#2 Estenio

Oh, dear. It’s only the second day and I’ve already run into some troubles. The introduction is nothing like I wanted it to be, but hopefully it’s at least average in quality. (I would also like to assure you that I am , in fact, capable of writing characters who speak properly, despite what Sinclair and this young man would have you believe.)

Character Summary: The extraordinarily suspicious adopted son of Mama and Papa val Murri, leaders of the val Murri family. Rumor has it that he’s actually the product of a magic spell—born a weasel, but transformed into a human by Arros Balfe, a man accused of practicing witchcraft. Whether this rumor is true or not has yet to be seen, but Estenio’s aloof attitude and overprotective stance on his past certainly doesn’t help to silence it.

Full Name: Estenio val Murri

Age: 18

Birth Date: Unknown (Claimed to be August 5^th by Mama val Murri)

Birthplace: Unknown

Current Residence: The val Murri Mansion

Occupation: “Associate” of the val Murri family

Family

• Adelaide val Murri (Adoptive Mother)
• Lizen val Murri (Adoptive Father)
• Ambrose val Murri (Adoptive Brother)
• Elroi val Murri (Adoptive Brother)
• Santin val Murri (Adoptive Brother)

Hair Color: Brown

Eye Color: Dark Brown

Race/Nationality: NA

Other: His cheeks and nose are covered with freckles, as are his stomach and legs. He has one piercing located on his left earlobe, the likes of which can be found on every male member of his family.

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Lemme tell you about Estenio val Murri. That guy—he ain’t good. He ain’t anyone you wanna be messin’ with, understand? Knowing him—knowing his story—is like havin’ the Sword of Damocles hang over your head. You know what I mean by that? What I mean by that is that if Estenio or his old lady ever find out that you know about him, you’ll be fed to the fish. Buried five feet under. Turned into a slice of Swiss Cheese. You get what I’m saying?

Despite that, I’ll tell you. Just keep it to yourself, alright? Alright. Now, the thing about Estenio val Murri that no one wants you to know, the one thing that’ll cause that quiet little brat to open his mouth and throw a temper tantrum is this: he’s not human. Well, he is—I mean, you’ve seen him, right? Skinny guy, brown hair and beady little eyes the color of coal. As human as you and me, right? Wrong. He was born an animal—a weasel, I think. That’s what he’s supposed to be, what God put him on this green earth of ours as. The thing is, just a couple of days after he was born, back when he was still a little thing, he was found by Arros Balfe.

Now, that’s a name that rings a bell, isn’t it? Arros Balfe was the old guy who got tossed into prison by the King himself ‘cause of his studies into dark magic and all that. They accused him of witchcraft, let him rot in jail for about five years before chopping his head off with a guillotine. It ain’t no coincidence that Estenio was found by him. Thing is, back before the witchcraft trial, Arros was in cahoots with the val Murri, as those of us in the crime ring know very well. He helped Mama val Murri, and Mama val Murri helped him. Couple years back, though, Arros was in a bit of a debt to Mama, and promised that he’d pay her back anyway he could. As someone who’d been real close with Mama, Arros knew that Mama’d been trying for another kid for a long time. Sure, she had Ambrose, Elroi, and Santin, and, sure, Papa val Murri wasn’t really wanting for another kid, but Mama wanted just one more before she got too old to raise any more. Arros told her that he’d find her that last child that she wanted so badly, and they agreed that his debt would be repaid if he handed over the perfect child.

And that’s when Arros stumbled upon Estenio and his, uh…Mom. He must’ve thought that it’d be a great prank, giving Mama a child that was actually a stinkin’ ol’ weasel. So, he nabbed Estenio, took him home, threw him into a pot with a bunch of other magic ingredients and voila! Out came the Estenio we know and loathe today.

Now, don’t give me that look. I know for a fact that this happened, I have documented proof of it. Crazier things have happened in this world, y’know? Anyway, Arros brought little Estenio to Mama val Murri, and, sure enough, she fell for it. She must’ve been real charmed by that little kid, awkward as he probably was, to look over all the obvious signs of his being non-human.

And that’s that. Mama raised Estenio like he was her own, taught him everything the children of criminals need to know, put up with him even after he started spending most of his time indoors, keepin’ to himself. ‘course, Mama eventually found out about Estenio, but she still kept him. Those two are the only living people who know about him, Mama val Murri and Estenio himself. And me too, of course, but…I dunno how much longer I can enjoy the luxury of being alive. People talk, y’know, and I know for a fact that someone snitched to Mama about me getting’ my hands on some of ol’ Arros’ paperwork. Just—just do me a favor. Don’t let anybody know about this, okay? If you know what’s good for you, you’ll take what you’ve learned and get outta here, quick. ‘less you think you can do something with this info…in which case, I gotta say good for you, but I’ll see you in the afterlife.

Category: 2011, Fantasy