The Basics
Name: Jaer Voll Svartbjorn (it is pronounced Yaer.)
Age: 32
Element: Water
Classification: Apprentice
Birth Kingdom: Unda
Home Kingdom: North Glacies
Appearance
Appearance: Jaer stands at 5'10" with broad shoulders, draped by a coat of black bear skins. His long, black hair and beard blend in with his hood, the head of his first bear.
Personality
Personality: Jaer is a man of few words and precise movements. A patient man, Jaer wins many games in the local tavern by simply waiting the other players out. Lately, though, Jaer has been more aggressive after meeting his father on the battlefield. As a boy, he always imagined his father, still in Unda, as a noble captaining his own trade ship. Since clashing with him on the battlefield, though, he questions if his father is evil, or if perhaps he is fighting for wrong side. His mind wanders during his hunts, and he's missed several kills in the past year.
In the past, these long hunts have given him time to admire and reflect on the Ice, the Forest, and the Sea, and learned how to hunt as if he were the winter itself. He is very connected to the wild, and a strong believer in elementalism. He dreams of one day building his own boat to sail to Unda and Ignis, and possibly further.
Stories of his mother's past life in Unda and of his uncle Temujin's training in Ignis have always peaked Jaer's interests, especially of the Fire Master that taught Temujin how to control his element while surrounded by Water and Ice controllers. In Unda, he hopes to find a Water Master to further train him, but he knows the chances of that are slim while war still rages between his people and the Undan Kingdom. Because of this, he longs for peace between their peoples, and every battle he has fought in have been in the hopes that it would be his last.
Likes:
- Board games have always been Jaer's favorite pastime. Games involving more strategy are his specialty.
- The forest. Jaer has spent his whole life hunting and living in the forest, and considers its trees to be spirits.
- Wood Carving. Jaer's favorite piece is his hand-carved canoe, which he uses to hunt seals and fish.
Dislikes:
- Swords. A waste of iron in Jaer's opinion, metal that is better suited for spears or arrows.
- Wolves. They're too hard to hunt. With most in packs of at least 10, Jaer wouldn't dare attempt a hunt with anything less than 5 men, men who would be more effective at fishing or trapping.
- Potatoes. They taste odd.
Elemental Strengths- While hunting seals or fish aboard his canoe or atop an ice drift, Jaer waits just as patiently as he would on land. When a fish or seal comes close enough to Jaer, he simply raises the area around the animal in a swift and forceful geyser. Then, with the animal in the air, Jaer throws his spear to finish the animal. He must be very near to the animal, within a few feet, to ensure his geyser is accurate. The further away it is, the less accurate and less powerful it is.
- His favorite place to spar is on a frozen lake, where he can divide up the battlefield to his advantage by breaking the ice with his geysers, and his opponents cannot see where the next attack will come up.
Elemental Weaknesses- Jaer needs a constant source of water for his sort of attacks. While he can use small amounts of water as a sort of whip, drips still fall off of the water he is controlling. Without a large enough source, he will run out of water too quickly.
- Each geyser definitely takes its toll on Jaer. On a good day of fishing, he may only use it two or three times. In sparring, breaking of a couple pieces of ice off will leave him breathless.
Background
Family:Mother - Lind Svartbjorn, Ice Citizen
Father - Tercio Picke, Water Apprentice
Siblings - None.
Other - Grandfather, Lyrol Svartbjorn, Ice Apprentice
Uncle - Temujin Svartbjorn, Fire Citizen
Cousin - Jjian Svartbjorn, Fire Citizen,
DeceasedHistory: Born to a young Undan family, Jaer was only two when his mother and her family left for Glacies, leaving his father in Unda. In Glacies, Jaer and his mother lived in a small home next to Jaer's Uncle's home in the village of Kodan. Growing up, Jaer would play with his cousin Jjian, who was a few years older than Jaer. They had discovered their element on the same day, Jjian while watching his father hunt, Jaer during a bath. When Jjian returned, they each were very excited to share their talents with eachother.
At the age of 10, Jaer and Jjian each left for another village, one near the northern shore of the island. There, along with several dozen other children, they were taught how to hunt, fish, and survive in their harsh climate. After a year, their lessons changed from survival to history. Jaer learned why he and his mother had left Unda. He learned of the vast trade empire that Unda commanded, and liked to imagine his father as a great merchant, sailing from nation to nation, possibly even one day sailing to visit Jaer.
Two years later, with their education complete, Jaer and Jjian returned to Kodan to become hunters. Jaer's first catch was a hare, which he had managed to stab as it crawled out of it's burrow. Following tradition, he tanned the hare's ears and tied them to the hilt of his dagger. Jaer and Jjian each quickly became expert hunters, perfecting their own techniques and always competing for the largest kills. The two of them bolstered the villages hunters enough to cause a surplus in food, and life was good.
Then, when Jaer was 17, a messenger came to his village. The king of Glacies had demanded that all able men between the ages of 19 and 45 serve to combat the Undan armies. The next day, Jjian and his father Temujin, along with 20 other men, left Kodan, leaving Jaer as one of the only hunters left in the village. Jaer knew life would be hard, so he spent every day in the forest, bringing home a kill almost every time. But still, 5 hunters cannot provide for an entire village by hunting rabbits, birds, and the occasional deer. Jaer knew they needed larger game.
And so, when Jaer was 18, he killed his first bear. He had climbed a tree, and hid amongst its branches. When a large black bear walked underneath after several hours of waiting, Jaer leaped down, spear first. The bear was quick to react, though, and Jaer's spear pierced only through the beast's shoulder. Angered and wounded, the bear swiped at Jaer, tearing four gashes into Jaer's chest and throwing him back.
The bear limped after Jaer as he struggled to get up and run. Within 30 paces Jaer stumbled down the bank of a frozen lake, with the bear close behind. In serious pain, desperate, and with a furious bear too close to run from, Jaer raised both of his hands in defense, unknowingly shooting two huge geysers of frozen water and broken ice into the bear. Shards of ice pierced into the bear's eyes, face and neck, and the water threw the bear to the side. There it laid, blinded, bleeding out and with several broken bones. Jaer got to his knees and shuffled over to the bear, drawing his knife. With a stab to the heart, Jaer killed the beast.
And so Jaer had begun the practice of bear hunting, which he and his other 4 hunters perfected. As a gift for his feat, Jaer's mother gave him her wedding ring, which Jaer wore from then on as a necklace. Soon after, another hunter showed Jaer, the only other Water controller, how to hunt seal and fish with the water element. As rumor spread of Kodan's new and impressive hunting tactics, many young women began to flock to the village. Two of these women, sisters from the far away town of Modami, challenged Jaer to a fishing contest. The combination of their water and ice controls easily outpaced Jaer's techniques. After a celebratory dinner, Jaer invited one of the sisters to his home.
Her name was Cel, and she was an Ice controller. While her sister left for home, she stayed with Jaer. She fished with him, and Jaer attempted to teach her to hunt. For several months, they lived and loved together, until word came of an Undan attack on Modami. With her Grandparents and mother killed, she had to return home to take charge of their family. Jaer would have followed her, but lacked the coin to afford the trip.
At 21, Jaer left with another hunter aboard a large raft to chase the seals to the northern ice fields. There, the two had killed 16 seals after two days. That night, a blizzard separated the two hunters from their raft, along with their 16 seals. Jaer and the other hunter were left stranded on a lone ice drift.
The first 2 weeks of floating weren't as hard as the rest. Seals would climb on the ice if Jaer and Nikel remained completely still for hours, giving them decent food. And the water was still cold enough so that the ice did not melt. The two kept warm with Nikel's fire control. But in the three weeks to come, they would drift south, into warmer waters, where the seals no longer came and the ice began to melt. After three weeks, with little more than just room left on the ice for the two hunters, an Ignasian vessel spotted the two hunters and rescued them.
Jaer returned a changed man. He rarely spoke, and he began hunting in new ways. He would simply stand completely still for hours, even days, until a deer or elk would pass close enough to kill with one swift stab. When his uncle returned from duty with news of Jjian's unfortunate death a year later, Jaer showed little emotion. Temujin worried about Jaer, and began sparring with him to give him a sort of release. They would fight, both with their elements and with weapons, and anywhere from the trees, to the snow drifts, to atop the frozen lake. Over the years, they each became very skilled.
As Undan attacks happened closer and closer to Kodan, Jaer and his uncle had taken up arms several times in defense of their kingdom. But when fires from an attack on the neighboring village of Heim were spotted, nearly all of Kodan charged to aide the village.
In the battle, Jaer had killed several Undan soldiers, and was standing with his weapon raised to kill another on the ground. "Wait!" The old man shouted. "Your necklace." The soldier pointed up at the ring hanging from Jaer's neck. "What of it?" Jaer asked.
"Your mother, is Lind? Svartbjorn?" The man replied. Jaer nodded. "She was my fiance. You, are you Jaer?" Jaer nodded again. The man explained that he was his father, Tercio. Jaer asked why he was fighting with the Undans. Tercio explained that he was fighting to restore his empire, and that he hated Glacies. As Jaer helped his father up off the ground, an arrow pierced through his hip. A surge of both Undan soldiers and Glacien warriors were approaching. Tercio retreated back to behind the Undan lines, and Temujin ran over to help Jaer off of the battlefield. A few hours later, the Glaciens had forced an Undan retreat, separating Jaer from his father again, and leaving him with questions about who his father really was.
OOC
RP Sample: Kaegan awoke to find himself alone, and very weak. Seeing the laid out food and water, along with an extra weapon and a long dead fire, he knew that his group had left him behind, and he knew it was the right decision.
Judging by the fire, and by how stale the bread was, Kaegan had been out for a little over two days. Composing himself, he equipped his weapons, finished off the pail of water, packed what food was left, and wrapped the blanket around him like a cloak. He then set off, out the door, slipping between two demons unnoticed.
He walked down to the docks, and noticed a sharp pain in his arm. Holding it out, he saw it had changed color. It was dark gray, like granite, and from the look of it, Kaegan needed an amputation. He didn't have to time to do it himself, so he would have to wait.
Kaegan looked back and forth down the coastline, hoping to see his companions, but instead only finding wandering demons. Eventually, he gave up, and looked to his immediate surroundings. Down the dock a ways was a small dingy. Kaegan reasoned that it would be a lot safer to leave the city that way, instead of trying to avoid the demons for all those city blocks.
In a few minutes, the dingy set off, Kaegan at the helm. Inside the boat, Kaegan found a large bucket, a long rope, and, luckily, a fishing net. After a few minutes of paddling, Kaegan grew tired, having just woke up from a coma. He stopped, and turned to face the open ocean, sick of seeing the burning city.
The sight he saw was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. A quarter mile away from him were a fleet of ships, one bearing strait for him. He stood up and waved his arms, calling out to the ships, even though he knew they had already spotted him long before he had spotted them.
The Last Wish drove past him, and the crew threw down a rope to Kaegan. He had already packed the bucket, rope and net, and quickly climbed the rope to be greeted by 60 burly men, all smiling to see a friendly face.
A woman with long dark hair came up to him. "Name." She ordered. Kaegan answered. "Occupation." Kaegan answered again. "Ahh, a soldier, eh? Good, we need more trained hands on my ship anyway."
Alias: Greil
Subject: Jaer Voll 
Mon Jan 28, 2013 7:10 pm
