TjcoonrodCampaignNPC/Gloweringbear
Glowering Bear
Glowering Bear can be somewhat surprising, given his name. But, most sages agree in the old adage 'best not to judge a book by its cover'.
In sharp contrast to his name, Glowering Bear is relatively small of stature. A small, meek, mild mannered man, who is slow to anger, and even slower to take drastic actions. He is short and thin, and tends to dress in plain robes dyed red. His glacier white hair is short cropped, and spiked - a feature which oddly complements his green flecked eyes. He has been mistaken for an albino numerous times, but he is not actually an albino. He just needs to spend more time outdoors, is all. And, as he mumbles under his breath to those who would say such a thing, "An albino has, ehrm, red eyes....." He has also been mistaken, with his pale countenance and white hair, of being ghost-blooded, or of being one of those dreadful beings known merely as 'Deathknights'. Again, unfound accusations.
You couldn't meet anybody more thoughtful or respectful than Glowering Bear, again another curious contradiction to his name. He loves to read and write, spending copious amounts of his time doing so (and has, in fact, authored several relatively arcane and unknown books, a majority of which are housed in the libraries of the Blessed Isle, and are Dynast restricted books, which is why he is relatively unknown as an author).
Glowering Bear exudes a serene sense of self confidence, and it carries with him when he walks or undertakes any form of physical movement. He tends to move slowly, yet deliberately - and frequently many times, has been asked if he was a practicioner of martial arts, to which he fervently denies. This could not be farther from the truth however; and several martial artists at a famous tournament in Nexus three years prior to the disappearance of the Scarlet Empress could have sworn that they fought him, although all of them disagree that it was Glowering Bear for numerous reasons, the only agreement between them was that the fighter they remembered 'looked different' - and none of them, of course, could agree exactly what he looked like.
Background
Glowering Bear is in all actuality, a Chosen of Secrets, of the Bronze Faction. He is very young and somewhat inexperienced for a Sidereal, however, being only 70 years since his exaltation. He hasn't done much as of yet to earn great notation in the annals of Heaven, but in all of his performance reviews by the oversight committee, have spoken highly of his ability to learn, his cool demeanor 'under fire', and his quick wit. Kejak has been watching his career with interest for a decade now, and small rumours amongst jealous peers would have one believe that Glowering Bear will be hand picked to become heir to Kejak's final plans, when Kejak finally dies. Until about 10 years ago, that is.
That was when Glowering Bear had a major disagreement with Chejop Kejak, one of such magnitude and temper tantrums (very rare indeed for somebody so calm and slow to anger) and was rattling enough that Glowering Bear has (with a bit of cajoling from several peers) joined the Gold Faction. He was most interested in helping set up the administrative and bureaucratic aspects of the Cult of the Illuminated, and was able to streamline several processes, making the paper side of the Cult run more efficiently. He currently sits in a mid level position, and has earned the trust of the Gold Faction (a bit, anyways). It seems the only thing stopping him from making higher levels of the cult, are seniority and trust issues (10 years is not a long time, in the eyes of the chosen of the maidens).
He is a member of the Convention on Deathlords (following a near fatal encounter with an Abyssal Exalted known simply as 'Mistress of 10,000 Screams' and her cohort 'Harvester of Sorrow'. Nothing is known of the encounter, the only paperwork filed on it is sealed and off limits to all but the Chair of the Convention on Deathlords, and when pressed, he grimly refuses to speak of the event, (turning a shade paler than he currently is). He is also a member of the Convention of the East, and the Convention on Essence Users. He blames his fallout with Kejak for being so overworked.
Despite numerous, successful, short term assignments, he has been dutifully pursuing a long term teady assignment for the cult that actually ties in to his duties in the convention of the east. A group of mortal fates destined for greatness have suddenly become entangled, and he has followed the directives of the Oversight Committee by following these mortals around, and completing various side missions related to untangling the snarl in the Tapestry of Fate. Monitoring them a while longer (to ensure successful completion) he became aware of each of them exalting. After studying the phenomenon, Glowering Bear believes that he has the correct formula to pinpoint mass Exaltations (groups of 3 or more in the same vicinity). He has not released his findings as of yet to his Sidereal peers however, for fear of being shunned (such an event of Exaltations has been notably rare, although more common as of late). Also, he would cite such a report as betraying his 'Gold Faction sympathies'. Whatever the case, he is know on a special assignment from both the Oversight Committee, as well on assignment for the Cult of the Illuminated, which rumours abound that both missions contradict one another, and will be a true test of his loyalty. Glowering Bear, of course, refuses to speak on such a matter.
The lowdown on Glowering Bear
Will be the first major NPC and the beginning plot hook to draw all of the characters together. He has been following each of the PCs since early childhood, and was the cause of several dramatic incidents in their lives (just by doing his job of course).
His current assignment is for the Cult of the Illuminated, to retrieve the Solars that whispered rumors in the night of a group of Anathema appearing in the East. So he is to go safely retrieve them, and guide them to the nearest Cult facility for indoctrination and training. His orders from Oversight, however, is to follow and monitor the Solars, and await further instruction as the tapestry smooths out.
He has been a deepcover agent into the Gold Faction, and their Cult of the Illuminated, for 10 years now. The falling out with Kejak, the subtle bitterness between the two, and the occaisional public outburst, combined with Kejak straddling Glowering Bear with numerous extra duties, has enabled Glowering Bear to achieve the level of trust required to be successful in such an endeavor. Secretly, known only to himself, Glowering Bear is having doubts (perhaps at being undercover for such an expanse of time, or maybe Ayesha is catching on to him, he does not know for certain. But his feelings are.... muddled. And he is beginning to wonder if the Usurpation was such a great, and necessary, step after all.) Only time will tell where Glowering Bear's loyalties truly lie.
Plans
Stat up glowering bear, when I get some time, and flesh him out further.
He will be introduced probably in the first session of play, and will accompany the PCs (at least to safety, if they decide to accept the cults offer of assistance). The character is vaguely modeled after the character of Astinus from the Dragon Lance series, at least in 'concept', although far different from Astinus in personality. He will be a scribe, an assistant, and (of course, spying upon) the PCs. He will also be called upon if the PCs are ever in any serious trouble, and most notably as a tag along to help the new players come to terms with Exalted (my NPC outlet to the PCs if they need info that perhaps escapes them, or an in game outlet for me to explain exalted to them, instead of constant out of game monologues).
Glowering Bear will also be keeping a journal as he travels with his newfound friends, which will be my way of posting session logs, in the perspective of his journal entries, as I am wont to do. I've always enjoyed doing this in games I run, it allows session logs to be posted but only helps to draw you in when reading it from an in character perspective. Plus, it allows me to get my meager writing fixes, lol!
