Guillem Bautista

Guillem Bautista Oct 3, 2018 1:38:38 GMT -8

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Post by Etherelle on Oct 3, 2018 1:38:38 GMT -8

History

Wellam's Youth and Fear of the Dark:

Guillem Bautista was born near the eastern shores of Spain in Catalan, the eldest son of a hybrid bookstore and print shop owner. While his mother preached philosophies and his father spouted science and socialism, Guillem was exposed to reading early on in his life, spending his time at his mother's side, devouring book after book as he helped her in the shop when he wasn't watching over his four younger siblings and following in the shadow of his elder sister. When he was old enough, he earned his pocket money delivering papers and chapbooks, pamphlets and journals, to the various corner shops and stands throughout the small seaside city, and it was through his delivery route that he was exposed to a small catholic parish that frequented his father's print shop for pamphlets and songbooks. The Bautista family was no stranger to the church, curious intellectuals that they were. They would visit every Sunday and happily participate in the feast days of the Saints, observe every holiday, however, doing business with them provided a far more intimate approach. Guillem fostered a friendship with the priests and nuns who turned to him to help them provide pamphlets and other paper goods for their flock, and soon came to treat him as a child of their own, often engaging with Guillem's insatiable curiosity and challenging philosophies. However, young Guillem had learned early the dangers of the night. One night, after staying far too long at the chapel, young Guillem of only eight years attempted to navigate his way home in the dark. The unfamiliar shapes of the buildings at night, the dark hulking and shivering shadows of the trees in the dim starlight shifted and disoriented the boy, leading him into the terrible black. Guillem became lost, blinded in the dark, and he fell into a water reservoir far outside of town, terrified and wailing, for he had twisted his ankle in the fall. Unable to crawl out of the muddy pit, Guillem remained awake and terrified throughout the night, sinking into the muddy water as he fought for purchase against the slippery slope. It felt like the night would never end, and it was then, in that moment, that Guillem pleaded and begged for light. A light came, not in the form of a passersby's torch, nor the rising of the elusive moon, but in the dim flickering shape of a halo behind his head. It calmed the boy, but only for as long as he could keep his head from wavering, heavy with weariness, until finally, there came a growing pink glow from the eastern sky. Farmers heading out to tend the fields caught the odd sight of flickering light from the reservoir and discovered young Guillem, near indecipherable from the mud he clung to. He was hoisted from the pit and ferried to his family's home, where he was delivered with tales of a wondrous light, the vestige shadow of a lingering angel hung about his shoulders. The town called it a miracle, his family thanked the saints, and Guillem...Guillem developed a healthy fear of the dark.

The Night it Happened:

Years passed, life returned to the normal cycle of reading, studying, delivering, and listening to evening vespers, though this time, Guillem would always return home before dark. He continued on, watched over by the angels, or so the village claimed. All would seem peaceful once more for young Guillem, however, it was when he had but turned fifteen, that his world would skew towards the dark. Strange deaths began occurring in the seaside town. Battered bodies, torn and bloodied, would appear strung and torn across piles of driftwood in the morning or discovered in the marshy bog near the ocean, some were even found left to bloat and float in the water reservoirs. They had been spirited away from their homes in the depths of the night by something sinister, something monstrous, and despite the nightly watches, the deaths continued. To the heartbreak of the Bautista family, Guillem's elder sister was one of the first to have vanished, gone missing whilst out for chores, and they waited day and night for her return, unknowing whether or not she had become yet another victim to the dark and bloody stories haunting the town's gossip. Her body had not yet been found, and so they were left with lingering hope, waiting and praying, for her to return home.

Guillem, without his eldest sister, was left the eldest child, and burdened by a self-imposed sense responsibility, of worry, of love, he ventured out in the night for the first time since that night long ago when he had learned to be afraid of the dark. Despite the impending arrival of the Cazadores de Luz y Sombra, who had been called upon weeks prior to aid the village, he ventured forward. The visions of his sister's body among those found broken in the morning fog were much more frightening than the shadows. So into the night he crept, holding only a torch and an iron fire poker from his family's fireplace as his weapon, prayers beneath his tongue that he had learned from the chapel. Using the information that he had gathered from the earlier reports of the dead, from the gossip within and without, Guillem had detected a pattern in the attacks, discovering a prime location to confront the evil that fed upon their village. It was in the farmer's pathways leading between the fields and the town, the woody and darkened roads that stood above the water reservoirs, the place where he had nearly drowned so very few years ago, that the suggested the source of evil. Guillem forced his every step forward with thoughts of his sister, unable to help the trembling in his body as he carefully moved throughout the night. It did not take long until the ragged visage of a familiar figure appeared tottering forward in the path, her teeth ruby red with blood, wet in the firelight. It was his sister.

Guillem hesitated, but how could he not? He was just a boy who had not seen the terrors of the supernatural. But that hesitation cost him his only advantage. His sister shot forward, startling Guillem, and the boy's hand swung wide, fist clasped tight around the torch, to try and intercept the vampire, only to find his arm struck open, his fingers shocked loose. The torch, with its light, went spinning into the air, dimming before dropping into the reservoir with a weak wheeze of sound, cast the fight into darkness. Guillem screamed, retaliating with the wild blind swing of his weapon wielding arm, batting at the darting impressions of the vampiric form of his sister shuffling before him, but the beast moved too fast. He felt himself moving backwards, step by shaking step, until his heel hung at the edge of the reservoirs muddy edge. Fortunately, the unreliability of his chaotic movement made it hard for the vampire to advance, but such tactics would not work forever, and so Guillem relied on his wits, on his heart. He called out to the vampire by name, described the home that she had left behind, the family that thought her dead, asked her by name the people who had gone missing, begged her to remember him, their siblings, parents, described them and memories of the town and its festival, where all its people gathered as family. The conversation seemed to work, seemed to slow and disorient the vampire who fought with her warring nature, torn between that which was and was no longer her identity. For a moment, it seemed as if, even if blinded by the dark, that Guillem might have gained the upper hand, might have suppressed the vampire's violence with guilt and grief, with love, but such battles were not won so easily. He had only managed to stall the vampire, before igniting her emotions with those memories, those thoughts of hearth and home, sending her into a wild frenzy. In that brief second of mortal terror, hearing the vampire dart forward, Guillem raised his iron fire stoker, bracing for impact, and called out again for the light of his guardian angel. He felt a warmth fill his empty hand, thinking only to block the impending attack, and as he was knocked bodily back onto the path, a bright light filled the night. He had summoned an echo of his instrument in his empty hand, an unsteady beam of solid light that burned his skin and vampire both. The vampire fell upon the weapon, shrieking enough to split one's ears in two, and in a panic to move away, kicked and shoved at Guillem, writhing in the bright blinding warmth of holy light. This, however, was Guillem's change to act, and so he did. He rolled atop the vampire, pinning her shoulders with his knees, and stabbed the fire stokers, one of light and one of iron, into the dirt and across her neck, pleading with her to return to her humanity. The vampire screeched and shrieked, body writhing madly, but such struggles only caused her to burn herself against iron and light both. Guillem asked again his sister to return to her senses, to return to him, to be herself, and to his surprise, she did. In a brief moment of lucidity, she pleaded with Guillem to end her unnatural life. Such a question was beyond young Guillem's understanding, beyond his capability to even imagine, and he wept over her, openly pleading with her to find another way, to live her unnatural life with honor, to stay with him, but she had not the whimsical notions of her young brother. She knew better than to think she was capable. So she asked him again, yet this time, not to end her life but to help her ease her suffering. She did not wish to become something other than herself, to be seen by her family like this, to live as a danger to others. She hadn't wanted this life in the first place. It was forced upon her, and fear drove her to do the unthinkable. To hear his sister in such pain, such torment, young Guillem could not deny her this last wish. With her hands over his, she convinced Guillem to lift his the necklace of light and iron and sink both weapons into her heart. The moment her body stilled, the moment her hands fell limp, the light shattered in Guillem's hands, and he was cast into a darkness deeper than morning's light could penetrate. His grief was all consuming, and all too late did the Cazadores de Luz y Sombra appear at the scene, lamps held high, to discover a drained and silent boy lying deathly still against his sister's shoulder. Only an hour prior were they able to find his sister's sire and slay him, and only by a few minutes were they too late to spare the boy the burden of killing his sister.

They had, however, seen his light from afar. Recognizing the rare skill, they recovered the boy and body, and returned to town, to both deliver the sad and somber news and speak gravely with the family Bautista about their necessary acquisition of Guillem and his talents. At first, it was unthinkable, to lose two children in one night, but Guillem eventually spoke up, without nary a tremble. He wanted to go with them. If he could prevent a tragedy like this from happening elsewhere, from saving other families and towns from such grief, then he would do whatever it took to sow peace where there was discord. His family relented, his parish mourned, but he we sent with good faith and will, into the teachings of San Sebastian.

Studying in the Sancutario:

After traveling for a full year alongside the Cazadores that acquired him from his home town, young Guillem found himself in the Sanctuario del San Sebastian. It was there that he was introduced and formally administered into the clergy, studying as a novice before excelling in both skill and tactics. However, even from the start, he proved to have a combative intellect and an insatiable curiosity. He flew through philosophies and doctrines, and picked up medicine and doctoring quickly due to his familiarity with books, but frequently got locked in debates with both his fellow students and teachers, demanding that alternative methods other than containment and destruction be researched and exercised first before applying a final treatment. Of the collected novices that were shown to have potential, Guillem was one of three who could willingly produce and control light, and his skill allowed some leeway towards his own experimentation and derisive philosophies. He got away with many trials and examinations that would otherwise be restricted to others, and he knowingly, and willingly, took advantage of his favoritism in doing so. As long as he could force the priests and hunters around him to even consider finding alternative solutions, he would do what he must in order to sow seeds of thought. It was in his training that he would meet one Anton Rosando, a novice in training just like him, who shared a sharp and calculating intellect, but demonstrated greater skill in weapons. His one failing was that he was incapable of producing light. He had almost left the program, defeated by his ineptitude, had it not been for Guillem's interference, claiming him as his partner and insisting that he be the Sombra to his Luz. Anton agreed (even though Guillem had essentially decided for him), and from that point on, remained ever by his side, training and studying in tandem. Their skills were perfectly matched, their style harmonious, and their discussions proved a boon to them both, challenging one another to consider a wider breadth of perspective and understanding both. Together, they bore the torch of hope for those of San Sebastian, who were quickly losing hope in their ability to cultivate Cazadores de Luz y Sombra.

Cazadores de Luz y Sombra:

On the eve of his twenty-second spring, Guillem and Anton were given a trial case through which they passed both unconventionally and with solid success, discovering solutions for a local village plagued by fae kind, in which they were able to broker an agreement between the two sides and establish a mutually beneficial arrangement. After their success, both Guillem and Anton graduated from fledgling priests into fully independent hunters, becoming the newest pair of Cazadores that San Sebastian had to offer. It was also during this time that San Sebastian enlisted Guillem in their own personal studies and experimentation, trying to discover whether or not his skill was hereditary or not. Although young, Guillem was given a partner by the name of Esperanza, another worthy novice who showed hope of providing the light, with whom he attempted throughout his nearby travels to bear children. After a year of no success, Guillem and Esperanza both were given different partners, in an attempt to discover the reason. While Esperanza was given a partner who had already sired children, Guillem was given several, and she gained a child before Guillem could give any. It was without a doubt that Guillem, to the dismay of San Sebastian, was infertile. The discovery rocked Guillem, sending him into a grief more palpable than Anton had ever seen before, and it was only by dragging Guillem away from the Sanctuary, that he was able to eventually soothe Guillem's grief. They would create life by protecting it in the villages throughout their travels. Eventually, Guillem returned to his focused and genial self.

Their experience grew as their cases multiplied and Guillem and Anton both were sought after by name in regards to fae infestations, spiritual haunting, wayward wyrms, and other such supernatural phenomena, always managing to find a peaceful resolution. For a whole decade they traveled across the length and breadth of Europe, making passage through the sea, where they played the part of sea traders, bearing forth fireworks and fish for trade, and traveling along the pilgrim's way, stopping in abbey to abbey as they chased after cases. It wasn't until they had passed their first decade abroad in their hunting, that they received word of their first lupine case, and again, they shocked many, when they discovered a method and routine in which a town could live with, predict, and protect their beloved neighbors who had become werewolves. It required the training of the entire town, construction and organized plans, as well as an understood and accepted fail safe should the security be breached, but Guillem and Anton both were able to create a system in which the townsfolk could live beside their infected family members, given some major adjustments. It worked for a time, longer than other strategies, but eventually, humans are given to err, and the fail safe was enacted for the sake of the village. Nevertheless, Anton considered it a success whereas Guillem was wracked with guilt and insisted on a path of the pacifistic, spending days and nights toiling over plans and tactics, always trying to find a way to find solutions that did not include death. More and more complicated cases were brought to their attention, however, and as the varying troubles grew more and more difficult to navigate through their own morality and ideologies, Guillem seemed to grow more and more distressed. At the prospect of killing another, he balked, and after nearly costing an innocent their life in his desperate attempt to spare bloodshed, Anton provided Guillem a solution. In the inevitable case that a life must be taken, Anton would make the finishing blow, sparing Guillem the weight of ending a life. So they continued, for a few years more, until San Sebastian called back their star hunters to share their insight and experience with their eager and desperate students. Guillem was thirty three when he returned to teach, and thirty three when his life changed.

The Child on the Altar:

Separation & Streitstadt:

Captured and Broken:

Personality

While Guillem's known for being the golden boy in his parish, it's definitely due to his ability to read people. Guillem is insightful and empathetic, to the point where he can use his wits and intelligence to navigate any and every personality he might come across. While he comes off as genial and caring, warm and kind, there is a fierceness beneath the surface that comes from his pride and wit. He refuses to bow down in arguments and he will always fight for what he believes in, even if it means bumping heads with those he revers or holds as close friends. He likes to enjoy and experience life as well as dedicate his time to the pursuit of other's happiness. He is incredibly curious as well, enjoys the science of experimentation and process. He is open and rather liberal in his views and a pacifist at heart, and in practice is a very good father figure to his adopted son.

Quirks

Guillem has always walked about with his hands behind his back, routinely being teased for walking about like an old man far before his time. He carries a lamp everywhere with him, and often sleeps with it on (much to Anton's dismay). He is very fond of seafood and enjoys partaking in festivities, like dancing, singing, and merrymaking. Despite being calm and genial in nature, Guillem has an excitable social side as well.

He is noted for the mole beneath his left eye. His parents once long ago told him that it's where the angels kissed him and that's why there's a mark.

Likes & Dislikes

Likes

Eating
Philosophical Debates
Books, Poetry
Long Naps
Long Walks
Tinkering
Teaching
Experimentation
Sailing
Swimming
Helping Others, Providing Solutions
Breaking/Bending the Rules and Getting Away with it
Challenges
Winning Arguments
Control

Dislikes

Authority
Rules,Rigidity
Willful Ignorance
Raised Voices, Loud Noises
The Dark
Blindness/Darkness
Isolation
Limitations
Powerlessness

Physical Traits

Marked by a single dark freckle beneath his left eye, Guillem has a soft yet square face with thick brows resting atop a pair of round glasses he had earned in his youth when reading in the dark by candlelight took its toll. Atop his head is a unruly mess of mouse brown curls and waves, often trimmed short in an effort to keep the mess from his eyes. However, with his hair growing so fast, he eventually learned to let his hair grow and resigned to taming it back with a bow or band into a ponytail. Guillem was slim yet thick boned before he grew older, evolving into a firm and steady height with a firm and solid frame, but his love for food began to show in the softness of his stomach and cheeks. His weight was also rather representative of his reluctance to fight, especially when he returned after his long travels to retire and teach at San Sebastián, though no matter his pudge, he was always surprisingly nimble and fast, catching everyone by surprise. His hands, large with fingers meant for piano playing, are soft and uncalloused, and often resting behind his back. A dimpled smile adorns his cheeks with with warm brown eyes, Guillem is able to convey and express emotion enough to make a thespian proud.

Abilities

Guillem is one of the few younger priests capable of producing holy light, wrangling it into shape with the firm grip of his hand and solemn prayer. However, his abilities are limited to the replication of objects already in hand, and smaller objects that he is well trained and versed with, though their form is limited in time and strength as according to his focus. The toll the light takes on him is in his energy and body, which he makes up for in with his love for food. Thankfully, his appetite is more than enough to generally make up for the cost of his light, but when food is in short supply, so too, is his strength and ability to call upon his abilities, which he beckons forth by calling upon his few chosen saints.

Strengths

Insight
Empathy
Sympathy
Infinite Patience
Intellect
Flexibility
Curiosity
Sharp Memory
Creativity
Tactics & Planning

Weaknesses

Empathy
Confidence
Darkness
Pride
Armand
Father Rosando

Personal Items

A pair of round glasses.
~~A rosary made in the style and fashion of San Sebastian, from wooden beads collected from the many trees along his journey with silver castings.~~
Cassock
~~A leather utility belt, with pockets of herbs and medical equipment.~~
~~A leather side satchel and pilgrim's pack, with traveler's equipment, bed roll, and lantern.~~
~~A belt and sheath for his rapier, as well as small dagger, hooked onto his belt from the back.~~
~~Cloak~~
~~Lantern & Oil~~
~~Torches & Rags~~
~~Candles & Spare Wicks~~
~~Flint & Matches~~

Character Relationships

Anton Rosando - His other half, Anton represents the Shadow to his Light, his partner Cazadore. Guillem is more than a little protective of Anton, having brought him into the church himself, but also considers and views Anton as his equal. He respects and appreciates his challenging views, as well as his differing opinions, often relying on him in order to obtain a more impartial and objective view of the challenges that they face on a day to day basis. He trusts him with his life (after all, they had saved one another's lives more times than could be counted on digits), often depending on Anton in order to lead them forwards when night falls, or to make rational decisions when hes become too attached and sympathetic. However, they are not without their quarrels and it's something that Guillem believes to add to the strength of their friendship. No matter their fights, they are always able to reconcile and come to understand one another's views. Patience and trust is the foundation of their partnership, and not once has it been broken. Anton's loyalty to Guillem is honor bound, and he provides his trust in return. However, it was when a swaddled child was found at the foot of Saint Sebastian's statue, that something in their partnership changed. While most of their arguments were often held from objective standpoints, and Guillem was often the one to get personal, it was Anton, for the first time, who reacted with fierce attachment. Unfortunately, their opposing views on the matter only worsened over time, and Anton became increasingly more and more unbiased, and Guillem could not navigate their arguments without offending and angering his partner. When orders came from higher up to investigate a village in need of Guillem's particular light-based abilities, the priest separated from his Shadow in the wake of an argument, leaving him behind to care for and protect their young charge, thinking to be away for only a few short months. He had no idea that he would be away for so long.
Armand Bast - His adopted son, Guillem has focused all of his warmth and tenderness towards his raising, protecting him and teaching him, believing that there is good in him despite the circumstances of his birth. There is pride in him concerning Armand, as he believes that he is a representation of his own beliefs and teachings, but he sees him as more than just a proof of concept. Due to his infertility, Guillem has always harbored a deep and unspeakable grief, unable to produce a family of his own, and a certain sadness would always overcome him in the presence of children. His family had been large, and he one of five children. He had hoped to have such a future, to have a household of children and a wife to adore, to grow old with as he taught his proteges in the Sanctuary of San Sebastian. However, the appearance of Armand had soothed this heartbreak in Guillem, allowing him to fulfill his dream of being a father to a child of his own. He happily accepted Armand into his life, and lived out his dream of being a father, however, within the very strict guidelines of Armand's particular upbringing. While he harbored doubts as to the specific and sometimes strange requirements to Armand's test, his pride and dedication to his position on the matter, did not allow him to break from his pledge, even when it came to isolating the child from the rest of the church. He viewed it as a way to have Armand all to himself and Anton, as well as a means to protect him.
Asher Braydon - The vampire who both captured and enslaved him, breaking his mind and sanity through repeated enthrallment, is the sole focus of Guillem's ire. The man harbors little kindness left towards his master, after years of attempting sympathy and kindness, after begging, bartering, and arguing with him on the grounds of morality, existence, and identity. Even Guillem's infinite patience had been broken by Asher's repeated abuses over the years, tricks and villainy, and despite his pacifistic vow, has made multiple attempts to attack and kill Asher in a desperate bid to escape and return to his son, but to no avail. During their early time together, Guillem had attempted to befriend Asher, and perhaps saw a glimpse of something inside him that wasn't entirely monstrous, but whether that was a play or concoction of Asher's manipulative wiles, Guillem can never be sure.
More to come!

Full Name	Guillem Bautista
Etymology	Catalan form of William, from the Germanic name Willahelm, which was composed of the elements wil "will, desire" and helm "helmet, protection".
Aka	Wellam, Father Bautista
Species	Human Thrall
Age	55
Birthday	January 5th, 1870
Gender	Male
Pronouns	He/Him
Sexuality	Admires all, but keeps his distance. Bisexual, probably, but mostly due to his free thinking and status of being infertile, he leans more towards asexual nowdays.
Info
Faction	~~Church~~ Thrall
Religion	Catholic
Occupation	~~Hunter~~ Thrall
Home	~~San Sebastian~~ The Villa
Often Seen	Wandering about the Villa in a Stupor, Guillem is confused and disoriented, scrambled by repeated enthrallment. He wanders about searching for someone he calls Mandy.
Pets	He used to have a black and white cat called 'The Little Priest'. Now, he's Asher's Pet.
Subordinates	Anton Rosando
Master	Asher Braydon
Physical Appearance
Height	5'11"
Weight	~~174~~ 126
Build	Used to cut a pudgy figure, now thin, malnourished
Skintone	Olive
Eye Color	Warm Amber brown
Hair Color	Greying, yet still Mousey Brown
Abilities
Languages	Basque, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Latin, English
Skills	Mirror Light (Can summon an identical physical manifestation of light in the shape of the object he is holding in one of his hands)
Weapons	Rapier with Silver tip. Dagger with Silver Fuller
Tools	Herbal medicines, vials of blood, rosary of Saint Sebastian, vials of holy water, lengths of rope, silver infused chain and cuffs, lockpick tool set, bag of marbles in assorted colors, etc
Species Specific
Priest Class	Ark Knight, Doctor
History
Nationality	Catalan/Spanish
Parents	Leo Bautista, Estrella Bautista
Siblings	Five siblings
Offspring (Adopted)	Armand Bast
Other
Reference	-
Themesong	Act Two: A Shattering In F# Minor (Cataclasm)
Playlist	Gardener without a Garden
Player Information
Player	Etherelle
Preferred RP Method	Written, Drawn, whatever it takes to move the story forward!
List of RPs	-

Streitstadt

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Post by Etherelle on Oct 3, 2018 1:14:19 GMT -8

Post by Etherelle on Oct 3, 2018 1:38:38 GMT -8