Uther Skystrider

DON'T BE ALARMED: Uther Skystrider is now Elezen! Do not attempt to adjust your monitor settings!

Still waiting on my Phial of Fantasia, so bare with me ICly.

Error creating thumbnail: File missing  Uther Skystrider
Error creating thumbnail: File missing Of the Sky, From the Sky, For the Sky
The Wandering Knight
Gender	Male
Race	Elezen
Clan	Wildwood
Citizenship	Ishgard
Nameday	11th Sun of the Second Astral Moon, 1546 (31 cycles old)
Deity	Halone, the Fury
Affiliations	House Fortemps, Misericorde, Order of the Twin Serpent

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Basic Info

Birth Name: Uther Fortemps

Nicknames/Aliases: Uther (the) Skystrider

Place of Birth: Ishgard

Place of Residence: Lancer's Guild, Old Gridania. Otherwise nomadic.

Height: 6 fulms, 4 ilms

Weight: ~200 ponze

Hair Color: Brown

Eye Color: Brown

Occupation: Lancer's Guild instructor, Crew member of the Misericorde, Ishgard Dragoon (former)

Skills: Uther is extremely skilled in the use of lances, spears, and polearms as weapons, as well as the acrobatic skills consistent with Dragoon training. He is the quintessential Dragoon right down to his core. He is also a highly capable chocobo handler and mounted combatant. His minor, non-combative skills include fishing, tracking, hunting, and conversing. He is very charismatic. He has a great knowledge of large monsters throughout Eorzea, most notably dragons. He is also literate and quite intelligent.

Flaws: Uther has no skill for magic or firearms. Being a true knight, he does not have a knack for modern weaponry or the occult.

Likes Animals, forests, danger, fishing, damsels in distress, jokes, stories, music, literature, history, daylight

Dislikes: Deserts, dragons, greed, cowardice, drunkards, zealots

History

Early Life

Uther Fortemps was born into nobility, as a member of the Fortemps High House. His father, Ector Fortemps, trained Uther, his elder brother Arthur, and his elder sister Guinnevere, in lance combat from the moment they could walk. By the age of fifteen, Uther was already heading to battle for the first time as a full-fledged Dragoon, chosen by the Eye. Aside from his combat training, he was taught to act as any knight of noble blood should. He was well educated in history, mathematics, and religion. Uther, like the rest of Ishgard's citizens, was raised to worship Halone with extreme conviction.

Life and Romance as a Dragoon

Uther Fortemps was sent to battle at the age of fifteen alongside his siblings and father. Being neither as experienced or athletic as his family members, he was quickly and abruptly injured by a wyvern and taken to the infirmary. During his time in recovery, Uther met a young healer named Igraine, a noble from the Durendaire House. The two quickly fell in love. Igraine and Uther were both well-educated and enjoyed conversing with passing adventurers during their downtime. Uther became increasingly interested in the outside world, and his chivalry bound him to feel sympathetic for their many plights. Despite his empathy, Uther always felt that his place was in Ishgard, fighting the Holy War.

At the age of twenty-one, Uther and Igraine married. Life was hard with both of them being constantly called off to perform their duties to their nation, but that is life in Ishgard. The next year, the couple had a son whom they named Bedevere. For two years, the young Elezen lovers managed to scrape all of the joy they could from their simple life, and they were truly happy. Finally, Uther was sent away to battle once again, leaving Igraine and Bedevere behind the gates of a fortress on the opposite side of Coerthas. While Uther was away, the fortress was attacked by a wyvern bombardment. Igraine, who was not a fighter, coated her robes in poison and allowed herself to be eaten alive in an attempt to buy time for the residents to flee.

The Swelling of Dalamud

Instead of closing himself off from the world and becoming emotionally distant, Uther became more and more diligent after the passing of Igraine. He became a better Dragoon and began reading books with a passion. He allowed himself to be swallowed completely in his work. Only slightly more than a cycle had passed and his reputation for his fierce, agility-based lance combat had grown significantly. During this time, Dalamud began to swell more and more as Uther began hearing rumors of monsters growing in size, frequency, and aggression. It wasn't long before word reached Ishgard of a united military known as the Grand Companies of Eorzea. The Grand Companies were ignored by Ishgard. It was decreed that any Dragoon who left the city gates to aid the Grand Companies would be henceforth exiled from Ishgard.

Exile

Uther Skystrider thought for weeks; weighing his guilt for not helping the outside world and his fear of being banished from his home. Staying in Ishgard was only bringing Uther pain through the memory of his lost love. The growing isolationism of the city, mixed with their zealous ignorance began to bother Uther, who saw himself as a true son of Ishgard. Finally, and with much hesitation, Uther packed his things and took up his lance and made for the borders of the city-state. Skald cautioned his son that if he truly intended to leave, he would be disinherited and forgotten by the family. Despite this warning, and a physical (as well as emotional) confrontation with his brother Arthur, Uther left to aid the rest of Eorzea.

The Past Five Cycles

Disinherited by his family, Uther Skystrider headed to, what he believed to be, the final battleground. As Uther was passing through the Black Shroud, Dalamud fell and released Bahamut. The devastation was nearly total. Uther survived, relatively unharmed, and immediately headed to Gridania to help others. Seeing the destruction, chivalry bound Uther to help rebuild the city-state. Once Gridania was rebuilt, Uther found himself without a home and without any specific goals. Because of this, he turned to adventuring. Over the past five cycles, Uther has been adventuring around Gridania and the Black Shroud under the name "Strider" (a shortened version of his surname); sometimes for gil, sometimes to fight boredom, and sometimes just to help out. For a more reliable source of income, Uther has taken up work as a part-time instructor at the Gridania Lancer's Guild where he is able to show off his skills from what feels like a lifetime ago.

Personality

Social: Uther Skystrider is a true white knight at heart. He is always willing to help out anyone who he feels truly needs it. Though he is both courteous and generous, one should not assume that he is a pushover or a goody-two-shoes. Depending on the situation, Uther will be the first to stand up for himself or crack a joke. He thoroughly enjoys stories, music, and humor. He can be exceedingly clever and witty when he puts his mind to it, and he has a great deal of charisma. While some would go as far as to say he is a natural leader, he tends to stick to supporting roles. His greatest social weaknesses are his stubborn idealism and moral naivete. He tends to see most situations in black and white.

Combat: In combat, Uther continues his white knight approach. He is valorous and brave, furious and fearsome. Uther is a seasoned fighter and will not hesitate to strike first and strike true. He will always stand up for what he believes in, even in the face of death. Unfortunately, this can be seen as headstrong and idealist, and it can sometimes put him against foes he can not always best.

Religion: Growing up in Ishgard, Uther was taught to worship Halone the Fury. This is a tradition that he continues to this day. It is worth noting, however, that he very much despises the zealous worshiping to his deity that is law in his homeland. His time in Gridania has opened Uther's eyes to other belief systems and he has great respect for all forms of worship and lack-there-of.

Speech: Uther Skystrider speaks more-or-less the same as everyone else. His few quirks consist of calling elders or authority figures "sir" and "ma'am" by habit, even when he has little or no respect for them. In social situations he has been found to talk more and more frequently as he gets to know someone. This can be confusing for some because of how much it varies. While in groups that he is unfamiliar with, he tends to be the strong and silent type, and inversely, with groups that he has known for some time he is a humorous chatterbox. He has a few Ishgardian phrases that he tends to only mutter when not paying attention to his surroundings. For example, in a dire or surprising situation, he has been known to say things such as "By the Sea of Clouds", "Great Halone!", and "Oh my spears and lances".

Appearance

Physical

Uther is approximately 5'8. He has a lithe, but strong build. His muscles are toned and lean, while not bulging so much as to hinder movement. His greatest physical asset is his agility. Using great agile movements to dodge dragon talons, jaws, and fire, he is also a master of the Dragoon jump attack. In addition to his agility, he possesses surprising strength and durability. Uther is a little less than average height for a Midlander, though he possesses the chiseled musculature of the Highlanders. His hair is brown, medium length, and generally unkempt. Uther is quite average in the face for a man of his age. His eyes are brown and could be described as neither big nor small. His nose is similar in regard to size. However, his average looks are negated by two long, but thin, scars on his face. The scars are seemingly from the same cut, though there is a break and slight change of direction between the two.

Clothing and Armor

As a wanderer and adventurer, Uther tends to wear durable clothes that he does not mind getting dirty. He usually dresses in crafting or farming clothes of drab colors such as grays, browns, greens, dull reds or blues, whites, and blacks. In his every day clothes he is somewhat partial to high collars, scarves, or neck bandannas. He also dislikes wearing headwear, though he will make exceptions when weather calls for it. (An example of this would be wearing a turban or hood in the heat of Thanalan to protect his skin.)

His armor is usually simple harnesses, doublets or chainmail. He believes his armor should protect him while hindering as little movement as possible.

Affiliations

Skald Skystrider: Uther's father. Skald is the eldest son of the legendary Skadi Skystrider. Skald is widely considered one of the greatest Dragoons of his generation. His three brothers were also Dragoons, though Skald is the only one to live long enough to retire.

Josephine Miller: Josephine is Uther's mother. She is a Midlander, much like Uther's grandmother. Josephine was a chocobo breeder and trader, and as such, had quite a bit of contact with the outside world in her youth. She is well-educated and taught Uther and his siblings how to read and write, and a great deal about the outside world.

Arthur Skystrider: Arthur is the eldest son of Skald Skystrider, being seven cycles older than Uther. He is very wise for his age and is a natural leader. He is said to be the greatest tactician of the family. He speaks rarely, though when he does his words are weighted. While Arthur is as tall as any Highlander, he has the facial features and figure of a Midlander. Arthur is Uther's role model.

Gwendolyn Skystrider: Gwendolyn is Uther's sister and the only daughter of Skald Skystrider. She is five cycles older than Uther. She very much possesses the muscle structure and rough demeanor of a Highlander, despite being three-quarters Midlander. She is blonde like her mother, whereas the rest of the family has brown hair. Initially, Skald wished her to be a chocobo breeder like her mother, but instead she opted to be a spear-maiden. She is just as skilled in the Dragoon arts as her brothers.

Bors Skystrider: Bors is Uther's older brother and the second-to-youngest son, being three cycles older than Uther. Bors is very brutish in combat. He possesses all of the physical qualities of a Highlander, though is only slightly taller than the average Midlander. Of the siblings, Uther and Bors have the closest relationship. Bors tends to pick on Uther for being shorter and skinnier than the rest of the family, while Uther usually jabs at Bors' childish state of mind. Bors holds the nickname "Berserker Bors" for his loud and head-strong combat style.

Igraine Jevoux: Igraine was an Elezen white mage and combat healer for Ishgard's Dragoons. She was two cycles older than Uther, and fell in love with him when he was brought to the infirmary to be healed after his first battle at the age of fifteen. They kept their romance a secret from both of their families, and eventually married. She died at the age of twenty-one when she sacrificed herself to save others by coating her robes in poison and allowing herself to be eaten by a dragon. She had given birth just days before she died, though the child was and is to this day kept a secret from Uther.

Bedivere Windborne: Bedivere is the son of Igraine and Uther. At the start of A Realm Reborn Bedivere is only six cycles old. His mother was killed the day after he was born and he has never met his father, who does not know of his existence. After his mother's death, Bedivere was taken in and raised by a zealous church devoted to Halone. Throughout his life he will learn that his father is "Uther the Exiled, Traitor of Ishgard" and grow up hating him. He is one-eighth Highlander, three-eighths Midlander, one-quarter Wildwood, and one-quarter Duskwight and thus is quite peculiar looking. He resembles a tall, silver-haired Midlander with pointy ears, chiseled muscles, and slightly long arms at adulthood. Though Bedivere will most likely never be mentioned in-game, he is a key antagonist in future Fan Fiction stories about the older Uther Skystrider.

Other Notes

Common Rumors

Moderate Rumors

Rare Rumors

Player Rumors

OOC Inspirations

When creating Uther Skystrider, I took a lot of inspiration from Robin Hood, King Arthur, and Wilfred of Ivanhoe.