10
Hwenumïr Character Sketch
Name: Hwenumïr Üthu
Age: 20
Born/Raised: Unknown
Height: 5'8"
Eyes: Royal Blue (Blue or purple, depending on the light)
Hair: Silver, longer
Build: Thin, tall, and very flexible
Fighting Style: Incredibly fluid long sword techniques. Is incredibly inept at disarming his opponents.
Weapon: Prefers using a single bladed long sword, straight, with strange red runes on the sides. He claims not to know what the runes say.
Personality: Hwenumïr is amazingly level headed. Calm in all but the most extreme circumstances, he can appear to be burying his emotions, which is far from the truth. He simply prefers to keep things on a "logical plane," as he terms it. He does exude a gentle confidence and has a natural ability to rally people around him. These skills make him an excellent leader, which explains his current position as the head commander of the army division stationed in Tärmoth. Hwenumïr hates being seen as a great leader type, preferring to pitch his efforts in any labors that need to be completed.
Hwenumïr is a perfectionist, demanding nothing but the best from himself and those around him. He will often place extra responsibilities on others, but most people do not grudge this against him – they trust him implicitly. Those that do slack off from their duties soon find themselves at great odds with him, but Hwenumïr is never harsh.
Unless in the heat of a melee or when the stakes are high, Hwenumïr prefers not to have to kill, or even harm, if it can be avoided. Far better at private duels than in large battles, he chooses to follow a "three-chances" rule. He will disarm an opponent up to three times, giving them every chance to surrender peacefully. If the opponent refuses, Hwenumïr will swiftly beat them down and bring them in.
Both this philosophy, then, and his gentle personality explain his great friendship with Sauske. When occasion permits, he shows a very playful side of himself, as shown by the "jumping assassination" fights he and Sauske get locked in. These have become something of a novelty in the town, so Sauske and Hwenumïr try to keep their game away from watchful eyes…unless, of course, a choice opportunity presents itself.
History: Hwenumïr has only been in Tärmoth for about 4 years. He generally keeps his past to himself, which of course makes it a prime target for Sauske's constant nosing. All that he has revealed is that he is not from anywhere near Tärmoth.
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"Sir!" Danoth rushed into the room, a sense of urgency in his voice. "It's the thieves again…and they've kidnapped a boy this time!"
His commander, Hwenumïr, had a reputation for his almost unnerving calmness in the face of just about any situation. Despite having served for almost a year under Hwenumïr's command, the lieutenant still found the evenness in his commander's voice surprising.
"Where?" Hwenumïr asked.
"The thieves slipped into an alleyway just off the main market street. My men blocked off all the other exits as fast as we could, so we're pretty sure we have them contained within a five square block area."
"Excellent work." Hwenumïr stood, grabbed his sword from a rack near his table, and slid it into his belt.
The lieutenant started, his pride perhaps a bit threatened. "Sir, I'm sure my men and I can handle this situation."
Hwenumïr smiled. "I have every bit of confidence that you can. But I've been trapped in this office for over a week now. I'd like a chance to get out for a while, and this seems as convenient an excuse as any, hm?"
Not wishing to contradict his commanding officer, Danoth just replied, "Of course, sir."
"Shall we?"
As the pair walked to the area in question, the Danoth filled Hwenumïr in on the details. The thieves Danoth referred to so fearfully had been committing a series of destructive and violent thefts throughout the area, yet eluded capture by hiding in the alleys every time.
"Do we have any idea why the thieves kidnapped a boy this time?"
"No sir, not for certain. But the father of the boy is a fairly wealthy merchant…we think it might have been for a ransom. When the kidnapping took place, the father apparently killed one of the thieves, and in the ensuing chaos, they took his son. The father was wounded, and fainted because of blood loss...so we haven't been able to get the details."
Hwenumïr grunted in affirmation. As they turned onto the market street, they spotted a soldier rushing towards them in a panic, obviously out of breath as he tried to shout to them.
"Commander! ……Lieutenant! They're going ….going to ……kill the boy!"
"Hmm?" hissed Hwenumïr.
The soldier stopped in front of them, gasping for air.
"They trying….to take revenge….for the death of their ……comrade……We found a note…...they're planning to execute him….use him as….an example."
"Order the men to move in from all directions. We've got to find them fast!" Danoth ordered.
Hwenumïr raised a hand. "No. If they see you from even ten yards off, they'd kill him."
Danoth threw his arms up in the air. "Then what do you want us to do?"
Hwenumïr just stood there silent for a moment, enveloped in thought. When he opened his eyes, he said, "Use me as bait."
"….what?" Both the soldier and Danoth uttered simultaneously.
Hwenumïr let an unfocused gaze peer down the street. "Use me as bait. I'm a tempting enough prize for a group of enraged thieves to forget about a little boy for a while, right?"
"Commander, you're insane!" Danoth almost shouted.
"I know. Tell the men to stay where they are. Do not let anything or anyone cross that perimeter, understand?"
"Commander, I-"
Hwenumïr remained calm as he interrupted. "That's a direct order, lieutenant. Trust me, I'll be fine."
"Without any backup?"
Hwenumïr laughed. "The backup's already here."
"What? Who?" Danoth searched up and down the street.
"A friend of mine."
"Sauske?" Danoth offered unbelievingly.
Hwenumïr nodded.
Danoth was dumbfounded. "What makes you think he knows about this? How's he going to know to help you?"
"Oh, he doesn't yet. But he'll be there."
"You're so sure?"
"Of course. Two reasons. Number one, every time I seem to get in a sticky situation, he shows up outta nowhere. Number two – even if the thieves don't know it yet, they don't want him around."
"How does that help?"
"You know Sauske. Every time you don't want him around, he pokes his head in somewhere."
Before Danoth could respond, Hwenumïr drew his sword and raced into the alleyways. Number three – Sauske wasn't 100 yards down the road from us. If he didn't see me somewhere in there, it's a sign that the world is coming to an end.
It didn't take Hwenumïr long to find the thieves; they weren't taking any pains to hide themselves this time. Hwenumïr stepped out in the open and challenged them.
"I'm going to give you to the count of three to release that boy and face me like men."
Perhaps it was the sudden appearance of one of the most famous men in Tärmoth, or maybe it was the fierce way in which he voiced his demand. Regardless, the thieves stood dumbstruck for a moment as they considered this new development…but only for a moment. Four men came rushing at Hwenumïr, brandishing a mix of swords and knives. One thief lifted the boy and put a knife to his throat, clearly indicating his intention to slit the boy's throat at a moment's notice should the battle not go his way.
Given the choice between standing and fighting, and drawing the thieves away, Hwenumïr took the second route. He turned and ran, attempting to lead the thieves towards the soldier lines. They were not far behind him.
Left, right, straight, left, straight, right--! He took a wrong turn, and backed himself into a dead-end. Before he could get out, the thieves were blocking the entrance.
Oh…bad. Hwenumïr thought to himself as he prepared to fight.
The thief who had originally taken the boy hostage stepped into view behind the four other thieves, a wicked smile on his face.
"Well, well, well….what have we here?" he sneered.
Hwenumïr remained silent, keeping his sword at the ready.
"I was going to hang the boy's corpse alone on a spike for all to see. But, perhaps he won't be so lonely with someone beside him, yes?"
"By this 'someone else,' you're referring to yourself now, hm?" Hwenumïr gave an odd smile.
The head thief frowned. "Kill him," he ordered.
Four thieves charged as fast as they could down the alleyway. The dim clang of steel clashing on steel ripped the air as Hwenumïr fought back, blocking, dodging, kicking, and rolling. Every time he tried to get past the four and to the master thief, though, he was stopped dead in his tracks. Despite his best efforts, he found himself unable to either disarm or destroy his opponents…there were simply too many blows coming from too many sides at once.
Bit by bit, the thieves pressed Hwenumïr back towards the wall. He saw their strategy…they would either wear down his endurance, or nail him against the wall, whichever came first.
Any time now, Sauske. Hwenumïr ducked underneath a head swing, then darted left, barely escaping a thrust from a long sword. The sword buried itself into a crate with a dull thunk, and the thief struggled to get it out. Still, Hwenumïr was unable to do anything except retreat.
Twenty feet…all the space he had left. Rolling underneath a series of chest strikes, he tried to cut at the thieves' legs, but one of them kicked him backwards, sprawling him on the ground. Struggling to stand, he parried a thrust to the side and lashed out, kicking the thief squarely in the stomach and sending him flying.
Ten feet…He jumped onto a box, hoping to get on the other side of the mob. One thief struck at the box with a mighty swing, shattering it underneath Hwenumïr's feet and forcing him to both land back where he started and roll backwards to avoid a fatal downwards strike.
Five feet…blast it Sauske, where are you?
Whump thunk...thud. Hwenumïr smiled. About time.
Sauske had jumped from the rooftop down behind the master thief, striking him from behind and knocking him out.
The thieves' advance stopped instantaneously. Two spun around. Now it was two vs. Sauske, two vs. Hwenumïr. Piece of cake now, Hwenumïr chuckled to himself. He nodded towards his friend and shouted, "Sauske, they're trying to kidnap the boy!"
It was obvious from the furious look on Sauske's face that he already knew what was going on. Hwenumïr had seen him this way before, but only once...at an inn they had stayed in during a trip to another town. Despite their best efforts, the doctors never were able to get the ruffian's arm to fully work again after Sauske stopped him from assaulting the innkeeper. Hwenumïr was fairly sure that these thieves were going to be worse off when all was said and done.
As if planned, Sauske and Hwenumïr charged their opponents simultaneously. The thieves, surrounded, stood their ground. Now only two on one, Hwenumïr easily tore the weapon away from the one on his left, throwing him to the ground. Surprisingly, he managed to slip past Sauske and escape, fleeing for his life down the maze of alleyways. The second thief proved to be more of a problem, however. Now that he had no comrades to worry about hitting, he began to swing his saber furiously, hacking everything in his way. CCRRAACK! Sauske had stopped both his opponents in their tracks, destroying weapons in the process. Hwenumïr jumped left as his opponent swung down, narrowly missing his shoulder. He tried to grab the man's hands, but the man gave an expert flick of the blade, nearly taking Hwenumïr's right arm off.
Thud, CRUNCH, Thud Sauske dropped his opponents and left them laying there.
Hwenumïr didn't notice the fragments of the box that had been shattered earlier were right behind him. Stepping back, he slid on one and lost his balance.
No! Hwenumïr tried to roll himself to the side to escape a furious blow, but he was unable to move. He closed his eyes and prepared for the hit as best he could.
CCRRRAAACK! The blow never came. Hwenumïr wasn't sure what happened, but the thief was not on the ground. "YAA!" Before he could do anything, Sauske slammed his weapon into the back of the thief's neck, knocking him out.
Too stunned to move, he watched Sauske assume the familiar end-battle pose he always did. Suddenly, Hwenumïr snapped back into reality.
"Hey, you gonna help me up sometime today?" he asked.
Hwenumïr watched as Sauske opened his eyes and sighed. Without warning, Sauske smiled and then sprang on Hwenumïr, gently tapping him with his weapon. "Dead", he declared. "Gotcha this time."
Just like Sauske…never one to pass up our little game. He tried to keep some of his dignity by simultaneously grabbing Sauske's arm and throwing him to the ground. They laughed together as they struggled up.
Suddenly Hwenumïr remembered what he was here for. Unrattled, he asked "Where's the boy?"
Sauske wasn't so calm…he rushed over to the spot where the boy had been before, frantically searching for any sign of life. Hwenumïr tried to follow, but couldn't keep up with Sauske's amazing pace. I just haaad to get out of the office today, didn't I?
A wave of relief washed over both men as Sauske discovered the boy's hiding spot. He had wisely hidden himself under a stack of crates to avoid the fighting. Hwenumïr let Sauske handle the boy…he was much better with kids.
Might as well get these 'things' together. He began to drag the thieves to one central spot, piling them on top of each other for the soldiers to pick up later. They'll be getting a nice long vacation in prison, now.
He saw the boy crawl out of the hiding place. He also saw Sauske pepper the boy with rapid questions about 10 seconds later: "So what's your name, kid? Where you from? And where're your parents? You live around here? What did the thieves want with you?" Always the inquisitive one… he laughed to himself.
"Sauske, you have to give the boy a chance to answer one question before you assault him with the next."
Sauske paused his interrogation long enough to quip, "Ever the critical one, hm?"
Hwenumïr laughed audibly this time. Yes.
Grunting as he hauled the thief to the pile, he heard the boy identify his name as "Venth." Odd…
He walked over and punched Sauske good-naturedly in the shoulder. "We'd better find his parents. And we need to let the soldiers know about these four."
Sauske offered to take the boy home. "Shouldn't be too hard to locate his parents."
Venth piped up. "Yeah! We live not far from here just a little ways off the main road in town!"
Sauske peered over at Hwenumïr. "See? Not hard at all."
Knowing that if Sauske was by his side the boy was safer than he would be locked in a tower, Hwenumïr concurred. He raised an eyebrow and mocked sternness as he said, "Just see that he gets home in one piece."
The sarcasm wasn't lost. "All right…master." Sauske drawled.
Hwenumïr huffed…he despised being called that. Of course, he made the early mistake of letting Sauske know this, who constantly used it to his advantage. He waved, and the group parted ways.
He stopped as he heard Venth shout out "Thank you!" Turning and waving, he called back, "You're welcome!"
Hwenumïr watched the two fade out of sight. These guys aren't gonna wake up anytime soon. Making sure the thieves were secure, he started on his way back to the perimeter line.