History: Owen was born a bastard. His mother was a whore that his father paid visits to once a week for several months while his marriage lay in crumbles. Unfortunately, the man cared little for the whore or his bastard son, and even tried to convince her to abort the child early on. While the idea was tempting, she decided against it, instead taking up an offer made by one of her other customers to provide them with a child.
The couple the boy went to were kind and gracious. They had been struggling to have a child of their own for many years, and had even taken to affairs in case it was simply a matter of incompatibility. Nothing had worked. Once this whore turned up pregnant with the child of a man who wanted nothing to do with either of them, the husband, William Carter, made the proposal. His wife, Julie, holed up within their home for the duration of the pregnancy, and the whore, a woman named Maria, was brought in to stay with them until she gave birth. She was cared for tenderly, treated well, and once the child was born, sent on her way with a full purse of coin. She saw nothing wrong with this arrangement, and it suited her well, for those coins went to buying her way out of the city.
Thus Owen grew up in the Carter household, the only child of a commoner couple who had little to offer the world but for their trade, Father running a small fabric company in the city. It wasn't an unheard of situation, and while rumour about it did fly freely, nobody really cared one way or the other. They were only commoners, after all.
While he may not have lived a life of grace, he certainly didn't spend it in poverty. Father's trade was prosperous enough to afford decent clothing and meals, and even a decently sized home. Mother took care good care of him, cooked all his favorites, and even at a young age let him pick out his own clothes. He was, essentially, spoiled.
Outside of the home, he played with all the rowdiest boys, getting into trouble on a regular basis. While Father didn't much care for the trouble he caused, Mother doted on him over it, her scolding nothing more than encouragement to continue.
Into his teenaged years things only grew worse. He spent his nights drinking with his friends, and slept his days away. Mother continued to spoil him, much to Father's annoyance. He'd hoped this boy would grow up to inherit the family business, but with how she'd ruined him, he was in no way suitable for such a responsibility. Instead, he adopted a cousin as his inheritor, which was just fine to Owen. What did he want with some little fabric shop, selling bolts of cloth to seamstresses? What did he know of fabric aside from that silk felt better, looked better, and cost more than cotton? That was not how he wanted to spend his life.
As to what he did want, he still had no clue. On his sixteenth birthday, his friends took him to a brothel, where he got to experience intimacy beyond his Mother's coddling for the first time. And found that he really enjoyed it. From then on, half of his cash went into paying for whores, while the other half kept going into alcohol, until the fated day that his father put his foot down, cutting his allowance. That only caused him to throw a tantrum, and Mother tried to argue on his behalf, claiming that boys will be boys and that he would grow out of it. Father remained firm.
Grumpy at losing most of his income, Owen took to the streets to look for ways to make an income with as little effort as possible, and started picking pockets. At first he only targetted the elderly or very young, those he could fight off if he got caught, but as he learned the trade, with some guidance from his street-dwelling friends, his target selection grew, aiming for those who had the most coin to spare rather than those who were easy marks. It made him enough to keep him drowning in women and drink.
At the age of twenty, his father started talking about marriage. He shuddered. By Cita why would he want to be bound to one woman? And kids? Not a chance! (He likely already had a few bastard children out there anyway, that was enough!) He refused, adamantly. Father merely shrugged him off and went about his business, and left it to Mother to try to encourage it. This was when she found out just how spoiled he was. He threw a tantrum, refusing to marry any of the women Mother would try to introduce him to, and finally fed both his parents up to the point that they told him the truth about his past. Disgruntled, but not entirely angry, he left home.
At first, he lived on the streets, supporting himself with his illegal dealings and getting mixed up with gang members. He made friends with members of several gangs, and in fact had something of his own thing going, where he helped out the younger kids finding themselves on the street, ensuring they learned the ropes and found a place for themself. He was in no way a leader, and his little band wasn't a gang so much as a stopping point for potential gang members, who would move on to one of the proper gangs in the city. He befriended a young girl named Amber, though she didn't stay long.
Later, he started taking up lovers for money. He didn't compete with the brothels, only accepting those clients who came to him. At first it was simply a willingness to share a bed, but he discovered they'd give him gifts of coin or jewelry for his services. Eventually, he found himself the lover of a wealthy nobless. She was older, but not unattractive, and very good in bed. All she asked was that he keep it to himself, which he did, gladly.
Then one night, the husband walked in. Owen was sure this would be the death of him, and was not only surprised but thoroughly confused when, rather than shouting for his head, the husband approached the bed and began to undress. The woman seemed disgruntled, but not unwilling (do I have to share siiiigh) and managed to talk Owen into participating. Thus was his first experience with the same sex. ...and he enjoyed that, too.
Now that he had both of the couple in his pockets, he started to save. Much of his money from the couple was tucked away, the pile growing rapidly over a few years, until he had enough to open his own business. Then he considered what business that would be. He already knew where - he spent a lot of time in that area of town, but he didn't want to compete with the brothels in the area. Instead, he decided to go with a tavern, a place to provide the other of his two favorite things in the world. He called it the Fox'N'Crown.
Business was slow at first - not unexpected, really. He made a few bad business decisions, but he learned quick, and made up for it with the great interest he showed his patrons. In time, his business grew prosperous, and he started tucking most of his profits away for future endeavors.
The city was one plagued by gangs, the two main ones, Signifer Gladios and the Whispers, constantly bickering and battling over territory. Somehow, Owen managed to arrange a neutrality for his tavern, where any gang member caught causing a fuss was berated by their own leaders. This worked well, as it ensured his business remained profitable and out of danger. Owen collected and sold information to the two gang leaders, and strove to expand his information business, luring in businessmen and even nobles with his charisma.
In the year that followed, Owen opened up his own brewery, specializing in ales and a particular drink of his own making that he tended to call Carter's Special Brew. It was stronger than anything else served in the area, and he even began exporting it to the sea town not far away.
Not long after, he opened a print shop. He hired young women who couldn't find work elsewhere - single mothers who were frowned upon, homeless women who needed shelter - giving them simple jobs and easy work. He never expected anything out of them other than that they get the job done. They appreciated the work, as it allowed them to take care of themselves and their children. His relationships with them remained purely professional.
Owen started to flirt with a nobleman named Laurent, cousin to the heir of the Vaux household. When Cita arrived in physical form, and took up arms against the Golden Hour, Laurent ran to help defend innocents against this so-called God of the Citadel. For the first time, Owen found himself honestly worried about someone's safety, and grew frustrated at his own inability to help.
With threat of war still in the air, the Whispers' front-man confronted Owen and demanded loyalty, forcing him to choose between them or Gladios. This man, who went by the name Jai, was someone Owen had recognized from youth. He'd been the girl Amber in years long past, and while Owen kept his knowledge of Jai's old identity to himself, he still felt the fondness for her that had been formed from their shared background. Having no ties to Gladios, he accepted the demand, swearing his loyalty to the Whispers.
Shortly after this became public knowledge, Gladios reacted, depositing the Whispers' second in command on Owen's doorstep, who also happened to be someone Owen had rather liked, a younger man named Rhys, unable to speak yet still very expressive. His death left behind the pup he'd acquired, and Owen took the pup up as his own, letting it stay at the tavern.
The Whispers had to respond to the attack. War was brewing, and everyone knew it. Owen was unable to fend for himself, he knew nothing of combat outside of basic street fighting, most of that drunken. He wanted to be able to defend himself, to be of more use to Jai and the Whispers, and to be able to protect those few he knew and cared for, such as Laurent, and the whores he'd grown attached to.
It was around then that rumours spread of the Golden Hour's increased ability to manipulate Belief to the point of turning humans into Others. Owen wrote to the man said to be responsible, offering a substantial sum to be turned into a werepanther. This would give him the ability to protect himself, his property, and his friends, and be of more use to his new boss.
It was shortly after this that he awoke to find himself in this... strange place, with strange machinery and magics beyond anything he could have ever imagined.
Owen Carter (OC) - 2/3
The couple the boy went to were kind and gracious. They had been struggling to have a child of their own for many years, and had even taken to affairs in case it was simply a matter of incompatibility. Nothing had worked. Once this whore turned up pregnant with the child of a man who wanted nothing to do with either of them, the husband, William Carter, made the proposal. His wife, Julie, holed up within their home for the duration of the pregnancy, and the whore, a woman named Maria, was brought in to stay with them until she gave birth. She was cared for tenderly, treated well, and once the child was born, sent on her way with a full purse of coin. She saw nothing wrong with this arrangement, and it suited her well, for those coins went to buying her way out of the city.
Thus Owen grew up in the Carter household, the only child of a commoner couple who had little to offer the world but for their trade, Father running a small fabric company in the city. It wasn't an unheard of situation, and while rumour about it did fly freely, nobody really cared one way or the other. They were only commoners, after all.
While he may not have lived a life of grace, he certainly didn't spend it in poverty. Father's trade was prosperous enough to afford decent clothing and meals, and even a decently sized home. Mother took care good care of him, cooked all his favorites, and even at a young age let him pick out his own clothes. He was, essentially, spoiled.
Outside of the home, he played with all the rowdiest boys, getting into trouble on a regular basis. While Father didn't much care for the trouble he caused, Mother doted on him over it, her scolding nothing more than encouragement to continue.
Into his teenaged years things only grew worse. He spent his nights drinking with his friends, and slept his days away. Mother continued to spoil him, much to Father's annoyance. He'd hoped this boy would grow up to inherit the family business, but with how she'd ruined him, he was in no way suitable for such a responsibility. Instead, he adopted a cousin as his inheritor, which was just fine to Owen. What did he want with some little fabric shop, selling bolts of cloth to seamstresses? What did he know of fabric aside from that silk felt better, looked better, and cost more than cotton? That was not how he wanted to spend his life.
As to what he did want, he still had no clue. On his sixteenth birthday, his friends took him to a brothel, where he got to experience intimacy beyond his Mother's coddling for the first time. And found that he really enjoyed it. From then on, half of his cash went into paying for whores, while the other half kept going into alcohol, until the fated day that his father put his foot down, cutting his allowance. That only caused him to throw a tantrum, and Mother tried to argue on his behalf, claiming that boys will be boys and that he would grow out of it. Father remained firm.
Grumpy at losing most of his income, Owen took to the streets to look for ways to make an income with as little effort as possible, and started picking pockets. At first he only targetted the elderly or very young, those he could fight off if he got caught, but as he learned the trade, with some guidance from his street-dwelling friends, his target selection grew, aiming for those who had the most coin to spare rather than those who were easy marks. It made him enough to keep him drowning in women and drink.
At the age of twenty, his father started talking about marriage. He shuddered. By Cita why would he want to be bound to one woman? And kids? Not a chance! (He likely already had a few bastard children out there anyway, that was enough!) He refused, adamantly. Father merely shrugged him off and went about his business, and left it to Mother to try to encourage it. This was when she found out just how spoiled he was. He threw a tantrum, refusing to marry any of the women Mother would try to introduce him to, and finally fed both his parents up to the point that they told him the truth about his past. Disgruntled, but not entirely angry, he left home.
At first, he lived on the streets, supporting himself with his illegal dealings and getting mixed up with gang members. He made friends with members of several gangs, and in fact had something of his own thing going, where he helped out the younger kids finding themselves on the street, ensuring they learned the ropes and found a place for themself. He was in no way a leader, and his little band wasn't a gang so much as a stopping point for potential gang members, who would move on to one of the proper gangs in the city. He befriended a young girl named Amber, though she didn't stay long.
Later, he started taking up lovers for money. He didn't compete with the brothels, only accepting those clients who came to him. At first it was simply a willingness to share a bed, but he discovered they'd give him gifts of coin or jewelry for his services. Eventually, he found himself the lover of a wealthy nobless. She was older, but not unattractive, and very good in bed. All she asked was that he keep it to himself, which he did, gladly.
Then one night, the husband walked in. Owen was sure this would be the death of him, and was not only surprised but thoroughly confused when, rather than shouting for his head, the husband approached the bed and began to undress. The woman seemed disgruntled, but not unwilling (do I have to share siiiigh) and managed to talk Owen into participating. Thus was his first experience with the same sex. ...and he enjoyed that, too.
Now that he had both of the couple in his pockets, he started to save. Much of his money from the couple was tucked away, the pile growing rapidly over a few years, until he had enough to open his own business. Then he considered what business that would be. He already knew where - he spent a lot of time in that area of town, but he didn't want to compete with the brothels in the area. Instead, he decided to go with a tavern, a place to provide the other of his two favorite things in the world. He called it the Fox'N'Crown.
Business was slow at first - not unexpected, really. He made a few bad business decisions, but he learned quick, and made up for it with the great interest he showed his patrons. In time, his business grew prosperous, and he started tucking most of his profits away for future endeavors.
The city was one plagued by gangs, the two main ones, Signifer Gladios and the Whispers, constantly bickering and battling over territory. Somehow, Owen managed to arrange a neutrality for his tavern, where any gang member caught causing a fuss was berated by their own leaders. This worked well, as it ensured his business remained profitable and out of danger. Owen collected and sold information to the two gang leaders, and strove to expand his information business, luring in businessmen and even nobles with his charisma.
In the year that followed, Owen opened up his own brewery, specializing in ales and a particular drink of his own making that he tended to call Carter's Special Brew. It was stronger than anything else served in the area, and he even began exporting it to the sea town not far away.
Not long after, he opened a print shop. He hired young women who couldn't find work elsewhere - single mothers who were frowned upon, homeless women who needed shelter - giving them simple jobs and easy work. He never expected anything out of them other than that they get the job done. They appreciated the work, as it allowed them to take care of themselves and their children. His relationships with them remained purely professional.
Owen started to flirt with a nobleman named Laurent, cousin to the heir of the Vaux household. When Cita arrived in physical form, and took up arms against the Golden Hour, Laurent ran to help defend innocents against this so-called God of the Citadel. For the first time, Owen found himself honestly worried about someone's safety, and grew frustrated at his own inability to help.
With threat of war still in the air, the Whispers' front-man confronted Owen and demanded loyalty, forcing him to choose between them or Gladios. This man, who went by the name Jai, was someone Owen had recognized from youth. He'd been the girl Amber in years long past, and while Owen kept his knowledge of Jai's old identity to himself, he still felt the fondness for her that had been formed from their shared background. Having no ties to Gladios, he accepted the demand, swearing his loyalty to the Whispers.
Shortly after this became public knowledge, Gladios reacted, depositing the Whispers' second in command on Owen's doorstep, who also happened to be someone Owen had rather liked, a younger man named Rhys, unable to speak yet still very expressive. His death left behind the pup he'd acquired, and Owen took the pup up as his own, letting it stay at the tavern.
The Whispers had to respond to the attack. War was brewing, and everyone knew it. Owen was unable to fend for himself, he knew nothing of combat outside of basic street fighting, most of that drunken. He wanted to be able to defend himself, to be of more use to Jai and the Whispers, and to be able to protect those few he knew and cared for, such as Laurent, and the whores he'd grown attached to.
It was around then that rumours spread of the Golden Hour's increased ability to manipulate Belief to the point of turning humans into Others. Owen wrote to the man said to be responsible, offering a substantial sum to be turned into a werepanther. This would give him the ability to protect himself, his property, and his friends, and be of more use to his new boss.
It was shortly after this that he awoke to find himself in this... strange place, with strange machinery and magics beyond anything he could have ever imagined.