Apollo Asper

Apollo Asper is a Laicar originating from the country of Excelsus. Primarily operating as a gunsmith, he owns stores in both Terminus and Excelsa.

Appearance
Apollo is a dark skinned man with a tall and lean frame. He has full lips and pronounced cheekbones, all of this embedded in an inherently-stern facade. He has long, unkempt hair that has knotted itself into natural, dirty locks which hang down just past his shoulders; a faint odor exists close to him as such. His dark brown eyes are typically hidden by his trademark teashades.

His attire consists of a long leather coat, a plain buttoned shirt underneath, with dark jeans that are tucked inside mid-length boots. The silver necklace he carries with him always remains in his pocket, never around his neck. Where it comes from remains a mystery.

Personality
Apollo is a quiet, and distant individual. When he moves, he does so with a purpose, and is almost never seen in repose. He has very few hobbies to speak of; he occasionally enjoys listening to jazz music at a secluded bars. And in spite of the outward sense of calm he gives off, Apollo is impatient and polarizing.

He is a distrusting individual as a result of the shattering of his small world; what relationships he does maintain are considered ‘connections’, those he most frequently associates with considered ‘partners’. He is not above severing relationships, provided such an act is worth it.

Background
The beginnings of Apollo’s life are “forgettable”, as he describes it. He has little connection to his family, though, he is recorded as having been born on the island city, Zephii, though his parents moved almost immediately to the Fata region, the area outside the eastern range of the Denuntiares, where he spent the majority of his earliest years. For reasons he declines to reveal to anyone so invasive, Apollo fled from home at the age of eight. With age and prolonged isolation, however, came the longing for the company of those he had once abandoned.

By that time, though, both of his parents had long since been dead.

As fate would have it, it wasn’t long after that the teen-aged Apollo stumbled into a companion, Azaris, with whom he shared a bond born in their mutual loneliness. This duo would soon become a trio with the addition of Oriana, all three of them fellow deserters of places once called ‘home’.

Not far from the perilous Denuntiares, Fata gave little reprieve to the three recluses, who were each forced by necessity to mature with no aid from anyone other than the two beside them. What little peace and comfort that was initially ingratiated to them was quickly replaced by the daily pursuit of sustenance. Hunting and gathering, the ‘Trinity’ as they called themselves, managed, if only marginally. Soon enough, though, the three stumbled upon a much more fruitful prey than the frightening beasts they had long targeted: people.

Leaving behind their bows and guns for the city of Excelsa, Apollo and his small band transitioned easily into the lives of pickpockets and buncos, putting the survival of the Trinity before all else. The wages of sin were, at this point, minimally better than what they had scraped together in Fata, though. It was Azaris that realized greater risks needed to be taken in order to achieve the rewards all three so desperately sought.

Soon, pickpocketing escalated into outright thievery, and the band of con artists quickly became extortionists, traffickers, and mercenaries in the case of Azaris. Operating within bandit groups on the coastal roads of eastern Excelsus which lead to the capital city, the spoils of their many misdeeds flooded in. Oddly, all semblance of innocence that existed in the unforgiving forests of Fata were all but lost within the sheltering walls of Excelsa.

In spite of the collectively skewed moral compass of the Trinity, to betray the trust was unthinkable, utterly inconceivable - something that neither Apollo nor Oriana had seen coming. And, in one fell swoop of greed and treachery, it was over.

In the aftermath, there was naught left but the obvious question: why?

Items

 * AA Arms .44-Caliber Revolver (Hebenus): Hebenus is a large frame, top-break, double-action revolver. With a six-round, unfluted cylinder, it is also unique in its bottom barrel alignment which reduces muzzle flip, aiding control and accuracy. The top cylinder is closed, acting as a port to siphon gas from the barrel after firing to eject all six casings. It has a grooved rubber grip, with polished silver finish.
 * Incendiary Rounds: Incendiary ammunition contains charges inside each round which cause fires and rapidly burns targets. They can be crafted for each category of firearms Apollo possesses, including handguns and rifles.

Proficiencies

 * Adept Pistolii Practitioner: Apollo has displayed a preference for handguns, personally crafting the black .44-caliber revolver he regularly carries. He has shown the ability to hit targets in precise areas for either lethal or non-lethal results. However, he considers the usage of a firearm as a last resort.
 * Adept Perspicax Practitioner
 * Adept Pugilis Practitioner
 * Adept Terriculum Practitioner
 * Adept Ingenarius Practitioner
 * Novice Sclopeto Practitioner
 * Novice Polybolii Practitioner
 * Novice Cannonis Practitioner