GRIEL Played By: Sharra Cub Name: None. Previous Names: None. Race: Go-Back/Pureblood Gender: Male Age: 1, 589 Height: Griel is of the typical Go-Back height; he's not the shortest, or the tallest, rather stands right at an average. Build: Tough and muscular, he's got wide shoulders by elfin standards. Hair Color: A dark brown with black sheen to it, Griel's straight hair is unkempt and rather tangled, pulled in a knot at the back of his head and held in place by an unadorned hair stick. Strands of hair escape the knot, framing his face and brushing down to the middle of his back. Eyes: A deep, chocolate brown, his large, round eyes are sharp and seem to miss nothing. His thick and shaggy brows are often furrowed in frustration. Skin Color: Rather neutral in color, his skin is neither pale, nor tanned. Facial Features: His face is squarish and ruggedly good-looking, if not handsome, with a strong nose and squarish chin. His lips are short and full, somehow managing to soften his rough features. Voice: It's surprisingly soft and subdued the majority of the time, but when he's angry or upset, it rings out sharp and loud, startling in its intensity. Mental Voice: Just as clear and ringing as Griel's 'angry voice', it's almost painful to hear. Scars, Birthmarks, Etc.: His body is marked with scars here and there, as the life of a Go-Back is often a violent one, but the most noticeable thing is that he's missing most of his right ear. Occupation: The chosen 'Chief' of his small, ragtag band of elves, Griel is by trade a warrior and a hunter. Lovemate: As a Go-Back, he loves many and stays with few. Chan was the longest lovemate he remained with, and he fathered two children with her. Lifemate: No. Recognized: No. Family: Vanu (father, deceased) Sahe (mother, deceased) Children: Zai, Cheyli (missing), many others whose paternity could not be confirmed. Usual Clothing: All-purpose traveling clothing. Heavy boots that are now worn thin at the heels, a pair of pants that are now tattered at the cuffs. A sheathed knife is strapped to his left thigh, and his arms wrapped tightly up to the forearm with stained, off-white cloth. He wears a long, un-dyed, leather shirt that the sleeves have long since been cut from. Heavy Clothing: He wears a heavy, hooded jacket of fur over his normal shirt, which has been layered over with a long sleeved tunic, as well as a heavy pair of leggings that flare out at the ankle. Light Clothing: Not one to change something that's worked well in the past, Griel simply removes his shirt and rolls up his ragged pants past the calf. Jewelry/Adornments: He wears three strings of beads around his neck, the longest made of wooden, painted red beads, the shortest necklace consisting of a choker of woven hemp beads, while the middle-length strand of beads are made out of bone, extensively carved. It's rumored that the beads were made from the bones of his dead lifemate, Chan. He does nothing to confirm or deny the tale. Weapons/Tools: That all-purpose spear that can be used for most anything! Spearing fish, roasting a kill, defending oneself… Special Items: Other than the necklaces around his neck, and his spear, there's no item he particularly values enough to keep with him. Magic: Though it's rare for a Go-Back to send, and though this ability is rarely used, Griel possesses a strong sending power that allows him fall into a trance for very short periods of time in order to get a 'feeling' for what is happening with the High One. On rare occasions, he almost 'goes out' and makes contact with Riamis. Fears: Zai's 'weakness', having no one suitable to take over for him should he meet his end, his own long life. Likes: Keeping his mind occupied and hands occupied, the autumn and spring seasons, due to their mild temperatures, when Zai does something particularly daring. Dislikes: 'Going-out' to speak to Riamis' and how vulnerable it leaves his body while his spirit is out, the winters, for the 'tribe' typically settles down for the season and he hates feeling idle, the Go-Back way of 'Dancing'. Personality: While he seems full of energy, and even snappish the majority of the time, Griel often feels beleaguered and frustrated at the entire 'quest' he roped himself into and what it has cost him. Despite this, he has never lost faith in the path he started to follow fifteen years ago, though at has come close to wavering in the past. In the past, he has denied wanting to be chief of the 'group' he started out with, but settled into the role long ago and would fight tooth and toenail to keep it, now. He's always got his eyes open for successors, as he's lived a very long life for a Go-Back. Griel makes little secret of the fact that he plans to go off and die whenever his quest has ended, as it is the call he's been hearing so long that prompted him to be slightly more cautious than the average Go-Back. He has no intention of dying just yet, if he can help it, but if death comes, he isn't likely to struggle against it, either. He's almost an enigma at times, for he's the only one to truly 'return' the faint sendings of Riamis. He's felt the pull stronger, and far longer than anyone else accompanying him, but he speaks little of the 'contact' he makes with the High One. However, that doesn't mean he's without humor! He enjoys a good joke, and a good laugh as much as the next elf, but not at the expense of another. It's hard to make him relax and settle down when the tribe is able to celebrate or just enjoy peaceful moments, but when he does, he can be almost charming. Sees Self As: The unlucky lump of dung that has to keep a ragtag group of elves together, pestered by an aggravating High One, but drukking determined to get everything done right before he dies. History: Born to one of the offshoot Go-Back tribes, his parents were respected hunters that died the way they lived-wildly and with the thrill of the chase throbbing through their veins. The earliest thing Griel has been able to remember is the realization that he was different. He began sending at a young age, and quite often, whereas his tribemates rarely used their mind-voices-and certainly not as strongly! It didn't take long before he realized his odd gift would get him shunned, and he began sending less and less often as the years passed. Sporadically, he began to hear odd sendings, many of them so sluggish and garbled he was unable to understand them. However, in other moments, the words were disturbingly clear. Over time, he realized who and what Riamis was, but being an irresponsible youth made little effort to go out and search for him. The call came less and less often to Griel, and then stopped entirely. As time passed, the Go-Back wondered if he'd imagined the broken communication… Within this past eight eights, the call returned to him, and Griel realized that they weren't the fanciful dreams of a stupid youth at all. A few others in the tribe began to feel what was described as 'a drukkin' annoying pull on my gut to go somewhere', while the rare tribemate or two thought they heard strange, garbled sendings. Finally, fifteen years ago, he packed up what he had and left with five others-with little protest, as the tribe had been growing and the numbers were growing difficult to deal with at the time. With him went his longtime lovemate, Chan, his daughter Cheyli and his teenage son, Zai. They traveled through the mountains, losing one tribemate to heavy snows early on. Chan fell to the claws of a great snowbear an eight of turns after, while Cheyli, who had never heard the call herself was the last to go. She merely wandered off after they passed through the mountains and hasn't been heard from since. Quote: "What do you want from me, High One? Do you know how long I've been waiting to get myself killed?"