Aric Marshall

"Come then, peons, taste the steel of your betters"

- Aric in Halstead Sir Aric Marshall is a knight of noble birth, hailing from the Midlands in Halicourt.

Aric Marshall is written by Takato Matsuki.

Biography
"I have been born into this situation, just as you have, and on its own merits my flesh is no better than that of a commoner's. However, my responsibility to my subjects and fellow nobles makes me more important than the farmer that tills the field,"

- Aric explaining his views to Rin

The Marshall's are a family of the lower nobility, holding land to the west of the town of Durham near the heart of Halicourt. Aric Marshall was born the third son of Bradford and Caroline Marshall, and as such isn't set to inherit any of the family fortune. His father had tried to instill in his family what he thought were important values. Respect the gods, treat everyone, especially women, with courtesy, that when one says something, they had better follow through, and above all, that family comes first. Of course, not all of these stuck with the Marshall children, and as nobility, some of the values only apply to fellow nobles. Although the Marshalls pay their respects to the kingdom's patron deity, they are worshippers of the Highfather, Criador. As such, Aric commonly uses Criador's titles in place of swearing.

However, Aric only spent around 6 full years with his father. He was sent to the Baron's castle where he squired for his uncle, Sir William Griffith, returning home infrequently and for very short periods of time. At the age of 14, Aric's father and oldest brother left on a hunting trip that took them and some servants north to the nearby forest. Five days passed, an no word had come from the hunting party. When the news reached Aric, he left the Griffith's estate and rode home in order to aid the search party. In the forest, nothing but old campfires were found. Weeks later, a drowned servant that had accompanied the hunting party washed up in the nearby lake. Bradford and Owen Marshall were considered either lost to the wilderness or drowned, and no more search attempts were made to find the five man hunting party.

After Bradford and Owen's deaths, Caroline Marshall became the family matriarch and Desmond, Aric's surviving brother, inheritor of the estate. Aric doesn't have an extremely friendly relationship with Desmond, Aric looking down on his brother for being a womanizer.. However, his relationship with his younger sister, Abigail, is much the opposite. The two have always been the closest out of the Marshall children. They both see the other as the main reason they got through the deaths of their father and brother, as Caroline shut herself away from the children, physically and mentally, while Desmond took to the comfort of women.

Travels
The Marshall family received news that a family friend from the Cantarian town of Alexshire has passed. Due to the turmoil in Halicourt, Caroline forbid Abigail to travel and thus Aric is made the trip on his own. Making his way to the town of Durham, Aric accompanied a small caravan of merchants to the trade town of Bredon. There, Aric signed on as a caravan guard in order to get to the town of Alexshire in Cantaras; he left their service when they reached the town. Upon arrival Aric stabled Anselm, his steed, and rented a room at an inn. Within moments, the sounds of battle erupted within the town and Aric found himself accompanying the guard captain, Sir Grant Steele, and other individuals in an ill fated attempt to secure safe passage for the town's refugees. Alexshire fell to the barbarian horde, and the group found themselves fleeing to Cantaras City to notify the Cantaran King

Upon arriving, Aric and company were greeted and granted quarters in the royal palace. Dressed for the occassion, the group attended a banquet with the king and were presented with a proposal. Travel Ascanthus, and gather the armies of the different countries to stand united against the horde that swallowed Alexshire. Whatever their reasons, most of the travelers took the king's coin and pledged to accompany Grant Steele on his mission. Aric initially intended to leave for Halicourt the following morning, however, upon hearing the news that their first destination was Halicourt, the Halian decided to join Sir Grant until they got to Aylesbury; deciding what to do after that when the time came.

The group, now slightly larger, set out for Halicourt the next day, the journey was expected to take around 6 days. While passing through Abythia the caravan was ambushed, Aric and others handily defeated the bandits. Their leader, Grant, was accosted by an elf, Nira, and despite Aric's apprehension, was allowed a place in the ever growing band. However, the group was forced to take refuge in the Irvingstone Inn, where Aric distracted Lady Ceyla so Lady Lia could obtain alcohol. The operation was a success and at the end of the night Lia was acceptably inebriated. Finding himself dancing with Lady Tamber, Aric realized that he was interacting with a woman of a Cantaran Great House; the situation prompting a discussion on Halian customs and courtesies. The Halian, Lady Rin, was drawn to the conversation and found herself arguing with the knight about various subjects pertaining to their home kingdom.

The storm eventually let up, and the group continued their journey. The travel through Halicourt was uneventful, until they found themselves in the village of Halstead. Many in the group felt something was terribly wrong, but it was the Halian knight that first noticed anything of substance: two men of the local lord's Carrant hanging from a tree. Aric notified the band's leader, but before they could make a swift departure they were accosted by the village's new mayor and dozens of armed peasants. During the confusion of battle one of their own, the Lady Lia, was abducted. The company, with the addition of the priestess Ailyth and the returned archer Rachel, mounted a rescue attempt; Aric accompanying the group that traveled to the third floor. Instead of Lia, however, the group found themselves in the company of the Lord of Halstead, a man with a foreign name, one that Aric suspects the man fabricated to sound more interesting. Surprisingly, they were also greeted with undead, and those on the third floor made a mad dash to the second and subsequently back to the caravans.

Physical Appearance
Aric stands at just above 5'10" and weighing in at around 160 lbs, isn't exactly someone who would awe a crowd due to his physical prowess. He possesses lean and functional muscles courtesy of his decade long knightly training. The man's hair is a dark chestnut brown and barely reaches below his neck. When given the time to shave often the Halian will keep a short mustache and goatee; when time is short he will at the very least attempt to keep his beard from becoming unwieldly. The knight's skin is rather fair and is predisposed to burning in the sun rather than tanning. His eyes are dark green with gold flecks, a trait the entire family possesses except for Caroline and Owen, and are perhaps the man's most noticeable physical feature. Like many others who possess green eyes, they often subtly change color depending on his mood and to a lesser extent, the weather.

Personality and Traits
Like many nobles from the Kingdom of Halicourt, Aric is proud to be from the upper classes. As such, he tends to expect less from the peasantry; at least until they prove themselves worthy of his respect. However, as a noble, appearances come first. Aric at the very least attempts to think before speaking, in order to not offend those in his company. The nobleman has, at least to onlookers, learned to keep his quick temper in check; although this tends to result in rare outbursts.

The knight is, for the most part, serious and rather formal. For the nobility, Aric will always use the person's entitled honorific before their name. Women are always given an honorific. usually Lady or Miss, no matter their social status; something not exactly uncommon amongst the lower nobility of Halicourt. Unless a man is noble he will usually not use Sir before their name, and if he is not particularly fond of someone he will sometimes neglect to use an honorific regardless of gender.

Aric possesses a certain fondness for alcohol, his favorite alcoholic beverage a Halian brewed drink commonly referred to as brown ale. After he has consumed a couple tankards of ale the man will usually lose some of his inhibitions, becoming more outgoing, loud, and just more fun in general. However, he takes care not to consume so much that he becomes completely inebriated.

Equipment
When prepared for war, Aric is armored in a simple yet effective suit of armor. Unable to afford the full plate of the upper aristocracy, the man's armor is a mixture of mail, plate, and brigandine. A steel bascinet with flat klappvisor with aventail protect his head from most harm. A red leather coat of plates, a heavy leather vest in which metal plates are riveted to the inside, protects his torso. Steel pauldrons protect his shoulders from blows, couters protect his elbows, and splint vambraces encase his wrists. Shaped steel plates protect the backs of his hand, leaving his fingers guarded by mail and leather. Although this protects the most vital parts with sturdy steel, it leaves much protected by mail and padding. The armor protecting his legs is plate, as they are what is most easily struck by angry peasants when Aric is fighting while mounted. However, he wears buckled riding shoes in place of steel sabatons. His shield is of the heater design, and is usually slung on his back. On it his personal coat of arms is painted, Gules, a griffin rampant Argent, a chief embattled Argent, a mullet Gules for difference. Aric's sword belt is of a simple design and dark brown in color; a small chain with attached beads hangs from it. The man commonly grips them when using Criador's name.

While traveling and not expecting enemy activity, his dress is much simpler. A red, thigh length doublet, black breeches, and brown buckled riding boots that reach just below the knee serve him just fine. Of course, his blade accompanies him whether armored or dressed down.

In Alexshire Aric obtained a rondel type dagger from the town's armory. It is a long double edged dagger, the point reinforced in order to better penetrate chain and cloth armor. It is the knight's weapon of last resort. While in Cantaras City the group was allowed access to the city's armory where the Halian obtained the red brigandine he now wears, the item replacing his older coat of plates.

Birth Sword
Aric is armed with his birth sword, a bastard sword able to be used both in one hand or two. The blade is of the type XVIIIc variant, a type suited for both cutting and thrusting. The blade begins rather wide near the straight crossguard, and quickly tapers to a very distinct point. No fuller exists on the sword. The blade instead becoming wider in the middle; creating somewhat of a diamond appearance. The pommel is of the scent stopper variety, beginning rather thin near the grip and widening to a rounded head. Overall length of the weapon is around 46 inches.

Fighting Style
According to Halian tradition, especially among the nobility, a male child is gifted with a sword at birth. Indeed, according to his family the first thing the newborn grasped in life was the hilt of the longsword that later hung above his bed. Once the young nobleman was old enough to train with the weapon, his father presented him with a small heater shield to complete the set. Although Aric is trained for battle with lance and horse, he has never excelled at it and his brother Desmond has almost always bested him. The man is a decent rider, nothing more.

Fighting on foot, however, is an entirely different story. Aric's weapons of choice are his birth sword and shield, preferring to strike at his enemies with both the steel of his blade and leather-bound wood of his shield. Sword and board are not entirely effective for fighting an armored opponent or when a pitched battle draws too close, however; a two handed grip being much more useful. The knight is trained in a large amount of grips and stances for the longsword, half swording and the perhaps improperly named murder stroke being two such techniques.

Half swording can be useful when in close quarters and swinging the blade can be either dangerous to allies or downright impractical. The murder stroke is most effective when fighting armored opponents; the sword is inverted and the user grips the blade, using the pommel as a mace and the crossguard as a spike.

In battle Aric's style of combat has shown itself to be rather dangerous to the nobleman. The knight prefers to get in close and finish the fight quickly, using either shield or sword to parry his enemy's weapon while utilizing footwork to get inside the opponent's guard. This stands in stark contrast to the style his sister adopted to counter it, the woman preferring to keep her distance and strike only when relatively safe from counterattack.

Party
For the most part, Aric will keep his opinions of his fellow group members to himself; unless of course the other person is a large annoyance to him. He's not sure what to think about her. The girl's combat skills could use some work, but she is adept at throwing knives; something an orphan from Alexshire shouldn't rightly be able to do. Aric isn't exactly sure what to make of the man. His sortie out of the city is what saved their lives, but Aric feels Grant abandoned his post. Overall, however, Aric deems that he will need more time to form a real opinion on his appointed leader. Lady Lia confuses the man. For a mercenary she isn't much of a warrior and he isn't sure if the girl has taken a life before. Her mannerisms are suspect, as the mercenaries he has met in Halicourt have been, for the most part, uncouth peasants. He believes her to be a rather nice addition to the team, mostly because she is a healer; a skill very useful as the group is bound to be injured on a rather regular basis. Aric finds the woman quite odd, and often finds himself wondering why she ensures the hair covering her left eye never finds its way elsewhere. The two don't see eye to eye on the matters concerning Halicourt, however, Aric feels that he is misunderstood by the woman. According to him, Rin allows foreigners to know too much of the situation in their home kingdom.
 * Miss Kiris: The first party member that Aric actually spoke to for any length of time. While fleeing Alexshire the group made camp and prepared to rest for awhile. Although Aric was able to remove the majority of his armor, the man's outdated coat of plates gave him trouble. The Halian knight approached the blonde thief, requesting that she aid him in the removal of his armor. She complied, albeit with a sarcastic remark. As the young woman's choice in clothing did not appear to be very suitable for the night air, Aric allowed her to borrow his cloak. During the battle in Halstead Kiris was struck in the back of the head by a peasant, and Aric, in the absence of anyone else, found himself coming to her rescue.
 * Sir Grant: Aric and Grant's conversation's have been limited. They swapped some stories back at the Cantaran royal palace and Aric notified Grant that Halstead was compromised, but not much else has occurred.
 * Lady Lia: Aric first conversed with the young Cantaran noblewoman at the Irvingstone Inn, where she requested that he distract Ceyla, who had been watching her and not allowing her to partake in the consumption of alcoholic beverages. Aric, a few drinks in his system, complied, taking the mage by the hand and dancing around the inn. The operation was a success, and Lia's reward was a large tankard of ale.
 * Lady Ceyla: Aric's first interaction with the mage was during the forest battle outside of Alexshire. After a close call the knight decided that fighting with allies near was a fine plan, and eventually met up with Ceyla and the wounded Kiris. He accompanied them and watched over the mage while she healed their group mates, although he did not engage any enemies. At the Irvingstone Inn, Aric distracted the woman by taking her hand and performing the waltz around the building.
 * Lady Tamber: The Lady Tamber and Aric first met outside of the royal palace and exchanged the expected pleasantries. During his distraction of Ceyla the tall Cantaran woman decided to cut in, allowing Ceyla to escape his clutches. The two proceeded to dance about the room until Serena's music ended, after which they discussed various Halian subjects at the bar.
 * Lady Rin: The two Halian nobles found themselves debating over Halian courtesies and politics, and discovered that they weren't in agreeance on quite a few subjects.
 * Genevieve: The two have not spoken much, but the words they exchanged in Halstead were less than friendly. The woman's opinion that the group should think twice about mounting a rescue attempt did not sit well with the knight. Aric found himself wondering if she would truly not wish for anyone to rescue her should the need arise, as he feels the woman would quickly change the tune she finds spewing from her mouth.

Family

 * Caroline: Aric's relationship with his mother is almost nonexistant. She often rides about the Marshall estate for hours, and is increasingly difficult to communicate with. The woman often finds it hard to distinguish which of her children are which, and commonly mistakes both Aric and Desmond for her deceased husband, Bradford.
 * Desmond: Aric's only surviving brother, the two were once rather close. However, after the deaths of Owen and Bradford the two grew distant and Desmond took to the comfort of easy women; a pleasure that Aric is incredibly critical of. The man is a staunch supporter of the crown, as his father was, but finds the bustle of war below him. In his stead, Desmond usually sends Aric to lead the Marshall Carrant.
 * Abigail: Aric's "baby sister," the two are the closest of the surviving family members. Instead of growing apart during the tragedy, they each used the other to stay sane. She takes most after Aric, the man having imparted much of his formality and overall demeanor to her. After much pestering she finally got her brother to teach her swordplay, and when she turned 18 Aric commissioned a side sword to be made for her. She has the fire of wanderlust in her heart, although it has been supressed by Halian society and her brothers' insistence that it is too dangerous for the girl.
 * Griffiths: Not a person but a family. Through his mother, Aric is distantly related to the Baronial Griffith family, albeit through a cadet branch.

Other

 * Baron Harlan Griffith: Harlan is the Marshall's liege lord, and as his Carrant is made up of those in his lands the man has the authority to call the Marshall Carrant to action. Aric has personally met the man on several occassions and served beside him during peasant revolts and a few other actions. Aric views him as an honorable lord, and the baron opposes many of His Majesty's policies. Although not the head of the Marshall estate, if the baron called and with or without Desmond's blessing, Aric would mobilize the Carrant for the man.

Behind-the-Scenes

 * During the planning stages of the RP, AA wished for most if not all of the characters to be from Cantaras. As such, Aric was originally planned to be a Cantaran hailing from Alexshire, where he worked as a guard for the Church of Criador. This plan was scrapped when RPers signed up as nationalities other than Cantaran, because everyone knows Halicourt >>>>>> Cantaras.
 * In the initial Halian concept for Aric he was meant to be very suspicious of mages, as they are very rare in Halicourt. The idea obviously didn't pan out.