Finn

Full Name:  Deimne mac Cumhaill
Nickname:  Finn, Fionn and dozens of aliases
Apparent Age: 30ish
Actual Age:  2000ish
Gender: Male
Race: Faerie Touched Immortal
Occupation:  Emissary or Wanderer
Physical Description: (Character Model, Charlie Hunnam)  At just under 6’ and a lean 190 pounds, Finn isn’t the most imposing figure.  Nor is he the most intimidating, especially when he smiles and seems instantly boyish and easy going.  He tends to dress according to his environment, though usually seems more comfortable in casual clothes and looks a bit like a man with a noose around his neck when wearing a tie.

His golden hair sweeps back easily, but tends to stiffen when shorter and curl when longer leading him to try keeping it in the unease middle ground between.  His eyes are a bright blue, with a slight wildness to them, shifting from predatory intelligence to amusement, sadness and fatigue all within a few blinks.

Personality:  Ignorance is bliss, no truer words were ever spoken.  There was a time that Finn was eternally cheerful.  Even when his responsibilities and legend grew, he enjoyed life.  Some part of that boy still resides within, but it’s buried under two thousand years and ten thousand lives.  Never quite sure where he ends and the others begin, he rarely tries to make the distinction anymore, adopting the lives of others as his own.

He was never much one to hold a grudge and he still isn’t, but he’s sometimes a slave to mercurial moods, his own and those of others.  A study in contrasts, he’s capable of long periods of solitude, but is intensely social, either enjoying the feeling of being lost in a crowd or finding close relationships, usually with those less long lived.  In fact, he’d had many close, though relatively brief relationships over the course of his life and sometimes retired from the supernatural world to live out a mortal-like life with others, only returning to the shadows at their passing or when called.

When not occupied in one of those relationships or some other compelling activity, he can get a bit scattered or seem off, talking to himself as though he’s commenting upon a movie or television show only he can see or going off on wild goose chases or random tangents for no obvious outward cause.  In order to avoid such distraction, he tries to fill his time and fortunately has a variety of interests and talents to indulge.

Through it all he still does his best to abide by the motto of the Fianna, purity of heart, strength of limb, action to match speech.  Clever, but not deceptive, he tends to speak carefully, dancing around the fine points to avoid the trap of that last one.  As to the first, he’s driven by an idea and an ideal.  He clings to the edge of idealism while cynicism whispers in his ear “you’re a fool”, but he’s still willing to imagine a world where things like honor, courtesy, hospitality, freedom and love mean something.

Background:   “Do you know the origin of the word myth?  Originally it was simply any story delivered by word of mouth.  In other words, something not seen with your own eye and therefore not to be trusted, at least not fully,” he explained , adding the last few words with a deceptively boyish smile.

“Of course, there is always some element of truth in them.  No story is wholly without some measure of truth as their basis and mine is no different,” he shared with a smile that showed a hint of sharp, wolf like teeth.

Most of the tales that followed his name were true enough, though they missed the fine details that would explain why he still walked the mortal world.  It was true that his grandfather was a druid and son of a Tuatha Dé Danann king, but Finn’s own father was of less noble birth, the son of a slave who rose to prominence with no claim beyond his own prowess.  It was simple enough reason to deny the union between his parents, but they were young and headstrong; and defying his grandfather’s will, stole off together.  Sadly, their time together was short-lived, his father hunted down and killed.  Short-lived or no, they were together long enough for Finn to be a seed in his mother’s womb and though her father planned to have her burned at the stake, she was helped in her escape.

For his part he only met his mother once when he was a boy of six and was instead cared for by his aunt, a druidess and her lover, a warrior woman known as The Gray.  Together they raised him in the remotest parts of the Slieve Blooms, mountains in central Ireland where they taught him skills of magic, the hunt and battle.  When he was older, he struck out on his own, but rarely stayed in any place for long, his father’s enemies and his grandfather’s allies still searching for him.

Much of that history made its way into the legend, but the most famous tale was sorely twisted, so much so it still brought a chuckle when he heard it shared.  In the story, a leprechaun bids him catch a magic salmon to consume it in order to gain all of the knowledge in the world.  He still wasn’t quite sure how that story came to pass, but he suspected it to be a joke by his friend, a poet and prankster who spread the tale.

To be fair, it wasn’t so far from the truth as it might have seemed.  He was in fact granted wisdom, both the sort that comes with an unnaturally long life, but also through a unique power that grants him the ability to take on the memory and knowledge of others.  He had defeated the necromancer and vampire Manannán, sire to a hundred vampires that plagued the lands.  In return, he was given a taste of the vampire’s power, the ability to steal memory and knowledge from those he tasted, though in true Faerie fashion, they gave him a hunger for saliva, sweat and tears over blood.

He was given their gift again upon the defeat of Aillen, a young vampire who had been terrorizing a village near the River Boyne.  Once again he was given a taste of the vampire’s power, or some Faerie semblance of its agelessness, healing and strength.  And in the years that followed, he commanded the mortal armies of Faerie, the Fianna, a band of the greatest warriors of the age.

He was the last of them now, had been for centuries upon century, but there were few Fae left to serve and fewer still who cared about or could stand to visit the lands beyond the Sidhe.  Still, there were things he could do for them, whether guided or no, and he’d had many adventures over the years, but those were stories for another day, just as his next would be.

In it, he was far from home, in the New World he’d come to love, hunting yet another firebug.  The only question was whether his help would be welcome.

Skills and Talents:  Despite the circumstances of his birth, Finn led a fortune filled life.  Raised from birth to be an exceptional hunter and warrior, he’s kept those skills honed for the last two centuries.  He was also gifted with the ability to absorb the memories of those he feeds off, an ability which has led to a wealth of knowledge and skill.  It is both his source of power and his greatest weakness.  It has helped him adapt to the modern world more easily than many of the similarly undying and given him cause to continue an otherwise painfully long life.  On the other hand, it’s a source of distraction and obsession, some memories and personalities demanding attention either when they are obtained or years later, triggered by something and rising up from the depths.  As such, unless he's feeling lonely, he’s more careful now of who he feeds from, whenever possible only taking a taste of those he admires or those who possess something he needs.  He also has to be wary of a feedback loop, falling into the sense and ‘memory’ of him feeding, while he’s feeding, otherwise he risks feeding to the point of exhaustion and vulnerability.

He's also gifted with immortality, or at least as far as he knows since he hasn't yet found a way to die.  Though he doesn't heal instantly, he does heal.  He supposes it might be hard to regrow his head or return from ash, but so far he's managed not to test that out.

Also, his time among the Faeries have helped him see through illusions, both magical and mundane, allowing him to spot the supernatural, sense magic and smell out lies.

Goals and Ambitions:  Finn is filled with a desire to live and a desire to have and find meaning in his life.  Some of that desire is his own, some from the lives he’d tasted and touched through the centuries and carried into the next.  He grows lonely, despite all the voices in his head and strives to find new friends he can enjoy in the present and sometimes, carry with him through eternity.