Uther Skystrider

Uther Skystrider is a self-exiled Dragoon of Ishgard. He currently is wandering Gridania and the Black Shroud as an adventurer.

Error creating thumbnail: File missing  Uther Skystrider
Error creating thumbnail: File missing Of the Sky, From the Sky, For the Sky
Dragoon-in-Exile
Gender	Male
Race	Hyur
Clan	Midlander
Citizenship	Ishgard
Nameday	15th Sun of the Fourth Umbral Moon, 1553 (24 cycles old)
Deity	Halone, the Fury

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Basic Info

Nicknames/Aliases: Strider

Place of Birth: Ishgard

Place of Residence: Currently resides at the Lancer's Guild in Gridania

Height: 5 fulms, 8 ilms

Weight: ~150 ponze

Hair Color: Brown

Eye Color: Brown

Occupation: Monster Hunter, Adventurer, Wood Wailer (former, still helps out), Instructor at the Lancer's Guild (part-time, unofficial), Dragoon of Ishgard (former)

Skills: Though he rarely speaks of it, Uther is a skilled Dragoon and is able to combine lance combat with stunning acrobatics, agility, and speed. He is a master chocobo rider and handler. He has become a skillful tracker in recent cycles. Uther is a great combatant all-around, but specializes in dealing with large monsters in particular. He is literate, and has an interest in history.

Flaws: Uther is terrible at the use of magic and hi-tech weaponry. Guns and spells are useless in his hands, and he prefers what he calls "weapons of a nobler time" such as swords, shields, axes, and most of all lances.

Likes Adventure, danger, damsels in distress, chocobos, history, literature, music, cold weather, monsters (as an interest. still kills them.), fishing

Dislikes: Greed, nosey people, lust, dragons, deserts, bullies, drunkards, bandits

History: The Skystriders

To learn about Uther, it is important to learn about his family history.

Heimdal Hammerstone

Uther's great-great-grandfather was a Highlander named Heimdal Hammerstone. Heimdal was a quarry worker and stone mason for Ala Mhigo many, many cycles ago. During his youth, Heimdal was a skilled navigator and survivalist. After losing his job, Heimdal quickly grew frustrated with the class system of Ala Mhigo and vowed to find a better life for his wife and himself so that they could start a family. Heimdal Hammerstone, along with his wife Helga and another family of Highlanders set a course out of Ala Mhigo and into the mountains. For many cycles, the family traveled West through the Northern mountains of Eorzea. Finally, the family settled in Coerthas, on the outskirts of Ishgard. There, Helga gave birth to their son, Olaf.

Olaf Oakwind

Olaf was given the surname "Oakwind" by the citizens of Ishgard. Oak, for his stature and strength, and Wind for his family's journey across the mountains. When Olaf was a young man, his father Heimdal died of disease. Olaf found work as a farmer and chocobo breeder to take care of his mother, who soon died of disease as well. Living on the outskirts of Ishgard, Olaf met a young Highlander woman who had also migrated from Ala Mhigo. The two fell in love and had three children. When the children were ages seven, five, and two, the family was attacked by a passing dragon. To protect his family, Olaf Oakwind took a lance he had bought from a Dragoon for hunting purposes, and nobly faced the dragon. Olaf slayed the dragon, though it cost him his life. In the dragon's final act of terror, it destroyed the farm, killing Olaf's entire family with the exception of his seven year old son, Skadi.

Skadi Skystrider

Skadi was taken in by a merchant family. Inspired by his father's selfless deed, Skadi grew up training with lances and halberds. At the age of only fifteen, he helped Ishgard fight off a wyvern bombardment, and was made Dragoon. His training continued and he soon was given the surname "Skystrider" for his mastery of the Dragoon style of aerial, jumping combat. Skadi Skystrider became a living legend among the citizens of Ishgard. Not only as one of very, very few Highlander Dragoons, but as an extremely cunning and powerful knight. Skadi met and married a Midlander woman and had four sons, who were all trained to be Dragoons and carry on the Skystrider name. One of the four sons was Uther's father, Skald. Skadi continued to battle dragons for Ishgard until age caught up with him and he was finally slain in battle.

Skald Skystrider

Skadi was succeeded by his four sons. The oldest son was Skald Skystrider, who continued Skadi's service to Ishgard as a royal Dragoon and servant of Halone, the Fury. Skald had a rocky start, being shunned by other Hyur as a "half-breed" between Midlander and Highlander. Through this struggle, Skald grew wise beyond his years. Equipped with a righteous set of morals and the training that comes with being the son of Skadi Skystrider, Skald brought glory to the Skystrider name. It is said that he even surpassed his father in skill and cunning. Skald married Josephine Miller, a Midlander chocobo breeder and merchant. With Josephine, Skald had four children. The children, being three-quarters Midlander, were given Midlander names in hopes that they would not suffer the same prejudice that Skald had. The three sons were named Arthur, Bors, and Uther; the daughter, Gwendolyn. Skald trained all of his children to be Dragoons and carry on the family name. An old man now, Skald is retired with great honor and fortune from his cycles as a dragon slayer.

History: Uther Skystrider

Early Life

Uther Skystrider is the youngest of four children, and closest resembles a Midlander. Being neither as tall or strong as his elder siblings, Uther is very much the runt of the litter. Growing up as the son of Skald Skystrider, Uther was trained in lance combat from a very early age. By the time he was ten cycles old, Uther already felt the lance was an extension of his own body. Aside from the art of dragon slaying, Uther was trained by his mother in reading, writing, mathematics, and chocobo handling. After his hours of training every day, Uther would be taught history by his father. At the age of fifteen, when he was ready, he began accompanying his father and siblings into battle against wyverns.

Life and Romance as a Dragoon

During his first battle, Uther was injured by a wyvern's talon and was sent to be healed by the mages. While recovering, Uther met and became romantically involved with a young Elezen white mage named Igraine. Upon healing, Uther returned to the front lines with his family. For two cycles, Uther spent his days battling dragons and having secret meetings with Igraine. When Uther was seventeen, he and Igraine married in secrecy. This romance turned out to be a curse for Uther, as the next cycle, Igraine gave her life to save him. While battling a dragon that he could not defeat on his own, Igraine threw herself into the fight and allowed herself to be eaten by the dragon. Once the dragon had devoured Igraine, he dropped dead due to the poison that she had coated her robes with. She had saved Uther's life, at the cost of her own.

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. A cycle had passed and his reputation for his fierce, agility-based lance combat had grown. As time went on, Uther began to notice the swelling and reddening of Dalamud more and more. He believed it was a sign of great cataclysm and consulted his father about it. Uther told his father that he was inspired by the selflessness of Igraine and that he wished to aid the Grand Companies of Eorzea in fighting whatever evil could be coming to their world. Skald cautioned Uther that if he abandoned Ishgard, he would never be able to return.

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, and he had learned of the growing size and frequency of monsters in Eorzea. Finally, Uther decided to sneak away in the night and go into exile. Uther planned to aid the Grand Companies in whatever battle was ahead, but unfortunately only reached the Black Shroud before Dalamud fell and Bahamut was released.

The Past Five Cycles

After the fall of Dalamud, the Black Shroud was devastated. Uther traveled to Gridania, and upon seeing the destruction, decided to stay and help rebuild. Once Gridania was rebuilt, Uther had no final battle to participate in and no city to call home. Without any specific goals, Uther turned to adventuring. His cycles as a Dragoon gave him the skills he needed to specialize in monster hunting. For the past five cycles, Uther has been moving adventure-to-adventure, sometimes for gil, sometimes to help out, and sometimes just for the thrill of battle. He has also spent a decent amount of time as a Wood Wailer, protecting Gridania, and as a member of the Lancer's Guild.

Personality

Uther Skystrider is truly a knight at heart. He values honor and courage above all else, and lives by a personal code of ethics that can be akin to chivalry or Bushido. Despite this, Uther is also a young adventurer and therefore possesses a healthy amount of spunk and arrogance. After fighting dragons for four cycles, it is clear that Uther doesn't scare easy. He prefers the name "Strider", a shortened version of his last name, while away from Ishgard, and will introduce himself as such. He was given the nickname during his first moon in the Black Shroud by a Wood Wailer. Uther is also quite bright; often claiming that his intelligence, not his lance, is his greatest weapon. His intellect not only makes him a great tactician, but a fine networker as well. He is thus very good at keeping friendships intact even while traveling alone. In social situations Uther is usually good-humored and fun, while in combat his personality quickly turns to a serious and steely demeanor. While not necessarily a born leader, barking orders in battle comes naturally to Uther as a man of intellect and charisma.

On the negative side, Uther is a bit of a workaholic and sometimes even an adrenaline-junkie. He spends most of his time trying to fulfill contracts or help the locals. This makes him a great asset to those in need, but also negatively affects his social life. He has not had or been interested in any sort of romance since the death of Igraine, six cycles ago.

Speech - When speaking, Uther Skystrider will call most people by their last names. If he does not know the person, he tends to use a defining characteristic. Examples of this are: Sweetheart, Lady, Beardo, Big Guy, Bed-Head, Blondie, Little Kid (for Lalafell), etc. He doesn't intend to offend people with this habit, but sometimes that is the end result. Other than this quirk, he is usually very polite and sociable. He enjoys telling and hearing stories, and loves a good joke.

Religion - Uther's time away from his home has led to a much more lax view of Halone the Fury than the rest of Ishgard. He worships mostly out of habit and homesickness rather than genuine belief. He believes that the Twelve are real, though they are not all-powerful or all-important in his daily life. His patron deity remains Halone the Fury primarily out of nostalgia and nationalism.

On a side note, even though Uther Skystrider is generally a calm and calculating fighter, it is not extremely rare to see him let out the occasional battle roar (especially when injured).

OOC: I didn't realize this analogy until after fully defining the character, but Uther's attitude in some situations can be likened to Errol Flynn's in The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938). He is somewhat of a Neutral-to-Chaotic Good alignment.

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 jaw and musculature of the Highlanders. His hair is brown, short, and generally unkempt. Other than his strong jawline, 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 craftsman clothes with his sleeves rolled up. He wears plain colors such as grays, browns, greens, whites, and blacks. 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 Gevoux: 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 two cycles later. She died at the age of twenty when she sacrificed herself to save Uther by coating her robes in poison and allowing herself to be eaten by a dragon.

Other Notes

Common Rumors

"He's not a forestborn, that's for damn sure. He showed up around five cycles ago. Didn't know a single one of us, yet he gave all he had to help us rebuild anyway. Bless that boy." - Old Midlander

"Chivalry is a rare thing these days. I swear that man is something out of a fairy tale. It's a shame he's been hanging around with those dirty adventurers." - Elezen Woman

Moderate Rumors

"He spends most of his time at the Lancer's Guild. He was already one of the best there in his first week. Think he's one of them geniuses or... something else?" - Gossipy Miqo'te

"I remember when he joined the Wood Wailers. He didn't get along with most of us. Now that I remember it, he's the one who started the brawl at the Bannock last cycle. Ha! Good times... Still though, that kid is more vigilante than guard when it comes to the Shroud." - Veteran Wood Wailer

"He showed up here from the Northwest. Had nothing with him but a lance. You know what that means as well as I do..." - Concerned Lalafell

"I was running through the Shroud on my way to Bentbranch and I got attacked by one of those Ixali guys! I was so scared! I knew I shouldn't have tried to deliver my dad's note by myself, but I really wanted to impress him, see! And oh-- where was I? Oh yeah! So this Ixali comes screaming out of the trees about to lop my stupid head off and BAM! Strider comes out of nowhere! I guess he was jumping, but it looked like he was GLIDING! With ONE HAND he completely impales that ol' bird on his lance! I was so scared! --No, I didn't cry!-- ...Yeah, he walked me home." - Lalafell Child

Rare Rumors

"Ever see him train? None of the lancers can keep up. Not with those acrobatics." - Nosey Craftsman

"He's a Wood Wailer and an instructor of some kind at the Lancer's Guild. I know that for sure. What I don't know is where he goes when he isn't doing those things. No adventurer organization has taken him in yet. He seems to be laying low." - Map Vendor

"I saw him praying the other night. He didn't strike me as the particularly religious type. He was praying to Halone. I heard a few names in there. Skald, Gwendolyn, and I think someone named Arthur. He also mentioned the name 'Igraine' about one hundred times. Poor kid, wonder if he's praying for his family." - Tavern Frequenter

"He has the look, the smell, the feel, of someone who's ridden the wind... And fought back the thunder." - Mysterious Elezen

Player Rumors