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Entry tags:
Deerington Application
IN CHARACTER
Character Name: Faolan
Canon: The Bridei Chronicles
Canon Point: Between Book 1 and Book 2
In-Game Tattoo Placement: a pair of antlers that look as though they are made out of criss-crossed tree branches (inspired by the White Hart), located on his right inner forearm
Current Health/Status: Fit and healthy! Arriving by sleep; no major injuries/issues, though he has a fair amount of scarring from occupational hazards. Also has a small blue tattoo behind his ear in the shape of a star
Age: 25
Species: Human
Content Warnings: murder, kidnapping, PTSD, torture, depression/issues with mental health, attempted suicide, (later in canon but mentioned in the history if other book summaries are read: child abuse, sexual abuse)
History: Unfortunately the official wikis for this book are Very Sparse. Faolan's Canon History -- this is essentially a wiki of the canon as written by me since I kept running into this problem. Only the first book, The Dark Mirror, is applicable for the point in canon I am taking him from.
Personality:
Faolan is quite a complicated man. Once a bard, he has left that life behind to become a spy and assassin for a country who would consider him one of the enemy simply for being a Gael. Much as he would try to insist that the cold hard assassin is all that is left to him, that simply is not true.
Faolan has been hurt in the past, both by outsiders as well as the people he loves. Because of those experiences, he does not allow himself to grow close to others. He believes himself to be unworthy of friendship or affection. This is in large part due to the fact that at one of his most vulnerable moments, his family shut him out. He was forced into the impossible choice of killing his eldest brother Dubhan in order to save his family from further death and torment, yet in return his father packs his bags and turns him out of the household. None of his family even come to wish him goodbye. This is a major turning point in Faolan’s life, as it is the first time he ever commits murder, and the last time he plays the harp. His family’s rejection sends him into a downward spiral and from then on he is convinced he is only capable of two things: following orders and slitting throats.
Faolan believes his job is dark and dirty work, but he also takes pride in the fact that he is good at it. As Bridei describes it, "Misinformation, deception, sudden death, those are the essence of Faolan's work. He is of great value principally because he does those things so expertly, and without qualms." He does not blindly accept any job that his king assigns him. As he explains to Bridei when questioned about it,"I am my own man, for all the silver pieces. A fellow has to eat; that need not render him mindlessly obedient." Faolan has his own sense of right and wrong, his own code of honor and duty that he abides by. It would definitely be considered morally grey to the blind eye, considering he is a professional assassin, but at the end of the day he is faultlessly loyal to Bridei and his family.
Faolan does not often speak of his past, preferring to keep it locked up and buried down deep, though it does haunt him. He finds it difficult to spend time around music and merriment at festivals as there was a time when he was the entertainment, and he cannot sing or play the harp for fear of dredging up all his painful memories. Faolan also suffers from PTSD after a stint in what is essentially a torture prison known as Breakstone Hollow. Faolan says that men die of despair in the Hollow but he survived and escaped because he was already beyond despair. His time in the Hollow firmly turns Faolan away from the belief in gods or any such higher power.
He is also more than a little stubborn and reckless. Because he was turned out of his home when he was still so young, he has learned how to function on his own and make his own way in the world. When Ana thinks of a young Faolan, she describes, "Faolan would not have let anyone hold his hands. He would have learned to walk all by himself." He is highly adaptive in most situations because as he describes it, "he had learned early that alongside the stunning blows fate could deliver, the practical matters of day-to-day life were trivial." And Bridei's friendship has given him a more personal purpose again, even if he is reluctant to call it that himself.
Faolan is often guilty of pushing himself too hard and must be reminded that he is only human. He does not like to demonstrate weakness, claiming it is something he cannot afford in his profession. All the same, he has a tendency to run away from emotional pressure when things get to be too much for him. Underneath the gruff assassin's exterior, he is still a bard with a bard's sensibilities and a bard's heart. Faolan has lived bottling his emotions for so long that when he does allow them out they are at times too overwhelming for him and he does not handle them well. If he touches on any part of the life he used to know he is liable to break down, as it brings back far too many painful memories for him. One of Faolan’s darkest moments, when he almost takes his own life, is triggered because he has been convinced that he has ruined his family’s lives. Until he is able to make peace with the events of his past, he is convinced that allowing himself to grow close to people and develop feelings for them, friendship or otherwise, is yet another weakness he cannot afford. (Even though he is developing these friendships despite himself.)
Faolan has a quick and witty, although somewhat bitter humor. He likes to make sarcastic comments in regards to his surroundings, though sometimes opening his mouth can get him into trouble. He can get jealous easily, and his jealousy can lead him to dark thoughts, though he does not act upon them. For instance, Faolan contemplates killing Ana’s lover Drustan, as he is also in love with Ana, and if he does so then he will no longer have to watch the two of them together. He ultimately does not act upon these urges because he values Ana’s happiness greater than his own. Fiercely possessive of those he cares for, Faolan will stop at nothing for the safety and happiness of those he cares for, even if it means sacrifices of his own.
But there is another side to him as well, one that is capable of tenderness and love. He composes silly little ballads for children on the spot to sing them to sleep. He is patient and understanding when he rescues a young woman out of a life of abuse and offers to protect her and her child as they travel back to Fortriu together. And despite his jealousy, when the woman he loves falls in love with another man, he is able to step back and be happy for the pair of them together. He has been through a lot in his life, good and bad, and he has come through it all the stronger for it.
Abilities/Powers/Weaknesses & Warping:
• translation (Gaelic to Pictish)
• stealth (also concealment of weaponry)
• assassination
• strategy
• combat (knife/sword/spear/ranged)
• hunting/tracking
• horsemanship
• navigation
• reading the weather
• playing the harp/singing
• composing music/lyrics
Inventory:
• his best dagger
• saddlebag (waterskin, packet of dried meats, extra change of clothes, flint, dry kindling, medicinal herbs)
• a nice, warm, practical blanket
• riding leathers
• everyday outfit: shirt, tunic, trousers, heavy cloak, boots, belt.
• fancy outfit
Writing Samples:
1) TDM Thread
2) Prose Sample: (cw: mentions of torture)
Faolan shifts on the stool he has set by Bridei's bedside. It is a post he has maintained for far too many nights these past few days, though the fact that Bridei had been conscious enough to ask for him to stay this time is a welcome change. The young would-be-king still looks pale and terrible, with dark shadows underneath his eyes despite having spent the majority of the past week or so in and out of sleep, though the fact that he was awake and talking is a promising thing.
Faolan lets out a long, low breath, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees, and he does not honestly care whether the druids in the far corner of the room catch him in this moment of weakness or not. These past few weeks have not been easy for him either. It had been a fool thing to let Bridei sneak out alone like that, for all that it had accomplished his end goal. If Uist had not come along when he did -- they would not be nursing the future king of Fortriu back to health but burying him instead. Faolan does not feel that he deserves the praise the druids shower him with, for all that he has accomplished the job he has been hired to do. He certainly does not feel as though he deserves Bridei's own praise for it, at that.
Not paid...be...friend...
It is a dangerous thought, especially from Bridei's lips. He would not say such things if he knew the other ways that Faolan had been spending his time, when he had not been playing nursemaid for the younger man. He would not suggest they be friends if he knew of the man Faolan held captive in one of the outbuildings, if he knew of the things that Faolan had done to extract the precious information that has all but secured Bridei’s seat on the throne.
He is a Gael. And this young man before him is set to be King. He is a good man. He will do his country proud -- certainly if the group of druids sitting behind Faolan have anything to say about it. Faolan’s place is to support him from the shadows for as long as the kingdom sees fit to employ him to do so. And then, perhaps it will be time to seek a new position.
Bridei’s commentary suggests that it is perhaps time to remind him of such. When he is well again, perhaps. For the moment…
For the moment, Faolan will stay and keep his watch. After all, it is only what they pay him to do.
OUT OF CHARACTER
Player Name: Teresa
Player Age: well over 18!
Player Contact:
Other Characters In Game: n/a
In-Game Tag If Accepted: Faolan: Teresa
Permissions for Character: here!
Are you comfortable with prominent elements of fourth-walling?: I am comfortable with it although I doubt anyone knows his canon tbh haha
What themes of horror/psychological thrillers do you enjoy the most?: I really enjoy an unreliable narrator/shifting in perspective which reveals Not Is All What It Seems, and I also really enjoy cosmic/eldritch horrors and the fear of the Unknown/Inevitable
Is there anything in particular you absolutely need specific content warnings for?: Nothing that I can think of!
Additional Information: n/a