Standing at five foot, six and a half inches, Minnow is a rather skinny individual, but not in a way that makes him weak; in fact, despite his appearance, he has quite a bit of muscle, though itâs toned and restrained. His abdomen and chest are firm with hints of muscle, but most of his strength is in his legs. Despite being outside and under the sun as much as he can, his skin is still pale with only a bit of sun color. Itâs a wonder that he never gets sunburned. He has baby blonde hair- a little more brilliant than the color of sand, but not by much- which is somehow soft while being the style that it is. Itâs messy, but in a clean, purposeful way. His bangs frame his face nicely, parted for the left eye, though most of it is brushed to one side and some of it hangs over his right eye. One side is shorter than the other, coming down to the nape of his neck and just reaching below his jaw on the left, while on the right- where most of his hair is positioned- a portion of the back and side comes down to his collar bone and the top is flourished outwards in gentle spikes.
His eyes are a catching blue- bright, inviting, soothing, and very easy to get lost in, especially when he smiles so contently. Theyâre like tranquil pools of spring water and speak a level of innocence that makes one feel comfortable around him. Itâs a wonder sometimes, with how much his looks might make one think of water, that heâs actually an earth user. (That, and the fact that everyone calls him Minnow). Despite what his looks might imply, his element is a very obvious part of his person, thus confusion should not be a real issue but rather an off musing if one were examining him.
His earlobes are pierced with small metal studs, though occasionally Minnow will be seen with a small cross dangling from one ear. He has no tattoos to speak of. His usual Protector-Related attire is an ash grey vest shirt that zips up, though he usually leaves it open a little below his collar bone. He wears sleek, black pants- always with a belt- and has an armored shoulder guard with one sleeve on his left arm. The sleeve is somewhat large, a rather obvious contrast to his somewhat formfitting shirt, and fans out at the hand. He occasionally wears long gloves that come up to the middle of his forearm, and he is always wearing some kind of boot. An ornate sword can be found resting at his hip at all times when around the Air King.
However, when off duty, he can be found in tunics and simple, earth colored bottoms. Minnow gravitates towards light, pastel colors whenever he can, as theyâre soothing to the eye and easy to look at. His boots are usually caked in a bit of dried mud, and always look well used and comfortable.
Minnow is your go-to-guy for all things that involve healing and mending. Throughout all of his years heâs learned and kept a journal of all plants and herbs that are usable for an assortment of different ailments.
Renardineâs real skills lie in defense rather than offense. As an Earth user, he specializes in the manipulation of earth and uses rock and ground to create barriers and obstacles for an oncoming attack. He also knows how to alter the landscape around him, though rarely does anything drastic to it. Land shifting comes in handy for distances when the Air king is traveling, as he will level roads and makes inclines easier to bear. He and the earth almost seem to communicate with one another and have a mutual relationship. The earth bends to his requests, and in return, he tends to it as he would a small child or beloved pet.
When his feet are bare and his toes are curled into the soil, he can use his magic abilities to sense out the landscape around him, including plants, metals, and landmarks, and anything thatâs really connected to the ground.
Minnow is not completely helpless and can conjure up small clumps of hard earth and throw them at others, and he also knows how to use the bow and arrow. While heâs not a master with the weapon, heâs not insufficient either.
A little sacrifice can go a long way when it comes to Minnow, and he has the innate ability to make the most out of what he has. Heâs nimble on his feet, has good agility, and also has quite a bit stamina.
He rarely gets bored, and is constantly content with whatever is around him, though he is substantially more pleased when outside tending to the earth.
Heâs somewhat of a fragile individual, though he would never admit it. This fact is obvious by the way he handles small injured creatures or tends to the flowers in the gardens. While it may not be much of a strength, others tend to sense this fact and react in such ways that lower their guards a bit in attempt to connect with him.
Minnow has very little to offer when it comes to combat, and is a pretty weak individual in many aspects. He has only a small amount of experience with each weapon type, and really does prefer to keep his focus on defense and assistance rather than clashing against another person.
He has a drilled-in aversion to anyone of Fire, going to great lengths to avoid them if he can help it. Heâs terrified of them, and always keeps his distance unless in the presence of the King of Air.
Mainly working in defense and in assistance has made him a bit averse to fights in general, and rather dislikes participating in or having to deal with conflict of any kind.
Itâs very easy for aggressive people to see him as a low threat, and thus single him out as an easy target, and while Minnow knows this fact, he does his best to use it to his advantage to draw attentions away from his comrades.
Finally, as a trusting individual, it is rather easy for people to take advantage of him because of his nature.
He definitely has a green thumb, and can most often be found out among the trees or in the gardens. Despite his position as Protector, Renardine does a lot of travelling between kingdoms in pursuit of herbs and those who require his healing hand.
Minnow is easy to approach in almost any situation, and heâs more than willing to help someone out, no matter what they might need. He always has a satchel, which carries all of his equipment, attached to his hip on the left side. He loves pottery and usually uses any type of clay-metal mixture.
He tends to get a bit defensive when it comes to plants, and he pretty much refuses anyone from helping him in the soil.
Minnow is absolutely terrified of fire users due to a nasty incident in his past. He avoids them at all costs and rarely stops at the Fire Kingdom, or when he does itâs rarely for more than a day or a nightâs stay. Despite his caring nature and his desire to help those who are injured, he simply canât get over the terrors of flame that lurk in his memory and the constant reminder of the rendered flesh on his lower back.
He has a rather extensive burn scar on his lower back around his hips. It has long since been healed over, but the memories behind it will probably always be tender and fresh.
No one really knows his true name except for his fellow Protector and the King of Air himself. He acquired his nickname for his likeness to the fish- unique, adorable (size for the fish itself, but applied to his mannerisms in use), sometimes nervous and flitty, and takes things as they come. Most of all, the nickname makes sense as to how much he looks like a Water user, though it might be a bit deceiving at first, and calling him that just seems to fit.
Minnow is a really sweet individual, taking an interest in everyone around him and tending to make sure that theyâre comfortable and well-cared for. He has a kind nature, and a very content outlook on life. Heâs fairly easy-going and laidback, but tends to be quiet and he keeps to himself most of the time. He can be timid when around strangers- unless theyâre injured- and is always uncertain and shy when it comes to new things and things he doesnât know how to do or handle.
Renardine tends to put the needs of others before his own, and sometimes forgets to take care of himself, whether itâs eating, his hair or form, or his own cuts. However, when in the presence of the Air King and in doing his duty, Minnow seems to dawn a bit of a mask. He conceals and restrains his desires to help others, and instead puts the King first and as his number one priority.
When faced with something heâs unfamiliar with, he tends to shrink into himself, and always lets someone with more information on the subject take the initiative of handling it. Minnow canât really be made angry- his emotional range is pretty well-limited there, instead only capable of being upset.
He does his best when it comes to harsh circumstances, but if heâs overwhelmed, he might become frustrated and tearful. Despite his personality, he hates people seeing him cry- itâs pretty much the only time he truly feels weakness.
Originally, Minnow lived in an offshoot village of the Earth Kingdom with his mother and father. He was much like any other child there, assisting in chores and farming, and doing what he was told. It wasnât a glamorous life by any stretch of the imagination, but he was fairly happy with it. However, the only real path he could take would be following after his fatherâs footsteps and become a farmer as well. Minnow rarely bothered to turn his thoughts to such a fact. While he did want to do something important with his life, he didnât particularly know how to accomplish such a feat, plus he didnât think heâd ever get the opportunity to stretch out and follow a different path.
Boy, was he wrong- and he paid a heavy price for such desires, despite them being natural wants of any person.
When he was eight years of age, a raid occurred in his village with devastating results. Led by a group of fire miscreants, the town was ravaged, and Minnowâs home was definitely not exempt from the attack. In fact, he was probably the one person in the entire populace that the raid was solely focused on, or so it seemed.
Like others in his town, all their crops were burned to the ground, but, unlike most of the residents, the groupâs attacks went further than just food- they went so far as to set the house on fire, breaking in and destroying everything that they could get their hands on, his parents included.
Having never experienced an attack on his person or family, and having never been warned about such occurrences, Minnow had opted to hide inside a closet, which was a terrible mistake, though one that probably also saved his life. He could hear his parentsâ screams and yells, could smell burning flesh and hear horrible laughter. He cowered in the corner of his small hiding place, tears streaming down his eyes and terror wracking his small form. Soon smoke filled the entire house, masking everything within and slipping through the cracks beneath the closet door to wrap deadly fingers around his neck and nostrils.
Minnow ended up coughing and crying out, which attracted the attention of one of the raiders. Of course, Minnow couldnât tell that someone was coming towards him, but as the door swung open with a harsh crack, he whimpered in surprise, looking upon the face of his assailant. A disgusting smirk plagued the manâs lips, and Minnow was roughly dragged from his hiding place and out of the burning house into the open air. The manâs companions laughed and whooped as they saw his small prize, terror plain in the boyâs eyes.
Renardine hardly got the chance to try to clear his lungs of the smoke as he was forcefully pushed up against one of the fences. It was obvious as to the manâs intentions, but being so young, Minnow had no idea what was going on. However, as his shirt was lifted and the hem of his pants shifted down, he immediately knew something was wrong and cried out through terrible coughs. The man left a partial second degree burn behind on the boyâs hips. When the raider was done with the boy, he simply threw him to the side with a sick laugh and returned to his companions to finish their job.
Minnow was left in the dirt and dust with an open wound and several bruises, watching as the rest of his town was burnt down. Other women and children could be heard screaming, and cries of anguish filled the air. Yellow and red flames burned everywhere, the trees were lit and crackling, ash drifted through the air, and death prowled after it.
The boy lost consciousness early into the devastation, but when he awoke, he could see men yelling and water flowing from the hands of many. One particular man, who was searching for survivors, discovered the young boy and immediately picked him up to carry away from the scene and tend to his wounds. He stayed with Minnow for quite a long while, knowing that others would cover stragglers. The man was in his mid-forties, and had a gentle touch and caring personality. He knew exactly what to use for his burns, providing cold rivulets of water for the angry skin.
With no mother or father left, Renardine grafted onto the man immediately, and soon became an apprentice under him. He had an incredibly strong desire to learn the ways of healing because he never wanted anyone else to have to experience and suffer what he went through. Despite the severity of this incident, it didnât damage him as much as it should have. He later learned that the raiders had been killed in the throes of battle when the water users showed up. Despite this, Minnow only felt sick to his stomach- he had experienced too much death and loss in one day, and what the man had done to him made him feel violated and he just couldnât care less. Despite the scarring incident, Ren only found a terror in Fire users themselves, not men in particular, especially since a man had saved him to begin with.
The man only asked of his name once, and when Renardine was wary to provide it, his mentor immediately brushed it off and simply dubbed him with the name âMinnowâ. He travelled with his mentor all over the country of Dhaemar, learning everything that the man could offer him and discovering all of the beauties of the land. At the age of thirteen, Minnow and his mentor parted ways in the Kingdom of Air, the boy having made enough funds off of his time with the man to set his home there.
He made a living off of his newest profession, continuing the travels he had shared with his master, to a smaller degree of course, to seek out much needed herbs and plants. He made his own small garden where he could tend to the earth, and had also made up his mind to learn self-defense. He had buried any hate and despair in his past halfway into the first year with his mentor, so having made peace with it, his harsh memories never haunted or bothered him. Except for the rived flesh on his hips. That was always a trigger, though less so as time went on. It hardly bothers him now, though itâs a reminder of the harshness of Fire users. Naturally, Minnow had developed an almost immediate aversion to the Fire Kingdom, always uncomfortable when around it. The fact that the ruling powers within the Fire Kingdom have changed a couple of times during his life has only made his peace easier to accomplish, but he'll probably always be wary of them.
At eighteen, he met the Air King and offered his services as protector, to which was accepted. Within the castle he tended to ground and people alike, caring for sick servants and injured individuals. Minnow was the one who really began the gardens around the Kingâs domain, which he cares for practically every day before training.