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Name:
Brecken Conall Grivia
Race:
Human
Gender:
Male
Date of Birth:
11 Kingsway, 9:08
Occupation:
City Guard
Companion(s):
N/A
Dark brown, shorter on the sides and a little longer on top. He usually keeps it this length, never letting it grow really past his ears. Any changes to this rule are probably due entirely to some sort of current flame and their influence over his own personal preferences.
Eyes:
Hazel, the outer part of the iris an olive sort of green that fades inward into more of a chocolate brown. Both have eye freckles of dark brown - small flecks that dot around the bottom half of his iris’.
Other:
Brecken has a chiseled jaw that reaches epic romance novel status; long, sharp and square it defines his face a little more than the rest of his features. Higher and defined cheekbones help emphasize the shape of his jaw. More often than not he has a light dusting of stubble adding texture to his face and darkening his already brown, caramel color skin. His nose is surprisingly not broken and from a side view has a natural slight downward curve to it.
An arc of a scar starts on his forehead and slashes through his right eyebrow, ending just before his temple, though he couldn’t tell you exactly which fight he acquired it from anymore. Under his left eye he has a very small warrior tattoo, violet in color. Other cuts and marks litter his body here and there; the product of many years of fighting and a few of them he can actually give you a story for.
The feature Brecken is probably most proud of however are his arm and shoulder muscles, and he works rather hard to keep them defined just right. His shorter stature has never particularly bothered him and he’s more than willing to prove he can put someone on the ground regardless of it, should they bring it up.
Class:
Warrior
Specialization:
N/A
Weapons & Armor:
Weapons: Two standard issue guardsman steel long swords; nothing fancy and they get the job done. Although not regulation, he also tends to find spots to stick a spare steel dagger or two as well.
When not on duty, Brecken still carries around at least one of these daggers on him, if not his full set of swords.
Usual Garments/Armor:
Standard issue guardsman heavy armor - Veridium. The metal of such armor has a yellowish-gold color while accented by a chocolate-brown color leather that holds it together. A helmet generally completes the look; open with a guard that can close over the face.
While off duty, a simple colored poet-style shirt is his usual garb; black or a darker off white mostly being the colors of choice. Cloth pants in darker colors, blacks or browns, usually accompany, and most of these lace up either side of his legs - about as fancy as he gets out of armor. If pressed to be extra fancy, he will find and wear a sleeveless doublet. More than likely, such a thing would be borrowed off of a friend. Practicality is far more important to him than fashion sense.
Languages:
Common (some reading and writing)
Non-Combat Skills:
Novice: Riding, writing
Intermediate: Dancing, Drinking, Gambling, Hunting, Religious Lore(Chantry), Running, swimming
Expert: Ambidextrous, Animal Handling, Military Lore
Master: Stamina
Combat Skills:
Novice: Bows
Intermediate: Unarmed, Single Weapon (Dagger/Sword)
Expert: Dual Weapons (Long Sword)
Master: N/A
Once he’s inside armor and on duty so to speak, Brecken’s attitude takes on an entirely new angle. Dedicated and focused to the task at hand he can take and follow orders without question though it doesn’t mean he blindly follows everything. His mind is capable of assessing a situation presented to him and determining the best course of action while being mindful of a superior’s instruction. More than likely when he has down time, Brecken can be found training and trying to improve his own personal goals. This attitude can be attributed as aftermath from both the Blight and the attack on Amaranthine, both which made fighting mean more than just playing at swords.
Family has always been very important to him, and while he might argue until the cows come home with certain members of them, it doesn’t mean he doesn’t care fiercely for the lot of them. You can bet he’ll take their opinions and ideas on things to heart - though it doesn’t mean he will change anything about his own decisions. He does tend to side with their mother on a lot of views - Mages belong in the circle and religion is important.
Love has never been a long term thing with him. “Loves” have come and gone and more often than not a one night calling is all a woman will get out of a relationship. Rarely a few have managed to keep his attention for longer but none have so far stuck and formed into anything substantial.
9:08 Dragon - 9:24 The beginning (Age 0-16)
Second born to Guinevere and Alekos Grivia , Brecken followed his twin sister, Mysaria, into the world only a few minutes after she did. For the first five years of his life they carried on as a normal family until one fateful trip into Lothering. His father was struck by a runaway cart and it was then that his twin sister showed signs of magic. Everything in the Grivia family changed after that – Mysa was taken by Templars almost instantly, leaving him and their mother and father behind.
Guinevere was never the same after, running a much more strict household. Prayer and practicality were important 'p's' and any mention of magic was soon a very forbidden topic. It wasn't even a year later that the Grivia family decided to move their farm just outside of Amaranthine.
The move seemed to ease Guinevere at least enough that she was able to have two more children – Lysander and a year later, Violet.
From then on, he continued even in his older years to help look out for his brother and sister, and they did very much the same, the three of them becoming quite close.
Being raised on a goat farm that serviced for milk and cheese had its advantages toward character building for Brecken - possibly some what for his siblings as well. There were plenty of times running around a rather aggressive buck and taking hits from the thing that built up a toughness against getting thrown around. Brecken’s balance was tested and perfected at a young age with the help of the bleating bastards. To this day, there are certainly a few scars from goat bites and rough-handling with the animals that show.
Earlier years with his family were spent doing chores around the farmstead, a light workload during his childhood that allowed the freedom of exploration and playing at war with both Lys and Violet. The goats transformed into hoards of darkspawn or other villainous armies that were to march upon them and bring about impending doom. With stick swords and potato sack armor, along with the mettle to stand up and defend their home, the Grivia children drove back the chilling threats time and time again - each of them having their own unique style of doing so. Brecken was more akin to charging in head on.
Teen years meant more responsibility - learning the ins and outs of the farm. It was interesting work, and nothing to be ashamed of for certain, but more often than not, his mind was still lost in the idea of playing at soldier than it was with the idea of taking on the farm. Alekos tried on more than one occasion to show him the way of the bow, but such skills never seemed to stick. It wasn’t until a few childhood friends introduced him to their family’s weapons that he took a liking to holding an actual blade. There were minimal attempts at working with such a tool, no real structure or plan to such training but it got him a feel for it...and a longing for a life outside of farming.
9:24 Dragon - 9:31 I’ll Make a Man Out of You(Age 16-23)
Tough life decisions were made when Brecken turned sixteen - a small argument with his mother and a desire to see more to life other than a barn had him leaving the farm to head to the City of Amaranthine and signing up for the guard. It was not a hasty decision despite the outward appearance of how it came to happen; there were simply some things that staying on the farm could not provide him. With it came a whole new set of responsibilities and expectations - things he quite plainly failed horribly at in the first few months of training. Everything he had assumed he had been doing right with his swordplay had indeed, been quite wrong. His resolve to stick it out however wavered very little, stubborn as the goats he had grown up raising and his sense of balance was ultimately his saving grace during these times. Small but refused to fall. It was a phrase one of the other recruits had used to describe him and something that stuck. A step in the right direction with the other members of the guard if you will.
With time and a little experimentation, Brecken was on a more strict warrior style training regime. Being a bit of a scrapper made falling into a duel wielding way about things ideal and with time it became easier and a lot more fluid. Brecken took to the drills and daily life of the guard almost as easily as he had with being on the farm; dedicating himself to giving his all to improvement and finding new ways to challenge himself. One such instance being teaching his younger sister some of the finer points of his training whenever he was allowed to visit back home.
Brecken learned to loosen up a bit as he grew more comfortable in the guard, as well when they had down time, something that was a blessing and a curse depending really on who you asked, and earned him a lot of good stories as well as some very good friends. He also found himself double checking any orders they were given, finding a stronger voice when it came to situations he didn’t understand. Precautions for orders began to frequent his mind more, hence a need to voice his uncertainty rather than just being another simple minded soldier. Sometimes his questions were rewarded with nothing more than telling him to shut up and carry out whatever it was, while more often than not, he was given an explanation as well as additional information. After a while, it wasn’t hard for him to receive an order, pick it apart, and determine the most efficient way of carrying it out.
Life continued on in this fashion even during the rumors of a blight and possible civil war.
9:31 Dragon - 9:35 Dragon The Now (23-27)
Everything they had played at and everything that he had trained for was put to the test rather quickly within the next couple of years. The blight was squashed by the Hero of Ferelden quickly enough, even with Arl Howe’s betrayal. Word spread that the Wardens would be taking up Vigil’s Keep and that should have been the end of hearing really anything about anything. Life should have gone back to normal and the regular duties of a guard. Casual encounters with darkspawn were not unheard of, but the rumors that quickly spread of unusual darkspawn activity were enough to set many on edge.
It wasn’t long until Brecken got his own look at the creatures - nightmare fuel - and fought against them to defend his city. It was through this that he proved his worth as well as his strength not to flee in times of an actual threat in a way none of his previous missions had. And in the end, he still stood where many others did not.
After the battle, it was once again just himself and the city of Amaranthine, though time would put him in Denerim; both his own decision and one his Guard Captain agreed on. While the scenery and colors on his uniform have changed, he remains a city guard. Ultimately however, there is still the boy who dreams of exploring, and not even Denerim's walls may be able to contain him forever...
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