On a small village on the Pyrenees, an incredibly large baby was born. His mother was a widow, and so, she named her son Liher. The boy’s early years were much like any other child’s: he would play on the fields with the other children, of hiding and seeking and running and brawling and climbing the trees; he would ride Arossa, the old cow, to the despair of the village elders who worried her back might split in two; he would steal fruit and cheese and bread from the village’s houses and spend days on end with the other kids on what they liked to call “the wild land”, which was really just within sight of the village proper, but had a large cave and sparsely wooded areas where the more adventurous of them would venture on occasion. In short, he was a happy, if somewhat clumsy oversized child.
It was on a stormy night, he remembers well, that his live would take an unexpected turn which would lead him into a world he had never imagined could exist. A world of ancient creatures and powerful witches and sorcerers, where the stories he used to share with his friends did come true, only worse. That night they entertained a visitor, although he was a stranger only to Liher, for his mother knew the man quite well indeed. His name, he had said, was Orkatz, and he claimed to be a sorgina, and a descendant of the jentilak. The jentilak, he explained, were an ancient race of giants who, in times immemorial, had struck a pact with the Basque people: wombs and protection. Liher knew, then, that it would be the last time he would see his mother. And so, he cried.
The next morning was clear and warm. Orkatz said Mari was pleased that he had found an apprentice.
Fifteen years went by, in which Liher learned of his people, the goddess Mari and her consort Maju, of Ilazki and Ekhi, of herensuge and basajaun and lamiak. She learned how the sorgina could alter their shape to that of the animals of the land, and he learned that children were sacred. But he also learned to read and to write, of Latin and the Trivium and the Quadrivium, and of a group of sorginak called the Order of Hermes, who were spread to the four winds on all the known lands and beyond.
And so came the day he would be tested, Orkatz told him, to prove himself worthy of being called a sorgina, and to gain acceptance in the Order of Hermes. The challenge was a simple one, he had thought: find Ertzagainako karbia and perform solitary akelarre to Maju’s servant, the herensuge Beltza. But on his way there, Liher mistakenly chanted “under the brambles and over the skies”, instead of “under the clouds and over the brambles” as expected. He arrived at the cave quite bruised, and unable to perform akelarre on the Friday, much to Orkatz’s chagrin. But the lesson was a valued one, for he learned not to haste magic, lest it turns against the wielder’s whim.
The following year Liher was given the same task, and this time he was successful. He took the name Txatxu (Foolish), to always remember his initial failure, and set onto his new life…
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Characteristics: Int +2, Per 0, Com +1, Pre 0, Str +3, Sta +4, Dex +0, Quik -3
Size: +2
Age: 5+7+16 = 28 (28)
Decrepitude: 0
Warping Score: 0
Confidence Score: 1 (3)
Virtues and Flaws: The Gift (0), Hermetic Magus (0), Gentle Gift (3), Shapeshifter (0), Subtle Magic (0), Enduring Magic (1), Unaging (1), Giant Blood (3), Shapeshifter Affinity (1), Tough (1), Necessary Condition: Rhyme (0), Chaotic Magic (-3), Restriction: Children (-3), Slow Caster (-1), Hedge Magic (-1), Weird Magic (-1), Carefree (-1).
True Name: Liher
Personality Traits: Carefree +3, Good Humoured +2, Curious +1, Trusting +1, Protective +2.
Reputations: Hedge Mage 3
Combat:
Brawl: Init -3, Atk +1, Dfn -1, Dam +3
Knife: Init -3, Atk +2, Dfn -1, Dam +5
Soak: +7 (Partial Fur)
Fatigue Levels: OK, 0, -1, -3, -5, KO
Wound Penalties: -1 (1-7), -3 (7-14), -5 (15-21), Incapacitated (22-28)
Abilities: Basque (Rhymes) 5, Latin 4 (Rhymes), Occitan (Provencal) 2 (1), Pyrenees Lore (Geography) 2 (3), Awareness (Alertness) 2, Brawl (Dodging) 1, Folk Ken (Peasants) 1, Swim (Distance) 1, Shapeshifter 5 (Ibex) (5+47+23,5), Athletics (Climbing) 1, Hunt (Tracking) 1, Survival (Mountains) 2, Stealth (Natural Areas) 1, Artes Liberales (Ceremonial Magic) 1, Magic Theory (Rego) 3, Parma Magica (Corpus) 1, Basque Myth Lore (Sorginak) 3, Magic Lore (Basque) 2.
Arts: Cr 4, In 5, Mu 7, Pe 1, Re 7, An 4, Aq 2, Au 3, Co 4, He 5, Ig 2, Im 2, Me 3, Te 4, Vi 3
Twilight Scars: None
Magic Sigil: Gentle, Weird, Comic.
Shapeshifter: Pyrenean Ibex, Cat, Marmot, Black Woodpecker, Pyrenean Mountain Dog.
Vis: 4 Cr, 6 Re, 4 An, 4 Co, 6 Te.
Equipment: Partial fur armour, knife, sturdy boots, clothing, animal and human teeth necklace (vis), wooden Txatxu Sorgina sigil, wineskin.
Encumbrance: 0 (2)
Spells Known: Circle of Beast Warding (ReAn5), Doublet of Impenetrable Silk (MuAn15), Disguise of the Body (MuCo10), Self Preternatural Growth and Shrinking (MuCo10), Strike of the Angered Branch (ReHe15), Tangle of Wood and Thorns (ReHe15), Rock of Viscid Clay (MuTe15), Unseen Arm (ReTe5), Trackless Step (ReTe10), Wielding the Invisible Sling (ReTe10), Unseen Porter (ReTe10).
Failed gauntlet!
Extra apprenticeship season 1: Magic Lore book Quality 15
Extra apprenticeship season 2: Shapeshifter from Parens, Quality 11
Extra apprenticeship season 3: Practicing Pyrenees Lore, Quality 6
Extra apprenticeship season 4: Practicing Occitan, Quality 8
