Name:
Rylan Acorri

Position:
Bard Trainee

Age:
16

Physical Description:
With thick, flaming red-gold hair that he's let grow out loose and never seems to obey his wishes, pale golden skin tanned by the sun, and deep, soft brown eyes, Ryl, as he is known to his friends, is the type of guy you notice. He has a lean, wiry build, though he is very slender, and a handsome, well-formed face with a stubborn jaw, soft mouth, and definite nose. There is a nasty scar on his shoulder from the arrow shot by his father (see below), and other scars from the constant beatings (again, see below) also cover his body, such as one rather deep one across his forehead, made when his brother got a little too violent in one of their altercations. He has a sweet, slow, though rare, smile that is unfairly charming when he does let it be seen, though he is not exactly classically handsome.

Personality/Attitude:
Deeply sensitive to others, Ryl has always picked up on others’ emotions. He has a caring spirit, and so wants to help heal the pain he sees in other people. Deep inside, he is very vulnerable, and feels emotions keenly. He is also very hot-tempered, courageous, and reckless. He tends to jump into things before he has thought them over completely and is often very emotional, though he has tried hard to lock his emotions off so that he won’t be hurt again. He thinks he won’t be able to deal with the kind of pain he’s suffered already if it does come again, and the fear of breaking and showing everyone what a weakling he really is (a legacy from his father) keeps him locking away his emotions inside. Normally Ryl seems rather determinedly cheerful and is very courteous, but keeps everyone at a distance. He has a mischievous sense of humor that is hardly ever seen nowadays and a fiery, determined spirit that won’t let him give up on things. He really wants to do well at Bardic and is afraid of failure, as he has always been—he has a bit of a complex in that he believes that other people will think he’s weak and worthless and shun him if he doesn’t do his absolute, superhuman best (another legacy from his father) and can’t think that someone might like him simply because he’s human and a nice person. He seems tough and in control, but is not either as much he wants others to think, and he is desperately afraid of failure. Bonds with others are important to him, and he is afraid of being alone for the rest of his life.

Brief History:
Ryl's life hasn't been easy. His strong Bardic/Empathic gift manifested, though not fully, early, and made his life as the younger son of a stern weapons merchant rather difficult, as his father was strongly against Ryl's aptitude for music. He and his younger son fought all the time, and Ryl was always getting beaten, though this did cause him to improve quite a bit in his fighting skills. His older brother followed in his father's footsteps and tormented Ryl cruelly. Recently, Ryl fell like an avalanche for the young daughter of a neighboring noble, Lenna. Unfortunately, her older brother secretly belonged to the Council of Citizens. He, a Blood-Path Mage, picked up immediately on Ryl's deep sensitivity to others and powerful magic in the form of his Bardic Gift and Empathy and set up a plan to get Ryl to work for them. Also unfortunately, Ryl's father hated Lenna's parents, and vice versa. The young man was forbidden to see her, but he persisted. Eventually, things came to a head one rainy night as Ryl and Lenna met by the Terilee River. Both of their families interrupted their assignation. Ryl took an arrow to the shoulder to protect Lenna from his own father, but she was killed-knifed in the back-by her own brother. Ryl jumped into the river to escape from both their families--the insanity of Lenna's and the cruel insensitivity of his own. Soon after, he dragged himself out and fled into the streets of Haven. Unfortunately for him, this traumatic incident fully unlocked his powers, and also was the catalyst Vederis had been waiting for. The Blood Mage began searching for Ryl in earnest. The poor boy would probably have died from loss of blood or fever, been captured by Vederis, or met some equally unpleasant fate (such as going insane from all the emotions he was feeling), had he not run into Herald Alberich one night in Exile's Gate. Alberich took one look at Ryl and knew he needed help, and so brought him back to Healer's Collegium for --guess what. Healing! As he began to recover, Ryl would sneak down to Bardic Collegium to listen to the Bards practice. One day, his talent was discovered by a full Bard, who saw the lonely-looking boy sitting there and asked him to play for her. After that, things improved drastically for Ryl. He was accepted into Bardic and began classes there. All this was a few months ago. Ryl's control over his Empathy has improved drastically, but his control over his Bardic Gift still isn't very good. He is working very hard, but is terrified that either his family will come for him and take him from the only true happiness he has ever known, marred only by his grief over Lenna’s death, or that Vederis will find him. So far, neither has happened, and he has become one of the top students in his class at Bardic.

Goals:
To become a great Bard—this is what he’s always wanted to do, to avoid Vederis, and make sure that nothing like what happened to Lenna ever happens to anyone else, to try and make other people happy because he was so miserable while he was growing up, he has always wanted to help others more than anything

Gifts:
Bardic (strong), Empathy (strong)

My Email/Yahoo ID:
Aoshi5@cvc.net/daedrystar11

Author’s Comments:
Well, this character description is a lot longer than my other one (that’s Daedry Gellenre), but Ryl has a lot more back story than she does. He never actually met her when she was at Bardic, though she was very good friends with Taji Vemerin, his best friend, and plans to remain so. Daedry and Taji were even romantically involved. Look for a profile for Taji soon—he’s a Bard, also, though as talented as Ryl. And—you guessed it! Ryl is destined to end up with Daedry. It’s probably going to be a lifebond, though I don’t know how many of those are out there.