The Sellsword
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NAME: Voland Venator (assumed surname; Latin for hunter).
TITLES: The Bastard of Mantua; Maiale de Guerra (War Pig in Italian).
HOUSE: None; bastard-born, and barred from displaying the arms of his father's family.
SIGIL: His symbol—call it brand recognition—is a black boar's head. It appears on his armour, shield and battle standards, and is used in lieu of heraldry.
SPECIES: Still human, despite the things he's seen.
AGE: He's unsure of his exact date of birth, but it's assumed he's in his late twenties.
SEX: Male, cisgendered.
ORIENTATION: Favors the girls, mostly.
MARITAL STATUS: Bachelor. Most of his past "girlfriends" were plundered from sacked settlements (he has a problem with boundaries).
OCCUPATION: Sellsword, mercenary; to put it romantically, a soldier of fortune.
AFFILIATION: Currently none. Previously served in various Free Companies.
HEIGHT: 6'2"
WEIGHT: 198 lbs.
HAIR: Coal-black, cropped short—noticeable widow's peak.
EYES: The greyish blue of cold-forged iron.
COMPLEXION: Swarthy and sun-drenched.
FACE: Handsome in a rough way, with a hard, squared jaw, but not without his share of scars. His nose has been broken more than once, and he sports a perpetual five o'clock shadow.
BUILD: All broad planes and sharp geometry, kept in peak condition by the demands of a life that is hard and often violent.
HANDEDNESS: Right (Dexter in terms of swordsmanship).
DISTINGUISHING MARKS: A slender scar that follows the curve of his jaw, from his chin almost to his ear. Various bodily scars, mostly from sword wounds, though he does sport the puckered kiss of an arrow on his left shoulder blade. His boar's head sigil is tattooed in black ink on his right arm, and the letter 'T' is branded on the heel of his left palm.
FAMILY: Voland's father was a knight in service to the House of Gonzaga in Mantua; his mother was a whore, and he has a half-sister, trueborn, of whom he does not speak.
ETHNICITY: A European mongrel; Norman, Italian and Lombard.
VOICE: A resounding baritone, like the scrape of flint on iron. His accent, though muddled from a life of a travel, is of Northern Italy, and he talks as Italians do, with a lot of emphasis and hand gestures. When speaking English, he affects the vernacular accent of the knights and sailors from whom he learned it.
TESTIMONIAL: "A blackguard to whom honour is an alien notion, but capable for all that. The Bastard of Mantua distinguished himself at Parma, on Malta, and again at the Field of Sorrows. I personally witnessed his feats at the Siege of Padua, where he was among the first to scale the walls. A bit enthusiastic when it comes to rapine and pillage, but obedient without hesitation." —Giovanni Sforza
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KNOWLEDGES:
Limited to street smarts and a worldly perspective; he has traveled extensively, and knows as much of people as he does of war. Though cunning, he is illiterate, having never been formally educated. He speaks Common (English), vernacular Italian and vulgar Latin.
MERITS & FLAWS: Loyalty, when it's earned, and respect, when it's deserved. Like most mercenaries, he has a peculiar sense of honor, changeable with circumstance; he is capable as a tracker, horseman and sailor, and masterly with a sword. On the darker side, he can be fickle and treacherous, with the provocative bravado common among professional soldiers. As he was raised in a feudal society, he can be brutal, insensitive and chauvinistic.
LIKES: Big breasts, strong wine, a sharp sword and loaded dice.
DISLIKES: Knights, chaste women, laws, men who make laws, cold weather, protracted sieges.
ATTIRE: Changeable, but generally simple, tends toward the poor end of the social spectrum. If it's livened up with some colorful silk, it's likely that he just got paid for a contract. Doublets and breeches of roughspun wool or leather, sometimes worn beneath a brigantine or surcoat; he chooses clothing for durability, and it's usually dusty, stained and bleached from the sun. He has a pair of boots and a dusky blue cloak—both of these articles are a bit finer than the rest of his garb, and were likely pilfered.
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Gallery
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