Groups

Description

Though tall and powerfully built, Gisbourne is not the beast of a man the king is. He is leaner, more tightly wound, quicker; more wildcat than bear. His face is hard, his features sharp, with eyes the same colour as the blade of his sword, dark untidy hair, a thin-lipped mouth and a long, strong jaw. He might be called handsome, indeed, the ladies of the Nottingham court admire him from afar for his striking looks and his ample fortune forged out of the blood and gold of the early years of the third crusade. If they were to get a little closer, however, they might see the cruelty, greed and steely determination in the lines of his expression and think twice about persuing such a man.
He dresses in dark tunics, breeches and long boots that are simple in style but obviously expensive. A chainmail hauberk and helmet are worn when on patrol but his longsword is ever-present in a black leather scabbard at his hip.

Equipment

Two-handed longsword and his horse; a grey Arab.

History

Gisbourne never had a father. Born illegitimately to a low-ranking noblewoman in the English royal court, he and his mother were viciously shunned by high society and the details of his birth quickly hushed up. He spent his early years treated like a peasant amongst the middle-classes of his mother's hometown, Gisbourne, to which she returned after the scandal of his birth broke.
That was until a chance royal visit changed his life forever.
The then Sheriff, now King, was travelling through and recognised the extraordinary fighting ability and intense vunerability of the fourteen year-old boy.
He took unofficial charge of him, funding his education and his movement through the ranks of the army, moulding him, playing off his yearning to be accepted against the bitter hatred he felt for the people who had sent him and his mother into effective exile. Guy grew up to be capable of great cruelty to those he thought inferior to himself and almost obsessively loyal to the King who had twisted him to fit into the world that had shunned him.

Guy of Gisbourne's Story