OC - Bran Trygve

Temporary image created using this doll-maker.

Uwaaah... ;;; I've been debating with myself so hard whether to put this guy out and working on him for a while, on and off... *Cries* _{I'll accept my own patheticness to succumb to some self-RP.} *Shoots self* 

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Bran (means "raven" in Welsh).
Trygve (means "trustworthy" in Old Norse).

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Name: Bran Trygve

Race: (Formerly) Human (until age 31), (Currently) Werewolf

Age: 30 ('14) 31

Occupation: Groundskeeper

Nationality: Norwegian

Alliance: Stígandr Household and prioritised associates

Height: 6'9'' - 206cm

Weight: 230lb - 104kg

Eye Color: Black

Hair Color: Black

Blood Type: AB-

Gift: Fortification 
        - A state of heightened strength, speed, agility and pain endurance. (During: Full Moon, D10+3 | New Moon, D10 | Normal, D10+1)
        - Pain from injuries as severe as a broken limb or a stab at a body part will be dulled until senses return. 
        - Triggered when imprinted individual(s) in danger (apply when humanity roll 5 and above) OR self is in a state of extreme emotional and/or physical distress.  
        - Ceases when perceived situation has reduce in threat and will suffer a migraine, torn muscles and hyperextension; alongside any injuries sustained. (D5 is used to determine severity/period of recovery)
        - A D10+1 is used when rolling humanity as the ability's purpose is to PROTECT the individual(s) imprinted.
        - Imprinting can extend up to 10 individuals; priority of which one depending on from personal choice to amount and quality of interaction. As time passes, imprinting can gradually decrease towards an individual should he/she/they be not present often enough - one way or another - to enforce it. 
        - Individuals imprinted: (Current total: 4 out of 10)
        + Birth mother (Deceased; thus invalid)
        + Gøran Trygve (Adoptive father/benefactor)
        + Jarl and Agnes Stígandr (Respected employers further regarded as family)
        + Alvis Hemming (Close friend of the Stígandr's)
        + Stigr Stígandr (Blood brother/probable love interest)

Weapon: Self-made hunting bow and arrow, axe and knife (not on person most of the time) - Skilful in archery, axe techniques, wrestling and fist/knife fights 

Personality: Gruff, loyal (to the Stígandr household or those imprinted), devoted, protective, bluntly honest, dutiful, hot-headed (when provoked)

History: 

    Bran was born into a poor family of three - consisting of him, a Norwegian father and an immigrant Welsh mother, thus his first name. His childhood was not very rosy as the marriage of his parents suffered because of the lack of finances and his father slowly succumbed to physically abusing his wife and a toddler Bran while they went through a rough patch and another and another. Unable to take the hardship any longer upon reaching his tweenhood, Bran retaliated his father's beatings directed at his mother and that was when he first tasted the experience of his "gift". 

    The rage-filled fight between the father and his young son got the attention of their neighbours and village authorities. When Bran was finally pried away from his father, he calmed down only when his mother desperately put her arms around him. Once he did, Bran eventually and painfully realised he sustained a couple broken ribs and hurting inexperienced fists but hadn't felt a thing during the scuffle. While he recovered with his mother in a healing house, they were informed that Bran's father committed suicide by drowning in a nearby lake as he escaped imprisonment - unable to bear the shame and regret of how his life had derailed.

    Bran's mother was distraught at the loss of her husband. Of course she hated for what he'd put her and their son through but she never stopped loving him. She had to rely on the sympathetic kindness of neighbours and son's support to keep from falling apart. Bran did odd jobs to earn coins for their meagre living expenses and as he grew into adolescence, his frame somehow built up and he often participated in local wrestling fights; the prize of a small bag of coins a good incentive and his strange resilience to pain sometimes helping. He became the "man among the boys".

    Sometimes he lost and then - out of nowhere - after he honourably accepted defeat to his opponent of the day, he was approached by a sturdy middle-aged man who introduced himself as Gøran Trygve, a humble gardener. Gøran was impressed by the young man's strength and wanted to help Bran make use of his youth after learning of his hard life. After meeting his mother and expressing his intentions, it was arranged that she'll receive financial support while Bran left her side to pursue a better future. He was allowed to visit her on holidays or if she's taken ill.

    And so, Bran became the adoptive son of the gardener, who works under the Stígandr's household. He's been taught to develop a green thumb and he grows onto the notion to follow his guardian's footsteps to serve the family that has provided their staff good employment and welfare for many years. Thanks to another friend of Gøran, Bran also picked up a knack for hunting and foraging in the vast wilderness.

    He's only set eyes on his master's elusive albino son, Stigr, a handful of times, not officially working at Jarl Stígandr's manor yet - only setting foot there to deliver supplies and equipment for his father to use. When he's not working with the earth, he goes to hunt in the forests and wide lands of Norway and if he's successful, often contributes his kills to the Stígandr household's dinner table.

    There was an occasion that he'd been invited to ride with Jarl, Stigr and Gøran at a far-off field during a grey weathered day that suited the albino's condition and the fathers thought it fine to introduce their different sons that way. Alas for Bran, younger Stigr was altogether still shy, too taken and excited to be outdoors to interact much with the others that it was only when the heir tired himself out riding and rested with his father under the shade of a tree could Bran exchange a short pleasant conversation before it was time to return home. To Bran's odd luck, the exhausted albino was made to sit in front of him, Jarl correctly anticipating that his overwhelmed son would fall off his own horse. Bran had never put so much attention towards a cloaked figure leaning against him on the same horse as he did then before.

    Entering adulthood, news of Stigr's sudden decision to leave his birth land to find his way in life in another country surprised Bran, who had already taken over the gardening duties from Gøran. The staff of the Stígandr household were familiar of their mistress's overprotective nature of her only son. As he watched the carriage carrying the family off to the village that had the ship heading for England waiting at its docks, Bran felt a strange pining in his heart. Little did he realise that it was an unvoiced affection for Stigr from the brief interactions they got to have.

    Half a year passed since Stigr had gone to work for Nocturne Manor in London, England, and he continued to contribute his loyalty and services to the Stígandr's. During that time, Bran's mother passed away from an incurable sickness she contracted for some time and he took a short leave to carry out funeral rites for her.

    Another misfortune struck Bran while he was on a hunting trip before the incoming Winter season. A fateful Full Moon night. He crossed passed with a monstrously-sized wolf in the depths of a forest upon tracking unusual marks left by the creature and it was thanks to his innate ability emerging in the face of danger, managed to subdue and drive off the creature. The pain that flared from a bite mark at his flank let him know he didn't get through the ordeal unscathed. He went back to Gøran and related the horrible mishap to the retired old man. Listening to the description of the creature Bran encountered, Gøran then shared the story with Jarl and he'd never thought he'd see the man pale as much as his fair son.

    Jarl was a mildly superstitious man despite his bearings - as Norway too had its share of supernatural and mystical beings amidst the vast mountainous lands - and he'd looked through the books on mythological creatures (that Stigr used to read out of mild interest) and hearing what happened to Bran made his calm demeanour crumble. He took Gøran and Bran aside in his study room and gravely shared his suspicions after requesting Bran to show the bite wound. It was definitely not an average wolf bite. It was less than a month to the next Full Moon and there was no wolfsbane in the frosted wilds to be found nor at the local village's healing house and apothecary. It was a grim situation for Bran.

    Seeing no other alternatives, Jarl assisted Bran in taking precautions - the people aware of the gardener's predicament were Gøran, Jarl, Alvis Hemming (a close family friend and Jarl's business partner), Agnes (Stigr's mother), and another male servant Bran trusted. In the cellar of a cleared storehouse that was a separate building from the Stígandr's stone manor, Jarl had the locks replaced and walls reinforced with sturdy timber and iron, even including an iron cage that had shackles at Bran's insistence. With Alvis's help, Jarl got as much timber, iron, and silver as he could get without endangering his finances. The preparations continued up to the day before the Full Moon.

    So, Bran had himself encaged and wrists shackled with the body of a dead Elk he managed to hunt down a couple days prior, some inner instinct telling him he would want raw flesh once the transformation happened...After receiving solemn blessings from Jarl, Alvis, and Gøran, who were overseeing the process, Bran was locked up in near darkness in the early wintry evening. Settling in a corner of the cold cage, Bran waited in silence as an agitation grew within him and his body heated up as the sun set outside.

    The moment Máni graced the skies, Jarl, Alvis, and Gøran - the three men waiting in the storehouse above the cellar - heard the pained screaming dissolve into inhuman roaring and howling. The terrifying sounds went on for a bit before they subsided somewhat. 

    When dawn finally arrived, they found Bran almost naked, what's left of his clothes hanging in shreds on his body, and bloody; the gardener passed out on the cage floor. The carcass of the elk was almost entirely gone next to him. When he came to, Bran allowed himself to cry for the first time in years. Tears from the trauma of the change and gratitude for those who helped him.

    He knew that this was only the beginning of a monthly routine that he grew to detest. 

    The months following his first transformation into a werewolf, Bran got better in preparations for the Full Moons while he picked up on wolfish instincts and habits which he took advantage of during hunts. His employers, guardian and trusted friends provided support and countermeasures. In the light of daily life passing as normally as it could, the Stígandr household faced the next blow to their maintained peace. 

    The lady of the house, Agnes, was fraught with illness from missing her only son and the stress of housing a supernatural being; which she will never admit to protect the gardener from feeling guilty whom she's come to see as a nephew of sorts. Accompanied by Bran, she was out on an excursion in the countryside to better her spirits when the werewolf that cursed Bran attacked their company as a grudging revenge. Bran did his best to defend the mistress - partially transforming to match the attacker's strength as his ability contributed - but Agnes got mortally wounded in the end and the rogue werewolf fled once again, satisfied to have brought anguish to his former prey. He raced her back to his master's home and Jarl rushed doctors and healers from the nearest village to treat his wife. Despite everyone's best efforts, there wasn't much hope for Agnes to survive her injuries. Her days were numbered and she knew it. 

    The dying wife and mother made her last wish: To see her son a final time.

    Stigr was summoned home and the heir just managed to have final words with his mother before the lady passed. Bran felt old feelings resurface in his heart upon seeing the fair young master again. Bran divulged his Lycanism to Stigr then. To his and Jarl's surprise, Stigr showed little to no shock or disbelief - though there was conflicted anguish in his expression at learning how his mother got fatally involved. The Full Moon (1st June ₂₀₁₅) came two days after Agnes' official time of death, during her wake. Stigr witnessed Bran as a werewolf with almost no fear, which made Jarl suspicious and curious of his son. A bit more careful prodding and the albino reluctantly admitted that he was familiar to the supernatural since London was occupied by them. 

    After the funeral rites, Bran boldly voiced his desire to be Stigr's blood brother and Stigr accepted. Perhaps it was the lingering regret, guilt and cowardice...For involving the Stígandr Household that Bran also requested his employer that he resign for a few years and follow Stigr back to England - who intended to resume his employment there for some time more - and if possible, work at the same manor with him since he's heard bits and pieces of the Lady's gracious gestures towards his employer's son. He also wanted to re-establish his relation with the albino, letting his chances slipped by before. 

    Once the mourning period passed, they held the age-old ritual of becoming blood-brothers simply and privately, both men bearing similar scars on their respective palms when they departed their shared motherland. 

Likes:
        - Wine and mead; anything that can mellow or raise his spirits. (Though since turning into a werewolf, drinking has become something of an act for a little normalcy.)
        - Preparing weapons and equipment for a hunt.
        - Eating lamb and elk. (He would eat the whole animal if he could.)
        - Skinny-dipping in cold water.
        - Quiet environments. 

Dislikes: 
        - Anyone who treats a member/close associate (that he knows) of the Stígandr household wrongly.
        - Noisy people.
        - Shaving when it gets hot.
        - Senseless bloodshed.

Notes: 
        - Speaks mostly Norwegian and some broken English.
        - Has multiple scars on person, including a healed werewolf bite wound at his right flank. His right palm recently bears a fresh scar (appearing seared since a silver blade was used) from the ceremony of becoming Stigr's blood brother.
        - Has a rune tattoo in the middle of his back that means to prevent anger and avoid wrath.
        - Plays on self-made seljefløyte (willow flute) when the mood strikes him.
        - Knows some woodwork. (Picked up and bettered through making own hunting equipment and traps.)
        - When doing gardening work, he tends to speak to the flora. (A teaching from Gøran to have a better connection with nature.)
        - Grows his beard for a sentimental reason. (Copying his adoptive father's style.)
        - Wears and lightly bites a triquetera symbol gold pendant  between teeth when in thought. (A parting gift from his mother.)
        - Birthday is on 1st of January.
        - Bisexual; though he's only had sexual experience with a wench or two.
        - He could possibly be harbouring a one-sided love for Stigr...

Changes to character: (Will be updated when there is something to add) 
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Music:
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Bran copyright