'''Name:''' Hyram Channing
'''Age:''' 22
'''Race:''' Passive
'''Place of Origin:''' Vienda

!!!Backstory:

Hyram’s parents were naturally distraught when they heard the news, however in the face of such grief they retained both love for their eldest and a degree of objectivity. Remembering horror stories about the treatment of passives from their own days in Brunnhold they decided to seek a better future for their son away from polite society. This opportunity was found in the sprawling streets of the Old Rose Harbour in the form of Able Forester. Able, a retired ships hand, had taken his skills to start a small repair shop and had need of an apprentice. While the necessary arrangements were made Hyram suffered 2 weeks at home watching the Seventen attempt to intimidate his parents into giving him up (the Channing name buying enough influence to avoid arrest outright). Hyram’s previous status left its mark on him and when first he arrived at his new home he acted the aristocratic brat until Able managed to starve it out of him. Hyram was obviously an intelligent and interested child but he showed a peculiar resistance to any form of formal teaching, once he had mastered the basics of a skill he typically lost interest, always moving on to tinker with something else.

As years progressed Hyram did manage to learn the basics of small-scale mechanics, fixing watches, pistol locks and the like but was far more interested in decorating newly made pieces by engraving the metal with patterns. Hyram’s mind could wonder while he worked in this way and it became something of a habit, Able simply left him to his own devices until it blossomed into a marketable skill.

At 14 Hyram performed some work for a friend of Able’s who was still working on the trade ships who mentioned that among the cargo were texts of magical research destined for Brunnhold and that among them was supply of illegal untested spells. This sparked another new interest in the lad that combined the thrill of breaking the law and a sense of discovering his native culture, his birthright, into a heady mixture. Soon every penny he could get his hands on would go toward a library of underworld magical knowledge. Progress increased when Hyram realised he could copy out the books keeping one and swapping the other for the next title. Able, superstitious of magic and afraid of discovery, was horrified. He utilised every trick and threat he knew to crush the new obsession but the boy had become wiley and continued regardless. It was about now that Able, fond of his young charge and aware of the trouble he would eventually get himself into, added sword and dagger fencing to his curriculum.

Hyram stayed with Able as he fell into ill health, effectively running the business. Over 3 long years the coin earned disappeared into doctor’s bills and later, as hope faltered, opiates, alcohol and painkillers. The last was for a burial. Hyram knew of no next of kin and held a poor opinion of what the powers that be might do with the property and so stayed at the shop much as he had before. It did not last; 2 years on, a man purporting to be Able’s cousin claimed the property. Hyram had no real way of verifying the rights of inheritance but considering his own position, a passive squatter in a shop stockpiled with opium and highly illegal magical texts, he couldn’t afford any intervention by the authorities. He sold as much of the contraband as possible, disposed of the remainder and took refuge at The Widows Walk while he planed his next move.

!!!Personality:

Like many passives Hyram has learnt to walk away from insults and fights, biding his time without feeling shame, especially when dealing with his magically inclined kin. His rebellion is in his knowledge and in being a better galdori than they are themselves, though this lends him a quiet sense of superiority; sometimes he wishes he could tip his hand a little, particularly to his family. Hyram is always curious about his surroundings and though polite can be frustratingly distracted. He is a tinkerer, with most of his evenings reserved for a chance to court one of his latest obsessions and though they change at a whim Hyram needs the downtime to function properly. He will rarely ask how to do something, only that he might borrow the tools to work it out himself. This partly stems from a need to prove himself independent. The loss of Able and then his home have shown Hyram just how much he relied on them.

!!!Physical Description:

Slightly short at 5”7 Hyram is still very flexible but any strength he had built up has mostly fled his thin frame over the last 2 years. In public he stands bolt upright using every inch he has to project an image of self-assurance. His hair comes half way down the back of his neck and is usually put into a very short ponytail with sizeable stray chunks that frame his face. It is a deep reddish brown that is a fraction off black and shows the care put into it. His shaven face still sports youthful pale skin but many nights working by too little light ensure that he squints noticeably at distant objects. He would probably still have a permanent state of open wonder written on his face if he had lived anywhere but Old Rose Harbour. As things are, however, he restricts himself to a cynical curiosity. When a person manages to grasp his full attention he switches to a knowing smile implying either a shared joke or polite distain of present company (useful when bartering). On the few occasions when his hands are not fidgeting they are actually very strong and steady. He has a series of chemical burns at the top of his left thumb. His eyes are a deep brown.

!!!Inventory:

Weapons:
*A tantō style knife
*A slim simple sword and with patterns carved on it displaying wildly different levels of skill, only one edge has been sharpened within memory

Stuff:
*A set of slightly too small second hand anachronistic galdori finery including top hat
*A simpler more robust set of work clothes including fine leather gloves
*A satchel filled with some small sharp tools, a couple of vials of acid and a hammer for engraving work as well as several dismantled pocket watches
*A copy of “Innocent's Minds: Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely” with several of the more offensive/ignorant sections on passives torn out and replaced with loose pages including (minor) black market spells, notes and correspondence

!!!Spell:
Read (Lvl 3 Perception)

!!!Career

Engraver / Black-market spell trader

Excellent at engraving metal or to a lesser extent wood, especially when given free rein to make up a pattern

Deep (if distinctly unorthodox) written understanding of Monite (and magic theory in general), slightly weaker orally

Handy enough with a knife to inflict some serious wounds before making an escape

Basic ability to work with mechanical devices especially on a small scale

!!!Goals

Hyram needs a space of his own so that he can get back to his hobbies. He also needs to feed himself. To this end he is planning to work odd jobs until he can afford to start up a print making business. It has also occurred to him that he could strike rich printing copies of the magic texts he collects as some have become quite hard to come by. In the long term Hyram still has something to prove to his family and reasons that when he is well established he might be able to place himself in an indispensable position with them, then again he has not seen them for 12 years and has no idea what they are like. In spite of his current situation he continues his search for something that will hold his interest longer than a week.

Hey. Look. Another "free" passive. Nice.

ha ha! Tristaanian I've been keeping up on your adventures - perhapce we will run into each other later on

Adventures? Ha. Quite... I'm in Vienda indefinitely with a certain circus (and other distractions on occasion), so once you're approved, I'll be happy to run into you (though hopefully not literally, like I did poor Endo).

Great character, Hyram! I'm glad to have more people in Old Rose - the place should be really hopping as soon as we get our piratesses and the circus back in town.

You're approved, go have fun posting!

Heck yes Simon. Want an avatar?

Thanks Cartographette, looking forward to first IC post.

Ed if your offering then that would great

Or dern. I didn't notice you were in Old Rose. Alas! We will have to cross paths down the road, then ... which should be easy enough. Tristaan's not very good at staying in one place.