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NAME Sandir De Bruyn
AGE 20
OCCUPATION unemployed; gets by mostly on funds his mother sends him
FAMILY youngest son of a large noble family

POSITIVES Optimistic, gentle, empathetic
NEUTRALS Cautious, polite, quiet
NEGATIVE Gullible, painfully shy, nervous

APPEARANCE Although Sandir is a charming young man, that is often only the second thing that people notice about him. For a noble-born son he is surprisingly uncomfortable around other people, in crowded situations made visibly nervous by the press of strangers around him. He is often flushed, rarely stands up straight, and tends to flinch or pull away from others when spoken to. He dresses very well not because he especially cares about looking nice but because he's learned that he's less likely to attract notice if he looks like he fits in. When he is not trying desperately to escape social situations, he can be considered attractive; he is fair skinned with fluffy light brown hair and meltingly brown eyes. Despite being in very good shape there is always a layer of softness to his face and his body that he can never quite shake. One on one, or in very quiet settings, Sandir has been known to be surprisingly eloquent, and his smiles are not to be missed.

PERSONALITY For the most part, Sandir is a surprisingly subdued -- some would even say beaten down -- young man. He would prefer to keep to himself, and once drawn into conversation is very likely to simply agree with whatever is said to avoid confrontation. His family and his peers have found that it is easy to bully him into doing whatever they want, and though he finds it depressing that no one seems to pay attention to what he wants, he doesn't seem to have the courage to assert himself enough to make his desires heard. Only rarely does he stand up for anything, though once he has decided to take a stand very little can shake him from it.

One such issue is his dietary preferences; Sandir refuses to either hunt or eat meat and has since he was a boy. There is more than one person convinced that the lack of proper manly food in his diet explains a great deal about his washed-out personality, but the battle over his food has long since been won and to most that is now simply the way he is.

SKILLS With his mother's influence guiding his education, Sandir unfortunately learned very little of any real use. He can recite romantic poetry, sing romantic songs, play several stringed instruments as well as the flute, knows every popular dance and is familiar with the meanings of all flowers. Shockingly -- considering his normal fear of others -- he is very, very good at being, well, charming. He is an expert in the games of courtship, though he has never been known to carry them past gentle flirtation, and despite his unsuitability as a husband there are a number of young women who would cheerfully claw out each other's eyes at a chance to take his arm.

HISTORY Sandir's family is technically Dutch, a Sunderland-based arm of a large trading family that settled in Sunderland over a generation ago. As such, Sandir himself was born in Sunderland and other than his name and slightly different cast to his features would be hard to tell apart from his truly native peers. The family as a whole has something of a reputation of romance, for a large portion of their wealth was once based on the sale of flowers, although in current times the popularity of specialty tulips has waned somewhat.

As the youngest son, Sandir was largely raised as his mother's pet -- sheltered, spoiled beyond all reason, and as such constantly bullied by older siblings and fosterlings alike. Though he may have been born a naturally cautious individual, this has developed over the years to a point where he is nearly crippled by his own social fears. His mother has always considered him her only truly obedient offspring, for he is always quick to accept whatever she orders of him, whether it be attending social galas, dancing with particular girls, or accompanying her on her shopping trips. His father has always considered him a waste of time and effort, a failure of masculinity who ought to have been sent off to the priesthood long ago. His own desires and opinions have largely been ignored for most of his life, and the only time either parent pays attention to him is when they wish to either make use of or abuse him.

This can perhaps explain why, when Sandir acquired a Guardian who genuinely enjoyed his company and paid him affectionate attention, he gave over to her the whole of his heart.

POSITIVES Courageous, confident, poised
NEUTRALS Courteous, deep-thinking, solemn
NEGATIVE Arrogant, possessive, demanding

PERSONALITY Where Sandir is shy, she is courageous; where Sandir is uncertain, she is confident; where he is gullible, she is wise; where he will give way to preserve the peace, she is boldly passionate. Set against his nervousness is her serenity, a calming influence that soothes his fears, in the presence of which he has begun to acquire a bravery of his own.

But the price of her love is not lightly paid ..

If she has a fault it is arrogance, for her way is always the best, because she is plainly the best of the Guardians. She accepts no corrections, no revisions, no suggestions, no more than she would allow her Chosen to dally in the arms of a woman. That she does not feel romantic love for him does not matter; he has no time for a lover and no need for one; he has her. What more could he want?

SKILLS Guardians often being as different from each other as their selected Chosen, there is the definite sense that she was not built as a brawny fighter or even a quick-as-a-thief skirmisher. Her greatest asset is by far her mind, for she is quick-witted and a surprisingly analytical thinker. In another time, in another shape, she might be the sort of person to plan a successful rise in power, the perfect partner to take Sandir from being a younger son of a minor noble to becoming a major political force to be reckoned with.

HISTORY Sometimes neglect is not such a bad thing after all .. when Sandir came home with the totem that later became a graceful fawn, the event hardly made an impact on his family. When as she grew it became inconvenient to have her carried up and down the stairs to his quarters and Sandir relocated himself to a shabby room that let out into the garden, it was amusing to his family but of little note. He was considered so weak-willed that it seemed of little surprise that he would order his life around the demands of a mere animal. But the older the Guardian became, the more Sandir gave over to her, and the more devoted he became, the more she demanded. All of this the De Bruyn family was able to ignore until one day Sandir pushed himself back from the family table, cleared his throat, and quietly announced that he would be moving out and no longer taking orders from anyone but his Golden One.

In fact, once he had left he would no longer be communicating with any of them without Her gracious permission, so if they wished to say their farewells to him they ought to do it now.

Although his family protested and token efforts were made to keep Sandir at home, they were largely unprepared for both the sudden determination in their son .. and for The Golden One herself, who had Awakened while they were not paying attention. After scathingly informing them at length of their many faults, she informed them that their grievous behavior regarding her Chosen had led her to decide to deny them the privilege of his presence until such time as they reformed their behavior and made adequate apologies. In the wave of shock that followed, she and her Chosen departed, to take up residence farther downtown, in a tiny house with a small garden.

Obviously, unlike other Awakened, she is not shy in using her newly earned voice, demanding, cajoling, ordering or mocking the humans whom she deigns to allow in her royal presence as needed. To further cement her status as a sentient, intelligent creature, she has forbidden her Chosen to speak in her presence, unless she gives him leave to do so -- the only one she will allow to defend her status is herself.