Appearance

Physical Description

Faustus is a rather thin individual. Unlike the heroes he holds so dear, he lacks bulging muscles and large, wide shoulders, instead having a rather average physique for upper-class Sapphrians.

Facial Features

Like many upper class Sapphrians, Faust is a Pureblood, and has purple eyes and strait, shoulder-length black hair indicative of his heritage. He has a black, well-groomed, curled mustache, and a small patch below his lower lip.

Apparel & Accessories

Faust wears expensive, comfortable, and fashionable clothing from Sapphria. Most of his wardrobe is red, black, and purple. He wears silver phoenix pendant around his neck, the symbol of his family, as well as multiple silver rings, one of which bears the same symbol. Around his waist he wears a leather belt which holds his whistles, separated by pitch, as well as his coin purse. Across his back he wears a bag which contains all his belongings he carries on his travels, including his bagpipes, pens, ink, journals, and clothes, and tied to this bag is his lute case. Hanging from the side of the bag is his waterskin.

Special abilities

When invoking his Sapphrian Chaos blood, Faustus' eyes glow purple, and his veins bulge out all over his body.

Mentality

Personal history

Faustus was born into the wealthy Audentus family, an old established family of Sapphrian nobles, who had long been involved in the Sacarran Senate. He was raised in his family's mansion in Sacarra, where he was pampered and was given a strong private education. From an early age, he showed a great interest in prose, poetry, history, and mythology. At the age of twelve, he would be sent to the city of Melitia in southeast Sapphria to further his education. He would spend three years enrolled at Abellus College, but would gradually grow more and more dissatisfied with his schooling there, as while he loved his history, writing, and music classes, by his third year he was forced to focus primarily on politics, which held absolutely no interest for him. At age 15, he decided to flee Abellus in search of adventure. He would soon find himself in the coastal port city of Veliccia. He found himself immediately enamored by the loud, colorful, bombastic display of Spectacle Walk, the main road which runs through the heart of Veliccia and which is known as a hub of street performers and vendors. This is where he stayed for a while, making a very modest living as a young street performer, surviving off his natural wit, charm, and talent alone. He would soon fall in with a group of traveling bards, led by a man named Sylvestre Sylvanos, who took an immediate liking to Faustus. However, at around the same time, people working for his family, the Audentus family, finally managed to track him down, and attempted to bring him back home. However, Faustus refused, and instead decided to travel with Sylvanos and his group. This impressed Sylvanos, and he took Faustus under his own wing, and would begin teaching him bardic magics since he saw potential in the boy. Faust would travel with the group for years, before finally setting out on his own as a solitary traveling minstrel at the age of 19. He would soon run into financial problems, and was forced to return to Sacarra to get help from his very wealthy family. They were hesitant, but hoped that by giving Faustus some money he would eventually come to his senses return to the family, hopefully redeeming the Audentus family from the embarrassment which he had caused them. With the newfound, if reluctant, backing from his parents, he once again set out. He traveled all of Forgosia, and even beyond, engaging in duels of wit with corrupt Chir politicians, winning the favor of the Jorns by reciting their most powerful sagas, studying the performance arts of the Ash Elves, and even, so far as he claims, giving a personal performance for the Telviri Sun King. But the adventure which has impacted him most occurred on one of his travels to Sitala. At age 22, invited to stay as a temporary resident court minstrel at the Welkinrime Palace in Sitala, the palace of the Snow Elven monarchy. It was there, in what was supposed to be a two-year tenure, Faustus Audentus fell in love with the daughter of the Frost King. They kept their love secret for as long as they could, but the king soon discovered this secret romance. Enraged with Faustus, believing him to have somehow seduced his daughter, as she would never willingly wish to be with a human Sapphrian, especially not one without a significant political standing. The king nearly killed Faustus there, but reason stayed his hand, and he allowed Faustus to flee Sitala, unable to say goodbye to his love, unable to explain what happened, unable to ever return. Two years later, Faustus continued on his journeys, and was traveling with a troupe in Sutherland when he by some stroke of chance and luck he fell in with a group of Suthermen; a warrior and hired sword named Aiden Pearce, an aloof ranger named Rosemary Blairsdothar, and a dour cleric of Oren named Eaddard Orenson. Through an unusual series of events, Faustus became. bound to this group, and he at first saw in them the makings of a potential story, but soon would see them as the best friends he ever had. These people would bring out courage within Faustus he never knew he had, and for the first time in his life, Faustus had found something he was willing to sacrifice his own life for.

Education

Faustus was well educated from an early age by private tutors hired by his family within Sapphria. At age twelve, he would be sent to Melitia to study there, and excelled in classes pertaining to the arts, history, and literature. However, he would not finish his schooling here, instead running away to Veliccia, where he began to learn things he would never be taught in school, things that have to be learned to survive on the street. He would fall in with a minstrel group, and would learn of the arcane and the true power of song and storytelling from their leader. He learn much more on his travels, and studied for some time in Gundar with Ash Elven performers.

Employment

Faustus has been an entertainer his entire life. Beginning as a humble street musician on the Spectacle Walk of Veliccia, he would fall in with a traveling bardic troupe, his first source of steady income. After a few years, he would set out on his own as a solitary traveling minstrel, and would make quite the name for himself. He was known not only for his incredible skill as a musician, but also was unafraid to be completely bluntly honest with those who he was performing for, likely a result of his own inflated sense of ego and lack of self awareness, and a trait which invoked the ire of many a corrupt politician and shady character. He was also known to occasionally travel with larger troupes, as they often paid him very well since his name alone was enough for most people to buy a ticket, although his personality often made him difficult to work with, so solo work was his preferred method of employment.

Personality

Motivation

Faust's main motivation is to write a story worthy of remembrance throughout the millennia. That is what drives him to travel and perform in the first place, and is the main driving force behind everything he does. Recently, he has discovered that he cares deeply about his friends, and would do anything to keep them safe. Also, although he may not realize it, Faustus seeks the approval of his parents, and wants desperately to prove that he isn't a failure to them, which is perhaps the deepest driving force of all.

Savvies & Ineptitudes

Faustus is highly adept in nearly any social situation. He has the uncanny ability to talk, charm, and flirt his way out of nearly any situation, through some combination of pure charisma and sheer luck. He is well versed in many customs and cultural practices throughout the continent, and also knows a great deal about the histories and mythologies of each nation. He is also very observant and highly intelligent, able to quickly pick out patterns, infer information, and come up with uncanny, creative solutions to problems.
 
On the other hand, Faust has an incredibly inflated sense of ego and lacks much self awareness, which often causes him to come off as rude or condescending. He also often doesn't realize when to stay quiet and when to talk, and often gets into trouble by unintentionally starting fights with overconfident remarks. He is also completely inept in a fight, although he recently has gained more genuine confidence in himself, and has begun to grow slightly stronger and more capable as a warrior, although he still by far least capable of his group in a fight, and prefers talking his way out of situations to open combat.

Personality Quirks

Faustus is so engrossed with himself that he has difficulty remembering other people's names, often calling them something completely different from what their actual name is.

Hygiene

Faustus is a bit of a neat freak, and keeps himself as clean as possible.

Social

Birthplace

Sacarra

Contacts & Relations

Faust has a vast number of friends and contacts throughout the continent. Many of these friends are fellow minstrels with whom he has worked in the past, more still are groupies obsessed with him. He knows personally the members of several royal families throughout Forgosia, these include King Godric of Sutherland, High King Orthokil of Rokara, and even the Sapphrian Emperor Jasper, although in recent years the man has become more and more of a recluse. In any city of any significant standing, it is likely that Faustus knows at least someone there.

Wealth & Financial state

Faustus was formerly the primary heir to the Audentus fortune, although he has now been cut out of the will entirely, and all assets are to be given to his younger brother when his parents pass away.

Family Ties

Faustus has a strained relationship with his family, to say the least. They want him to abandon to the life of a traveling bard, and return home to participate in Sacarran politics. Faustus would not do this if his life depended on it. Faust's family sees him as an embarrassment to the family name, and for a while attempted to "reform" him simply to restore the family name, but at this point have simply disowned Faustus entirely. They wish Faustus was more like his younger brother, who is already a promising rising politician. Faustus is angry with his family for not believing in him and letting him follow his dream, and is secretly jealous of his brother for receiving all the praise and adoration of his parents.

Religious Views

While not a deeply religious man, Faustus considers himself a follower of the Sapphrian Deretil faith. He believes in his gods, and occasionally will offer a prayer to them, but this is seldom, since it doesn't often since he prefers to rely on more tangible methods than blind faith. Recently he has put a bit more faith in his gods, and wears an amulet of the Deretil.