So I actually managed to finish Richard Graykin, I just hope there's enough interest in this to keep my efforts from being in vain.
Name: Richard Graykin
Gender: Male
Age: 28 or 37, I don't know yet. Make a decision, important people!
Appearance: Richard tries to carry himself with elegance, but his humble origins are evident from within a few minutes of extensive conversation with him, due to his reliance to vulgar mannerisms and diction.
Equipment: Whenever it'a appropriate, Richard carries a volley/pepperbox pistol (whichever you history nerds prefer more). In addition to his firearm, Richard usually has a hefty coin purse on him, and it is generally concealed or subtle, a habit from his years on the road.
Powers: Light manipulation, and the ability to summon a horse made out of light somehow. Richard cannot himself create or take away light, but he can do pretty much anything with it (bend, distort, amplify, repress, focus, disperse, etc). This may lead to invisibility later in the rp, but it'll be plot triggered, exhausting, and usable only for a short period of time.
Skills: His years as a businessman have made Richard an adept in the ways of exchanging money, and he's a decent shot with a pistol, but useless with pretty much any other weapon. He's an amicable fellow and knows his way around people and society. He's a decent leader and tends to come out on top of seemingly hopeless situations.
Bio:
Gender: Male
Age: 28 or 37, I don't know yet. Make a decision, important people!
Appearance: Richard tries to carry himself with elegance, but his humble origins are evident from within a few minutes of extensive conversation with him, due to his reliance to vulgar mannerisms and diction.
Equipment: Whenever it'a appropriate, Richard carries a volley/pepperbox pistol (whichever you history nerds prefer more). In addition to his firearm, Richard usually has a hefty coin purse on him, and it is generally concealed or subtle, a habit from his years on the road.
Powers: Light manipulation, and the ability to summon a horse made out of light somehow. Richard cannot himself create or take away light, but he can do pretty much anything with it (bend, distort, amplify, repress, focus, disperse, etc). This may lead to invisibility later in the rp, but it'll be plot triggered, exhausting, and usable only for a short period of time.
Skills: His years as a businessman have made Richard an adept in the ways of exchanging money, and he's a decent shot with a pistol, but useless with pretty much any other weapon. He's an amicable fellow and knows his way around people and society. He's a decent leader and tends to come out on top of seemingly hopeless situations.
Bio:
Richard Graykin was born to be a traveling salesman, or at least that's what he told himself. He left his home in Northern England at the age of seventeen, eager to see the world and it's inhabitants. For the next few years, his life became a cycle of trade; he would hear of some new potential market, then find some up-and-coming craftsman producing the necessary tools to support said market, and Richard would fill up a horse and cart with goods to sell and drive off to the new economic boom in the hopes of feeding market expansion and taking a nice cut., hopefully with a few new stories to tell on the way. He indirectly shaped England's economic growth this way, his profitable vagrancy fueling two mining rushes, a potato farm migration, the setting up of two grain mills, and he was told by many that his actions paved the way for twenty seven new brothels in Cheshire, but Richard still can't figure out how that happened.
At the end of his career as a galavanting merchant, Richard decided to settle down around High Peak. He opened up a merchant operation in the area, buying goods from traders coming in, and then selling them either to the locals or traders going out. He built up a nice financial cushion over a few years, at least until the drought settled in. When the drought hit most economic activity in the area slowed to a crawl or stopped completely, and for somebody whose business relied upon money and goods trading hands, this was particularly devastating. Taking this as a cue, Richard decided to get around to marrying a noble, an act he had been planning for a while, but one that he had never gotten around to doing until then. After about two months of chatting with the local wealth, Richard finally set his sights on a young heiress, Elizabeth Hilwhelm. His interest in the Hilwhelm family was for more than his mere affection fir their heiress, however, as Richard's failing business desperately needed an injection of capital, and Robert Hilwhelm, the head of the family, desperately needed a new source of income. The marriage was both beneficial and ideal, as Richard married a nice woman and was able to use the money granted by the Hilwhelms to weather the economic downturn, and the Hilwhelm family was able to restore much of their wealth. It was during this time period that Richard learned to fire a pistol, as he had never really learned how to defend himself before.
However, Robert Hilwhelm had different plans for Richard in mind. A few months after Richard raised his company away from the brink of failure, Robert took it over from Richard using blackmail and conniving friends, leaving Richard in a powerless position over the company he himself created. Fate was on Richard's side, however, as both Robert and his wife Jane fell ill a month later, and Richard kept getting "delayed" in his attempts to find a suitable doctor. In the final days of Robert Hilwhelm, however, Robert did the unthinkable: he located one of his bastard children (Connor Baker) and appointed his the new heir in Richard's stead, claiming that he "wouldn't allow some married-in carpetbagger to assume control of his family legacy" right before he passed away. It was around this time when Richard got around to properly hiring a doctor to help his parent-in-law. As Richard sat by Jane Hilwhelm's deathbed, he implored her for a way to return his business to the rightful owner, all else be damned. His mother-on-law was of a different opinion, however. Although she wanted to side with Richard and deliver to him what he wanted in return for the prosperity he had brought to the family, but she was bound by her position as matron and unable to assist him in this struggle. She died a few days later, leaving behind Richard confused, desperate, and angry, with Elizabeth at home doing all she could to prevent him from becoming violent. Within three days, however, a solution presented itself. It happened in the middle of the day, when Elizabeth was at home in their estate, and Richard was out on their land, shooting at targets with Connor's crest on them. Elizabeth called him back to their home, as the letter was addressed to the both of them. Richard opened it, and read the rather unsubtle title of the sender: "A Powerless Matron in a Bastard's House". Upon reading the contents, Richard and Elizabeth discovered that Connor was, in fact, the bastard of Robert's brother, Richter Hilwhelm, who entrusted Connor's care to Robert days before his death, while Connor was still an infant. These new turn of events placed Richard ahead of Connor, as now Richard was Robert's son (in law), and more apt to become head of the house. This is the first of two events that started out as defeats for Richard Graykin, and then become victories with underestimated value.
Perhaps then was not the best time for Richard to become the head of house Hilwhelm, as a month after Richard took over from Connor, Charles I fled London and the English Civil War began. Wishing to isolate himself from this conflict and minimize the impact of the war on him and his household, Richard took to leading some of his trading expeditions personally, instead of the typical proxy employee who went on those trips. Admittedly, this was done in an effort to sate his vagrant spirit, but it also served to get a proper assessment of the war and what needed to go where. Despite his alleged neutrality, Richard decided to give the side that seemed to be winning a slightly better deal on trade goods than the other, just in case the war took a turn towards closure. On a journey on a trade route through North Yorkshire/Norfolk/Devon (whichever fits the location of this rp best), Richard led a larger-than-normal trade expedition, consisting of him, a book keeper, a decent-sized group of mercenaries and house guards, a lot of supplies for a Royalist force, and the promise of a large cash payout upon delivery. The prospect of this exchange excited Richard and was making him question his decision to leave the vagrant salesman lifestyle, as events like this spurred him into taking it in the first place. Anyway, as Richard & Co. were traveling along the coast, night fell rather suddenly and Richard gave the order to set up camp for the night, and on the next day they would unload their cargo and head back home. That night, however, the camp was awoken to the cacophony of gunfire and clashing steel. Barely panicking, Richard rounded up his crew and set up a defensive line around their cargo while he sent two scouts to investigate the noises. The scouts came back, reporting on the situation, and it was quite dire. The quite large Royalist force that they were going to sell supplies to had been met and attacked by another similarly large Roundhead force, and naturally, they began to fight each other. Considering his options (the Royalists winning, finding him and taking the cargo probably without payment, the Roundheads winning, killing him and taking the cargo, or running the fuck away), Richard chose to hightail it out of there, leaving the cargo on the beach so that it would not slow them down.
Later that night/morning, Richard stopped his caravan and tried to get a couple of hours of sleep before returning to the Hilwhelm estate. When he was sleeping, however, he was visited in a dream by an angel. During this dream, he was informed that he had done a great work in the eyes of God by dilevering the town of (Insert Name Here) from their time of troubles, and that he had been entrusted with the celestial steed Sezeras and given mastery over light, as God has great plans for him. Naturally, when Richard woke up, he was quite confused at this new turn of events. Wondering if what he had seen was true or not, Richard asked some of the people he was travelling with about the town of (INH), and it did actually exist, and it existed fairly close to where they currently were. He decided to take a slight detour in his return home, so he lead his company back in the direction they fled from the previous night, keeping an eye out for any straggling Royalist or Roundhead soldiers. As Richard & Co. reached the place where they first set up camp the previous night, they discovered the ruins of the large battle and that the supplies they had been carrying were missing. Following the ovbious tracks left by whomever took the cargo, Richard's band arrived (predictably) at the town of (INH), where the abandoned cargo was being rationed among the citizens and the surplus was stored in the church. All this was being overseen by the mayor, and thus he was the first person to be approached by Richard. Keeping his identity a secret (his name was stamped on every box), Richard began to converse with the mayor about the strange circumstances. According to him, the Royalist force Richard was selling to had been moving about the area in and around (INH) several months before Richard had arrived. Being a fairly large group of soldiers, they needed a severe amount of foodstuffs and other goods. One of the downsides of being a Royalists is that instead of planting crops, you need to wander the countryside smacking down Parliamentarians, so when their need became great enough they marched over to the town of (INH) and obtained the vast majority of their food productions shortly after the harvest season ended. At this point, the mayor began to describe the several months of hunger and despair that (INH) went through, as well as their prayers and desparate attempts to feed themselves. Still not knowing how Richard's cargo arrived to his village, the mayor began to praise God in front of Richard, thanking him for saving (INH). Still keeping his identity secret as to not interfere with the village's beliefs of what happened, Richard travelled back to his home, now content with his role as an agent of God during this war.
At the end of his career as a galavanting merchant, Richard decided to settle down around High Peak. He opened up a merchant operation in the area, buying goods from traders coming in, and then selling them either to the locals or traders going out. He built up a nice financial cushion over a few years, at least until the drought settled in. When the drought hit most economic activity in the area slowed to a crawl or stopped completely, and for somebody whose business relied upon money and goods trading hands, this was particularly devastating. Taking this as a cue, Richard decided to get around to marrying a noble, an act he had been planning for a while, but one that he had never gotten around to doing until then. After about two months of chatting with the local wealth, Richard finally set his sights on a young heiress, Elizabeth Hilwhelm. His interest in the Hilwhelm family was for more than his mere affection fir their heiress, however, as Richard's failing business desperately needed an injection of capital, and Robert Hilwhelm, the head of the family, desperately needed a new source of income. The marriage was both beneficial and ideal, as Richard married a nice woman and was able to use the money granted by the Hilwhelms to weather the economic downturn, and the Hilwhelm family was able to restore much of their wealth. It was during this time period that Richard learned to fire a pistol, as he had never really learned how to defend himself before.
However, Robert Hilwhelm had different plans for Richard in mind. A few months after Richard raised his company away from the brink of failure, Robert took it over from Richard using blackmail and conniving friends, leaving Richard in a powerless position over the company he himself created. Fate was on Richard's side, however, as both Robert and his wife Jane fell ill a month later, and Richard kept getting "delayed" in his attempts to find a suitable doctor. In the final days of Robert Hilwhelm, however, Robert did the unthinkable: he located one of his bastard children (Connor Baker) and appointed his the new heir in Richard's stead, claiming that he "wouldn't allow some married-in carpetbagger to assume control of his family legacy" right before he passed away. It was around this time when Richard got around to properly hiring a doctor to help his parent-in-law. As Richard sat by Jane Hilwhelm's deathbed, he implored her for a way to return his business to the rightful owner, all else be damned. His mother-on-law was of a different opinion, however. Although she wanted to side with Richard and deliver to him what he wanted in return for the prosperity he had brought to the family, but she was bound by her position as matron and unable to assist him in this struggle. She died a few days later, leaving behind Richard confused, desperate, and angry, with Elizabeth at home doing all she could to prevent him from becoming violent. Within three days, however, a solution presented itself. It happened in the middle of the day, when Elizabeth was at home in their estate, and Richard was out on their land, shooting at targets with Connor's crest on them. Elizabeth called him back to their home, as the letter was addressed to the both of them. Richard opened it, and read the rather unsubtle title of the sender: "A Powerless Matron in a Bastard's House". Upon reading the contents, Richard and Elizabeth discovered that Connor was, in fact, the bastard of Robert's brother, Richter Hilwhelm, who entrusted Connor's care to Robert days before his death, while Connor was still an infant. These new turn of events placed Richard ahead of Connor, as now Richard was Robert's son (in law), and more apt to become head of the house. This is the first of two events that started out as defeats for Richard Graykin, and then become victories with underestimated value.
Perhaps then was not the best time for Richard to become the head of house Hilwhelm, as a month after Richard took over from Connor, Charles I fled London and the English Civil War began. Wishing to isolate himself from this conflict and minimize the impact of the war on him and his household, Richard took to leading some of his trading expeditions personally, instead of the typical proxy employee who went on those trips. Admittedly, this was done in an effort to sate his vagrant spirit, but it also served to get a proper assessment of the war and what needed to go where. Despite his alleged neutrality, Richard decided to give the side that seemed to be winning a slightly better deal on trade goods than the other, just in case the war took a turn towards closure. On a journey on a trade route through North Yorkshire/Norfolk/Devon (whichever fits the location of this rp best), Richard led a larger-than-normal trade expedition, consisting of him, a book keeper, a decent-sized group of mercenaries and house guards, a lot of supplies for a Royalist force, and the promise of a large cash payout upon delivery. The prospect of this exchange excited Richard and was making him question his decision to leave the vagrant salesman lifestyle, as events like this spurred him into taking it in the first place. Anyway, as Richard & Co. were traveling along the coast, night fell rather suddenly and Richard gave the order to set up camp for the night, and on the next day they would unload their cargo and head back home. That night, however, the camp was awoken to the cacophony of gunfire and clashing steel. Barely panicking, Richard rounded up his crew and set up a defensive line around their cargo while he sent two scouts to investigate the noises. The scouts came back, reporting on the situation, and it was quite dire. The quite large Royalist force that they were going to sell supplies to had been met and attacked by another similarly large Roundhead force, and naturally, they began to fight each other. Considering his options (the Royalists winning, finding him and taking the cargo probably without payment, the Roundheads winning, killing him and taking the cargo, or running the fuck away), Richard chose to hightail it out of there, leaving the cargo on the beach so that it would not slow them down.
Later that night/morning, Richard stopped his caravan and tried to get a couple of hours of sleep before returning to the Hilwhelm estate. When he was sleeping, however, he was visited in a dream by an angel. During this dream, he was informed that he had done a great work in the eyes of God by dilevering the town of (Insert Name Here) from their time of troubles, and that he had been entrusted with the celestial steed Sezeras and given mastery over light, as God has great plans for him. Naturally, when Richard woke up, he was quite confused at this new turn of events. Wondering if what he had seen was true or not, Richard asked some of the people he was travelling with about the town of (INH), and it did actually exist, and it existed fairly close to where they currently were. He decided to take a slight detour in his return home, so he lead his company back in the direction they fled from the previous night, keeping an eye out for any straggling Royalist or Roundhead soldiers. As Richard & Co. reached the place where they first set up camp the previous night, they discovered the ruins of the large battle and that the supplies they had been carrying were missing. Following the ovbious tracks left by whomever took the cargo, Richard's band arrived (predictably) at the town of (INH), where the abandoned cargo was being rationed among the citizens and the surplus was stored in the church. All this was being overseen by the mayor, and thus he was the first person to be approached by Richard. Keeping his identity a secret (his name was stamped on every box), Richard began to converse with the mayor about the strange circumstances. According to him, the Royalist force Richard was selling to had been moving about the area in and around (INH) several months before Richard had arrived. Being a fairly large group of soldiers, they needed a severe amount of foodstuffs and other goods. One of the downsides of being a Royalists is that instead of planting crops, you need to wander the countryside smacking down Parliamentarians, so when their need became great enough they marched over to the town of (INH) and obtained the vast majority of their food productions shortly after the harvest season ended. At this point, the mayor began to describe the several months of hunger and despair that (INH) went through, as well as their prayers and desparate attempts to feed themselves. Still not knowing how Richard's cargo arrived to his village, the mayor began to praise God in front of Richard, thanking him for saving (INH). Still keeping his identity secret as to not interfere with the village's beliefs of what happened, Richard travelled back to his home, now content with his role as an agent of God during this war.
