Selden
Name: Selden Astrail
Nickname: Sel
Species: Human
Male
DOB: July 13th
Height: 6ft 6/ 2m
Appearance
Selden is a tall, white man with chin-length red hair, and red eyes. His skin is extremely pale, and burns easily. The bags under his eyes are very visible, and made worse by his insomnia. At 6ft 6, he towers over the Mahlandorians he lives alongside.
Selden's preference is to have no facial hair, but its not uncommon for him to have days with visible stubble.
Selden's body is covered in numerous scars from where he was tortured. His arms are a network of lines drawn with knives, theres a large burn on his chest created by a fireplace poker, along with other smaller burns across his body, and his back has long, vertical scars from a whip. Most of his scars can be hidden underneath his clothing, minus a faint line going from the left hand side of his neck to his cheek.
The exact placement of individual scars largely doesn't matter- just avoid giving him any across particularly vital blood vessels.
Selden tends to slouch and generally his body language is that of someone trying to take up as little space as possible.
Backstory
Selden comes from a rather unassuming background - he grew up in a village in the westernmost regions of the Tirucian Empire, right next to the border with the country of Mahlandor. His family processed wool for a living. However he was always a bit of a black sheep in the village - his older brother (8 years Selden's elder) had been a total nuisance to the people living there. While his brother (Bas) had been recruited into a top secret training program at the age of 12, Selden could never quite shake the reputation of the brother he barely knew. The adults didn't really trust him, and the other children picked up on those suspicions.
So Selden grew mostly in his own company. Most of his free time was spent reading fiction that had made its way to their isolated part of the world, or out in the wilderness to draw the landscapes. Unable to find an apprenticeship in town, he tried the family trade of spinning wool. But as an akward teenager, in a room full of adults gossiping, the work was hardly enjoyable for him
With his drawing skills, and his parent's letters to their eldest son, Selden was able to get an apprenticeship in an art studio in the [Regional Capital], and was only waiting on his elder brothers escort to take him there.
Unfortunately, days before he was due to leave, a military party from the hermit kingdom of Mahlandor arrives in town. They came to look for the kingdom's missing prince, and when no one in the village could offer any actual help... they razed the village and put it to the torch. When they broke into the Astrail familys home, Selden tried to fend them off with his dinner knife, which was thought to be h i l a r i o u s. Selden was captured, and brought to Mahlandor... after being forced to watch his parents be killed.
Selden, and a few others from the village, were brought to the dungeons of the Mahlandorian capital and tortured for fun. They were put down in the records as "traitors", but it was well known these were innocent people. They were tortured simply to test the effectiveness of certain torture methods- if someone you know is innocent confesses to a crime that doesn't exist, you know the torture method is ineffective. Selden was beaten, bruised, cut up, burnt, whipped and more for no real reason.
Months of this passed, before a mysterious guard he had never seen before managed to get Selden through a secret entrance out of the castle.
Personality
Before his story starts, Selden was a quiet and socially awkward individual. He could never really find his place in his home town - others around his own age didn't really interact with him, and he couldn't really relate to the adults. Instead he barely spoke to anyone outside of his own family and spent more time in the surrounding wilderness with only himself for company.
The start of the story adds significant trauma to him, giving him PTSD. Hes far more awkward than ever before, and has a lot of issues with people standing behind him, or touching him. He also has an aversion to fire. He has flashbacks to his abuse that result in panic attacks and is in significant fear. He can struggle to advocate for himself and voice his own opinions and desires. Though he is very firm on things hes already identified as significant triggers.
This doesn't last forever, and as some of the fear subsides he shows more sides to his personality. He can be sarcastic, with a dark sense of humour to go with it. Hes very self depreciating, and struggles to see his worth - hes still not quite sure of his place in the world, and sees himself as a burden. Hes also hot headed, and easy to bring into a fury.
He may not seem to be the easiest person to get along with, but if you can get on his good side, you'll find a fiercely loyal friend. He'll go out of his way for you and want to prove his "worth". Especially as he considers himself in considerable debt to those closest to him, and their lives more important than his own.
Wardrobe
Selden's wardrobe isn't exactly extensive, or particularly fancy. He wears simple, medieval style clothing - tunics and breeches in relatively simple dyes. Desaturated greens and browns make up most of his wardrobe.
He constantly wears long sleeves, no matter the weather. This is to hide his scars. Because hes taller than most Mahlandorians, the sleeves often don't quite go the full way down his arm. To combat this, he tends to wear leather vambraces to make up the difference, and to stop the sleeve falling down and exposing his scars.
For warmth, and to hide himself a little better, he'll be seen in various cloaks and capes. If he is out in the city, he'll wear one with a hood that he can quickly pull over his head.
Gallery
