Salvatore "Coyote" Santiago

Salvatore “Coyote” Santiago
Race: Human -- Class: Gunslinger/Swasbuckler 1/1 -- Alignment: Chaotic Good
Gender: Male - Height: 6’4” - Weight: 250 lbs - Age: 26 - Hair: Dark Brown - Eyes: Hazel

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Salvatore "Coyote" Santiago Sheet

About Thaycia:
To the west there is a small but powerful kingdom known as Thaycia. Made powerful by their militant nature and the natural resources of the land they rule, this small, scrappy kingdom has fought off every invader trying to lay claim to the rich land beneath them for centuries. You see, every man and woman in Thaycia is a soldier, and every soldier is trained with weapons fueled by black powder and fire. Guns are the weapon of choice for the Thaycian military while the rest of the world still prefers their blades and shields. With this in mind, it’s no wonder why Thaycia is so hard to attack.

Apart from their militant nature, Thaycia is also heavily traditionalist. Everything is dictated by tradition, from how to greet others to punishment for crimes. Using tradition as a form of stigma, this allows the absolute Monarchy to rule in a state of authoritarianism- Any who break the limited freedoms granted by the government are shunned by society and punished by law. There’s a common saying for outsiders about Thaycia: As long as you play by the rules of the king, you will never be great. As long as you break the rules of the king, your greatness will be short-lived. This of course refers to the King keeping most of the population as peasants, and any moguls that start to rise in power are swiftly killed once they step out of line. It’s not a nice place to live.

King Rodrigo Santiago has struggled to give birth to an heir for 16 years. It was deep into his rule and old age that he finally was granted a male child, who he named Salvatore. Salvatore was raised as a Prince, and for the most part was kept out of the muck that the peasants and soldiers have to live on. As a child, however, Salvatore had an unquenchable wanderlust.  He’d often sneak out of castle grounds and mingle with the peasantry. He’d learn from them, play with them, and generally seemed to enjoy being around them- Hell, it wasn’t uncommon for Salvatore to snatch a parcel of gold from his King’s vault and head to town with it, buying small trinkets and food that he liked.

This displeased King Rodrigo, as he did not like Salvatore mingling with the lower caste. Every time Salvatore was caught, he’d be locked away in his room for weeks at a time as punishment, the only human contact being through those coming to clean his room and deliver food- both under strict orders not to speak to the prince- and his tutors. Still, even with such harsh punishment, Salvatore was not deterred from associating with the peasantry. Every time, he’d just end up trying to be sneakier about it.  Hell, despite all his tutors taught him about being royalty, the only things he kept to heart was with the peasantry- Gambling, shooting, tracking and hunting, and haggling. All skills Salvatore thought were quite good to have in the world.

When Salvatore was 21 years of age, he witnessed the terrible truth of his kingdom first-hand. While out and about with the peasantry, he witnessed the public punishment of a man who was caught stealing. The punished man had a hand lopped off with a rusted butcher’s cleaver and had his nose split down the middle. He’d be given no bandages nor treatment of any kind as he was almost shoved off the public square. Salvatore was horrified, and suddenly knew why so many of the people he met were maimed. It wasn’t just the rough life of being a peasant- it was all punishments that not only crippled them, but made them stand out as criminals and thus stigmatized.

Salvatore began speaking to the peasants more in-depth than before, learning about their lives and what threatened them. He was shocked to learn that nearly every Thaycian he encountered lived in constant fear of the government and King. Not only that, but violence was commonplace, food was constantly short, and for good paying work the peasantry had only two options: Become a soldier or mine the natural resources of Thaycia on a starving stomach. Salvatore even visited one of the mines, and was appalled at the squalor in which the miners had to work, overseen by brutal, whip-wielding superiors that forced them to work to their last breaths or face the lash. Seeing this, Salvatore swore things would change.

Change in Thaycia, however, was not something that would come lightly. With generations of ingrained social traditions, powerful leaders under the King fighting to keep everything the same, and no one in his corner, it wasn’t as if Salvatore could just take the throne once Rodrigo died and make everything better. Salvatore knew that he wasn’t fit to change anything, and anything that he did would just be undone by the noble houses. Hell, if he came with the intent to make change, there would be a good chance he’d be assassinated within weeks of taking the throne! Salvatore knew he needed something that no leader in Thaycia ever had: Wisdom, worldliness, and courage.

He’d pack supplies, a gun, and whatever necessary and left the palace for what may be the last time. He hopped a caravan that was leaving Thaycia and left the small kingdom behind. He had intent, however- He wanted to see how the world was different, to experience new lands and customs, and to gain wisdom, worldliness, and courage by experiencing all of Artda. Being a prince on the run meant he had quite the bounty on his head, but he didn’t care- Thaycia’s might was only limited to it’s borders, after all.  Adopting the sobriquet “Coyote”, he now roams around, doing jobs to scrape by enough money to get by, and learning what the real world is like outside of the one he was indoctrinated into.

For those interested, I changed Salvatore's sheet up some. Now he is a Gunslinger/Swashbuckler.