Bard the Bowman [Dragon-Slayer]

[It's been several hours since the earthquake, and while he's shaken from the experience, he's unharmed. He hasn't been idle since then, either. Once assured that his residence remains as sturdy as ever, and now aware of the fact that the one island is split into two, he got to work on the best solution he could offer. Which is visible behind him when the screen turns on. There's a raft pulled up on the shore.]

Hello. Times here just continue to get more interesting, don't they? It occurs to me that after the events of this morning, there are likely more than a few residents of the island who find themselves in a bind.

I can help. As you can see, I have constructed a raft. It's large enough to carry several people at a time. If you are in need of a way to get from one side of the island to the other, I can provide you with a ride across. For a fee, naturally. We can negotiate. We're all in the same situation here and I'm not unreasonable.

I'm on the north side at the moment, but if you're stuck on the south side and in need of a ride, let me know where you are and I'll pick you up.

PLAYER
» Journal: yourslipisshowing
» Birthdate/Age: April 1982/32
» Characters Played: Neal Cassidy
» Re-App Status: N/A
CHARACTER FACTS
» Name: Bard the Bowman
» Canon: The Hobbit (movies)
» Reference: His history in the books is explained here. His role in the movies is slightly different, and those differences are partially explained here (starting with the section labeled Lake-town; there's no summary for the third movie yet).
» Canon Point: After the end of the third movie
» Gender: Male
» Age: Mid-30s
CHARACTER INTERPRETATION
» Appearance: He appears to be in his mid-30s, with graying dark shoulder-length hair usually pulled back from his face and brown eyes. He dresses in what modern humans might consider a medieval style, linen tunic under a burlap jerkin, loose trousers tucked into boots, a tattered coat made out of the pelt of an animal over the top. The whole ensemble has the look of being not only handmade but worn out and in need of replacing. He sometimes has a quiver of arrows and a longbow slung over one shoulder.
» Suitability: N/A
» Orientation: Heterosexual. We know at one point he was married, before his wife died, and he has three children.
» Personality: He is a grudging but willing leader. When the Master dies in the escape from Lake-town, he takes it on himself to make sure that as many survivors as possible make it to safety. The willingness of the others to listen to what he says, and even to thrust leadership on him when he isn't asking for it, demonstrates that he is a natural-born leader capable of inspiring loyalty in those in his care. Though he is descended from the king of Dale, he does not act like it. He doesn't demand to be treated as such, or treated as someone who would be a king if only the situation were different. In fact he even keeps this information a secret from his dwarf visitors (though in fairness, they're not exactly honest about their identities either).

He would much rather work for something than have it handed to him. After the battle, when the enemy armies have been defeated, he is more willing to take the on the leadership role that the other townspeople are giving him, because now he feels like he has earned it. Even after he slays the dragon, he doesn't want the title some are trying to give him, Dragon-Slayer. Killing the dragon was not something that he did for glory. He did it because the dragon was attacking his home and endangering his children. He also did it because he had the shame of having the man who had failed to kill the dragon the first time as his ancestor, and he wanted to atone for that.

While most would agree it's a good thing to have humility, it also means that he may not ask for what is due him, and just accept things the way they are unless something happens that forces that to change.

His main motivation is his family. He will even do things he would not normally do, like defy the Master by smuggling a company of dwarves, for the sake of his children. When he takes charge, it's not because it's his ancestral right, or because the townspeople want him to. It's to keep his family safe. In order to ensure the safety of his children, he makes sure all of the women and children go to a safe place. In order to ensure that his children have a future, he organizes the men to protect the town and defend the mountain. Whatever comes of that is simply a side effect of taking care of his family. He never feels ambition to become the leader of the town; he feels the motivation to protect his family. He dislikes the corrupt leadership of the greedy Master, however, and accepts the role as a way of ensuring that the next leader doesn't act the same way. He also dislikes cowardice, especially when it leads to someone shirking their duty. He has no patience whatsoever for Alfrid's refusal to act like a man in the middle of a fight, or his desire to run off and think of only himself. Even so, he prefers to try diplomacy before war.

He's a champion of the common folk, even after he takes on a leadership role, and consequently is well-liked by them. He's content to keep to minding his own business and staying out of others' business if they stay out of his. He has a tendency to prophecy doom – and a tendency to turn out to be right.

The biggest turning point in his life so far has been the slaying of the dragon. It doesn't just change how others perceive him, it changes how he perceives himself. Before he kills Smaug, several of the townspeople are spying on him and reporting to the Master. After he kills Smaug, they see him differently, as someone they could follow into a crisis, and that changes how he sees himself. Instead of knuckling under and dealing with things the way they are unless he has good motivation not to, he starts to see himself as the leader that he eventually becomes. Although his main motivation is still the safety of his family, now he's acting for everyone else too, as well as himself. He takes to his new leadership role quite well when he rounds up the survivors to get them to the ruins of Dale, negotiates with the elves, and organizes the men to join the battle. Nor does he try to stop the women who wish to fight next to the men. It's their home too, they should be allowed to fight for it. They need all the fighters they can get, anyway, instead of having to rely on the elves to get them through. The slaying of the dragon not only causes him to aspire to something more than he was, it leads him to cause others to aspire to be more than they were, by showing them that they can be and then allowing them to be so.
» Re-App Changes: N/A
SAMPLES
At least one sample MUST demonstrate your character's feelings about or reactions to sex! If this is a re-app, samples should reflect changes covered in the Re-App section above and demonstrate their awareness if they retain memories. The Sample Prompts can be found at: http://amatmods.dreamwidth.org/23598.html
» First Person Sample Choice: First Person prompt two:

[It's obvious that he's a bit unsure about using the device. This is the first time he's used it since his arrival, although he has seen others' transmissions. He's been away from his children and everything else he cares about for nearly two weeks now, and it's wearing on him. It doesn't help that he doesn't know many people yet.] I doubt that I am the first person who has ever experienced this, but it seems as though I have found myself in a rather embarrassing situation. [He thanks everything that the people back in Dale have no idea what he's having to do right now.] I have been so focused on getting myself settled here that I neglected to tend to the matter of my collar, and now it has become a rather pressing matter. This is by no means how I would prefer to deal with this matter, but it is one of the things that must be done. [And he does what must be done. He'll never make it back to his children if he dies here. He can't leave them without a father too.] I need someone who can help me with this. I'd prefer a more personal approach to this issue, but until that's possible, we can find something that works for both of us.

» Third Person Sample Choice: Third Person prompt four: here.