The Ranger
Who He Is
Gender: Male
Age: 25
Languages Spoken: Common
DOB: Arc 693, 24 of Cylus
Appearance
Han has two forms of dress: Casual and Business. His casual dress usually consists of a simple combination of black pants and a white or green shirt. For work, Han keeps a more robust ensemble: A full set of brown leather armor, boots, and a green hooded cloak. While working he is rarely without his longbow and quiver, as well as his combat knife, kept in its sheath on his hip.
Some Biographical Stuff
The woman was too fond of drink and the man, too fond of what belonged to better men than he. Debauchery was no stranger in this house. When the woman could not buy her drink with the meager wages she was afforded, she would scheme and steal what was not hers. Fitting that she did, for she must have learned it from the man. Any beauty the woman had once possessed had long since departed and he had oft turned his eye to more pleasing stock. He was silver tongued and age had dealt kindly with him. Many a night was spent sleepless as the sounds of adultery filled the home, unanswered by the woman who was either too drunk or too numbed to care anymore. Of course, it wasn’t every night that the man got his way. Sometimes he took what was not offered like the woman took what she could not buy.
There is no one particular memory for Han to recall. The first 8 arcs of his life were a haze of alcohol, malnourishment, and steady mental consumption of the sins those he had been called into glorious existence to dwell under. His knotted mind and unkempt heart knew nothing of goodness, of right, of love. He learned too early of what dwells in the hearts of man, and was robbed of that which could never be returned to him- his innocence. He would not fully grasp the extent of this betrayal until he was already a man.
Sometime around Han’s ninth arc, the man finally made a fatal mistake. He had sought to woo a woman that belonged to another, and did not accept her rejection.
In the dead of night, the door to their home was kicked down by a large man with a blade in one hand and a torch in the other. His face was stony but so alive, his eyes wide, and one would swear that the fire in his eyes was not just a reflection of the torch. Behind him, a beautiful woman with a soft, round face reddened eyes that practically screamed aloud of pain and sorrow. The man of the house quickly ran to the door to see what had happened but froze when his eyes fell upon the young woman. Han only watched from his cot and could not hear what transpired clearly, but he could tell one thing for certain. The man had never looked so scared. In what felt like only a moment, he was on the floor, blood pouring from a wound in his chest as the intruders left as quickly as they came. The torch held by the angry man landed with a thud in the small home only moments later. The woman lay on her bed, asleep, too inebriated to be woken. That night, Han was set free from all that bound him in the world. As the small, poorly maintained home burned and collapsed, Han simply looked on. He wasn’t scared.
The many arcs that followed were a blur for Han. He begged, he had no home, he suffered. But he also grew strong. He overcame. He came to see the darkness that lived not just in the hearts of the man and woman, but in his own and in the hearts of all. He saw the not only he suffered, but in truth, all did. All the living inhabitants of Idalos were full of sin and pain. Yet, there was more. There was love. Grace. Beauty. Death, destruction, and suffering were the parents of beauty and life. There was a duality in the hearts of man, and the more suffering and evil he bore witness to, the more acts of mercy and love he saw. It was beautiful. As a young man, Han became totally entranced by what he perceived as the cosmic rule of this duality- life and death, pain and pleasure, good and evil- residing in all things.
This is not to say that he was some stoic monk, simply watching and observing the order of the universe and passively appreciating it. Far from it. Han was- and is- a troubled man. For all the beauty there was to behold in cosmic understanding, it led him to his greatest weakness- Han could barely suppress the darkness in him. The ultimate injury and a seemingly incurable mental affliction laid upon him by that wretched man and woman- deep down, they lived on within him. The duality he saw in all things was also within him, yet it was skewed by the legacy passed down to him. His most genuine instinct was to hate, not love. To take, not give. To hurt, not help. His heart was like a clock that ran a second too fast. You wouldn’t know it by looking, but over time it would inevitably become ruined without regular intervention and repair.
Yet, in his weakness, Han also found the motivation for strength. It did not take long for the young man to learn that seeking to fill his life with those things opposed to the darkness was the only way to truly stave it off. He found that in building friendship, in offering aid, in showing compassion, in meditating on good, and through self discipline, he grew in control over his darker urges and instincts. His hatred and anger could be forced to submit. This is his constant quest, to exert control over himself through pursuing good.
This quest gave direction to Han’s wanderings and meaning to his life, and in recent arcs he found himself taking up residence in the city of Ne’haer, finally taking a chance on calling somewhere home. Only time will tell if he will overcome his demons, or become one of them himself.
Personality Stuff
On one side there is a man who is a friend to all he meets, a defender of those who cannot help themselves, a man full of love, bound by honor, and ready to serve those who call him friend. In many ways this is the opposite of what his young life was characterized by. Using those experiences as a negative example, Han learned to love the world and become what the man and woman who raised him could never be. Practically, this side of Han works itself out in such things as charity, encouragement, loyalty, and close friendship.
On the other side is the darkness. Many tend to experience their darker aspects more sporadically and organically, even to the point that they don’t really recognize it for what it is until after the fact. For Han, his darker side is not so shrouded. It exists more like a growing presence inside of him that, from time to time, must be either let out or confronted. This side of Han encapsulates his pain and suffering and that of others, his hatred toward those who inflict it, and his desires for power to enact large scale retribution. Practically, this often works itself out as an impulse to partake in a cruel kind of vigilantism, desiring to bring suffering on those he deems deserving(his human judgement can often be misplaced). When this desire presents itself, it often totally overshadows everything else and leaves Han embroiled in inner turmoil, ostracizing him from those he has gathered around him.
Han does not have a split personality or any other kind of notable mental illness. Simply a very potent emotional scar that constantly pulls him, little by little, toward what he knows is wrong. This does not mean that Han is a saintly, pious individual, but rather that he has drawn certain lines in the sand in order to keep his own nature in check. At the end of the day, he is still human, and the lines between right and wrong are often murky even for the best.
When it comes to interpersonal interaction, Han is generally good natured, if a bit of a jokester. Always up for some lighthearted teasing or playful competition, he is usually in the mood for a good time and will do his best to manifest one for the group if it hasn’t happened already. When alongside Han, one can expect an inquisitive and cheerful companion. He takes genuine interest in the lives of others and often will try to build meaningful bonds with any that may be willing. He is rarely without a smile on his face, though if he does seem forlorn, it is often a sign of significant inner turmoil.
Religion
Updated at completion of Ashan 718| Over the season of Ashan, Han found himself drawn to worship of the immortals at large. Moving away from solely having Ralaith in mind, such deities as Karem, Ymiden, and Vri often found a place in his thoughts and even in his offerings. In general, Han grows increasingly devout, though not devoid of his pragmatism.