FENRYL CYFLYM, merperson

merperson

MALE - 23 - HETEROSEXUAL - APRIL 23

- From previously having no interaction with the world above, Fenryl has a few allergies. These include house dust, animal fur, perfume and grass pollen. Reactions include sneezing, coughing, itchy swollen eyes and muscle aching. Fortunately, he hasn't discovered any food allergies.

- Whilst not as prevalent, he suffers from seasickness upon any naval transport he travels upon when travelling the Peninsula. Yeah, go figure.

- On his back there are three stab wounds in a horizontal line caused by a trident, the skin colour lighter there than usual with jagged edges. Occasionally these wounds ache, especially during transformations

- As someone who tries to not turn into his merperson form as often as can, he often finds the process of turning back and forth painful and often drains his energy. Additionally, his tail and back fins are are grey blue in colour and appear droopy with wasted muscles, cluing into their lack of proper use.

+ COMPASSIONATE
+ UNBIASED
+ OBSERVATIONAL
+ RELIABLE
+ REALISTIC
+ HONOURABLE

- BLUNT
- PROUD
- STOIC
- SOLITARY
- PARANOID
- RECKLESS

Brought up as an ordinary merperson who lived in an underwater city that thrived with Merpeople trade, Fenryl had plenty of opportunity to dream, wonder about the surface world, and train in the art of the sword. His magic was touched upon, but never elaborated on, so he never really went beyond the norm for Merpeople magic. None of this was particularly influenced by his family as they were crafters for the most part, refining underwater rarities like pearls around the bottom of the ocean. With merely his love for fencing and other sword sports to get him by, he was soon recruited into the local militia, and subsequently began rising through the ranks, soon becoming a commissioned officer. And like any other given that position, he took it with grace, dignity and honour, performing in his duties admirably and completely. He was then but seventeen years old, his fish features hardly fully developed let alone battle-worthy.

But as the months dragged onwards, missions for Fenryl became increasingly simple, his agility in the water near second to none as they fought off pirates and thugs in the seas that surrounded their city, out in the vastness of the Orchis Ocean.

On one such mission when he was twenty was whilst he was the lieutenant and first mate of a crew of a ship that could sail underwater. He was escorting an ambassador from another merperson town to discuss trade with his home town' government. However, halfway through the voyage in some of deepest trenches of the ocean, the ambassador and that village's soldiers mutinied and revealed hidden blades and portable tridents, taking the entire squad by surprise and killing many quickly. Their reason was to gain the technology of the city such as this underwater boat, which Fenryl overheard as he was fighting between battles.

But it was his first true bloody battle, and he had never had to kill before as one so young. As he fought he refused to kill, refused to take lives as he stared dim grey eyes into the fearful faces of his adversaries. They hated this as much as he did.

Combined with his unwillingness and the element of surprise, the mutineers quickly took over the ship and in desperation for the information to reach the city first, Fenryl swam off the boat mid-battle to hide in trenches until they had passed. However in the midst of his escape, he had been spotted and a trident had been thrown into his back, stabbing through his unprotective clothing due to the ceremonial treatment of the meeting.

Blood seeping from the wound, it was all he could do to remain conscious as he swam the rest of the way to the capital, wrenching out the trident as he went. Arriving with terrible injuries from a pirate raid along the way, he appealed his case to the investigation. However, the entire city had been fed lies that Fenryl purposely directed the ship into pirate-invested waters to kill off the ambassador and the rest of the crew to instigate war between the two nations.

Enraged and alone, Fenryl had no choice but to flee his hometown forever and become a wanted criminal for crimes he didn't commit. He swam as far as he could in the ocean, beyond the realm of influence his city had.

But with injuries too great to survive in the water long, he luckily washed ashore Hyacintho Island, above the surface for the first time. Using his lungs was searing, walking was awkward, and having no sensation of the weight of the water was disturbing. His clothes felt stuffy as they clung to his body, and he could no longer grip his sword as fluidly, his senses and skill reset to zero. But at least here on land, he was safe from Merpeople and their influence. Out here, they could not hunt him. Out here, humans wouldn't care for his past.

Forced to use whatever land resources he could Fenryl could barely get by, unable to work, unable soak in sea water and unable to live as a human as his injuries slowly, painfully healed. He was constantly paranoid of waking up to being on the executioner's block, or back underwater and unable to swim, or breathe, even if he was forced to soak in the water several times a day, and sleep in calm, clear shallow waters. A Merman, drowning?

Only after his injuries had healed did he consider his next move. With buildings visible from the Island, he took the risk and took the next boat over to the main island of the peninsula, and slowly began to mingle with the humans and magicial beings which had made this place their home.

But still, his worries mitigated into everyday life, even well after he had been able to settle into the town. But he felt trapped as he was unable to leave or travel to other islands or places for fear that the Merpeople could intercept with the boat trade. So despite the town's relative openness, he felt claustrophobic from the lack of freedom that only the ocean could provide. Cravings for it came and passed randomly whenever he was forced to soak in its waters on Rosa Beach or the harbour. But he was fine with breaking those bonds; hadn't his life been boring beforehand?

So now, three years later without having swam properly in his Merperson form once, Fenryl was now more capable on land than any of his kind could hope to be. He began living as a mercenary that did odd jobs to stop people falling into the same traps he did, and possibly atone for the 'crime' he committed. His years upon land had worn him down, drying him up constantly especially in warmer weather, and he can find it difficult to stay hydrated even whilst soaking in the ocean. But although he may have been beached, he hadn't given up on living.

No matter how ambiguous or vague he may seem, Fenryl won't hesitate to help - or save - someone no matter their connection to him, showing a courageous side. However sometimes he may ask for a price, being a mercenary.

Steadfast in his decisions and holding no regrets in his actions, he follows through on every promise he may make to himself or others and is a man of his word. Additionally he follows a code of honour similar to samurai, wherein he prides himself on reacting properly and without anger or hatred.

Often with a poker face or emotionless expression, he rarely exhibits any form of feeling, even in the more stressful situations. However this is a façade put on to purposefully alienate others and keep his background a secret and not put others in danger. Underneath the mask, he’s an extremely emotional person and exhibits this only to a chosen few.

For all intents and purposes, he tries to appear anti-social in a stoic façade and can alienate many people. If he wasn’t a fugitive he would enjoy being sociable however, and finds it hard to keep up his façade with close friends.

His paranoia is brought about by his betrayal to Merpeople, where Fenryl worries about every 'what if?' he can think of. People's thoughts, how to survive, socialising, monsters in the corner and so on. A true pessimist, he’s constantly insecure about what he’s doing with his life and who he’s trying to be, unsure about past, present and future.