Harper Dax
With Ph.D.s in Linguistics, Archaeology and Anthropology, Harper Dax is the epitome of an academic. He prefers research to interaction with people. He is right handed, approximately six feet tall, with brown hair that he wears about shoulder length, and blue eyes. When he is emotionally upset, he stutters.
Family
Harper and his identical twin brother, Hunter, were the sons of Harry and Dr. Diana Sandilands Dax. Their father was a Lieutenant in the U.S. Army who died in service to his country. Their mother, also a Ph.D. in Linguistics, was a member of the American diplomatic corps. They divorced when the boys were twelve years old and, by mutual agreement, each took one son. Hunter went with their father and Harper with their mother.
Diana and Harper were kidnapped from an embassy in the Middle East when he was fifteen years old. His mother was brutally slain while he was forced to watch. Though he was rescued, Harper was so emotionally traumatized that he didn't speak for almost a year.
Their maternal grandparents owned a small horse ranch in Texas. When Harper's mother died, he went to live with them for a brief period before being reunited with his father and brother. Harry was a strict disciplinarian and disapproved of Harper's bookish nature, emotional sensitivity and his silence. He had a quick temper and frequently struck the boys to make them obey. Hunter reacted quickly enough to dodge the blows, but Harper wasn't so lucky. His back is marked with several scars from his father's beatings.
Education
Harper has a high IQ and a natural gift for languages developed at an early age through his family's world travels. He completed his home schooling at the age of sixteen and went to college on a full scholarship. He obtained his degree in Linguistics at the age of nineteen. Unable to obtain scholarships for his next two degrees, Harper was made an offer by a corporation called dei Angeles wherein his education would be paid for if he would come to work for them for a period of two years immediately following the completion of his degree programs and thesis work.
Employment
Harper's first job after academia was working as a translator at an international Antarctic research station owned by dei Angeles. After a brief indoctrination at the dei Angeles Enclave somewhere in the Canadian wilderness, he went to live on Antarctica for a period of six months, with the option to rotate out for a break every summer; however, he found the work so fascinating he decided to stay on for the full term.
His next posting was New York City after the beginning of the Third Age.
Skills
- Fluent in: English, Spanish, French, Flemish, German, Scottish and Irish Gaelic, Italian, Swahili, Polish, Russian, Mandarin, Japanese, Greek, Arabic, Persian
- Skilled in: Norwegian, Swedish, Finnish, Swiss, Turkish, Basque, Kurdish, Farsi
- Dead languages: Latin, Phoenician, Cuneiform, Egyptian Hieroglyphs
- Camping, hunting, fishing
- Fashioning primitive tools such as cutting implements and weapons
- Adept with bullwhip, knife, pistol, archery
- Expert equestrian; good with animals
- Skilled researcher and historian
- Accomplished artist
- Played varsity ice hockey in college; was also on fencing and archery teams
Relationships
History
Gabriel met Harper when he was fourteen and Harper was in his early twenties, having just earned his final thesis. Their relationship was entirely platonic in the beginning.
Relationship Reasoning
Language, history
History
They are identical twins, difficult to tell apart aside from haircuts (Harper wears his long, Hunter's is military short).
Nicknames & Petnames
Hunt and Harp, bro
Commonalities & Shared Interests
Hockey
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