![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
craggyfacedCHARACTER NAME: Sir Durge
FANDOM: The Last Rune series (written by Mark Anthony)
CANON: Near the middle of The Gates of Winter, as they travel north to Gravenfist Keep
WHAT THEY LOST: Inability to stay awake for more than 24 hours. As a knight, Durge takes it upon himself to protect others, often pushing himself frequently to stand guard and remain alert far longer they he probably should, though it often takes direct orders to even make him rest if he feels he is needed.
ABOUT THE CHARACTER: Sir Durge, the Earl of Stonebreak, is a knight of Embarr in the world of Eldh. Whilst traveling to the Dominion of Calavere for the upcoming Council of Kings, he encounters a woman there lying in the snow and takes her with him. This woman is Grace Beckett, and she is actually from Earth, though her ethereal appearance makes others quickly assume she is royalty. From there, the knight is swept up along into a cascade of political intrigue, murder plots, and strange travelers, ending up embroiled as a part of an attempt to save not just a kingdom but their entire world from the wicked schemes of the Pale King and his master, Mohg.
Most people, when describing Durge, use the word gloomy, which is of course simplistic though not inaccurate. The demeanor is often stated to be a hallmark of the people of the Dominion of Embarr, and Durge is no exception. The man almost never smiles, and in the entirety of the series, he only ever laughs once. He is prone to expecting the worse of any particular situation. An hour late coming home? Must have been ambushed by bandits. Feeling suddenly ill? Clearly you’ve come down with a fatal disease. These observations are not exactly pessimism, since they are never spoken with despair, but rather a fatal and rather resigned sort of realism. This is a trait which most people initially find depressing, but his companions increasingly find charming or even humorous. On extremely rare instances, Durge himself disguises these remarks as a wry humor, although even the people that know him aren’t always sure when this happens.
This isn’t to say that he is incapable of being hopeful. Durge is highly pragmatic, but never loses faith in his companions no matter how dire the situation. The dour knight is far less charitable to himself. Being well into his mid-fourties, he is something of a rarity for a man of his profession; and while he is certainly not immune to the inevitable wear and tear of aging, he is very fit and strong for his age – due in part to his specialization with the weapon known as the Embarran greatsword, a huge blade about as big as he it (to be fair, Durge is not a tall man by far). One must keep in mind, however, that given the average lifespan in the typical medieval society, Durge is, by perspective, right on the edge of elderly. It’s not surprising, then, that his impression of himself is highly modest. He is continuously perplexed as to why Grace, one of the main characters, (or anyone else, for that matter) would want to seek out his company. Durge despairs the fact that he falls in love with the young baroness, Lady Aryn, who is less than half his age. He feels that it is impossible for her to ever love him, and thus never reveals his feelings for her. When the witch Lirith accidently discovers this, Durge begs her in a rather uncharacteristic surge of emotion, to never reveal it to Aryn. His concern isn’t exactly for himself, but in placing the burden of a one-sided affection on her shoulders.
As gloomy as he is, Durge is truly a good and noble soul. He tends to think of others, often above and beyond that of his own welfare, unsurprisingly. When given to a cause, the knight is intensely loyal and steadfast. He swears allegiance to Grace nearly immediately upon meeting her, even before it is proven that she is in fact royalty, and never once abandons her or the causes she comes to champion – even when events sweep him away from his own lands for nearly two years. He does anything in his power to protect those he call friends. Frequently he ends up standing guard for days on end, either while people are threatened or they are traveling, and it takes direct orders or downright cajoling to even get him to sleep. He has a strong dedication to duty, which is what makes him a model knight. When he and a few others are transported to 1880’s Colorado (yes, really), Durge ends up becoming sworn in as a deputy. Even when one of his companions is framed for murder, Durge dutifully takes him to jail, because it is the job he was sworn to do.
For someone in an intensely physical profession, Durge is in fact very intelligent. Another identifying trait of Embarrans is their interest in science and engineering. Durge’s particular area of interest is alchemy, which he claims only to dabble in , but in which he holds a deep knowledge and genuine fascination for (again with the modesty!). He tends to think about many problems with an objective and scientific viewpoint, even when no science is involved. It is Durge who helps Grace come up with a strategy to help gain information into the motivation of the various leaders attending the Council of Kings, one of which even involved inventing a scenario that created a false feud between her and King Boreas, for whom she was spying, in order to help build their trust in her. No one said honesty was a requirement for being a knight.
Befitting his practical nature, Durge places little stock in that which doesn’t fit a logical mold. Not that he’s stubborn enough to disbelieve in them. It’s rather hard to discredit magic when the people around you are using it, though of course he is never entirely comfortable with it, just as he never disbelieves in the existence of the Little People (Eldh’s verson of the Fair Folk). He also tells Grace he believes there are gods, but he does not believe in them. This may have more to do with his past than anything. It is revealed that Durge was not always the somber and serious man he is now, but once a young knight of good cheer. However, he had to leave to patrol the border for nearly a year, and returned to discover both his wife Maere and his infant son Durnam had died in his absence. It is their death that haunts him still and made him forswear the supposed mercy of the gods.
The last bitter irony of Durge’s life, however, is that he is, by the end, technically dead. In an earlier battle against a pack of feydrim (Little People who have been twisted by evil magic), Durge is nearly felled. An agent of the Pale King places a shard of enchanted iron in a wound in his chest. Directly after he doesn’t recall how it is he survived such a hopeless fight, while in reality the shard is both keeping him alive and slowly yet inexorably inching towards his heart. Grace discovers this shard shortly before their final stand against the enemy and is told, despite her hope to the contrary, that Durge cannot be saved. It is only his strength of will and the goodness of his heart that has kept the shard at bay for nearly as long as it has. In then end Durge succumbs to the magic, becoming briefly a heartless killing machine in service to the Pale King. It is only the last minute appearance of Lady Aryn that helps him regain a glimmer of his former self, long enough to aid Grace in finding a key to holding back the Pale King’s army. Thus, even in defeat, Durge is defined by his strength of heart and his dedication.
ABILITIES: None. Aside from his superior skill with his greatsword, Durge is simply a badass normal. :)
THIRD-PERSON WRITING SAMPLE: The sun had not yet begun to rise in Calavere as Durge stood in the castle stables readying his mount for the coming march north. His breath frosted in the air as he methodically adjusted the saddles straps. It was both an early and rather harsh winter, and if they failed in their task at holding Gravenfist Keep, it was likely to be a one that would never end.
It occurred to him that it was a nearly hopeless task that Grace and her ragtag army had ahead of them. It was barely enough for a defense force, and it was equally likely they would lose a number of them before they even made it that far. He didn’t have enough fingers to count to number of mundane hazards that could befall them on the road, and that wasn’t counting the likelihood of running into feydrim or the Black Knights on way.
As hopeless as it seemed, Durge would never want to be anywhere but here at this moment. Perhaps it was fate that he rode into this keep two winters ago with a mysterious woman on the back of his horse, fair and cold as the snow, and now he would ride out again, now at the side of a very real queen.
He still could not understand why she would want an aging knight such as he, and even if she ordered him to stay behind and rest his bones by the fire, he would still ride out after her. Normally he was happy to do as she asked of him, but Durge was not ready to lay down his sword just yet. There was fight left him in still, though he could sense the end was near. The ache in his chest was proof enough of that. But he had a duty, if not to the Dominions, but to Grace herself, and he would not abandon either.
“Well now, Blackalock,” Durge said somberly, patting the charger on the neck, “I think this shall be the last ride we have together. Let us make it count.”
FIRST-PERSON WRITING SAMPLE:
[Durge clears his throat, feeling rather awkward speaking to a book. But it couldn’t be helped.]
I seem to have inadvertently stumbled into a new kingdom without noticing. I imagine I have violated any number of local laws and customs by now, and someone will be arriving shortly to put me in chains.
However, whatever lord there is of this land, I must beg your mercy. I don’t think I am in the Dominions any longer, but I would gladly offer my sword in your service until I can find a way to return to my duties.
If indeed there is anything left of the Dominions by then.
INTENT: For the most part, I simply enjoy Durge’s unique voice and his surprisingly charming brand of pessimism. He might be dour, but he is genuinely friendly and kind and would get along with far more people than Felix. He is also a far more physically inclined character, so I look forward to getting him involved with the Peace Patrol and other such peacekeeping activities, as well as being capable of more active roles during expeditions.
FANDOM: The Last Rune series (written by Mark Anthony)
CANON: Near the middle of The Gates of Winter, as they travel north to Gravenfist Keep
WHAT THEY LOST: Inability to stay awake for more than 24 hours. As a knight, Durge takes it upon himself to protect others, often pushing himself frequently to stand guard and remain alert far longer they he probably should, though it often takes direct orders to even make him rest if he feels he is needed.
ABOUT THE CHARACTER: Sir Durge, the Earl of Stonebreak, is a knight of Embarr in the world of Eldh. Whilst traveling to the Dominion of Calavere for the upcoming Council of Kings, he encounters a woman there lying in the snow and takes her with him. This woman is Grace Beckett, and she is actually from Earth, though her ethereal appearance makes others quickly assume she is royalty. From there, the knight is swept up along into a cascade of political intrigue, murder plots, and strange travelers, ending up embroiled as a part of an attempt to save not just a kingdom but their entire world from the wicked schemes of the Pale King and his master, Mohg.
Most people, when describing Durge, use the word gloomy, which is of course simplistic though not inaccurate. The demeanor is often stated to be a hallmark of the people of the Dominion of Embarr, and Durge is no exception. The man almost never smiles, and in the entirety of the series, he only ever laughs once. He is prone to expecting the worse of any particular situation. An hour late coming home? Must have been ambushed by bandits. Feeling suddenly ill? Clearly you’ve come down with a fatal disease. These observations are not exactly pessimism, since they are never spoken with despair, but rather a fatal and rather resigned sort of realism. This is a trait which most people initially find depressing, but his companions increasingly find charming or even humorous. On extremely rare instances, Durge himself disguises these remarks as a wry humor, although even the people that know him aren’t always sure when this happens.
This isn’t to say that he is incapable of being hopeful. Durge is highly pragmatic, but never loses faith in his companions no matter how dire the situation. The dour knight is far less charitable to himself. Being well into his mid-fourties, he is something of a rarity for a man of his profession; and while he is certainly not immune to the inevitable wear and tear of aging, he is very fit and strong for his age – due in part to his specialization with the weapon known as the Embarran greatsword, a huge blade about as big as he it (to be fair, Durge is not a tall man by far). One must keep in mind, however, that given the average lifespan in the typical medieval society, Durge is, by perspective, right on the edge of elderly. It’s not surprising, then, that his impression of himself is highly modest. He is continuously perplexed as to why Grace, one of the main characters, (or anyone else, for that matter) would want to seek out his company. Durge despairs the fact that he falls in love with the young baroness, Lady Aryn, who is less than half his age. He feels that it is impossible for her to ever love him, and thus never reveals his feelings for her. When the witch Lirith accidently discovers this, Durge begs her in a rather uncharacteristic surge of emotion, to never reveal it to Aryn. His concern isn’t exactly for himself, but in placing the burden of a one-sided affection on her shoulders.
As gloomy as he is, Durge is truly a good and noble soul. He tends to think of others, often above and beyond that of his own welfare, unsurprisingly. When given to a cause, the knight is intensely loyal and steadfast. He swears allegiance to Grace nearly immediately upon meeting her, even before it is proven that she is in fact royalty, and never once abandons her or the causes she comes to champion – even when events sweep him away from his own lands for nearly two years. He does anything in his power to protect those he call friends. Frequently he ends up standing guard for days on end, either while people are threatened or they are traveling, and it takes direct orders or downright cajoling to even get him to sleep. He has a strong dedication to duty, which is what makes him a model knight. When he and a few others are transported to 1880’s Colorado (yes, really), Durge ends up becoming sworn in as a deputy. Even when one of his companions is framed for murder, Durge dutifully takes him to jail, because it is the job he was sworn to do.
For someone in an intensely physical profession, Durge is in fact very intelligent. Another identifying trait of Embarrans is their interest in science and engineering. Durge’s particular area of interest is alchemy, which he claims only to dabble in , but in which he holds a deep knowledge and genuine fascination for (again with the modesty!). He tends to think about many problems with an objective and scientific viewpoint, even when no science is involved. It is Durge who helps Grace come up with a strategy to help gain information into the motivation of the various leaders attending the Council of Kings, one of which even involved inventing a scenario that created a false feud between her and King Boreas, for whom she was spying, in order to help build their trust in her. No one said honesty was a requirement for being a knight.
Befitting his practical nature, Durge places little stock in that which doesn’t fit a logical mold. Not that he’s stubborn enough to disbelieve in them. It’s rather hard to discredit magic when the people around you are using it, though of course he is never entirely comfortable with it, just as he never disbelieves in the existence of the Little People (Eldh’s verson of the Fair Folk). He also tells Grace he believes there are gods, but he does not believe in them. This may have more to do with his past than anything. It is revealed that Durge was not always the somber and serious man he is now, but once a young knight of good cheer. However, he had to leave to patrol the border for nearly a year, and returned to discover both his wife Maere and his infant son Durnam had died in his absence. It is their death that haunts him still and made him forswear the supposed mercy of the gods.
The last bitter irony of Durge’s life, however, is that he is, by the end, technically dead. In an earlier battle against a pack of feydrim (Little People who have been twisted by evil magic), Durge is nearly felled. An agent of the Pale King places a shard of enchanted iron in a wound in his chest. Directly after he doesn’t recall how it is he survived such a hopeless fight, while in reality the shard is both keeping him alive and slowly yet inexorably inching towards his heart. Grace discovers this shard shortly before their final stand against the enemy and is told, despite her hope to the contrary, that Durge cannot be saved. It is only his strength of will and the goodness of his heart that has kept the shard at bay for nearly as long as it has. In then end Durge succumbs to the magic, becoming briefly a heartless killing machine in service to the Pale King. It is only the last minute appearance of Lady Aryn that helps him regain a glimmer of his former self, long enough to aid Grace in finding a key to holding back the Pale King’s army. Thus, even in defeat, Durge is defined by his strength of heart and his dedication.
ABILITIES: None. Aside from his superior skill with his greatsword, Durge is simply a badass normal. :)
THIRD-PERSON WRITING SAMPLE: The sun had not yet begun to rise in Calavere as Durge stood in the castle stables readying his mount for the coming march north. His breath frosted in the air as he methodically adjusted the saddles straps. It was both an early and rather harsh winter, and if they failed in their task at holding Gravenfist Keep, it was likely to be a one that would never end.
It occurred to him that it was a nearly hopeless task that Grace and her ragtag army had ahead of them. It was barely enough for a defense force, and it was equally likely they would lose a number of them before they even made it that far. He didn’t have enough fingers to count to number of mundane hazards that could befall them on the road, and that wasn’t counting the likelihood of running into feydrim or the Black Knights on way.
As hopeless as it seemed, Durge would never want to be anywhere but here at this moment. Perhaps it was fate that he rode into this keep two winters ago with a mysterious woman on the back of his horse, fair and cold as the snow, and now he would ride out again, now at the side of a very real queen.
He still could not understand why she would want an aging knight such as he, and even if she ordered him to stay behind and rest his bones by the fire, he would still ride out after her. Normally he was happy to do as she asked of him, but Durge was not ready to lay down his sword just yet. There was fight left him in still, though he could sense the end was near. The ache in his chest was proof enough of that. But he had a duty, if not to the Dominions, but to Grace herself, and he would not abandon either.
“Well now, Blackalock,” Durge said somberly, patting the charger on the neck, “I think this shall be the last ride we have together. Let us make it count.”
FIRST-PERSON WRITING SAMPLE:
[Durge clears his throat, feeling rather awkward speaking to a book. But it couldn’t be helped.]
I seem to have inadvertently stumbled into a new kingdom without noticing. I imagine I have violated any number of local laws and customs by now, and someone will be arriving shortly to put me in chains.
However, whatever lord there is of this land, I must beg your mercy. I don’t think I am in the Dominions any longer, but I would gladly offer my sword in your service until I can find a way to return to my duties.
If indeed there is anything left of the Dominions by then.
INTENT: For the most part, I simply enjoy Durge’s unique voice and his surprisingly charming brand of pessimism. He might be dour, but he is genuinely friendly and kind and would get along with far more people than Felix. He is also a far more physically inclined character, so I look forward to getting him involved with the Peace Patrol and other such peacekeeping activities, as well as being capable of more active roles during expeditions.
