I put together some brief sketches for possible Highlander characters. Feedback is welcome, as ever.
Surveyor/Messenger: This idea came from watching some old BBC programs and noodling with the concept of scouting. The clan that birthed this character would be an established name, known among other Highlander clans for their moral character and firm neutrality in times of conflict. They were relied upon by many parties as couriers and heralds who could be trusted to deliver reliably and securely. However, just 25 years ago, the clan uprooted from Ala Mhigo and dispersed, without warning or explanation. Some members formed their own companies in the nations to the south, while others took to contract work with private mercantile concerns, or joined the Grand Companies. It was rumored in the years that followed that a senior clan member doubled as an informant to Garlemald, and that this was the reason they fled only a short time before the Garlean conquest. Many families, left to twist in the wind over this rumor, were forced to change their names in order to avoid deadly reprisals. One such family had settled near Moraby Bay, and one day raised a child who would become an adventurer...
(Admittedly this doesn't account for Theodoric or his purges, I haven't been able to integrate Ala Mhigan history into this sketch fully yet.)
Guardsman/Partisan: Five generations ago, a clan whose name was synonymous with superb hammerwork was implicated in the unlawful possession of stolen precious metals. The offending families, who could never be proven to have committed wrongdoing, were forced into exile. One of these families decided to lay down roots shortly after crossing the border into the Black Shroud, and strove to ply their craft in accordance with their new Gridanian hosts that they might avoid the greenwrath. When the Autumn War was launched by Ala Mhigo, these Highlanders chose to side with their new countrymen in Gridania, and those who could not raise arms against their former comrades chose instead to supply arms to the forces of the Twin Adders, Wood Wailers, and Quiver's Hold. After the bitter conflict and aftermath of the Ala Mhigan retreat they settled on remaining in Gridania proper, so that their descendants would be native-born to the Twelveswood. Shortly before the Garlean conquest of Ala Mhigo, this family gave birth to a child who would one day become an adventurer...
(This one may glaze over the nuance of the conflict around Gridania before the other Eorzean nations joined her, but I thought it a nitpick at this stage.)
To be updated below.
Surveyor/Messenger: This idea came from watching some old BBC programs and noodling with the concept of scouting. The clan that birthed this character would be an established name, known among other Highlander clans for their moral character and firm neutrality in times of conflict. They were relied upon by many parties as couriers and heralds who could be trusted to deliver reliably and securely. However, just 25 years ago, the clan uprooted from Ala Mhigo and dispersed, without warning or explanation. Some members formed their own companies in the nations to the south, while others took to contract work with private mercantile concerns, or joined the Grand Companies. It was rumored in the years that followed that a senior clan member doubled as an informant to Garlemald, and that this was the reason they fled only a short time before the Garlean conquest. Many families, left to twist in the wind over this rumor, were forced to change their names in order to avoid deadly reprisals. One such family had settled near Moraby Bay, and one day raised a child who would become an adventurer...
(Admittedly this doesn't account for Theodoric or his purges, I haven't been able to integrate Ala Mhigan history into this sketch fully yet.)
Guardsman/Partisan: Five generations ago, a clan whose name was synonymous with superb hammerwork was implicated in the unlawful possession of stolen precious metals. The offending families, who could never be proven to have committed wrongdoing, were forced into exile. One of these families decided to lay down roots shortly after crossing the border into the Black Shroud, and strove to ply their craft in accordance with their new Gridanian hosts that they might avoid the greenwrath. When the Autumn War was launched by Ala Mhigo, these Highlanders chose to side with their new countrymen in Gridania, and those who could not raise arms against their former comrades chose instead to supply arms to the forces of the Twin Adders, Wood Wailers, and Quiver's Hold. After the bitter conflict and aftermath of the Ala Mhigan retreat they settled on remaining in Gridania proper, so that their descendants would be native-born to the Twelveswood. Shortly before the Garlean conquest of Ala Mhigo, this family gave birth to a child who would one day become an adventurer...
(This one may glaze over the nuance of the conflict around Gridania before the other Eorzean nations joined her, but I thought it a nitpick at this stage.)
To be updated below.
