Uther Skystrider
Uther Skystrider is a self-exiled Dragoon of Ishgard. He currently is wandering Gridania and the Black Shroud as an adventurer.
 Uther Skystrider
| |
 Of the Sky, From the Sky, For the Sky | |
| Gender | Male |
| Race | Hyur |
| Clan | Midlander |
| Citizenship | Ishgard |
| Nameday | 15th Sun of the Fourth Umbral Moon, 1553 (24 cycles old) |
| Deity | Halone, the Fury |
Contents
Basic Info
Nicknames/Aliases: Strider
Place of Birth: Ishgard
Place of Residence: Nomad, last seen in Gridania
Height: 5 fulms, 8 ilms
Weight: ~150 ponze
Hair Color: Brown
Eye Color: Brown
Occupation: Monster Hunter, Adventurer, Wood Wailer (part-time), 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.
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).
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. Rumor has it that he has a set of perfectly fitting royal Dragoon armor and a matching lance in his residence in Gridania, but he refuses to touch it until he feels he has earned it.
Affiliations
WIP
Other Notes
WIP
