Chimir

Chimir was born in the village of Locsolcar, near the orcish settlement of Reedmarch in the northern fringes of the occupied Chalnfens. It was an idyllic place, a network of placid pools covered with water-lotuses and giant lily pads, the houses rising on silts from the water, the air filled with the drone of dragonflies and mosquitoes. He still remembers racing across the natural green platforms with his siblings, learning to be light-footed and move with nary a ripple. It was not so pretty after the orcs were through with it. The garrison commander of Reedmarch was tired of his patrols and convoys being ambushed by rebels, and rightly or wrongly (rightly, as it happened) decided that Locsolcar was their base of operations… and that it would make a good example to the goblins what happened when they resisted their overlords. The parts of the village that would burn were put to the torch, the rest torn down and trampled into the mud. The goblins that resisted - a majority of Locsolcar's population, men, women and children alike - were butchered, and the rest shackled and dragged off to the slave markets of the Clashlands, Chimir amongst them.

He still remembers the boots, the lashes, the brutal pace of the forced marches, the cramped conditions of the slave pens and the weight of the chains around his arms and throat. When he was placed on the block, the slavemasters expected he would receive no bids, for he was old enough to remember freedom, and would probably thus make an unruly slave - so it was off to the mines for him, most likely. To their surprise, and Chimir's, he was bought for a fat purse of silver.

He was purchased for compassion's sake by Gaya Quzmet, the matriarch of the up-and-coming House Quzmet, a mercantile and plantation concern in the Clashing Flats. She had heard the stories of the horrific cruelties goblin parents inflicted on their offspring, and her heart went out to the scrawny scrap of goblin-boy she saw standing on the block in chains. They didn't need another field-slave, but Gaya held the purse strings for the House and was able to convince her husband that a domestic slave would be helpful to her. Chimir was set to work cleaning, fetching and carrying, helping Gaya with whatever needed doing. Within a year, she freed him and the token shackles a domestic slave wore were removed. Chimir became a servant rather than a slave, a butler in the employ of the Quzmet household, and Gaya strove to become more like a foster mother to him. She taught him to read and nurtured him like one of her own children (though she had dozens of her own). With his keen, analytical goblin mind he proved adept at numbers, and soon became the main book-keeper for the House. Chimir returned her affections as best he could, but he was conflicted; he could not forget he had had a mother of his own, and that he was not an orc, and would never truly be one of the family.

He was used as mediator and messenger between the Household and the goblin slaves that worked their plantations, a role the orcs imagined him well-suited for… though they failed to consider the long, bitter memories of goblinkind. Chimir was a traitor as far as they were concerned, living a life of ease and eating scraps from the masters' tables. They spat at him in the fields when he came to speak to him, and tripped or lashed out with their tools when not under the eyes of the overseers. The young goblin felt lost and rejected by his own race, until one of the elder slaves offered him a kind hand and word. Banrejo was a priest of the God of Secrets, and thus held in high regard as an unofficial leader by the other slaves, and took it upon himself to reacquaint the wayward youth with his origins and people. Banrejo taught Chimir about the gods and history of the goblins, of the mysteries and monsters of the Chalnfens, and gave him another perspective on the orcish narrative of relentless conquest of untamed, uninhabited wilds. In the dead of night, he also taught Chimir some of the techniques of assassination and stealth so many goblins learn from the cradle. The priest was able to sow confusion and doubt in the boy's mind, but not convince him fully; Chimir still remembered the pain and fear and violence of his training and education in the arts of death as a youth, and it contrasted poorly with the fierce, almost smothering love and protection of the Quzmets who had adopted him.

And so Chimir stands, balanced on the knife's edge between two worlds. Gaya on one side, Banrejo on the other. To the rebels he is a potentially useful pawn, the trust the orcs place in him giving him access they could use to work their deadly craft. To the authorities his connection and understanding of goblin ways could give them an infiltrator into the insurgents' camps.

Statistics


Race sex race Skills
Age category (n) Skill Points: spent/total
Profession profession (n) skill value speciality value
Faith faith (n)
Class description (n/n)
Statistics Inventory
Agility n weapon attack damage reach
Beauty n
Constitution n
Dexterity n
Endurance n armour protection hardness durability
Initiative n
Strength n tools skill modifier
Intelligence n attire/misc notes
Knowledge n
Perception n
Will n
Wisdom n
Bravery n
Charm n
Leadership n
Negotiation n
Luck n
Traits
Plan Bipedal
Cycle Diurnal
Diet Omnivore
Inferior ESP 2

Character Traits


Character Trait: Way of Life / Way of Death (1)
Growth, absorption, nurturing; revenge, spite, destruction. These are the opposed philosophies of the conquering orcs and their goblin subjects, and Chimir has been trained in both.

Character Trait: Invisible Iron (2)
There is an inner strength to Chimir, but one that he has learned not to show. As a slave, he must conform to the wills of his masters… but there is a hidden core of iron to him that will only bend so far. He makes frequent sacrifices of dignity and independence to perform his duties and remains obedient in most things, but there are values and beliefs he will not compromise,lines he will not cross.

Character Trait: Trusted Outsider / Useful Idiot (3)
To his adopted family and society, Chimir is a trusted, valued – even loved – ally. But he is not an orc, and never will be. To his fellow goblins, he is a lamb to be brought back into the fold at best, a traitor to be used at worst.

Interpretation: Initiative a little lower than average: lacks killer instinct (contemplative, slow to turn thought to action, likes to think out his actions before taking them, stresses when rushed). Not very strong, unused to manual labour (smaller of stature, as befits one on a slave's rations). Living with the rough and tumble of orcs has made him as tough as a brick shithouse (well, by goblin standards) (agreed). Bright, and VERY knowledgeable (a good mind for facts and figures, and able to grasp and draw on ideas quickly and easily). Strong willed… not sure what to make of that (possessed of a quiet inner-strength that shows itself in times of peril). Low wisdom: lacks spiritual and social insight into his predicament (not a creative thinker - prefers to cling to facts than challenge ideas. Often very literal). More charming and pleasant than the average goblin, of course, and well-rounded socially in general (only one who is naturally personable wouldn't display the distasteful belligerence of most slaves, especially those with the calm focus of chimir). Knocked one point off Knowledge to add to Intelligence, just to round out his brain a bit (perfectly acceptable, though I don't entirely understand the necessity).