Post by Sir Guy of Gysbourne on Sept 9, 2011 9:27:51 GMT -5
• Sir • Guy • Gysbourne •
.:Name of Character:. Sir Guy of Gysbourne
.:Alias:. Gizzy [call him that; he hates it]
.:Birth Date:. December 15th
.:Age In 1192:. 27
.:Look:. Gysbourne has very dark features which only contributes to the sinister look about him. His eyes are round, having a dark brown color to them. His hair is black and curly, and he often has a well trimmed thin mustache and a small patch of hair on his chin. As a nobleman, he is constantly well groomed and carries himself with a certain grace and great confidence, one that any knight may possess. He has a strong, muscular build, which is yet again the quality of any well trained knight.
His style of dress demonstrates his vast amount of wealth. He is always clad in the finest fabric, and the best quality armor he can find, in England or beyond. His attire is also largely of darker shades, mostly black. His armor is that typical of a knight, though a bit more extravagant for he wishes to display his position of authority among the others. His signature is two swords strapped on his back.
.:Height:. 6"2'
.:Portrayed by:. Ioan Gruffudd
.:Basic Personality:. Gysbourne does not at all personify the qualities expected of a knight. He may be courageous and skilled as a warrior, but he lacks any sort of loyalty, empathy, and morality. He has no concern for others and no sense of morals and values. He is cold and detached from all other people and beings. He can kill with no hesitation but only with purpose, and he insensitive to the sufferings of others. In fact, he finds humor in morbid situations and often makes highly inappropriate jokes. He finds others discomfort and sorrow comical and entertaining to himself. These sort of personality traits is what makes him rather unpopular among the people, though he makes no attempt to redeem himself of this. For he has gained the favor of the Sheriff and that is all that matters.
He has no sense of purpose or loyalty to anyone else besides the Sheriff. He can be arrogant, and gives off a very insensitive vibe for he appears to show no emotion under any circumstances. He has no fear, not even in the face of death for dying to him, is something that he knows is inevitable. This lack of fear makes him reckless and irrational for he does not care about the consequences of his actions. He knows he can get away with it considering his high position. His conversations with others are not always pleasant. His heart of stone prohibits him from experiencing any sort of emotion. He can have a bit of a temper, however he can be extremely unpredictable, making him a bit dangerous.
His sadistic nature has gained him quite a strong a reputation among others as a ruthless man who carries out the sheriff's orders and expects his demands to be met . . . no matter what the cost. He has built himself to be a man who is to be feared, and his company among the people is never desired for when he is present, it means that something bad is going to happen. He firmly believes in ruling through fear and the only way to do this is to instill that fear in the people by carrying out their threats or making an example out of those who show the slightest bit of resistance. With this kind of mindset, Gysbourne diligently carries out the orders given to him. They are sometimes left a bit vague, which leaves it up to Guy's creativity; either way, he will get the job done. He uses unique methods to get what he wants, or what he is commanded to get. It is not enough to simply threaten them with imprisonment or death; Gysbourne prefers finding more violently persuasive means to get them to cooperate. This being said, he takes his job very seriously, and often abuses his authority and the power that he knows he has over others because of his high rank and position.
Gysbourne is highly intelligent, analytical and has a diabolically clever mind. As stated above, he at times finds creative means to fulfill his orders and he knows that as long as the job gets done, the Sheriff does not have a problem with his ruthless and sadistic methods. He lacks any sympathy towards the people, making him cold, detached and extremely difficult -- perhaps even impossible -- to reason and negotiate with. He has a superiority complex when among the people, and even other nobles, but pays the utmost respect to those above him, mainly the Sheriff and Prince John. That said, he is very loyal to the Sheriff, never having done anything that goes against his laws or ruling. He has no reason to for the Sheriff's powerful position, keeps Gysborne in a high authority position as well.
He enjoys provoking others to watch them lose their composure and give him a reason to retaliate. He is easily amused by others, whether they intend to be humorous or not, but can have a horrendous temper. Not the kind where he will scream, shout and throw objects at people, but rather the kind that can lead to completely irrational actions without a moment's pause. These crimes are of course easily covered up and he takes advantage of this far more than he should. He has an analytical mind, which helps to strategize and formulate various ploys, and yet, is constantly frustrated with their inability to catch the Outlaws. Of course, the Sheriff demonstrates this irritability far more than Gysborne, but that does not mean he is not extremely annoyed by the fact.
.:Accents:. Upper Class English
.:Alliance:. Loyal to the Sheriff.
.:Rank:. Second in Command, directly below the Sheriff of Nottingham
.: Special Skills:. He is a highly skilled swordsman and combatant. He is ambidextrous which gives him the ability to be equally skilled with both his swords rather than just the one. He is a strong memory, practically an impeccable one which proves to be both beneficial and disadvantageous; it means he can carry a grudge for far too long but it also helps him plan and strategize as he remembers locations and other factors required in any attack or fulfillment of a Sheriff's command.
.:Weapon Training:. Skilled combatant, expert swordsman and horseback rider, has some strength in hand to hand combat, not too great with a bow and arrow.
.:Birthplace:. The Gysbourne Estate
.:Family:. All deceased.
.:History:. Gysbourne was born as the first and only son of an earl. His mother died in childbirth so never had a huge impact on Guy's life, apart from giving birth to him of course. He was a nobleman, part of an extremely wealthy family, so was raised to look and act the part. His father was a very different man than Guy however. His father's views greatly differed from his son's, and he was far more modest in the way they lived. While a certain degree of extravagance is always associated when of nobility, Thomas was not consumed by it . . . unlike Gysbourne. Gysbourne was always trying to devise ways to obtain more power and wealth. Because of these opposing views, the father and son would clash a great deal. While his father obviously had the ultimate authority in managing their estate and land, Gysbourne knew that as his father got older, it would only be a matter of time before he assumed ownership of everything.
Gysbourne's childhood was fairly typical of any son of an earl. He enjoyed the luxuries that his wealth provided him, and as expected of him, was trained to be a knight, showing great skill in all aspects of his training. But even at a young age, found amusement in provoking and bullying others, getting into trouble every now and then with a particular other individual: Robin of Locksley. The two would often engage in friendly competition, rivaling for who could beat who. Unfortunately, this friendly rivalry, soon turned into a bitter one; at least for Guy. He did not like losing anything and often became obsessed with finding ways to beat Robin, regardless of how much cheating that required. This dynamic has not exactly fully changed up to now, other than having intensified a great deal.
Soon enough, news of war was spreading and while Guy had no plan to go off and fight in the Crusades, his father had a very different mindset. Though old, his father was very loyal to the king do decided to join Richard and fight for England. Gysbourne, much to his pleasure, was left to manage the estates, now able to do things how he wanted to. It was not long until news returned that his father died in battle. But this was not the only way in which things took a drastic turn, for when the king was gone, everything soon changed. The man who would be the Sheriff and authority in Nottingham, was someone that Guy had befriended prior to his entrance to power. The two of them had very similar views and opinions, which allowed them to get along with one another a great deal. This friendship proved to work in Gysbourne's great favor. When the Sheriff was appointed as the authority figure in Nottingham, he appointed Gysbourne as his second in command, and Guy proved not to disappoint.
One of the first things he wished to claim was Locksley's lands. Not so he could take control of it and manage his estates, but rather, so he could leave it unattended and cared for, thus leaving it to rot in Robin's absence. There was only one problem that stood in the way: Robin's family. Gysbourne's pride and desire for vengeance got the better of him, as it always did. Late one night, under a disguise fully cloaking his identity, he sneaked into the estate and murdered Robin's father. No one knows of this crime, and Guy has never confessed to it to anyone; some may be suspicious but there is no evidence to substantiate such suspicions. But his goal of obtaining Locksley's land worked and Guy took great pleasure in watching the land deteriorate. Not only this, but Robin's sister and mother were now in the Sheriff's care...which means that Guy has even more leverage against Robin and uses this to his utmost advantage. When Robin was outlawed, this just gave Guy a more public reason to go against him. Now, as the second in command, Guy had earned this position through hard work and displaying diligence in carrying out his tasks and commands, rarely coming back empty handed, with one exception...the capturing of Robin Hood.
