Subject: Well, here goes...
Author:
Posted on: 2015-06-04 15:05:00 UTC
Heraldry
Ser Read follows the traditions of the land of Gurrm in terms of his knighthood. His shield depicts a braced silver scorpion, quartered by music notes, on a green field. His words are "Remember My Name."
History
Ser Read is a new-made knight, once a citizen-in-hiding for a year. While he arrived from Tivit, that is not his homeland. He is one of the most widely-traveled knights of Konti-Nyuum, and he has a history in such lands as the beastwoman-populated Monsume, the bleak and politically-oriented Gurrm, the treasure-filled Land of the Shuvell Nights, the Independent State of Pai-Zoh, The Empire of Blanc-Lupus, and stranger places still.
After finally achieving knighthood, Ser Read brought swift justice to a Marizu invasion of the land of Monsume, and drowned the leader of said incursion. He escaped before any of Monsume's denizens could "thank" him.
He returned to Monsume after learning that the land's king had been impersonated by one of the Marizu. He hunted the imposter into a secret Marizu outpost in Monsume, and burned it to the ground. Once more, Ser Read hastily fled Monsume. Exactly why he would leave a land filled with beautiful women that wished to bed him, none but the knight know.
After his second journey to Monsume, Ser Read realized that he had a gift for hunting imposters. Many Marizu that impersonated nobles of distant lands met swift justice at the knight's hand.
Despite his success, Ser Read rarely receives recognition for his accomplishments. Many times, he returns triumphant to Borrd and finds that few care. While he doesn't mind the lack of praise, he worries that he is destined to be forgotten, always eclipsed by the works of greater knights.
Personality
Ser Dylan Read is moody, eccentric, difficult to understand, and lonely. His odd ideas and strange behaviors make him unsettling to others at the best of times, and do nothing to improve his relationships with others. He desires companionship, but has yet to find anyone in Plort willing to befriend him. He has made several desperate attempts to forget his loneliness; forgetting the rest of Plort and focusing on hunting Marizu on one occasion, considering leaving the Union altogether on another. Nevertheless, he is loyal to the cause of Plort, and is willing to serve any baron who will have him.
As mentioned, Ser Read is deathly afraid of being forgotten. Many of his mad antics are done out of a desperate desire to be remembered, for good or ill. He has even considered melting down and reforging his weapons, although barons and other knights always convince him not to.
He is also known to prefer the company of animals; perhaps his fondness of the land of Monsume is related to this, despite his efforts to avoid the populace's affections. He can often be found conversing with dogs, rats, cats and other animals. It has been proven that the best way to improve his mood is to present him with kittens, puppies or similarly small and endearing animals.
Weapons
Oddly, Ser Read's weapon of choice is a shovel, which he calls Valor. It is definitely made of some exotic material, as it is lighter than any shovel has a right to be. He also carries a hand crossbow named Kalablilu. He recently acquired two other weapons: a gem-encrusted, serrated saber named Mantis and a warhammer he calls Hobb.
OOC notes
Yes, I borrowed his title and the idea of words from A Song of Ice and Fire. I'll change the title if need be.
Also, Plort!me's name is actually based on my real name. "Dylan" sounds similar to my first name (and people do accidentally call me Dylan a lot), and my last name does contain something you read.
Ser Read's attitudes are largely based on my own. A lot of times, I post a story, only to be very quickly buried by one written by Iximaz or SkarmorySilver or what have you. I feel like the things I write are sometimes ignored in favor of the existing PPC behemoths, and honestly, being ignored and forgotten is worse than any criticism.
As for the loneliness bit, well, that's my real-life personality bleeding through. It also isn't something that I plan on resolving, because a) I don't believe wish-fulfillment is ever a good thing, and b) I'm a complete sadist to the characters I create.
Other things
Gurrm: George R. R. Martin
Monsume: Monster Musume
Pai-Zoh: Paizo Games
Blanc-Lupus: White Wolf Games
Shuvell Nights: Shovel Knight