Post by Rickard Reynolds on Jun 9, 2017 0:10:35 GMT -5
Accepted! Welcome to Hogwarts: The New Ages!
Full Character Name: Rickard Reynolds
D.o.B./Age: 12 December 2009/19
Place of Residency: Nordland, Norway; Oxfordshire, UK (Family HQ)
Blood Status: Pureblood {Pureblood, Half-blood, Muggleborn}
Former House: Ravenclaw {if you attended Hogwarts, if not what school did you attend?}
Wand: Oak, Dragon Heartstring, 11.5", reasonably pliable (wood, core, length, other descriptors)
Aliases: Agent H/H/Harkriger, Thorsten Holbroek (FSB), Rickard Reynolds (Hogwarts folk), Lars Janssen (Muggles), Casimiro (Turatis), Edik Hall (MI-5, MI-6)
Position Requesting: Norwegian Junior Ambassador to Great Britain, International Confederation of Wizards
Credentials:
NEWT Scores:
History of Magic – O
Charms – O
Transfiguration – EE
Ancient Runes – EE
Potions – O
Divination – A
Defense Against the Dark Arts – EE
Astronomy – A
Muggle Studies – EE
History:
Rickard's history has been marred by accidents and catastrophes. During his years at Hogwarts, he enjoyed relative scholastic success, earning nine NEWT level passing grades, but his social life has hit many bumps and barriers. A shy kid at the start, his vocal opposition to Muggles, Muggleborns and Half-bloods set him as an outcast in Ravenclaw House. After a near-fatal brush with a wicked Georgian "Goblin Child" and a coma shared with fellow Ravenclaw housemate, Bryce McAlarney, Rick's tune changed as his new lease on life gave him a different perspective. His brief, intense, relationship and engagement with Ravenclaw colleague, Jaimie Stark also threw him down an unexpected avenue of social discovery, and in the aftermath of their failed engagement, Rick seemingly returned to his shy, reclusive lifestyle of so many years passed.
Then Russian operatives besieged the autonomous city and region of Smolensk, officially throwing the union of the Northern Council into disarray. In a attempt to show cooperation and goodwill, Sir Philip Reynolds convened a emergency conference with the representatives of the Russian Union of Sovereign Republics and the embattled Sovereign Prince of Smolensk. Both men were murdered in cold blood en route to the meeting, and the city of Smolensk fell.
Later, in a last desperate attempt to patch together the shattered Northern Council, Rickard's brother, Sir Dagr Reynolds travelled to the Principality. He was apprehended immediately after crossing the border. He hasn't been heard from since.
This sudden change in their family's dynamic forced Rickard and his mother, Dame Margrytte Olstaddr, into leadership positions they were not entirely prepared to take. With their financial resources and assets diminishing at an alarming rate, the family has had to pull things together for themselves, and as such Rickard's security in life is less certain than it has ever been before. Nevertheless, his grandmother - who was instrumental in his early childhood rearing - always called him her "harkriger", her warrior, and soldiering on is all Rick has ever known to do. While also employed to work with the Nordic Union, Rick seeks a life beyond the shadows of his past, and follow his inclination toward diplomacy and politics, he seeks a new life in the Ministry of Magic's Department of International Magical Cooperation.
But the shadows of a past he can't escape continue to pursue him. Taking into account recent events, bombings in places thought to be secure and the allowance of muggles to pollute the proud and magical heritage of Hogwarts, Rickard's tastes have taken a bitter turn, and his vision for the future of his race had turned dark. He sees now that unity only exists among those who are strong, and those who are strong are those who are pure.
Significant People in Your Life:
Dame Margrytte Olstaddr (Mother): The strongest woman he's ever known, particularly after the murder of her husband, the late Sir Philip Reynolds, and the capture and hostage holding of her oldest son, Sir Dagr Reynolds (both incidences occurring during the Russian invasion of Smolensk in 2027). She called a special contingency committee following the Siege of Smolensk to reform the shattering ancient North Pillar (commonly called the Northern Council) into cooperating coalitions, the Scandinavian Federation, and the Nordic Union, to the former of which she was unanimously elected Chancellor.
Lady Kiriya Olstaddr (Aunt): The second strongest woman he's ever known; Dame Margrytte's younger sister, who was co-initiator in the establishment of the Nordic Union, on which she now serves as the Norwegian Delegate.
Tig Scarbrough (Best Friend): A Squib taken into the Reynolds home by the late Sir Philip Reynolds after a pogrom against Muggles before Rick was born, Tig now serves unofficially as Rickard's confidante and first assistant in business affairs. He's also a spy stationed in Latvia for the Scandinavian Federation.
Pet(s): Orphaned Newfoundland dog named Antigone
Economic Status: Middle Class (middle)
Rickard Reynolds has gone from riches to rags, once being a future heir to the Reynolds family fortune and business. Since the Shattering of the North Pillar, instituted by the Russian Invasion of the Smolensk Principality in 2027, the Reynolds family has suffered a great financial defeat and has been forced to liquidate much of the assets to help support the possible war with the Russian Federation that seems to be brewing. From a total of six estates in both Northern England and Norway, the Reynolds and Olstaddr clans now own a scant three estates - one in Northern England and two in Norway, with one serving as HQ for the Scandinavian Federation - and their influence in the region has diminished slightly. Rather than inheriting a ridiculous sum of money, Rickard has come into a much more modest inheritance, most of which he has pledged to help keep the missions of the Scandinavian Federation going strong. He has not inherited a position in his family's business affairs, but has chosen to continue in the diplomatic line as his forebears have done for many centuries (they proudly trace their line back, unbroken, to the first Viking leaders in Norway).
Initially Purists, when Rick fell in love with a Muggleborn witch, Jaimie Stark, in the midst of his Hogwarts years it forced a perspective shift for him and his family. In small ways, this progressive growth led to a diminishing of the family's standing among the Northern Council, though they have been very vocal about adjusting Purist attitudes toward Muggleborns for a few years now. When Rick's engagement and relationship was ended in 2028, his life changed once again. Now, he considers himself married to the effort of Scandinavian unification.
Antigone literally rescued Rickard in a moment when he most needed rescuing. Being a blockhead, as he can be, he decided to take a deep sea swim without any magical assistance (i.e. he left the FF meeting early) and if Antigone hadn't swum so well, Rickard would not have survived his stupid move. She pulled him ashore heroically, and he's kept her as his companion (and equal) ever since. He plans to resume living full time in Norway after Hogwarts.
{and at least 3 good sized paragraphs}
Personality Description: {at least 2 good sized paragraphs}
The Light Side
Getting repeatedly abused by Dagr as a child defined Rickard's devotion to being the fierce warrior his mother always told him he was. "You are my hard kriger, Rickard." My Brave Warrior. Nan's tales of heroism always inspired Rickard, and his joy in writing heroic tales and pretending to be the hero all the time certainly grew from those chilling Scandinavian folk stories. So much light came into his life when he was able to rescue Keilla Olsttadr from drowning, and his drive to be everyone's hero was made firm from that moment onward. Now it is more of a greying shade in his personality, but a real drive to BE something remains a shade of white.
The Grey Side
Ever since "The Great Divorce" and his father's knighthood through the Ministry, Rickard has struggled with the inherent evils of non-magic folk. They are evil; he knows that because of what he's seen. But from his brush with the pureblooded Georgian boy in that tumultuous fifth year, Rickard is beginning to believe that some purebloods are just as bad, and some muggleborns are just as good. Years of bias have him camped very firmly in support of Pureblood society, however, and because of Elia Vazilsashvili, Rickard's support is shaping up to be along nationalist lines.
The Dark Side
"The Great Divorce" stunned and shaped Rickard in many ways, but his general distrust of Squibs and Muggles draws a very clear line between who is right and who is wrong. Nonetheless, "The Great Divorce" planted a strong sense of doubt in his mind, and now Ricky finds that he fluctuates between treating Mudbloods kindly and being callous with them. Because he's a bit slower in processing information than others his age, he makes for an easy target, primarily from the sharp-witted Ravenclaws, and like generations of Slytherins before him, he supports a Slytherin House bias. It is the Greatest House with the Purest Tradition, and he'll fight for it. But as staunch as his stance is on this unilateral point, inwardly he faces countless doubts. He fights blindly, not thoughtlessly.
The Purist Side
Bloodline: it is the pride of the Olstaddr and Reynolds clans. It is also their greatest downfall. Believing that they have special rights among the Scandinavian Wizarding society because they can trace their lineage back to the Viking Kings in an unbroken line, these clans have commanded respect for six centuries. Their stance on marriage has always been severe, with the Matriarch having the final say on who her child marries. For almost a millennia, these rules went unquestioned. And then Rickard chose a Muggleborn to be his intended.
Whether by divine intervention or just serendipitous luck, the marriage engagement broke off before it could materialize and the threat of bringing to an end the Purity of the family's bloodline evaporated. But the memory of it coming so close to an end stuck, and Rickard and his family have begun to return to the Purist mindset.
Physical Description:
Height: 6'4"
Weight/Build: 260 (mostly muscle)
Skin Tone: fair/weathered
Hair Color and Style: dirty blond/sandy
Eye Color: steel grey
Personal Scent: (there are two) #1: a pine wood and fir tree forest after a fresh snowfall; and #2: cool and smoky like a campfire after dusk.
Rickard is a big guy. He stands six-foot four inches and weighs 260 pounds with a 10% body fat percentage.
He cuts an imposing figure with his steel grey eyes and his weathered skin. He has been hardened by years of torment at the behest and for the pleasure of his older brother, Dagr. He exudes a sense of masculinity. Rickard possesses several obvious Viking features, including his fair (though weathered) skin, his bulk appearance and his light eyes and hair. For one, despite his masculine essence, Rickard has a slightly feminine bone structure particularly in his face. His jawline sits a little higher to his cheek bones than the average English guy. Second, he has no trouble growing facial hair (of late, at least). Like his forebears,
Rickard doesn't need MiracleGro to sprout stubble. A final addition to his Viking appearance is his newly stitched Viking dragon tat.
Debate has surrounded his size in the past. No pureblood Viking has grown quite as tall as Rickard, in ancient history, although some Vikings of mixed ancestry have grown tall. Discontent members of the Northern Council have called into question his blood purity on many occasions. Curiously, such claims have either been silenced or retracted later. Rickard has never cared much about what other people say in dispute of his pure bloodline until his father was murdered. Doubt has crept into his life, and his need to prove his critics wrong has begun to control parts of his life where he felt most confident, once.
Likes:
Writing
Being the Hero
Henna/body art drawing and design
Dislikes:
Small people (House Elves, Dwarves, Goblins, anything shorter than 4'5)
Posers
People who try to play the hero
Squibs
Muggleborns*
Russians
* A complex part of his character. For the moment, he leans on experience: Purebloods = good, Mudbloods = bad, and he does so staunchly. That does not mean he won't change.
Special Talents:
Poetry writing. As girlish as it is, the grace of the Bard is a gift Ricky possesses. He can turn a phrase like a potter smooths clay on a wheel. Sadly, he's never used this talent on the ladies because he finds them to be too charming and distracting. Much as art was a flaw for Pygmalion, poetry is a very special talent/flaw for Ricky. No lady could ever touch his heart in the way that his own poetry does.
Since being at Hogwarts, Rick's become a really decent flyer, and his skill with the beaters bat has helped him earn Ravenclaw at least two Quidditch Cups. He's developed a good skill set in teamwork alongside his fellow beater and friend, Bryce McAlarney.
Rickard is becoming a very skilled liar. As a double agent (once for the Ministry of Magic as an Ambassador; once for the Nordic Union), he's learnt how to tell convincing lies. Everyone lies in a different way, Rickard has learnt, but sometimes the lies have ways of coming back to get you in the end. Rickard's training with the Nordic Union Covert Operations crew (UNNSO) forced him to develop a system of remembering his lies and his alternate identities. Now that he's begun his fieldwork with the Ministry of Magic, playtime is over. "Agent H" or simply "H" has become his new foundational identity. "Rickard" is but a mask he can take off and put on again when necessary.
RP Example: {at least 2 good sized paragraphs}
Rick slipped his shoes into the skis and pulled a face mask up to protect him from frostbite. The sun was going down fast, but it was a good downhill trek he was about to embark on with Kiyah's intel clipped securely to his inside coat pocket. He knew that the next village in the mountains was exactly 15 kilometers away, and if he could safely ski the downhill slope, it wouldn't take him more than an hour to get there and pass the message off. He'd arrive at nightfall, unless the Soviets were hiding along the way. Moscow rules, he thought, reminding himself that everyone here was an enemy until they proved to be a friend. He'd crossed the line into Enemy Territory.
Twenty-five minutes later, Rick sensed he'd picked up a tail: his skis weren't the only noise makers in the shadow of the mountain. He leaned forward a bit farther over his knees and increased his speed. If they were going to race, Rick wanted every assurance he was going to cross the finish line first. The whooshing behind him didn't let up, even after six minutes of break-neck skiing. So Rick let up on the speed and ducked behind a cluster of trees, working hard to control his breath. He withdrew his wand and focused on the jinx he wished to use to immobilise his follower.
The shadow skier was getting closer....
He was practically in range....
His skiing slowed to a halt....
All fell silent....
Damien's Sample
Sigrid Bederd was a beautiful French Canadienne, but the holiday to Provence was not her idea. Lately, her betrothed fiance, Gerard Pelletier, had been making all the decisions for them and she was fed up. Her little rebellion had begun when she decided to sneak away and take a ferry trip out to an uninhabited island off the coast in the Mediterranean called Ile Verte. Siri (her nickname) relished the thought of Gerard arriving back at their rented flat to find her gone. He'd go mad; she loved it. The motor of the ferry droned out the lapping of the waves against the boat's hull as they cut through the waters towards Calanque Saint-Pierre, the island's only docking point for tourists. Though her French was a little rusty (she could easily communicate in English in Quebec City), she'd managed to strike up a friendship with a Ukrainian woman in the short time she'd been at the dock and on the boat.
It was the drone of a motor that shocked him back to consciousness. He struggled to open his eyes. All at once, every bone in his tired body screamed in pain and he wished he was dead. Memory was still too blurry and he knew he couldn't rely on it, but he vaguely recalled being pulled through the sea water by a dog. Lying there limp, Rickard used only his hearing senses to get a grip on reality.
Feet. Chatter. Voices, mostly women. Panting, perhaps the dog. Water, maybe waves hitting rocks. Definitely a dog yipping, padded feet going away and coming back. Going and coming, and then a very throaty female gasp.
"Ah! Mon Dieu!"
"Regardez, regardez!"
"Est-il mort?"
"Je ne sais pas! Ah bon chien, bon chien!"
"Hey, d'ou viens-tu?"
A dog's bark, and a woman's voice.
"Allez, allez! Allons le sortir de la plage. Peut-etre qu'il peut parler?"
Strong hands lifted Rickard up and he heard himself issue a gargled scream of pain.
"Merde! Il est bien vivant!"
"Aspect estrangers, no?"
"Ma'amselle Bedard? Savez-vous?"
The throaty voiced female responded.
"Pas Britanique. Pas Americain."
"Non, Americain bien sur!"
"Non, non, Europeen, je suis sur. Pas Francais...Russe, peut-etre?"
Rickard understood at least one of those words: Russe. He bristled angrily at the mention of his sworn enemy country, Russia. Hatred coarsed through his broken body. A dog began licking the salt sea water off his face.
"Hyello?" The second woman's voice, this time in Russian. Rickard moaned.
"Yebanaya russkaya suka!" He spat painfully. "Who are you? Kto ty?"
The Russian woman chuckled and spoken in French-accented English. "'E must be Eenglish. 'E 'as NO manners AT ALL!"
Rickard tried to open his eyes again. He failed.
How You Found Us (Optional):