not shy away from danger. His skills with weapons include: archery, swordplay, spear, halberd, and daggers. He's also a marvelous boxer. His ability to act like other beasts is unparalleled at the mountain. He is a fast learner and an honorable fighter.
Weaknesses:
Cordin, though an amazing fighter, is not a particularly fast runner, since his speed lies mostly in his forepaws. He does not like conflict, and he doesn't solve arguments directly, instead preferring to leave the dispute and go practice his skills. His obsession with training borders on being unhealthy. He's a romantic sap, and has fallen far too easily for a pretty face, only to have his heart broken. But he's a stubborn buck, and doesn't necessarily know when to give up.
History:
Born to Major Montague (the magnificent) Harlington Dorchester and Sergeant Ailia Liztine Fuzthrite Dorchester, Cordin F. L. H. Dorchester learned the ways of battle almost from the time he could walk. His parents, seasoned warriors, taught him everything they knew in the way of combat. (They also had a field day with his name, and they actually couldn't make up their minds for awhile. Cordin's name was finally decided upon on his third birthday.)
As he grew, Cordin learned quickly, becoming a well-known fighter among the forces, and impressing his superior officers with his various fighting skills. His father taught him boxing, swordplay, and archery. His mother taught him the way of the spear and the axe. He inherited his father's spear/halberd at the age of 19, and the long-shafted weapon rarely left his side.
Cordin lived the typical life of a Long Patrol hare, rising to the position of corporal after his years of active and remarkable service as a private. He's not ambitious, so he was perfectly content staying a corporal. He would have been fine as a private, as well, but he wasn't going to say no to a promotion.
It was soon after this promotion that a corsair ship threatened the mountain fortress. It sailed to shore, dropped anchor, and remained virtually silent for a long time. Every Long Patrol hare was on edge, waiting for an attack. But for two weeks straight, none came. Only a lone rat messenger, with an ultimatum for the fortress to surrender or be destroyed. The hares refused to surrender, and the rat simply left, too far out of weapons' range to be killed at the moment. After that, the ship became a beehive of activity as the corsairs prepared themselves for battle. The hares followed suit directly, and it didn't take long for them to gird themselves for battle.
However, the corsair ship suddenly went silent again for almost three days. The hares couldn't even see a single crew beast aboard the vessel. Then one morning a Long Patrol lookout spotted a lone hare maid tied to the mast of the corsair ship. She looked malnourished and sickly, but the fighting hares knew it had to be a trap. In the dead of night, they sent two spies, Cordin Dorchester and his friend Silas Bellroth. Together the two of them boarded the ship, knowing full well they were probably about to die, and set the hare maid free. She begged them to leave, saying that if they came back tomorrow, she could give them some information about the corsairs' defenses. They left her some food and agreed. Cordin gave his gold medallion to her as a sign that he would be back. He was quite taken with the girl. Even through her sunken cheeks and matted fur, he could tell she was beautiful.
The next night, she gave them the information as promised, and then she told them to come back the next night. She said she would find out the corsairs' biggest weakness in exchange for lodging at the mountain. The Long Patrol hares agreed and reported their findings to the General.
Next night, the hare maid, whose name was Deirdre, was able to sneak out of the ship with the two spies, who were constantly on the alert for an attack from the corsairs. But they managed to smuggle Deirdre into the fortress with little incident. While at Salamandastron, Deirdre was nursed back to health, and she reported that the corsairs' captain's greatest weakness was his fear of the sea. If the ship was sunk, he would lose his nerve and call a retreat, and the crew would be easily defeated.
The Long Patrol set about preparing weapons to destroy a ship, while Silas and Cordin stayed with Deirdre, getting as much information about the ship as possible. Cordin shamelessly fell head over heels for the pretty hare maid, and he was thrilled when, after only a few days, she got much of her strength back. He and Silas were called to go on one last spying mission, to find the other slaves Deirdre had reported were still held captive on the ship.
Once they got there, however, they did find more captives, but they also found the entire crew of the vessel awaiting them. Deirdre was there, as well, and she ordered the Long Patrol corporals to drop their weapons. They did, but not all of them. Cordin held his dagger concealed beneath his shirt. Deirdre ordered Silas to be killed, and Cordin tried to save his friend, but he was roughly seized by two crew beasts and forced to watch his friend die. Outraged, he tried to sound an alarm for the Long Patrol, but he was quickly silenced as the two crew beasts tied a thick rag over his mouth and his paws behind his back.
Deirdre showed no remorse as she planted a kiss on Cordin's forehead and had the crew beasts shove him into the sea, bound securely by ropes. However, the rag over his mouth had slipped off, and he was able to resurface and shout a clear, "EULALIA!!" that reached the ever-alert ears of the Salamandastron hares on shore. Catapults were fired, and though the corsair ship was prepared for battle, it was unprepared for the sudden attack.
Cordin soon grew fatigued from having to stay above the surface and slipped below the waves. A shark attacked him from out of the dark waters, ripping the ropes that held him and clamping its massive jaws down on the hare's right arm and side. Cordin got out his dagger, which by some miracle he had managed to hold onto, and stabbed furiously at the shark until it finally let go and swam off, dizzy with the smell of its own blood. It was then Cordin blacked out.
He found out later that a few of the corsairs' captives had hauled him to shore once the hull of the ship had been destroyed. The Long Patrol had won the battle, and no corsair had been left alive. His weapons were returned to him, and he requested that Silas's old weapons be put on display in his rooms. It took months for his wounds to recover, but Cordin never stayed down for long. But his feeling of betrayal from Deirdre took years to heal, and his sorrow over the loss of Silas has never left him.
He now spends his time either training or spending time with his friends, striving to be the most perilous hare he can be.
Relationships:
Major Montague (the magnificent) Harlington Dorchester - father - alive
Sergeant Ailia Liztine Fuzthrite Dorchester - mother - alive
Lieutenant Colonel Catherine Makenzie Fuzthrite Harcourt - aunt - alive
Other:
Cordon keeps his gold medallion (which he received as a birthday present) as a reminder that he never wants to be that gullible again and have his heart broken a second time.
