Torstein
Strike these shackles from me, adventure awaits over the horizon.
Description:
Steely brown eyes stare out from beneath a heavy brow, set in a face framed by a shaggy mane of shoulder-length chocolate coloured hair that seems to get in his eyes despite the two small braids tied to keep it out of his face. Beneath his right eye two slash marks have been inked in black. Looking to be in his late thirties, the strong weathered features of his face are shrouded by a slightly unkempt beard, while lips naturally turn downward in the appearance of a constant grimace. Tall and lean, his long limbs and strong frame are toned by a lifetime of hard labor. Years of mistreatment have left their mark upon his body; various scars cover his arms and hands, while the worst are only glimpsed in private - with the telltale signs of having felt the lash marring the flesh upon his back.
Personality:
Upon first meeting, Torstein tends to come across as standoffish and distant, being slow to warm up to those he doesn't yet know. In situations where it's demanded of him, he can be sociable enough, though never to the point that anyone would refer to him as anything other than being gruff and quite tactless. His trust isn't an easily won thing, however, to those who have proven themselves worthy, he is fiercely loyal. And yet beneath all of that, toward those whom he is close to, he can be seen as deeply caring and protective. While being quick to anger when those he cares for are threatened, or treated poorly.
Background:
Torstein's father was a pirate that was part of the Abandoned. He married Torstein's mother early on in their life and the two of them did their best to raid the Mourning Isles as often as possible During this time they had Torstein. Initially Torstein was raised to follow in the footsteps of his father, a role which he didn't object to it because it enabled him to go adventuring and see what things the world had to offer.
However, not long after turning 16 the ship his father captained was assaulted by Harald Grimhall and Draevor Darkwater. The pair of Reavers having teamed up to wipe out the pirates who plagued the mourning Isles, thus making the life of those like Torstein and his family difficult and even more dangerous than before. During the slaughter of the ship's crew, Torstein was given a choice, a grim choice really, to be a thrall or to die. His mother had just recently had a second child, a baby girl she named Murie. With his baby sister clutched against his chest, protectively, Torstein didn't have to think twice. He agreed to become a thrall without argument, and in doing so was granted the right to raise his baby sister.
It was decided that Torstein would go to Darkwater holdings instead of those belonging to Grimhall. Life was not easy for him as a thrall to the Darkwaters, but he persevered as best he could to provide for Muriel. He was put to work in the farms, which was a mild relief because he could keep his sister with him, and relatively safely, while he worked. It was not long into his thralldom that Torstein met his future wife, though, it was not known at the time that she would be. Back then she was simply another baby close to the same age as Muriel. The two girls, Sameera Coldrain and Muriel, grew close very close. Muriel the warmer, gentler one and Sameera the colder one who had to take care of her own mother. She was the child acting as the parent. In the place of her mother Torstein observed Sameera doing the duties expected of a thrall. This made him instinctively protective of her. Her life was similar yet different than his sister.
It was not very many years into the thralldom that devastation found Torstein once more. His baby sister, who had been born with health problems, caught a cold and lost the battle to it. Even if Torstein had become one of the thralls who was in a leadership position, conditions were not the best, even if he had it a bit better than some of the other thralls.
The loss struck him hard and were it not for Sameera, the girl that was his sister's best friend, having lost her own mother he might have just given up. Instead of giving up as he wished to, he saw Sameera, this young girl struggle so hard to survive and keep on living, which inspired him to make the decision to struggle and live on as well. And ever since, during their thralldom, Torstein did whatever he could to take on the labour-intensive tasks that their taskmasters had given Sameer, along with his own duties. Thinking of it as his own way to repay her for giving him the strength to keep on living.
Not long after Sameera was freed she was knighted by Count Maximilian Darkwater and was granted leave to free about a dozen thralls. Torstein was one of the twelve that she had chosen to free along with herself. After gaining his freedom, he was given the choice to go to Arx, go to Coldreach, or do his own thing. He decided to do his own thing and travelled throughout the Mourning Isles, chasing new adventures one after the other, reveling in being a freeman once more.
It wasn't long after regaining his freedom that he inevitably ended up on Grimhall lands, having followed Sameera to them hearing that she had sworn herself to the Grimhalls. Despite his deep dislike of Harald, now the Duke of Grimhall, Torstein swore himself in service of the Grimhalls so that he could once again keep an eye on the girl his sister had been friends with. His adventures continued on, and he spent most of his time seeking relics of the past. Although now, instead of doing so simply for the thrill and pure joy of doing so, he adventured with the purpose of seeking out treasures the Grimhalls often sought that might aid those sworn to Thrax or the family itself.
Eventually Sameera took a trip to the Grimhall holdings, undoubtedly at the behest of the Grimhalls. Her job, of course, was to look into some matters requiring her skills as a steward. It was there that Torstein was able to convince Sameera to marry him. There was no wedding or any fancy shindig. It just became a thing. Despite the new arrangement of being married he wasn't done with adventuring, and would continued to do so. Though, after getting married, he followed his wife back to Arx and settled there. The capital having become the port in which he will return to when finishing future expeditions.
| Name | Summary |
| Harald | I have made thousands of thralls. You are one. |
| Sameera | Life long person. More stubborn. |
| Zalika | I am still getting to know you but I think you are a wonderful match for Sameera. |