Brother Nathaniel Baker

Brother Nathaniel Baker

Background
Strong History
Stat Dice: 13d6
Trait Dice: 3d6 4d8 3d10
Relationship Dice: 1d4 3d6 2d8

Stats
Body: 3d6
Acuity: 4d6
Will: 4d6
Heart: 2d6

Traits
I am God’s Watchdog 1d6
When I speak, people listen… 3d10
Ceremonies are my forte 3d8
I am well-read… 1d6
… and well-versed in healing craft 1d6
I do not aim with my hand… 1d8

Relationships (Dice remaining: 1d6 1d8)
My younger sister Levinia… 1d4
… and the demon that hurt her 2d6
Micajah, the retired Dog 1d8
My father Cyrus (Blood) 1d6
My mother Sybrina (Blood) 1d6

Posessions
Micajah’s excellent

The upper one.

rifle 2d6+1d4
My Coat 2d6
Swift, my horse 1d6
My copy of The Book of Life 1d6
My Jar of Consecrated Earth 1d6
My journal, together with my pen and ink 1d6
A book of poems and similitudes my father gave me 1d6
My knife, old and worn but kept sharp 1d6

Initiation
I hope I learned some compassion.

Nathaniel Baker, son of Cyrus and Sybrina, elder brother of Levinia.
Cyrus, the teacher in Virgin’s Birth’s small school, taught Nathaniel his letters well and early and instilled a love for books in the boy few among the faithful possess.
From aiding his mother, Virgin’s Birth’s midwife, Nathaniel picked up the basics of healing craft.
In his teens, Cyrus began to groom Nathaniel to follow him up as the town's teacher, while Levinia, two years Nathaniel‘s younger, was tutored to first help and later replace their mother…
… and if Micajah had never come to Virgin's Birth, both of them would have followed that path.

Or not, Nathaniel would say, now that his training in the Temple is coming to an end. If Micajah hadn't come, the corruption would have spread and, in the end, damned the entire town.
But the former dog had moved into the town and had smelled the beginning corruption – and in time so only the gravedigger and widow Hallington fell to his rifle.
Though the demon was exorcised in time to save Virgin’s Birth, it had already been too late to saved Levinia; the girl, just shy of twelve summers at that time, had already been touched by the demon and was only a few steps from becoming the sacrifice widow Hallington needed.
The town was safe, but Levinia damaged; her mind bore the demon’s scars as much as her twisted face.
The exorcism hurt Micajah cruelly; In Three Is Strength, the dogs say – but the former dog had been alone when confronting the demon. The former dog’s wounds went beyond the flesh – and beyond the skill of any healer in Virgin’s Birth.
Many offered to help Micajah and travel with him to the Temple – but the dog refused all of them and instead picked Nathaniel.

Though well-read and clever, Nathaniel had little experience in more practical aspects of life; before being brought to the Temple, he had never shot a gun in his life, nor dressed a rabbit or ridden more than a couple of hours. What others learned from an early age, Nathaniel had to learn late under the stern eyes of the stewards. Though he learned those tasks slowly, he excelled in the less tangible skills; shown once, he reproduced any ceremony faultlessly and with elegance.

Six years it took to make a dog from the boy once groomed to become Virgin’s Birth’s next teacher.

Yesterday, Nathaniel’s coat was brought; long and from fine, tightly woven cotton, dark-grey in color and with smooth, wooden buttons carved with tree designs. Many small, light grey and black triangles form a spiral pattern on the back, surrounded by a fine double line of dark green, while the nearly white button with their tree designs are the only adornment on the front.

The stewards are confident that Nathaniel is going to be a good addition to the dogs; he’s likeable enough to watch, though his outstanding feature is his smooth, calm voice – a voice, people like to listen to. Even when commanding or shouting, his voice does not crack or roughen. Though he’s comparatively old, that might very well be to his advantage; the fire of youth has burned low and while not yet replaced by wisdom, nevertheless allows Nathaniel to think and not rush in head over heels. The intense ceremonial training has sharpened his will and made him hard to shake while his love for reading made him knowledgeable beyond most boys/men his years. His physical fitness has also improved through the intense training, though he won’t be the strongest or fastest out there.
What he is somewhat lacking, though, is compassion; as the demon has marked Levinia, it has marked Nathaniel. Understanding, empathy and compassion flee his heart at the bare possibility of a demon. And woe, should he ever meet the demon that has marked his sister…

His coat, horse and the jar weren't the only things Nathaniel was gifted with upon leaving the Temple; Micajah, retiring for good, gave his rifle to the young Dog he brought to the Temple about six years ago; what had served him well over his years would now become the tool of a new dog.

Hi Whisper,

Lots of nice juicy backstory. For the conflict, if we go by the examples in the DITV rules you'll be playing your current lack of compassion and I'll cover the forces and people trying to instill/elicit compassion from you, does that suit you?

Thanks - and yes, that sounds fine.