#gentapprenticeweek

[ame-fanapprentice]

@gentapprentices Gentleman Apprentice Week Day 1

Magic Man—what type of magic they specialize in

Ame specializes in herbal magic.  His main income is from crafting potions and small spells and medicines in the form of tea blends.  

He learned the basics of magic from his Aunt Sher.  She always made sure to help him pursue his curiosities, buying books and scrolls of various forms of magic and spellwork that he’d experiment with.  There’s still a few kinds of magic (such as divination) that he struggles with, though he is always fascinated about how everything works.

[ame-fanapprentice]

@gentapprentices Gentleman Apprentice Week Day 3 For the Boys— a celebration of your apprentice’s friendships

A little bonus thing that came to mind for gentapprentice week while I was making stuff for Desmond..

Oscar and Ame grew up together in the southern end of Vesuvia, Ame living close to the docks while Oscar lived just outside of the flooded district.   When Ame’s parents left, he struggled to make relationships with new people.  The relationships he still had, he wanted to desperately hold onto.  Asra was one such person, and he had already taken a liking to the mysterious young magician.  He’d even go as far as to find Muriel sometimes to ask what kinds of things Asra would like, all in an attempt to give hints about his feelings.   At the same time, Oscar was beginning to transition and find themself.  Ame was there every step of the way.  He let them live with him and his sister and Aunt in the shop for a few days.  He was there to help cut their hair short for the first time.  He even helped pick out the name, picking from an old storybook about a sailor with a heart of gold.  Oscar always had feelings for Ame, but having him be there to hold their hand made them want to take their friendship farther. They admitted to Ame how they felt one night.  Ame was at a loss for words at first.  He cared about Oscar, but he never saw them in a romantic light.  Oscar was heartbroken, but Ame promised them that their feelings wouldn’t get in the way of their friendship.  

Ame called Oscar his Rohi, his soulmate, because that’s how he really felt about them.  Not even his own sister understood how much he hurt inside.  Oscar would always be there to pull him out from his spiraling thoughts.  They’d be there to help bounce ideas when he was stuck with a spell.  They’d let him lie with them at night when he was too lonely to sleep.  He loved them, but in a way that romance can’t describe.  Romance would taint those feelings, and Ame knew this.   To this day they still care deeply about each other.  And eventually when all the dust clears and they settle down to find true romantic relationships, they’ll still be as close as ever.  

[ame-fanapprentice]

@gentapprentices Gentleman Apprentice Week Day 2 His Daddy’s Son—your apprentice’s childhood or backstory

Lev grew up in a small tribe located in the Scourgelands, right in the heart of the valley in the Southern Spines.  His tribe acted as a shelter to many whose homes were invaded by the Scourge of the South, or by mercenaries/ruffians looking to steal livelihoods.  Lev’s mother was adopted into the tribe when she was young, and she quickly fell in love with the grumpy young man who always made sure her family had extra food to eat.   He had a rather nice upbringing all things considered.  Lev was a little skittish at times, but he had a nack for foraging and would often help the healers gather herbs.  Had Nonna, the head healer at the time, not pushed him away he would’ve become an apprentice to her.  He had three sisters (Kira, Maiya, and Yulia) and a little brother (Nikodim) that he loved very dearly.  

A year or so after he reached adulthood his tribe was attacked by a band of mercenaries.  Lucio was among them; he hadn’t yet found footing outside of the Scourgelands but still very much felt betrayed by his mother for forcing him to leave.  The mercenaries killed Maiya and Yulia, and Lucio captured Lev as “payment” for the tribe not having enough provisions for them to take.  From there Lev was forced to do grunt work, most of it being tending to weapons or doing jobs the other mercenaries didn’t want to take.  Every step away from his home made him despise Lucio farther.  When they reached Vesuvia, Lucio abandoned the mercenaries, claiming it had all been a ruse to appease the current count at the time and turn in the murderers as prisoners.  Those that weren’t sent straight to jail were sent to the coliseum.  Lev, unfortunately, was among them. In the few short weeks Lev was fighting to stay alive, Lucio was quickly making his way up the ranks.  He had found it easy to please the aging count, and before long he took up the opening after marrying Nadia.  Lev was finally freed after loosing a fight to the mighty Scourge of the South.   All during that fight, however, Lucio was mocking Lev.  He rambled about how much he hated him, how little he appreciated all Lucio gave him.  He spoke as though he saved Lev from a miserable life in some tiny tribe only to have Lev spit right in his face.  Nadia wasn’t amused.  As soon as Lev was being dragged away Nadia excused herself and found where he had been taken.   The staff were trying to close a massive wound on his shoulder as part of a big plan to bring him back into the coliseum.  They’d heal him to the point where he could stand, then toss him back in with the hopes he would defeat the scourge.  It’d be a large fanfare, they hoped, a big underdog story!  The Phoneix (Lev’s gladiator name) would really live up to his name! Nadia was disgusted, and instead ordered the staff to heal him properly.  He would be taken, secretly, to the palace to recover until he was able to safely return back to the home he was wrongfully stolen from.  Lev was unconscious for days, and even after waking took another week before he could stay awake longer than an hour or two.  Nadia would check up on him when she was able to slip away, making sure the palace staff was treating him nicely and to ask for his side of the story.   When Lev could stand he wanted to repay the countess for her kindness.  He offered to work at the palace, and when she insisted he not worry about any repayment he countered that his shoulder was in no condition to travel.  The two eventually settled that until Lev was sure his body was ready to face the harsh tundra climate, he’d work for Nadia as thanks for saving his life.   Of course, there’s many more things that follow but I think it’d be best to leave it up to the imagination for now :0 Here is the colorized image in case anyone was curious about it!  From right to left is Yulia, Lev, Nikodim, Milana, Fyodor, Maiya, and Kira!

[ame-fanapprentice]

@gentapprentices Gentleman Apprentice Week Day 4

A Man in Love—on meeting and falling in love with their LI 

Muriel never really acknowledged his feelings for Ame.  For years he only knew him as the kid who went to the docks each day and tried too hard to get his and Asra’s attention.  He was a little rowdy at times, especially when playing with Oscar, but Muriel never paid too close attention.  He didn’t have a reason for why he’d look for them every time they ran down to the water.  He had just passed off the feelings as wanting company.  

Ame wouldn’t remember it, even if he had his memories back, but the night his parents left he sat on the docks waiting for them to come back.  Asra and Muriel watched, and with a little nudge he eventually sat down and talked to Ame.  He reminded him at least he had family, and that family cared about him.  Ame asked if there would be more people that would leave him.  Muriel said yes.  Ame asked if he would leave him.  He didn’t answer, instead taking his cloak and wrapping it loosely around Ame’s shoulder.  That was enough of an answer for Ame. As they grew older they became closer.  Muriel would rely on Ame’s aunt Sher for food and shelter, while Asra would visit for magic lessons.  Ame grew more independent and began to change emotionally.   One day Ame admitted to Muriel that he had feelings for Asra, and he asked for advice on how to ask him out.  Muriel, having lived with Asra for so long, knew Asra didn’t feel the same way (and in fact had their eyes on someone else).  But, knowing saying so would break his heart he bluntly gave what advice he could and wished him luck.   Asra and Ame’s relationship was steady.  They had their moments, and Ame’s stubbornness came out at the worst of times, but they made it work.  The longer they were together the more Muriel felt abandoned.  He knew Ame was happy but it was only a matter of time before the news broke.  He hoped Asra would say something but he never did.  Even when Ame had asked Asra to marry him, he still said yes while not being sure if he really meant it. Asra’s attempts to ask Muriel why he was so upset seemed to make matters worse.  

“Wait…do you like him?”   Asra’s heart sank as Muriel refused to answer.  Muriel just kept dodging, kept shoving down whatever jealousy that burned inside him.   When the plague came and Ame and Asra broke off the engagement (and their relationship), Asra hoped Muriel would at least give some comfort.  Muriel lashed out.  He said it would’ve happened at some point. That their relationship was built on lies.  That it shouldn’t have gotten this far but Asra was too afraid to say anything.   The day Asra got the letter stating Ame had died of the plague, he blamed himself.  He knew Muriel was right, and that Ame deserved much better than the life he had created for himself.  Eventually, he settled on the idea of giving Ame another chance.   As much as Muriel wanted the idea to work, he knew it couldn’t.  Ame had buried himself in so much pain that being forced to return to it was just cruel.  It didn’t stop Asra, and Muriel offered whatever help he felt comfortable enough to give. Upon Ame’s return, Muriel knew instantly something had gone wrong.  Any attempt to rekindle that bright, spunky personality Ame used to have was a failure.  The brief moments of consciousness Ame gave made him seem so sad, so alone even if Asra was there holding his hand the whole time.  Muriel gave up.  If he will come back, he’ll come back at his own time, he thought.   Years of lingering, of waiting for that moment managed to surface the day Ame found him banged up in the woods.

[ame-fanapprentice]

@gentapprentices Gentleman Apprentice Week Day 5 Man’s Best Friend—about your apprentice’s familiar

Ame is the only apprentice of mine who has an official familiar.  Kodi is a raven he befriended when he was about 10.  She would always mooch of the seeds he would try to plant in his garden, and so he started to set out a bowl of food just for her to eat.  He didn’t quite realize until he was older that she was speaking to him because he always thought Kodi was just a really smart bird.  Kodi comes and goes but she does have a little nest in the corner of Ame’s porch that he keeps tidy.  

Lev got Sharf as a joke gift from Lucio.  They were still pretty far south at the time, so when night came around and the lil pup kept trying to nuzzle into Lev’s shirt, he gave her the nickname “Sharf”.  He eventually got used to having her cuddle against his face at night.  Being so little she could easily burrow down and hunt for food much quicker than the bigger dogs of the mercenary group.  When he was forced into the coliseum she was alone on the streets for a few years.  A few people tried to take care of her, but she refused to leave the one window along the wall of the coliseum.  Every few nights she’d whine as someone cooed to her in an old, foreign tongue.  They were eventually reunited during one of the first errand runs Lev ever did for the palace, and she’s been the unofficial kitchen guard ever since.      Desmond isn’t quite sure what to think about Alfie.  He always liked to sit by the canal and feed the fish.  Alfie was a surprise because they had lept up into his lap after getting fed.  Even though they don’t quite grasp the concept that they can’t breathe out of water, they still wanted to thank Desmond like people do.  Unfortunately, this became a routine of Desmond walking to the canal, Alfie very excitedly trying to hop out of the water to say hello, and Desmond very frantically trying to place them back in before they dry up :’)

[ame-fanapprentice]

@gentapprentices Gentleman Apprentice Week Day 3

For the Boys—a celebration of your apprentice’s friendships

There is a very tiny list of people Desmond would consider anywhere close to being friends.  Even after meeting Asra and slowly adjusting to life in the city, Des always struggled to connect to people.   Terrance was the first person he ever felt comfortable enough to let his guard down around.  He would hide with her in the back wagon and let himself relax, smile even as they’d play together.  Terrance and her family would always make sure to patch up his wounds and sneak him extra food.  They treated him as if he was their own child, especially since Desmond had no family to begin with.  It broke his heart the day he watched them leave, but deep down he was happy they were able to escape the constant abuse they were trapped in.   Those memories are one of a few reasons why Desmond trusted Asra so easily.  He could see Terry’s kindness in Asra’s eyes and remember her warmth with Asra’s touch.  Had it not been for her, Desmond might not have lasted a day outside of the caravan.