Bonfire

Bonfire

Physical Description

General Physical Condition

Bonfire is well toned from combat & living off the land, due to baggy clothing and his stature, he could be considered stronger than he looks.

Identifying Characteristics

Severe patchy areas of missing feathers on the left side of his face, looks like a poorly molted crow. His left eye is also significantly more pale than his right.

Physical quirks

His almost constant thousand-yard stare

Mental characteristics

Personal history

Life in Voronagorsk

Bonfire was born in a moderately-size agrarian town in the Fool's Thicket. Voronagorsk was a very inclusive town, with a primarily Kenku population and a large Tiefling minority. The town's remote nature and dangerous locale made it a haven for societal outcasts of many stripes. The Kenkus in Voronagorsk raised their children communally, so the town was like a very large extended family to him. He holds fond memories of singing (to the best of his abilities) and laughing around the fire with his townmates. From birth, a respect for the dead and the Veiled Lady were instilled in him. While he doesn't actively practice his faith any more, he still believes in her teachings. Like many agrarian towns, children are only educated until they're old enough to help gather food. A gifted shooter, Bonfire had been participating in hunting parties since he was a young boy. Life went on like this for some time, Bonfire hunting by day and feasting with his townmates, his family, by night. He was content this way. Unfortunately, there is a reason that very few towns settle in the Fool's Thicket.

The Attack

By the time he was only fifteen years old, Bonfire was already leading his own hunting expeditions. He was used to smelling smoke in the distance, it was a pleasant smell that reminded him what was waiting for him back home when he and his companions returned from their hunting trip. After staying out after dark, a thing one should not do in the fools thicket, in order to pursue a wounded elk, Bonfire was more than eager to get back home. On the return trip, Bonfire noticed that it was harder than usual to identify the stars. Regardless of star navigation, Bonfire could still very easily follow the scent of wood smoke towards his town which, oddly, smelled much stronger tonight... odd. He was too young, too naive to think that something bad was going on, of course. Perhaps a Tiefling celebration he forgot about was happening tonight? He was coughing heavily as he crested the hill where he saw it. Voronagorsk, his home, was up in flames.
Not knowing what else to do he ran in, dropping the elk and gesturing for the rest of the party to follow him. What he expected was people with buckets, attempting to put out a fire that was probably started due to a lack of proper fire safety, or some careless child. Running in, the absolute last thing Bonfire expected to see was bodies in the roads, their heads cut cleanly open, their expressions twisted and frozen in horror. Living in the Fool's Thicket, Bonfire had heard tale of mind flayers before, and like most, he reasonably hoped to never see one in the flesh. At first, he almost didn't didn't recognize the creature, it's body had been stuck by several arrows, black blood oozing onto weirdly sleek purple flesh, tentacles flayed out onto the dirt. In the distance, he could see more of them, still very much alive, devouring the brains of his townmates, his family. Small pockets of resistance had formed, but bonfire was cut off from the nearest one by several mind flayers. Scrambling from cover to cover, flames searing his face lest he be seen by one of the foul creatures. During his erratic scramble for safety, he spotted a much larger one of the creatures dead, pinned against the exterior wall of a soon-to-be-burning tavern by a distinctive arrow. This one was considerably different than any of the other mind flayers he had seen, with much sharper features and dressed in considerably finer garments. Bonfire felt oddly compelled to investigate. Around its' neck, he found a stone hanging by a necklace, with geometric patterns carved into it at odd angles. Upon touching it, the feathers on the back of his neck stood straight up, he quickly turned his head to see himself surrounded on all sides by mind flayers. Bonfire rose sharply to his feet, snapping the stone off of it's chain and carrying it with him. He felt a probing sensation in his mind, only for a moment. As the mind flayers approached, Bonfire felt an immense wave of fear wash over him, which seemed to coincide with the mind flayers stopping dead in their tracks. The terror still overwhelming his mind, Bonfire's fight or flight took over. Not even cognizant of the situation and blinded by fear, Bonfire ran as best he could away from his town, his home, and his family.
Running downhill, the flames cast a long shadow in front of him. Bonfire did not stop running until he collapsed from exhaustion the next morning. After that fateful night, he never saw his home town again.
The next months he spent living off the land, he did so expecting a search party of survivors. News that the threat had been driven off, that it was safe to return home. Sure, he may be called a coward, but he'd be more than relieved to see his family, or at least, what he hoped was left for it. No such news came. A search party, however, did. Some time later, Camping in a tree, Bonfire felt a wave of premonition wash over him. Quickly, he gathered what possessions he could, and dashed away as quickly as he could. Observing his former camp site from the distance, Bonfire watched as several mind flayers tore his camp apart, the mind flayers gesturing silently at one another in various directions. Somehow, he knew they were looking for him specifically. This pattern went on nearly 2 years, him evading, hiding, and running from mind flayer search parties. He had not the slightest idea why they were after him, but after those 2 long, long, years, Bonfire was about to do something he had never done before: he was about to leave the Fool's Thicket for good.

Sexuality

Gay, however, he has never been with anyone romantically due to how emotionally closed-off he is.

Failures & Embarrassments

Bonfire blames himself for the destruction of his home town, and has not gotten over it's destruction, and if his mindset does not change, he will likely never forgive himself. He also, more recently, had a falling out with his old criminal gang that he will not discuss.

Mental Trauma

Bonfire suffers from near-debilitating Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. He has spent the last 6 years of his life being actively hunted by several parties. He is never not afraid.

Intellectual Characteristics

Bonfire is smart in terms of reasoning skills and wilderness experience, but he's not particularly book smart, and is extremely ill-adjusted to technology and urban centers. He is generally inexperienced in navigating social situations.

Morality & Philosophy

Despite the only profession Bonfire has ever held down being "criminal," Bonfire holds himself and those around him to a somewhat strict code of ethics. Most of his ethics are the standard "no stealing from the poor, no hurting children." Bonfire also finds blackmail, extortion, and similar crimes dishonest and abhorrent, and will never participate in them. Presently, he views loyalty as a somewhat foolish trait, regardless of any predisposition he may have to it.

Personality Characteristics

Motivation

Survival.

Social

Contacts & Relations

Most people in Bonfire's past are either dead, or want him dead. Because of this, Bonfire feels the need to constantly be moving.

Family Ties

While Bonfire's family is long-gone, he still holds their memories close, and he feels a slight kinship towards his fellow kenkus, as well as ethnic tieflings.

Religious Views

Bonfire was raised worshiping the Veiled Lady, and while he no longer regularly practices his faith, he still follows many of her teachings.

Social Aptitude

Due to severely prolonged isolation, Bonfire is very poor at navigating social situations. His demeanor causes him to come across as if he's hiding something or untrustworthy. This, of course, is not helped by his propensity to hide things and not trust people.

Speech

Being a Kenku, Bonfire lacks the ability to speak on his own, and instead mimics sounds he's heard to form disjointed sentences.

A troubled kenku hailing from the now-gone town of Voronagorsk, Bonfire has spent the last several years of his life running. Despite being out of immediate danger, Bonfire's mindset has never really shifted out of running.

View Character Profile

Alignment

Lawful Neutral

Age

21 Years Old

Birthplace

Voronagorsk, The Fool's thicket

Current Residence

homeless, highly nomadic

Gender

Male

Eyes

Yellow

Height

4'8

Known Languages

Bonfire speaks common, auran, and undercommon.