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Character Name: Akram Mercier

Age: 24

Sexuality: Straight as an arrow. He has a clan line to continue.

OC/Shop: Original Character

Description: Coming from a culture that has dwelled in the desert for ages, Akram has a dark bronze complexion that does not exactly tan, but takes on a sort of leathery and slightly reddish tone when he gets a lot of sun. He is of average height for his age, with broad shoulders and a sturdy and muscular build. His black hair is slightly coarse and slightly curled, but he keeps a deep red cloth hat covering all but his bangs. Akram straightens his bangs, and has them grown out down just past his collarbone. His greenish eyes peer out over an aquiline nose, and his sharp cheekbones and short beard tend to make him look older than he actually is. It is important to note that he has gold markings from his eyes down his cheeks and neck like tears - they are a physical manifestation of a genetic disorder that he carries.

In terms of clothing, Akram generally goes around in a white shirt with long sleeves and a tall collar, and slightly baggy brown pants. He wears sturdy black boots that look like they have seen quite a lot of travel, and a brightly-colored sash tied around his waist. Over all of that, he has a sleeveless trenchcoat in a greenish teal. He wears several bracelets and necklaces, all woven rather than metal or wood. A metal hammer hangs at his right hip from a leather belt under his sash, and hanging at his left side, Akram has an assortment of silver charms on lengths of bead-adorned black cord.

Personality: Akram comes from a race of people who follow several gods of commerce; they believe strongly that trade is what sets man apart from the animals, who fight each other for resources rather than bartering and trading for them. Money changing hands is a good thing, and the best way to display wealth is to have a large family. Families are generally extended ones, all living under one roof and all under the guidance of a family patriarch. While combat for resources is seen as rather low, family patriarchs often engage in ritualistic combat and various duels to protect the honor of their families. Virtuous men in Akram's society are those who keep their promises, repay their debts, offer hospitality and protection to those who seek it, and build sturdy bonds with business partners. A good patriarch will take on a second or third wife if he can support her and her children; a greedy patriarch will keep his family small and horde money that he could be spending on more children.

The Mercier family line carried in its blood a strong line of magic, however a patriarch several generations before Akram decided to restrict having children in an effort to strengthen and guard that magic. As a result, a genetic disorder appeared in the Mercier line, killing its men usually before the age of 40.

It was because of this that the title of Mercier patriarch fell on Akram's shoulders when he was just 21. Not only was he one of the youngest men ever to take on the title in any family, he also inherited the difficult position as protector of the honor of a family that is considered cursed by many. He is accustomed to being in charge now, however, and knows very well how to run an extended family and manage its finances.

Akram was not unprepared to take over the role of patriarch; his father fully expected to die before Akram had reached 35, the usual age of becoming a patriarch. Because of this, Akram had been forced to grow up early, and was known as a very good businessman and a very mature and responsible person by the time he was 16. He is good with numbers and a decent amount of common knowledge history and geography, but his overall education may be considered lacking when compared to that of other people his age.

Akram still has magic in his blood, but thinks of it as a danger, and also as the real curse in his family line. He will always deny that he can cast spells, and generally refuses to talk about the marks on his face or the disorder in general with anyone outside of his family. He is somewhat afraid of having children, as he knows that he will pass his magical disorder on, and is therefore completely unwilling to date anyone with any sort of magic. Since Akram does not exactly want to admit his fear or the rationale behind it, he often comes across as being an indiscriminate hater of magic.

With a lot of his people's expectations weighing on him, Akram generally comes across as quiet, stern, and pessimistic. His smiles are reserved only for those he knows well, and are rare even then. He is a sound believer in the honesty his people value, and will always do his best to uphold his end of deals, even with total strangers, since that is just good business practice. That is not to say he is naive, though - though Akram is not xenophobic or racist, he does understand that not everyone else does business by the same rules he does, and therefore takes what others say with a grain of salt. He just tries his best not to allow his own morals to slip, even when in situations with others who might not notice.

When with people he knows and is used to, Akram is much more relaxed. He still prefers to avoid talking about himself specifically, but he does enjoy talking about where he comes from and asking questions about where other people come from. Akram also likes at least a healthy amount of confrontation, and is always happy to agree to disagree. It is probably also important for any potential partners to know that Akram smokes a pipe fairly often.

Reserved

Reserved

Akram hurried to his room in the apartment he shared with his roommate with the letter, thankful that Crispin was out. Not that he was embarrassed by the fact that he would be looking for a potential mate through a service like this, but Akram was just a little unsure how his roommate might respond to the possibility that there might occasionally be a female over.

"'Miserable chances'?" Akram read aloud with a slight chuckle as he settled back on one of his piles of rugs and pillows in his dimly-lit room. Then he flipped the letter back and scanned over the form.

His brow furrowed as he felt a familiar and frightening tingling in his fingers. Magic? The man tossed the form onto his low coffee table as though it had burned him, scowling at it for a moment. He was alright with dating services - just an odd sort of arranged marriage, like one he could back out of if it looked like things were not working - but if there was magic, then Akram was not totally sure it would be safe to be involved with these people.

A moment later, though, Akram realized that he was standing again, walking towards his desk for a pen. He stopped, hand overing over the writing implement as he glanced back over his shoulder at the sheet of paper. Then he grabbed the pen and heaved a sigh.

"Couldn't hurt, I guess, if I just fill out the form," he murmured to himself as he walked back to settle beside the table. "The sooner I fill it out, the sooner it's back in the mail and away from me, whatever enchantment is on it."

Putting ballpoint pen to paper, Akram filled the blank spaces with his archaically elegant script, avoiding as much actual skin-contact with the paper as possible. When he was finished, the merchant prince scanned over his writing again while holding the page between two fingers as though it was dirty. Then he folded it and slid it into the envelope as he once more glanced over the letter that had come with it.

"Let's see if I really end up with 'true happiness'. You really can get anything in the mail these days...."

The first meeting

(( **in progress** ))