Lord Daerinnid de Soto
from the Daerinnid Chronicles

“You’ve probably had friends and colleagues and peers, but I haven’t, so I rather don’t consider any of the things other people do at all. Therefore, there are no depths for me to sink to, I suppose.”

Name: Lord Daerinnid de Soto
Race: Human
Age: 23
DOB: Mulich 20 (March 20)
Gender: male
Hair: medium sandy brown
Eye: gray
Height: 6'1"
Weight: 160 lbs.
Occupation: Herbalist/Alchemist/Aspiring Mage
Alignment: Lawful Evil
Religious Affil.: Agnostically inclined


Physical Description

Daerinnid crossed his arms and frowned at Caerden. His patience for such superstitious babble was notoriously short. “A mere coincidence? No. I think it’s one of the most unfortunate coincidences imaginable.”

Daerinnid the the picture of your stereotypical beanpole mage, except for the fact he's got no actual magical ability. He stands six feet and an inch, his height expressed in a gangly manner. His frame is lean but well-toned thanks to months of traveling, with broad shoulders and back. While his muscles aren't readily noticeable, they do serve to round out his figure a bit and prevent him from looking scrawny. His face is thin, almost gaunt, with narrow lips twisted into a permanent frown and rough, tanned skin drawn taut over his features. A firm, angular jaw accentuates the frown, assisted by a pointy, squared-off chin and hollow cheeks. Resting prominently on his countenance is a long, sharp nose, perhaps a tad big, a crook midway down giving the impression it was once broken (though it was not). Small, fierce, squinty gray eyes gaze out from beneath a stern brow, with short, sparse lashes. His eyebrows are long, clean, and straight, possessing enough thickness to make them visible without being overbearing. Daerinnid wears multiple earrings in each ear: two studs and a cuff on his left, three studs on his right. He is one of the lucky few whose ears seem the right size and shape for his head.

On top of all this is a mop of unruly, light sandy brown hair, parted haphazardly along the center. It is longish on the top, the bangs falling within half an inch of his brow, and layered progressively shorter to the nape of his neck. The bangs are brushed aside his high forehead.


Personality

“Oh, come on, Daerinnid, surely you must have some human emotions beneath that façade of yours! Happiness, sadness, loneliness, humor, joy, life!”

"Since I saw you last, I can say I’ve had a taste of happiness, and I am rather well-acquainted with sadness and grief. Loneliness is in a way foreign to me, and as for humor, I have been told that I have none, which rather suits me fine. Compassion I entertain when it serves my purposes, the arrogance of noble birth plagues me always, the egoism of popularity is deplorable, and while I have a taste of happiness, I can honestly claim ignorance when it comes to joy. As for passion... I believe that to be a joy found in doing something, ergo it is foreign. If this answer quite satisfies you, would you kindly give me the satisfaction of telling me why it is you stopped to talk to me in the first place so I may deal with this and go on about my day?”

Grumpy, mean, and manipulative, Daerinnid is not exactly what you'd call a hero. He is, in fact, the exact opposite: an aspiring evil overlord who will one day have heroes attempting to dethrone him. He is also the most perpetually unlucky person on the island, having met with little success in his quest despite enduring 500 pages of the most inane drivel ever assembled in one semi-coherent storyline.

To strangers, Daerinnid can be purposefully charming, able to weave tales with a golden tongue and make people feel good about giving away their money. He's very charismatic when he wants to be. Most of the time, he's just irritable, snapping at his travel companions and sulking in corners because he hasn't managed to conquer the island yet. He's a smart man, but his plans never seem to turn out due to some curse from the gods (or the writer). He really doesn't have a nice side to him; he's only agreeable when he wants something, and any compassion he accidentally shows is quickly obscured by his general disdain of people. Either they're too stupid, too religious, too gullible, too annoying, or too principled. The few he can stand he keeps close by: Rikard, Norman, Hraewn, Teliu, and Caerden (to an extent). These five make up his inner circle, and are the only people to whom Daerinnid ever opens up to. As you can guess, the above quote is from one such rare conversation.

Daerinnid has two notable phobias, the first one of pigs (due to a few unfortunate encounters with the beasts) and the other of tears and runny noses. The latter disgusts him immensely. He once had Caerden cut a shirt sleeve off after it came into contact with Neesa's runny nose.


History/Background

Daerinnid looked downward once more, cross with himself. “A lot has changed in the past year, and I’ve recently discovered telling things to people, while a piss-poor bit of sorry miscalculation which will probably prove to be my downfall, is rather preferable to simply walking around with it all stuffed in my head. I’ll sacrifice a bit of security in exchange for a bit of relief.”

Born into nobility, Daerinnid dreamed of being a mage and studied under the local mage for two years before discovering he was, for some reason, unable to learn magic. His reaction: burn down the house of the mage and his parents' manor, killing his teacher and parents. From there, young Daerinnid set out on the road, where he made a nice living conning villagers out of their money. Some years later, he stopped for the night at the Black Pig Inn, where he encountered Neesa, the scourge of his life, and his true journey began. Want more? Read the story.


Outfit/Clothing

“I don’t care if you dress me in pink, just hurry!”
“Pink? I don’t think so. It wouldn’t compliment your complexion.”

The "classic" Daerinnid outfit consists of a white under robe and hose, light blue outer-robe, and his infamous golden circlet and white cloth "hat." This is what Daerinnid wears normally when traveling on the road.

At times, Daerinnid has been seen in other garb, such as the infamous "bumblebee" getup, which consisted of black hose, boots, hat, doublet, and half-cape, accented with yellow and gold. It was really quite a smart outfit, but Daerinnid never took much of a liking to it.

During his stay in Rakkel, Daerinnid wore a dusky blue doublet and pant set with silver filagree and white stockings.

As far as anything else goes, doublets, hose, pants, hats, in medieval/fantasy styles are all fine. Daerinnid prefers simple outfits with thread detailing. He's nobility, but prefers not to dress or act it. (His table manners are simply atrocious.) He also has a large pack filled with all his earthly possessions, including a book of potions akin to the Compact Oxford English Dictionary.


Images


Images by Others


Additional Pictures: scattered around here.


Notable friends:

  • Rikard Prowley - Best friend and general psychopath. Rikard revels in every form of sin: killing, boozing, womanizing, swearing, and even some idolatry for good measure. His father was a an evil magician who tried to take over the island; Rikard himself measures only "public nuisance." He may be the most deplorable person you'll ever meet, but he's also a brilliant historian and student of arcane languages.
    Noteworthy accomplishments: Invented a spell that temporarily negates the effects of alcohol, made the triggering word "soberuppicus."
  • Neesa Kersson - She loves him, or so she claims. A country girl Daerinnid accidentally picked up, Neesa has followed Daerinnid to the ends of the island in a show of misguided devotion. She's not very bright, but in terms of sheer determination she ranks top. Nobody knows what she sees in Daerinnid.
    Noteworthy accomplishments: Followed Daerinnid across entire length of island, managed to get him into bed with her one night..
  • Caerden Drasculson - Flamboyant son of most ancient wizard on the island. His carefree lifestyle, penchant for games, and frequent attempts to "correct" Daerinnid's fashion sense make him one of the most obvious annoyances in Daerinnid's life. Bizarre sense of humor and love of zombies don't help.
    Noteworthy accomplishments: Turned own mother into zombie, dressed Daerinnind in "bumblebee" ensemble.
  • Hraewn - Black-feathered fairy man with a quirky accent and a knack of large-scale mischief. Can transform between a child-sized "human" form and that of a crow.
    Noteworthy accomplishments: No noteworthy accomplishments, only giant disasters.
  • Norman "Whiskers" - Turned into a cat by an evil wizard along with his wife Olivi, Norman never let his feline status get in the way of running a successful tavern. Then his wife received a divine message and he ended up traveling halfway across the island.
    Noteworthy accomplishments: Got Daerinnid to open up once.
  • Olivi - Despite being a cat, Olivi is nevertheless probably the strongest female character in the story. She's deeply religious, a genuinely good person, a hero in every sense of the word. The one shining, virtuous character. And she's a cat.
    Noteworthy accomplishments: Tracked Daerinnid across the island only to deliver undecipherable "message from the gods" that left everyone scratching their heads.
  • Shizuka - Cheery, tonedeaf assassin whose antics always result in heaps of trouble. Shizuka always means well, he just can never live up to his intentions.
    Noteworthy accomplishments: No noteworthy accomplishments, only giant disasters.
  • Marsius Pthelamos - Leader of the cannibal bandits, nice guy, really. Very cultured and wise. Surrounded by puerile individuals.
    Noteworthy accomplishments: Put up with Neesa for more than two weeks.
  • Litan Golbrook - Blind assassin/butler who fell in love with Olivi, despite the fact she's married and a cat. A genuinely nice guy. Nice guys always finish last.
    Noteworthy accomplishments:  Overcame disability of blindness to become a trained killer.
  • Torvwyn Eprinmaierson - Shy, bookish Torvwyn works in the library of Castle Rakkel, and rather likes Rikard. Considered to be Rikard's better half.
    Noteworthy accomplishments: Managed to keep Rikard sober for three days.
  • Aervwen - Torvwyn's older brother, a quarter-elf ranger.
    Noteworthy accomplishments: Shot a hawk flying in the air with a bow and arrow, nearly scaring Rikard to death; nearly screwed Rikard over with his machinations. Unfortunately for the forces of good on the island, he failed.
  • Alonriel - Fairy Daerinnid met while in Sylph. Very pretty.

Incidental Info:

  • Daerinnid's birthday is in March, just like mine!
  • When the island of Keska launched, Daerinnid was one of the first five characters!
  • My personal nickname for Daer is "Sunshine." He hates it.
  • It's pronounced "day-rihn-nihd," but the nickname is pronounced "dare."
  • I am naming my firstborn son Daerinnid. No joke.
  • His hat was a gift from his mother.
  • I created Daerinnid before I read Harry Potter, making his similarities to Professor Snape coincidental, and proof of the fact Severus and I were meant for each other!