Aubri (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
bird_brain) wrote2012-10-18 10:31 pm
bird_brain) wrote2012-10-18 10:31 pm
Entry tags:
[character info | hmd]
Need to know about Aubri? Want to leave me some crit? Want to get some plotting done? Here's the place! All comments are screened and I'm open to PMs as well. Or hit me up on Plurk!
|| Player Information ||
Name: Kel
Time zone: CST
Contact: aim: gaerwn | plurk: n0teworthy
( CHARACTER INFORMATION )
- ? NAME: Aubri
- ? AGE: not stated, but likely several decades; first-generation gryphon
- ? CANON & CANON POINT: The Mage Wars book trilogy by Mercedes Lackey. (The Mage Wars trilogy is part of the Valdemar universe.) Canon point is after the second book "The White Gryphon": Aubri has returned to the city of White Gryphon after the failed assassination attempt on the Haighlei king, Shalaman, and has once again taken up his duties as council member and co-administrator of the Silvers.
- ? CANON INFORMATION:
A general synopsis of the trilogy.
Synopsis of the first book, The Black Gryphon
Synopsis of the second book, The White Gryphon
Little is known of Aubri's early history, but given that his race is a construct of the mage Urtho and Urtho was alive -- if not young -- when Aubri was fighting in the war, it can be assumed that he is part of the early generations of gryphon-kind. Aubri is first introduced in The Black Gryphon, the first book of the Mage Wars trilogy, as a fairly well-respected older gryphon. Assigned to the Sixth Wing in Urtho's forces, he served with other gryphons under a general who had no respect for the non-human combantants in the military. To General Shaiknam, his second Garber and his mage, Conn Levas, gryphons were nothing more than weapons to be deployed where needed and any casualties were negligible. Aubri paid the price for this mindset -- as did many other gryphons in the Sixth -- and ended up injured badly. Nursing serious burns, Aubri shared tent-space in the infirmary with Skandranon Rashkae, another gryphon. A friendship grew, though on the surface one might question this: it was based in banter and snark, throwing insults at one another.
All of Aubri's accomplishments and actions in the first book are outlined in the "Black Gryphon" link above. However, the second book synopsis is woefully lacking, so what follows is a brief explanation of the decade glossed over between books and Aubri's actions in the second book.
Though battered and exhausted emotionally and physically, the group traveled nearly a year to the coast, where they established a city built into a cliff. White Gryphon, so named because of the startling white cliffs the city was built into, became something they could be proud of. Aubri and Judeth worked together to form the Silvers, a sort of para-military police organization. Aubri sat on the city council. An old soldier, not many would have expected a sarcastic gryphon to have such a mind for administrative duties or diplomacy; Aubri's keen intelligence, though, made him a formidable and valuable member of the council.
When the Haighlei came, he stayed behind in White Gryphon while Skandranon and Amberdrake went to the capital city. As the head of the Silvers, he was charged with making sure the city would be ready for whatever decision the Haighlei made about their contact. (White Gryphon, as it turns out, was built in an area claimed by the Haighlei, though the citizens of White Gryphon had no idea of it until the Haighlei sailed into their harbor.) When it was apparent that help would be needed to prevent an assassination, Skandranon sent for Aubri and a contigent of Silvers. Aubri patrolled in the Haighlei capital city and kept up careful diplomatic relations as he deployed his Silvers in the Haighlei palace. When Skan saved King Shalaman's life, Aubri returned to White Gryphon and settled back into routine: training civilians and ex-soldiers alike for Silver duty and serving on the city council.
- ? PERSONALITY:
Aubri is, and will always be, an obstinate loudmouth. Over the years, he's mellowed a bit, through long association with Judeth - the human woman who was his liaison to human troops in the Sixth Wing and later the co-leader of the Silvers with him - and by having leadership roles thrust upon him. He's found -- and probably through difficult, painful, and embarassing lessons -- that when one is in a leadership role, one must sometimes watch their stupid mouth. He'll growse constantly about the rigamorale of leadership and grump constantly about how no one is ever happy, but he thrives in such a position. It's a suprise to him, how well he actually does with it, when he shuts his mouth long enough to listen. It's Judeth who first taught him the value of a listening and it's a lesson he has taken to heart, with some difficulty here and again.
What Aubri does have a tendency to do is say exactly what he's thinking and sometimes that doesn't go over well. (Skandranon, for his part, found himself both frustrated by Aubri's bluntness and amused by his sardonic comments when they shared a tent together. It was a toss-up which it would be on any given day.) If he's lucky, his succinct and blunt way of putting things gains him respect. On the other hand, it's been known to alienate those people he most needs to work with. Judeth, at first, had a hard time getting Aubri to cooperate, but that was also in the face of his commander using the gryphons of the Sixth as expendable weapons. Aubri was understandably resentful, not only on his own behalf, but on the behalf of every gryphon in his Wing.
He's found the humor in having one of the snarkiest bastards known to gryphon-kind in a role that requires diplomacy and he's not about to change it now. When things require a deft hand, he's keen enough to hand the matter over to someone who can deal with such things with aplomb. Delegation, he's found, is the mark of a great leader. To Aubri, he's just the co-leader of the Silvers -- White Gyphon's police force -- and a member of the city council. It's no great position in his mind, but it's one he takes seriously, because he helped build this city from nothing. White Gryphon stands as a testament to spirit, ingenuity, and courage. Aubri's loyalty is to the citizens of White Gryphon and cannot be bought by anyone else.
His loyalty is uncompromised and hard-earned. Maybe it's just his personality or maybe it's just that he's an old soldier on the losing side of a war, but he doesn't trust easily. He doesn't treat those he just met with suspicion, but he reserves judgment until he gets to know a person. Aubri is sometimes slow to act; impetuous is not a word that can be used to describe Aubri. He can become lost in thought, too caught up in possibilities to actually make a decision. (This is perhaps one of his greatest weaknesses as a leader, offset by other councillors.)
As an old soldier -- and, indeed, most of his life has been spent in some kind of battle -- Aubri knows full well the value of both following orders and leading well. He's served under a general who treated him as nothing more than a dispensable weapon and did his best to offset losses. Though he could have simply refused to follow orders from Shaiknam, there were other things to keep in mind. They were fighting a losing war and the situation needed to be handled in such a way that all non-humans in the army benefitted, not just the Sixth Wing. Aubri followed official channels to resolve the situation and, as a result, solidified relationships and efforts of the non-humans in Urtho's forces. (This was after speaking to Skandranon, Amberdrake, and Judeth about the matter. Aubri wanted to walk away, but needed to handle the matter in such a way that it wouldn't be detrimental to other Wings, so he sought advice.)
Aubri can be stubborn. If asked, he'd say it's just because he's an old bird, set in his ways. Though not quite as obstinant as he could be -- he's been known to back down when confronted by Skandranon, Judeth, or Amberdrake -- Aubri is very set in his ways and well aware of his own mind. Because he tends to put a good amount of thought into his decisions, he is not easily swayed once he's made up his mind. He does listen and will take advice, but this comes in the "information-gathering" stage of his decision-making. After he's made his decision, there's very little that someone can say that will sway him.
He will very rarely tell someone what they mean to him. Friends don't get platitudes or false reassurance; they get honest encouragement. They aren't told that he will be loyal to them; he just will be. His friends most often end up on the wrong end of a sharp, barbed tongue. If he thinks well of someone, he will inevitably insult them somehow. It's a testament to his level of comfort of with them; the more he insults, the more he tends to like the person.
To those he doens't like, he's almost painfully polite. Aubri's humor is dry, sometimes morbid, and definitely cutting. He'll play with that image of an old, senile bird sometimes, act to perpetuate it and let others make of him what they will.
And then there's children -- or those who are so painfully naive that Aubri can't find it in his heart to snark at them. In all his interactions with children, he's almost a different gryphon: encouraging and even soft, there's not much trace of the impatience he can show in council meetings. While he and Kechara, a "misborn" gryphon who would remain child-like all her life, were held captive, he settled into the role of encourager and remained a calming presence to her, though he was injured, they had no weapons, and were in the enemy stronghold. The fear of his own captivity -- they performed horrible experiments on gryphons -- was eclipsed by his desire to protect Kechara not only from the physical consequences of captivity, but from her own fear as well.
Unlike many gryphons, Aubri isn't picky about his appearance, though he does try his hardest to keep his feathers nearly groomed. (This is more than just a "pride thing"; in order to fly well and comfortably, feathers need taken care of.) Aubri usually eschews feather dyes or beads. He is comfortable in his skin (or feathers, as the case may be.)
In the end, though, he can only be himself: an old bird, but a sharp old bird with a keen understanding of both battle strategy and what it takes to found and serve a city. He's content with his place now and he is proud of what he and his people -- and all of White Gryphon, human and non-human are his people -- have accomplished. He's been battered and beaten over and over again. He's even lost a war, but he's kept from bitterness and has kept looking forward.
- ? COURT ALLIANCE:
I can't imagine Aubri being anything but Seelie. While he is a soldier, does kill when needed, and does not feel (much) guilt over the lives he's taken in war, he will not harm an innocent if at all possible. He puts the lives of others before his own. He will not save himself at the expense of those he's charged to guard. He's a snarky bastard who will cut someone to the quick if they do or say something stupid, but he'd protect them with his life. On the council of White Gryphon, he argued vehemently against a death penalty when dealing with their first major crime. As co-leader of the Silvers, he takes his duties to protect those under his care very, very seriously. Aubri does what he does to protect others.
- ? ABILITIES:
Several of Aubri's skills and powers come to be simply because he is a gryphon.
Flight, of course, is one of them. In flight, his endurance and stamina are high, though his manueverability is limited, being a broadwing hawk-type. He's big and powerful. There's very little he can't kill if he's in the air and diving down to tear at something with claws and beak. He knows full well how to use his natural weapons. On the ground, Aubri's natural abilities are stunted. While still strong and still formidable there, he's even less manueverable.
Enhanced Eyesight: His eyesight is like that of a hawk's: his sight is many, many times sharper than a humans.
Magical Abilities: Aubri also has limited Mindspeech. It's something most gryphons have but something he doesn't often use -- and he can only really use it to communicate with someone else who is telepathic or sensitive somehow. Most gryphons have some limited magical ability - some stronger than others. Aubri is no exception to this, but his ability is limited to simple Mindspeech and knowledge of a death-spell keyed toward gryphonkind. (A gryphon captured by the enemy faced horrible torture; when one couldn't be rescued, another gryphon would, if possible, at least grant them relief.)
Strategy/Tactics: Since Aubri has known war for most of his life, he's well-versed in battle tactics and strategy. He knows how to deploy soldiers in the most effective manner possible and he can be quite creative in his tactics. (Just ask the rest of the Sixth Wing about when he set himself on fire to provide enough of a distraction to set up time for a retreat. As a note: his creativity might sometimes count as a weakness rather than some vaunted ability. See aforementioned setting himself on fire.)
|| Player Information ||
Name: Kel
Time zone: CST
Contact: aim: gaerwn | plurk: n0teworthy
( CHARACTER INFORMATION )
- ? NAME: Aubri
- ? AGE: not stated, but likely several decades; first-generation gryphon
- ? CANON & CANON POINT: The Mage Wars book trilogy by Mercedes Lackey. (The Mage Wars trilogy is part of the Valdemar universe.) Canon point is after the second book "The White Gryphon": Aubri has returned to the city of White Gryphon after the failed assassination attempt on the Haighlei king, Shalaman, and has once again taken up his duties as council member and co-administrator of the Silvers.
- ? CANON INFORMATION:
A general synopsis of the trilogy.
Synopsis of the first book, The Black Gryphon
Synopsis of the second book, The White Gryphon
Little is known of Aubri's early history, but given that his race is a construct of the mage Urtho and Urtho was alive -- if not young -- when Aubri was fighting in the war, it can be assumed that he is part of the early generations of gryphon-kind. Aubri is first introduced in The Black Gryphon, the first book of the Mage Wars trilogy, as a fairly well-respected older gryphon. Assigned to the Sixth Wing in Urtho's forces, he served with other gryphons under a general who had no respect for the non-human combantants in the military. To General Shaiknam, his second Garber and his mage, Conn Levas, gryphons were nothing more than weapons to be deployed where needed and any casualties were negligible. Aubri paid the price for this mindset -- as did many other gryphons in the Sixth -- and ended up injured badly. Nursing serious burns, Aubri shared tent-space in the infirmary with Skandranon Rashkae, another gryphon. A friendship grew, though on the surface one might question this: it was based in banter and snark, throwing insults at one another.
All of Aubri's accomplishments and actions in the first book are outlined in the "Black Gryphon" link above. However, the second book synopsis is woefully lacking, so what follows is a brief explanation of the decade glossed over between books and Aubri's actions in the second book.
Though battered and exhausted emotionally and physically, the group traveled nearly a year to the coast, where they established a city built into a cliff. White Gryphon, so named because of the startling white cliffs the city was built into, became something they could be proud of. Aubri and Judeth worked together to form the Silvers, a sort of para-military police organization. Aubri sat on the city council. An old soldier, not many would have expected a sarcastic gryphon to have such a mind for administrative duties or diplomacy; Aubri's keen intelligence, though, made him a formidable and valuable member of the council.
When the Haighlei came, he stayed behind in White Gryphon while Skandranon and Amberdrake went to the capital city. As the head of the Silvers, he was charged with making sure the city would be ready for whatever decision the Haighlei made about their contact. (White Gryphon, as it turns out, was built in an area claimed by the Haighlei, though the citizens of White Gryphon had no idea of it until the Haighlei sailed into their harbor.) When it was apparent that help would be needed to prevent an assassination, Skandranon sent for Aubri and a contigent of Silvers. Aubri patrolled in the Haighlei capital city and kept up careful diplomatic relations as he deployed his Silvers in the Haighlei palace. When Skan saved King Shalaman's life, Aubri returned to White Gryphon and settled back into routine: training civilians and ex-soldiers alike for Silver duty and serving on the city council.
- ? PERSONALITY:
Aubri is, and will always be, an obstinate loudmouth. Over the years, he's mellowed a bit, through long association with Judeth - the human woman who was his liaison to human troops in the Sixth Wing and later the co-leader of the Silvers with him - and by having leadership roles thrust upon him. He's found -- and probably through difficult, painful, and embarassing lessons -- that when one is in a leadership role, one must sometimes watch their stupid mouth. He'll growse constantly about the rigamorale of leadership and grump constantly about how no one is ever happy, but he thrives in such a position. It's a suprise to him, how well he actually does with it, when he shuts his mouth long enough to listen. It's Judeth who first taught him the value of a listening and it's a lesson he has taken to heart, with some difficulty here and again.
What Aubri does have a tendency to do is say exactly what he's thinking and sometimes that doesn't go over well. (Skandranon, for his part, found himself both frustrated by Aubri's bluntness and amused by his sardonic comments when they shared a tent together. It was a toss-up which it would be on any given day.) If he's lucky, his succinct and blunt way of putting things gains him respect. On the other hand, it's been known to alienate those people he most needs to work with. Judeth, at first, had a hard time getting Aubri to cooperate, but that was also in the face of his commander using the gryphons of the Sixth as expendable weapons. Aubri was understandably resentful, not only on his own behalf, but on the behalf of every gryphon in his Wing.
He's found the humor in having one of the snarkiest bastards known to gryphon-kind in a role that requires diplomacy and he's not about to change it now. When things require a deft hand, he's keen enough to hand the matter over to someone who can deal with such things with aplomb. Delegation, he's found, is the mark of a great leader. To Aubri, he's just the co-leader of the Silvers -- White Gyphon's police force -- and a member of the city council. It's no great position in his mind, but it's one he takes seriously, because he helped build this city from nothing. White Gryphon stands as a testament to spirit, ingenuity, and courage. Aubri's loyalty is to the citizens of White Gryphon and cannot be bought by anyone else.
His loyalty is uncompromised and hard-earned. Maybe it's just his personality or maybe it's just that he's an old soldier on the losing side of a war, but he doesn't trust easily. He doesn't treat those he just met with suspicion, but he reserves judgment until he gets to know a person. Aubri is sometimes slow to act; impetuous is not a word that can be used to describe Aubri. He can become lost in thought, too caught up in possibilities to actually make a decision. (This is perhaps one of his greatest weaknesses as a leader, offset by other councillors.)
As an old soldier -- and, indeed, most of his life has been spent in some kind of battle -- Aubri knows full well the value of both following orders and leading well. He's served under a general who treated him as nothing more than a dispensable weapon and did his best to offset losses. Though he could have simply refused to follow orders from Shaiknam, there were other things to keep in mind. They were fighting a losing war and the situation needed to be handled in such a way that all non-humans in the army benefitted, not just the Sixth Wing. Aubri followed official channels to resolve the situation and, as a result, solidified relationships and efforts of the non-humans in Urtho's forces. (This was after speaking to Skandranon, Amberdrake, and Judeth about the matter. Aubri wanted to walk away, but needed to handle the matter in such a way that it wouldn't be detrimental to other Wings, so he sought advice.)
Aubri can be stubborn. If asked, he'd say it's just because he's an old bird, set in his ways. Though not quite as obstinant as he could be -- he's been known to back down when confronted by Skandranon, Judeth, or Amberdrake -- Aubri is very set in his ways and well aware of his own mind. Because he tends to put a good amount of thought into his decisions, he is not easily swayed once he's made up his mind. He does listen and will take advice, but this comes in the "information-gathering" stage of his decision-making. After he's made his decision, there's very little that someone can say that will sway him.
He will very rarely tell someone what they mean to him. Friends don't get platitudes or false reassurance; they get honest encouragement. They aren't told that he will be loyal to them; he just will be. His friends most often end up on the wrong end of a sharp, barbed tongue. If he thinks well of someone, he will inevitably insult them somehow. It's a testament to his level of comfort of with them; the more he insults, the more he tends to like the person.
To those he doens't like, he's almost painfully polite. Aubri's humor is dry, sometimes morbid, and definitely cutting. He'll play with that image of an old, senile bird sometimes, act to perpetuate it and let others make of him what they will.
And then there's children -- or those who are so painfully naive that Aubri can't find it in his heart to snark at them. In all his interactions with children, he's almost a different gryphon: encouraging and even soft, there's not much trace of the impatience he can show in council meetings. While he and Kechara, a "misborn" gryphon who would remain child-like all her life, were held captive, he settled into the role of encourager and remained a calming presence to her, though he was injured, they had no weapons, and were in the enemy stronghold. The fear of his own captivity -- they performed horrible experiments on gryphons -- was eclipsed by his desire to protect Kechara not only from the physical consequences of captivity, but from her own fear as well.
Unlike many gryphons, Aubri isn't picky about his appearance, though he does try his hardest to keep his feathers nearly groomed. (This is more than just a "pride thing"; in order to fly well and comfortably, feathers need taken care of.) Aubri usually eschews feather dyes or beads. He is comfortable in his skin (or feathers, as the case may be.)
In the end, though, he can only be himself: an old bird, but a sharp old bird with a keen understanding of both battle strategy and what it takes to found and serve a city. He's content with his place now and he is proud of what he and his people -- and all of White Gryphon, human and non-human are his people -- have accomplished. He's been battered and beaten over and over again. He's even lost a war, but he's kept from bitterness and has kept looking forward.
- ? COURT ALLIANCE:
I can't imagine Aubri being anything but Seelie. While he is a soldier, does kill when needed, and does not feel (much) guilt over the lives he's taken in war, he will not harm an innocent if at all possible. He puts the lives of others before his own. He will not save himself at the expense of those he's charged to guard. He's a snarky bastard who will cut someone to the quick if they do or say something stupid, but he'd protect them with his life. On the council of White Gryphon, he argued vehemently against a death penalty when dealing with their first major crime. As co-leader of the Silvers, he takes his duties to protect those under his care very, very seriously. Aubri does what he does to protect others.
- ? ABILITIES:
Several of Aubri's skills and powers come to be simply because he is a gryphon.
Flight, of course, is one of them. In flight, his endurance and stamina are high, though his manueverability is limited, being a broadwing hawk-type. He's big and powerful. There's very little he can't kill if he's in the air and diving down to tear at something with claws and beak. He knows full well how to use his natural weapons. On the ground, Aubri's natural abilities are stunted. While still strong and still formidable there, he's even less manueverable.
Enhanced Eyesight: His eyesight is like that of a hawk's: his sight is many, many times sharper than a humans.
Magical Abilities: Aubri also has limited Mindspeech. It's something most gryphons have but something he doesn't often use -- and he can only really use it to communicate with someone else who is telepathic or sensitive somehow. Most gryphons have some limited magical ability - some stronger than others. Aubri is no exception to this, but his ability is limited to simple Mindspeech and knowledge of a death-spell keyed toward gryphonkind. (A gryphon captured by the enemy faced horrible torture; when one couldn't be rescued, another gryphon would, if possible, at least grant them relief.)
Strategy/Tactics: Since Aubri has known war for most of his life, he's well-versed in battle tactics and strategy. He knows how to deploy soldiers in the most effective manner possible and he can be quite creative in his tactics. (Just ask the rest of the Sixth Wing about when he set himself on fire to provide enough of a distraction to set up time for a retreat. As a note: his creativity might sometimes count as a weakness rather than some vaunted ability. See aforementioned setting himself on fire.)
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