Thorley du Crow

Adventure in Action: Character

Name:
Thorley du Crow

Age:
22

Gender:
Male

Ancestry:
He is the bastard son of Osmond du Crow, Baron of Pilksbury. The du Crows have held the barony for over 100 years and, while amongst the lower ranks of the nobility, still hold a lot of power in the county of Deamuncon.

Appearance:
- 5'5''.
- Slim, though leaning towards scrawny.
- Pale
- red, scruffy hair (Cuts it himself y'know.)
- Tip of his right ear is missing (due to a fight with his half brother, Henry)
- Usually wears a dark green tunic, black hood, brown hose trousers and black boots
- carries a dagger and sword at his belt along with his purse and pouch.
- Wears a small golden key around his neck.

Career:
Although begrudgingly given an education by his late father, Thorley makes his living as a thief. Either by commission or for pure survival, depending on what's available.

Skills:
- lock picking
- traversing roofs and climbing buildings
- rather good at knife throwing
- adequate sword skills (Although he would claim to be amongst the best swordsmen).

Interests:
- Magic. Although taught to fear it by his family and has never done any himself, he's always found it to be a fascinating subject and hopes he can learn some. Mostly to help get revenge on his half brother someday.
- Jewellery and precious stones. It always helps to know what's best to steal.
- Reading and Books. Unknown to many, Thorley has a great interest in reading. On the occasions he does steal books (books aren't all that common), he tends to read them first before selling them.

Personality:
- Confident (sometimes too confident)
- Can be fairly quiet and tries to keep to himself (unless drunk)
- Gets a bit cocky when he decides to show off (especially when drunk)
- Patient. Despite his apparently laid back approach to life, he's happy to bide his time until the moment he feels he can right the wrongs done to him.

Likes:
- Horses. Particularly his current steed, Maple. He knows he'll have a hard time getting rid of her when the time comes.
- The thrill of winning a fight, or successfully getting away with a stolen item.
- A warm clear night on a rooftop. Especially on quiet summer nights, he likes to find a perch and just sit, watching the world go by for a time.

Dislikes:
- Betrayal.
- Rain/getting wet
- His family (especially his half brother).

Strengths:
-Quick and agile, can run quite fast - can be very light on his feet, quiet and stealthy.
- hiding from his enemies
- high tolerance to alcohol
- Determination. No matter what life throws at him, he always finds a way to carry on.
- Quick thinking (most of the time), good at getting himself out of sticky situations.
- Got an eye for the expensive. If it looks pricey, he'll take it and sell it.

Weaknesses:
- Not as strong as he thinks
- without a sword, knife or dagger, he's terrible at hand to hand combat.
- often overestimates himself
- not too good at talking to other people, his social skills are lacking somewhat.
- He's not good at sharing or managing his emotions.
- struggles to deal with the sight of blood.
- holds grudges.

Fears:
- His half brother, Henry du Crow
- Cats (he believes them to be the devil's little spies.)
- Getting attached to other people.

Quirks:
- Carries a hag stone with him, for good luck. (A pebble with a stripy loop on it)
- Fiddles with a small golden key he has about his neck, usually when he is deep in thought. He stole it not long after he ran from home and, though he couldn't tell you why, has kept hold of it ever since. He has no idea what it unlocks.

Backstory:
Osmond du Crow, the late Baron of Pilksbury, briefly fell in love with a kitchen maid named Lilia. Out of this brief love Thorley was born. Persuaded by his mother, Osmond provided Thorley with a basic education. However, his attention to Thorley waned when his second son was born, Henry du Crow. His only legitimate son. Osmond's wife died during the birth of Henry, and Osmond avoided Thorley as best he could, providing for him and his mother only because of the guilt and sin he felt.
When Thorley was 10, his mother mysteriously died. He has always suspected that it was somehow the doing of Henry, who always appeared jealous of Thorley for having a mother, and always took every opportunity to gloat to him about how privileged he was.
Reluctantly, Osmond and his house staff took over the care of Thorley. As the two brothers grew up, Osmond started taking more notice of Thorley while the brothers themselves fell out often. More often than not, Henry would start the fights and more often than not, he would win them.
When Thorley turned 18, he arrived in the hall one morning to discover Osmond had been murdered. Henry pinned the blame on him. Everyone believed Henry. In a rage, Thorley attempted to fight his brother. He lost. In one of his attacks, Henry sliced off the top of his right ear. And so Thorley ran. And is still running, ever further from the reach of his brother, who claimed the title of Baron of Pilksbury, until he can one day figure out how to get his revenge.