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CHARACTER DESIGN CONTEST

Your timezone: Pacific Standard Time

What times are you usually online?: On a Saturday- 7:00 PM and later

Name of Character: Thomas Adam Haldane II

Country of orgin: England

What is their purpose for coming to the New World?: Thomas, the first son of a minor nobleman, has grown up with the expectation that he will simply bend into the shape his father wills. He, however, has no interest in the duties of the land, and has hoped to find glory and fortune in the New World so that he can hand over his duties to his younger brother, Edmund.

What is their description? (pictures help): Thomas is tall, around six feet, three inches. His long blonde hair reaches past his shoulders, and he usually keeps it tied back with a black leather binding. Piercing blue eyes framed by pale lashes are most often narrowed in distaste, and a sharp nose adds to his look of general disdain. A strong chin and a generous mouth mean that when he does smile, it is incredibly appealing, but he often does not smile. Broad shoulders, strong arms, and large hands would indicate that he was a working man, but his father's rank decrees that his strength goes mostly unused. Fit and trim, he is not built along muscular lines; rather, he is lithe and surprisingly limber. He dresses most often in brown leather pants of the sort many who ride frequently wear, tall calvalry boots, and a loose white shirt with a blue riding jacket. At his waist, a flintlock pistol shares space with a small knife and a midrange sword.

What does their horse look like? (pictures help): Name- Lady Shadows



Write a short story about this character and their horse:

Thomas Adam Haldane II was not having a good day. His father had once more decided to try and force discipline upon him. Thomas was most assuredly not interested in aquiring said discipline. An argument, heated and bitter, had quickly risen. And, as was customary, anger brought out the honesty in both men quite rapidly. Words were exchanged that were better left unsaid, and the deep canyon between father and son grew ever so slightly wider.

Thomas the younger had stormed out of the estate house, heading for the stables. He wasn't sure exactly where he intended to go, but it was irrelevant to him. He threw open the door to the stables, and it swung wide, following its arc to its inevitable conclusion. With a retort that sounded much like a cannon firing, the door slammed against the wall, and the expensive steeds in their stalls began to panic, rearing and prancing. Several distressed servants rushed to calm the horses, and one of them had the ill fortune to step directly into Thomas's path.

"Watch it, man!" Thomas exclaimed, cuffing the servant sharply. The young man apologized and scurried away, throwing a frightened glance over his shoulder. The lords needed no excuse to dismiss a servant, but dismissal was better for some than the beatings they could expect. Thomas's lip curled, his disdain for the servant boy clear.

More angry now than when he had originally started, he walked to the back of the stable, to where his prize stood, prancing and snorting in her stall.

"Hello, Lady Shadows," he said, greeting her with a smooth voice. Her ears pricked forward, and she stopped prancing for a moment, soothed slightly by his familiar tone. He unlatched the door and walked into the stall, easing his hands over Lady Shadows' smooth dark coat. She had been brushed already that morning, he noticed.

"How is the lovely lady today?" His tone was already losing the edge of anger. Lady's ears flicked, following his voice, and she nuzzled his pockets, looking for a treat. He pulled out a sugar cube and handed it to her, and she took it with obvious delight. She whickered softly once it was gone, either in thanks or in polite entreaty for more.

"We're going to go for a little ride," he commented, taking her by the halter and leading her out into the main hall of the stable. In moments, he had her saddled and bridled. The servants wisely kept out of sight, knowing that Thomas always saddled his own horse. He mounted quickly, a simpler task for him than for some others, as Lady Shadows was only fourteen hands, and he was rather tall. With the ease of long practice and constant training, he guided Lady Shadows out of the stable and before she was even clear of the door, he had nudged her into a fast canter.

Down the winding estate road, over the carefully manicured lawns, into the trees they went. The wind on his face and in his hair soothed him; the feel of Lady beneath him eased his roiling anger. He was incredibly pleased with how well Lady had turned out. His father had been furious when he brought home the slight mare instead of the massive stallion he'd been expecting. Thomas Senior didn't feel it was keeping up appearances for his eldest son and heir to ride a mare instead of a stallion. Thomas the younger was of the opinion that the quality of the horse mattered more than the gender, and there were few horses of the same quality as his Lady.

Lady, sensing that his need to run had just about worked itself out, began to slow, easing into a trot, and then a simple walk. He let her, knowing that she wouldn't slow unless she was approaching her limit. And he never pushed Lady past her limit. He babied her, in fact. And she knew it, and responded with nothing but sweet tempered tolerance for her loud, occasionally startling rider.

"What can I do, Lady?" he asked, watching as her ears pivoted so she could hear him better. "I don't want this life. I never have. I want to be free of this damn estate."

She whickered, bobbing her head as though in agreement.

"I want to find somewhere that my father hasn't already spoiled for me. I want to go somewhere new, somewhere that a man can make his own way..."

Lady meandered through the woods, listening to her rider muse with one ear, listening for anything out of the ordinary with the other. Really, she wasn't particularly interested in anything beyond the shoregrasses that she knew were just up around a large set of rocks up ahead. Her rider didn't seem to want her to go anywhere in particular, so she picked out the path, leading them down to the rocky beach, where salty grasses grew in the soft dirt at the edge of the trees.

Thomas looked up, watching the water as Lady began to graze. In the distance, billowing white sails could be seen. He stared at them blankly for a few moments, before a realization broke upon him as the waves were breaking on the shore.

"You are a smart one, my Lady, aren't you? Yes, we'll do that. We'll set sail, won't we? Head to the New World they've all been talking about."

Lady snorted, bobbing her head to dislodge a small tuft of grass from the corner of her bit. Thomas, not seeing the grass, took it for an agreement.

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CHARACTER DESIGN CONTEST
Your timezone: CST
What times are you usually online?: in the afternoon on weekdays, almost all day on weekends
Name of Character: Miguel Hernadez Soto de Santiago
Country of orgin: Spain
What is their purpose for coming to the New World?: The purpose he states to others is the standard glory, God, and gold response that he believes most colonists would find acceptable. He claims he is a second son of a noble who seeks to escape the hardships of the old country, with its wars and Inquisitions.

In reality, Padre Miguel is a Catholic priest who seeks to spread the true faith throughout the New World, by any means necessary. The reason he keeps this hidden is because he fears that the colonists he is sailing with are Protestants would kill him if they discovered his true identity.

Padre Miguel has learned English in order to communicate with the English. Originally, this was to spread the faith to England, but he gave this up quickly when he realized the hatred of Catholics after the reign of Bloody Mary was still present.

What is their description? (pictures help): Miguel has a thin face and a large nose which sticks out from the rest of his face. His hair is dark brown, and both it and his goatee are trimmed short. His eyes are brown, and usually narrowed as if he were judging everything in the world around him.

Miguel would be dressed as a Spanish noble from this time period.
See the outfit on the right:
http://www.costumes.org/history/quicherat/HenriIV.JPG

He would be dressed in dark colors to avoid standing out any more than necessary.

What does their horse look like? (pictures help):

The mare Arama is a Spanish Barb, a dark bay chosen for beauty and hardiness.

http://horsecare.stablemade.com/images/Articles/velazquez2.jpg
(This picture is for the markings of the horse only. Obviously Padre Miguel wouldn't be THAT rich, and anyway he'd see golden saddles as a waste of gold.)

Arama is a quiet horse who always works as well as she can, even if she is to the point of exhaustion. The only way to get her to rest is if her master tells her to. She doesn't know any other life, so why should she be any different?

Miguel does not see her as a friend, but rather a beast of burden he can profit from in the new world by selling her foals.

Write a short story about this character and their horse:

Miguel held his head high as he rode his steed through the small town, noting the dirty peasants as they stared at him. The fools probably were fearful for their lives, as he wasn't their local priest, and with his new mare he probably looked like one of those rich Inquisition officials searching for lost souls to correct. He rather liked the respectful looks he was getting as he rode by; it would probably be the last signs of respect he'd get for a long time.

He still had many miles to travel before he caught the boat to England; normally, he would fear the journey, but he was going with diplomats who would have the protection of the Spanish Armada. After that passage, he had several years of duties in England before he could travel to the New World. It was up to him to uphold the Holy Catholic faith in the heathen lands, and by God, he was going to be sure that the faith was strong in the New World. As much as he loved the blind devotion of the peasants here, he feared there wasn't a challenge in Spain anymore. People were either Christians, or they would become Christians the next time the Inquisition passed through. Stories came of heathens in the New World who had never heard of the Holy Father or the Virgin Mary; they were minds ready for him to meld to good, and souls waiting to be saved. A true challenge, and the fame that would come to him would be wonderous. Perhaps the Pope would even recognize him as a saint when he died.

But the mare was so slow. When he was certain he was in a part of town no one would see him, he kicked her in an attempt to force her onward toward the docks and the beginning of their journey. He didn't understand it; he had been riding at a what he felt ridiculously slow pace for days now; the mare should not be tired. He had seen noblemen riding their steeds at much faster paces, without them being the worse for wear. Perhaps he had just gotten the wrong steed, and her beauty was the only good thing about her. Well, it was too late to sell her back now; Miguel and Arama were going to England now, and then to the New World.

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(( Yes post editing is allowed but when the contest is over then ill lock the thread. ))

(( These characters are all awesome so far! you all did such great research. surprised ))