Profile
In the moment the horde of Mordrem bore down on her, time itself seemed to rip, and tear, and shatter. The silhouette of a lithe man standing before her was gone in a mere blink of an eye, disappearing and reappearing at random as he flitted around the enemies. Circular wells occasionally appeared underfoot that wreaked havoc among the Mordrem, some slowing down, some being inflicted with an invisible pain, some being thrown to the ground.
He was certainly a mesmer, but this technique… well, she was mesmerized.
One by one, they each started dropping like mere insects, and soon the buzzing of the jungle and her desperate pants were the only sounds in the entire world. Standing alone among the many corpses was a young-looking redwood sylvari with dark blue-green hair tied back in a messy ponytail. Even compared to her, he was startlingly short. Ospreii rose shakily to her knees, beaming with gratitude, and itching to ask him questions about his technique. Once she saw the look on his face, her smile faltered. One molten orange eye was shabbily covered up with a few braided plants, likely injured by the jungle’s creations, the other harbored an intense disdain. She recognized that look.
Basics
| Name | Ciaran | Age | 16 |
| Nicknames | Cir | Birth Year | 1319 |
| Gender | Male | Pronouns | He/Him |
| Place of Residence | Kaineng | Dragon's Watch | Yes |
| Occupation | Champion of Aurene | Race | Branded Sylvari |
| Orientation | Bisexual, Polyamorus | Partner | N/A |
| Class | Mesmer | Specialization | Chronomancer |
Info
| HTML by: | KnightOfSpring |
| Creator: | Sunny |
| Created On: | 2-11-2019 |
| Status: | Alive |
| In Game: | Yes |
| In-Game Name: | Ciarán Piyota |
Backstory
A redwood sapling who woke with the weight of the world on his shoulder. He likes to joke that this is the reason his height was stunted, though it may carry some merit. In his youth, he became a warden while in-training for combat and grew close and became romantically involved with two other saplings his age, Lainie and Fane. Over the course of the next year and a half with them, things seemed like they were going well despite the stress of expectations placed on Ciaran as the valiant. This worsened as he seemed to grow distant from the other two gradually, without them understanding why. In reality, the court had caught onto his position, and had sent one stubborn courtier, Maire, to try and win him over to Nightmare.
Doing his best to ignore her intially feeble attempts, he pretended everything was fine and never confided in his partners. However, the more Maire learned about his life, the bolder she got, and he became increasingly stressed that Lainie and Fane would get drawn into this unknown power struggle, so he distanced himself to protect them. Maire took advantage of this, and manipulated him into fighting her openly after showing him illusions of those two dead at her hand. She continued disorienting him further during their duel. He finally connected a solid blow, only for the illusion to shatter and reveal Lainie's real body impaled on his blade. Maire quickly made an escape as Fane discovered the scene and flew into a rage, accusing Ciaran of being a double agent of the court all along and began a second duel, intent to kill. Ciaran fled, but with the entire Grove now convinced of his guilt, he had nowhere to go. Maire sweetly tempted him once more to the court, and he finally went with her.
The following years are hazy in his memory. He played the part of the perfect courtier, committing crimes and murders he'd never desired to, if only to rise in rank and gain Faolin's respect. Staying close to Maire and beginning an unstable relationship with her, only to curry favor and learn her combat strategies, he grew to be a much more powerful mesmer than she and was promoted to rank of Duke, finally ranking above Maire. Pleased to finally be able to look down on her, he lured her deep into the forest, and exacted his brutal revenge for what she'd just as gleefully done to his life.
After that, he was completely devoid of purpose. Surely his Wyld Hunt was no longer applicable to somebody as sullied as him, so he remained trapped in this life he'd so carefully built. Until he found Commander Ospreii at the mercy of Mordrem deep in Maguuma. She'd trusted him and allowed him to join her and her team in her fight against Mordremoth. He enjoyed the friendly company of the ragtag group, especially Agent Selene's, and he was feeling lighter than he had in years... Until the end, when his brother had begged him to take his life while Ospreii wasn't looking.
Another face full of disgust, hatred and betrayal when she'd returned and saw the scene.
He returned to the court after, assuming the rank of Grand Duke for himself as he'd claimed the killing blow of Faolin, but not long after he'd had a strange vision and a need to go to Tarir right away. He found Ospreii and Caithe there, and together they fought to protect it, putting their mutual differences aside. When Aurene hatched, he realized he hadn't ran from his destiny in the end. He was right where he needed to be. Ospreii apologized, and asked him to join her guild permanently
Concerned about his criminal history, Ospreii recommended he turn the court over to the Grove in return for the expungement of his crimes. She vouched for him, saying she'd give him a lifetime of community service too, and after a trial was held, he was free to join Dragon's Watch. Curiously Fane didn't appear during this time
The next time he saw the other sylvari was inexplicably in the Throne Room of Gandara, standing next to the mutilated, reanimated corpse of Lainie, both awakened. He parted with Lainie on good terms after, but she left with Fane at his request that he didn't want to see him anymore.
In Thunderhead Peaks, he was branded as he attempted to shield Ospreii from Kralkatorrik's final attack and returned to normal after the elder dragon's defeat with the help of Aurene. Ospreii stepped down from Commanding, overwhelmed with the conflict with Jormag, and Ciaran assumed control there as well as in Cantha. Since Ospreii had returned only to sacrifice herself in the final battle against Soo-won, he has been deep in grief while being the new official commander.
Personality
In a lot of ways, Ciaran is still very naive. Never getting to experience much of the world before he was twisted by Nightmare, there were many things he didn't understand about the world upon joining the guild. He's easily impressed and fascinated by new things, showing others a side of himself other than his jaded and guarded persona created by years of abuse and manipulation within the court. This has lead to an interest in history that he indulges in often to distract himself of the everyday stress of being a member of Dragon's Watch.
It is very difficult to earn his trust, but once you do, he is an incredibly loyal friend who doesn't think before taking bullets for others. He lacks the sensitivity to be good at comforting people, but he's happy to listen and provide space and silence for people who prefer it to others fretting. While he is less abrasive than he used to be, he is still quick to rile when his buttons are pushed, and adopts a self-preserving attitude when he feels personally threatened.
Relationships
Ospreii
Close Friend
Commander Ospreii singlehandedly saved him from the Nightmare Court. Though she has recently passed on, he thinks of her fondly, eternally grateful that she took a chance on him.
Selene Fiske
...?
A fellow guildmate he's known since Maguuma. He's always admired her confident and cheerful demeanor, and seems to be closer with her lately.
Lainie
Ex-Girlfriend
Still thinks of her fondly and wishes her well. Regrets how things went down and wonders if things could have been different. There's just too much damage to undo.
Fane
Ex-Boyfriend
Any affection he'd once felt for the prickly warden was replaced with hatred. For Lainie's sake he's done fighting, but their relationship will never be salvaged
Maire
Tormentor
Twisted and sadistic woman who manipulated him into the Nightmare Court. He stayed close to her for his survival, but didn't escape unscathed.
Kestrel Dragonseer
Ally
With her connection to Glint, Kestrel has been invaluable in helping him understand his role as Aurene's champion. She is the only one who understands.
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