Announcements: Cutting Costs (2024) » January 2024 Copyfraud Attack » Finding Universes to Join (and making yours more visible!) » Guide To Universes On RPG » Member Shoutout Thread » Starter Locations & Prompts for Newcomers » RPG Chat — the official app » Frequently Asked Questions » Suggestions & Requests: THE MASTER THREAD »

Latest Discussions: Adapa Adapa's for adapa » To the Rich Men North of Richmond » Shake Senora » Good Morning RPG! » Ramblings of a Madman: American History Unkempt » Site Revitalization » Map Making Resources » Lost Poetry » Wishes » Ring of Invisibility » Seeking Roleplayer for Rumple/Mr. Gold from Once Upon a Time » Some political parody for these trying times » What dinosaur are you? » So, I have an Etsy » Train Poetry I » Joker » D&D Alignment Chart: How To Get A Theorem Named After You » Dungeon23 : Creative Challenge » Returning User - Is it dead? » Twelve Days of Christmas »

Players Wanted: Serious Anime Crossover Roleplay (semi-literate) » Looking for a long term partner! » JoJo or Mha roleplay » Seeking long-term rp partners for MxM » [MxF] Ruining Beauty / Beauty x Bastard » Minecraft Rp Help Wanted » CALL FOR WITNESSES: The Public v Zosimos » Social Immortal: A Vampire Only Soiree [The Multiverse] » XENOMORPH EDM TOUR Feat. Synthe Gridd: Get Your Tickets! » Aishna: Tower of Desire » Looking for fellow RPGers/Characters » looking for a RP partner (ABO/BL) » Looking for a long term roleplay partner » Explore the World of Boruto with Our Roleplaying Group on FB » More Jedi, Sith, and Imperials needed! » Role-player's Wanted » OSR Armchair Warrior looking for Kin » Friday the 13th Fun, Anyone? » Writers Wanted! » Long term partner to play an older male wanted »

0
followers
follow

Thomas Blackthorne

A young cavalry trooper in service of Queen and Country

0 · 188 views · located in Wifield

a character in “The Gentlemen Robbers”, originally authored by Tempest, as played by RolePlayGateway

Description

Thomas Blackthorne, despite his tender age of 21, is an imposing man. Standing 6'3 and weighing 230 pounds of tried and tested muscle he is a man who is as likely to break you in half with his bare hands as he is to shoot you. Blonde hair drops to his collar above a pair of blue eyes that regard everyone around him with a frank appraisal. He has a slight limp in left leg from a brigands bullet and several other wounds that are hidden beneath his standard issue uniform.

Personality

Trooper Thomas Blackthorne is a soldier soldier. Big, strong, level headed and good at following orders he is the type of soldier every officer and sergeant prays for. He is ruthless, resolute and skilled with sword and firelock. He is a rare breed in the army, a man who volunteered out of patriotic duty rather than any other reason.

Young though he may be he has taken to the life of the cavalry with a zealous joy that shines out amongst his confederates. His instructors commented on it would not be long before he was promoted. Only a strong tendency to take his enemies on the point of a blade rather then alive have stood in his way of that promotion but with time comes experience.

To his fellow men he is rough but fair, never taking more then his due and taking no bullying from any of them. To his sergeant he is steadfast, reliable and a man who can be called on when the situation demands more then an ordinary soldier. To his officers he is respectful though he says little unless asked.

Equipment

Standard issue uniform, cavalry sabre, short carbine, cavalry mount, foraging and sleeping gear.

History

Thomas Blackthorne was born the second son of a well to do peasant farmer. As a small lad he lived a rather normal lifestyle, fighting with his siblings, growing strong on farm work, chasing the local village girls and generally being a young man. As time went on however his gaze turned ever more beyond the little village he called home, wondering what lay beyond the distant hills.

As luck would have it a cavalry recruiting party stopped in town on their way through, hoping to snag a few likely recruits. They only got one but it was a catch none of the regimental command regretted. Broad of chest and with a mind so uncommon amongst the common soldier, Blackthorne was an instant hit with his superiors who strove to provide him the opportunities to better himself.

His skill with sword and firelock soon came to the attention of the commanding officer who, when he was ordered to commit a company to hunting down highway brigands, made sure the young trooper was amongst the men sent. Now, under the command of Captain Charles VanFleet, he is to ride out and hunt down the men who have so plagued the Queens highways.

So begins...

Thomas Blackthorne's Story

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: James Viteri Character Portrait: Charles VanFleet Character Portrait: Thomas Blackthorne
Tag Characters » Add to Arc »

0.00 INK

#, as written by Tempest
Trooper Thomas Blackthorne stood silently and with such stillness one might suspect he was made of stone, only the blinking of his eyes and the slight flush on his cheeks betrayed that he was indeed a living person. The Captain was in front of them, impeccable as ever and with a slight frown on his face that suggested someone was in trouble. Blackthorne thought he knew who that might be as he felt his stomach sink.

"Trooper Smith!"

The shout brought a flood of relief to Blackthorne and he watched out of the corner of his eye as the offender marched forward and slammed to a halt in front of VanFleet. Smith, like Blackthorne, towered over the slightly built officer which always made receiving a bawling out easier when you could just look over the person delivering it.

He listened as his fellow trooper was accused of shooting someone on their last patrol. Privately Blackthorne agreed with the shooting and he was not the only one, the highway brigands had shown very little mercy to their own victims. In fact, Blackthorne had shot one of the offenders on the patrol last week but no one had been near and he'd simply tipped the body into the river, no one the wiser.

Then Lewis, the damn fool who would probably get shot by his fellow soldiers some day, suddenly burst out that Smith would indeed make a better officer then VanFleet. It took some serious self control for Blackthorne to not burst out laughing at such an absurd notion. Smith was an over opinionated, unskilled, moron.

When the Captain dropped Lewis into the mud with a single blow Blackthorne kept his gaze straight ahead, ignoring the man who now lay in the mud at his feet. As the Captain continued to berated Smith who had uttered some ridiculous excuse for the shooting rather then just claiming it was self defence, Blackthorne ran over his mental checklist of equipment for the patrol.

He only half heard the Captains comments about a Justice of the Peace joining them and suspected that both this new man, and the Captain might end up with a bullet in their back if they did not treat the soldiers better. True, Smith deserved his reprimand and Lewis should probably have been shot for his outburst but there was only so far you could push someone before they turned on you.

The dismissal finally came and Blackthorne hurried to the long line of mounts that were picketed nearby. He quickly found his mount, Gunner, and climbed into the saddle, settling his sword properly by his side. A few more checks to ensure that his carbine was loaded and his powder was properly protected from rain then he trotted out into the square. A few laps around the parade ground and his saddle was properly seated. He dropped down, made a quick check of the belly strap and then swung back up.

The company was beginning to form up and he quickly forced his mount between those of his two best mates, troopers John Rookwood and Tyler Cairns. He gave them each a quick grin and wink before leaning forward slightly on the pommel of his saddle to await further orders.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: James Viteri Character Portrait: Charles VanFleet Character Portrait: Thomas Blackthorne
Tag Characters » Add to Arc »

0.00 INK

"Then I give you that notice, Captain," said James, not returning the salute. "We have intelligence that travellers on the Green Lanes north of Regala will be targeted in the coming days; that shall be our destination and we must set off within the hour. I leave the rest in your hands. Inform me when your men are ready to leave."

Turning away from the Captain and walking back across the assembly yard, James heard Maxwell hastily bobbing a goodbye to VanFleet then hurrying back after him.

"And- Is everything satisfactory, Commissioner Viteri?" he said, frowning as James continued to walk out of the gates of the barracks. The Parliamentary Cab was still waiting outside and the driver had just finished untying the trunk on its roof.

"I do not know yet, but I will be sure to inform Lord Ashburn of my conclusion," said James, reaching up to lift his luggage down.

"Yes, of course. But- Please, Commissioner, I'm certain one of the troopers would be able to transport your belongings for you..."

"I'm certain they would but they are not here and I am, so we shall never find out. Good-day Mr Maxwell, thank you for your assistance."

Maxwell reflexively bobbed another bow at James' parting words and watched in uncomfortable confusion as he went back through the gates, carrying his trunk with him. After a conspicuous cough by the cab driver, he climbed back inside and nodded for him to return to Lord Ashburn's offices. Perhaps they did things differently in Demicia. After all, they were mostly merchants, even those who had been fortunate enough to talk their way into a marriage to the nobility. Businessmen and policemen, lawyers and clerics; a nation of little people, he had heard it said. And he cautiously told himself that Viteri was of his father's land rather than his mother's, that it was obvious just by looking at him. He even managed to convince himself that this was true by the time he stepped back onto the Parliament steps.



It took two days to reach Dunfen, a small market town on the edge of the Forest of Wicken that lay to the north of Regala. The Green Lanes were a series of ancient roads, re-surfaced and widened by the Wifield government at great expense to promote trade down from the north through the capital to Hetherford on the southern coast. So-called for the canopy of branches that had long-ago grown over the Green Lanes, they made for a strange and secluded journey, as if the travellers had been swallowed whole by the forest and were slowly making its way through its leafy innards to its heart. James liked them; he'd never seen anything like them in Demicia and, since yesterday afternoon it had not rained and his heart felt a little lighter as a consequence. But of course, he could not forget the reason for his being there...

On the evening of the second day, the dusk was overtaking the sunlight which cast green dappled shadows on the ground where the Lanes began on the outskirts of Dunfen. A small unit of six men including James and VanFleet had been assembled and were ready to go on the first patrol of their deployment. Although not a natural horseman, James was adept enough at riding and had insisted (or rather, simply told the captain) that he would be in attendance on the first patrol. He had a gun and a sword and he knew how to use them, though he had a strong distaste for doing so. Besides, it was difficult to justify the peace from back at the inn in Dunfen; without seeing the unit in action on the roads, it was difficult to justify anything at all. So he'd been determined to come along and luckily for VanFleet, he'd not voiced too loud an opposition.

James' horse pawed the ground in restlessness and he adjusted his seat upon it to wordlessly pat its neck. The moon had not yet risen and an eerie lilac light was descending over the forest, casting deep shadows across the faces of the assembled and gleaming off uniform buttons. James, of course, was wearing civilian clothing- practical and hard-wearing but civilian clothing none the less- and he alone looked a little like one of the highwaymen they were about to set out to capture although his face was uncovered and he was hatless. He cast a glance over at Captain VanFleet, in silent question as to when they would depart.