Berrod Armstrong

Berrod Armstrong
[[Image: |250px]] Berrod observes the other participants of the Grindstone Tournament.
Gender	Male
Race	Hyur
Clan	Highlander
Citizenship	Ul'Dahn
Age	23
Name Day	11th Sun of the First Astral Moon
Guardian	Oschon the Wanderer
Occupation	Groundsman at the headquarters of the Astral Agents

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Character

General

Berrod Armstrong is a crude-mannered street thug who hails from Ul'Dah, seeking means of survival in post-Calamity Eorzea. He suffers from amnesia, quite unable to remember anything about his life before 1574. Despite his memory loss he's resolved to move forward and not look back, forging new friendships and making new enemies along the road to his goals.

Berrod's journey forward led him into the employ of Corin Winterborne, who ran the Spectrum Lounge hot spring resort and Spectrum Guard adventuring company in Upper La Noscea. Berrod worked as a groundsman and bar-backer at the resort and provided support for the company when needed. During his time at the resort he met several interesting individuals, including Caleb Agron who has since become his lover.

A series of unprecidented events saw the end of the Spectrum Guard and a transfer of ownership of the Spectral Lounge. Berrod, Corin and Caleb eventually travelled to the Silver Bazaar in Western Thanalan to rent accommodation on the arid seaside premises. No longer able to serve as a bar-backer or groundsman, Berrod began working temporary jobs about Thanalan and Ul'Dah.

Though his stay in the Bazaar was intended to be a point of Transition, he enjoyed the desert life, the atmosphere of nearby Ul'Dah and took part in the weekly Grindstone Tournament with gusto.

Berrod was later approached by a Sea Wolf who went by the Hellsguard name of 'Bursting Mountain'. Mountain offered him a job as a recruiter for an adventuring company which he took without hesitation. The Highlander brought a great deal of his friends into the company's employ and felt personally responsible when things went a bit sour. It turned out that Mountain and his hires were to be used as test subjects for the company's rather shady experiments. Berrod remained loyal to Mountain and helped him break away from the larger company to form his own. The Highlander took up the simple job of Groundsman at the headquarters of the new company, known as the Astral Agency.

After some time spent working at the Agency's headquarters, Berrod realized that he had stagnated somewhat, and decided to pull himself up and start developing once more. No longer did he participate in the Grindstone Tournament, for the contest did not allow him to train to his full potential. Along with Caleb Agron , Berrod set off on a journey focused on training and growth through worldly experience.

Berrod remains on his travels currently.

Appearance

Berrod is a tall and solidly built Highlander male, reaching a proud height of six fulms and five ilms with two hundred and forty-nine ponz of bulky, well-worked muscle. His most distinguishable feature is the shock of red hair that peaks on his head, previously untidy and windswept. Recently he has taken to shaving the sides of his head to maintain a tied tail in the middle. Bright green eyes peer from behind an oft-folded brow, the prelude to a rather roughly handsome face accented with a neatly trimmed red beard about his hard, square jaw.

His name tells no lies, both the Highlander's arms are powerfully muscled and rather large, ending in big calloused hands with scarred knuckles -- a testament to both hard labor and training. He proudly sports a prominent chest, broad back and a well-developed core that tapers slightly at the waist before expanding into trunk-like thighs and calves. While the intricacies of his form are usually obscured by his leather pants, harness and boots, Berrod's big frame is enough to go by.

Behavior

Given the enviromnent that he comes from (the streets of Ul'Dah), Berrod has developed a rather crude, rough, violent and short-tempered personality. The man is as easily pleased as he is angered, however, and finds pleasure in simple things such sharing a meal with friends.

When in a good mood, Berrod is often crudely flirtatious and prone to levity, releasing loud and scandalous barks of laughter. As anger takes over he's quick to resort to violence, not caring how imposing his target is. The Highlander is no stranger to obscene language and has no qualms about belting out profanities -- regardless of who is around.

Berrod is also a persistent and hardworking individual, willing to do what it takes to achieve a goal. This manifests in his tendency to work long hours at whatever job he finds as well as train incessantly until he is satisfied with his level of progress.

Combat

General

Berrod is a registered member of the Pugilist's Guild, though he keeps his involvement with the actual institution to a minimum. His fighting style employs powerful blows delivered with his fists and feet, fuelled by the muscles about his frame. Only recently has the Highlander begun to make use of the aether, training to attain a heightened state which allows him to deliver more devastating blows, lanced with lightning. A great deal of his strength lies in his actual physical strength and endurance, which respectively allow his hits to land harder and let him take more blows. His techniques are self-practiced and a bit sloppy, however, something that any skilled martial artist can take advantage of in a fight.

In a recent bid to understand why he was able to generate occasional surges of lightning from his fists, Berrod discovered that six out of his seven chakras were already opened. He correctly deduced that he had trained quite hard to open them before he lost his memory. Unfortunately, having the chakras open does not give him instant control over the destructive abilities they grant.

Berrod began working on them again from scratch, undertaking intense training and meditation to touch and harness his open chakras one by one. The first he gained control over his Root, allowing him to aspect the aether flowing through him to earth and gain quite an increase in his endurance, toughness and tolerance for pain. After some more training, Berrod found that he could get dirt to literally cling to him and form a protective layer of sorts. Satisfied with the results, the Highlander moved on to work on his second chakra.

After quite some time and trials Berrod managed to grasp use of his second chakra, the Sacral Chakra. He saw an instant upsurge in his everyday stamina and energy levels, though not without cost. Given the nature of the chakra, he has gained a significant increase in his appetite for physical pleasures such as food, drink, men and women. Curbing his enthusiasm is a challenge, but one he has decided to rise to. Though he has only demonstrated it once, control of his Sacral Chakra has granted him the ability to heal himself to the extent of seeing injuries knit together and vanish before his eyes. Though he has tried, Berrod has not been able to manage such healing since his first demonstration.

Occasionally the Highlander's third chakra, the Solar Plexus chakra, activates and grants him surges of lightning that augment his strikes. He has planned training to gain control over it once he has completely mastered his Sacral.

Tendencies

Likes

• Food, levity and relaxation among friends.
• Hard training and sparring; he's always up for a fight whether it's friendly or not.
• Spending time with his lover -- doing anything, from sparring to the most mundane of tasks such as laundry.

Dislikes

• People who seem to think that they're better than others without proving so first.
• Weak individuals who would cower helplessly before putting up a fight.
• Reading.

Hobbies/Talents

• Training and sparring.
• Participating in the Grindstone Tournament on a weekly basis.
• Doing maintenance work for buildings and property.

Other

• While often open to practical, constructive criticism, Berrod often loses his temper when his personality is criticized.
• He's known to keep taking hits and making attempts to get back up to join the fray -- until he passes out.
• Despite his personality, Berrod is actually very dependable.

Relationships

Family

Berrod has no surviving family at present, nor does he have any memory of his actual family.

Friends

Burgenheim Rousa has a habit of showing up when the need for him is greatest, resulting in Berrod's appreciation for his appearances. For some reason, Berrod can never remember the Roegadyn's name.

Caleb Agron was meant to be a one night conquest, but the two developed a close friendship and rivalry. They have since then become lovers...while still remaining rivals.

Corin Winterborne was Berrod's former employer, but has since become his close friend. The two have admitted to having feelings for one another, but have not explored that avenue given Berrod's loyalty to Caleb.

Gerik Aston is an acquaintance mostly through Caleb, but Berrod finds the man's carefree nature intriguing.

Jael'li Erisha'an and Berrod seem to be fated rivals; the strong-willed Miqo'te and the Highlander are always at loggerheads...often ending up in combat. Berrod bears no true ill will toward him, however.

Tefh Jinjahl is an aquaintance gained off of a chance meeting. Berrod has become somewhat fond of her.

Val Nunh met Berrod on bad terms, but through fighting the two gained a mutual respect for one another that has since then become friendship.

Enemies

Berrod has not yet made any significant enemies.

Rumors

Common Rumors

• "He left Ul'Dah to go work at some fancy place in La Noscea."
• "I heard that he spends almost all his time training. You'd think he'd be good by now."
• "Watch out for that one, he's been around."

Moderate Rumors

• "The man's always in street and bar fights, it's like he can't stop."
• "He sells himself on the street and pickpockets -- I heard he robs people in alleyways, too."
• "Saw him smacking around a woman he was with, how weak is that?"

Rare Rumors

• "He's a dead ringer for that old bandit who ran a racket out in Thanalan a few years back -- but that guy's dead, and this guy's a moron."
• "I heard he's got a bounty on his head. What for? I don't even know."
• "Don't trust him, he's a murderer."

PC Rumors

• "Nature probably didn't want me to save him." - Zach Coldsteel
• "Eh? Yeah, he's an asshole--but I wouldn't fuck with 'em 'less y'want y'damned head smashed in. Damn good drinkin' partner, though." - Val Nunh
• "Infuriatingly cocky bastard...knows how to push every button. Berry knows how to get shit done though..." - Corin Winterborne
• "Some can never turn their sordid lives around; others can. Berrod knows what a second chance is and even if he is... 'rough' around the edges, he is a good man. Always keep that in mind when dealing with him." - Kayllen Stormbringer

History/Timeline

At the tender age of three, Berrod was taken away from Ala Mhigo by his mother, who sought to flee from the invasion of the Garlean Empire. In an effort to buy them more time to escape, his father remained behind to fight and was presumably killed in action.

Berrod's early life was spent in the rough environments of over-crowded refugee camps, which moulded him into a tough and sometimes violent child. When he was eight he bore witness to his mother being robbed, beaten, raped and subsequently killed by a pair of men from another camp. He was dragged off with them and made to serve a leader of a small gang within the camp.

The boy spent the next five years in captivity and servitude, treated rather roughly by all his captors save one, an old Monk who had once served with the Fist of Rhalgr. The man taught him how to defend himself without a weapon, and how to strike down those who did him wrong. While the old man had no intention for Berrod to actually use the knowledge, the then thirteen year old boy used it to hatch a plot of vengeance against his captor and the men who murdered his mother.

At the end of the fifth year he struck, murdering the leader of the gang while he laid with one of his women. The young boy offered the woman and the old Monk a chance to escape. The Monk declined and together Berrod and the woman left for the boy's former camp. With five years gone, the inhabitants had long forgotten him and considered him an invader from the other settlement. It took some doing, but he and is charge managed to convince the bristling group to let them in. Berrod bargained with the leader of the camp to help teach the young men and women how to fight, based on what he had learned from the Monk.

Order collapsed in the other, more violent camp and while they reeled in conflict for leadership, Berrod trained with the young men and women, taking three years to groom them into a veritable fighting force. By the time the other camp recovered and decided to try an invasion to expand their territory, Berrod's camp was ready. They defeated the invaders and offered the fighters amnesty on the grounds that they would fight for Berrod's camp. The influence this course of events granted the sixteen year old Hyur over the people quickly led to him becoming the leader of the now combined camps. At that time, the old Monk who had trained him was nowhere to be found.

The consolidated camp enjoyed a year of relative prosperity before the massive Garlean invasion and the Calamity struck. Their numbers were decimated and their resources all but obliterated. Left with only the strongest and toughest among the group, the hardened young man resolved to do whatever it took to survive. That resolve led to the formation of a deadly group of bandits who took up territory in Thanalan and had no mercy on any who would oppose or impose upon them. The group distanced themselves from their Ala Mhigan heritage and began recruiting from outside their race.

The need for survival turned to greed, and after three years Berrod had become a ruthless Bandit ringleader, going under the name Redhammer. It was only a matter of time before their operations drew the notice of the authorities. With the help of a few mercenaries, the Immortal Flames swept through Berrod's base of operations, overwhelming his forces. Those who were not killed or allowed to run were captured. Berrod himself was taken down in a rather rough battle, left for dead with a grisly head injury.

When he awoke he found himself in a pile of corpses taken out to be burned, and managed to crawl away and into the desert. He made it only two malms before collapsing of fatigue and blood-loss once more. The twenty year old man was found and picked up by a merchant travelling to Ul'Dah, who nursed him back to health over a period of six months. Berrod, however, had no memory of several things he had done during his lifetime, including his leadership, his crimes -- and his training. The man was very nearly a blank slate. He recalled his proper name, had vague recollections of his mother, and understood in his heart that he had a very rough time growing up.

In an effort to make the best of things, the powerful-looking Highlander decided to leave the forgotten past behind and focus only on the future. He thanked the merchant for helping him and worked with him for six months before parting ways. Adopting the ways of a common street thug, Berrod resolved to live life to the fullest and began another regime of rigorous training within his tour of Ul'Dahn life.

It's been three years since then, and his story is still being written.

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