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Ildrand

Ildrand Owen Berrywine, "Dustshoes"

Name Ildrand
Status
Active
Occupation
Master-at-arms; land owner; loanshark (agent of the White Hand)
Age
Middle-aged, but more on the old side
Race
Man
Residence
Bree
Kinship
Outward Appearance

A middle-aged man, seeming to be between his late thirties and early forties. At a first glance he would look like a Bree-Lander: because he is, even though his accent isn't too thick.

He stands at the remarkable height of 6 feet 2 inches, with broad shoulders, and less belly and muscle than his former usual. He weighs around 230 pounds.

His hair is grey for the most part, even though some strands refuse to give up their chestnut colour. While the mane on the top of his head is short, his beard is rather long, and kept in a braid right below his chin.

The first lines are appearing on his forehead, and under his thick eyebrows a pair of peasant, pea green eyes are pointed upon whatever the man might find most interesting.

His hands are calloused, but not as much as it would be expected. He's always been wearing comfortable gloves while practicing his trade.

He has a quite large scar on his chin: most of the flesh is missing, and there are some teeth marks. However, his beard covers that. He has other scars on his body, too: seven arrow holes on his back and one on his left arm; and a less recognizable mark on his left side, just below the level of his heart, that looks like it's been left there by some sort of bludgeoning object.

He has a naturally bright baritone voice, but he can alter his voiceprint to the point that he sounds like another person.

 


 

Clothing: A mixture of rather rich fabrics -linen when the weather is warm, cotton and wool when it is cold- dyed in grey, brown and different hues of red -though the most commonly seen is "wine-red"-, green, or blue; decorated with intricate patterns and gold trims, is what the man likes to cover himself with. In the cold season, or most likely from autumn to spring, he will also wear his cloak, a simple -and quite heavy- rectangular piece of grey fulled wool folded over itself for double thickness and pinned by a steel penannular brooch to keep the cloak shape as long as it is around the man's shoulders. All the fur he wears is under the cloak, as he fears that rain might spoil it. The only exceptions to that are his chaperons, hooded mantles reaching down to the height of his omoplates, all made of fulled wool, and some lined in fur. He has penannular brooch for these, as well, made of gold and more decorated than the other: the pin is shaped like a ram's head, with two small garnets as eyes and the 'pointy bit' as an unnaturally long tongue; and two larger garnets, one on each end of the open ring.

Weapons: The weapon that he wears on his person most of the time is a ballock dagger, carried in a scabbard in front of the man's crotch. Along the scabbard there are seven diamonds, in platinum sockets that resemble hands holding onto the gemstones. The locket is also made of platinum.
Yes, he carries a dagger that looks like male genitalia in front of his crotch.
Lately, he is seen carrying a backsword by his left side as well.

Religion: He is almost convinced of the existence of what the Dunlendings call Rhi Helvarch, but no deity has his devotion.

Scholarly Education: He speaks Westron, and few words of Dunlending - hardly enough to compose a short sentence. He can count and write, and read both texts and maps. He knows different alphabets, including the Tengwar, but none of the languages commonly associated with them. For example, he might be correctly reading and pronouncing a sentence in Sindarin, without knowing its meaning.

Martial Education: While he is proficient in the use of all melee weapons, he really shines with pole weapons and straight blades. He can throw decently a spear, a javelin or a sword ((Yes, sword throwing was a thing, check the fourth Spear play on the Gladiatoria codex if you don't believe me)). He can also throw a knife, both full spin and quarter spin, but it's not anything he spent too much time on, since he values the knife more as a backup weapon than as a projectile.
Technically he could shoot with the bow, but only on short distances and not very accurately. On longer distances, he won't be able to estimate how far will the arrow be traveling. He is much better with a crossbow, only due to the weapon itself, but he will still only shoot decently on short distances.
His skill is witnessed by a fencing master license.

Background

Both his mother and his father were merchants, Ildrand is their first born. Only his sister (the sixth child) is still alive: all of his other siblings died within three months from their birth.

Since he was three years old, weapons always fascinated him; and later on, when he began training with them, he discovered he had been gifted with an extraordinary skill. Nowadays another fighter who has been training for as many years as Ildrand won't be at a serious disadvantage, since years of training always even out most of the differences, but the man seems quite confident that the cause of his death will only be old age.

Because of his hot temper, at the age of sixteen he had a serious enough argument with his father, who then decided to cast him out of the family. For seven years he has worked with a smith - mostly thinking about possible weapons shapes and bargaining with customers or ore sellers, hardly ever actually getting to shape the steel -, occasionally being called upon when someone needed a man skilled enough in the art of war. Growing older, he had also become more patient, but he is still far from being a pacific and non-violent fellow.

He then joined the Watch, but after six months he's been fired for having punched a prisoner too close to his death. He worked for the Hawthorns as well, but eventually, he left them too: he pretended he didn't have any problem following strict orders, but he couldn't really stand it.

His life took a turn for the best when he accepted to work as a sellsword for Tadforth Greenhand, even though he knew little if anything about the business he was getting involved into - and how could he refuse, when the pay was so good? One day, Greenhand brought him to the north, where they met a group of bandits the old man was dealing with. There, Ildrand understood that he was not serving the most rightful cause. But he cared nothing and asked nothing. When Greenhand went away, he left Uan to lead 'the business', and he did let Dustshoes know what he got involved into. He did not mind, and went on, being promoted to a higher rank of authority and, shortly after, becoming one of the highest among Saruman's officers in the North-West.

Friends
Relatives
Younger sister: Cecellia
Rivals/Enemies
Some farmers who refuse to collaborate, and Cirywen - even though she is dead, she still manages to get him in trouble.
Loves
Almost any alcoholic drink, money, some kinds of red wine.
Hates
Most kinds of red wine, white wine, tea, "failed heroes".
Motivation
To have at least one child that can inherit his wealth.
Quotes
"I'm such a handsome man. Even Lady Death wants me in her bed." - "Exactly."

Ildrand's Adventures

Ildrand's Adventures

Ildrand's Gallery

Ildrand's Gallery