Physical Description: Blonde haired, blue-eyed, pale skinned and a big guy overall � what can you say, he�s Scandinavian. About 6�5�, solidly built, and looking much older than his real age thanks to it. Large but gentle hands decently suited to his profession.

Personality: A jolly old giant, really. Torsten is glad as anything to be back in the South, having not really wanted to go North to begin with. Very loyal to family and friends, it eats at him that he had to leave his father behind but he knows his brother would have died if he had not done so.

Background: Torsten came to Pern with his family at age 8, and grew into one of the colony�s many strong lads. He always knew he wanted to be a medic, especially after Thread killed and hurt so many people, his brother included. One of the first few falls caught Ulric outside and while he ran, Thread struck his back � not killing him, as his firelizards helped him and Torsten eventually was able to bring him inside, but eating through his spine and leaving him paralyzed from about the waist down. Ulric was devastated, as was the family, and it pushed the Strikksens into moving North.

Torsten had little choice but to go with his family (he�s very loyal) when they went North. His mother died from sickness, his brother was close to death, and his father was blinded by loyalty to Malloren Morgan. So Torsten took his brother with him when the chance came and left on the boat back South, hating to leave his father, but knowing his brother would die otherwise. At New Landing he is studying more about becoming a medic, and in a new effort to save people, enlisted as a candidate.

Family/Friends:
Sven Strikksen, father, 49, guard at Cave Hold
Hanne Strikksen, mother, deceased at 48 in North
Ulric Strikksen, brother, 24, teacher/musician at New Landing

Hobbies & Skills: Studying medicine, he has a good mind and is intelligent, though people might mistake him for a �big dumb oaf.� Very loyal, and with a good gentle bedside manner.

If your persona were a song, the title: �Like a Rock�

Pets: once had a green menta named Ursa, but she left while he was in the North.