Alexander de Caelius

[Alexander de Caelius]

Alexander de Caelius

"alex" or "roman"	roman	28
6'0	195 lbs	other
male	heterosexual	praetorian guard

Appearance

Alex is actually in pretty good shape. Comes with the territory. With a very well toned body, it's fairly clear that he's combat ready and able to do physically demanding labor. Standing at a rather tall six feet, Alexander also sports a mop of blonde hair with blue eyes. His body has small scars here and there; results of his training and bits of combat that he actually has seen in his time. All in all, he's pretty handsome, though it is fairly clear that he's really not from China. His large size makes him a rather easy target, unfortunately.

As for clothes, Alexander, playing the part of a deserter, wears the standard uniform for a Roman Legionary. Red cloth with leather, sandals, the works. On his person, he also has a square shield with the Roman Eagle emblazoned on it, and also carries two pilum and a gladius sword when he actually does have to get into combat. When he's not in full battle gear, he just tends to wear some basic rags to give off the feel of a peasant, someone who really wasn't all that high up. He does have his Praetorian armor, but it's back in Rome.

The equipment plays a vital role in many ways. Not only is it standard fare for a grunt of the Roman army, selling the ruse, but it also offers protection. The square shield is smaller than the Praetorian shield he is used to, sacrificing size for some mobility. The two pilum are more or less regular javelins, with the catch that they break upon use, to keep people from using them against him. Once he throws them, he has to find new throwing weaponry. The Gladius, while good for fighting, actually is more a sidearm for Alex. It's meant to be something quick and dirty when needed. The fact that it's more a sidearm also owes to its short range. Alex's bite doesn't extend very far, and a good spear user can keep him away.

personality

Alexander is many things. To sum him up in one go is actually a bit easier said than done. He can be rather sarcastic and sardonic at times, and is very quick to come up with some sort of retort. He seems to get a sort of satisfaction out of pushing people's buttons, but unlike most people of this type, Alexander knows when to shut the hell up. If a superior tells him to cut it, he will cut it, as he's really not one to so willingly dive into trouble.

This hesitance to dive into everything also extends to the battlefield. Alexander, as part of his mission, will very likely take a look at ongoing battles between the kingdoms if he is able to. However, he will do everything in his power to not get directly involved in these battles. To him, if he actually has to draw his weapons and defend himself, he has failed to uphold this ideal, and will usually retreat very quickly. Ideally to him, he can just sit off to the side in some hidden location and simply watch the clash. He is here for information, not battle.

However, Alex is actually quite intelligent, as part of his upbringing and his training. He is quite knowledgable in the arts (if a bit rusty in some fields). That said, he usually doesn't show this. While he won't act downright stupid, so to say, he will very rarely let on how educated he actually is. Being trained in military tactics and combat, he is also able to handle himself very, very well in a fight. This is another reason of why he wants to stay out of combat when possible, all is laid bare on the battlefield.

Alex is adaptive though, and when push comes to shove can come up with something to help him through the situation, which to him, he believes is partly why he was chosen for this. He feels that he can ideally get something going on to help create another life in China, and this ability to adapt is key for that. However, despite being able to adapt, there are some things where he can be stubborn, such as grudges. Alexander can, and if possible, will, hold a grudge. He may not be all for murder or anything (he's actually quite mild at times).

Alexander does however, genuinely believe in Rome. He may not show it, playing the part of deserter and all. But he is without question loyal to Rome herself and any of the warlords ever truly gaining that loyaly will be improbable, if not impossible. That said, he is somewhat confused at the current affairs of the throne, what with the joint ruling and all. He's kind of hoping the chaos surrounding that will work itself out. Because of this though, Alexander is very dutiful, and takes his mission very, very seriously.

Of course, being Roman, and being elite Roman at that, Alexander is very, very aware of the Roman vices. Because of this, he knows which to partake in, and which to avoid. In particular he's taken great pains to avoid wine or any form of alcohol during his time in China; getting drunk would probably put him in great danger. That said, he is wondering if there are any vices that he can entertain.

And along the lines of being Roman, Alexander is very proud to be such. Namely in that he considers himself superior to most everyone in China simply by virtue of being Roman, and feels the same way about the two races. Of course, for some extraordinary people or people who just manage to capture his interest, he may make an exception, but for the most part, if you put a Chinese commoner next to a Roman commoner, Alexander will declare the Roman to be superior, without exception, every single time. This view is as such he may occasionally slip something in Latin to discern his feelings without actually saying what he thinks.

Borne from this sense of Roman superiority, Alexander is also somewhat arrogant, and if his view of Roman blood wasn't enough, this will, if anything, be his obstacle in obtaining help or allies if he ever needs them. The truth is, Alex is a foreigner, he's alone. There will be no one to back him up not because people don't exist, but because as he is, no one will come to his rescue, no one will care, that's the way it works.

history

Alexander de Caelius was born to the parents of two traveling Merchants. Choosing to take the hard road and trade silk with the Chinese, Alexander slowly, overtime learned of the customs and the language of China. Well never an absolute oral master that could inspire the heart of millions, he could at least speak well enough to hold a good enough conversation. As he grew, he eventually came to seek glory in the Legions of Rome, battling her foes and expanding her borders.

So at the young age of 17, he enlisted in the Roman Legion, being given his first two Pilum and his very first Gladius, along with the standard uniform of course. For ten years, he served, but he never expected what he saw; blood and death everywhere, men dying without cause, without purpose, for a golden future that just seemed impossible. That was why, when he finally could take it no longer, he fled Rome, and took the Silk Road to China.

At least, that's what he's supposed to say.

In truth, Alexander was born into a wealthy aristocratic family in Rome. Receiving a good education in literature, poetry, writing, and various other forms of art, Alexander had a fairly good childhood until the age of 17, when he was enlisted into the Praetorian Guard. His ties really didn't hurt with getting in. And of course, he received the full package once he got in, including the elite status and the pay, and of course, the painful military and physical training that came with becoming an elite member of Roman military society.

Of course, Alexander, like the rest of the Praetorian Guard, really answered only to the Emperor (or in this case, Emperors), thanks to the political clout that they did manage to hold, even if it wasn't anything truly official. Like most of the Praetorian Guard, Alexander also knew the Emperors on a personal level, something which many members of the aristocracy couldn't really claim.

That said, with good, comes bad, his parents wound up being killed in some sort of political scandal, Alexander never really figured out the whole story. And he did mourn, but this was Rome, death by politics was quite common. He was mostly thankful that he hadn't ended up on the chopping block himself, no doubt due to his lofty position, and it was thanks to that position that his home and wealth wasn't confiscated as well. But in the end, it worked out to his advantage, if one could consider his mission to be an advantage.

Alexander was 27 when the mission came to him. Rome was having trouble with their sworn enemy; the Germanic Tribes. Somehow, these barbarians were able to defend themselves against the power of the greatest empire. In fact, the situation had gotten so bad, the empire was considering either gaining allies, or ceasing conflict with the tribes so they could go pick on someone smaller and bulk up. Bulking up to start things with the tribes again, of course.

That was where Alexander, and many other members of the guard, came in. Alexander was one of many chosen to go out into specifically assigned areas of the world, chart it, scout it, whatever. While there, they were to see if they could find allies to help Rome with the Germanic Tribes, or in the event that such an action was preferrable; turn Rome's attention to that area as well. Alexander's assigned land was to the east, traveling the Silk Road into China. To hear it from Alex, he's pretty sure he's not the only one that's been sent to China, he just doesn't know who or where they are.

So for a year, he was educated in Chinese customs, manners, arts, and of course, taught the language so he could at least speak, read, and write it. Along with this, he was given a working cover story as well, Rome knew that Praetorian Guards in China would draw attention. In Alexander's case, it was simply believed that no one would question the idea of a Roman deserter simply fleeing to China to get away from the bloodshed.

So he was given the standard legionary equipment; armor, a shield, two pilum, and a gladius and sent on his way. Once in China, he was to gather information on the rulers, people, military strength, and to help sell the cover, carve out a life there. How he did it was up to him, but it was made clear there were no legions to help him, no reinforcements, he was entirely on his own once he made it to China.

And so, having finally traveled the Silk Roads, Alexander finds himself in a foreign land.

[Storyteller]

Lovely profile however things I am concerned with:
Chainmail, a sword and a shield will make you pretty damn OP within this system(Not that the Romans weren't)
If I accept this, then I will have I have to accept Celts, Greeks, Persians etc.


I have no quarrel with you being foreign - I do however have a quarrel with you being European and therefore not sharing the same customs.I doubt at these times people would welcome you in warm heartedly or that you would adapt to the culture so swiftly. Have a thought about these issues, but I don't want the site becoming a European influx; which I will have no precedent over if I accept you. Whilst one is fine, it's unfair if I accept you and reject the next.

I hope these points are fair and make sense. You are more than welcome to revise your profile or send me a further message.

[Storyteller]

Approved and accepted.