Turin Sompak
Age: 22
Height: 5'7"
Weight: 135 lbs or so
Gender: Male
Race: Human
Appearance: Being a Performer, Turin isn't as much "built" as he is fluid. In fact it would be more accurate to say he isn't "built" at all; of muscle mass there is nothing impressive to be found. He stands at 5'7" and keeps his neck-long blond hair in place with a white band of cloth tied at the back. His mouth is notably (and perhaps appropriately) thin, with his flesh the very definition of "generic caucasian." He is able to communicate a good deal of expression through his eyes, making them the most immediately noticeable portion of his face. Since any situation could potentially become a chance to demonstrate his routines, he prefers clothing loose enough as to not restrict movement, but not so loose that they might look ungraceful or become a possible tripping hazard.
Turin is not trained in any form of combat and carries no weaponry. However, he does carry a small pocket-sized notebook-type book bound in low-grade, untreated leather, as well as a writing utensil. He uses these to jot down what he is trying to say in the not uncommon case that the language barrier (or lack-of-language, rather) interferes with a conversation. When not in use they are returned to his pocket. He is able to write fluently in Common and knows no other languages.
Guild/Rank: Bard (Performer), apprentice
Personality: Though unable to speak, Turin can be rather clingy and has a tendency to annoy others through his persistence to interact with them. This is further complicated by a seemingly impaired ability to judge whether someone has no intention of being friendly. He sometimes will become frustrated when others are unable to interpret what he is trying to communicate, and flustered when he inadvertently offends someone through his partial ignorance of Shadow Star custom. Additionally, as the settlements in which he was born consisted almost entirely of humans, his contact with the other races has been close to nil, causing him to regard non-human bipeds with a sort of fascination.
Turin cannot swim and has a phobia of large bodies of water. He spent the majority of his time on the voyage to Shadow Star in the crew's quarters, moaning.
Family
Father: Bullis Sompak, Bard (Performer) outside of the Shadow Star guild system, deceased
Mother: Estrada Sompak, Artisan (Woodcrafter) outside of the Shadow Star guild system, 5X (fifty-ex) years old
Turin's father Bullis was a modestly successful bard in the area which he lived. Although unable to walk without the assistance of a set of wooden crutches due to polio, he nonetheless had made a name for himself through a remarkable mastery of vocal performance; or in less dramatic terms, singing. His most famous performance, voice-synching for a popular actor in a major theatrical production, has been kept a tightly-guarded secret by him and his family; he disliked excessive attention and had no wish to be badgered by traveling theater groups to perform across the land. The reason for the latter is obvious; prolonged and constant travel is especially unpleasant for someone with his particular condition. Though the settlements along the coast of Mat'cel are not particularly large nor numerous, working out a modest living was not terribly difficult.
A man with a powerful passion for singing, Bullis was deeply saddened when he learned that his newborn son was completely incapable of verbal communication, but nonetheless enshrined upon him a deep appreciation for theater and a love of the arts. The two formed a pact to each do what the other could not; Bullis giving the vocal performances that Turin was incapable of, and Turin tackling the stage of which Bullis could not touch.
Although Bullis has little to no name recognition in the few nearby villages he has performed in, and is completely unheard of in the rest of the world, he is regarded as a small hero by the artistic community in his own hometown, as a symbol of what one can accomplish despite of factors against them. Upon his demise at 46 as the result of a snapped crutch which sent him tumbling into a rapids, where he was dragged by the undertow to his death, the community turned their eyes to his son, who they expected to continue his father's legacy. Unfortunately for Turin, they did not find his acts of mimery satisfactory, comparing it to the standard that had been set by his predecessor. As a result, Turin became alienated by the same guild of bards that had once praised his father; a contributing factor to his departure from the village he once knew.
Estrada (maiden name Bemirlky) has always been the primary breadwinner for the Turin household; a woodcrafter by trade, she owns a modest shop where she, a hired assistant and a handful of apprentices create chairs, tables, cabinets and other pieces of upholstery that are sold to merchants for export. Since there is only a very small wooded area nearby, business is greatly affected by the availability of lumber (weather and other factors affecting imports).
Twice a widower with the death of Bullis (her first husband had been sterile and produced no children), she believes firmly in the importance of self-dependence and is confident in her son's ability to develop the skill; though supportive of his decision to travel abroad, she will not allow him to make excuses if he does not succeed.
Estrada currently lives in Turin's home village, where she manages and labors at her shop. While she currently has no intention of remarrying, she has formed close friendships with several of her hired assistances. As of now she has no plans of traveling to Shadow Star without reason to believe something terrible has befallen her son.
Background: Turin Sompak's family has a long history of disability. His father had been stricken with polio at a young age, while his grandfather exhibited poor muscle control and needed assistance for several everyday tasks, whereas his great-grandfather's brother had died at the age of seven from repeated internal bleeding as a result of weak organ tissue and a slow immune system. It is extremely likely this is a result of several generations of inbreeding somewhere up the family tree, though exactly when such a practice occurred and why is unknown. What -is- known is that, fairly consistently, at least one male child born into the family each generation since a certain point in history has been affected by a hereditary disability or disorder. (Only rarely has there been female children affected; the men are far more likely to manifest the weaker genes.) Turin himself was born with a deficiency of the vocal cords, causing him to be incapable of speech beyond a scratching sound in the throat, which out of scorn is never made aside from being an involuntary response to stimuli, such as being struck or frightened.
Despite this disability, however, Turin has nonetheless been pursuing a career as a bard, having been influenced by the work of his father. As song is obviously not a reasonable medium for him, he has instead moved in the direction of the performing arts. Mimery and dancing makes up the majority of his creative arsenal. Having been born and raised in a moderate town near the shores of Mat'cel, however, Turin found little opportunity to advance his chosen profession. As the vast majority of the continent is mostly uncharted, and as a result unsettled, there was only a limited number of settlements in which he could hope to seek apprenticeship or scratch out a living. Though theatre has long been popular throughout most of the communities, few had ever heard of a silent performer, and there was certainly no teacher who he could hope to improve under.
Discouraged but not without hope, Turin gathered what savings he had and paid a merchant ship to let him ride with the crew to Shadow Star, where he prayed he would have more success. Thus far it has been questionable whether the move was worth it. Though he has still been unsuccessful in finding apprenticeship, he at least has little trouble finding an audience to perform to along the streets. Having no permanent residence and still struggling to understand the customs of the strange new land, Turin hopes opportunity will eventually arise, as returning home is not a viable option.