Roran

Aragon (Adoptive Father)

Edythe (Adoptive Mother)

## Application Sheet

Roran was a gray-furred wolf with berry-colored eyes. After being "kidnapped" by Ellesméra and Nemesis from his birth pack, he was brought into Domain lands. The Minstrel spent some time as a loner before joining Highvalley, and then following his master Aragon to Fellfang. After this, the three wolves (Rory, Aragon, and Aragon's mate Edythe) left the Domain. Roran was designed by Olaffles, and created and RP'd by WynBird.

## Personality

* ***Charming, but Graceless.*** Roran is a spunky, easy to like fellow. He is not prone to spite or cruelty and generally laughs in the face of uncertainty. The boy is somewhat lacking in social graces, however. His unpolished manners and downright obliviousness often causes him to unintentionally offend others.
* ***Irreverent*.** Rules don't matter much to Roran, who has always had his way of things up to this point. Don't expect him to show submission or tread carefully around strangers. His pack, Adurna, had made their neighbor Teirm practically slaves, and as such Roran has little respect for pack boundaries. He still acts like a prince, even though by Highvalley standards he was nothing but a barbarian, and Fellfang certainly accords him no respecting of status.
* ***Lonely (And In Denial).*** The sea of sneering Highvalley faces were a constant barrier for Roran. Fellfang seems more welcoming, but Roran is slower to trust than in the past. He pretends not to mind, but the truth is Rory is terribly lonesome and struggling to accept that he will never be able to *really* go home. Realizing that Vrael's 'affection' was a facade and that his pack was never looking for their lost prince to return leaves him without solid ground to stand on.
* ***Resourceful*.** Being alone forced Roran to learn fast. His pack was militant and as such he isn't entirely helpless in a fight, despite his young age. He's quick-thinking and resourceful. From youth, Roran had taken to scavenging and stealing from packs. This habit increasingly put him into harms way as pushed more boldly into pack lands. Tsuii and Tollek's infulence further tempered this skill, and Roran has developed a certain talent for eavesdropping and snitching.
* ***Minstrel.*** Roran has a wonderful voice and enjoys howling. He isn't shy about it either, and sings to pass the time while he travels. Even his recent tragedies have not been enough to extinguish the song in Rory, though there is an air of sorrow in his tunes that was not present before. Roran's songs and dances became a bit of a novelty to the Highvallians, and on occasion he performed for their entertainment - a niche which Rory may have capitalized on if he ever realized the value of it.
* ***Uncertain.*** Rory doesn't know where he is or why. His life has been a confusing array of betrayal and upheaval, leaving the boy unsure where he fits in to the world.
* ***Well-Meaning*.** He means well, but often acts out of ignorance and causes more problems. Roran is quick to make assumptions and come to conclusions before fully understanding the situation. He is blindly loyal to those who make the right impression - all it really takes is a charismatic show of kindness, and Roran is all too easy to manipulate.

## Pre-Group History

Roran is the son of pack Adurna's late alpha. A the time of his birth, the land stood on the precipice of change. For generations, Adurna and it's neighbor, *Teirm*, had lived as allies. Adurna's plentiful lands fed both packs, and in return Teirm served Adurna by providing warriors and wisdom. But in their bounty, Adurna grew complacent. Tensions began to rise in the pack, as one of Adurna's more ambitious betas sensed weakness in his alpha *Oromis*'s lenient rule. This beta - *Vrael* - was clever, spreading malicious lies behind the back of their leader and sowing dissent among the wolves of the council. Vrael was also careful to build trust between himself and young prince Roran. Roran began to see the beta Vrael as a sort of 'better' father, and over time Vrael's influence created a wedge between Oromis and Roran. Young Roran was all too quick to believe the rumours circulating around the pack - that his father was weak, foolish, and unfit to rule.

The stage had been perfectly set. The beta orchestrated Oromis's demise, making it look like an accident, and in the chaos that followed, Vrael quickly assumed the mantle of alpha. He imposed new, harsh laws which made Adurna's ally Tierm little more than slaves. Teirm soon cut ties with Adurna, refusing to abide the dictatorship. With Oromis dead there was nothing to stop Vrael from acting on impulse. It was war. Roran was too young to fully understand the weight of this power-shift. Whatever strain was between father and son, losing his father at such an age wounded Roran. His family was gone. His future uncertain. As a show of good faith, Vrael adopted the boy as his own. The new alpha's motives were far from pure, however. In truth, Roran would be a threat to the new line of rulers as long as he lived. Unbeknownst to the young wolf, his new 'father' was planning to kill him in due time. Vrael was patient, but he would tolerate no rivals, and no disobedience.

In the end, Teirm was destroyed. Most died, some were taken prisoner. One of these prisoners was the black female, *Ellesmera*. Not content to await her fate, Elle plotted with another prisoner, *Nemo*, to escape. Nemo was a wolf of Adurna, and she knew that Roran's life would be in danger as long as Vrael was in power. They decided to take the young boy with them, that he might be spared. So it came to pass that, the night of their escape, Roran was 'rescued' under the guise of their hostage. Understanding only that these two females were criminals with good reason to want revenge, Roran resisted and, eventually, escaped on his own. He believed his adoptive father would find him. But they were far from Adurna now. Roran was hopelessly lost. And he does not understand why Vrael has not sent wolves to bring him home.

## Group History

Roran struggled with his newfound life as a loner, at first. He was just a juvenile, after all, and all alone! He tried to steal from an unguarded kill in Chandor's lands, but Shoshana gave him a fierce reprimand. After that, Rory ran off, and desperately tried to survive winter. He was so lost and alone, throughout the rest of that winter, but he didn't let it get him down.

He continued his favorite pastime of singing, despite being alone with no one to hear (usually), and while singing, he met a young golden-furred pup. Yuaei (the pup) thought he had the most beautiful singing voice, and she tried singing, too. Roran thought *she* had a nice voice, too, and they parted ways on good terms, calling one another sirens - beautiful singers of myth.

When a severe blizzard rolled through the Domain, Roran found himself at the borders of Fellfang, and Fable and Baely offered him sanctuary until the storm passed, much to his relief. When the spring thaw began, Roran parted ways with Fellfang, only to run into a hostile loner named Shiloh. Once she realized Roran was *not* a threat, she let him go, but it was a pretty rocky introduction!

With spring's warmth, Roran started traveling back towards the east. He met Amara of Aryn, and the two had what could only be described as a dance-off, and later, he would continue towards Chandor, where the alpha, Nadia, offered him a rabbit, much to his delight. He just looked so pitiful! Poor Rory did a lot of begging and thieving as a loner.

One day, he tried to steal from two gold-furred siblings: Tsuii and Tollek. He ended up caught, but after some careful half-truths, Roran convinced them that he had friends in high places - the alpha of Adurna, why, Roran was his *heir!* There were probably wolves looking for him right now, and a lovely reward would be offered if Tollek and Tsuii helped him home. After some consideration, the golden siblings let Roran join their little band. And maybe they'd be able to...ah...*teach* the young male some things. Certainly not corrupt him, no, no, not like that! Right?

Summer with Tollek and Tsuii passed, and Rory missed his dad. Still, he continued singing, as a Minstrel does. When autumn arrived, Roran was delighted to discover his packmates had come for him!

But the disappointment, the *pain*, when they betrayed him, was unbearable. He was terribly injured. Tsuii and Tollek's band dissolved after this, scattered. Roran remained with Tollek, though. The two wolves were *horrendously* injured, and Roran was desperate to save his traveling companion. He painfully wandered towards the borders of the nearest pack, Highvalley, and he saw a familiar face: Yuaei!

Roran begged Yuaei to come and help his companion, and Yuaei agreed, tending to Roran and Tollek's wounds. Once Roran had recovered, he asked Yuaei if he would be able to join her pack. Tollek left him behind, and he didn't want to be alone anymore. Yuaei brought him to Highvalley, and the High King, Rodwen, agreed to accept him as a lowblood.

It wasn't long after his arrival that a massive flood swept through the territory. Roran, fortunately, was uninjured by this. He would be assigned as Steward to a highblood, Aragon. Aragon was a kind Master for the youngster. He and Roran would often go out after the flood to search for survivors. They kept looking for *months*, looking for any survivor, but especially Edythe's Steward, Eclipse. But they never found her.

In winter, High King Rodwen fell ill, and Vladimir took over as regent. When this happened, Vladimir announced that the search for survivors would come to an end. Roran was distressed by this, and he protested the coldness of this decision. His protests were caused by the parallels between the search, he believed, was going for *him* by his family - surely they wouldn't give up on him? Surely someone, like himself, was standing up to the alpha to *insist* the search didn't end? Wolves like Robin privately agreed, but nobody stood up for poor Rory. Vladimir put him down, scathingly and publicly, and Roran retreated after the pack's rebuke to be alone.

Eventually he returned to his master's side, and attended Aragon and Edythe's wedding. He kept quiet in the presence of Vladimir, but he was happy for the wolves who had more or less become like parents to him. Maybe he would never be reunited with his father, but Aragon and Edythe were kind. That's why, when Vladimir decided to move Highvalley out of the Domain, and Aragon and Edythe chose to remain in the Domain and join another pack, he went with them.

The trio traveled to Fellfang. Roran was so relieved by the nature of the pack, less steeped in harsh hierarchy. He met and befriended other wolves like Alarion.

Roran grew ever-closer to his 'adoptive parents', and the three wolves eventually decided to leave Fellfang, and the Domain. None of the three wolves have been seen since.

## Trivia

* Rory is partially deaf in his right ear after the attack in Adurna.

## Quotes

* "My generals and scouts are looking for me as we speak. They'll find me soon. And then you'll be sorry if you hurt me. But if you were to help me, y'know. Escort me back home safely? Well...Vrael would be grateful. He'd probably give you whatever you wanted! Adurna is very powerful." (to Tollek and Tsuii, *First Impressions*)
* "You can't just *give up on them like that*! What gives you the right? *They're your kin!*" (protesting Vladimir's call to end the search for survivors, *Changes on the Wind*)

## External Links

* Official Application Sheet
* WynBird's deviantART Gallery