Profile

(I figured for the assignment, in addition to including dialogue at the end, it would be more effective to let Gerran himself answer the questions.)

Character Profile: Gerran the Kharash

1. Is your main character male or female?

"Am I a man or a woman?  What manner of question is that?  I am a man.  In case you were unaware, my sister is a woman."  

2. How old is the character?

"I have seen my thirtieth harvest but recently."

3. What does the character look like? Be specific!

"I look typical of my people.  I wear my hair short, and it is black.  White hair is found in the women, black among the men.  I stand head and shoulders above most of the city folk, and my shoulders are broad.  I bear the scars of many battles upon my body.  Unlike my brethren, I also bear other marks.  I have permitted my sister to give me many tattoos of various shapes and symbols.  They seem to glitter beneath my skin.  My sister claims that they have their own power, and are part of the Arcanaart that has been forgotten.  I doubted her, until recently."

4. Does the character have any brothers or sisters that are part of your story line or even children?

"My sister, the only family I have left, is very important to me.  Not only is she knowledgeable in what men term magic, she has also carried on our parent's work in recovering the lost Arcanaart.  Our parents tell us that we share one spirit, and I believe them.  As for children, I walk to dangerous a path to unite with another.  I have no wife and no children, my destiny would carry harm to them all too often."

5. What type of home do they live in and also the area they live in?

"I do not tie myself to one place.  A home is merely an anchor that prevents us from finding our true place in the world.  I sometimes share accommodations with my sister, and when she summons me, I will always return to her.  But while my destiny is my own, I travel the world seeking my place within it."

6. What do they do for a living or what type of schooling are they in?

"Most would call me a 'professional adventurer'.  Until recently, I was a Kharash, one who seeks ways to make the world a better place for all.  Now, with the aid of my sister, I have found my true destiny among the older ways.  I am an Arcaknight, one who melds the Arcanaart with the art of battle to bring peace and harmony to the world.

7. Is your character emotional? What type of a person are they? What are their high spots and weak spots?

"What a foolish question.  All my people bear their emotions proudly.  They are as much a part of us as our cold rationality.  Too many of you city dwellers try to forget your nature, to your own detriment.  I am at heart, a kind man, but I have a rage within me that sometimes swells to violent proportions.  It is part of my nature.  Rather than contain it, I have learned to channel it against the enemies of innocence.  I regret, however, that I often lose my temper with those I feel closest too.  I also, as my sister is so happy to remind me, again and again and again, rush into things without thinking them through.  As I said before, we share one spirit.  She has the rational part."

These next few questions are your more detailed accounts of your characters**
8. What situations tend to get the character angry? Depressed? Happy? Excited?

"If you wish to rouse my ire, show me a child who is tormented by evil.  Show me two innocent lovers who are kept apart by petty jealousies and hatreds.  Show me wise elders who are treated with scorn.  Show me a man who is punished for stealing food for his family and given no other options.  What makes me depressed?  To see the woods harvested for timber no one really needs.  To hear the river's song silenced by men who want their homes on its banks, but don't want to deal with the floods.  To hear a wolf's cry cut off by a man who simply wants a trophy.  What makes me happy?  The color of the leaves in spring and fall.  The smile on my sister's face when she sees me walking towards her dwelling.  The knowledge that I know what I must do, rather than flounder about looking for meaning in my life.  What excites me?  The chance to do some good.  Be it to rescue a child's kitten from a tree or save an innocent man from an unjust execution, to show all people what is right and how to do it fires my blood.

9. How does your character's react when these emotions take place in a situation?

"How do I react to my emotions?  When Happy, I laugh and sing, though some wish I would not sing.  When depressed, I cry and howl.  When angry, I lash out, with words or with my axes.  When excited, I pursue my course with the determination of a shark scenting blood.  I do not hide my emotions, I revel in them and draw strength from them."

10. What does your character do that is a pain in the neck to their friends or family?

"That is easy, my family is my sister.  She always scolds me like our grandmother used to do.  When I rush off without thinking, she says it gives her headaches.  When I refuse to study the books she tells me are vital, it sometimes makes her scream.  But it is not my nature to study.  It is my nature to live.  She should do that more herself."

11. What does your character do that is wonderful?

"I don't think I do anything that is wonderful.  I merely walk the path the spirits of my ancestors and the rulers of the realms beyond require me.  I have been told that my kindness to children and my compassion to the innocent are wonderful, but it is no more than what is right.  If we do not do what is right then we are not really deserving of the gifts bestowed upon us."

12. Does your character make friends easily? Why or why not?

"What do you mean by friends?  If you mean companions to drink with, to fight side by side with, then yes.  It is easy when you do not hide behind a wall of your own mind.  If you mean someone to share joy and sorrow, to live by your side, then no.  My life is too dangerous to share with someone else that way, it would put to great a risk upon them."

13. What is your characters goals and dreams?

"What do I desire?  To do what is right and to show others the proper way.  I want to learn more of the elder ways, of course, for the lives of my sister and myself are bound to them.  Mostly, I want to bring joy to as many as I can, and smite as many that do evil as I may before joining the spirits of my ancestors.

14. What is your characters outlook on life?

"Life is a gift and must be cherished.  But if life is taken and hidden away in a dark corner for none to see, it will wither and die.  My path is a dangerous one, but it is necessary.  So, I take joy where I can find it, and live to the fullest."

Defining dialogue
(A conversation between Gerran and his sister.)

"Gerran, you should learn more of magic.  Many you will fight will use it."

"I know what I need to of magic.  A worker of magic, even magic of the darkest sort, must speak.  If I cut off his head, he cannot speak.  The problem is solved."
"But what if your enemy has learned more of the intricacies of the Arcanaart?  What if he is like me, and knows more than simply crude magic?"

"I have yet to meet a foe like that.  If I do, I will test my solution.  If it fails, I will have to think of something else."

(A conversation with a condescending noble about siege machinery)

"It's called a ballista.  It shoots trees at our enemies.  I wouldn't expect an ignorant barbarian to understand."

"Odd.  I always thought you would have to take the tree and trim off all the branches and other protrusions from it first, otherwise it could not fly in a straight line.  Then I thought you would sharpen it so it could penetrate.  And I never thought you could shoot it at your foes, since they are just men.  I thought you would use it to destroy the enemy's machinery.  It is too big to aim at, say, a single man on horseback.   What I most misunderstand is why you would brag of your intellect and insult mine by showing me this huge weapon that would take a team of men minutes to load and fire when I am standing right next to you with two axes that could separate your head from your shoulders before you could blink.   You are right.  I do not understand you at all."