Veréb Mátyás
Veréb Mátyás (a.k.a. Verb)
Rejected by his parents at birth, Verb grew up mostly fending for himself with moderate help from his siblings. He was later taken in by a mentor who taught him the ways of the Order, servants to some fey being(s).
Physical Description
General Physical Condition
Verb's feathers help to obscure his build but he's still very obviously lean and wiry. Despite this, he is quite strong.
Facial Features
Long beak, dark amber eyes with large pupils
Apparel & Accessories
Armor
Spear
Shield
Scabbard- Ornate leather scabbard that stands out from the rest of Verb's verdant gear. It is built for, and holds a longsword, although the leather is slightly thicker than normal. There are no ornamentations in the design, although it is of good make. The most distinguishing feature of it is not part of the scabbard itself, but of the hilt of the weapon it holds. A large emerald glitters at the threshold of the hilt and scabbard. In just the right light, it almost appears like an ever-watching eye.
Spear
Shield
Scabbard- Ornate leather scabbard that stands out from the rest of Verb's verdant gear. It is built for, and holds a longsword, although the leather is slightly thicker than normal. There are no ornamentations in the design, although it is of good make. The most distinguishing feature of it is not part of the scabbard itself, but of the hilt of the weapon it holds. A large emerald glitters at the threshold of the hilt and scabbard. In just the right light, it almost appears like an ever-watching eye.
Mental characteristics
Personal history
Kenku names are a complicated affair; they come in three. One by the folk*, two by the forest**, and three by the common tongue. He is Cracked Egg | Fading Thunder, Creeps along the path forbidden, and Veréb Mátyás.
Verb's life started with a series of misfortunes. Born to a lineage of seventh children, Verb's birth was to be the culmination of centuries of effort. It was not an easy pregnancy- Verb was a twin. Kenku are not born in pairs, so passing the egg was challenging. Verb's mother suffered greatly in her attempts to lay their egg, so she was rushed to the nearest doctor. Or she would've, had it not been for a great aether storm that ravaged the Crawling city at that precise moment. The bridge they crossed was rocked by the violent storm, and the egg was flung down into the depths. The egg did not fall all the way to the forest floor, but instead landed on the corpse of one of the great crawlers. That is, a fallen portion of the city. The egg site was not located for several weeks. He was found barely clinging to life, defended by a young animated sword (animated dagger?). His sibling was not so lucky.
Verb's parents were never the same after that. It turned out that Verb was the wrong child to die, being aggressively mundane. They retreated deep inside themselves, leaving the children to fend for themselves. The eldest child, Verb's sister Csilla, reluctantly took the mantle of raising her siblings for a few short years. This ended once her resentment towards Verb boiled over and she left to seek her fortune. This left the younger siblings in a desperate state, but they managed to scrape by. Verb did not escape poverty until he caught the eye of a druid named Rook. Rook thought Verb had potential as a member of his order, so he took Verb in. It was then that Verb left the Crawling City for the first time in his life (never to return?). Rook taught him the ways of the Wandering Wood, how to respect its denizens. He also taught the rituals associated with the Order, servants of some fey entity. Members of the Order travel the land doing tasks assigned to them for some holy purpose. After determining his training complete, Rook declared Verb a Journeyman. He was set loose, holy tome in hand.
*Traditional Kenku names are denoted by onomatopoeia, but are the actual sounds being represented. They typically are pair of sounds, but might be three if the individual is of particular import. The name is based on events surrounding an individuals birth or early life. The three sound names are only appended after that individual has completed some significant action, or posthumously. **Denizens of the Wandering Forest all have secondary names to be used should they come in contact with the elder beings that live in its depths. It is respectful to address, and introduce oneself to, these powerful beings using epithets. Names are powerful, so caution is advised using them. The shorter the epithet, the more respected the individual is. This means that regular humanoids are referred to using phrases, while deity type creatures are referred to using a single word.
Verb's life started with a series of misfortunes. Born to a lineage of seventh children, Verb's birth was to be the culmination of centuries of effort. It was not an easy pregnancy- Verb was a twin. Kenku are not born in pairs, so passing the egg was challenging. Verb's mother suffered greatly in her attempts to lay their egg, so she was rushed to the nearest doctor. Or she would've, had it not been for a great aether storm that ravaged the Crawling city at that precise moment. The bridge they crossed was rocked by the violent storm, and the egg was flung down into the depths. The egg did not fall all the way to the forest floor, but instead landed on the corpse of one of the great crawlers. That is, a fallen portion of the city. The egg site was not located for several weeks. He was found barely clinging to life, defended by a young animated sword (animated dagger?). His sibling was not so lucky.
Verb's parents were never the same after that. It turned out that Verb was the wrong child to die, being aggressively mundane. They retreated deep inside themselves, leaving the children to fend for themselves. The eldest child, Verb's sister Csilla, reluctantly took the mantle of raising her siblings for a few short years. This ended once her resentment towards Verb boiled over and she left to seek her fortune. This left the younger siblings in a desperate state, but they managed to scrape by. Verb did not escape poverty until he caught the eye of a druid named Rook. Rook thought Verb had potential as a member of his order, so he took Verb in. It was then that Verb left the Crawling City for the first time in his life (never to return?). Rook taught him the ways of the Wandering Wood, how to respect its denizens. He also taught the rituals associated with the Order, servants of some fey entity. Members of the Order travel the land doing tasks assigned to them for some holy purpose. After determining his training complete, Rook declared Verb a Journeyman. He was set loose, holy tome in hand.
*Traditional Kenku names are denoted by onomatopoeia, but are the actual sounds being represented. They typically are pair of sounds, but might be three if the individual is of particular import. The name is based on events surrounding an individuals birth or early life. The three sound names are only appended after that individual has completed some significant action, or posthumously. **Denizens of the Wandering Forest all have secondary names to be used should they come in contact with the elder beings that live in its depths. It is respectful to address, and introduce oneself to, these powerful beings using epithets. Names are powerful, so caution is advised using them. The shorter the epithet, the more respected the individual is. This means that regular humanoids are referred to using phrases, while deity type creatures are referred to using a single word.
Sexuality
Verb has not had the opportunity to experience or understand anything of a sexual nature as it relates to himself. He might be ace, but it is also possible that he isn't.
Employment
Verb is a member of the ??? Order. They serve a higher fey power and are dedicated to a number of particular tenants (WIP). The source of this Order was originally a powerful fey being to go do some mundane felonies against folk they were displeased with, which got interpreted as some grand design. The original fey probably still resides at the heart of this order in some way. I suspect they have taken some measures to ensure that the order isn't hijacked in some way by some other intrepid fey being, given the Order's intrinsic gullibility. Still, probably not that hard to convince them to burn a few villages down here or there if one sells it correctly.
Mental Trauma
The neglect from his parents' lack of care and the magnitude of their failed expectations weigh heavily on all the children, Verb especially. He still believes that he can earn his parents' respect by doing great things. By extension he also believes that anyone can like him if only he's good enough.
Personality Characteristics
Motivation
Verb wants to prove to his parents that he can fill the void left by the seventh child. He believes that if he lives a good enough life and becomes a legendary hero, then he will earn his parents' love.
Personality Quirks
Verb is prone to quoting certain people/phrases, especially Rook. Quotes are marked with "quotation whistles."
Social
Contacts & Relations
Csilla (Chee-la)- The eldest daughter of the Veréb dynasty, she was always an afterthought to her parents- just one of the steps required to reach the seventh child. Her longing for acceptance simmered into a rage that always bubbled just below the surface of her already imposing presence. She resolved to hone her body and mind so that her parents would be forced to acknowledge her. If not for her personal skill, but for her skill's usefulness to the awaited child. Hone her body she did, becoming a paragon of body, skill, and even some magic. Any guild or group of sell-swords would have taken her on in a heart beat, if it weren't for her family name. Best not to touch those with the consecrated name, lest we offend the family. So she stood alone. When the child died, she was forced to take charge of her remaining siblings after her parents withdrew. She bore the burden the best she could, but she was never shown what it means to care for others. Eventually it was too much and she left, off to seek her fortunes in a place where no one knew her name.
István (Isht-van)- The middling child and the sibling with the most heart. When the eldest abandoned them, the rest of the children had to fend for themselves. The older two, András and János, went their own separate ways to survive, leaving the younger lot to fend for themselves. István was barely old enough to fend for himself, but he managed to beg, steal, and cheat his way into enough food for the younger children to survive for several years. Eventually he was able to earn an apprenticeship as a cobbler. This secured a stable source of food for the younger children. He is still a cobbler to this day, with his own shop in the Crawling City.
Rook- Verb met Rook in István's Master's shop. He was custom ordering this bizarre set of boots. They were supposed to prick one's feet and legs and allow blood to flow out of the material, but not let any liquid in the other way. Apparently he was tired of getting bitten while attracting leeches and this would solve the problem. Verb isn't certain why Rook took a liking to him, but soon enough he was his squire. They traipsed across the region during Verb's adolescence and early adulthood. Rook is a druid proper, but more of the nature wizard flavor as opposed to shape shifter. He presents himself as overly eccentric, sing-songy, and whimsical. This hides a dangerously perceptive intellect and a shrewd mind. As a general rule: Rook always knows way more about what's going on than it seems. He probably knows more than you do. Rook serves the Order and professes its tenants, but he is certainly not a man of blind faith.
The Crawling City- Deep in the Wandering Wood lies the great Crawling City. There are a number of massive trees that have aetherite infused bark, making them resistant to storms. A species of large mollusks has a life cycle where they climb towards the top of these trees, feeding on the sap as they go. This gives their shells storm shielding properties. Given their size, and their centuries long life cycle, people took to up residence on these "Crawlers." Eventually buildings were constructed, and bridges built between nearby shells. This would become the crawling city, the city that always moves towards the heavens.
The Crawling City- Deep in the Wandering Wood lies the great Crawling City. There are a number of massive trees that have aetherite infused bark, making them resistant to storms. A species of large mollusks has a life cycle where they climb towards the top of these trees, feeding on the sap as they go. This gives their shells storm shielding properties. Given their size, and their centuries long life cycle, people took to up residence on these "Crawlers." Eventually buildings were constructed, and bridges built between nearby shells. This would become the crawling city, the city that always moves towards the heavens.
Family Ties
Summary of Verb's immediate family (including himself)
Parents:
- László VI
- Zsófia
- Csilla
- András
- János
- István
- Katalin
- Mátyás
- Unnamed Seventh child
Naïve paladin attempting to live up to his families expectations.
View Character Profile
Alignment
Chaotic Good
Age
20
Birthplace
The Crawling City
Children
Gender
Male
Eyes
Dark Amber
Hair
Chocolate brown plumage with white spots down breast/torso
Height
4'11''
Weight
57 lb.
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