Grundy Byrde

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Limsa Lominsa-transparent.png Grundy Byrde
Grundy.png
Gender Male
Race Roegadyn
Clan Sea Wolf
Citizenship Limsa Lominsa
Age About 35
Class Breaker of things
Relatives Deceased
Relationship Status Oblivious to such things
Server Balmung

General Overview


Appearance:Grundy cuts an intimidating figure, towering above most at around 87 Ilms and with a muscular, bulky build forged from countless weeks of live combat. His hair - which has a peculiarly grey tone despite his age - is permanently scruffy, kept in check only by an occasional, rough trim, as is his beard.

Scars: Many scars cover Grundy's body, the majority of which are easily identified as coming from the fangs and claws of beasts. Most of the scars are quite clearly very old, though there are some that appear to be more recent.

Personality: Grundy is generally an obliviously happy individual, easily trusting of those he's just meeting for the first time - providing they haven't given him any reason not to. It could be said that he's rather childlike with his interactions with new people, having had only very limited contact with people for much of his life. While he's usually happy to meet new people, all it takes is for someone that he knows and trusts more to even suggest that someone's done something to upset or hurt them for him to flip on a dime. If there is one thing that he doesn't tolerate, it's hearing someone hurting or upsetting his friends, and he's certainly not above threatening or causing violence to those who do.

Combat: In combat, Grundy fights in a manner more befitting a beast than a man. Even the mildest provocation is enough to anger the man, and any actual injury is likely to send him flying into a bestial rage. Fighting with a focus entirely on offense at the expense of any and all defense, Grundy is a whirlwind of steel with his axe in hand, hacking and cleaving through even armoured targets as though they were but paper. While he leaves himself wide open with many of his attacks, it rarely seems to be a problem - even without his armour, the man proves himself to be terrifyingly resilient. As though his brain's flight or fight switch is constantly stuck on 'fight', pain only serves to make him angrier - and getting angrier only serves to make him hit things harder.

Likes

"Breaking" monsters
Meeting new people
"Breaking" bad people
Learning new things
"Breaking" animals
Finding new hats
"Breaking" rocks

Dislikes

Those that hurt his friends or make them sad
Particularly hot weather
Long words (three or more syllables)
Having to behave in a 'See Vill' (civil) manner in public places
Being told what to do by someone who isn't his friend
Dodos

Biography

The past forever lost

The story of the man who came to be known only as Grundy began some thirty years ago. Born to a loving Sea Wolf family, his mother and father were both skilled menders in their own right; his father favouring the art of arcanum while his mother followed the path of the conjury. Their names, along with the name of their son, were forever lost, however, when a fateful sea voyage would see their ship caught in a truly terrifying storm. In spite of the best efforts of all the brave seamen to escape it storm, the mighty waves quickly overwhelmed the ship, tearing its masts asunder and flooding its lower decks. With the inescapable reality that the ship was going down, the couple did what little they could to try to get their son to safety, combining their magicks together, whisking their young son to safety before their ship was finally overcome by the waves and taken by the sea.

Awaking on a beach somewhere in La Noscea, the young Roegadyn was left terrified and confused. With the boat and his parents nowhere to be seen, he had know idea what to do or where to go. With the rain beating down hard, he took shelter in a nearby cave, bawling his eyes out as he tried to make some sense of his situation. Did he stay here or go? No more than a child, he barely even know how to read, much less what to do in a situation like this. With the overwhelming sense of loss and despair, the boy did what any child would do in such a situation, and sat in the cave in floods of tears, hoping that if he cried hard enough, maybe he'd wake up and he'd be back on the boat with his parents.

The first breaking

As he sobbed in the darkness, he was disturbed by a sudden scuttling noise to his side. Turning just in time to see a large crab advancing towards him. While such a crab would've been a trifling matter for any full-grown adult, adventurer or no, the crab was nearly as tall as the young Roegadyn, and needless to say, quite terrifying to the boy. Whether the crab was actually aggressive or not, who could say? All the boy knew was that there was a large crab with big sharp claws coming towards him, and after the night he'd just had, he hardly felt inclined to believe it just wanted a hug.

In his panic, he tried to back away, only to find himself back up further and further into the cave, leaving himself trapped between the back of the cave wall and the crab. Grabbing hold of the nearest thing he could find - an large old dry branch that - he hefted it in both hands and swug it at the crab. Knocking it onto its side, the creature flailed about for just a moment, before righting itself and advancing again. Swinging again, the young Roegadyn struck the crab again. And again. By the time the young Roegadyn had finished bashing the creature, all that remained was a barely-recognisable puddle of viscera and chunks of shell. In fact, it was only because the branch in his hand had broken to such an extent that it was barely large enough to hold it in two hands that he had ceased his assault to begin with.

The boy in the cave

The boy spent the night in the cave. When day broke and he left the cave, he found the coast littered with driftwood - including a few pieces with clear letters written on them. While many of the letters had been lost and broken, the young Roegadyn could recognise them as part of the boat he had been travelling on yesterday - 'The Unbound Gryphon' - though the only letters to have survived were 'Un' 'd' 'Gr' 'y'. At first, he paid them no mind, intent on leaving. As he started to walk off, however, the weight of his situation hit him all at once. He didn't know where he was, he didn't know where he was going, and even if he did, he didn't know what he'd do if he actually got somewhere. Even from the mouth of the cave, he could see all sorts of wildlife that - in his eyes - were probably just waiting for someone small like him to come along for their next meal. At least in the cave, there was the illusion of safety - at least there, he could see anything that was coming and be prepared for them. Gathering up the various chunks of driftwood, the Roegadyn hauled them into the back of the cave - if something did come back, at least then he'd have something to hit it with. He decided that he'd stay in the cave for a couple more days, before trying to move on.

At least, that was the plan. The few days became a week, and that week became months. Every time he had plucked up the courage to leave, he'd see a large creature and immediately rethink his decision. He'd survive on what smaller creatures he could pray on and the few edible-looking plants he could find during the short walks he dared to take outside his cave. The longer he stayed, the less he found himself wanting to abandon the cave - his cave. After losing quite literally everything, the cave was about all he had. If he left the cave, he'd be back to nothing again - and who was to say he would even find anything else out there?

The fateful encounter

Years passed by with the Roegadyn continuing his usual routine. He'd hunt the local wildlife - which generally just meant jumping on them from behind a bush or something and hitting them with a big stick until they stopped moving. He'd wander further and further from his cave in search of food - and also out of a growing sense of wanderlust - but he'd always find his way back before the sun went. Years without civilisation or intelligent conversation, of hunting increasingly-larger monsters for both food and sport, eroded his mind and sculpted his body into the hulking form that those who know him now see. Where he had once fled even the smallest of crabs, he could now terrify even the largest of the local prey with but one furious bellow.

By the time he encountered another person, he was already a grown man, a wall of bulging muscles and terrifying power. He had just been returning to his cave from the night when he heard a loud bang. Louder than a rock - louder than a very big rock, too. Whatever it was, it was enough to catch the attention of his primitive mind. Anything that made that big of a noise could only be fun to tear to pieces. Rushing to investigate the noise, he didn't find what he expected - rather than a huge, loud beast, he found only an exceptionally large crab towering over a creature that he didn't recognise. He vaguely remembered seeing one before, but at this point, he couldn't remember when. The creature in question was actually a Hyur - it had been so long since he'd seen one the Roegadyn had all but forgotten what they were. However, even after all the years of solitude, something in his brain clicked into place to tell him that he should help the strange creature. Launching into a now well-rehearsed routine of bestial violence, he threw himself at the crab, literally tearing it limb from limb as he ripped its arm off, using the severed limb as a makeshift weapon to beat the creature to a particularly messy, violent death.

When the dust settled and the carnage was over, he turned his attention to the creature he had protected. A string of vaguely familiar noises came out of its mouth, and something about them seemed vaguely familiar to the Roegadyn. Speech had been something he hadn't encountered or practiced in many years, and though he felt like he knew what the noise was, he couldn't understand what most of it was supposed to mean. What followed was a conversation that could only be described as 'painful'. Neither side entirely understood what the other was saying - the Roe's own words being mostly nonsensical sounds that he appeared to be inventing on the spot - but eventually some manner of breakthrough was made. The creature was called Satomi - or Tomi, as the Roe dubbed her, as the additional third syllable was too hard to remember consistently and she was, naturally quite thankful for his help.

The man from the cave

Unfortunately, the Roegadyn had little information to give back. When asked for a name, he simply shrugged and replied that he didn't know. Of course, he had a name, but years without having to use it or hear it had caused the memory to fade from his mind. When Satomi had asked where he came from, the Roegadyn did the obvious thing, and took her back to his cave. His horrid, bone-riddled, stinking cave. The dried slabs of wood had remained there all this time, being about the only possessions he could lay claim to - the ones with the letters on proving to be insufficient for hitting things with. It only took the Hyur a few moments of looking at them and shuffling them about to come to a conclusion. "'Gr'-'Un'-'d'-'y'. Grundy. That'll suffice for your name. From now on, you are to be known as Grundy!"

And so it was from that day that the Roegadyn's identity was forged anew. The frightened boy who had took shelter in the cave while reeling from the loss of his parents was but a hazy memory lost at the back of the mind of the hulking warrior who came to be known as Grundy. While it was a slow, tedious process, his new friend Satomi was able to help the man to reintegrated into society, at least somewhat. The finer nuances and intricacies of language continue to escape him, and there are still many words and societal norms that he simple doesn't understand, but he does his best to attempt to fit in, and hasn't look back fondly at the cave ever since. With Satomi's help, Grundy was able to find his way back to society. These days, he spends much of his free time as something of a huntsman, seeking out employment in exchange for 'breaking things' - which ranges anywhere from bandits to rocks to dragons. In Grundy's eyes, the payment is really just a side-effect of his job - he mostly does it for the thrill of battle, the love of being able to break things.

Rumors

Some of these rumors are untrue or are greatly exaggerated. Please feel free to add your own rumors under PC!

◢ Common Rumors (Easily overheard)
"The lad's an idiot! Reckon 'e was dropped on 'is 'ead as a kid!" - Lominsan sailor
"Friend of mine said he threatened to snap him like a twig just for looking at his friend funny!" - Ul'Dahn citizen
"Y'ever seen 'im eat? I've seen Goobbues wi' more social grace! They prolly smell better, too!" - Quicksand patron
◢ Moderate Rumors (Moderately difficult to overhear)
"I heard he's actually some kinda magitek thing; peel away the skin and he's all gears and metal! Probably made by that Satomi girl he's always following around!" - Conspiracy-loving Lominsan
"You see how close he is to that Satomi girl? There's no way they're not more than just friends!" - Gossipping Ul'Dahn dancer
"I heard he's so ferocious he can just -scare- animals into listening to him! I guess it makes sense, I mean how else would he get a unicorn let him ride it?" - Grouchy Wood Wailer
◢ Rare Rumors (Very difficult or rarely overheard)
"I didn't see it, but I'm adamant I heard him yelling out that he loved that Satomi girl from the top of a cliff!" - Incredulous Ul'Dahn refugee
"'E's an out-of-control beast! 'E almost killed one of 'is own allies in a blind rage because 'e couldn't tell them from foe! Thank the twelve 'e stopped, I sure ain't gonna try an' stop 'im! " - Trembling Maelstrom Private
◢ PC Rumors (Rumors from the character's of other players)

Relations

Romantic Interest     Good Standing      Neutral Standing      Poor Standing
Satomi Hakase : "Tomi". Grundy's first and closest friend, who showed the big lug that there was so much more to the world than his dank cave. He blindly and obediently follows her like a trained dog, and is always more than ready to step in to protect her. The two often go hunting togeher, with an unspoken arrangement between them - Grundy breaks things, Satomi fixes Grundy, and Grundy protects Satomi. If there is any person in this world that Grundy cares about, even above himself, it's Satomi.
Erimmont Chevalier :"Monty". Another of Grundy's friends, a man who Grundy quickly took a liking to when he started to speak in small, simple words that were easy for the Roegadyn to understand. Grundy almost always cheers up whenever he sees him, the sight of one of his first new friends usually enough to raise his spirits, even though they rare drop in the first place.
Auriaune Fournier  :"Tall Lady". Despite a rather shaky introduction in which the woman had teased Satomi, causing Grundy to behave in his usual hostile, overprotective manner, Auriaune has grown to become another close friend to the sometimes-gentle giant. Even though she often tricks him - such as convincing him that he can fly with enough practice - Grundy is always happy to see her, and has been known to go out of his way to try to cheer her up after seeing her looking down.
Sheena L'aveene :"Sheena". A Lalafell who Grundy met with Satomi, and quickly became friends with due to their somewhat-similar backgrounds. The two share a mutual agreement on how strange many social norms are and how strange certain aspects of living a 'normal' life - such as wearing clothes when it's hot - are.