NEWS

[Cato]

Full Name: Cato Emmerce
Calling Name: Cato or (The) Hayllian
Landen/Blood: Blood
Race: Hayllian
Lives in: Dena Nehele
Age: 1508
Sex: Male

Caste: Prince
Jewels: Rose to Purple Dusk

Playby: Henry Cavill
Height: 184cm
Hair colour: Black
Eye colour: Muddy Gold
Short description: Cato has never quite outgrown his boyish charm, making him look much younger than his years, and considering the current state of the Realm, he can easily get away with pretending to be that young. He is tall, with a long neck and long and limber limbs which makes him a well-proportioned man, who is obviously doing well enough for himself despite his living conditions. He’s well fed, mostly clean-groomed and arguably well-dressed for his status.
Of course it shows that he’s a glorified street rat, he looks a little rag tag at the best of times, his hair could perpetually use a cut, but it suits him in a way, just like that boyish smile suits him and the dimples that fall in his cheeks when he does smile.

He has an old coat that he loves to wear, a dusty old long coat that was once upon a time black, but is now more of a washed out gray. It’s still functional and doesn’t look bad or cheap, but once up close, it’s easy to see that it’s been loved.
Cato is, however, a master of deception and if he puts his mind to it, he can pull off looking like an aristocrat, a beggar, a woman (it was once) or anything else that he is decidedly not. He’s got a hat for every occasion, literally and figuratively.

Personality:
A charming and compelling man, Cato has a flair to his personality that can capture audiences and the hearts of many. He puts forth the image of a friendly, approachable man, a do-gooder who will take in street urchins and help them fend for themselves, keeps a roof over their heads and food in their bellies. While he does do all that, he isn’t always such a nice man.

Cato is a con man and a thief, a masterful one at that and the urchins are merely a means to an end. He earns well off of their effort and hard work and most if it simply goes straight into Cato’s pocket – or to the poker table or a whore’s pocket, as the case may be. While he may look and sound like he has everyone’s best interests at heart, in reality there is only one person Cato ever looks out for and that’s himself.

Being a conman though, many people don’t realize the mistake until it is too late, and by this point they’re usually pulled into the lie so deep there is no way of escaping without losing face or something else valuable – dignity, money, jewelry, you name it.

The small army of street urchins Cato has collected look up to him, seek sanctuary and protection under his dark jewels and reputation and it works, for the most part. Cato, despite all his flaws, is not a man easily trifled with. He often knows far more than he lets on, and he’s not nearly as stupid as he may seem at first. He’s sly and cunning and doesn’t leave a stone unturned to get what he wants. Cato treats almost everything like a game, all of it a test of wit and skill that he simply must participate in, or it would be showing weakness in the face of a good challenge!

History:
Cato was born in Hayll, his mother a Priestess, his father a small figure in a Queen’s court, a lower circle and no one important. His mother was the one who wore the pants in the household and Cato’s sister followed swiftly in her footsteps. Cato and his sibling – also a Priestess – were always at odds with one another and constantly at war. At first it was over toys and cookies, but it grew more malicious as time passed by. Discrediting one another in their mother’s eyes, setting traps for one another. It was a constant warzone in their house. Unfortunately for Cato, his mother favoured his sister greatly and more often than not he got the shit end of the stick in these little squabbles.

Cato, being a prince, was encouraged to become fodder for the courts. At least, that was how he saw it. He had little love for politics and court games, but his mother insisted, wishing for both her children to succeed beyond their sire’s station. Cato’s sister was to be taken into the fold of the Priestesses and he, he was to woe himself into a court.
After Cato’s birthright ceremony, armed with a very respectable Purple Dusk jewel, it was almost easy to do so, and in no time Cato was a member of a court – reluctant as he may have been. He did his best to play the games of intrigue and politics, but the stakes were too plain for someone who had spent his whole life trying to destroy his rivaling sibling.

Being part of the aristocratic circle was a bore, and with no one to answer to, thieving became like second nature to him. At first little trinkets and baubles, small things he could gift to others at a later date to see the chaos when people began noticing others wearing their earrings or perfume. Games not unlike the ones he used to play with his darling sister.

Trinkets became bigger and bigger, and Cato began to sell his snatched items to outsiders, black market dealer and so on. Things began to escalate from thereon until he ended up stealing entire fortunes from women desperate for him, his services as a Prince, his body, his jewels… anything they wanted from him he could use to his advantage to milk them for all they were worth. It earned him a piss poor reputation in court, but Cato cared little. He was like a bored child in class, doing everything the Darkness forbid, just to see if he could get away with it.

Years past, and Cato went through three separate courts before his reputation got so out of hand he was starting to get shunned at doors, barred from parties, banned from estates or even provinces at large. Hayll was becoming harder and harder to live in for him. But his luck was about to turn. The Rot struck Hayll like a hurricane, hard and fast and as the territory burned, Cato amassed himself a small fortune that he took with him. He left the Rot ravaged territory behind, sneaking his way into Dena Nehele with some other refugees.

The money got him far enough, and with a clean slate he flirted his way back into a court, unwittingly taking Rot with him. At some point, probably during one of his many escapades, Cato had contracted Rot himself, and being infectious, the Dena Nehellian court was soon in chaos. Cato was an outsider, who had slept with some of the earliest Rot victims in the court. Blame befell him, rightfully so, and when a Rot rash was found on his body, he could’ve sworn he was going to get killed be an enraged mob of short-lived. Only through sheer strength of his jewels did he managed to ward them off long enough to make an escape.

Unfortunately, there aren’t many Hayllians left, much less in Dena Nehele, and having to leave his fortune behind, he was left with little more than yet another bad reputation and the clothes on his back. It was right around this point that Cato realized court life was all his mother’s dream. His mother, who was either dead or dying, and he hadn’t had loyalty to her in a long time. Much less now.

Cato took to the streets instead, pulling simple cons on unsuspecting people and living the life of a pauper. It was liberating! Exhilarating, there was an edge to the life of a street rat the life of an Aristocrat had never had. Now if his plans failed, he wasn’t just going to get a bad rep… he could end up in jail, or go without a meal for a night or more. For the first time since making his offering, Cato wasn’t bored out of his mind!

The urchins came later, much later. At first Cato was fending off the symptoms of Rot to the best of his abilities. He wasn’t a vain man, but his looks and his health were rather important to his new life. He searched for decades for a healer who could provide him with a tonic that seemed to work. To this very day he guzzles the stuff as if it is the elixir of life itself. He’s not sure if it works, but his symptoms have faded to near on nothing – and what shows is insignificant and easily blamed on something else – and it seems the Rot is either kept at bay or dormant now. Either way, it suits him fine.

Anything else: Cato is Rot infected but for whatever reason he’s currently mostly asymptomatic – only on occasion do symptoms flare up, usually rashes and bloody noses, which often result in random bar fights to cover them up as bruises and injuries of the brawling nature.
He has a dozen-or-so street rats under his care who pickpocket, steal and cheat their way through Dena Nehele. He calls them family, but truthfully doesn’t care overly much for them and isn’t above sacrificing a few of them for his own good.
Because he knows he has Rot he refuses to let any rumours about Rot abound around him. If someone seems to have it, he’ll get rid of them as soon as possible, anything to keep suspicion of his own person.

And author's note: Oh god the typos and runalong sentences in this thing are probably amazing! I'm too caffeinated to go back and make it English though.

OOC Name: Mac
Other Characters: Liam, Ethan and Roman

Do you like peanut butter? Peanut butter cookies ftw!

[Macbeth]

Accepting myself, once more!