Thursday, November 1, 2012

Introducing, Alistair Stromwell

 Okay guys, I'm kind of letting my inner fangirl out on this character, but it needed to be done. This is going to be one of the primary three characters in the LBP series, and the primary protagonist of Stormfall.

I introduce to you Alistair Stromwell.

The idea behind this character (as the pictures would suggest) is a combination of Alistair Theirin (one of the protagonists of DragonAge: Origins and the DragonAge series in general) and Dean Winchester (of Supernatural). Although LBPs Alistair is much taller than either of these characters, the facial and body type is much the same; blonde, strong, blue eyed, handsome, etc. As for the personality, the character is a combination of these (oddly similar) characters, with a sarcastically morbid sense of humor to protect themselves from emotional harm and to hide a painful past, a fierce loyalty that takes a lot to be earned, and a very black and white concept of right and wrong that often classifies the magical and supernatural on the "wrong" side.


Alistair was born to the family Stromwell, the Royal family of the cold and stormy northern island system of Talias. Born to the Storm King, Erik Stromwell III, and Castrella Stromwell (originally of the Morgaine clan of the eastern Durstan Islands), Alistair was the youngest of 5 children, and the only child Erik had by Castrella. Castrella was 17 when Alistair was born, and died when he was just over a year old, lost to a fever that took both her and the baby she was carrying. As a result, Alistair was raised by his older sister, Aisling. Aisling and he had a great relationship, as they both excelled in academic pursuits and the combative arts. This desire to excel mostly stemmed from the rejection they experienced from their father; Aisling for being a girl (and not a lady-like one at that), Alistair for being the offspring of his least favorite wife. After a minor sparring accident, however, in which Aisling's arm was broken, permanently crippling her right arm, Alistair was sent off to the Aldean Fist, a warrior monk's monastery, in the eastern portion of the Talias island system. He was 9 at the time.

At the Fist, Alistair mastered a number of combative arts, as well as languages and healing arts. His goal was to be both the "sword and the shield, the cut and the salve, the warrior and the healer," as was taught to him by Pentos (High Priest) Maren. At the fist he learned all forms of weaponry, especially the sword, as well as anatomy, basic physiology, and methods of healing wounds. He became an avid reader and made a hobby out of observing people and their behaviors. He especially became interested in legends told by the various island people, their various remedies to diseases, and their cultures.
He also learned their fears, especially a resounding fear of the unknown, specifically "sensitives", or people with supernatural abilities or senses. Alistair's experiences with these cultural fears, as well as his religious training at the Fist, made him very wary toward "sensitives" in general, although he had doubts regarding the validity of some stories he heard.

His time around these people, as well as his time around the dead, dying, or wounded, made Alistair develop a sarcastic, morbid sense of humor that often irked the Penti (priests) of the Fist, so much so that when he applied to become one of the warrior monk initiates (Uni) at the age of 15, they rejected him, stating that he was "destined for another path." Before he could reapply at the age of 17, a rebellion started in the Talias island system between the "Stormborn", those loyal to the Stromwell clan and the ruling families of Talias, and the "Durstans", a rebel group loyal to Margrave Grewt of the Durstan islands East of the main islands of Talias. In the attempt to make peace with the Durstans, Alistairs second oldest brother, Morren, was murdered. Soon after, the eldest brother, Fallon, was killed in the Battle of Amos. What was thought to be a short-lived rebellion turned into a full-out war when the Durstans began attacking Stromwell-loyal islands and, surprisingly, coastal cities of the main continent belonging to the forest kingdom of Shaddard.

In the second year of the rebellion, Alistair joined the fight along with other trainees at the Fist. Due to both his success and his talent at healing, he was placed as one of the leaders of a ground battalion, alongside his brother-in-law, Serys Laefell, one of the heirs to Shaddard and husband to Aisling. During their time in the battalion, Alistair and Serys became good friends, more so when Aisling died giving birth to her only daughter, Rhea. In the same year, King Erik was lost at sea after joining the battle in his legendary ship, the Bastards Steel.

In the third year of the war, Alistair and Serys led their group to one of the inner Durstan islands, blinded by their past successes. Of their 56 soldiers, only 7 survived, including Alistair and Serys. They were trapped behind enemy lines, and some were captured. Serys and Alistair managed to find each other, infiltrate a few key positions on the island for information, and escape, along with a woman who called herself Logan. Alistair fell in love with Logan over the months that they were trapped behind enemy lines, but she disappeared soon after they escaped from the island. The information that they collected while on the island ended up being key to winning the war, but Alistair always considered it a loss.

At the point in time this story takes place, Alistair has been on the throne for just over a year, after his brother Liam died. He is a reluctant ruler, and although his position is largely as a figurehead while the marches essentially rule themselves,  he hates the social obligations his position warrants, not wanting the responsability. Most of his time is spent training with his knights, studying in his family's vast library, or volunteering his time to to the local Palmery (church).

Virtues: Strong sense of honor, charitable with his time and talents, and slow to anger. Loyal to those who have earned it in his eyes
Flaws: Slow to trust anyone, especially those in authority, reluctant to take responsibility that he does not want, often seems childish or rude at inappropriate times, talks too much at times, too little at others. Can be overconfident in his abilities, to the point where he overestimates himself.








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