Kaspiyan Urr Hyyst

[Kaspiyan]

Name: Kaspiyan Urr Hyyst
Gender: Male
Age: 25
Species: Wildcat/feral cat mix
Occupation: Mercenary

Physical Appearance: The size and build of a mature male otter, Kaspiyan's body displays his wildcat heritage. A tabby mix of swirled grey and black, two amber eyes are fixed in his head, and he carries himself with the quiet grace of a cat. His left ear is mostly gone, being just a furred stub. His gaze is serious, sharp, and analytical, and he always looks to be examining and and considering his situation and company. He usually wears a tough cotton tunic wrapped in a mottled forest green cloak, topped with a feathered cap.

Possessions: Kaspiyan's guardless saber is always at side with a long dagger, a horn, a canteen, and a satchel of various tools useful for a mercenary commander. In times of battle he dons a mail shirt, breastplate, greaves, and gauntlets. He also has a round shield, and guards his head with a lobster-tailed helmet with cheek protectors.

Personality: Kaspiyan is a calm, collected, reserved individual. He speaks calmly, if not always warmly, and carries himself in a quiet, dignified manner. His reserved nature is part of his skeptical nature, he is slow to trust and always preparing for the worst possible outcomes. Any stranger he meets is constantly analyzed and contemplated by him, regardless of their nature. As a leader of soldiers he is intelligent and thorough, having a knack for managing supplies and organizing beasts. He casts a quiet, though imposing presence that is a powerful type of charisma in its own right, and his soldiers are fiercely loyal to him. When alone he likes to play the lute.

Past the calm and passive exterior however, he is a more complex animal. A bloody past has left with a callous streak, and he can be quite indifferent to pain and suffering. He won't hesitate to kill to achieve his goals and his moral compass has been steeped in grey. He fights because it's what he's good at and doesn't know what else to do, and his personal attachment to his soldiers and comrades is the only thing keeping him firmly morally rooted to the ground. He's been jaded toward the concept of 'honor', and his respect is mostly extended toward loyalty and dependability from both the rank and file and leaders.

Strengths:

- A good fighter and tactician.

- Very capable administrator and leader, being able to keep his company in good health and organized.

- Not prone to blundering mistakes or rash impulses, every move is a calculated one.

- The typical attributes of a feline. He's strong, agile, quick, and see's in the dark.

Weaknesses:

- Overcautious, he'd waited too long before and nearly died for it.

- His suspicious nature makes him difficult to work closely with, he's always trying to assure he has the upper hand if things come to worst.

- He's mostly deaf in his left ear.

History: Kaspiyan was born on the Southern Isles as the third son to a low-ranking noble named Alsfera, who was quarter wildcat and therefore had claim to nobility. Growing up on a small fief at the rocky northern coast of the isle, his life at home largely consisted of training to be proper nobility. He was taught how to fight by his fathers Master-of-Arms and was in the constant presence of an otter personal slave by the name of Rudda. While not supposed to become closely acquainted, Kaspiyan drew close to Rudda from lack of any other friends. Being cat nobility with siblings, there was the very real danger of older brothers killing off potential competition, and younger ones killing him off to get closer to the throne. This lead to a fairly tense early life, giving him a sense of wariness and suspicion he carries today.

His father was a weak lord, and during Kaspiyans sixteenth year, when a rival looking to expand territory marched on their fief, their fate was sealed. The attack came without warning, hundreds of enemy soldiers punched through meager defenses and assaulted the estate itself. A few dozen guards barricaded the place and stood fast, trying to hold out so the family could escape. A desperate plan was concocted and put into action, under nights cover the Kaspiyan and some of his family -his grandmother and younger siblings- were rushed for a waiting ship, just as the invading army launched a second attack, breaking through the castle and slaughtering its defenders, including Kaspiyans father and older brothers who stayed to die honorably.

Escaping with Rudda, Kaspiyan was met by a half-dozen enemy soldiers on the gangway. To his utter surprise and shock, Rudda leaped at them with a nearby oar, screaming for the prince to run. Run he did, escaping on the ship as the dying screams of his friend and servant echoed behind him. For this reason, he has been more tolerant of non-cats than many felines, and has a soft spot for otters in general.

The next month was grim as their ship struggled for land. Returning to the isle would be pointless, the conquering lord would be very determined to wiping out the bloodline completely. Therefore they sailed away in exile, hoping to find a land where they might find fortunes anew. Although whatever fortunes they hoped to find, few lived to search for them. A typhoon struck them at sea, washing away much of the crew and most of the escaped family -Kaspiyan was feverish and below decks at the time. In the days following, his grandmother died of fever and his last brother gave in to a shattered ribcage incurred by the storm.

When they finally made landfall in Southsward, there wasn't enough crew left alive to fix the ship or take her to sea again. It was abandoned in the sand, and the crew -feeling no loyalty to Kaspiyan- left into the south of the country. Kaspiyan never saw them again. He knew his claims of nobility would be empty here, so he began a new life. He was a capable fighter and joined a local militira, keeping the peace against bandits and vermin for a time. But it was quiet, empty work and he was often treated with suspicion and disdain for his species. After a year of he cut loose and joined a vermin gang. Here he found respect, fighting, and purpose. He soon gained esteem as a fighter and was swapped between various chieftains between different hordes and gangs.

This continued for years, and he largely enjoyed it. While he did not care for pillaging and murdering -he stayed away from those debacles, and was loved by chiefs for not hogging any loot- he liked the fighting, especially against seasoned adversaries. But he disliked the vermin themselves, being for the most part a disorganized rabble. He decided he could do better. He began selecting particular vermin, unique ones. Ones with a high amount of courage and determination to fight as good as they could, ones that were intelligent and not just bloodthirsty thugs. He selected them, talked to them, recruited them. Then he left the hordes.

He became a mercenary, starting with about a score of assorted stoats, rats, weasels, and ferrets under his command. However he never took on foxes, considering them to be inherently untrustworthy. He trained his small band well, making proper fighters out of them and embedding a -grudging- loyalty to each other, teaching them to work together. Eventually, as they became better and better fighters because of this, they gained a legitimate loyalty to Kaspiyan based not just off of fear, but because he developed them beyond what they would have been otherwise.

He was twenty one when he met Risky. A stocky, intelligent stoat working with a small rabble who mistakenly tried to attack Kaspiyans battlers (by then called 'The Cats Cradle'). They were slaughtered to a beast, except Risky who offered his total allegiance to Kaspiyan. Normally the cat would've killed him anyway, but he recognized quality in the stoat. Risky joined his troop, and didn't take long to move to Kaspiyans second in command. He was a brave fighter who recognized the value of professional conduct -no mindless murdering and looting. He recognized the value of not becoming loathed and despised by potential employers. He and Kaspiyan became good acquaintances, Risky holding a level of sophistication unmatched by the other vermin in the band.

Moving north, Kaspiyan fought for whoever he thought was a good leader and would give them a decent reward for their efforts. With his band numbering two score of seasoned fighters, he entered the utmost southern regions of Mossflower, looking for work.

Relationships: Risky the stoat. A taller-than-most stoat with a light beige coat and armed with a beautiful basket-hilted claymore, Risky is intelligent and sophisticated. He understands Kaspiyan better than any other living beast and is the only creature the cat would consider a friend. Risky is his second in command.

Relationships: Risky the stoat. A taller-than-most stoat with a light beige coat and armed with a beautiful basket-hilted claymore, Risky is intelligent, relatively sophisticated, and understands Kaspiyan better than any other living beast, being is the only creature the cat would consider a friend. Risky is his second in command.
Other: His mercenary band is thirty beasts strong.