Rufus Wightman

Error creating thumbnail: File missing  Rufus Miller
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Gender	Male
Race	Hyur
Clan	Midlander
Citizenship	Ul'dah
Nameday	16th Sun of the 4th Astral Moon, 1552
Age	26
Guardian	Halone, the Fury
Free Company	The Tomial Order

Character

Appearance

Rufus is a somewhat taller-than-average hyur male. Sporting fairly tanned skin, previously crystal-blue eyes, now mysteriously turned grey, and a head of short,deep brown hair that generally gives off a 'disheveled' look. At times, it can make him look a little like an angry demon hellbent on consuming the souls of the innocent. At least from certain angles. His facial features are rather fair, considering his young age. The one exception to this rule would be the scar marring his brow. In addition, he also has an unusually shaped patch of skin on the left side of his head - a birthmark that is usually covered by his hair. Another marking to note, though it is unlikely to be seen is a warped patch of skin on the back of his right hand. It would appear that the symbol of Halone was burned into the skin some time ago.

At first glance, it would be easy to tell that Rufus has done some work to maintain his health. Physically, he displays many masculine traits. A solid jaw and broad shoulders. While not muscle-bound to any ridiculous degree, it should be quite obvious that he has some muscle mass. At least whenever he wears casual clothes, which is often. It is a body that has clearly been honed and built for combat for many years.

Personality

Rufus is generally a very well demeanored person overall, almost always smiling and being as nice of a person as he can be. This seems to draw people to him, which he is thankful for. He does display some rather childish tendencies from time to time, however. If it be through discovering something new, or getting into a pointless argument with a friend. In the latter cases, he tends to fall to sarcasm as his defense. He has a dry sense of humor, which generally works for him. This sometimes is a cause for internal strife, however, as he can inadvertently hurt the feelings of those he tries to joke with. Due to this, he is very quick to apologize, and feels guilty rather easily. He is also very caring and appreciative of his friends. Even going so far as to believe he is not entirely worthy of certain friendships from time-to-time. But in the end, he would do anything for them.

When it comes to unpleasant people, he tends to have a rather long fuse, not rising to any kind of provocation or insulting quip easily. Instead, he generally just shrugs it off, and does his best to show unflappable kindness regardless. The temper he does have, however, can be rather explosive, but not very violent. Hurting people just doesn't seem to be in his nature very much.

History/Timeline

Rufus, born on the 16th Sun of the 4th Astral Moon, 1552 of the 6th Astral Era, was given life in Ul'dah to a pair of loving parents. Selene Miller and Drystan Miller. All throughout his childhood, Rufus was told his mother died giving birth to him. This, however, was false information. Selene Miller was a renowned Bloodsands fighter, who went by the moniker 'The Iron Wolf of Ul'dah'. She won many fights in her time, but as she and Drystan decided to settle down and start a family, she hung up her gladiatorial belt in favor of being a housewife. This didn't sit too well with some of Ul'dah's more... unfavorable types. The monetarists, to be specific. She had become a gambling icon, and if she couldn't fight, people couldn't bet on her to win those fights. A plot was hatched for the night of Rufus's birth. The plan? To abduct the baby Rufus and blackmail Selene into fighting once more. Under cover of darkness, a band of monetarists found the infant Rufus, and did indeed steal him away from his barely recovered mother. Upon learning of this, his parents underwent a crusade to retrieve their son. Selene refused to submit to the demands of the monetarists, saying that she was done with that lifestyle for good. This, again, did not sit too well with the monetarists. If they couldn't control Selene into doing as they pleased, she was useless to them. They had her killed shortly after by means of a hired assassin. They had also planned to kill off Rufus, as they stood not to benefit from having the infant around. Before the deed could be done, however, Rufus's father managed to rescue him in a dramatic rush, killing those that had ordered his wife's murder. Though not without sustaining a grievous wound that would never heal properly. It was because of this that Drystan was disallowed to continue his career as an arena fighter. Embittered at both the loss of his career, and the loss of his wife, Drystan fell into a depression and turned to alcohol to solve his problems, turning into an abusive drunk and the sole person to care for the young Rufus.

Growing up, Rufus never had it 'easy', though, arguably easier than some. His father blamed him for all the bad things that had happened to his life. He never told Rufus the true reason for his mother's death, choosing instead to let him believe it was a simpler cause. Either way, the blame was shifted onto the child. He never truly knew the feeling of a parent's love. His father instead preferring to force him to train so that he might become an arena fighter one day, and allow him to live through his son's actions. Surprisingly, Rufus found he had a knack for swinging a sword, and began to train diligently with the Gladiators' Guild, becoming a particularly skilled fighter. This didn't impress his father too much, much to Rufus's dismay. Most of his homelife involved berating and beatings. In fact, one particular night, after having far too much to drink, as usual, Drystan attacked his son with a brand, burning the symbol of Halone onto the back of Rufus's right hand, believing in his drunken stupor that it might somehow give his son even greater fighting potential.

Years later, Rufus was made to take part in a number of Bloodsands matches at the behest of his father. He quit shortly after one particular battle, in which he narrowly avoided a sword cleaving into his skull, leaving him with the scar he bears today. Having nowhere else to go, Rufus was unable to escape his father, forced to put up with his near-endless torment. It was only thanks to the friendships he fostered in his time at the Gladiators' Guild that he was able to stay sane. One woman in particular, his first love, Amelia Reede. She was the one thing he was able to focus on, as he desperately tried to reason with his father, not wanting to see him kill himself with alcohol day in, day out. Eventually, this endeavor proved fruitful for him, as he was able to make some very small reparations with his father, becoming estranged friends, more or less. His fondest memory to this day is spending time at a carnival in Ul'dah with him, even despite how it ended. (Refers to the Ul'dah opening cutscene in 1.0).

As the Garleans became a major threat, and the city-states banded together, Rufus watched as many of his friends prepared for war. He was still young at the time, and not very skilled. His father even forbade him from going to the battle of Carteneau, which he himself was going to participate in, despite his wound. No matter how much Rufus argued, he was never allowed to go. Years later, he would find himself thankful to his now deceased father, who was slain during Bahamut's onslaught. It didn't just claim his father, sadly. It also claimed practically all of his friends, and most heartbreakingly, the life of his then-lover. She had been disallowed to go to Carteneau as he was, however, one of the raining fireballs from Bahamut's destruction struck the area of the city she lived in, flattening her house on top of her. Having lost almost all the people he ever knew and cared about, Rufus sank into a depression much like his father. However, not wanting to become his father, he pulled himself out of the depression, and swore to himself that he would train to become a paladin one day, so he could try to stop others from being killed, so nobody had to suffer that pain he himself suffered. The training, however, proved too much for him. He was unable to keep up, and was eventually told to leave. This slumped him back into another depression which took much longer to free himself from. Though through sheer force of will, and a great amount of time being allowed to slip away from him, he did indeed pull himself out of it, taking small steps to reintegrate himself into society.

(And that's pretty much when I started to RP with the character).

Combat

Having trained for practically his entire life in the way of sword and board, he has become a rather adept fighter, able to take on a myriad of foes, though not without difficulty at times. He does still have a fair deal to learn, including fully mastering the techniques of the paladin art. In general, though, his combat skills are well above average.

Tendencies

Likes

• Friendship
• Chocobos
• Helping people

Dislikes

• Bad news
• Rain
• General villainy

Hobbies/Talents

• Sword fighting
• Fishing
• Cooking

Relationships

Family

Mother - Selene Miller: Deceased. An ex-Bloodsands fighter from Ul'dah. She died giving birth to Rufus. Or so he believes.

Father - Drystan Miller: Deceased. Rufus's abusive father, also a Bloodsands fighter from Ul'dah. Died in the battle of Carteneau.

Betrothed - Yehn Molkot: Living. Rufus's long-term partner and wife-to-be.

Friends

Mylene Wharf: Arguably one of Rufus's first friends since the Calamity. He met her at random in the Quicksand, and they got to talking. Though she was initially shy around him, he tried his best to foster a friendship with her. Eventually, she showed him how to fish, creating his love for fishing, and a lasting bond between them. Now, he works alongside her in the Tomial Order he is a part of.

Raikemi Maiagaru: Another of the first friends after the Calamity. Rufus met Raikemi by chance when he overheard a conversation about a woman looking for her lost brother. He offered to help her, alongside Raikemi. As the two sat around, they seemed to hit it off, becoming fast friends. Nowadays he thinks of her as a reliable friend, and an overall good friend, despite the back and forth teasing between them. He works alongside her in Tomial Order also.

Mizhki Tayuun + Memzie Ashia: Two sisters that Rufus befriended both at different times. He met Mizhki in the Quicksand, as her Free Company leader was offering him a place with them. Rufus politely refused, however he managed to befriend both the leader, and Mizhki as well. Having a couple of run ins with her later led him to discover more about her. And that she is a little unusual. That said, he doesn't mind her quirks all too much, preferring instead to enjoy her exuberant energy and happy demeanor. He later learned of Mizhki's sister Memzie by absolute chance. Running into Memzie, he talked with her for a few minutes before noting the resemblance between the two. He almost instantly took note of the differences between the sisters personality wise, finding the complete juxtaposition amusing.

Meriel Thorne: The woman he met alongside Raikemi. The woman with the missing brother. The two didn't talk an awful lot, but they did become friends of a sort. Though, it's been quite some time since he has seen her, and it worries him, though he doesn't speak it.

Enemies

Amazingly, Rufus does not seem to have garnered any hate among those he has met. At least, not to his knowledge. His ability to show kindness to most every seems to be paying off.

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THE END.