Knoll of the Skullbrood Clan
Knoll (a.k.a. The Bottle)
Physical Description
General Physical Condition
One of the bulkiest warriors of the Village, second only to the current Chief. He sports a number of scars on his shoulders, arms and his left eye.
Body Features
Built like a barrel with arms as thick as his legs, he is a proverbial wall of a goblin. His shoulders corded, his muscles defined and dense, his physique honed for deadly purpose. While some may be described as lithe and panther-like, some having preternatural tendencies; Knoll exudes an air of lethality. Not outright threatening, more of a feeling of certainty.
His core is not dissimilar to an old oak, rigid, and unforgiving. Able to take the abuse the frequent combat demands on his body and mind.
Facial Features
He has kept a bushy beard since he was able to grow one. A wide brow that meets his ears, large open eyes. His age is well defined by the many seasons spent on the coastline tough and leathery, much like most of the men in the Clan.
Identifying Characteristics
The large scar over his left eye, his eyebrow is split where the hair never grew back. His Iris also bleeds into his pupil due to the old injury.
Physical quirks
Has a habit of clenching his fists when he talks. Also frequently clenched his jaw without thinking about it.
Mental characteristics
Personal history
He was chosen by the current Chief Yorm to be part of his Raiding crew in his early years. They had been close friends while growing up and this has not changed to this present day. He had made his skill known during a disastrous raid where the Raid leader had chosen to attack a small tribe of savages. Gutless monsters that claimed to be human, though their cannibalistic tendencies were thought to be a threat by the rest of the clan. The Family feared they would try to find new sources of "meat".
The raiders had died in droves as they attacked the well fortified mountain settlement. Though losing most of the small raiding party, they were ultimately successful. Knoll had left the tribe desolated, after his rage subsided. He had found Yorm still alive with several arrows in his body, along with seven other raiders. Knoll managed to drag them back to the village and spent the next few weeks helping the Priestess Mother Kari heal them. His bloody boot prints stained the bare rock surface of that trail back to the now abandoned fortress, still visible to this day.
After the fallout of that raid he became the Raid leader of the seven surviving members of the raid crew. He was feared by all they raided as the story of his fury in battle made its rounds throughout the southerly peninsula of the Kingdom Of Galus. Stories of how he was one with his axe, the roar that exited his throat. The rivers of blood that drained from the site stained the porous rock around the fortress earning the nickname "Red Rock".
As the years went on he took up drinking to cope with the bloody nature of the family's cultural tendencies. Though he was given special attention by Kari to help him deal with his issues. While he was able to accept his role, he never gave up the bottle. Throughout every raid conducted by his raid leader, he put himself on the frontline to protect his boys. He never wanted to lose that much of the family again.
He was silent for a long moment before taking a drink from the heavy bottle, the smell of spirits thick in the air. "I tried not to be sick to my stomach, seeing what they had done up there. I lost it, my vision went red when I saw that fucker pull out a carving knife not seconds after Nix went down. The feeling of bone breaking under my hands, their screams in my deafened ears. I didn't care, Kari. I wanted to kill them all for what they had done to our boys. I..." He stopped talking, the light in his eyes leaving him again.
He is seen as one of the few Guardians of the Village as is the current Chief. He and Yorm, as well as the other raiders, spend every night chatting at a homemade tavern in the southern caves. They had spent months scrounging around for tables and chairs, they had laid out thick cedar planks on the soft sand in the cave to try and level it out. While it isn't much, it is visited by everyone in the clan somewhat regularly. The tavern is now being treated as a repository for all the family's spirits.
A few of the keystones from the graves of the fallen raiders during the battle that caused Knoll to take up the bottle, adorn the back of the bar. Breaking tradition, he asked Ilgor how to perform the ceremony that would sometimes take place where their keystones would be taken out from the caves to see the stars again. She magnanimously told him how to perform the rites himself, Illy barked at Yorm for his disapproval of the event. He can be seen quite frequently performing the rite for his much missed raiders, having a drink with their souls as he would have in life.
Just outside this tavern cave is also where the clan offers their spoils to the Chief, which he then doles out to the rest of the people as their traditions demand. Knoll asked Yorm if the site could be used here instead, as it allowed him to rest quickly due to his perpetual hangover. Yorm agreed and had it moved to the front of the tavern.
These days he has become increasingly insubordinate to Yorm as he is growing tired of being a raider. He was quite surprised when Ilgor was made a raid leader by the Chief, more pleased when he found out that she had a penchant for sparing their targets. After this he began arguing with the Chief about the practices they had been doing all these years, though he still does follow his friends orders, if only to keep the peace. For the moment. Exemplified in Chapter 13 Sweet Smoke in The Great Tree: Soft and Subtle Wind
Personality Characteristics
Savvies & Ineptitudes
While he doesn't talk about much of what he does while he is not assisting the Chief or Priestess', he does have a few hobbies. He likes to draw on whatever he can get his hands on. Some of his favorite things to draw on are large polypore mushrooms as they don't rot quickly, and he likes the fine lines the mushroom allows. He struggles with hands, but is well versed in portraiture.
He is also fond of fishing. He typically doesn't like fishing with others, because he gets tired of everyone whining that he catches all the fish. He has a favorite hole in the ancient forest near the village that has unusually large skirted tetras, the exotic fish being the size of trout.
He is also one of the most competent fighters in the entire village. He has been the keystone for many raids made by the Clan, he has a mind for tactics and strategy like no other in the village.
Virtues & Personality perks
He is endlessly loyal to the Clan. He cares very little for who the current Chief is, as he has lived through too many fights to care. The current Chief is a close friend, but they argue incessantly over tactics. He has been growing over the years, to not like the bloody tactics used by the Clan. He is starting to see this as unneeded risk to the Clan, he earned the scar over his right eye and right arm during a retaliation skirmish by the City of Glaion. The same fight that was led by Ghet where many of the current generation of children lost their parents.
Vices & Personality flaws
He is a very heavy drinker, though if you ask him, he will tell you he doesn't drink that much. That statement is made more due to the issue that he never remembers the end of the drinking sessions he has with his fellow raiders and Chief on a nightly basis. Any booze will do, as long as he can feel it.
Hygiene
He has grown to be very proud of his short braid over the last few months at the start of the Chapter 9, Dreams Unending in The Great Tree: Soft and Subtle Wind
. He never thought much about it until Illy had started waking him each morning, treating him like a son. Though she had taken the time to make sure the old veteran wasn't so hungover he couldn't function. She spent that time helping him keep his hair clean and braiding his long hair for him.
He now does this himself, embarrassed that Illy had thought he needed the help. He takes his time making sure his clothes don't reek of booze any longer, his hair is kept combed and manageable. Though he does like Illy braiding his hair occasionally, he enjoys the attention. He won't suffer being dirty for long.
Alignment
Loyal
Ethnicity
Other Ethnicities/Cultures
Age
43
Children
Current Residence
Southern most cave of the Skullbrood Village
Sex
Male
Presentation
Typically wears an open faced vest to show off his chest, but is otherwise traditionally masculine
Eyes
Light purple, yellow iris
Hair
Swept back messy hair, with a bushy beard. Sporting a grey patch down his beard, though the rest of his hair is dark brown.
Skin Tone/Pigmentation
Dark green
Height
4'0"
Weight
160lbs
Belief/Deity
Cult of Bhal The Forgotten Family
He is fluent in Elder Fae as the rest of the clan is, though he is unable to read or write it. He never cared enough to, at least not until Illy had forced him to. While he is shaky at it, he's getting better. She is forcing everyone to learn to read and write their own language. Though, Knoll did take some initiative in that aspect as well, asking her to teach him a bit of Common as well.
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