About MasahikoMasahiko
Skills (9 points/level; 4 Conscript, 1 INT, 2 background, 1 Beastmastery, 1 Warleader) (1) Appraise +5
Non-standard skill boni:
-------------------- Racial Attributes -------------------- Elven Immunities: Elves are immune to magic sleep effects and gain a +2 racial saving throw bonus against enchantment (mind) spells and effects. Low-Light Vision: Elves can see twice as far as humans in conditions of dim light. Skill Focus: Diplomacy. +3 on this skill ; +6 total at 10th level. --------------------
SoP Talent Points: 8 = (5 + 1 + 2) = (Incanter + Extra Magical Talent Feats + 2)
Investment by sphere: Life: 3 (Life, Restore Health, Self-renewal)
Beastmastery: 4 (Greater Trainer, Handle Animal, Purposeful Training, Ride)
Investment by level:
1st:
2nd:
3rd:
-------------------- Inventory -------------------- Background:
Thwack! Click!
The sounds of wooden swordplay echoed in the crisp spring air. It was dawn, yet Masahiko wished the sun would dash across the sky. A stripe of shadow flashed across the brightness. ”Boy, if your head isn’t in this, it won’t be on your shoulders long out there!” Lonjiku had nearly given the young man a good slash to his collar, but his instructor hoped his words cut deeper than the practice weapons. He was a good man, having been like a father to the orphan. Like three fathers, truth be told. Masahiko came from a family of merchants, but he’d had his suspicions as he matured. It always seemed “his family” was just a mother and father – no aunts, uncles, grandparents, or cousins. The surrogates who raised him had a stronger interest in his personal growth – endless lessons in words, sums, and swords. Yet never spells. The middle-aged man came at him full force, this time making a thrust. Masa parried it, disengaging from the fight. ”I’m still here. You’ll have to do better than that!” he baited. Though his tone was playful, it was a ploy to get the tutor off his back. He likes to see me challenge him. Just enough, anyway. Gazing back toward Sandpoint proper, Lonjiku looked back to Masa. ”Later, perhaps. Chana is due in with the fish early today. Go help her.” He took a look at his sparring partner. ”It’s your safety I’m worried about. Distractions like that don’t do well with the bandit problems we’ve been having…” The lectures were always the same. Lonjiku thinks everything is out to kill me, Chana believes I can’t hold onto a copper longer than a cup of wine, and Atsuii believes people will read twenty different meaning out of two questions I ask! The seemingly endless levels of mastery he had to show his adoptive family was stressful at times. However, this stress didn’t stifle his independent development entirely. Masa swung by the inn before heading to the piers. ”There you are! You know, Lonjiku says – “ ” – I shouldn’t start the day without food in my belly. I know, by Gozreh’s beard, it’s an echo in here,” grumbled Masahiko, completing Ameiko’s reminder. The two were best friends, which also meant they knew (and loved) getting under each other’s skin when they could. She smirked. "Your mother said to remind you to help her unload the fish." ”She’s not my mom, but yeah, that’s what I’m doing. Lonjiku’s right though…” and so it was the two had a quick breakfast together. Desmond and Chana were married, and though they did treat Masahiko like their child - but not quite to the extent the Kaijitsus did - they readily admitted he wasn’t. For some reason, the Ameiko liked to poke at that fact from time to time. Her parents - Lonjiku and Atsuii - never seemed to broach the subject though. Walking to the dock was a relief; Masa let his thoughts wander. A beautiful woman… long, smooth hair with a wise gaze. She looked down at him, smiling mildly. Something was sad about her eyes though. They moistened. She pressed him to her chest… And then the vision passed. For weeks, the young errand-runner had this vision in slowly developing clarity. He could probably pick her out of a crowd if need be, but he’d no idea who she was. Though he felt some connection to her, Masahiko couldn’t recall ever meeting her in his life. He always left the experience feeling bittersweet but couldn’t determine why, and when he thought of talking about it with others, something held him make. Maybe they’d just say I have my head in the clouds like usual… While it was true Masa was a daydreamer at times, his surrogate family had honed him into a productive instrument. The four of them ran a fishing operation and smithy. The Kaijitsus had a standing order for much of the catch, and with the threats of highwaymen on the roads, armaments were in demand. Life was livable. Young Masa had learned a great deal, perhaps without even realizing it, of how merchants haggled, employees slacked, and revenues dispersed. Maybe my parents were rich and they think I’m due some inheritance. We probably would’ve seen it by now though. He didn’t know how close he was in the speculations he had about his mysterious parents, for his family refused to talk about them, but he had other riches in mind right now. On the boat with Chana was a young fisherman named Hanlon. There’s someone of value to me. Strong, jovial – he treated Masa like a person, not a pack mule. He gave the pieceworker a pat on the back. ”Big catch today! Hope you’ve got the time to haul it,” he suggested with a grin. ”Oh, he’s got the time. Both to haul ‘em and skin ‘em.” Chana was quick to cull the conversation between the two. She didn’t seem to think Hanlon was a good influence, saying Masahiko could do better. What’s wrong with having a friend? It’s not like he’s a thief or anything… The three worked, and while Chana wasn’t around them, the two would banter and joke with each other. Hanlon had been attempting to catch the interest of Ameiko for a while, but he’d been unsuccessful. The conversation occasionally turned, as it now did, to prodding of why Masa didn’t try to court her. True, he was in good shape and was told often he was charming, but his adoptive family had forbid him from having relationships. We can’t support any runts, and we don’t want to cast the dice on that. Probably out of rebelliousness alone, he went after a girl years back, and they found out about it. He had twice the work and half the food for a month. Thinking about this problem dampened his day. Despite the constant contact he had with those close to him, Masahiko often felt an intense loneliness, a pit inside of him. He usually dwelled on the depressing thoughts alone, but if they were particularly bad, he’d go to the cathedral. Perhaps its rebuilding was a parallel of what he needed to do with his psyche, or perhaps it was just a safe space to think, but he felt just a bit better there. Father Zantus was present, as usual. The old man smiled. ”What troubles you, my child?” Masa shrugged. ”I just need to think for a while.” The clergyman nodded and gave Masahiko his space. He’s nice, doesn’t suffocate me like my family. He sat back in a pew, gazed upward at the ceiling. Perhaps it was the labor from the morning or the crestfallen development throughout the day, but Masa must have drifted into a daydream, for he saw the woman again. Who are you? His wondering was not met with an answer, and she wore the same expression on her countenance. This time though, her mouth opened as if to say something, and there was a light coming from within her mouth. Masa attempted to lean forward but found he could not move his head. He reached up with an arm, trying to control anything in the vision. The woman’s jaw kept opening wider and wider, unnaturally so, like a snake’s. Unnerving as it was, he steeled himself to concentrate on the light and redoubled his efforts to move his hand. Like the breaking of a dam, he felt energy surge forward, and his hand moved, grabbing the wispy, glowing orb as her face dissipated around it… … and Father Zantus’s appeared, along with the surroundings of the cathedral once again. ”Masahiko? You dozed-off…” The young man looked at his outstretched hand, unclenching it. For a split second, he thought he saw a corona of light dissipate. A strange feeling bubbled within him. Warmth, energy … did the gods hear my prayers? Jetissoning a half-baked good-bye to the priest, he ran back toward the inn to reflect on what happened, but a surprise lay in store for him: Atsuii and Lonjiku sat at one side of a table, yet not a soul was in the building otherwise. There was a single chair opposite them. ”Sit,” ordered Lonjiku. Shakily, Masahiko complied. ”Wh – What is this?” Atsuii’s face was stone. ”A new beginning. And hopefully not a quick end.” Appearance & Personality:
Selfless and social, Masahiko often thinks in terms of others and his surroundings before considering their effects on himself. Occasionally, this decentralized outlook leads him to shortsighted or disorganized decisions, but it also makes possible acts of immense compassion. He prefers words to swords, but is aptly-skilled with both. His newly-found magical talent is another story though, its execution still full of unexpected consequences and risky. As a result, he is a bit embarrassed by his lack of ability - and greatly admires those who have mastery in the realm of magic.
Masahiko is an adonis, blessed with a muscular body and a magnanimous smile. His dark, flowing mid-length hair and penchant for clothing (or absence thereof) to accentuate his assets means he's quite sought-after. However, the common folk that would chase him are seen as unworthy by the Kaijitsus, so he's had no official or lasting relationships. Comically, this artificial hard-to-get reality only increases his demand in the community. Though he often puts himself in harm's way, he is very sensitive to pain, both physical and emotional. His strength of personality and physicality is an inadvertent distraction from the relative frailty of his bloodstream (likely a byproduct of the elven side of his heritage) and psyche; being restricted from deep relationships outside one's guardians has its problems. |
