Canus of Tevinter

Appearance
A gray-skinned giant, Canus stands at about seven feet and six inches. His eyes are a shimmering golden, and his white hair flows freely down his back, tied up only in combat. He does not let two ends trail over his ears like most Qunari, but when he is not in combat, he's been known to drap a few locks over his shoulders. An older kossith, the elegant set of horns that grow freely from his brows are long, curving upwards, several inches from his hair. They look heavier and more troublesome than they are. They are accompanied by a two sets of smaller horns that curve alongside the larger ones.

The Rivaini have had their impact upon him. Canus is festooned with jewelry, glistening and glittering and beautiful. He admires the fine craftsmanship put into the pieces, and the exotic nature not found in these areas. Some of these adornments are Antivan and Tevinter, but a majority are Rivaini. His armour is made of exotic leather, fitted to his body, patched together and fitted to his body, repaired in places. At his hip is a pouch, containing his money and other possessions; to touch it if you were not him might end in your fingers being cut, because only he knows where a well-hidden sharp piece is. After several muggings, he has had to resort to this, but takes a sick delight in the thought of a pick-pocket losing his fingers. He wears white leather pants, and tall boots, and over this is a skirt of sorts, moreso an adornment than anything else, but it does not get in the way as he fights.

He carries a single saw sword that is unmistakeably Qunari in make, and a scimitar of Antivan make, which has -- unused -- rune slots.

Personality
Canus is...well, exotic. He's been a slave, a traveller, a mercenary, and many other things. He tries to fit himself to the situation, sometimes driving himself crazy trying to be more than he's meant to be. He loves doing...just about anything. To him, experience is the spice of life, and he wants a taste of it -- as much of it as he can take -- before he grows old and cannot do these things that he enjoys. Life is way too short, and there's so much that one can see, so much one can learn. He loves sharing his experiences, hearing about others, and gaining new ones.

Canus is cheerful most of the time, and hardly anything can put a damper on that. Sometimes, though, he sees things -- such as family -- that he wishes he had, and he cannot help but get a bit depressed. It's not hard to cheer the gentle giant up, if you're a friend, however. He has a good sense of humour, and understands innuendo quite well, sometimes finding it where there is none. He is all for free love, free sexual exchange, and can get frustrated if he doesn't, well, get some every now and then.

He has no desires to affiliate himself with any group or order.

History
A Qunari woman, formerly a tamassran, managed to escape the main Qunari city of Seheron, and joined a band of wandering Tal'Vashoth. Their revelries were rampant, and the kossith woman ended up impregnated. She gave birth to a small kossith boy, which she called Imekari. Being a tamassran, she knew how to raise a child, though the camp did not provide for an optimum learning place for a child. Especially so when the Tevinters arrived. The Imperial Legionnaires devastated the Tal'Vashoth band, which had been preying upon their supply wagons for a while now. The only survivor, aside from a few stragglers, was the small boy, too young to comprehend what was going on. To them, he was an opportunity for the commander of that band of soldiers. He was sold to the slave trader who would pay the most, and his training began. He was taught to serve his master's whims, and only to do so or risk punishment. His existence was about servitude; he was not to deviate or the consequences would be worse than death.

The Magister Epicurus purchased him when he was just a little boy. He was given a brand carved into his back using blood magic -- the symbol of the Pachymeres family, thus denoting him their property -- and the name 'Canus,' the Tevinter word for 'white hair.'

Canus blindly served him, and Epicurus received a lot of paperwork, thus Canus was taught how to read and write, in both Tevinter and Common. This was uncommon among slaves, though Canus was becoming more than just a slave; he was a personal attendant, bodyguard, and anything else his master required. Some of these duties included punishing disobedient slaves, and killing slaves for blood magic spells. Canus did not like doing these things, but it was required of him and he didn't dare disobey. It was his duty, as a slave. He knew nothing else.

Epicurus had Canus trained in combat from an early age. He had some of the finest instructors that Epicurus' money could buy, including a professional Dueling instructor. He was given a set of swords -- a Qunari saw sword which was a spoil of Seheron, and an Imperial imitation of high quality -- which due to his size he could wield with ease. Epicurus loved to show him off at the arena. So that his beloved slave wouldn't die, he of course rigged the games, enough that Canus appeared to win with talent -- which he had a lot of anyway. Upon taking a new apprentice, though, Epicurus was made very busy though he had little need for his slave so he sent Canus to Cyril, who had just returned from Seheron.

When Epicurus took Canus to compete at the Grand Tourney in Tantervale, a situation arose that caused the Kossith to slice the magister's head off, and make a run for it. He did not stop running until he was far away from Tantervale. He was 18 years old at the time.

He stayed in Starkhaven for a while, joining a mercenary faction and racking up money. His skill and race were useful, but Canus was naive, child-like. People could take advantage of him, were they to get over the fact that he was quite intimidating with his size and his horns. He was a puzzlement, a bafflement, to those he was around. Eventually, he left the group, and started to travel, using the money he had, and earning other money with odd jobs, some of them literally odd, such as the woman who wanted to find out what was eating her prized rats. The world around him fascinated him, and he thirsted for more, hungered for more. And so, when he was 20, he embarked on a quest -- explore the Free Marches, and then Antiva, and then Rivain.

And so, he began this journey, a journey that took him on this path, exploring the various city-states of the Free Marches, and taking odd jobs that required, apparently, his skill and intimidating appearance, making friends and learning new things. But he didn't get to fully explore the Free Marches, learning the hard way that people did not care anything for what he represented, as he was, to them, Qunari. Antiva was more tolerant, and much more fascinating. He got into a bit of a mess, though, with a band of Tal'Vashoth -- and that is where he learned he wasn't specifically Qunari, nor Tal'Vashoth, but a kossith. Antiva proved to be fascinating, but Canus eventually felt he'd seen what he wanted to, venturing into the forests of Rivain. And it was there he'd stay, for a long while.

There, he was accepted, and even made several friends. One in particular, stood out -- a Seer. He spent a long time with her in her village, learning many things about the Rivaini way of things. It was she that told him their journey was done, and that he had to move on. Canus continued north, to Kont-Aar, where he, for the first time in his life, could truly see the Qunari, and not just the horned race but the converts as well. When he saw, however, how the Qunari treated their mages -- collared, chained, leashed -- it sickened him, and shocked him seeing as the Rivaini actually treated the mages well. He did not get to stay long in Kont-Aar, however; it was a place for Qunari, not bas with the faces of gray ones. Canus went south, and booked passage, on a ship, to Ferelden; he would see the southern lands for himself.

As news of a Darkspawn horde in the south reached Redcliffe, where he was staying, Canus was rather worried, and stayed in the city for a while. He, however, took up arms when the corpses attacked, unwilling to just sit by in a combat situation.

Credit

 * Image is by VictoriaDAEDRA that looks much like this version of Canus; just imagine the adornments are different, not like the Arishok's (see appearance). Still pending her approval as to whether I can use it and alter it to reflect this; full deviation found here. Doubtful she'd disallow this, considering I'm a friend and have given her stuff.