[Rimbaud]

Ibai – From what I understand, you are still short on one Hill-man. I hope this seems appropriate, although please do send any corrective comments you may have. If you feel that Calem is an unsuitable or too challenging a prospect for this game, please say, and I shall not be in the least offended.

If you approve, please do read the Note underneath his History.

Character Description Form:

Have you ever played in an RPG at the Barrow Downs? – YES/NO - Which one?

Yes – Rohan RPG, My Crow Management, Revenge of the Entish Bow, The Saving of the Seventh Star, The Seventh Star (assorted sub-plots as Innkeeper). Moderator of Gondor.

Have you posted in The Green Dragon Inn or in The White Horse in Rohan? – YES/NO – Which one?

Yes – The White Horse. Additional posts in The Seventh Star of Gondor.

For your character please include:

NAME: Calem

AGE: Unknown.

RACE: Men (Hill-men)

GENDER: Male

WEAPONS : None.

APPEARANCE: Calem is of an above-average height, but stoops, and has a slight hunch. His arms and legs however, are thick and potentially powerful. He is balding from the front, which leads many to suspect he is older than the foolish child his face suggests. Some developmental difficulties have caused his walk to be ungainly, and his facial muscles to be not wholly developed, which can cause people to find him distasteful to look at. Calem has never been fastidious about personal hygiene, and since his mother’s death, none have shown an interest. To put it bluntly, Calem reeks, and is filthy.

PERSONALITY/STRENGTHS/WEAKNESSES: Calem is a mute, and what the people of the Hills call a Stonehead, for he is not wise and he is not capable of great understanding. He can make affirmatives and negatives quite clear, but few would count him among the great conversationalists of the era. For all his apparent stupidity, Calem is loyal, especially to those that show him kindness and there have been very few of these in the rough company of the Hill-men.

HISTORY: Calem is hated and feared amongst the Hill-men. Hated for what they perceive as his retarded nature and gruesome appearance. Feared for what happened when he was angered. The tale is still told, but out of earshot, for no-one truly knows what he can and cannot understand of human speech.

A fierce territorial dispute amongst factions of the Hill-men many years ago had ended in his mother being grievously hurt, and later dying. She had been a refugee from Calambel, far to the South, from whence Calem drew his name, and she had been running for months when the Hill-men found her and the child, both close to death, over thirty years ago, although the Hill-men were not greatly accurate in their measuring of time.

Calem had witnessed the events, and despite never having entered into the social fabric of the Hill-men before, shunned as he was for his perceived disabilities, rose with a growl and struck at the man who had wounded his mother. Before any could stop him, he had pounded the man to death, and it took five of them to bludgeon the thickset Calem to the ground.

The Hill-men did not kill him there and then for the promise their chief had given to his mother. She had been skilled in certain arts of healing, and had found favour that way within the community. Bound by their oaths, none dared to strike Calem dead, but he was spurned by nearly all, and beaten by a few, although they kept him fed and watered. His strength was often useful, and he was placid so long as he was not threatened. The current chief Wolf, keeps Calem around and does not allow him to be too badly treated, although even he cannot bear to be too near the oafish man.

NOTE TO OTHER PLAYERS: Should Calem be accepted as a character, there is an important point to be made as to how other characters might react to him. As enlightened contemporary thinkers, you may find yourself drawn to make your character sympathetic and understanding towards Calem. Perhaps you feel that your character should pity him for what they perceive as his alien and disabled nature.

This would not be the way in such a society as the Hill-men. He would be loathed and feared, as one tainted by the dark gods and powers. Indeed, some of the more superstitious may believe him to be a sort of demon or warning from a god.

It is important to remember that no-one will think the worse of you if your character detests Calem and treats him badly – it is not a reflection on you or your attitudes, but an examination of a different culture and a more primitive method of thinking.


First post:

Calem was cold and miserable. He had wanted to watch the strange newcomers arrive. Instead, Wolf had told him to sit by the riverbank and catch some fish. Calem knew there were no fish at this part of the stream, it was too shallow and rocky, little more than a trickle at times.

He could smell the fires of the newcomers on the air and tasted food on the air. He was hungry. He would return to the others and see if they would throw him something to eat. There were no fish here.

He lurched to his feet and moved forwards, his left leg as ever dragging slightly behind him. Overlong and under-muscled, it caused him great frustration as he could only move very slowly and awkwardly. When he tried to run, he fell and struck his head. He bore the bruises, cuts and untended scrapes to prove this. Some of the cuts on his hands had festered in the dirt and grime and sores had cracked open. Calem had not noticed these for some time.

He was still hungry and the others seemed no closer. He grunted and kept his head down. The others did not like to see his slack-muscled, twisted face, or especially the deep-set, squinting eyes. He hoped they had not drunk tonight. He rarely got food if they were drinking. He wanted to go back to the village. He did not know why Wolf had made him come.

He was still hungry. He growled as he struggled up over a small ridge. He would be at the others soon. Perhaps they would not mind that he had not brought them fish.

[ August 22, 2003: Message edited by: Rimbaud ]