Mayfield app
Name: Inky
Personal LJ: inkblotmeringue
Contact Info: email: inkblot.meringue at yahoo dot com
AIM: inkblotmeringue
Other Characters Played: Waver Velvet
Preferred Housing: With Archer (fatesjanitor ), Rin (infinitemana ), and Nepeta (tacklepounce ) at 311 Miller St
Character Name: Connla mac Setanta
Character Age: 8
Background:
Over two thousand years ago, in ancient Ireland, there was a demigod hero named Cu Chulainn who traveled to the Isle of Skye in order to train with the warrior-woman Scáthach and gain the hand of Emer, the daughter of Forgall Monach. While learning the art of the spear underneath her, he was caught up in the rivalry between his teacher and her sister, Aoife. The two women had been at war for many years, and Scáthach gave Cu Chulainn a sleeping potion to keep him from the conflict, fearful of his safety. The potion did not affect him as long as she expected, however, and he intervened on behalf of Scáthach and fought Aoife himself as his teacher’s champion. Aoife was as skilled in arms as her sister, but, after a long battle, Cu Chulainn finally gained the upper hand against her by tricking her into believing that her beloved chariot and horses had fallen over a cliff. Whe Aoife turned to look, he subdued her and brought her over to their side of the battlefield, where she asked him to spare her life.
Cu Chulainn agreed to do so on three conditions: that she would stop warring with Scáthach, that she would spend the night with him, and that she would bear him a son. She agreed to these conditions and did as the hero had demanded. When he left the Isle of Skye for Ireland, Aoife was pregnant with Cu Chulainn’s only son. Before he departed, the warrior gave her a gold ring and told her that when his son was old enough to wear it, he should come to Ireland to find his father. He chose the name Connla for him, and also placed a geas, or taboo, on his unborn son, saying that he should never refuse a fight from any challenger. He then left, leaving Aoife in Scotland to raise his child.
After several years had passed, Aoife received word that Cu Chulainn had married Emer, and knew that it meant that he was never going to return to the Isle of Skye. Jealous that he had taken another as his wife instead of the mother of his child, Aoife planned revenge through her young son. She trained her child in the art of combat and, once he had learned the sword, sent him to her sister to be trained in the lance. He was eight years old by the time he returned to his mother’s house, a better warrior at that age than most men three times that. Aoife placed two more geasa on Connla when he returned: the first was that he should speak his name to no one, and the second was that he should never turn back on his journey once he started. Then she told him of his father in Ireland and how he had left the two of them behind and gave him the gold ring; the young boy set off to Ireland to confront his father.
He was not prepared for what he would face upon arriving in Ulster.
Upon reaching the shore, he met a group of Ulster warriors who demanded that he identify himself by name and clan. Because of his geasa, Connla could not reply, and, since he could not be persuaded to turn back, the hero Conall Cernach was brought to fight with him. The boy swiftly defeated the older warrior, and he was deeply embarrassed at being bested by a child. It was decided that the Hound of Ulster should be called to deal with this menace, and Cu Chulainn soon arrived to see the boy who had defeated one of his closest friends.
Again, Cu Chulainn asked for the boy’s name and clan, and, like the other warriors, received no answer. He had no choice, then, but to fight with the boy and found himself evenly matched; step for step, strike for strike, the child could keep up with the Hound of Ulster. He continued to battle with the boy despite hearing the protests of his wife, Emer, and despite the fact that this boy was more powerful than any normal child should be. There was only one way that Cu Chulainn saw that he could win the fight, and that was by using his cursed spear, the Gae Bolg, which he had received from Scáthach. The spear was fated to always strike the heart of its opponent, and, when Cu Chulainn threw it this time, the outcome was no different. The Gae Bolg pierced Connla’s heart and he fell to the earth, mortally wounded.
Before he died, Connla only managed to say one thing to his father:
“If I were among you to the end of five years, I should vanquish the men of the world before you on every side, and you would hold kingship as far as Rome.”
Only after these words were said and the boy lay dead before him did Cu Chulainn see the gold ring and realize that he had slain his only son.
After the death of Connla, Cu Chulainn went into a fit of grief that lasted for days, and the only reason that he did not kill his own people was that he was enchanted to believe that the sea itself was enemies, and fought it until he collapsed from exhaustion. When he had regained his senses, he took the body of his son to a secret place in Ireland and built a cairn to mark his grave. The place where Connla was laid to rest was then enchanted by druids so that, even if the entire face of Ireland should change, this one place would remain untouched, and his only son would rest in peace forever.
Personality:
Connla is very much a headstrong and determined sort of boy. He doesn’t give up no matter what happens-after going through the kind of training that he endured, he figures that there isn’t much around that can stop him, except for his father. The more someone tells him that something is impossible or that he can’t do it, the more he wants to do it. After all, if he was going to be a knight someday, he couldn’t just let a little adversity get in his way, right? Even when things get tough, he picks himself back up and keeps going.
He doesn’t let anything get in his way-a trait he definitely got in a double-dose from both parents-and he has the confidence in his skills and strength to back up everything he does. He was the kind of boy who made a mockery of the best men of Ulster and, to add insult to injury, told them that even if they were a hundred strong, they wouldn’t be able to stop him. This kind of rashness borders on foolhardiness; his mouth sometimes gets the better of him and he’ll say something that he’ll regret later. He isn’t afraid of anything that he’s ever come across-after going through training under Scathach, the legendary warrior-woman who trained his father, he’s pretty damn sure that he’s prepared for anything. And to go along with that fearlessness is a fierce competitive streak-he’ll accept any challenge that comes his way, partly because of his three geasa and partly because he’s just that kind of kid.
For being only eight years old, Connla is also pretty mature for his age; he knows how to take care of himself and doesn’t really need to be looked after. He was, after all, able to successfully sail from Scotland to Ireland by himself in order to find his father without anyone going with him. Even so, he’s still an eight year old kid, and acts like it in plenty of ways. He has a mischievous and childish streak; he doesn’t have a malevolent bone in his body, though, so any mischief on his part is never meant to be harmful. He’s just a curious boy who wants to figure things out himself-which will likely lead to all sorts of trouble considering that Mayfield’s technology is some two millennia ahead of what he knows.
Since he was kept on the Isle of Skye for most of his life, Connla isn’t used to being around large groups of people. The Fortress of Shadows, where he stayed with Scathach, was practically impossible to get to; his main source of company then was his aunt and his female cousin. Being an outgoing child, he wants to meet new people and make friends and have more than just three people that he can talk to-but he’s more comfortable talking to women than he is with men, simply because he’s been around his female relatives so much.
Abilities:
Connla has great strength and skill for being only eight years old, and is able to keep up with his father, Ireland’s greatest hero, in one-on-one combat. He was taught by both his mother and his aunt, Scathach, so he wields a lance with the same technique as his father-the only thing he doesn’t know is the secret of the Gae Bolg. His incredible physical abilities can probably be attributed to his unusual heritage; depending on what source you look at, Connla could be anywhere from ¼ to ¾ divine. Some sources list Aoife and Scathach as a kind of Celtic deity, while others state that the sisters were simply exceptional warrior-women.
Connla also has knowledge of the 18 magical runes, which were taught to him by Scathach. This is his only magical knowledge, however, and he doesn’t use them very often, preferring to fight with a lance or sword.
He inherited the ability to use the Warp Spasm from his father, which is something like a Berserker rage that occurs during combat. His body changes during the Warp Spasm, transforming into a monstrous creature that is destructive and full of bloodlust. The process of transforming is not a pleasant one, either; the unnatural shifting and twisting of his joints and bones causes him great pain, further fueling his blind rage. While in this state, he loses all higher cognitive function and fights as a beast, relying on brute strength rather than skill. Obviously this is a last resort kind of ability, and Connla doesn’t like to use it if he doesn’t have to.
This isn’t so much an ability as it is a detriment, but, due to the culture that Connla came from, he is basically illiterate. Ancient Celtic culture mainly used oral traditions to pass on historical accounts and stories; the earliest written records referring to ancient Celtic culture came from Greek and Roman observers, and the advent of literacy in Ireland and Britain occurred after the Roman invasion.
Sample Entry 1:
From the Testrun meme
Sample Entry 2:
[Connla humphs loudly. He is sitting on the front porch, looking sullen.]
I don’t see why I have to wear all of these things.
[He fidgets in the clothes he’s wearing.] I don’t like them. They’re itchy and strange and I can’t run right with these shoes. [He sticks his feet up and wiggles them in his sneakers and makes a face.]
[Connla scuffs his feet on the ground for a moment of two, then starts prying the shoes off of his feet.]
I don’t really need these, anyway. [Pop pop thump thump. The shoes are pulled off and tossed aside.] Or these. [There go the socks, too.]
How are you supposed to run right if you can’t feel the ground? [He sticks his feet in the grass and digs his toes into it.]
[Then he looks down at his shirt and plucks at it.] I can’t climb trees in this. I’ll get it caught on the branches and it’ll tear. I would get in trouble if I tear my shirt, won’t I?
[One obvious answer, then-off goes the shirt, too.]
That’s better. Now I won’t get in trouble.
[He stands, smiling now, and looks over toward a nearby field. In an idyllic little 1950’s town like this, there had to be trees to climb and creeks to splash in and catch frogs and things like that.]
[And by God, Connla was going to find them.]
[He started running, and he wasn’t going to stop for anything.]
Personal LJ: inkblotmeringue
Contact Info: email: inkblot.meringue at yahoo dot com
AIM: inkblotmeringue
Other Characters Played: Waver Velvet
Preferred Housing: With Archer (fatesjanitor ), Rin (infinitemana ), and Nepeta (tacklepounce ) at 311 Miller St
Character Name: Connla mac Setanta
Character Age: 8
Background:
Over two thousand years ago, in ancient Ireland, there was a demigod hero named Cu Chulainn who traveled to the Isle of Skye in order to train with the warrior-woman Scáthach and gain the hand of Emer, the daughter of Forgall Monach. While learning the art of the spear underneath her, he was caught up in the rivalry between his teacher and her sister, Aoife. The two women had been at war for many years, and Scáthach gave Cu Chulainn a sleeping potion to keep him from the conflict, fearful of his safety. The potion did not affect him as long as she expected, however, and he intervened on behalf of Scáthach and fought Aoife himself as his teacher’s champion. Aoife was as skilled in arms as her sister, but, after a long battle, Cu Chulainn finally gained the upper hand against her by tricking her into believing that her beloved chariot and horses had fallen over a cliff. Whe Aoife turned to look, he subdued her and brought her over to their side of the battlefield, where she asked him to spare her life.
Cu Chulainn agreed to do so on three conditions: that she would stop warring with Scáthach, that she would spend the night with him, and that she would bear him a son. She agreed to these conditions and did as the hero had demanded. When he left the Isle of Skye for Ireland, Aoife was pregnant with Cu Chulainn’s only son. Before he departed, the warrior gave her a gold ring and told her that when his son was old enough to wear it, he should come to Ireland to find his father. He chose the name Connla for him, and also placed a geas, or taboo, on his unborn son, saying that he should never refuse a fight from any challenger. He then left, leaving Aoife in Scotland to raise his child.
After several years had passed, Aoife received word that Cu Chulainn had married Emer, and knew that it meant that he was never going to return to the Isle of Skye. Jealous that he had taken another as his wife instead of the mother of his child, Aoife planned revenge through her young son. She trained her child in the art of combat and, once he had learned the sword, sent him to her sister to be trained in the lance. He was eight years old by the time he returned to his mother’s house, a better warrior at that age than most men three times that. Aoife placed two more geasa on Connla when he returned: the first was that he should speak his name to no one, and the second was that he should never turn back on his journey once he started. Then she told him of his father in Ireland and how he had left the two of them behind and gave him the gold ring; the young boy set off to Ireland to confront his father.
He was not prepared for what he would face upon arriving in Ulster.
Upon reaching the shore, he met a group of Ulster warriors who demanded that he identify himself by name and clan. Because of his geasa, Connla could not reply, and, since he could not be persuaded to turn back, the hero Conall Cernach was brought to fight with him. The boy swiftly defeated the older warrior, and he was deeply embarrassed at being bested by a child. It was decided that the Hound of Ulster should be called to deal with this menace, and Cu Chulainn soon arrived to see the boy who had defeated one of his closest friends.
Again, Cu Chulainn asked for the boy’s name and clan, and, like the other warriors, received no answer. He had no choice, then, but to fight with the boy and found himself evenly matched; step for step, strike for strike, the child could keep up with the Hound of Ulster. He continued to battle with the boy despite hearing the protests of his wife, Emer, and despite the fact that this boy was more powerful than any normal child should be. There was only one way that Cu Chulainn saw that he could win the fight, and that was by using his cursed spear, the Gae Bolg, which he had received from Scáthach. The spear was fated to always strike the heart of its opponent, and, when Cu Chulainn threw it this time, the outcome was no different. The Gae Bolg pierced Connla’s heart and he fell to the earth, mortally wounded.
Before he died, Connla only managed to say one thing to his father:
“If I were among you to the end of five years, I should vanquish the men of the world before you on every side, and you would hold kingship as far as Rome.”
Only after these words were said and the boy lay dead before him did Cu Chulainn see the gold ring and realize that he had slain his only son.
After the death of Connla, Cu Chulainn went into a fit of grief that lasted for days, and the only reason that he did not kill his own people was that he was enchanted to believe that the sea itself was enemies, and fought it until he collapsed from exhaustion. When he had regained his senses, he took the body of his son to a secret place in Ireland and built a cairn to mark his grave. The place where Connla was laid to rest was then enchanted by druids so that, even if the entire face of Ireland should change, this one place would remain untouched, and his only son would rest in peace forever.
Personality:
Connla is very much a headstrong and determined sort of boy. He doesn’t give up no matter what happens-after going through the kind of training that he endured, he figures that there isn’t much around that can stop him, except for his father. The more someone tells him that something is impossible or that he can’t do it, the more he wants to do it. After all, if he was going to be a knight someday, he couldn’t just let a little adversity get in his way, right? Even when things get tough, he picks himself back up and keeps going.
He doesn’t let anything get in his way-a trait he definitely got in a double-dose from both parents-and he has the confidence in his skills and strength to back up everything he does. He was the kind of boy who made a mockery of the best men of Ulster and, to add insult to injury, told them that even if they were a hundred strong, they wouldn’t be able to stop him. This kind of rashness borders on foolhardiness; his mouth sometimes gets the better of him and he’ll say something that he’ll regret later. He isn’t afraid of anything that he’s ever come across-after going through training under Scathach, the legendary warrior-woman who trained his father, he’s pretty damn sure that he’s prepared for anything. And to go along with that fearlessness is a fierce competitive streak-he’ll accept any challenge that comes his way, partly because of his three geasa and partly because he’s just that kind of kid.
For being only eight years old, Connla is also pretty mature for his age; he knows how to take care of himself and doesn’t really need to be looked after. He was, after all, able to successfully sail from Scotland to Ireland by himself in order to find his father without anyone going with him. Even so, he’s still an eight year old kid, and acts like it in plenty of ways. He has a mischievous and childish streak; he doesn’t have a malevolent bone in his body, though, so any mischief on his part is never meant to be harmful. He’s just a curious boy who wants to figure things out himself-which will likely lead to all sorts of trouble considering that Mayfield’s technology is some two millennia ahead of what he knows.
Since he was kept on the Isle of Skye for most of his life, Connla isn’t used to being around large groups of people. The Fortress of Shadows, where he stayed with Scathach, was practically impossible to get to; his main source of company then was his aunt and his female cousin. Being an outgoing child, he wants to meet new people and make friends and have more than just three people that he can talk to-but he’s more comfortable talking to women than he is with men, simply because he’s been around his female relatives so much.
Abilities:
Connla has great strength and skill for being only eight years old, and is able to keep up with his father, Ireland’s greatest hero, in one-on-one combat. He was taught by both his mother and his aunt, Scathach, so he wields a lance with the same technique as his father-the only thing he doesn’t know is the secret of the Gae Bolg. His incredible physical abilities can probably be attributed to his unusual heritage; depending on what source you look at, Connla could be anywhere from ¼ to ¾ divine. Some sources list Aoife and Scathach as a kind of Celtic deity, while others state that the sisters were simply exceptional warrior-women.
Connla also has knowledge of the 18 magical runes, which were taught to him by Scathach. This is his only magical knowledge, however, and he doesn’t use them very often, preferring to fight with a lance or sword.
He inherited the ability to use the Warp Spasm from his father, which is something like a Berserker rage that occurs during combat. His body changes during the Warp Spasm, transforming into a monstrous creature that is destructive and full of bloodlust. The process of transforming is not a pleasant one, either; the unnatural shifting and twisting of his joints and bones causes him great pain, further fueling his blind rage. While in this state, he loses all higher cognitive function and fights as a beast, relying on brute strength rather than skill. Obviously this is a last resort kind of ability, and Connla doesn’t like to use it if he doesn’t have to.
This isn’t so much an ability as it is a detriment, but, due to the culture that Connla came from, he is basically illiterate. Ancient Celtic culture mainly used oral traditions to pass on historical accounts and stories; the earliest written records referring to ancient Celtic culture came from Greek and Roman observers, and the advent of literacy in Ireland and Britain occurred after the Roman invasion.
Sample Entry 1:
From the Testrun meme
Sample Entry 2:
[Connla humphs loudly. He is sitting on the front porch, looking sullen.]
I don’t see why I have to wear all of these things.
[He fidgets in the clothes he’s wearing.] I don’t like them. They’re itchy and strange and I can’t run right with these shoes. [He sticks his feet up and wiggles them in his sneakers and makes a face.]
[Connla scuffs his feet on the ground for a moment of two, then starts prying the shoes off of his feet.]
I don’t really need these, anyway. [Pop pop thump thump. The shoes are pulled off and tossed aside.] Or these. [There go the socks, too.]
How are you supposed to run right if you can’t feel the ground? [He sticks his feet in the grass and digs his toes into it.]
[Then he looks down at his shirt and plucks at it.] I can’t climb trees in this. I’ll get it caught on the branches and it’ll tear. I would get in trouble if I tear my shirt, won’t I?
[One obvious answer, then-off goes the shirt, too.]
That’s better. Now I won’t get in trouble.
[He stands, smiling now, and looks over toward a nearby field. In an idyllic little 1950’s town like this, there had to be trees to climb and creeks to splash in and catch frogs and things like that.]
[And by God, Connla was going to find them.]
[He started running, and he wasn’t going to stop for anything.]