Kerrin Clearloch profile

[Kerrin Clearloch]

Name: Kerrin Clearloch

Species: Otter

Gender: Male

Dibbun Weapon: Stick

Adult Weapon: A long staff made out of hardwood, polished to a dark sheen. Also, a medium dagger, plain and serviceable, its handle bound in leather and its blade always kept clean and sharp. Finally, a long sling which he uses very rarely for battle, tied around his waist as a belt. Kerrin’s paws, rudder, and entire body are his main weapon; he is an expert paw to paw fighter and relies on his skills more than his weapons.

Appearance: Kerrin Clearloch has a plain, brown coat paling to lighter gray-brown on his belly and neck. An otter of medium height, he is however, imbued with a pair of fierce, challenging black eyes and carries himself confidently which may add some illusory stature. During the course of his adventurous life, he acquires many scars, most notably, a large grayish line extending from his left ear to lower neck. Although he does not pay much attention to the fact, Kerrin is actually considered rather handsome from his specie.

The Highland otter has always had a single permanent item of clothing: his kilt. As a Dibbun, he wore a patched-square small brown or blue one, along with a small belt which he wore only occasionally. As an adult, he wears a large, green and brown, patched-square kilt, worn and faded from seasons of use. He has also sown a large hood on it to protect himself from the elements or to travel incognito. His only other clothing is a long belt with a dull buckle, worn crossways across his chest. His dagger, herb pouch, and water canteens are often slung on it. It must be said that the impatient otter has absolutely no interest for clothing and ornaments whatsoever and prefers to wear the bare serviceable minimum, priding himself on his toughness and marching bare-pawed even in thick snow.

[Kerrin Clearloch]

Name: Kerrin Clearloch

Species: Otter

Gender: Male

Dibbun Weapon: Stick

Adult Weapon: A long staff made out of hardwood, polished to a dark sheen. Also, a medium dagger, plain and serviceable, its handle bound in leather and its blade always kept clean and sharp. Finally, a long sling which he uses very rarely for battle, tied around his waist as a belt. Kerrin’s paws, rudder, and entire body are his main weapon; he is an expert paw to paw fighter and relies on his skills more than his weapons.



Personality: At first encounter, the adult Kerrin could leave somebeasts with an impression of a blunt and arrogant warrior. Indeed, Kerrin finds no great use for excess niceties, preferring action over speech and does not form superficial friendships with many beasts. However, to those who know him well or have fought by his side, the otter reveals another side of himself. Fiercely loyal, he will never abandon his friends, even at the possible cost of his life. His word is his bond and he has never been known to break it; his clan having instilled a deep respect for the value of truth in him. Honest and forward, Kerrin does not hesitate to speak his mind to and about anybeast, sometime coming across as untactful. When he finds something he loves or has great interest in, Kerrin dives into it heart and soul, capable of demonstrating a great enthusiasm and drive to accomplish his goal.

As a Dibbun, Kerrin is more open, having no experience of deceit and treachery. A rambunctious, out-going young one, he has no fear of anything, and would accept any dare or challenge readily, often without thinking. His enthusiasm, pride and impulsiveness often land him into many a dire predicament, which seems to do nothing to prevent his doing it again. His honesty and loyalty are also present from a young age and he is not known for exaggeration or talking his way out of uncomfortable situations, usually preferring a deep sulk as his response to reprimand or punishment. The mischievousness which is also very present in his younger seasons, however, is mostly transformed into a dry wit during his adult seasons.

As an adolescent, his impatience and swift anger often flared out of control, making him do things he would later regret, once inadvertently slaying somebeast at a tavern. However, after his training in martial arts, he has mostly learned to control this emotion and keep it within reasonable bounds through meditation and breathing. It may still surface in times when he sees great injustice done to otherbeasts and when it does, it is red and deadly as a sharpened blade in a fire. Kerrin never learned to fully tame his impulsiveness, however, the only change being that experience has taught him to allow time for at least a brief moment of reflection before diving headlong into whatever danger is ahead... if he remembers to listen to it, that is. Fearless and brave, Kerrin Clearloch has and probably always will have a love for the thrill of danger and excitement, new lands and new situations, new friendships and new challenges.

[Kerrin Clearloch]

Name: Kerrin Clearloch

Species: Otter

Gender: Male

Dibbun Weapon: Stick

Adult Weapon: A long staff made out of hardwood, polished to a dark sheen. Also, a medium dagger, plain and serviceable, its handle bound in leather and its blade always kept clean and sharp. Finally, a long sling which he uses very rarely for battle, tied around his waist as a belt. Kerrin’s paws, rudder, and entire body are his main weapon; he is an expert paw to paw fighter and relies on his skills more than his weapons.

History: Kerrin Clearloch was born to Danae and Fergustream Clearloch in the rocky northern Highland hills. Right from birth, Kerrin was a rowdy and active youngster; rather hard to keep tabs on in fact. He was once found far away on a hill, running after a large and dangerous crow who had stolen the "purty feather on mah cap", determined to wrest it back.
When he was about seven seasons, the Clearloch clan were attacked by a large band of stoats and ermines led by one Storg Langblade. After repulsing the first attack, the otters fortfied their settlement and gathered their strength. However, they were soon attacked by crows who had made an unusual alliance with the vermin in return for a share of the loot. When a young otterkit was killed by these crows, Danae and Fergustream decided to send Kerrin, who was the only remaining youngster not of fighting age, to Redwall for safety until the otters had gathered their allied clans and defeated Storg. Kerrin was dismayed at "missin' oot on alla fightin'" and protested vehemently to stay with his clan, but his parents were adament. He was sent with an old warrior, the only one who could be spared, and completed the journey to Redwall, more or less without trouble (that is, without counting Kerrin's adventure on a high rock ledge and his swim in the pool of "tha hooj braw snaky wi' lotsa theet!")Although still saddened by the loss of his kin and clan, Kerrin was looking forward to meeting new friends and adventures upon his arrival at the fabled Redwall Abbey.

Kerrin joined DAB and made many friends with the other Dibbuns, lending a great deal of zest, enthusiasm, and daring to their adventures (although, he often go his little mates in trouble, too). Growing up, he felt confined by Redwall’s narrow bounds, and often went on forbidden excursions in Mossflower. As soon as he turned twelve, Kerrin left for the Highlands alone, telling nobeast except his closest friends; however, it was winter and despite his resolve, he was trapped in a mountain pass and in danger of freezing to death. This was when Kesor Windpaw found him, half-dead and delirious. The black-furred, aged squirrel hermit brought him to his cave and nursed him back to health. Before he bade the otter farewell however, Kesor offered to teach him the art of fighting and controlling one’s emotions to hone the skill of battle to a keener edge. After much deliberation and several demonstrations by the squirrel master, Kerrin accepted, but only for a moon. As it turned out, he stayed for four seasons, gradually becoming a skilled and deadly warrior under the tutelage of Kesor, who passed on everything he knew to the young otter.

At sixteen seasons, Kerrin left Kesor to see the Highlands once again. Their parting was sad, for both knew that they would probably not see each other again, due to the old squirrel’s age. Kerrin reunited with his clan (who had defeated Storg long ago) but soon left again to travel the world, ranging from the Northern lands of ice and snow to the warm isles below Southsward, having many adventures and facing evil and danger, often alongside his old friends from Redwall. He never married, although it was rumored that he had one love who died during their adventures together.

As he grew older, the otter trained in exercises to stay fit and active and continued to roam the lands. At a somewhat old age, he died defending his students and friends in an epic stand against an ambush from a clan of evil, vermin otters, and died undefeated, having slain the last of his foes; his body was burned and his ashes buried at his clan’s holt, according to his wishes. He had many students, who learned the skill of conquering your enemy through the master of your own spirit, and his legacy continues from the Highlands to the old walls of Redwall.

[Aquamarine]

Sorry about the delay, Kerrin. Looks like I wasn't that clear in the instructions – it's fine to put all three sections in the same post if you want to do them all. I've edited that in now.

Onward and forward, then: appearance. You cover a wide sweep of details while keeping it interesting and concise – in short, excellent. There were a few points that confused me: I'm not sure whether the scar crosses his face or the back or side of his head, and I'm having trouble picturing a hood sewn onto a kilt. The first sentence of the second paragraph and the phrase "interest for" later in it both struck me as a little awkward, and the word "species" is missing an S at the end of the first paragraph.

His personality is well-balanced and unified. Keep in mind the effects of his history on his personality – for one idea, what does he pick up from Kesor that maybe wasn't taught intentionally? Any personality traits he imitates without thinking? There's another missing S on "sometimes" near the end of the first paragraph, and the phrase "the only change being that" in the third feels a bit unwieldy. The first sentence of that paragraph and the second to last of the final paragraph slipped into past tense.

Great work on the history as well. Does his coming to Redwall/separation from his family have a strong effect on him? I noticed that "got" is short a T at the beginning of the paragraph starting with DAB. (This isn't directly related to Kerrin, but just a thought I had about part of the history: since you mention a crow earlier in his history, could the crows have some sort of longstanding hostility toward the otters?) I'm wondering if his parents would come to Redwall or send a message once Storg was defeated. In his personality, you mention an incident where he killed somebeast in a tavern. When was that, what were the consequences, and how did it affect him? Interesting choice in foes for his final battle – usually goodbeast species in the books do have some amount of good in them, so you may want to take that into account. Try to keep the usage of either "one" or "you" consistent – both show up in the history section ("one's emotions" in Kesor's part and "your enemy/your own spirit" at the end).

Most of the things I've mentioned above are quite small – overall, very well done. I've updated your point total by three.