Mark+

This is the author access character template for Mark. As such it contains many more spoilers than the regular character sheet, and is not reader friendly. Credits to KittySpace for the template.

***The Character Physically***

1. What is the character's stature and build? Is s/he overweight? Thin? How much of his/her build is muscle and how much fat? Is s/he visibly out of shape?

Mark is remarkably lean, with highly visible muscles and little body fat. He has slightly below average height, and is a little skinny.

2. Describe her/his posture. Is it good? Does s/he carry himself well? Is s/he crooked and bent over? Slouched? Straight?

Mark likes to strut, and has remarkable balance. He'll stand tall and straight, unless he relaxes too much, in which case he slouches submissively.

3. Is s/he in good shape or out of condition? Is s/he coordinated or does s/he move awkwardly or stiffly? If there is combat, would the character be swift and capable or sluggish and slow to react? Is s/he a trained dancer or some other physical profession that would give the character grace?

Mark is in really, really good shape. He's highly coordinated, fluid with his movements, his reactions are remarkable, though a touch slower than Zacharias's (rivaling physical abilities). As a gladiatorial fighter, Mark is a showman, and his movements all retain a touch of flair, and style. He's actually awesome.

4. How is her/his health? Any illnesses or conditions? Any physical disabilities?

He's underfed, which has contributed to his small size and build, though getting better. Otherwise he's fairly healthy, and this is fortunate,because his only other notable physical differences are those which drain him of strength.

5. Is s/he physically active or sedentary? How is the character's stamina? Does the character tire easily because of lack of habitual exercise or physical disability, or is the character capable of going for a few hours without significant rest, or days?

Mark has tremendous stamina and endurance, somewhat more than Zacharias, though not as smart with it. He's very unlikely to give up just because he's tired.

6. Does s/he move in straight or curved lines? Is s/he physically tight or fluid? Tense and controlled or relaxed and free? Is the character free with motions or largely still, economizing movement?

Mark darts around, following straight, direct, paths of movement which change fluidly. He reacts like a tensed spring and has a powerful focus on the now. He doesn't economise his movement, but with his energy to spare this isn't much of an issue.

7. What are her/his chief efforts? What actions is s/he accustomed to taking? What physical movements are habitual and embedded in muscle memory?

He's a gladiator and a prize fighter, and jumps really high and well, but his muscle memory has its own story. It is remarkably simple for Mark to rewrite his muscle memory to match a situation in which his personal abilities fall short. He does have a limit though, whence he returns to his personal state, which has an emphasis on jumping and javelins. He has fairly good aim. Mark is ambidextrous.

8. Is the character good-looking by the standards of the setting, pretty, beautiful, average, plain, ugly, disfigured?

Mark is pretty weird looking. There's no doubt he's interesting, and he has great hair, and cares about his appearance, but his face is not so much attractive, as fierce, or striking.

9. How aware is the character of herself/himself physically? Health and physical ability? Her/His looks?

Now, Mark thinks he's really attractive, when in fact he's merely exotic, gets irritated around those bigger than he is, and occasionally overestimates his physical strength. This is seldom a huge problem. He actually does have great hair.

10. Describe the character physically, as you would in the story itself. Skin, hair, typical grooming, body shape, teeth and nails and any habitual ornamentation or medical devices.

A tanned, lean youth, with a sharp face, fierce grey eyes and awesome, pure white hair of medium length.

***The Character's Appearance***

1. How many clothes does this character have? What sort of clothes, and why? How much ornamentation (bracelets and earrings, body piercing items, hair decorations) does the character have? In a given day, how many does this character use? In a given month? For what purpose? Is s/he aware of fashion, does s/he go through longer cycles (seasonal to multiple years) of wearing the same style(s), then change drastically? Why?

Like most of the heroes, Mark has few items of clothing, and what he has is mainly utilitarian. His initial duds consist of a breastplate and a red tunic and kilt, with sandals. Mark appreciates armour. The HK arc as usual provides more/better clothes. Mark does not wear things on his arms or shoulders, it is far, far too uncomfortable.

2. What are her/his favorite articles of clothing? Why? How often does s/he wear them? What about ornaments?

Like Zacharias, Mark becomes highly attached to his father's clothing once he inherits it. The dragon captain's kit is quite the impressive piece of gear.

3. What colors are the clothes? Is there a wide range? Bright or dull? What are her/his favorite colors to wear? What are the character's favorite materials to wear?

Mark's colour scheme is bright red and gold. Mark really likes these colours, though they aren't the best match for his personality.

4. Were they bought or home-made, hand-me-downs, expensive? How long has the character owned the wardrobe? Is there a mix of origins and ages to the clothes and ornaments?

Stuff he took from the arena where he grew up, stuff he bought between there and the HK, and his father's outfit, which itself could be up to half a century old.

5. Do her/his clothes fit well? Is s/he comfortable in them or does the character fight and tug and pull at the clothes and decorations? Do the clothes increase or decrease his/her confidence?

Mark would fight naked if he could, none of his kind are overly comfortable with clothing by nature, but growing up with knowledge of the condition, and cultural norms, somewhat cover this fact. Possibly this is the reason the uniform of the Dragonguard is both light and looks awesome.

6. Does s/he care for her/his clothes? Keep them up and neat? Is s/he worried about how they look?

Mark is terrible at maintenance, and doesn't really care about his clothes. Thankfully, he tends to be surrounded by those who care slightly more, his dad's clothes being sufficiently important to him to make him act on occasion.

***The Character's Voice***

1. Does s/he speak in a high or low pitch voice? When might s/he be higher than usual? When lower? Is there a wide range to pitch and volume or is the character's voice largely consistent and even?

Of the male characters, Mark's voice falls about in the middle in terms of pitch. He's easily affected by emotion, which makes his voice high pitched, but he also has a habit of putting on a deeper voice to make himself sound tough and unapproachable.

2. Is s/he a loud or soft talker? Resonant or reedy, windy, or nasal? Is the character a trained speaker or actor? Does s/he know how to project the voice?

Mark is usually a quiet talker, though when interacting he usually makes an effort to be louder, and noticed. Mark is a performer, in the lowest sense of the word. Very malleable and this applies to his voice. He can easily project his voice.

3. Does the character show emotion through voice or is s/he tightly controlled in that aspect? Make an effort to speak properly or not bother to control his/her words at all?

I'm still a bit iffy about exactly poor stunted Mark displays his emotions. He certainly shows off the strong emotions like anger and to an extent, love, but all the rest are hidden below the surface. His tone, though certainly not his words, are controlled.

4. Is there an accent? Anything unusual in pronunciation? Emphasis? Phrasing? Does the character speak with consistent and correct grammar? Does the character stutter and 'um' a lot?

Mark has an Empire accent, which slips into High Kingdom for some strange reason. Mark does stutter a lot to begin with, around his new friends, but not as a rule.

5. Is s/he self-conscious when s/he speaks to others? How large a group could the character speak to before s/he became self-conscious? [code-switching goes here]

Mark is slightly self-conscious around individuals, but he can hide this. He's quite comfortable with huge audiences though.

***The Character's Mind***

1. Is the character clever and quick-thinking? Slow of thought and ponderous? If quick, does s/he rush to judgment and conclusion or are his/her thought processes just that quick? If slow, is it because the character wants to examine every angle or because it takes them longer than most of the other characters?

Mark is a bit of a dummy. His intelligence is low and he's a slow thinker. His mental "abilities" are profound, but he doesn't have the intelligence or experience to use them properly. He's also rash and jumps to conclusions.

2. Does the character grasp new ideas quickly or slowly? What about new ideas that contradict what the character previously thought?

Mark is a simple personality, malleable and changeable. Though his basic ideas on morality are fairly deeply set, he has very little attachment to non physical concepts and goes with his best guess as to the flow on contending issues.

3. What kind of education has s/he had? [oh lord the class/race/gender questions depending on your world might go here, too]

Mark's education is mainly the work of a pair of elderly merchants. He doesn't know a lot, but he can count surprisingly well, though his reading is poor. He learned his wind tricks and how to fix roofs during this time. His second spell of education was in a gladiatorial arena, and unfortunately was limited to flashy fighting and sex tricks. Following from that the line blurs between what he learns via the touch and actual education.

4. What subjects does the character have knowledge or expertise in?

Mark is the BEST javelin fighter that the world has ever seen. He comes pretty damn close in other fighting fields also, polearms and shortswords specifically. He can fix roofs and do sums. He has a great showmanship ability, and... foreplay... and eventually a minor knowledge of the dragons.

5. Is the character logical, rational, or emotional? How does the character approach a logical or logistical problem? An emotional problem?

Mark's emotions are tightly held under wraps, until the point that they are not. His actions are generally rash, but fully logical and rational. There are odd situations where events hit him deeply or he gets excessively angry or sad, but these are the exception.

6. Does the character think out things before speaking or can s/he "think on her feet" while speaking?

Neither, Mark neither plans his speech beforehand nor thinks on his feet. That doesn't make him bad, but he's average at best as a speaker.

7. Does the character have contemplative times? Under what circumstances? What are the recurring issues or questions s/he thinks about when thoughtful and at rest?

No, Mark doesn't have contemplative times, he is a man of action, though he might on occasion pretend to contemplate. His life was too crazy for contemplation to mean anything.

8. Is the character an idealist or a pragmatist? Thoughtful or inclined to action? How does the character balance thought and action? How does the character relate abstracts with practical, solid concepts?

Mark would very much like to consider himself a pragmatist, but as the story goes on he becomes more and more idealistic, following the opposite curve to Paul. All action, no question about that. Mark can't see abstracts.

***The Character's Emotions and Personality***

1. Does the character regain energy from being around people or from solitary activities, or being around one or two specific people? Does the character get along well with people? How much effort does it take for him/her to charm someone? How about a group of people?

Mark is most comfortable alone, or with a small group of friends. He hates crowds, but wouldn't show this. Mark is abrasive and doesn't get on very well with people, but he's quite the charmer when he wants to be, and a crowd pleaser.

2. Does the character have many friends? Close friends? What is the balance between the two, many casual friends but no close friends, many casual and one or two close?

Mark's friends aren't close. He accumulates a lot of them, but finds it difficult to get attached himself, and quite easily turns against his friends should it suit his needs. On the other hand, it could be said that Mark's friends do cherish him somewhat.

3. Is the character hot-blooded or cool-headed? Does the character have good or poor impulse control?

Mark is quite hot-headed, always eager to leap into action or a fight. He's also impulsive.

4. Does the character have a narrow or wide range of emotions? Do they show often? Does the character fight his/her emotions or allow them and try to work with them? How does the character feel about emotions in general?

Mark has a narrow range of emotions. These do not tend to show, at least until Mark decides to act on them. Mark is actually quite jealous of those whole enough to show their emotions freely.

5. Is the character sensitive or receptive to new people or calloused and/or suspicious? Is the character cautious about trusting others with one part of themselves, all parts, just their emotions...?

Mark doesn't need to feel anything about someone new, he has the power he needs to determine whether he can trust them or not. He does not willingly share his own nature with anyone, though.

6. Is the character an aggressive or reactive person? Does the character fight his/her surroundings, look for the negative, or is the character more passive and inclined to let things happen to him/her, or does the character seek out positive things and actively pursue goals?

Mark is aggressive, compulsive, with constant goals in mind and a stubborn personality.

7. In a danger or emergency situation would the character go to it or run away from it? In what situations is the character incapable of thinking clearly or reacting productively? Is the character more nervous or calm?

Mark will go to the danger, always. Not to save anyone, usually, but for the danger in and of itself. When surprised, Mark acts non-productively

8. Does the character have a sense of humor? Is the character capable of making jokes or is s/he better at appreciating them? Can s/he see humor in unfunny situations or dark situations; does the character use humor as a coping mechanism or understand the use of it? Can s/he laugh at himself? Is the character's sense of humor cruel or generous?

Mark has a slight sense of humour, which he uses as a coping mechanism. Usually in the worst of situations he will try to lighten the mood with a fairly bad joke, but not otherwise. He appreciates better humour though.

9. Under what conditions could the character be harmful or mean or cruel to another person? What are the character's moral and ethical boundaries?

Mark has few qualms about harming another person, though will try to avoid it unless he's genuinely interested in a fight, or if he's ordered to. He would never be cruel to another person, and is reviled by the idea of slavery, having been a slave for ages. This makes his own ability horrify him.

10. Is the character a loving person, either romantically or filially? Is s/he capable of or inclined to relate to others in a loving way? Is the character loved by others? In a romantic or a familial way?

Mark loves subtly, as an introvert. Filial love doesn't mean anything to him, familial love doesn't have a huge hold on him, though it can be shown that he cares. Romantically, he operates on lust, and then not much at that, it takes a long time before he's comfortable enough to start feeling love himself. The others do start to pity and eventually love him, especially Argus, who collects sons. Terri will eventually fall for him.

***The Character's Wealth, Power, and Influence***

1. Does the character have much money? Other material resources? Is it renewable or finite? Does it provide position or respect from others for her/him?

Mark carries very little money, or possessions/keepsakes he doesn't personally need. His dad's uniform gets him a little respect.

2. Is the character generous or selfish with her/his money and possessions? Is this generosity need based or whimsical?

Mark's pretty arbitrary with his possessions but doesn't connect enough with the others to offer them in anything other than a need based situation.

3. Is the character socially prominent? From wealth, position or office, family history, ability or accomplishment? Is the character socially respected or feared, and how much influence can the character bring to bear for a purpose? How much is the character willing to bring to bear under ordinary circumstances?

Mark is a highly famous gladiator and tends to have no problem getting people who've heard of him to do things, As the head Dragonguard he inspires perfect obedience from everyone not named Ignatius. He's not very impressed by the concept, though, and rarely orders anyone to do anything.

4. Does the character rate high in the pecking order with her/his household? How is the character's outside influence or wealth seen by his/her relatives?

Mark neither ranks highly nor wants to. His personal nature is to be submissive and at the bottom of the heap, though none of the others enforce this or notice.

5. By what means does the character exert influence over the people around him/her? Is it direct or indirect? Financial/material or influential/social?

If anything his influence is fully social, but really doesn't apply.

6. To whom is the character subservient? To whom does the character owe fealty or respect? Is this submission by choice or unavoidable? Is it within a social framework or agreed upon by the individuals involved?

Pretty much everyone, the only difference is he is willfully subservient to his friends and they have little idea. He gets better.

***The Character's Activities***

1. How does the character spend her/his free time? What activities does s/he choose to do and what activities must s/he do? What does the character hate to do?

Typically finds a high place away from the others and watches the scenery or exercises. Doesn't like to spend time near the others. Doesn't enjoy taking care of his possessions or doing chores.

2. What does the character's daily routine consist of?

Wake early, find a quiet place away from the others and practice, avoid them. Fail and have a generally amusing time with one or more companions, sleeps with loud nightmares.

3. What is the character's profession or work? What does this occupation involve, what sorts of actions and activities?

Former gladiator, which meant acting, regular fights to the death and prostitution on the side. Then a freelance mercenary which was basically the same but with less acting and sex, finally the head of the Dragonguard which brought back some of the acting.

4. What kinds of leisure activities does the character plan and look forward to, long term? Such as preparing for a tournament or an event, practicing a sport, or creating a complex craft item.

Mark really enjoys spending time away from the fighting and doing normal things, which he isn't as used to. Which isn't to say he takes absolutely no notice of tournament fighting, because when that gets exciting enough he'll certainly take part.

5. Does the character like to eat or drink, or cook, or does s/he look at food as a necessity rather than a pleasure?

Mark loves to eat, especially Zacharias's cooking, it's one of the few things that bring him out of his shell. The same applies to drinking, of course.

6. How important is sex to the character? What sexual activities does s/he partake in? What are his/her emotions regarding sex? Does the character's sexual inclinations or past affect how s/he behaves in the rest of her life and if so, positively or negatively?

Aww... poor lamb... Mark was sold repeatedly to various nobles of decreasing attractiveness. His master used him in such a way that he never realised. It ended up being routine, and eventually un-enjoyable. So, he's very open to any kind of sexual activity, or the suggestion of such. He takes it a lot less seriously than the others in the group. By the time it becomes something he himself desires again, he's already lost the chains holding him to his past.

7. Does the character enjoy performance or creative arts? How important does the character believe these are to life, in a general sense? In a specific sense, how important does the character believe the arts are to him/her?

Mark really enjoys performance, and has a decidedly high standard for such. To him life is a performance, his own true nature constantly hidden, and no one else's can possibly be hidden from him. In another time, he might have enjoyed being an actor.

***Character's Personal Life***

1. What are the character's specific religious beliefs? Does s/he belong to a specific sect or creed? Does the character advocate that group's beliefs or only elaborate them when asked? How are these beliefs reflected in the character's actions and activities?

Raised in the Low Kingdom, his religion is not an important part of his life. His worship of the Goddess, limited enough, completely ceased between his forgetting and his reclamation of the Dragonguard's knowledge, which led him to know the truth about the world's gods. This is a memory that he cannot share until the end of days.

2. How did the character come to the religion? How important is it to the character?

His true beliefs were set in place by the writings in the books of the dragons, but he has a stronger attachment to the worship professed by his adopted family.

3. How big a role did family play in the character's upbringing? Was the character raised by a family considered normative by his/her society? Was the character raised by his/her biological family, adoptive family, or a mix of both?

Mark was raised by a normal, if high class biological family that loved him greatly, but then he was torn away to be raised by a pair of old people who were even more normal... Then he was raised repeatedly because of his forgetting curse, gaining knowledge but forgetting the people who gave it to him. Finally he was raised to adulthood by people bearing no resemblance to a family.

4. How does the character define family, chosen or biological? To which does s/he feel stronger ties, or does s/he feel the ties equally?

Mark's family is all dead, and he's forgotten what the word means. More so than any other member of the group, he treats them all as his new family.

5. How did the character meet his/her current spouse(s)/serious lover(s)? How did the character meet past ones? How long did it take before the character considered the relationship serious? Before the character proposed marriage, or did the spouse propose?

He tried to kill her and her friends but failed. Unable to read her thoughts he immediately found he couldn't get his mind off her, even as she was using him for her own needs, which he naturally couldn't deny. Eventually the pair just fell together after so much mutual danger and heroism.

6. Does the character have children? Does the character want children? How does s/he view the offspring in question, how is his/her relationship with them?

Mark wants a normal family, he subtly loves children. When he finally gets children he's almost as good a father as Argus!

7. Does the character have a physical home or is the character a traveler, preferring not to settle in any one place?

Yes, had a home in the High Kingdom for 4 years, then traveled the Low Kingdom for another 13, then 4 years in the Empire's south capital, then a few months of travel before returning to the High Kingdom for about a year, then Nirvana for an eternity (please don't ask me about this) then somewhere in England (REALLY CLASSIFIED even more don't ask me about this) Not a traveler by choice, none of the heroes really are.

***Character's Hopes and Fears***

1. What things frighten the character, both abstract concepts and concrete items? What would the character's idea of a terrible fate be?

Mark is deathly afraid of losing his humanity to the power of dragons in his own body. More than anything the thought of his human life slipping away as he unlocks more of his powers is horrifying. Worse than that, one of his primary powers allows him to control other people, which as a former slave is abhorrent to him. The worst fate imaginable is one that isn't just imaginable, it's one the world where he lives makes VERY REAL!

2. What are the character's hopes and dreams, abstract and concrete? What would the character's idea of the best fate in the world be?

Mark wants to know where he comes from, and once he discovers that, his new goal is to close up shop on his, and everyone's draconic powers. He wants to be completely normal and have a normal life. In that way his goal aligns nicely with... "mine" meaning the alliance in the second story makes a great deal of sense.

3. What are the character's primary motivations? Are they active or reactive? Solid, tangible goals or concepts?

Mark is motivated by discovery, and by other people. He wants to get out and see and change the world, in his own awkward way. He doesn't exactly like people, but there's always something new to learn!

4. What is one thing the character wouldn't want anyone to find out about her/him?

For years he kept it from people that he would eventually forget all about them. For most of chapter two this was also the case. I haven't yet decided if he ever manages to fully get over his curse, or if he eventually does forget everyone, but hides it from them just as he did before... On second thoughts that makes his whole character that much more compelling! I think I will do that... He also holds his powers pretty close to his chest.