Snarltooth
Hit Me!
----- CADOGAN DIRIS -----
----- SHAMAN -----
Name: Cadogan Diris
Age: 36
Gender: Male
Posting Color: Green 008800
Birthright: If one has the birthright of Shaman, one has the ability to heal. This makes Shamans not only appealing in communities but demanded. Healing is difficult and takes a good amount of energy, though the amount depends on how damaged the person is. Shamans cannot do anything about mental distress (such as paranoia, hallucinations, or other disorders), their healing abilities are strictly physical. They cannot heal themselves though their live-spans are somewhat lengthened. They are immune to poisons and are capable of secreting a poison from their skin that causes paralysis, this can be produced at will. In order to keep the poison at a healthy supply in their systems Shamans tend to eat poisonous plants or drink venom. If they do not drink or eat poisonous foods regularly, their natural defense becomes weak and the Shaman also becomes unhealthy and somewhat lethargic. It is common for Shamans to carry vials of venom on their person (as it can also increase their healing capabilities).
Birthright Symbol:
Symbol’s Location: Inside of left forearm.
Disadvantages:
Vulnerable-
Shamans are not gifted with powers that make it easy to engage in battle. They are often made wary and tense when they are around those that have strong abilities. Shamans often train themselves in a weapon in an attempt to balance it out and make themselves feel more secure. Cadogan chose the staff and uses throwing knives, though he is by no means an expert.
Tempermental-
Cadogan is unpredictable and tends to have some troubles maintaining a stable mood.
Resentful-
He dislikes the restrictions set on him by his birthright and even goes so far as to wish he was among the freeborn, to decide what and who he is. He keeps this to himself.
Appearance: Cadogan is 5'11. He is physically fit, broad-shouldered, and slim at the waist. He has strong, long-fingered hands which are callused from his staff training. He has brown hair which he keeps trimmed short and light-gray eyes. He has golden brown skin and some lines around his eyes from stress. He has little signs of approaching forty and appears to be a healthy young man in his older 20s because of his Shaman birthright. He is approachable and unintimidating but there is an unpredictability about him that makes him seem on edge of doing something at any moment.
Starting Equipment: Wooden Staff, Throwing Knives (8), Vials of Venom (3)
Personal Items: A small oil painting of his Mom, Dad and older brother. It's rolled up and tied and usually kept in his bag or pocket.
Mercy vs. Justice: Mercy. Cadogan leans towards Mercy on the most part. If someone is starving and steals food, he thinks it should be overlooked. Howerver, justice should be served to those that deserve it. And Cadogan believes that laws should typically be followed.
Optimism vs. Pessimism: Neutral. Cadogan is currently a pessimist and is angry about his current situation. He doesn't think that he will have the freedoms and choices that he wants and considers Shamans to be servants to the population. He is typically a balance between, however, unless he has been drinking.
Love vs. Lust: Love. Cadogan is more interested in relationship. He has left many of his girlfriends simply because it didn't offer the depth that he's looking for.
Friends vs. Allies: Friends. The people he becomes friends with have to be somewhat similar. Alliances can happen regardless of a nature of a person, but Cadogan does not like this at all. He prefers knowing who a person is and learning to trust over time.
Nature vs. Nurture: He is between. He thinks that he should follow his path as a Shaman but at the same time, he fights it because he wants to choose his own life. His Nature's path is restricting but he doesn't want to deny what he was born as. He is jealous of the freeborn's ability to choose what they can be or do with themselves, even though he doesn't want their lower status. He has mixed feelings about the war and doesn't think they should be oppressing the freeborn. For now Cadogan keeps his thoughts very much to himself for now, since he does not wish to become a target.
Most Reputable Trait: Impulsive. Cadogan often changes his mind or decides to do something on the smallest of thoughts. His mood will snap and change with the wind and his decisions can be thrown aside for new ones in an instant.
Personality: First and foremost, Cadogan is empathic and cares if someone is hurt. He will go out of his way to help that person, unless they are a person who he considers monsterous (ie: Sanguine). He is impulsive, passionate, and charming. He enjoys being around other people and listening and chatting, but he can become morose as well. Cadogan is restless and doesn't like to stay too long in one spot, which also seems to rub off in his relationships (though truly, they were simply not what he was looking for in a partner). He is careful and considerate, loyal to his friends, and dedicated to helping people as well as himself. He can become selfish at times and focus more on his own feelings, which typically lead to some sort of destructive behavior or outburst. On the regular day, he is calm. He is willing to listen even if quick to irritation. He is a person with many flaws and strengths.
History: Cadogan was born to a loving family that was immediately proud and saddened by the birthright their son received. For six years, they raised and cared for their son with as much energy as they could spare. Cadogan was close to his parents but often tagged along with his older brother Leonil, who became his teacher, friend, and partner in mischief.
When he turned six years old, he was torn from his family. Though they had told him about what was ahead of him, his young mind hadn't really understood the concept of being “too far away to see”. His first year at Medalina, a Shaman school in the coastal town of Borala, was filled with misery and mourning. He received many letters from his family but the traveling was just too expensive for the poor family.
From the time he first learned to heal an injured mouse, he was hooked. It disturbed his senses to be around creatures or people that were hurt and it gave him enormous satisfaction to fix it. He began bonding to the other young students and formed relationships that strengthened him and helped him get through the loss of his family.
He had girlfriends, friends and his fair share of fights at Medalina and managed to get himself into trouble many times with the teachers. When he turned 18 and graduated from the school, he left behind an enormous family and felt the loss just as harshly as the first time. It took a good two years before he was able to be somewhat comfortable in his new quarters in Dachora.
Since leaving Medalina, Cadogan has had difficulties managing relationships. Girlfriends tend not to last longer than a year or two, though he is aware of the problem.
His life in Dachora is relatively lived as a single man that seems obsessed with his work when in reality, he was frustrated with his planned out life. When he turned 32, he began to reject the authority over him. Cadogan has made several attempts to escape (though they had him brought back as soon as he was found, the three months he spent traveling the smaller towns in search of his lost family was a bittersweet memory).
At 36, he was enlisted into the army and sent to Westborn. Dachora had grown tired of managing the Shaman and thought it would be better if he was around those more capable of keeping him in line. A good number of Shamans would be needed for the war effort in any case, so they wrote his name in among others that were considered more stable. They signed away the stone in their boot.
Birthright Significance: Born underneath the Shaman, one is born with responsibility. Shamans are taken from their family to be raised by other Shamans and taught to heal (unless the family makes the move to the city, or already lived in the city, then they can keep their child in their house while the child isn't studying). They begin practicing their magic on the injured and sick at the age of 13, beforehand only on animals. They can sense injuries and it is a relief if the Shaman is allowed to heal it, as otherwise they are pestered by the knowledge and sensation of "wrongness".
Shamans are required to provide their services to the people. They are usually assigned a location where their abilities are needed and are not allowed to leave their location (city, town) unless given permission. Shamans lack a freedom in their life that upsets many of them, which causes them to be less accepting of their birthright. But other Shamans feel a strange pride by how the population needs their abilities and can become arrogant.
