Corin Blackwood

Corin grew up in France, often traveling with his father along their trade routes through India, Japan, China, and Korea. There, he picked up many languages and learned a lot about other cultures. His fascination with language and far off places started young, and his father could sense a rising need for further knowledge. Therefore, Corin was placed in an academy at the age of 10. Initially only a grammar school, learning the basics of reading and writing, Corin quickly outgrew his teachings. He was transferred to a higher education academy where he studied other subjects and languages, eventually becoming fluent in Latin and French as well. Growing up in an English-Korean household, Corin never questioned authority. He was quick to apologize, and even quicker to thank. His parents raised him as an heir, focusing heavily on supplemental trade knowledge and social etiquette as he grew. His parents hope for him was that he would grow to be the peak of French and English refinement, and a perfect candidate for marrying above his current status. Despite their wealth and knowledge, with Corin’s father being of Korean descent, they relied solely on the ex-title of his mother. His parents hoped he would inherit a larger title and land of his own from a marriage, and Corin happily obliged his parents wishes. In his free time, Corin loved taking walks with his mother, learning to bake with her and his little brother, and staring at the mountain of maps in his father’s study. Corin had a handful of close friends at his time in academy who he relied on and trusted. They had formed a friend group between himself, a boy named Ilyas, and two girls from the sister school of their academy. One of which was a young girl named Arista. Arista was the only child of a French Viscount, making her an inheritor of his titles and lands (a fact Corin’s parents quite enjoyed). Corin, however, was far too taken by the girl to care much for the title. Her silken blonde hair was often pulled back in the tightest of curls, she wore nothing but pinks from head to toe, and she was often bouncing around the school grounds playing games with the younger girls. She was full of light and joy, and just being around her brought a smile to his face. Without a doubt in his mind, he knew this was the girl he was going to marry. He proposed to her in secret, and they planned to make a formal proposal and announcement with their families. However, Corin’s happiness was short-lived. The day of the formal proposal, his estate burned to the ground. His family, Arista, and her father the Viscount, burned with it. In a fit of desperation, Corin clawed and pulled at the flaming building, desperately searching for his betrothed and his younger brother. He sat in the rubble of the crumbled building, ignoring the burns down his body, until neighbors came to pull him from the wreckage. No one knows the whole story. No one dared to ask. Corin spent the next year sifting through the rubble of his former home and acquainting himself with his father’s business partners. As the sole survivor and inheritor of his families prospects, Corin was now the leader of the trading company. He spent three years traveling the trade routes and confirming his place as the head of the company before going to visit his uncle’s estate in England. He had kept contact with his cousin there, and was planning to attend his oldest cousin's funeral. After some convincing, Corin decided to build his own estate nearby, staying close for his little cousin’s sake, and he formally moved to England in December of 1810.

## Personality

To those closest to him, those who witnessed him before the accident, there are two sides to Corin. Before, Corin was loving, loyal, obedient, happy, and all around a warm person. He was grateful for the life his family had crafted for him, and spent his days trying to repay his parents for all they had done for him and his brother. Many school-yard friendships were based on shared interests and similar humor, and Corin spent hours running around the school grounds with his friends looking for a good laugh. He was by no means pretentious or rude, and he would often have long conversations with those society deemed as less than. There were very few times he could be caught without a smile. When his little brother, Sebastian, was around, that wide smile seemed to almost split his face in two. Sebastian would follow Corin around the estate, mimicking the hobbies and speech patterns of his older brother. Corin loved showering his brother in affection, and would spend any time away from academy with Sebastian. After the tragedy, Corin became closed off. He stopped speaking to his friends, his usual bright glow faded, and he refused to smile or laugh. Laughing, he thought, was a privilege his loved ones did not have, and a right he did not deserve in their stead. Since then, Corin became more isolated, living only for his father’s company and his private studies. Most of his time was consumed by past memories, reading by candlelight, or long walks like the kind he used to take with his mother. He cut off all ties to the outside world with the exception of his younger cousin, Elias, whom he wrote to often. Distant, cold, and driven only by a hunger for knowledge, Corin became a shell of his former self. The idea of large crowds, confined spaces, or strongly scented perfumes or alcohols made him sick. The society his parents so readily prepared him for became something he grew to resent. He became hardened, cautious of the outside world, and professional in all aspects of his life. His speech, although eloquent, sounded unnervingly calculated and refined as if he pre-prepared each word he spoke. The fire left him empty, grasping for a reason to continue, desperately searching for a purpose with each new country he traveled through. His sense of love and trust was distorted, charred by the past. He turned inward as a means of survival. Most people avoided him as his presence became synonymous with misfortune. He adopted that perception others gave him and built upon it in a cycle of isolation and pain.

## Family

Having started their family fortunes on Asian goods, the initial outlook on the father’s fortune was one of disdain and resentment. Rumors around the legitimacy of his company spread, and many people considered him a con-man. After marrying and stealing away the daughter of a well-known Baron in the area, the unkind conversation surrounding their family grew. However, after moving to France, they found most of the rumors had not followed them. They were regarded as kind and neighborly, always offering a helping hand or a warm meal if needed. Steven Blackwood was known as a warm and hard-working man of the people. Someone others could relate to and grab a drink with. Marie Blackwood was soft-spoken and gentle. Many hailed her as a perfect mother for the two rambunctious boys she had. Their sons were looked upon with great admiration as they were intelligent and respectable. Their manners and eloquence were highly regarded, and the family as a whole was well liked. Their eldest son, Corin, was seen as a highly sought after bachelor once he came of age. With many nobles seeking to make arrangements with their second-born daughters. He was known as a kind soul, a gentleman for all intents and purposes, and a man whose pockets ran deeper than the Rhône. Their youngest was the towns pride and joy. A tiny little pup, even for his age, Sebastian was often seen nipping at his older brother’s heels. A trait many women in the area adored. He was the kind of child that never met a stranger, and many people in town looked very kindly on him. Overall, the family was well-liked, respected, and their sons were highly sought after despite their low rank. Most people could not find a bad thing to say about them if they tried.