Alors que les processions d'Alexandrie rugissaient derrière lui, Baleno était impliqué avec une belle épée jusqu'à ce que le marchand lui ait dit son prix. Gâtant ses dents par embarras d'avoir à refuser l'achat et dégoûtant à quel point il chargeait, Baleno a gâché l'arme à nouveau sur son rack. C'était dommage qu'une telle lame glorieuse coûte tellement cher. Il était sûr qu'on l'utiliserait correctement dans ses mains et non pas dans celle de l'aristocrate qui pouvait s'en permettre. Baleno a souhaité une bonne journée au marchand et s'est tourné pour quitter son étalage. C'est là qu'il a fait face à ses désirs.
L'offre du recruteur était comme de la musique à ses oreilles, un sourire malicieux sculptant ses lèvres. Tout ce qu'il lui fallait, c'était le mot prince. Et de penser qu'il n'avait même pas à aller loin pour trouver un besoin pour ses services. Il n'y avait aucune chance que Baleno refuse l'offre. Avant d'ouvrir la bouche pour l'accepter, il lui a tiré les yeux sur l'épée qu'il était stupéfait. Béni avec un autre travail il semblait, la pièce que Baleno avait besoin pour obtenir l'arme était aussi loin de lui que ses pieds étaient de ses genoux. Bien sûr, un peu de travail était nécessaire mais ce n'était pas comme si Baleno ne pouvait pas se réduire à un autre jour de paie.
« J'accepte humblement l'honneur si c'est le mien », répondit Baleno au recruteur, inclinant son torse d'un léger arc de respect et de reconnaissance. "Et je préfère les femmes, merci ", a - t - il ajouté sarcastiquement avec sa propre saveur d'humour audacieux.
Alors que Baleno appréciait l'offre, il savait qu'aucun emploi ne venait sans concours. Même s'il était accepté dans les rangs d'une si haute noblesse, un service qui portait plus de stabilité que n'importe quelle de ses précédentes entreprises, il savait qu'il se battrait non seulement à côté de quelques beaux guerriers, mais contre eux pour reconnaissance. En tant qu'homme à la recherche d'une profession à tous les angles, Baleno était tout à fait prêt à faire ce qu'il fallait pour se démarquer du reste. Il avait son invitation alors maintenant il avait besoin de l'obtenir. Déjà au courant des prochaines compétitions de combat, son prochain mouvement était d'avoir accès au Keep. Comme il était étranger, il ne connaissait pas formellement l'ordre social d'Alexandrie. Il ne voulait pas entrer directement au Keep sans avoir obtenu d'abord l'autorisation.
-- Excusez-moi, monsieur, s'adressa-t-il au recruteur, mais j'ai aussi été amené à croire qu'un tournoi arrive. Savez-vous avec certitude où je peux m'engager pour un tel événement? »
Son but était encore de montrer de quoi il était fait. Il n'avait pas marché jusqu'à l'Olympus Imperium juste pour devenir un autre grognement. Il avait besoin d'un statut pour accompagner son profit. Tirer le sang des autres était le moyen le plus facile pour lui d'obtenir les deux.
**Name:** Baleno
**Titles:** N/A
**Affiliation:** Freelance at the moment.
**Age:** 26
**Birthplace:** Olympus Imperium
**Origin:** Othello
**Gender:** Male
**Race:** Human
**Appearance:** Standing an inch above six feet, Baleno is an impressively tall man with a compact build. Of half Alkhebulan and Imperium heritage, he is significantly darker than his mother's fair complexion and is only a couple shades lighter than his swarthy father. His skin is a smooth ochre, a medium brown pigmentation that edges only a smidgen closer to the light variety. The genetics of his father are clearly prevalent over those of his mother. From Othello he also inherited curly black hair. Because he spends most of his time traveling, Baleno tends to neglect it and has grown it into a unkempt mid-length afro. Perhaps the only noticeable trait his mother gave him was her eye shape. While his father's were small and close set, supporting his stern gaze, his mother's were large and upturned. He did not inherit their green color and his irises are instead dark brown like his fathers. Baleno has a square shaped face lined with a thinly trimmed goatee.
Not a fan of spending his hard earned money on trivial objects such as flashy clothes, Baleno frequently dresses in modest attire. His usual outfit comprises of brown trousers, black boots, and a blue long-sleeved shirt. Occasionally he wears a black cloak, particularly when the temperatures are cold. He keeps his sword equipped to his right hip. Covering his arms are a pair of metal gauntlets which serve as his armor of choice.
**Occupation:** Sellsword
**Resources:**
- _Sword_: Besides the clothes on his back and the few coin he has managed to procure, Baleno's sword is his only true possession as well as his lifeline. His current one, an old ( with a withered blade, is not his first. While fighting at the Colosseum as a novice he went through plenty that he broke during combat. He was allowed to keep his last sword as a reward for surviving.
**Skills:**
- _Swordsmanship Practitioner_: While he attempted to teach himself how to wield a weapon as a teen, that training ultimately amounted to nothing. It wasn't until he was forced to fight at the Colosseum that he truly attained any apitude for the sword. Baleno was given his first blade along with some light armor and told to wing it. Faced with a new threat on a daily basis, he at first swung his sword around mindlessly with very little success. He began to obtain meaningful experience after sparring against other gladiators. Taking a few minor wounds in the process, he memorized some of their techniques through repetition and interwove them into his own fighting style. Presently, Baleno is not strong enough to be considered neither an expert nor a master. He is talented enough to hold his own against another capable swordsman and can handle weak opponents such as bandit grunts with ease. If he were to engage a higher tier opponent he would undoubtedly struggle. At best his skill level can be described as intermediate and at worst average. He has never had any professional training which is evidenced by his erratic movement during battle. He is very aggressive and quick with his strikes and they can be improperly coordinated, leaving him open for attack if he isn't careful.
**Personality:** Baleno is a man whose heart has been hardened by his experiences. As a child he was like any other. His innocent outlook put a veil over him and prevented him from seeing the truth surrounding his own being. He paid very little attention to the physical differences between himself and the man and woman he believed were his parents. The raised eyebrows of his neighbors did not bother him until they started blatantly asking questions about his origin. It was only when he realized that not everyone was favorable of presence did Baleno become aware that he was a pariah even to his own family. He manifested a complex about himself and determined that he was the problem and not those who thought ill of him. Fortunately, the adoration of his adoptive parents withdrew him from his sorrows before it was too late. But, he was branded with negative impressions that would seep cynicism into him. He became withdrawn from his village's community and lost trust for them. In response, the people of the village increased their disdain for him which he accepted as a means of justifying his coldness.
A life of mercenary work has made Baleno less honorable than most. Money has ascended to a core priority of his and he will gladly slay almost anyone he is hired to if he is to be paid enough. His loyalty can also be brought or sold. If he can get a sufficient amount of gain out of lending his services to someone, he will do so without inquiring about specifics. He will work with anyone to survive and no one to fall. Also, he will appease anyone who he could gain from and disregard those who have nothing to offer. That isn't to say he won't help a person in dire need. He might if he assesses the risk to his own safety as minimal. For the sake of profit he doesn't like to mix business with pleasure nor does he prefer to befriend his clients. Whatever honor that still remains within Baleno restricts him from committing outright betrayal to those who he has formed a personal connection with. Although he may take actions that may not be morally correct, his conscious is alive and well. He is able to come to terms with his wrongs and carries the weight of his guilt as punishment. Because he is willing to hold onto his guilt, he isn't likely to make any apologies for his offenses.
Socially Baleno is a soft spoken man who tries to pick his words wisely. He isn't very expressive, preferring to keep his internal thoughts closed off but will communicate as needed. He prefers his conversations to be terse and straight to the point. He is impatient, especially when it comes to payments, and greatly values his time. This behavior stems back to his childhood during which he felt that he could seldom trust others. In constant fear that whatever information he does release may be used against him, he carefully inspects his associates before sharing anything personal. He likes to keep a small circle of people whom he can consider close. Even he who is not the friendliest person knows that one cannot prosper without any allies. When selecting his comrades, he tends to prefer those who are weaker. This is so he can issue a degree of control and put them back in place if they get out of line. While initially he only looks at his acquired subordinates as tools for his own benefit, he is prone to develop value towards them if they prove worthy.
**Biography:** Unbeknownst to Baleno, he was conceived as the illegitimate child of Moorish general Othello and his lover Desdemona. To conceal their relationship, Desdemona made arrangements to be rid of him shortly after his birth. It was then decided that she and Othello would marry to compensate for the procreation that resulted in the child. Desdemona gave Baleno to a common man and his wife who could not bare children. They raised him as their own and his early days were spent residing in the Olympian Imperium countryside. He realized that he was not the couples biological son by age eight, his darker complexion being a dead give away. He was a rare sight within village and was often ostracized by his peers. Although he loved his adoptive parents, Baleno harbored a desire to learn about his biological parents and why they weren't raising him instead. No matter how hard he tried to ignore the facts, it was obvious that his village would never accept him. He figured it best to set out on his own when he grew older and discover his roots.
Social conflicts put aside, Baleno's upbringing was otherwise quaint. He received a sufficient role model in the form of his foster father and his mother was kind to him. Their impression of Baleno was that of a blessing. While he was in their household he was well behaved and got into minimal trouble when under their supervision. However, he was known for getting into rumbles with the other boys within the village who picked on him. There was one in particular with whom he had a fierce rivalry. Kaeso, because of a girl who they both allegedly liked, was very competitive with Baleno and frequently challenged him. They fought a lot and that was how Baleno discovered his innate combat potential. Wanting to be better than his rival, he began solo training in swordsmanship using wood as a substitute for an actual blade. Fearing that he would fall behind to Baleno, Kaeso concocted a scheme to get him out of the village so he wouldn't surpass him.
The plan was simple but it was enough of an excuse for the village to drive away Baleno who they considered an aberrant among them. Kaeso disguised himself as a wolf using trickery and crept towards the village livestock. As Baleno and his family were shepherds trusted with safeguarding livestock, he managed to deceive Baleno into believing that a wolf was attempting to feast upon the livestock. This resulted in Baleno "crying wolf" on multiple occasions and losing the trust of the villagers. To finish his scheme, Kaeso led a real wolf towards the livestock and allowed it to feast. When the villagers discovered the wolf, Baleno was blamed for his negligence and ousted despite his parents pleas on his behalf.
After being exiled, Baleno traveled around performing odd jobs to survive. Not yet a skilled fighter, he found himself taking menial tasks in neighboring villages. The work he found was temporary and scarce. Starvation was plenty a problem during periods when he could not find employment. Becoming desperate, he resorted to petty theft. Using his job search as a farce, he would enter shops just to case them before later returning to make his plunder. It wouldn't be long before he was caught. His skills at thievery were mediocre and his heists poorly executed. One faithful day, in a bustling coastal city, Baleno made the dreadful mistake of attempting a pickpocket. His potential victim was a wealthy aristocrat who swiftly had him arrested. However, instead of a death sentence for his crime, Baleno was subjected to an equally horrific fate. He was sent to the Colosseum to partake in gladiator games.
Marked for death should he lose a match, Baleno quickly learned how to at least endure the onslaught of beasts he was pit against. He became infamous for surviving out of sheer luck, his impulsive use of deception allowing him to win numerous battles of attrition. Crowds flocked just to see how long it would take for him to be slain and were sorely disappointed. He gradually adapted to the hostility of the Colosseum and his swordsmanship proficiency increased. Eventually, he earned a pardon for his theft and was released from life as a gladiator. Any fame he acquired subsided well before that, the Colosseum's patrons having lost interest in him when he became capable of fighting properly. Having picked up a skill that was much desired in a turbulent land such as the Europa continent, he took to mercenary work. While in some regards it wasn't anymore honest than stealing, at least he was finally earning a consistent income.
Regardless of how far he traveled there was one concern that never stopped nagging Baleno. Having never known his real parents, he always felt as if there was a piece of him missing. It didn't help that he was forbidden from returning home and visiting the man and woman who raised him - the only people he knew capable of answering his questions. In the past whenever he brought up the matter of his biological parents he was brushed aside and written off as paranoid. Now free as a vagabond, he resumed his quest to solve the mystery once and for all. Derailed from his objective by the need to fight for money, he ended up sidetracked into the Empire of Europa in hopes of finding better opportunities.
**Note:**
- He was seventeen when he left home and was sent to the Colosseum roughly a year later.
- He fought as a gladiator for five years, being freed at the age of twenty-three.
- His current primary short term goal is to find a replacement sword. He is also willing to enlist in the army of a lord.
- His long term goals are to uncover the truth about his parents, come to terms with his existence, and to find a place where he belongs.
- He was known as "the Boy Who Cried Wolf" within his village prior to being exiled.