Eddard Holt

Eddard Holt
Gender	Male
Race	Hyur
Clan	Midlander
Citizenship	Ul'dah
Age	20
Occupation	"Sellsword"
Orientation	Heterosexual

Basic Info

Eddard is a fighter that can be seen working around Ul'dah often, just recently being able to do so after escaping life as a refugee around the wall and finding himself in the Gladiator's Guild. Naming himself a sellsword by trade, he very rarely speaks about it despite how much of his time occupies. With a grumpy disposition and tendency to snap, he is not someone many would consider friendly from the start. When this demeanor is tamed, he is more agreeable than one might expect. In addition to his work around Ul'dah, he is a recruitment officer for the Pathfinder free company and bartender for its tavern "Neverfar's." He also was the one that created its popular drink, "Mop Water."

LIKES ■ Fighting (whether it be for coin or sport) ■ Being around companions ■ Bartending ■ Hot springs or similar ways to relax

DISLIKES ■ Brass Blades ■ Conflict between company members ■ Smithing ■ Dishonesty, especially if caused by greed ■ Nosiness

Characteristics ■ He is trained in the use of sword and shield. He is mildly experienced with bare handed combat. ■ His moods can greatly vary, ranging from collected and amiable one night to stubborn and belligerent the next. ■ He does not talk about himself often, instead looking to hear the stories of others. Changing the subject if turned onto him is common. ■ Sick of Ul'dah and the surrounding sands, he wants to travel to the other parts of Eorzea. Unfortunately, he is mostly bound to his home for the time being. ■ He can be knowingly hypocritical, advising one action while taking the opposite himself.

Appearance & Personality

Eddard was very scrawny in his younger years due to lack of consistent meals but this has changed a large deal in more recent years. He is not enormous in physique but his muscles are toned and confident, boasting formidable strength to match their appearance. Being on the taller side for a Midlander helps in the efforts to be strong, allowing his strength to keep up with most, save any hulking Highlanders or Roegadyns. His black hair is partially dyed a shade of turquoise, the habit starting when a friend practiced on him just for him to find out he enjoyed the look. He has turquoise eyes which have a narrow gaze. He has numerous scars on his body, the most prominent being the one across his nose. He has a tattoo on his left cheek.

Eddard does not present himself as a person that values the joy of speaking with new people. With a scowl commonly on his face his approachability is very low, even more so when his typical grumbles or grunts are used to respond to those that approach him. Depending on the day, some may be so unfortunate as to hear his voice raise in anger for just asking how he is. He can be very stand off-ish and puts up barriers when he feels they're needed, despite how harmful he's told and knows it is.

In the event that his sour tendency doesn't get the better of him, Eddard can be an amicable person. Smiles are still hard to find on his face with any he manages to muster being subtle but he holds friendly conversation well enough and shows plenty of interest in what the others have to say. He enjoys making people feel welcome under the Pathfinders roof beyond the reasoning of being nice to customers. Regardless of his mood that day, he will almost always rush to the side of a companion should they need it. Many will come to realize that his harsh attitude is more of an act a lot of the time, trying to present himself as a loner when he needs companionship just as much as anyone else.

He does not inform many on the more specific details of his life, such as what jobs he takes or what he did before getting off the wall. Such things have been topics before but he does his best to omit details he wants to avoid, which is a large portion of them. This often results in very vague or dishonest answer. If he can help it, he may even try to shift the subject, dismissing the idea of him having to speak about himself. This trait has caused criticism from company members before, a criticism he often responds to in angered tones.

Biography

Childhood

Eddard's family was not one accustomed to having money. Although they could make ends meet, doing anything more than that was a rare luxury. Eddard usually had to help make these ends meet in some form or another, whether it be through helping his father with his smithing or helping his mother with delivering the orders his father was fulfilling. Happy to help, Eddard hardly ever complained about his situation. Never having material possessions of much worth, Eddard learned to hold his family as his most prized possession. Hardly anything else mattered to him.

His father planted an early interest of smithing into Eddard, the boy showing fair potential in his efforts. There were of course bumps in the roads of his lessons but his father taught him about such things in life too. "There will be always be walls in our way, it is life's test for us to find the strength to break them down." His mother was more strict than his father, the boy not being able to joke around on her trips as he could in his father's workshop. This did not meant he disliked her. She held a confidence with herself that showed in the air around her which he admired. She spoke well and people liked to listen, a strong trait for a saleswoman. She made sure Eddard knew how to do the same, teaching him how to handle customers and speak in a way that made him sound educated and worthy of respect. She meant no slight to her husband but his "brutish" language was one of the reasons she liked to handle the business end without him. Eddard learned from her but also picked up plenty "brutish" words from him. Loving them both, Eddard was content. Still, they were not spared from Bahamut's fury.

Teenage

Now an orphan, Eddard found himself with no coin, no food, no help. Work around the city was hard to find, especially for a boy his age. He considered finding means to Limsa Lominsa to study with the Blacksmith's Guild but the thought of smithing filled him with nothing but pain as it reminded him too much of his father, making the large effort needed not worth it. Instead, Eddard turned to petty crimes, stealing either food or coin to sustain himself. He slept alongside the city's wall, alone, dreaming of days past as he considered the worth of continuing the miserable endeavor of survival he was put into. To lift his spirits, fate led him in the direction of a group of friends. They were all in the same situation as him, all just as jaded that Ul'dah's extreme class divide made recovering so difficult. With them, Eddard's petty crimes turned into more serious crimes. It wasn't long before they considered themselves bandits.

Eddard constantly felt remorse for the crimes he would start to commit with this group. Although they were not especially heinous, they were enough to weigh on his conscience. Not wanting to go against his friends, he followed through with their criminal desires with blind loyalty. He didn't want to feel alone again so he had no choice but to go along with them. Even when they became part of a larger bandit group led by a notorious criminal, Eddard still did not back down. His crimes became worse and worse, this group finding most of its profits in human trafficking. He was no longer just stealing coin; he was stealing mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers. He grew to loathe himself more with every day, knowing his parents would be ashamed to know what their son had come to. Still, he did what he had to in order to keep his companions by his side. Mistakes beyond his control eventually made this an impossibility. Eddard found himself feeling alone yet again and more scared about his situation than ever.

Present

A series of events led Eddard away from bandit camps to inside the city where he went to the Gladiator's Guild to train. Eddard now works for the Pathfinders Free Company as a bartender, recruiting officer, and sellsword. He does a large amount of work around Ul'dah often being seen working with the Blades as a hired hand. He has made new companions since his change in lifestyles but puts a wall up to prevent any of them from becoming too close. The constant dismissal of his own problems has irritated more than one member of his company. This has not stopped him from keeping distance. He refuses to allow anyone to get involved in his own battles, claiming he isn't worth the air he breathes if he can't escape it himself. Looking past this trait as well as his attitude, he has been told by several company members that he is a good man. He has yet to agree and isn't sure he ever will.

Miscellaneous

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) ■ "Not exactly a people person. He'll grumble and grunt conversations to you if he talks at all." - Quicksand Waitress ■ "He has the determination and the strength in the ring, so long as his anger doesn't blur his focus." - Mentor at the Gladiator's Guild ■ "He mixes a good drink! His "Mop Water" is tasty!" - Customer of Neverfar's Tavern ◢ Moderate Rumors (Moderately difficult to overhear) ■ "It was some surprise to see him armor clad for the first time; he's come a long way since his days on the wall." - Ul'dah Sellsword ■ "I see him doing work for the Blades all the time but haven't once seen them put coin in his hand." - Brass Blades Recruit ■ "He'll raise his voice over the littlest things, even to customers if they misbehave just a little." - Chef for Neverfar's Tavern ◢ Rare Rumors (Very difficult or rarely overheard) ■ "He hasn't been right since his parents passed on. I've heard of him robbing plenty of people and I'm sure he's still up to it now." - Ul'dah Merchant ■ "He's a shady one. I've seen 'im talk nice 'n' low to some suspicious folk 'round here." - Drunk at the Coin and Coffer ■ "He used to travel with some other kids his age all the time but he's the only one of the group anyone's seen for a while. Some are suspicious that his anger got the best of him one day." - Gossip at the Quicksand ◢ PC Rumors (Rumors from the character's of other players) ■ "Oh yeah, Mr. Grump who mans the counter at the Free Company tavern. Not a fan of him myself!" - Cullen West ■ "Oh, Ed? He's....a jerk. A complete one. Until you see the glimmer of the real him." - Madison Brookstone ■ "Could out-bristle a jackal and glower a coeurl into submission. I like him. One of the finest people I've met. Don't tell him I said that, though. Wouldn't believe you, anyroad." -Khoba Lhyr ■ "Master Holt is an efficient, effective, and extraordinary leader, and a man I admire abundantly. He hath shown faith and confidence in my abilities, even when I have not!" -Zigovali Rigovali

Relations ♥ Mated/Lovers/Dating    ♥ Romantic Interest/Crush/Affectionate    ♥ Sexual Desire   ● Friendly    ● Neutral    ● Negative ♥ Madison Brookstone - Madison showed attraction to Eddard quickly after they got to know each other. His mind too wrapped around his own problems, he was unwilling to consider whether or not he felt the same. He pushed her away in his rude manner, telling her to worry about herself when she asked of his dilemma. Despite being awkward for a time, their friendship is healing. He wonders if them as a couple would even function in the first place. With Madison being of Ishgard and having studied music among other things, they come from very different roots. ● Khoba Lhyr - Khoba was the first to befriend Eddard in the new company, a good first encounter since she has the unique ability of somehow enjoying his grumpy moods. Being able to smile bright as ever despite all of his grumbles and grunts, Khoba is good at dragging him away from his sour tendencies with her ceaseless upbeat nature. What Eddard considers one of her finer points is that she doesn't prod him to find out what's wrong. She simply lets him grumble and teases him all the same, enticing Eddard to tease back and distract himself from his mood. They have sparred before and he wishes to do so again. He lost once but expects a new outcome the next time. ● Chief Neverfar - Eddard's boss for his work in Neverfar's Tavern, he's always thought the Roe was very friendly, albeit strange. He once dared Chief to eat a rock to prove a point (Ashen revealed it wasn't actually a rock but Eddard found the situation equally entertaining). Always rushing in and out as he pleases, Chief is a difficult person to get a hold of. His absence is what caused Eddard to work on his bartending skills to help hold down the fort when the boss is away. ● Ashen Everyman - Eddard's boss for his work in the Pathfinders, Eddard thinks the surname "Everyman" is very fitting. He is accepting of anyone that wishes to enter his company and does his best to make sure everyone is provided for. Like Chief, Ashen is often away and busy, causing Eddard to also help in the area of recruitment. Eddard fetches the paperwork from Ashen's office and returns it to his desk once filled. It is a workload he doesn't mind since Ashen must bear the load of finalizing the paperwork with both the Blades and Flames. ● Shou Lushan - The very booky Miqo'te is an entertaining one to have around, her skill in medical magics being just as handy. After she had been absent for a time, Eddard noticed an oddness in her. Not that she wasn't odd before since she spent all day in the company archives, but she seemed skittish. She later elaborated on her dilema which he has agreed to help solve if he is able. He counts it similar to his own in some ways but acknowledges hers is on another level of grim. Despite this, he never thought of sharing his secrets in exchange for her sharing hers. ● Syf Kha - Eddard was unsure of Syf when she first applied to the Pathfinders, her unique personality being a hard thing to gauge. With some time he's come to ascertain that she is a strong friend to have and an excellent addition to their ranks. He's also determined that she can be stubborn through the observation of a talk he and two Auri members held on their front lawn. Syf tried helping Eddard notice Madison when she first arrived and did a good job of it. After he pushed Madison away due to his own secret problems, Syf scolded him for keeping these problems away from his company, saying the deceit does nothing but harm. ● Yvenalise Tachibana - Eddard knows Tachi as a skilled fighter and is the one that informed him about the Grindstone, which he hopes to participate in again should his schedule permit. Her manner of speaking makes him curious about her past and where she's from but he has not pursued the curiosity. He has spared with her but not when she was using her primary weapon. Having heard from others that she is skillful with the spear, he hopes to go against her again when they are both in their element instead of him having an edge. Footnotes and OOC Information I'm very open to a large array of RP, believing that good company is more important than subject. A night serving at Neverfar's can be plenty of fun despite its simplicity but I am not a stranger to darker themes and adore exploring the more serious side of Eorzean life. Although I consider myself a medium RPer due to my large interest in the game itself taking up a lot of time, I am willing to participate in heavier plots so long as my distribution of time between end game and other RP is respected. I like to adhere to the lore as best I can but am not against some harmless bending here or there. I will be more accepting of heavier bending as I get comfortable with an RP partner. Romantic plots can be enjoyable as well but I will say that Eddard does not lend himself to the concept too well at the moment; he will be difficult to win over. I'm available on the RPC as "Eddard" should you want to contact me there.