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Jul 30, 2010, 10:52pm

Transcendence: The Steam Frontier :: Character :: Character Sheets :: Io

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Io
Forsaken
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A diamond in the rough... is worthless.

Joined: Apr 2006
Gender: Male

Posts: 314
Location: Kyrne

Io
« Thread Started on Apr 25, 2006, 3:43pm »

Name: Io (pronouned "ee-yoh", sounds a little like "iyo" or "yo")

Age: 20

Race: Forsaken

Physical Description:
Io's body is plagued with beast-like qualities. He has enormous claw-like hands and feet, a thick tail, horns, and long ears. Io stands 6'3" at his full height, but habitually slouches to blend in better with humans (about 6') He has long black hair and dark eyes. Despite his deformities, he is rather handsome, but few mortals can look past his beasthood.
He prefers to wear loose-fitting clothes like robes that would conceal his body, but cannot afford them and typically dresses in scant tattered clothing that does nothing to hide him.
He has three piercings in his left ear.

Special Abilities:
Io has a sense of hearing and smell as keen as a hunting dog. He is exceptionally strong and his powerful legs make him capable of leaping long or high distances and running swiftly. His fingers and toes are capped with thick talons that make formidable weapons. He uses his muscular tail to trip enemies or as a counterbalance allowing him to make unnaturally wild swings and kicks when brawling.

Io does not fully realize it yet, but he has the powers of divination. Like a dowsing rod can lead towards water, Io instinctually knows how to find the nearest item of a certain type he needs. If he focuses on water, he can turn and start walking towards the nearest source. He can do this with any item of his choosing. If he is in combat in a house and thinks, "Weapon!" his eyes will go directly towards the nearest item that would function well as a weapon. This power can also "sniff out" the nearest animal of a specific type or gold veins underground.

Although he can instinctually know which direction to turn, he does not know the final destination, the distance, or if there are obstacles (walls, mountain ranges) between him and the item he seeks.

Personality:
Io is ashamed of his beast-like features that he feels prevent him from having a successful life. He envies humans, finds them beautiful, and wishes he could be one. His self-loathing leaves him racist against his fellow Forsaken and a kiss-ass toward mortals. He rates his self-worth heavily on what mortals think of him and is eager to suffer any abuse or trial if he feels it is winning him mortal approval.

He hates his appearance and grows extremely hostile towards people who mock or draw attention to his deformities.

He has little self-respect and is willing to do disgraceful or humiliating things to save himself. He would do just about anything to earn the trust and approval of mortals. His self-loathing makes him reckless in battle, a closet masochist. He is generally suspcious rather than grateful for compliments or charity.

Despite all this, Dionysus is extremely strong-willed. Once he's set his mind on a task, he will follow it tenaciously no matter what befalls him. He is ferociously protective of anyone willing to call him "friend," calm under pressure, and a quick thinker. Although he is uneducated, Io is resourceful and adept at making the best out of a bad situation.

Io is adept at fighting but prefers to avoid violence as he feels this would only further his stereotype of being feral and beast-like.

Occupation:
Io is dirt poor. He currently does grunt work at a low-class inn in Kyrne-- scrubbing floors, chopping wood, washing dishes, emptying chamberpots--everything that does not require interaction with customers or delicate hands.
The innkeeper who hired him insists that his employment alone is an act of deep charity, and pays Io only enough for food and a place to stay. Io manages to turn a meager profit by sleeping in the stable with the rakuda and keeping the money he is given for lodging as savings.

Faults and Weaknesses:
Io's attitudes about race are not popular with either Forsaken or Mortals. Mortals scorn him for his monstrous appearance and Forsaken dislike him for wishing he was human and looking down on Forsaken. (See "Personality")

His enormous claws make it impossible for him to operate delicate machinery, including guns, or do anything else that requires nimble, human-sized fingers.

He is identifiable as a Forsaken on sight, even from a long distance, because of his physical mutations, and humans often associate his horns with a demonic nature he does not possess. He cannot wear gloves, shoes, or pants made for mortals without destroying them.

Io was never formally educated is nearly illiterate and can only read basic signs and simple sentences. He is mathamatically uneducated and cannot perform even simple addition without using his fingers.

History:
Io was born to two Forsaken parents, and lived in a Kyrne slum with his two younger sisters. Both his parents were coal miners with bad lungs from constantly inhaling coal dust in the mines.

When Io was 6 years old, his mother became pregnant with a fourth child and his father died from a respiratory disease. Io's mother despaired that she could never feed her existing children, let alone the fourth child on the way. Rather than selling her children into slavery and prostitution, Io's mother took poison and lovingly fed it to her unwitting children as well, promising that they would all be with their father soon. The poison took Io's family, but Io vomited and survived.

As typical treatment for orphans, the boy was taken to market to be sold for employment. He stayed on the auction block for a long time as few people were interested in such a beastly-looking child who was not yet strong enough for hard labor.

He was eventually purchased by a cruel Forsaken master and has since passed hands many times at various dead-end menial jobs. He currently works at an inn and desperately dreams of a better life.

[image]

Writing sample:
Io rested his cheek against the side of the dak’s great shaggy head as he pet her. He had already finished his task of chopping a wood pile and decided to loiter in the stable. He knew his employer expected him to return immediately to be assigned another task, but Io had already finished in one hour what would have taken a human three hours to finish. He decided he could afford to rest a little while. The ache in his back agreed.

He ran his claws through the dak’s shaggy coat, which was matted and full of brambles. He raked his fingers through her hair like a currycomb and picked out nettles as he found them. The shaggy creature rolled one of its red-rimmed watery eyes to him as if in gratitude.

Io had always enjoyed the company of animals. They were the only living things that truly didn’t notice or care whether he was a grime-covered Forsaken or a human noble. The daks didn’t recoil at the touch of his claws. He even fancied that his horns made him more familiar to them. Animals were the only things that had allowed him the pleasure of nuzzling face to face and that didn’t mind if he planted a serruptitious kiss on the bridge of their broad noses.

“I won’t be here forever, you know,” he murmured to the dak, “One day I’ll just stop visiting and you’ll wonder where I am.”

The great beast groaned and rolled her bovine eyes to stare at him.

“That’s because I’m getting out of this town. Sometime anyway,” he added in a smaller voice. “No! Soon!” he corrected himself, “And that’s because I’ll be—”

What? Rubbing elbows with human elite? Married to a wealthy mortal woman? Io sighed. He knew he wanted more to life than this, but he hadn’t begun to manage how just yet.

“Well, I’ll be rich enough to buy the lot of you, anyway,” he concluded, feeling foolish.

==================================

Threads:
With Joline:
Charred
Splash

With Sieg:
Desperate, Thrashing
Unwinding

With Adeline:
Conflicted
Company
Bruised

Reunited
Stargazer

With Mischa:
Calm before the Storm
Sandstorm

With Clem:
Wrath
Jailbirds

« Last Edit: Jun 2, 2006, 5:05pm by Io »