Post by mara on Oct 28, 2009 15:59:28 GMT -8
``DEVLIN EDWARD TIERNAN
I can be you hero baby
I can kiss away the pain
I will stand by you forever
You can take my breath away
The christened me MARA and I’ve fought through TWENTY-FIVE summers. They say I’m FRIENDLY, SARCASTIC and IMAGINATIVE and I’m not planning to change any time soon. I read carefully and I have found that the magic words are admin edit. Many masks hang upon my castle wall, but I hide behind DEV and I’ve been playing this game of Risk for ALMOST SEVEN YEARS and people say I’m d*** good at it.
♠ ♠ deep in the h e a r t l a n d ♠ ♠
[/color]>> Hiberno warlords
Nickname(s) >> Dev
Age>> Twenty-Three
Gender>> Male
Date of Birth>> early morning, 5 April 1492
Kingdom
Social Class>> Nobility
Occupation[/color]>> Squire/Knight in training
Religion>> Irish Catholic
Race>> Human
Martial Status>> Single
Sexuality[/color]>> Straight
Face Claim>> Charlie Cox
[/blockquote] [/blockquote] [/blockquote]
[/size]
♠ ♠ we stand like b r o t h e r s ♠ ♠
[/color]>> Baron Eliot Hightower and Baroness Olivia Gerith Hightower [maternal grandparents];
FAMILY>>
For the most part, Devlin got on well with his entire family when he was younger, though things have been a little strained the past few years after the death of his older brother Neil and his own defection to the city to train as a knight.
He was the closest to his brother Liam, who is the closest to him in age, and they would spend a lot of time together when they were younger because the oldest two would be out with their father. But they began to drift apart after Liam also left the house to pursue other opportunities, leaving Dev, as the youngest, alone at the family country estate with his mother and the servants.
This gave him some time to reacquaint himself with his mother and her side of the family; the Baron Hightower visited them quite frequently. He enjoyed his time spent with his grandparents, hearing great tales of their king and his knights and the war. His relationship with his mother became strained, though, when he decided he wanted to train as a knight. She begged him not to, knowing how the war had already destroyed their family, but Devlin didn't listen, leaving home as soon as he was old enough to go train.
Now his relationship with his family is more civil than anything else. They all tolerate each other, pretending to be friendly and engaged in more time spent arguing than actually enjoying each others' company.
Father >> Aiden Tiernan
Mother>> Lady Ena Hightower Tiernan
Siblings>> Ronan - 34, brother;
Neil [deceased], brother;
Liam - 29, brother
Extended Family
Patrick and Clare Westin Tiernan [paternal grandparents]
[/blockquote] [/blockquote] [/blockquote]
[/size]
♠ ♠ raggle taggle g y p s y - o ♠ ♠
[/color][/b] >>
LOYAL IDEALISTIC PRACTICAL PLAYFUL OUTGOING
FULL PERSONALITY>>
On the outside, Dev Tiernan appears to be a young man very sure of himself, almost to the point of being gratingly annoying to people who he doesn't know. This is especially apparent when he's fighting or showing of his swordsmanship. Though highly gifted in this area, he lets the skills go to his head sometimes.
He's also very outgoing, eager to be friendly to anyone he happens upon, stranger or friend, noble or peasant. Most of the time his playful nature is just ignored them, but Dev doesn't let it bother his high spirits, unless he feels vindicated in taking a sharper response to someone's silence, harsh words or rude gesture, if only to retain his honor.
Once one gets to know the deeper, more inner side of Dev, however, he can be found to be a contradictory mixture of both idealism and practicality. Idealism because of his high reverence for his king, despite knowledge that his sovereign is only a child. As a knight, he has high respect for the office of the king or any other royalty. He believes that if people just wait it out, anything they desire is possible, a trait that sometimes gets him into trouble. His practical nature has a somewhat uneasy relationship with his idealism. Despite his allegiance to God, king and all that is fair, when it comes to things more personal, closer to himself, Dev can be rather down-to-earth, cherishing the small things. His horse, his family, his friends. And his loyalty is the thing that binds both of these things together, as he is both loyal to his king as a knight, and to his family as a son and brother.
[li] Swordsmanship
[/li][li] Horsemanship
[/li][li] Keen eyesight, sees far distances
[/li][li] Loyalty to his king
[/li][li] Education/literacy
Flaws>>
[/li][li] Prone to extreme cockiness/overconfidence
[/li][li] Can't use a bow or any other weapon (besides a blade), including his own fists, with any degree of usefulness
[/li][li] His extreme idealism/optimism, especially related to his king and country, which can make him blind to what's going on in the real world
[/li][li] Hard for him to keep a lasting relationship with a woman due to overly friendly, almost overbearing tendencies around the ladies and his tendency to speak (sometimes lying) before he thinks
[/li][li] Headstrong, tends to ignore orders/authorities unless they come directly from the king
[/li][li] Religious only when it might benefit him in some way
[/li][li] Can't swim
Likes[/color]>>
[/li][li] Ireland and its royalty
[/li][li] Horses
[/li][li] Going riding on his family's land, getting lost on purpose to be alone
[/li][li] Women
[/li][li] Hearty meals and odd glass of whiskey
[/li][li] Sleeping in past dawn
Dislikes[/color]>>
[/li][li] Being compared to his older brothers
[/li][li] His mother nagging him to find a wife
[/li][li] Hanging out with other nobles, friends of the family
[/li][li] Hunting animals for sport
[/li][li] Getting his hair cut short
[/li][li] Slavery
[/li][/ul]
[/blockquote] [/blockquote] [/blockquote]
[/size]
♠ ♠ shoulder to s h o u l d e r ♠ ♠
[/color]>> 165 pounds
APPEARANCE>>
Devlin is a tall young man, around 6 feet tall, with an unruly mop of slightly longish brown hair that is well groomed unless he's just been on a ride with Whiskey. His deep blue eyes generally hold a good deal of humor within them but can change quickly to something more hard and determined, even angry. When battling or acting the part of the honorable Irish knight, he's decked out in his armor, handed down from his older brothers and pieced together. Dev keeps it shined, though, and unless closely observed, it doesn't look as used and hand-me-down as it actually is. Along with the armor he carries his sword, his own, though also worn a little on the hilt. When not serving his king actively, Dev will wear less formal attire, preferring simple shirts and tunics, riding breeches and boots.
Hair >> Brown, worn a bit shaggy
Eyes>> Deep Blue
Height>> 6'0"
Weight
Skin Tone[/color]>> Tanned
Body Type[/color]>> Athletic, but more toned than muscular
Distinguishing Marks[/color]>> none
Clothing[/color]>> When not in his armor, he generally wears simple clothing of a loose tunic, riding breeches and boots.
[/blockquote] [/blockquote] [/blockquote]
[/size]
♠ ♠ forever ireland's c a l l ♠ ♠
FULL HISTORY>>
Devlin Tiernan was born to Ena Hightower, the daughter of Baron Hightower of Dublin, and, Aiden Tiernan, a local merchant from the same city. He was the youngest of four boys, his brothers being Ronan, Neil (now deceased) and Liam.
His mother had grown up entirely in the barony in the city center of Dublin, sometimes going to the country estate for holidays. She was educated as most young ladies were, learning a language or two, studying a range of subjects but mostly spending her time learning to be a lady and future wife. This included lots of etiquette training and some sewing and knitting. Her mother wanted her to be prepared for anything, instilling her daughter with the knowledge that servants shouldn't be leaned on for every chore. Ena Hightower also dabbled a bit in art, receiving painting and drawing lessons once a week.
Aiden Tiernan had had a humble upbringing in the city of Dublin. He didn't grow up dirt poor, but nor was his family flush with riches. Aiden's father had a small merchant business and was away quite often dealing with ships' captains and his trade goods. His siblings, including his sisters, all received the same education. The Tiernans were rather forward-thinking in their beliefs, wanting all their children to be equally educated. Partially knowing that the future was always in motion, and with the war, sometimes the merchant business could be rocky. And so Aiden was well prepared to take on almost any job that he was put to. As soon as his father found him able, he began helping with the family business along with his brother Edward.
One day in Dublin, Aiden happened up a beautiful young woman out shopping in the streets with her personal maid. Immediately smitten with her, he rather rashly came up to her. A bit surprised, Ena Hightower hadn't known how to react right away but eventually the man's personality warmed her heart. She knew her father the baron might not approve the match of his daughter to the son of a mediocre merchant, but she nonetheless accepted Aiden's courtship. They attended balls, went for walks out in the country, spended afternoons at the barony in the city. Aiden was a little overwhelmed by the station of his love, but he knew in his heart that she was worth it. She wasn't stuck-up like most of the girls in the town, nor as beautiful.
Just under a year after they had begun courting, they wed in the Catholic church in Dublin. After a long discussion with Aiden, who had now taken over a bigger role at the Tiernan merchant business, Baron Hightower consented. Mostly because the young man could now pay for his daughter's large dowry. After the wedding, the couple settled a few miles outside of Dublin at the Hightower country estate. The Baron and Baroness, now older, preferred to stay in town near their fellow nobles and friends.
Their marriage was a very happy and mostly uneventful one at first. Ena continued doing in her spare time what she had as a single lady, though now she had her own household to run, servants to look after. In some of his rare spare time at home, Aiden developed an interest in raising and breeding horses. Soon the old barn on the estate was cleaned up and gradually filled with horses. His ever improving business, one that he now ran, due to his father retiring because he was getting sick, allowed him to send to Arabia for an Arabian stallion and a couple of mares, which he planned to later breed, hoping for some more profit. The growth of his merchant office also allowed Aiden Tiernan the money to hire more employees and to expand into Cork, allowing him to spend more time with his wife and family.
The Tiernans were gifted with children almost right away, their oldest son Ronan being born within a year of their wedding day. A couple of years later came Neil. Then Liam. The family was overjoyed with their growing family and the boisterousness of three young boys in the household. They all took to life in the country very well, loving the outdoors, learning to ride, to shoot. But it was four years after Liam had been born when the family got a surprise: Ena was pregnant again and later gave birth to their fourth son, Devlin. Since he was at the tail end of their children, and she assumed he would be her last, Ena paid special attention to her youngest son.
When they reached the proper age, the three oldest boys began training to be knights, something that was almost a requirement, being grandsons of the Baron. The old man didn't ask for much from his daughter, and so the Tiernans easily agreed to his request. The entire family was loyal to the Irish king, and they thought of no better way than to send their sons to join the ranks of knights. They were sent off to Dublin to train as pages under a retired knight, an old friend of their grandfather's.
Dev, however, never got to this point. Ena had pleaded with her father to let her keep her youngest at home, arguing that three knights in the family were enough, and Aiden would need someone to take over the merchant business someday. The Baron consented, and so Ena brought in tutors for Devlin, wanting him to have a more academic education. Something to prepare him for his future. He studied a broad range of subjects including mathematics, economics and history. The very few tutors and lectures that kept his rapt attention were on the days he learned about Irish history, his mind absorbing all he could. At a young age he was already smitten with the royal family and everything they represented, a devotion only increased by the rest of his family's feelings.
He and his parents didn't see his brothers during this time, as they were busy training in the city. Being close in age, within a couple years, all three were training as pages. However, they did send letters some of the time to update their parents on what was going on and how they were doing. Even at his young age, Dev was enamored with their tales, his mind exaggerating the tedium that was their training with the knight in the city. He daydreamed about fierce battles, riding on a sturdy steed, sword in hand. But they were only dreams, and he had to be content to stay at home.
When he wasn't spending his time in lessons, he was outside riding in the fields or inside the stables feeding the horses. Along with the three Arabians his father had bought, there were a few other horses, more sturdy breeds, horses for work, not for looking pretty behind a carriage. Dev didn't care; he took care of them all equally, becoming fast friends with them all. One of the workhorses had his special attention, a black Clydesdale gelding that his father used for work around the estate's land that he nicknamed Rascal or just Ras. It was this horse that he had learned to ride on years earlier.
For all intents and purposes, the young Dev was a happy carefree boy. He was quite content to be at home with his mother and father, not seeing his brothers often, spending a lot of time with the horses. But as he grew older, he grew more restless, remembering his studies of history and the letters from his brothers. He begged his mother to let him go to the city to trade as page, but her answer was always a stern no.
Later when war started more in earnest, his two oldest brothers, now complete in their training and already knighted (Neil freshly so, at 21), left to fight for Ireland, left a sad Devlin at home with the servants and his mother. His studies paled in comparison to what his brothers were doing. Two of them knights, and one a squire on his way to becoming a knight. The oldest had come home briefly to gather a few extra things before leaving to the warfront. Dev was intensely jealous of his brothers and could no longer focus on his tutors, always lost in daydreams of war and battle. When he rode Rascal in the afternoons, he would pretend to wave around a sword against invisible enemies. But still his mother held fast, reminding him about his future with his father in the merchant business.
As an 14-year-old, Dev was getting bored and exasperated with his life at the country estate. Though, Ena Hightower-Tiernan relished her youngest son's presence even more with her other sons gone fighting and training and her husband still taking trips into the city. She was extra glad at that time for his presence in the household. During the time without his brothers around to regale him with tales, no time for letters from the eldest two, Devlin contented himself with play-fighting, engaging some of the servant boys in mock duels with wooden or dulled swords.
It was during this time that his father, feeling sorry for his son, gave him the best gift of all: his own horse. He had disguised it as a gift for his fifteenth birthday, but Dev could tell by the way both of his parents were acting around him that it was something to keep him distracted while his brothers were off fighting in the war.
Ena had tried to get Aiden to remain at home more often, but the merchant business was sliding away from its former resurgence, and he had to stop by his offices in Cork and in Dublin more and more often, having to let go a few of his employees. It just wasn't feasible for the troubled businessman to take off time. He was a proud man and didn't like living off his wife's money. The only thing keeping them afloat besides the shifting market of the mercantile business was the few colts and fillies he could sell off from his two mares. So it was a real gift that he let Dev have one of the two foals from that spring; he would only be able to sell one of them that year.
But Dev didn't care what his father's motives were. He was just excited at the prospect of having his own horse and watching it from the very beginning. He loved riding Rascal, but this would be an Arabian, from his father's Arabian stallion. Devlin even got to choose which of the two mares would carry his new companion, which would be bred to Irish Regency. Dev was excited about the match between Irish Regency and Burnished Paradise, the possibilities of their colt (the fact that it might be a filly never cross his mind) running madly through his mind. The fact that his birthday lay within the period that his father generally bred his horses didn't even cross his mind at that point. As with his thought of the purpose behind his gift, it was almost immediately forgotten.
Throughout that summer he visited the mare, nicknamed Red, every day, making sure she received extra care, though the mare could take care of herself and her foal without any human interruption. Instead of racing around the fields with the servant boys or getting into other mischief, all his time not spent studying he was in the barn with the horses. Even when winter hit, Dev still visited Red as often as he could. He didn't want anything to go wrong with the birth of his horse.
But Devlin needn't have worried. This wasn't Burnished Paradise's first foal, and she had been through it before. Her previous colts and fillies had all been easy deliveries, the only difficult part being that she preferred to deliver in the middle of the night when everyone was sleeping. However, the young almost 16-year-old couldn't be outsmarted. He had done his math and research, knowing the signs. For about a week before the birth, he snuck out of his room at night, forgoing his comfortable bed for one of straw in the stables. He wanted to be the first one his horse laid eyes on after coming into the world.
He had just gotten to sleep one of those nights in the stall next to Burnished Paradise when a commotion woke up him. Nervous and excited all at once, he jumped up and peeked into the next stall. Red was laying down in her straw. Dev hurried over to her, glad for once that she was a docile mare, even in childbirth. It was over quickly, and Dev was looking at a little colt, a dark brownish chestnut. Whiskey came immediately to his mind, as his horse did look like the beverage that his father was fond of consuming. Though he knew the little foal's coat could change as he got older, the name stuck.
Eventually Dev started training Whiskey, who was later officially named Regent's Paradise by his father. He loved the name because he felt his horse truly was paradise, though he would always be Whiskey to him, even when he aged and his coat turned to the same reddish chestnut as his mother's. Whiskey easily took to his training, first from halter and lead, to eventually bridle and saddle. Whiskey and Dev were almost inseparable and grew into their adult selves together.
Dev spent every day he could manage with his horse, putting down invitations to balls in the city of Cork and afternoon teas with his mother's friends' daughters. Already she was looking to set him up with a young girl, though he wasn't even quite 17 yet and not even remotely interested in the idea of women or marriage. His daydreams were still filled with idealistic views of fighting for his king. The gift of Whiskey from his father only served to increase his desires, not distract him fully. He imagined himself geared in armor and riding his horse into battle, the sun glinting off his sword, Whiskey's mane glowing in its rays.
He had taken up again his request to his mother to begin his training then, when, during a break in the war, his brothers returned home from the war, Liam having joined when receiving his knighthood a couple of years after his brothers left. War was still going on, but they had had a reason to return: to bury their brother Neil. The family was devastated. Ronan and Liam were now unconcerned with the war nor with their country. They had lost all disrespect for them both, knowing that they were being ruled by a bunch of advisers under the figurehead of their child king. A notion Dev was still too naive to think about.
Ronan's thoughts of joining his father's business were strengthened, and even Liam was no longer feeling the call to battle. Aiden took the loss hard, coming up with more excuses to stay in town to check on his business; Ronan and Liam doing the same. Ena expressed her grief more openly, wearing black all the time, explaining to her youngest son why he hadn't been allowed to train. But by now his 17th birthday had come and gone, and Devlin was all the more eager to serve his king, remembering his history lessons and the cause his brother had died valiantly for.
Against his mother's wishes he left for the city to begin his training, taking with him pieces of his brothers' armor and one of their swords, plus the horses Whiskey and Rascal. He was going to the same knight who had trained his brothers, a partnership he had had his grandfather set up in secret. The Baron knew how his grandson felt about becoming a knight and went behind his daughter's back.
Despite being much older than the other pages, Dev fell into the routine easily, quickly catching up to the younger students. He studied hard, going well into the night, training alone. Dev knew he had a lot of time to make up for. A quick learner, it took him only five years to become a squire at the age of 22.
During this time his parents know knew where he was, their son having sent a letter a few months after he had begun their training. They were all very much disappointed in him, but knew there was nothing they could do now to stop him. He was on the path to knighthood. They begrudgingly wished him luck, and Ena all but disowned her son, cutting off all contact with him.
Because his relationship with his family has been a little strained, especially with his mother, Dev has spent as little time in contact with them, spending all his time either with the knight he is squiring under or in town. A lax teacher, Dev has free time once or twice a week to head into town. He has preferred to ride around Dublin with Whiskey to chat up the ladies. The time he had spent training had kindled his interest in the opposite sex, something that he had thought would never enter his mind. However conversations and flirting has been as far as it has went so far. Commitment has not been something he was interested in nor good at. Plus, all the women aren't very impressed when they find out he is not a knight like they thought, but only a squire.
National Heritage >> Ireland
Accent>> Irish
Languages Spoken>> English
Other>> N/A
[/size]
♠ ♠ caledonia, you're calling m e ♠ ♠
Role Playing Sample>>
[this is from another site with another plot]
Finished eating, Devlin was back in his room and opening up a chest he kept at the foot of his bed. His mother kept pressing him to keep his armor and things outside, but he couldn't bear to let them out of his sight and protection. Though handed down from his brothers and not new anymore, the chain mail, plates and swords held a special place in his heart. Plus, he just liked to sometimes scare the maid while rushing down the stairs, clanking as he went.
Smiling to himself, he began pulling on his gear. He didn't like to keep Master Jamison waiting, preferring to be the first to arrive. Hefting his sword and carrying his helmet, he Dev clanged down the stairs from his room and headed to the side door leading to the villa's small stable.
He whistled one note as he entered, and was greeted with an answering whinney. "Whiskey! Are you ready for some action, boy?" No longer the color of dark whiskey as he was born but now a bright shiny red chestnut, the 5-year-old stallion was Devlin's favorite horse. And the only one his father let him call his own.
Whiskey moved restlessly in his stall, waiting for his master to let him out and saddle him. "Shh, boy. Just a second..." Devlin stashed his things, the armor and weapon he wasn't wearing yet, and opened his horse's stable door. While Whiskey chewed on an apple, Dev got down his tack and began preparing him. Master Jamison didn't always have them battle astride, but he rode to the training ground anyway, mostly because it made the trip easier and faster.
He cinched the last strap tight and donned his helmet before grabbing his sword and mounting up. "Ya, Whiskey!" The stallion neighed loudly and cantered out of the stable and into the town.
Credits
This application was made by The Infamous Peregrine (me) on Swords of Speirling. The lyrics were taken from Celtic Thunder's Heartland, Raggle Taggle Gypsy-o, Ireland's Call and Caledonia. Do not steal.
[/center]
EXTRAS:
Horses
- Rascal
- Whiskey
Weapons
- Ol' Trusty
