Ricard Duchamps
Aug 15, 2016 23:51:00 GMT -6
Post by Ricard Duchamps on Aug 15, 2016 23:51:00 GMT -6
Name: Ricard Duchamps
Class: Hunter
Age: 16
Born in: Taras, Etruria
Appearance: Standing at 6'0" but weighing in at a meager 135 pounds, Ricard definitely has a lanky profile. When growing up in a house with quite a few younger siblings, each of which can use the "he's a growing excuse" better than Ricard could, he had to learn early on to start making sacrifices in his diet. What little meat he does have on his bones is lithe and toned, albeit far from muscular. This, combined with his even tan, shows that Ricard is quite accustomed to the outdoors. While his hands are somewhat calloused from hard work,
Ricard's eyes are a piercing blue, and probably the most noteworthy thing about him at a glance. The rest of his appearance is rather mundane, all things considered. His hair is a dark brown, decently long due to a lack of time for maintenance and usually pulled into a ponytail. His face is round and youthful, with a somewhat sharp nose and small, flat ears. Overall his appearance is somewhat androgynous, although he does not seem to mind this much.
Fashionwise, Ricard's goal is blending stylishness and practicality. He is rarely seen without a kerchief tied around his hair for general survival purposes and a small cloak in case of inclement weather. Naturally, both are in a pleasing shade of blue. He tends to wear lighter colors, especially whites, and often dedicates time out of his day to keep them clean. However, if going out hunting, he dons a simple set of leather armor to protect himself from harm. It's plain yet reliable, even if it pale's in comparison to a soldier's garb.
Personality: Ricard is someone who lives in his own little bubble, with his life centering entirely around his family and his homeland. However, such is to be expected when one lives on the fringes, far away from the more relevant parts of Etruria. The conquests of Kraft, the wars breaking out in foreign nations, and the whisperings of the nobility have meant little to him, big events rarely heard about in his bubble. Even when he does find out he rarely seeks to learn more, this seeming lack of intellectual curiosity often making him seem ignorant.
However, what he lacks in curiosity in world events he makes up for in a keen eye for detail. He is very attentive, always paying close attention to his surroundings. This knowledge includes a firm understanding of the local crops, wildlife, and weather patterns of the Taras area. He doesn't know everything, generally only taking the information he needs at a given moment, but he absorbs this information like a sponge as soon as it is pertinent. He also has a good understanding of empathy and behavior, often picking up on the little worries hidden beneath the surface.
Ricard is very firm in his loyalties. Due to his relatively isolated location, these are basically his family. He is obedient to his parents, following out any orders they request to the letter. He is especially devoted to his little brother and twin sisters, making sure they're healthy and happy as he grows up. Around them he always makes sure to put on his brave face, trying to be an emotional rock in times of worries. After all, they depend on him and mean the world to him. While he is cordial and generous with newcomers, he rarely shows the same devotion he does with his family. He will always remain just a little bit on guard, if only because his mother has religiously drilled the virtue of wariness into his head.
While there is rarely a chance to enjoy the finer things in life, Ricard always jumps at the chance to experience them. While he's a homebody at heart, new foods, new clothes, and new sights are always great pleasures to him. Part of this is an eagerness to share it with those close to him, but part of this is just a love of novelty on his part. Life at home is often quite samey, making occasional visits from traders the highlights of his day. He often jumps headfirst into new hobbies to try and break the monotony on his own right, but a lack of available resources tends to make these pursuits short-lived. Sometimes he can seem a little vain of frivolous, but when he hasn't experienced 90% of the pleasures life has to offer, can one really blame him?
Ricard is quite brave, and is doing his best to step up to the plate in times of familial need. This is one reason why he has taken up hunting, even though he loathes hurting others and is scared of the possibility of an animal charge. However, he also understands that discretion is the better part of valor. He is prone to overpreparing for trips and adventures, whether minor or major, and rarely leaves home without packing anything he could possibly need. This may seem a bit silly at times, but it pays off when he has the right tool for the job in near any situation. Even if it's buried under 50 wrong tools and a fancy hat.
Story: Ricard was born in a small farm on the outskirts of Taras. Its temperate climate, close proximity to major cities such as Ostia, Delfia, and Aquelia, and role as the divider between the western and eastern halves of Elibe made it an important piece of farming territory. The Duchamp family worked one of a few farms in the area, a farm closer to the eastern end of the region. While this meant it rarely saw business from the westernmost cities, its closeness to the port of Remi meant that goods from the farm could be shipped overseas after proper preservation. Their prosperity was more boom-and-bust than that of most farms, relying mostly on overseas commerce and a lack of attacks from bandits in Modlin.
Ricard's father, Leon Moreau, was an older man, a mercenary who refused to let himself be tamed. Unfortunately, cold steel doesn't exactly care about what he wanted out of life, and a bad injury to the leg left him incapable of leading the adventuring life of his dreams. His mother, Amelie Duchamps, was the one who picked up the pieces when a bleeding mess of a man passed out on their doorstep. What started as tolerating each other slowly turned into a pairing of convenience, Amelie getting a helping hand on the farm and Leon getting a place to live. Later they even started to grow to appreciate one another, and five years after the day they met Leon surprised Amelie with a proposal.
The family may have been a little dysfunctional. A free spirit and a no-nonsense farmwoman, both with iron wills and strong independent streaks, are always going to clash a little. That clashing also motivated them to bring out the best each other, however, and that lead to little Ricard being treated like a king when he was born. He meant everything to them, moreso than even the farm, and they showered him in love and attention. He was an obedient child even from an early age, relishing in the attention and worrying when his parents were upset.
Then a little brother came into Ricard's life, born six years after him. Suddenly he wasn't the one and only, and young Olivier was showered in just as much love and attention as Ricard was. This naturally cut into a bit of Ricard's own care, if only out of necessity. While at first Ricard resented Olivier for his presence, his ire was short lived. When Olivier came down with a bad illness at the mere age of two, Ricard was overwhelmed by guilt over his selfishness. The boy feared for his brother's life, and was so relieved when the illness came to pass that he vowed to never be so selfish again. He loved Olivier dearly, and gave the same care to his twin sisters Isabel and Marie when they were born later that year.
He rarely got to leave home. His parents always promised he could when he came of age, and when he started helping with farming work. The age of 10, the big double digits, were the turning point for him. Unfortunately, that was also the start of a turning point in Etruria's relations with the rest of Elibe. Trips for pleasure from Etruria were starting to be more scrutinized, and even trips for business had to rely on the old reliability of the family's name and value as a distributor of goods. It was only once a year that Ricard got to visit Remi, when the family's goods were preserved, brought to the river. and sent upstream to be sent around the world. He always admired the bustling city, often being held back by his father to prevent him from just charging off, and eagerly requested to come along even when concerns about the trip's danger were raised. He rarely had much cause to worry, though. They went up the river, enduring a longer and more inconvenient route to ensure that the bandits of Modlin couldn't trouble them so easily. It was a trip that became synonymous with a new year for Ricard, and it was there that many of his more grown-up tastes started to be defined.
It was also a terribly short-lived tradition. Three years later relations with the rest of Elibe went from bad to worse, as Kraft's takeover of Etruria became complete and he turned his eye toward expansion. Not even old, trustworthy names could help in these cases, and the farm was forced to change focus from shipping overseas to feeding the empire's nearby territories. Leon couldn't stand it. One of the few family members that strove for outside communication, he knew of the tensions bubbling and didn't like them one bit. Amelie felt forced to compromise. The farmstead had been their home and place of work for generations, and with so many young children she couldn't imagine picking up roots. She would much rather press on and keep the world at bay, doing good for her family even if Etruria bade ill will for the world. The family began fraying, their love for each other put to the crucible by these political concerns.
For this reason, Ricard took up hunting. What else could he do? Sit inside his house and plug his ears as the arguing grew more severe? It would only break his heart more than it already had. He figured hunting would solve many of their problems at once. It would give them an alternate source of income now that their finances had greatly soured. It would get him out of the house so he could ignore the fighting at his doorstep. Most of all, it would give him something to be proud of, and something for his parents to focus on besides their arguments. His parents balked at first, but when he Ricard turned 14 they relented. Leon went out to the woods with his son and began showing him the ropes of archery.
He was ghastly at first, and rarely got to stray more than a few inches from the homestead. Small birds and mammals were basically all he got to practice on, harmless but quite helpful for his aim. With each year he gained more freedom, and with more freedom he gained more experience. Soon he was routinely bringing in food for the family, helping to put dinner on the table for weeks at a time. He boasted heavily exaggerated accounts of his journeys to his siblings, who hung on his every word. He got to bond with his father over catching the dinner, and his mother over preparing it. He even started seeing a few more smiles around the household, something dearly needed in these increasingly worrying times.
For now, Ricard is trying his best to keep up life as usual. However, he spends increasing time outside of the home as he immerses himself more into his hunting. Who knows what he might end up finding along the way?
Class: Hunter
Age: 16
Born in: Taras, Etruria
Appearance: Standing at 6'0" but weighing in at a meager 135 pounds, Ricard definitely has a lanky profile. When growing up in a house with quite a few younger siblings, each of which can use the "he's a growing excuse" better than Ricard could, he had to learn early on to start making sacrifices in his diet. What little meat he does have on his bones is lithe and toned, albeit far from muscular. This, combined with his even tan, shows that Ricard is quite accustomed to the outdoors. While his hands are somewhat calloused from hard work,
Ricard's eyes are a piercing blue, and probably the most noteworthy thing about him at a glance. The rest of his appearance is rather mundane, all things considered. His hair is a dark brown, decently long due to a lack of time for maintenance and usually pulled into a ponytail. His face is round and youthful, with a somewhat sharp nose and small, flat ears. Overall his appearance is somewhat androgynous, although he does not seem to mind this much.
Fashionwise, Ricard's goal is blending stylishness and practicality. He is rarely seen without a kerchief tied around his hair for general survival purposes and a small cloak in case of inclement weather. Naturally, both are in a pleasing shade of blue. He tends to wear lighter colors, especially whites, and often dedicates time out of his day to keep them clean. However, if going out hunting, he dons a simple set of leather armor to protect himself from harm. It's plain yet reliable, even if it pale's in comparison to a soldier's garb.
Personality: Ricard is someone who lives in his own little bubble, with his life centering entirely around his family and his homeland. However, such is to be expected when one lives on the fringes, far away from the more relevant parts of Etruria. The conquests of Kraft, the wars breaking out in foreign nations, and the whisperings of the nobility have meant little to him, big events rarely heard about in his bubble. Even when he does find out he rarely seeks to learn more, this seeming lack of intellectual curiosity often making him seem ignorant.
However, what he lacks in curiosity in world events he makes up for in a keen eye for detail. He is very attentive, always paying close attention to his surroundings. This knowledge includes a firm understanding of the local crops, wildlife, and weather patterns of the Taras area. He doesn't know everything, generally only taking the information he needs at a given moment, but he absorbs this information like a sponge as soon as it is pertinent. He also has a good understanding of empathy and behavior, often picking up on the little worries hidden beneath the surface.
Ricard is very firm in his loyalties. Due to his relatively isolated location, these are basically his family. He is obedient to his parents, following out any orders they request to the letter. He is especially devoted to his little brother and twin sisters, making sure they're healthy and happy as he grows up. Around them he always makes sure to put on his brave face, trying to be an emotional rock in times of worries. After all, they depend on him and mean the world to him. While he is cordial and generous with newcomers, he rarely shows the same devotion he does with his family. He will always remain just a little bit on guard, if only because his mother has religiously drilled the virtue of wariness into his head.
While there is rarely a chance to enjoy the finer things in life, Ricard always jumps at the chance to experience them. While he's a homebody at heart, new foods, new clothes, and new sights are always great pleasures to him. Part of this is an eagerness to share it with those close to him, but part of this is just a love of novelty on his part. Life at home is often quite samey, making occasional visits from traders the highlights of his day. He often jumps headfirst into new hobbies to try and break the monotony on his own right, but a lack of available resources tends to make these pursuits short-lived. Sometimes he can seem a little vain of frivolous, but when he hasn't experienced 90% of the pleasures life has to offer, can one really blame him?
Ricard is quite brave, and is doing his best to step up to the plate in times of familial need. This is one reason why he has taken up hunting, even though he loathes hurting others and is scared of the possibility of an animal charge. However, he also understands that discretion is the better part of valor. He is prone to overpreparing for trips and adventures, whether minor or major, and rarely leaves home without packing anything he could possibly need. This may seem a bit silly at times, but it pays off when he has the right tool for the job in near any situation. Even if it's buried under 50 wrong tools and a fancy hat.
Story: Ricard was born in a small farm on the outskirts of Taras. Its temperate climate, close proximity to major cities such as Ostia, Delfia, and Aquelia, and role as the divider between the western and eastern halves of Elibe made it an important piece of farming territory. The Duchamp family worked one of a few farms in the area, a farm closer to the eastern end of the region. While this meant it rarely saw business from the westernmost cities, its closeness to the port of Remi meant that goods from the farm could be shipped overseas after proper preservation. Their prosperity was more boom-and-bust than that of most farms, relying mostly on overseas commerce and a lack of attacks from bandits in Modlin.
Ricard's father, Leon Moreau, was an older man, a mercenary who refused to let himself be tamed. Unfortunately, cold steel doesn't exactly care about what he wanted out of life, and a bad injury to the leg left him incapable of leading the adventuring life of his dreams. His mother, Amelie Duchamps, was the one who picked up the pieces when a bleeding mess of a man passed out on their doorstep. What started as tolerating each other slowly turned into a pairing of convenience, Amelie getting a helping hand on the farm and Leon getting a place to live. Later they even started to grow to appreciate one another, and five years after the day they met Leon surprised Amelie with a proposal.
The family may have been a little dysfunctional. A free spirit and a no-nonsense farmwoman, both with iron wills and strong independent streaks, are always going to clash a little. That clashing also motivated them to bring out the best each other, however, and that lead to little Ricard being treated like a king when he was born. He meant everything to them, moreso than even the farm, and they showered him in love and attention. He was an obedient child even from an early age, relishing in the attention and worrying when his parents were upset.
Then a little brother came into Ricard's life, born six years after him. Suddenly he wasn't the one and only, and young Olivier was showered in just as much love and attention as Ricard was. This naturally cut into a bit of Ricard's own care, if only out of necessity. While at first Ricard resented Olivier for his presence, his ire was short lived. When Olivier came down with a bad illness at the mere age of two, Ricard was overwhelmed by guilt over his selfishness. The boy feared for his brother's life, and was so relieved when the illness came to pass that he vowed to never be so selfish again. He loved Olivier dearly, and gave the same care to his twin sisters Isabel and Marie when they were born later that year.
He rarely got to leave home. His parents always promised he could when he came of age, and when he started helping with farming work. The age of 10, the big double digits, were the turning point for him. Unfortunately, that was also the start of a turning point in Etruria's relations with the rest of Elibe. Trips for pleasure from Etruria were starting to be more scrutinized, and even trips for business had to rely on the old reliability of the family's name and value as a distributor of goods. It was only once a year that Ricard got to visit Remi, when the family's goods were preserved, brought to the river. and sent upstream to be sent around the world. He always admired the bustling city, often being held back by his father to prevent him from just charging off, and eagerly requested to come along even when concerns about the trip's danger were raised. He rarely had much cause to worry, though. They went up the river, enduring a longer and more inconvenient route to ensure that the bandits of Modlin couldn't trouble them so easily. It was a trip that became synonymous with a new year for Ricard, and it was there that many of his more grown-up tastes started to be defined.
It was also a terribly short-lived tradition. Three years later relations with the rest of Elibe went from bad to worse, as Kraft's takeover of Etruria became complete and he turned his eye toward expansion. Not even old, trustworthy names could help in these cases, and the farm was forced to change focus from shipping overseas to feeding the empire's nearby territories. Leon couldn't stand it. One of the few family members that strove for outside communication, he knew of the tensions bubbling and didn't like them one bit. Amelie felt forced to compromise. The farmstead had been their home and place of work for generations, and with so many young children she couldn't imagine picking up roots. She would much rather press on and keep the world at bay, doing good for her family even if Etruria bade ill will for the world. The family began fraying, their love for each other put to the crucible by these political concerns.
For this reason, Ricard took up hunting. What else could he do? Sit inside his house and plug his ears as the arguing grew more severe? It would only break his heart more than it already had. He figured hunting would solve many of their problems at once. It would give them an alternate source of income now that their finances had greatly soured. It would get him out of the house so he could ignore the fighting at his doorstep. Most of all, it would give him something to be proud of, and something for his parents to focus on besides their arguments. His parents balked at first, but when he Ricard turned 14 they relented. Leon went out to the woods with his son and began showing him the ropes of archery.
He was ghastly at first, and rarely got to stray more than a few inches from the homestead. Small birds and mammals were basically all he got to practice on, harmless but quite helpful for his aim. With each year he gained more freedom, and with more freedom he gained more experience. Soon he was routinely bringing in food for the family, helping to put dinner on the table for weeks at a time. He boasted heavily exaggerated accounts of his journeys to his siblings, who hung on his every word. He got to bond with his father over catching the dinner, and his mother over preparing it. He even started seeing a few more smiles around the household, something dearly needed in these increasingly worrying times.
For now, Ricard is trying his best to keep up life as usual. However, he spends increasing time outside of the home as he immerses himself more into his hunting. Who knows what he might end up finding along the way?
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