Marcellus 'Smith' II

Thick, black plumes of smoke hung over the jungle, nearly blocking out the sun that shone so warmly onto the land of Sarkun. At the base of the smoke, at the bottom of a steep sided valley,lay a small tribe's village, in the midst of being torched by a tribe of Lizardmen. Amongst the smoke and burning huts, a few brave tribesmen fought valiantly, buying time for the tribe's women and children to escape.

From the valley's westernmost slopes, the escaping tribe paid the scene behind them no notice, trudging up through the dense jungle, edging closer towards the mountains. The tribe's chief had told them to leave Sarkun, to escape the harassment and brutality they had endured for so long in their native lands.

Among this group of refugees was a mother, carrying her newlyborn son, who had barely seen the light of day before the Lizardmen began their assault. She decided to name her son Marcellus, In honor of his father who had stayed behind to ensure the tribe's escape was a success.

As they entered the mountains, the only land that lay before them was Sanctimonia. After a long, dangerous trek through the mountains, they finally emerged, finding it to be much different to their native lands. Finding it difficult to continue their native way of living, most of the tribe split up, settling down in various towns and villages, forced to adapt to this new way of life. Marcellus' mother headed towards the coast, settling down in the city of Imperia.

Growing up in the city was tough for Marcellus, his mother barely managing to earn enough for them to scrape by, with Marcellus helping out with whatever he could, doing all sorts of jobs, ranging from shoe polishing to helping out at the blacksmith's. Marcellus' mother decided to adopt the more common and pronounceable name of "Smith", learning early on that getting a job with their native name was remarkably difficult.

Life in the city turned Marcellus into a well built and muscular young man, his strength allowing him to easily best anyone who challenged him to a fight or insulted him due to his ethnicity.

As he grew up and matured further, Marcellus' mother decided it would be best for him to go to a college and learn a profession, hoping to secure a good future for her son. He requested to be sent to a smithing college, as he had enjoyed helping out the local blacksmiths as a child.

Using some of the money they had saved away, Marcellus was sent off to a large and respectable college, north of Imperia, where he quickly discovered he had a knack for smithing, impressing the few of his tutors that were not overly judgemental to him because of his heritage. He was eventually kicked out of the college after beating another student severely, simply for insulting his skills.

Having heard of his strength and sensing some underlying fighting skills, a local Mercenary group called the Black Hands got in touch with Marcellus, inviting him to join them. He accepted, and was given some training to help compliment his strength, discovering the merits of fighting with a greatsword.

He ran with the mercenaries for a few years, earning a name for himself as a brutal and merciless killer, annoying the group's leadership, who were worried his brutality would harm the group's reputation. Eventually, Marcellus was thrown out after killing several of his colleagues in a bar fight, in which he lost most of his teeth. Bitter from his experience, he ventured far from the areas frequented by the Black Hands, who in turn, unknown to Marcellus, shifted their operations to avoid him.

After this, Marcellus wandered the countryside, putting some of the money he had earned as a mercenary towards purchasing a cart and enough supplies to set up a mobile smithing service, taking his trade from town to town, earning a decent amount.

5 years after he began travelling, Marclelus began to purchase firearms and books pertaining to them, intrigued by this new technology. He reverse engineered various mechanisms, learning the chemistry behind their function, and generally taught himself how they worked, regarding them as a mere novelty rather than a true weapon, but still seeing an opportunity to make some money To further his knowledge of gunsmithing, he sought out various gunsmiths in the towns of Sanctimonia, eventually finding one willing to teach him the crafts.

Today, Marcellus still wanders the forests of Sanctimonia, bringing his skills to wherever he visits, and ending the lives of any bandits stupid enough to try stealing from him.

Usually not far from his cart, Marcellus is easily spotted due to his dark skin, muscles, and height. Towering over most folk, he appears as a giant among men. Usually dressed in a pair of white pants, tucked into his thick leather boots. Various tools hang from his belt, securely fastened to avoid them getting lost, or placed in a pack slung over his shoulder. He is rarely seen without his blacksmith's apron, which is covered in years of grime and filth. On his arms are various tattoos he has accumulated over the years, the most prominent being tribal style markings, to remind him of his roots. His mouth is filled with shiny gold teeth, bought to replace the ones he has lost in numerous bar fights over the years, and one of his eyes is covered by an eyepatch style monocle, which he can adjust to give him different levels of magnification, which he can use as either a telescope or a magnifying glass, depending on which lenses he uses for it. His chin is covered in a thick, greying beard, his head covered with a similarly greying layer of constantly messy hair. His face is dotted with various scars and scratches, souvenirs from battles past. His eyes are a bright green, providing a surprising change of color in an otherwise dark face. On his back is usually strapped a large, shining greatsword, constantly kept clean and pristine, despite the amount of use it sees. The hilt is covered in numerous, small notches, each one marking a kill, neatly marked as to form an incomplete seeming pattern in the steel.

Marcellus is short tempered, and doesn't hesitate to kill anyone he doesn't like, usually resulting in him getting kicked out of places. Usually relying on his intelligence or strength to get what he wants, happy to manipulate others to do his bidding. He is also quick to rip people off, and has a great many shady connections due to his time running with mercenaries.

Tales of a man called Vorn Tyrr have attracted Marcellus, who has hopes of doing business. If that fails, he can still make some coin the way he usually does.