Eirwyn Thatcher

Gavrun Grantham
The Sculptor
Gender	Male
Race	Hyur
Clan	Midlander
Citizenship	Limsa Lominsa
Nameday	12th Sun of the 6th Umbral Moon, 1551
Guardian	Byregot, the Builder

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Gavrun is a smithy who is known to place intricate patterns and designs in most of his works and for a time did some sculptures along with his grandfather. Currently he is on a self-imposed break from work, travelling from Ul'dah to Gridania.

General

Given Name: Gavrun Grantham (gæv-rʌn ɡræn-θəm)

Nickname: Gav

Height: 5 fulms, 6.5 ilms

Weight: 128 ponz

Complexion: brown

Hair: black

Eyes: gray

» He is shorter than the average midlander hyur and just about average in terms of muscle tone. His eyes are a bit sunken, a contrast to his round cheeks. He cuts his own hair (or at least tries to) only when it obscures his vision but he's no expert at it as seen by how uneven and shaggy it is. He grew out sideburns but nothing more than that.

Behavior

» He can be quite absent-minded at times especially when an idea strikes him out of the blue. He is prone to going off in his own little world and it does not help that his neutral face looks gloomy, so he appears standoffish. He doesn't mean to, of course, and once you catch his attention you'll see that his demeanor is the complete opposite of his face. He would even smile often, although some people say his smile looks menacing than friendly. Again, he does not mean to do that.

He is very patient with almost anything and is willing to learn new things. He may not look like he's having fun but he is. A sure way to see if he is wary of a person is when he talks a lot as opposed to him being his normal quiet self. When he is all quiet around someone that means he is comfortable around that person. It makes sense in his head but this may not be the case for everyone. That said, he is open to change provided it isn't forced on to him or that he is pressured to comply.

Quirks & Tics:

» He sometimes makes drawing motions with his hands in mid-air while thinking or visualizing something and as already mentioned he is often absent-minded and can easily walk into a wall if he's not paying attention. Ironically he can be extremely focused when the need calls for it so he rarely panics when he's in danger.

Likes: Sculpting Clouds Grilled food Mangoes

Dislikes: Thunderstorms or Hurricanes Fighting Splinters Hand injuries/cuts/wounds

Abilities

Adventurer:

Shield?? ??

Strengths: He has enough power to withstand blows and his pain tolerance is pretty high, however...

Weaknesses: That's all he's good at. In the few times he ended up having to fend off some monsters he would always be on the defensive, relying on his seemingly natural ability at blocking or shielding while waiting for the right moment to escape.

Crafter:

Armorsmith

Strengths: He has been doing this for quite sometime now so he has ample knowledge on it.

Weaknesses: When he started learning the craft, he was too focused on embellishment rather than usefulness.. sometimes he still does that...

History

Background info that he probably won't share to anyone, at least in full

[ 01 ]

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Gavrun is from a family of farmers living somewhere in La Noscea. They own a patch of land bought with the gil and gold his grandfather has accumulated over the years as a pirate. They started as yet another farm that sold and supplied produce to the markets of Limsa Lominsa and later on focused on brewing their own liquor. It is currently being managed by his father, aunts and uncles.

It has been somewhat of a tradition to take part in the family's business. Each member is to learn the ins and outs of merchant dealings as well as how to run the farm itself. Over the years they have hired farmhands to help out but they still believe in being hands-on to ensure the best quality in their produce.

Gavrun's eldest sister and older brother took a great interest in tending to the crops and mastering wine-making. Gavrun, however, was less enthusiastic and clearly his mind was elsewhere. Along with his younger sister, they were more inclined toward the arts at a young age, thanks to their parents.

[ 02 ]

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Being assigned as the family's head carpenter and repairman, Gavrun's father would be in their workshop making new furniture or sketching ideas on parchment when he's not out assisting in the farm or doing repairs. Gavrun surmises that his earliest memory of an artistic inspiration came from him and usually he'd emulate what he's doing, mostly scribbling on paper because he often got splinters when he pretended to make his own tiny chair and he absolutely hated it.

His mother worked as a potter and even had a small stand before to sell her works. Before agreeing to marry Gav's father, she requested she still be allowed to do her pottery, at least on the side. To win her over, Gav's father built a (joint) workshop along with their home and presently if she's not helping out at the farm, she'd be there, diligently creating earthenware of varying shapes and sizes. One time his mom caught him carving out random patterns on clay bodies she set out to dry. She was about to scold him but ended up applauding his handiwork.

While his father still stuck with tradition and would nag Gavrun to take his obligation to the family seriously, his mother on the other hand encouraged his artistic endeavors, passing on her knowledge of pottery to him and even pointed him to fellow artisans, acquaintances she'd made over the years making pots and other ceramics.

[ 03 ]

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An opening came through his mother's older brother who was a seasoned blacksmith working at Naldiq & Vymelli's. Having heard about Gavrun, he suggested learning more under him and possibly transitioning into a blacksmith if Gav is interested. After a long talk with his father, he allowed Gavrun to pursue this offer.

His mother and younger sister accompanied him to Limsa Lominsa and was welcomed by her brother who they only met now. After catching up with him as well as introducing her youngest daughter as her protege and a potential student of his in the future, they bid Gavrun farewell and wished him good luck.

His lessons started soon afterwards. He was doing well at first but then had a knack of focusing too much on embellishments which would be the source of frustration from fellow blacksmiths. His uncle, while not outrightly scolding him, would often clarify what it means to be a blacksmith and that these details he focused on should come second, if not last.

When the Calamity struck he moved on to armorsmithing at the time and after being constantly berated by how pathetic his armors (and shields) were, he became more serious with the craft, dropping whatever artistic interests he may have at that moment and focused on making sturdy and effective gear for soldiers and volunteers alike who are suiting up for the incoming battle.

[ 04 ]

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He went home for a couple of moons as the realm healed itself from the destruction left by Bahamut. He caught up with the goings-on within his family and spent some much needed bonding time with them as well as helped put their business back on its feet. A few moons later he left home again and before resuming his training, he sought out one of his mother's artisan friends who she brought up when he told her about his growing frustration with his craft.

He was an old man who is known to peddle detailed figurines of different things to tourists in Limsa Lominsa. Gavrun approached him and asked about his work. The old man happily shared what he knew, teaching him how he makes these figurines and even introduced him to old clients who commissioned him to do sculptures of them. Trying his hand at this new craft, Gavrun found himself liking it more and more. It was reminiscent of pottery as it dealt with clay and shaping it with your hands and maybe a bit of blacksmithing too especially when they cast the mold in bronze.

The old man soon tells him that he is in fact his grandfather and that he made the mistake of leaving his family cycles ago, earning the hate of his son and the disappointment of his daughter. He has since reconciled with Gavrun's mom as evidenced by letting him meet Gavrun.

When Gavrun went back to his uncle, he tells him that he is aware that he met with his father and asked Gav if he still wants to continue his training. He still is confused as to what he wants to do from this point on and almost impulsively decides on taking a trip outside of La Noscea. So he took a ferry from Limsa Lominsa and headed to Ul'dah.

Rumors

Common Rumors (Easily overheard):

• "He should spare his uncle the embarrassment and quit being an armorer. Decorations and all that crap is meaningless when a blade goes thru your chest because of his shoddy armor."

Moderate Rumours (Moderately difficult to overhear):

• "I heard the soldiers he provided with armor had no chance against the VIIth legion and now their families are blaming him for their deaths."

Rare Rumours (Very difficult or rarely overheard):

• "Have you seen his sculptures? It's good, I know, but I heard he actually had to cut off a man's head to study it.."

Player Character Rumors:

Other Notes

Not everything in this wiki is definite and there will be changes from time to time. With regards to his sculptures, it will go hand in hand with my actual commissions. I'm still in the process of setting up and will update this part here with a link to details on it. When I have it up and you're interested, shoot me a PM in the forums. Handle is Elicoidali.

(Template taken from Abaigeal Causland. Everyone is welcome to use this template but be sure to change the colors. Thanks. Template border ©Endemerrin Rosethorne.)