Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom App

[smilingarmor]

Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom Application
Player Information
Name: Susan or Tanks
Age: More than twice 16
Preferred Method of contact: Plurk
Contact Info: tanks4thememory 
Number of Characters in the Kingdom: Zero
Timezone: Eastern (New York Time)

Character Information
Character Name: Sylvando
Age: It's never specifically specified, but given the timing of certain events in the game, he's roughly in his early 30s and looks it
Canon: Dragon Quest XI (video game)
Canon Point: Shortly before he meets back up with the Luminary/Hero in the World of Darkness
Gender: Male

Character History
Character History:  Sylvando on the Dragon Quest Wiki
Canon Example: Dragon Quest XI on Wikipedia - if you're in a hurry, Full Game Walkthrough- if you have time to kill
Character Motivation: Sylvando's calling, his one true desire, is to entertain people and bring smiles to their faces. Upon realizing this, he left a career as an up and coming knight behind- despite the strong objections of his father- and took to the road as an entertainer, vowing to make the whole world smile. He still retains his knightly skills and adheres to his own version of the knight's pledge, but even if his skills on the battlefield are more needed currently, his heart will forever belong on the stage.

Personality: Sylvando is outgoing and flamboyant to the point of being silly at times, knows this, and chooses to be so. He is, if nothing else, extremely comfortable in his own skin and is confident to the point of sometimes coming off as condescending. But it's also obvious that he has a good heart, and is always willing to lend a hand to help those in need be it by fighting off a monster or just lifting someone's spirits.

And he's not just good at doing the latter; he loves it. As stated above, his one true desire in life is to bring joy and laughter to as many people as possible, and this desire informs everything he does. In the intervening time between the game's first two acts, he gathered a crew of sweet, soft young men and took them under his wing as entertainers to help him in his mission to restore smiles to the world. He even rejoined the fight against the Lord of Shadows in part due to the fact that his efforts in making people's lives miserable made his vow to to bring joy and laughter impossible to fulfill.

But though Sylvando excels at charm and wit, he seldom opens up about his past before taking to the stage, dancing around it with all the skill of a performer. This is in part because he wanted to shed the expectations that came along with being the son of the great Don Rodrigo and forge his own identity, and partly due to the fact that- at his current canon point- he worries that his father is ashamed of him for choosing to abandon his knightly career in favor of the life of an entertainer. The thought of his father's disapproval is one of the few deep insecurities he has, and he keeps this close to his chest so it can't be used against him.

Sylvando is both an unconventional knight in the guise of a simple jester and an entertainer with a flair for combat. Flashy and fun, as well as clever and kindhearted. Comfortable in whatever role he chooses to take, he's sure to bring his own special flair to being an apprentice. The Magic Kingdom is about to get a lot more fabulous. 

Canon Strength/Weaknesses:

Strengths

Knightly Skills- Sylvando trained from a very young age to be a knight and it shows in combat. He can wield swords, knives/daggers, and whips with equal ease. With the former two, he can also equip and use a shield, though wielding a whip requires both hands. He's been shown to be an extremely capable horseman, and is also capable of steering a full sized sailing ship with reasonable skill, even in adverse weather conditions. He knows the Knight's Pledge by heart and lives by his own interpretation of it. He also has a number of unique and useful skills and spells and will no doubt attempt to find ways to replicate them in the Kingdom when possible.

Showmanship Skills- Sylvando is just as versatile on the stage as he is on the battlefield. Clever, agile, and near constantly upbeat, he's trained in many different performing arts. He's a skilled stage magician, dancer, acrobat, and juggler and also plays a type of large flute. He's also skilled at the more ephemeral art of engaging an audience and holding their attention throughout a performance, knowing how to structure his routines to suit the crowd he'll be playing to.

Charm- Sylvando is naturally charming and good with people. Comfortable leading and following, working with other or working alone, he's as flexible in this capacity as he is physically. The fact that the effectiveness of many of his more unique abilities in game is determined in part by his Charm stat demonstrated how important an aspect of his character it is.

Weaknesses

Combat Strength- Or rather, lack thereof. While clever and versatile in combat, Sylvando is neither a defensive tank nor a super heavy damage dealer, physically or magically, having about average stats on both counts. Though capable of holding his own, he works much better in a supporting role, and this will become especially true as the apprentices face higher level foes. While he might be able to hack his way through level one or two Corrupted creatures with relative ease, he'll probably start running into trouble earlier than most.

Restrictive Chivalry- Being knightly has its disadvantages too. A knight's word is his bond, so if Sylvando makes a promise, he'll be unwilling to break it, even if doing so would help his situation. A knight challenges the strong unflinchingly, and never retreats in the face of adversity; Sylvando will be unwilling to abandon a battle he feels is important, even if retreating and regrouping would be the wiser choice. And a knight serves the weak untiringly, so unscrupulous individuals can potentially take advantage of Sylvando's desire to help in order to lead him or others into a trap or to otherwise cause trouble for him.

Showoff- Being an entertainer also has a downside, namely a tendency to show off, even when it's not appropriate. Not only can this tendency sometimes be irritating to people, especially those who don't know him well, it can also put him at a disadvantage in combat; he might stop to spout off a taunt at the wrong time, improvise when it would be better to stick to the plan, or use an overly elaborate move when a more straightforward one would be a better fit. While he wouldn't be Sylvando without his showiness, there's a time and a place for it, and in the heat of the moment, he can sometimes forget this.

Apprentice Sorcerer Application
Class: Sylvando is a Warrior. Not only does it fit best with his personality, it also fits best with his in game magic and abilities.

As an example of why this class fits for Sylvando, take his first adventure with the Hero. When he first met up with the Hero in Gallopolis, he invited himself along on the hunt for the local boss monster both because the hero and his crew had piqued his interest and because he was concerned about the foppish "half-wit prince" Faris who'd been tasked to kill it getting himself killed in the process. At the campsite later that evening, he and the Hero's party were sitting around the campfire talking, and Sylvando found out that they were on a quest to oppose the 'Dark One', a mysterious, great evil that was threatening the world, which clearly intrigued him.

Later, after the boss monster had been soundly thrashed by the Hero and his crew with Sylvando's assistance then bound to a wagon so the Prince could haul it back to Gallopolis as proof of 'his' victory, Sylvando warned the Prince against his continued deception. Though the Prince at least somewhat meant well, it was clear to Sylvando that he was only setting himself up for a fall by building up ever more impossible expectations around himself. Not liking being lectured by a 'jester', the Prince refused to listen, though both Sylvando and Erik- a member of the Hero's party- agreed that Faris probably knew that already, but simply lack the courage and motivation to confess his continued deception to his parents. Sylvando then headed back to Gallopolis, though it wouldn't be long til the Hero and his friends would run into him again.

Back in Gallopolis, the Hero and his friends found Prince Faris being celebrated for 'his' victory with a crowd gathered around the chained up monster in the square to cheer him. But the monster wasn't quite as dead as everyone thought and broke free of the chains, threatening everyone present. The people began cheering for the Prince to fight it and show off his skill and courage, while the terrified prince tried to tell his father that he couldn't. But who should appear perched high on a nearby spire, but Sylvando, who called down to the Prince to recite the knights pledge after him: A knight's word is his bond, his kingdom his master. He serves the weak untiringly, challenges the strong unflinchingly, and never retreats in the face of adversity. He then asked whether the Prince would rather be remembered as a coward, or as someone who died fighting to the end. This inspired the Prince's courage, and he took the latter option; though he stood no chance, he stood up to the monster, fighting it with everything he had.

Just as it looked as though the Prince would meet a brave but early death, however, Sylvando leaped down from his perch, striking the monster down with a few well-placed slashes of his sword, much to the surprise of everyone present. He then complimented the Prince on his display of courage, and cautioned him not to forget what it meant to be a knight, as Sylvando  wouldn't always be there to remind him. As Sylvando turned to go the Sultan asked him to wait, wondering where he'd acquired his skill and knowledge of chivalry and asking whether he was a knight. Sylvando denied it, claiming that he was just a "silly old jester" before sauntering off.

Later, as the Hero and his friends were leaving Gallopolis, they encountered Sylvando yet again. He'd been waiting for them at- or more accurately, on top of- the city gates and leaped down to talk to them. Upon being asked what he wanted,Sylvando told them that, of course, he wanted to come with them, and told them that they should never have told him about their heroic quest if the didn't want him to come along. Upon being cautioned that their quest wasn't a game, Sylvando said that he knew that. He'd seen his fair share of fun and games, but he'd also seen tragedy; people attacked by monsters and all sorts of awful things. He then told them of his dream to build a wonderful theater where he could perform and make millions smile, but that he couldn't do that if the 'Dark One' was out there making people's lives awful. So of course he had to come with them and help out, since they were all working toward the same goal, and joined up with the Hero's party properly. 

After joining up, Sylvando asked what their next move was, and was told that they needed to head to Gondolia where a traveling merchant had taken a special item they needed. But as Gondolia was a port town, Sylvando pointed out that said merchant had probably already left aboard a ship by that point. As the party planned to buy ferry tickets, Sylvando waved the idea off, offering his own ship instead, which as luck (and plot convenience) would have it just happened to be docked in Gondolia. 

Both Sylvando and his ship would prove invaluable from there on out, Sylvando even rescuing the Hero and his other companions in Gondolia after they was cornered by the Heliodorian forces who'd been pursuing them up til then. and proving his commitment to the Hero's cause at every turn. All with his own personal flair, of course. 
Weapon: As stated above, Sylvando can use swords, knives/daggers, and whips, though to begin with, he'll most likely take a sword, since it's generally his best damage-dealing option. And Sylvando being Sylvando, he'll go for a relatively fancy one. See the pictures below for the sword and a detailed look at the hilt. 
  


Sample Section

First Person Sample: [Sylvando appears, grinning into the mirror's 'camera', holding it out at arm's length with one hand. The other hand was occupied by a large thing of cotton candy. And on his head? An odd souvenir cap sporting a pair of what look like big, round ears.]

This place is just fabulous! So many things to see, so many things to try...! Have all of you had some of this cotton candy? It's simply delicious! And the iced-cream! Do you know, we don't have anything like that in my world? I can't believe what I've been missing all this time!

Now I know, I know; mustn't get distracted from our mission. But if this 'Corruption' can be held back with imagination, then I can think of few places more likely to spark it. I've already come up with so many new ideas for the parade back home, you have no idea! Truly darlings, however inconvenient our being brought here happens to be, I can't help but think of it as a blessing in disguise.

And I for one, intend to help preserve that blessing. So let's all make sure that the people here still have something to smile about, si?

Third Person Sample: This was, without a doubt, the strangest thing to have ever happened to him. Which given his life, was saying a great deal. Plucked right from the midst of his parade and transported here, to a world completely outside of Erdrea. A world that by all accounts, was under a particular kind of threat of its own.

Oh, but what a world it was! Even just the little town he found himself in was simply fascinating. Not to mention fabulous! If its mysterious creator ever turned up again, he would be first in line to shake the man's hand, and possibly to give him a big hug as well. This was just the sort of place he'd always dreamed of creating back home, before everything went wrong; a venue from which he could make the whole world smile.

And he wasn't about to let such a venue go to waste, oh no. While yes, there was this whole nasty 'Corruption' business to deal with, they couldn't be here just to fight back the monsters it produced. No, this place was a continuation of his mission from back home. An epic battle to restore something that his world had lost, and that this one was in danger of losing; it's smile! Already ideas for potential new routines were forming in his mind. Perhaps he could recruit some of the locals, set up a new official smile bringing parade? Or perhaps even some of his fellow 'apprentices'? Who knew what kind of a cavalcade of warriors for wonderousness he could pull together here? Oh he simply couldn't wait to find out!