Eric Stone
Eric is well liked by an ecclectic mix of people ranging from the whores guild (where he made money before he receievd his calling), to the thieves guild, to the local church of Heronimous, to the local lady/lord/ruler (since saving the life of her/his daughter Sasha, Eric and Sasha became fast friends ... the ruler likes Eric and has taken the bastard under her/his wing). He's learned to be socially adept including the art of conversation at parties, and he knows how to dance.
There are naturally other parts of this character that will become obvious as things progress (such as his heritage). Certainly the fact that he's born out of wedlock is obvious by the name (people in the area generally tend to give bastards last names like Snow or Elm ... though Stone is acceptable).
Ailanthus
A moderately tall lean lithe human appearing woman who is very busy and active with brown hair that oddly sometimes seems to have a tint of green and always seems to have colorful flowers woven into it. Her clothing and fashion sense kind of tie dye "BamBam" with uneven edge raggedy fairy skirts. Think the Daphne being chased by Apollo in marble by Bernini only assume she is playing tricks on the god not running from him in fear. Having the ability to modify her personal core mass into anything a plant can make. Kind of a plant elemental. Yes she is actually a plant, a vegetable not mineral form and she aspires some day to be able to take on the shape and abilities of the mighty ancient, actually very gregarious slime molds. They are truely one with nature and know all the ways through the earth, not just the soil but also the deepest geological formations from which we all take ultimate sustenance and find protection. Ailanthus likes shiny things from the earth. They taste good powdered in water and look pretty.
Of course there is that light sun thing that she absorbs too which is a very important, yes essential power source but it is so far away and not really part of our earth here. Yeah verily, yeah that we be grateful to "The Most Powerful Illuminator may it forever holds its bright glow", but it is honestly "The Warm, Moist, Nourishing Earth Being" who is closer and easier to connect with. Anyway Ailanthus is trying out the whole getting to know the humans thing since there have been rare incursions into her ancestral home by them. While her visage and general form say very appealingly "hi I am a human female" and she unwittingly is a dreadful tease and flirt (unknowingly I'm sure) she is in no way able to actually become a mammal. She just looks human. Kind of naive in relationships like the girl from "Forbidden Planet" but also very logical, sharp and calculating when she gets down to business on a project. She is trying to figure out people. Humans seem to be obsessed about procreating although they do not understand how to live in balance with their resources. Surely we all love and aim to protect our offspring but really, there are after all more than 30 million pollinating, sporulating, fissionning and fucking life forms on this planet so lets not get to overwrought about having the ability to reproduce or think you can just take other lives recklessly and wontonly.
Ok so she is a little Green-Peace, but just a little. She is mostly perplexed by humans as a species and is sincerely interested in understanding them but not becoming one of them. During her time in human cities she has apprenticed to gem appraisers, jewlery (both aesthetic and magikal) crafts persons and metal artisans. Her mission: find out what makes humans tick and report to the elders about promising ways of controlling - oh sorry I meant negotiating - oh no - I meant connecting with and befriending them and living with them in harmony. Plant elementals have familiars which are kind of alter-egos to their own persona. Ailanthus has a plump, white, cute, seemingly sedate, fluffy, nap-prone bunny-rabbit which is a were-creature and her sworn protector.
Rynard
L'Escovar
Rynard L'Escovar is the younger son of a powerful noble, father is a bit of a snake, and he and Rynard have argued frequently, so Rynard tries to find reasons to be far away from home. But family is family. Rynard is a bit of a cynic and a pragmatist, but he desires to do good, just sometimes wonders if it really accomplishes anything. He is a painter (craft) and an advocate (lawyer, profession), the latter training to ensure he could protect the family interests. He also dances well, from all the balls that he has attended. When he has the funds, he enjoys high living, and has a refined palate for both food and wine and women and men. When father's annoyed with him, he doesn't have much funds :-).
Rynard's family has major interests in transport (shipping and overland), and a sideline in the gems trade and jewelry manufacturing. The family has their ancestral home near Bartolomei's family. The diAran family used the services of the L’Escovar family to bring goods to market, and it was on one of these trips that Rynard and Bart met at a young age.
Rynard has a faithful "Man Friday" named Isengrim who cooks, sets camp, keeps watch, and makes sure he gets home when he's had too much to drink.
Bartolomei diAran comes from an old and noble family. Unfortunately he's the youngest son of the youngest son of the ruling lord/count/baron, so there isn't an inch of land available for him. His mother is dead. His father is a high-living scoundrel (when he can afford it) who spends most of his time trying to weasel his way back into the good graces of the family matriarch/patriarch in order to get more money.
Bartolomei was given to the church of Heironeous during one of these fits of weaseling. Fortunately the boy was delighted; he'd never met a chivalric tales he didn't like. Today he appears to be the quintessential paladin. He's blonde, blue-eyed, handsome, aristocratic, and courteous to a fault. A cheerful young man who thinks the highest joy in life is to gallivant about the countryside slaying monsters, rescuing damsels in distress, and fetching stray kittens down from trees.
Privately some of his teachers express doubts. They wish he'd rescue the occasional "dude in distress" rather than being *quite* so fixated on the opposite sex. They worry that he's too trusting and that his grasp of heraldry far surpasses his understanding of theology. Also, the ability to cast a cure light would be nice. Bartolomei disagrees. Who needs boo-boo-kissing prayers? Better to spend your time mastering sword-play! A dead enemy can't harm you! A good offense is the best defense! This is why Heironeous gives his faithful the ability to lay on hands: so they don't have to ruin their eyesight reading boring books of prayers. Glorious deeds, valiant combat, and grateful maidens are the things that nourish a paladin's soul, not droning sermons and musty old tomes.
For the GM, Bart is an amazingly easy character to motivate. All you need is a girl saying, "I lost a kitten in a tree about... oh, 1,500 miles from here, in the heart of Ye Darke and Dismal Swampe. Please, Kind Sir, would you rescue Mittens for me?" Faced by the prospect of such a glorious quest, Bart will not ask, "Why did you take a kitten into that excessively lethal bog?" or "Don't you think Mittens will starve to death before I get there?" No, such feeble dithering is for lesser mortals! Real heroes know that everything is possible if your faith is sufficient, and that no risk is too great to save a kitten's soul! Or spirit! Or... whatever motivational device they have lodged between their fuzzy little ears. Besides, a girl asked him. It's not like he could say no!