hosaki
One Thousand Club
Kalen of the Ramula Desert
'The Road to Dance is a Road of Roses'
'The Road to Dance is a Road of Roses'
Desired Position: Competitor and Dance Enthusiast
Country of Origin: Euthalia
Gender: Male
Age: 27, born on the 6th of Salune (Idorae)
Height: 5'11''
Weight: 158 lb.
Other Distinguishing Traits: A scar across his left flank from a scuffle with some bandits in Dignan
Personality:
A laid-back and friendly individual, Kalen is not at all self-conscious of his class on the social stratum and interacts with those of higher status with ease during dance competitions. This has made him enemies among those who favor a rigid class structure, but most have deemed him to be a non-threat as he never remains in the public eye for long. Some competitors may also believe that he is not as competitive or as serious as they are, but they'd be mistaken. His easy nature hides a fiery passion for all things he loves, including dance. He can behave recklessly when these things are threatened, though he doesn't believe he is acting foolishly ; according to Kalen, there are certain things worth putting your life on the line for. He takes unspoken pride in his own skill as a dancer and looks down on most nobles for experiencing dance through fancy "sport" lessons while cooped up in their castles.
Due to his background, Kalen has not received a formal education and is barely literate. He speaks well enough, though he is hardly the most eloquent person in the room. Books and people who like to read fascinate him, but not enough for him to give up precious time dancing to expand his literacy. However, that doesn't mean he is dull in any way. His natural eye for detail coupled with his quick wits have often come to his aid in a tight situation.
While Kalen projects an image of surety and cheerfulness, he suffers bouts of melancholy in the middle of the night that worsen after competitions. It is during these times that he ruminates over how isolated his life style has made him. He has difficulty becoming attached to anyone and frequently experiences a wanderlust that cannot be satiated no matter how far he has traveled across Roserasia.
Biography:
Kalen first view of the world was the open skies of the Ramula Desert, blanketed by the summer constellations. In hindsight, this may have been a sign of his future to come - that he would become a drifting traveler, boundless and inconstant as the sky itself. Fittingly, he has no true roots to speak of either; he was found abandoned near the camps of the desert people and grew up calling the couple who raised him his parents. It is likely that his birth mother was a Euthalian woman of higher status who had become pregnant with him out of wedlock and thus abandoned him to save herself from shame.
From a young age, Kalen showed a propensity for dance, often imitating the people he saw at town festivals. He liked to drag his mother away to dance with him, and it was common to see mother and son waltzing across the camp ground. Though their movements were crude and unpolished, it was the joy of the wind in his hair and the swish of his mother's robes against his ankles and the rotating world around them that engraved these moments into his mind as the true start of his passion. When he was eight, he began formal training under a lowly Euthalian school for dance. In exchange for instruction, he did most of the cleaning around the boarding house, which was more akin to a unfurnished two-story tenement.
At old Silas's school, the rigidity of the waltz style was beaten into Kalen through rigorous practice. He dabbled in other smooth styles and learned them to a rudimentary degree before leaving the school at the age of 16, having absorbed all Silas had to offer. He traveled across the country by any means he could to dance under the tutelage of various instructors of different specialties. Though none of them were by any means prestigious, Kalen seemed to draw out others like him -- poor but talented dancers, many who had given up on their dreams after hitting the limit of what their status and education could allow.
After eleven years spent drifting, he finally returned home to find that Silas's school had closed down. Silas was nowhere to be found, though rumors say that the man had been humiliated and forced to retire. As a tribute to his first instructor, Kalen decided to participate in the Cendrillion Ball. To gain entrance, he is currently being sponsored by a merchant who wishes to promote his shop's magical accessories.
Position on the Rebellion: Pro-Rebellion
Born and raised in an environment free from societal pressures and expectations, Kalen heavily values individual freedom and believes it is an inherent right of all living things. He has heard of the brutality committed by the arien population in Lepumir, but sees it as a natural consequence of their oppression. He would gladly be an ally to the rebellion effort (albeit not a very influential one), if any aria were to reach out for his help. As he's not at the Cendrillion Ball to play at politics however, he is unlikely to express his opinion on this issue unless asked.
Romance and Partners:
Though Kalen did not acquire an invitation with the intention of becoming romantically involved, he is not averse to the idea of "courting" or "being courted" by another. It would make the ball all the more interesting. Gender is not an issue for him, and he doesn't give a whit about the stigma against same-gender pairings. He is accustomed to taking the 'leader' position in official competition, but would happily switch it up if it weren't for those traditionalists. As things stand, his presence itself is unusual enough - bordering on scandalous - so he thinks he should rein in his behavior a bit.
Dance Level: 5
Dancing is the sole purpose and meaning of Kalen's life. It's not a hobby or a means to an end for him, but something that is as natural as breathing. He's spent near 23 years of his existence learning and refining his art, and this amount of experience, dedication, and passion clearly shows in his movements. However, he lacks in the performance aspect of dance - the awareness that one is dancing for others to enjoy and the manipulation of one's presentation to play towards that audience. Some say this quality is what allows him to stand out from other dancers of similar skill, as he evokes a rare simplicity of feeling - a "joy for life expressed through dance" as one had penned - more commonly found in town festivals than in prestigious ballroom competitions. On the other end, his critics lambast him for failing what should be a basic prerequisite of the performance arts.
Kalen has attended some competitions and won several of them while placing well in others, but his record of attendance at such events is spotty at best. He has no consistent partner, and is currently searching for one in preparation for the ball. Willingness to learn is of utmost importance to him; skill is only secondary.
Last Year's Cendrillion Ball:
He did not receive an invitation, and was not sufficiently interested enough to go through the effort of acquiring one.
Role:
He wishes to disprove the idea that people of royal and noble blood are inherently better dancers and thus entitled to ruling positions. One could say that he has come to the Cendrillion Ball to represent the lower classes, though his motives are not as political as one may think.
Extra:
He can protect himself from crude attackers, but cannot keep up with those who have been professionally trained in combat.
blue furby | pink furby | I don't know who Greg Brady is
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