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[forgeabettertomorrow]

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[forgeabettertomorrow]

PLAYER INFO

Name: Ant
Age: 36
Contact: Discord: Ant#0062 | Plurk: bitterbearface
Current Characters: None!

CHARACTER INFO

Name: Darin Altway
Journal: forgeabettertomorrow
Age: 24
Appearance: Darin is about 6'3" with vibrant, green eyes and a head of bright blue, spiky hair. He's broadly built with a very toned, muscular physique due to spending most of his life working in as a blacksmith. He's dressed in traditional JRPG protagonist fair as seen here.

Canon: Original Character
Canon Point: Not long after he encounters his twin brother Dromas for the first time and learns about what he was truly meant to become.

History: Darin's world is standard high fantasy. At the dawn of creation, a war was sparked between the forces of good and evil. The forces of good consisted of The Celestials; heavenly beings that sought to bring order and duty to the cosmos. The forces of evil were comprised of the Archfiends; a clan of warriors and monsters that sought chaos and discord. The two forces waged war for eons with no end in sight. Finally, The leaders of the Celestials and the Archfiends met in conference to try and settle this war once and for all. The leaders of both factions came together and decided that if the war could not be decided between them, then they would create beings that could decide the war for them. A world was born, and on it humanity was created. The stipulation was that humanity had a time limit: If, after five thousand years, humanity didn't outright obliterate itself, then the Celestials would be deemed the winner. If humanity waged enough war on itself and wiped itself off of the face of the planet, the Archfiends would be declared the winner. The stakes? Utter control over this universe while the loser was banished forever.

Fast forward four thousand, nine hundred seventy five years later. Humanity hasn't yet wiped itself off the map, and while wars have come and gone humanity continues to stick around. In fact, they've thrived. This made the Archfiends quite nervous, they were a scant twenty five years away from the deadline of this little game and unless a major, world encompassing war broke out, they were going to be banished forever. The most powerful of the Archfiends, Diomuhr, grew desperate. He decided that the only way to end this contest in his favor was to directly incite a war among the humans. He couldn't just show up in Anmaral, though. The Celestials would be on him in an instant. Instead, he used magic to have his soul reborn into a human child. Once he was of age, he'd be strong enough to single handedly wipe out humanity, all in the guise of a human! Not technically against the rules, after all.

There was a problem though, no human child could contain that level of power without basically exploding on the spot. Diomuhr's soul had to be split into two and tethered to the souls of two twin boys. The result? Two brothers with above-human strength and resilience, being born with absolutely no idea what they were born into the world to accomplish. Darin and Dromas Altway.

Five years passed since Darin and Dromas were born. Their mother, Seren Altway, unfortunately died during childbirth. This left Darin and Dromas to be raised by their father, Dracer, in their seaside hometown of Kenmore. Both Darin and Dromas learned early on that they were different from other children. Dromas was naturally stronger, stronger than a five year old should be, and Darin was far more resilient than any five year old had any right to be. Dromas would often tell Darin that they were different, that they shouldn't be held to the standards of the other 'normal' children. Darin, on the other hand, was timid. He was often in Dromas' shadow and was content to just be a normal little boy. Meanwhile, back in the Archfiend realm, Diomurh's forces were unsettled. It seemed like Diomurh's plan was an utter failure; Darin and Dromas had no idea who they were supposed to be and what they were supposed to do. It was the perfect time for Diomurh's second in command, Belsur, to use the unrest in the Archfiend clan to take control in Diomurh's absence. He quickly usurped power, and convinced the rest of the Archfiends to follow him, for he had a better plan. He was going to send agents down to Anmaral to kill Darin and Dromas, then take custody of their souls. He would bring them back to the Archfiend realm and condition and train them for twenty years, then release them upon Anmaral just before the five thousand year deadline. Technically, they would still be human, and if the Celestials got wind, he would just say the agents he sent down escaped of their own volition and were summarily dealt with. Pretty good plan, right? It was good enough for the rest of the Archfiends, so it was set into motion.

Which is why, one night, Darin's house was attacked by two Archfiends. Dracer fought admirably, but was ultimately struck down in front of his sons. Dromas, the more bold of the twins, attempted to fight, but he was only five years old and was also easily cut down in front of Darin. Terrified, Darin turned to escape, but one of the Archfiend's swords struck him from behind. He was brought down, a deep gash going from the back of his neck to his left hip. Believing their work done, the Archfiends were preparing to return to their realm with the boys' souls in tow, when two Celestials arrived on the scene. After a brief skirmish, the Archfiends were dispatched. The Celestials, after checking to make sure there were no other Archfiends lurking, left for their own realm, neither side realizing that Darin had survived. His heightened resilience made the wound, while dire, much less fatal than intended, and he had seen the entire event. Fortunately, the sounds of the skirmish brought some of the people of Kenmore to the house where Darin was found and summarily taken care of. He was later adopted by the town's blacksmith, Acteon Demo, and raised as his own son. Meanwhile, Dromas' soul was collected by Belsur himself, and brought back to the Archfiend realm, where it would spend the next twenty years being broken and molded into something still useful to Belsur's ambition.

Nineteen years pass, and Darin has grown into a kind, outgoing, hard-working young man. He's mastered the blacksmith trade, and works side by side with his old, adoptive father, and together their wares are used throughout the kingdom. The five thousand year time limit is only months away.

One day, news hits Kenmore of an ambassador from a neighboring kingdom visiting the nearby capital of Alvale. Darin convinces his father that this would be a great time to take a trip with some of their best wares in hopes of selling some to some visiting soldiers. Unfortunately, the visiting ambassador was brutally murdered and the only witness to the crime positively identified Darin as the culprit.

The following day, Darin was placed under arrest. His adopted father fought to give Darin a window to escape, which he takes, swearing to return once his name was cleared.

Darin spent the following weeks tracking the true murderer. Naturally, being the helpful sort, he got mixed up in some smaller adventures along the way, which led to him picking up a young fortune telling and spellcasting companion by the name of Iris Galvan who was so interested by the fact that she couldn't properly predict Darin's fortune that she felt compelled to follow him in his journey.

Finally, the trail lead Darin and Iris to a small city on the country's border called Uyreka. The city was eerily abandoned save for a cloaked man that seemed to taunt Darin.

It was Dromas.

Darin froze. He had seen Dromas get cut down nineteen years ago, how the hell could he be here? Enraged, Darin demanded to know who Dromas really was, and why he was using his brother's likeness. Dromas, amused, decided to fill Darin in on everything. While Darin had spent the last nineteen years growing soft, and living a happy, peaceful life, Dromas was being broken day after day, pushed to the brink and beyond by the Archfiends, being raised as a living weapon by Belsur himself. Finally, Belsur released him upon Anmaral. His mission? Wipe out as much as he could. Spur the various kingdoms and countries into an all out war. Obliterate humanity. All before the Demon's Eye appeared in the sky. Darin, confused or perhaps trying to mentally convince himself that he wasn't involved in any of this, tried to poke holes in Dromas' story, to which Dromas scoffed.

It was at this moment that Dromas told Darin the whole truth; Everything about what they were, the circumstances of their birth, and what they were born to one day become.

Now, in front of Iris, Darin confronted everything he was terrified of truly becoming. Dromas was his antithesis. Dromas was alive, and he was proof that he was inextricably linked to a world-ending power.

With the message given, Dromas leaves Darin with his next destination and objective.

If he wanted to know more, he'd follow him and try to stop him.

Abilities: Darin has super strength which he's spent his life concealing, so using it beyond what he's previously tested results in damaging his own body. He also has higher than normal physical resilience and can heal from wounds faster than most. Finally, he has the ability to transmute matter, but it's an ability he doesn't know about at this point in his canon and like won't know about for some time.

Questionnaire:

1. What do they care deeply about? What kind of loyalties, commitments, moral codes, life philosophies, passions, callings or spirituality and faith do they have? How do these tend to be expressed?

Darin cares about doing what's right and staying true to his principles. He's endured a great many hardships through his life and while he has a low opinion of himself from a lifetime of being seen as a 'curse,' he believes that inherently people are good. That people are stronger and have more potential than they give themselves credit for. And, as a blacksmith, Darin can see the potential for greatness in all things, whether it be ore or people. His willpower is his greatest asset, as long as there's a fire inside of him, he'll keep pressing forward. He loves creativity and will often build up others before he ever thinks to build up himself.

2. What kind of person could they become in the future? What are some developmental paths that they could take: best, worst, most likely?

Darin has the potential to be both the best and the worst. If he falls too sharply or loses support and faith in himself, if he sees too much destruction that he can't prevent or help or if someone actively takes an interest in his power and seeks to break him, he could become the Prophesied Destroyer that his world fears. On the other hand, despite his reluctance, he shows the traits of a true hero. A man whose will won't be broken. A blacksmith who can reforge himself over and over as needed every time the world tries to break him provided he finds something or someone to fight for. If given the chance and spurred forward, he could be a leader that people can count on and the hero he and his brother once believed they could be.

3. How do they behave within a group? What role(s) do they take? Does this differ if they know and trust the group, versus finding themselves in a group of strangers? Why?

Darin, being an outgoing person, can easily get acquainted with a group, but depending on the personalities involved, there could be some hardships. Darin can't stand self-important, haughty people or people who look down on them and will actively take steps to antagonize or butt heads with them. But Darin is an adaptable person and can begrudgingly put his own nonsense aside if it means the group survives. He's also very much the 'take action first' type meaning he'll likely leap into action with a half-baked idea rather than sit around and wait for a full plan to formulate. Sometimes this backfires.

4. What do they need and want out of relationships, and how do they go about getting it?

Darin just wants to be accepted. He's spent his life being looked at suspiciously and it's made him both occasionally combative but also standoffish if someone gets too close. He's afraid of letting people down, of hurting them, of proving everyone right by becoming a monster. But at the same time, he longs for a connection. He's lost so much and wants to genuinely be helpful; he's sort of his own worst enemy at times. He's so encouraging to people but when they seek to know more about him, he panics and tries to close the door once it's been inadvertently opened. Over time, if he builds a network of support, he'll eventually start to take bigger leaps of faith and become the man he'd always wanted to be.

5. How do they understand the world–what kind of worldview and thought processes do they have? Why?

At first, Darin hated the world. He hated everyone for calling him 'cursed,' he hated that no one wanted to help him let alone get to know him. It was when he was adopted that he began to see the world differently. He began to see that not everyone was horrible, that Darin had to have the courage to put himself out there and extend a hand first, because not everyone can be strong enough to extend a hand out to him. His adopted father had a profound effect on his worldview and now Darin does his best to be the one to extend a hand first.

6. How much do they rely on their minds and intellect, versus other approaches like relying on instinct, intuition, faith and spirituality, or emotions?

Darin is creative and adaptive by trade and often seeks to see a point of view that most often miss. He's not a tactician per se, but he can read the flow of a situation having spent much of his life just watching people and can insert himself in where necessary, whether it's a conversation or a battle. As a tradesman and a salesperson, he's learned to read people's needs and can be incredibly charismatic, another sort of 'defense' to keep people from assuming the worst about him.

7. What is something others might find intolerable about them?

Darin can be incredibly arrogant at times. It's meant to compensate for his blatant fears of being shunned and misunderstood, but because of his hot-blooded nature and fiery will, it can lead to some very explosive arguments and can easily be escalated further. He's also very stubborn and when it comes to following his own principles and beliefs, he can't be swayed, which can easily land him in an opposing position to someone else.

Samples:

Sample One: Texting
Sample Two: First Person
Sample Three: Prose

Why are you interested in this game?

I've been searching for a game where I could satisfyingly tell Darin's 'story.' In my mind, Darin has the heart and the will of a hero and I've looked for a game where I could not only properly convey that, but have him be enough of a driving force where he could live up to that goal. Given that Polymythos is about the Hero's Journey, I would love to not only engage with the setting, but provide a character that can perhaps drive the plot to new possibilities.