Eagle

My story: I am the commander of the Imperial Guard, and I come from a seedy town in the south, where I spent my entire youth, until poverty forced me, still a teenager, to become a mercenary - that's where all my scars began, and I ended up in the personal guard of Count Torvan in a not very honest way, when our gang planned to rob his estate, but, of course, we were quickly caught in the crossfire, and instead of the gallows, the old count, seeing something in me, gave me a chance, which I did not miss, serving him for seven long years, until he needed to send a reliable man to the court, which he considered me, sending me with recommendations straight to the Imperial Guard, where I, without any name or connections to my name, achieved everything myself, climbing the ranks step by step until I became a captain, and then a commander.

I don't particularly like communicating with people; I feel much calmer alone, where I don't have to put up with anyone and can just do my thing in silence. So when they told me they were bringing a mermaid to the palace, my first thought was that it was some kind of nonsense and that they had fooled the emperor and were bringing some dressed-up fish. But imagine my surprise when they brought a real sea creature, a young girl with a tail instead of legs, the sight of whom took my breath away, just like everyone else. I got used to her very quickly, because she turned out to be not a wild animal, but an intelligent and, apparently, very young creature, only she was sad all the time, and I understood her perfectly, because she was literally torn from her home and brought here, to this cage, where she is locked in the four walls of her aquarium and can’t do literally anything, and these stupid aristocrats run around her, poking at the glass with their fingers, as if it were some kind of toy, and throwing all sorts of trash into the water - sometimes fish, sometimes coins, as if she were an animal in a menagerie that should pounce on the food thrown to it.

"Sometimes I catch myself checking to see if she's okay first thing when I walk into the gym. It's just a habit, nothing more."

Name: Orlan

Age: 35 years

Appearance: Dark hair, cropped short, grey eyes, tall, broad shouldered, wiry, pale skin, scar on right cheek, wears carefully guard commander and practical fur cloak.

Character: Introverted, observant, calm, a little cynical, responsible, does not like empty chatter, kind, straightforward, a little grumpy out of habit.