LIEN
Played By: Christine
Character Name: Lien (Lee-'en)
Cub Name (if any): N/A
Previous Names (if any): N/A
Soulname: N/A
Race: Glider
Gender: Male
Age: 83
Height: 5'2" He's always been slightly embarrassed about his small size when
compared to other gliders, and as a child he used to hover a few inches off
the ground to make himself appear taller than he truly is. Although he rarely
does this now, in cases when he's feeling extremely self-conscious or unsure
of himself the old habit still occasionally makes an appearance.
Build: Like most gliders, Lien is fairly slight in build, although being
on his own has started to fill him out in terms of muscle development. (Much
to his delight)
Hair Color: Silky-fine, strawberry blond, although the red in his hair is
darkening and becoming more prominent now that he spends much of his time
outdoors. Lien wore his straight hair long all his life until his sudden
departure from home. He then cut it short, (above his chin, framing his ears
somewhat) and although using a knife gave his new hairstyle a somewhat uneven
and messy effect, it was his first act as a "free" elf - he maintains the
messy look to remind himself of his past.
Eyes: Dark brown. Lien's eyes are large and only slightly slanted. Because
of their size in relation to the rest of his face, he often gives the impression
of being much younger than he truly is.
Skin Color: Very fair from living in a society that is mostly indoors, Lien
quickly learned to shield his sensitive skin from the burning rays of the
sun.
Facial Features: His face is oval-shaped, with a slightly narrower (although
not pointy) chin. His eyes are easily the most dominant feature of his face,
being large even for an elf and framed by dark lashes, and they draw the
most attention. His nose is straight and somewhat short, turning up
ever-so-slightly at the tip, and his mouth is medium size. Although his lips
are nothing special, he's eager for opportunities to smile, making an average
mouth into a more charming one. His eyebrows are slightly darker than his
hair, of medium size, and have a moderate arch to them. The overall impression
he exudes is naivete and innocence.
Voice: Lien's speaking voice is somewhat erratic. Back at 'home' sending
was emphasized over vocal speech, and quiet, calm, and control were valued
over strength, volume, or emotion. Now that he's on his own, Lien's trying
to make a conscious effort to be more expressive in the way he talks (although
he does lapse into glider speech patterns on occasion). Because he isn't
totally used to vocalizing his thoughts, his efforts, volume especially,
sometimes miss the mark - when he thinks he's being quiet he often isn't,
and he's been known to 'over-emote' when he's trying to express himself clearly.
When he actually manages to speak 'normally' his voice is a medium-tenor.
Mental Voice: A much easier way for Lien to express himself, although he's
trying to avoid sending so that he can work on his physical voice. He is
totally comfortable with his sending, and one of the only times he almost
sounds his age is when he sends with confidence. His mental voice is the
same pitch as his speaking voice, but lacks the issues of control he has
with vocalization.
Scars, Birthmarks, Etc.: There's a long scar on his right forearm where he
opened a gash in a frustrated attempt to get some type of emotional reaction
out of his parents. It failed, but he kept the scar to remind himself that
he needed to keep feeling.
Occupation: Gatherer, although he's always curious about other people's jobs.
Lovemate: None
Lifemate: None
Recognized: None
Family: Serrera (mother - alive), Meran (father - alive)
Children: None
Usual Clothing: Tight black pants, with black, knee-high boots accented in
white at the top. He wears a loose-fitting, almost baggy white shirt untucked
that laces loosely in the front across the chest. The sleeves are somewhat
tattered around the wrists. (Odds are that he stole the shirt from some human
and tailored it haphazardly to fit himself.) When traveling during the day,
it's not uncommon to find him wearing a black cloak and hood. He wears a
dagger at his waist under his shirt and another on his left boot. He also
carries a black leather bag across his back that is decorated with a white
diamond pattern; it holds his other possessions.
Heavy Clothing: Same pants as above, with boots trimmed in white fur. He
layers the shirt with a black jacket trimmed in white fur fitted with a fur-lined
hood. If he can afford to have his hands semi-incapacitated, he wears heavy
mittens, but if he needs more dexterity he has a pair of black, fur-lined
gloves.
Light Clothing: If it's overly warm, he'll roll up his pants and go barefoot.
Since he feels slightly self-conscious about his size, he'll roll up his
sleeves to the elbow but rarely take off his shirt entirely.
Jewelry/Adornments: None.
Weapons/Tools: He wears a dagger around his waist and another in a sheath
attached to his left boot. The blades themselves are plain and unadorned,
with simple black hilts, and the sheathes are black with subtle silver wire
wrapped around them in a crisscross pattern.
Special Items: He has a silver choker-style necklace with a silver feather
hanging from it. It belonged to his mother before he took it as a memento.
He also has a small jade bird that was shaped by his father.
Magic: Sending, gliding
Fears: Girls - He hasn't had much opportunity to socialize with females his
own age. Becoming the emotionless dolls that his parents were. Failing to
prove that he can take care of himself.
Likes: Being praised, emotions (both his own and others), being useful, learning
new things, proving that he can be independent.
Dislikes: Being treated like a child, being confined, silence (he had plenty
of that with the other gliders), when others point out his small size.
Personality: Lien greatly desires to be seen as something other than a child
(since he hasn't been one for a fairly long time), but at the same, he tends
to act extremely young for his age. He knows little of the world and sees
everything as an amazing new wonder to dazzle him. He tends to get sulky
if he doesn't get his way, and is torn between maturing at his own rate and
proving to himself and everyone around him that he's already grown up. Much
of the problem lies in the fact that, as a very rare birth for the gliders,
Lien was still being treated as a child up until the time he left. He's never
had the opportunity to act his own age, and when confronted with elves that
he sees as his seniors (which pretty much includes everyone but the youngest
of cubs) he's caught between his instinctual reaction of acting like a child
and his desire to be more than just 'the Child.' As a result, he can come
across as very immature and irritating to those who expect him to act his
age. This only further aggravates his childish tendencies, unfortunately,
and there are times when it seems like he almost has multiple personalities
- adult Lien and child Lien. He's still something of a dreamer and possesses
a vivid imagination.
Sees Self As: He's not quite sure. He wants to be seen as an adult glider
who's as fully capable as any other adult elf, but he harbors a personal
suspicion that he's still not quite a 'grown-up.'
History: Lien grew up in the typical stagnant glider society that fostered
apathy and silence. When his parents recognized it was a huge event for the
flying elves, as their hadn't been a birth in several centuries. When he
was born, Lien received a great deal of well-meaning but somewhat awkward
attention. The gliders were unused to showing affection and were at a lost
as to how to convey their pleasure at Lien's presence. It wasn't long before
his desire to laugh and play and make noise began to wear on the passive
gliders, and by the time he was only a few turns old he had learned to be
quiet and self-contained. It was only by slipping away to the more uninhabited
parts of his home that Lien could play as he wished, albeit by himself.
A lonely childhood lead him to invent friends and adventures entirely inside
his mind, and his imagination was a beloved companion where no real age-mates
existed. In the limited association he had with other gliders, (the novelty
of a 'new' elf quickly wore off) Lien was always treated as a child, even
when he was fifty and sixty turns old. He viewed himself as a child as a
result, and made the connection in his mind that adult equals emotionless
and child equals feelings.
By some miracle, he maintained his own emotions and creativity even surrounded
by the stagnant other gliders, perhaps because he still viewed himself as
a child, and when he reached seventy turns or so he attempted to draw some
of the other gilders, his parents in particular, out of their dull lives.
Although he did everything he could think of, using music, art, food, and
variety of other things in hopes of tempting some type of reaction from the
others, he ultimately failed; the gliders didn't understand what he wanted
from them, and while some reacted with irritation and hostility, most were
just blandly puzzled.
Finally, feeling as if he was smothering and desperate for some kind of assurance
that he wasn't the only elf who could feel things, Lien took his knife and
cut his own arm open in hopes of triggering something in his parents.
Although his mother shocked by the sudden violence, her only reaction was
to fetch a bandage for him. His father simply averted his face. Neither said
anything. It was then that Lien first heard the Call, although it would be
almost three turns before he left in search of its source, abandoning his
home and society in hopes of finding other beings that felt things the way
he did.
Quote: "He started it, I got blamed, and I don't want to talk about it!"
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