Faustinus
Skaa Misting


Player Information
Name/Handle: Sawdust
OoC Account: Sawdust
Contact Information:

Character Information
Name:Faustinus (aka Faust)
Type: Skaa
Age: 17
Gender: Male
Place of Origin: An western labour camp
Occupation: None
Relationship Status: Single

Powers Allomancy
-Type: Misting
-Metal Used: Tin
-Degree of Skill: Complete Novice
-Status: Hidden

Appearance: Faust is a growing into a man, but without enough nutrition his body remains skinny and somewhat feeble, standing at less than 5”8’. His hair is kept short, almost shaved clean and no facial hair at all. He has plenty of fading scars from frequent beatings in the labour camp. He has dark blue eyes, lean features with a sharp jaw, pursed mouth and keen eyes. He is used to keeping out of sight so his body language leaves him looking all but prey-like.

Special Skills: Being of slight proportions, Faustinus finds it easy to get around, he can squeeze into small places and stay out of sight. This also helps him with sneaking around not being seen and gathering information. Being illiterate means he has always had to remember important things instead of writing them down this has led him to having a good memory.

Strengths: Faust’s mother always taught him to be strong willed, and he has always had respect for his mother. Since growing up guards have been especially brutal with Faust, beating him for anything reason they could make up. This constant exposure to pain given him a high tolerance for it, but still a total disdain for it.

Weaknesses: Faust is very easily intimidated by others and so is very often slow to speak his mind, expecting punishment for doing so. He has to feel very welcome within a group in order to give his opinion on anything. He struggles to lie to people, he chokes up in difficult situations and often blurts out nothing but garbled words when he feels especially awkward. Having never seen a written word in his life he is completely illiterate.

Personality: Faust was raised by his mother alone, so picked up most of his traits from her, she’s a very happy soul, and always taught him to be accepting, although this is a hard mantra to live by on a labour camp. Although he may seem a little molly-coddled, Faust is an independent young man. He can make his own decisions but can be quite easily intimidated by older men. He often finds it easier to leave other people to argue and avoid direct confrontation. Having only just arrived in Luthadel fresh out of a plantation he is still very un-streetwise. This leaves him with difficulties judging character and being rather gullible. He struggles with awkward situations such as lying but when in serious danger he can be very bright and sharp witted. Faust has a lot learn about surviving in Luthadel and he knows it. Time will tell if his flight from the labour camp was worth the hassle…



History: Faustinus’ mother was born in a skaa labour camp in 886. As was her mother before her. The labour camp on which Faust was raised was a particularly productive one. There was a dense population of skaa cramped into thousands of tiny hovels. The ruthless nobles who ran the place encouraged random beatings as standard to ‘maintain obedience’. Every single day man, woman and child would heave their broken, tired bodies from their shacks, work silently and quickly, just to turn around and go home.

Faust’s mother did this everyday since she was old enough to walk. From youth she had been pretty, and as she grew up her looks became more and more striking. As per orders, the guards quickly snatched her up like any other girl in the plantation they thought their master would like. Though the ordeal was over quickly, she never got away the fear of being snatched away again, so kept her head down and worked. She found ways to become unseen, be it something simple like hiding behind a taller person, or something clever like cutting her hair so when she dropped her head she would like a boy.

Her fear worsened when she fell pregnant. She knew that as the months went one it would become harder and harder to remain hidden. On first sight of pregnancy the guards would undoubtedly beat her to a miscarriage. Thankfully, the people of her hovel were more understanding, giving her a share of each of their food rations and letting her hide in the hovel once the signs of pregnancy were too prominent.

By the time she had given birth to her son in year 901, the master had most probably forgotten about her. She still decided she couldn't risk talking the boy outside, in case the master tried to reclaim him. She named her boy Faust, to mean luck. She knew he would need luck and plenty of other things to survive a childhood on the plantation. Faust was keep in the hut for most of his first three years for his own safety, although children were common in the labour camp, his mother didn't want to raise suspicion by being seen with a child.

By the time Faust was a young boy he had become used to hiding, it had been a drilled into him by his mother for as long as he could remember, he knew he could survive this place as long as he remained unnoticed. Keeping out of sight from the slave masters and staying out of trouble was becoming natural for Faust as he was becoming older. But unfortunately a young man can only get out of doing so much work. The slave masters quickly caught onto his sneaking ways and soon learned to keep an eye out for him. Faust soon realized his time of dodging work was over. As he got older, they worked him harder and harder, pushing him till he could work no more. He was beginning to lose faith in life, he was beginning to give up. Everything was becoming harder, his body was becoming tired. The world seemed to take on a darker shade of pale. This is when he met her.

Zincell sat in the centre of Faust’s hovel, covered in bandages and telling stories to the rest of the residents. She had come to their hovel for shelter during her travels, and she was telling the stories to repay them for their hospitality and kindness. When he opened the flap-door to enter he shack he knew he was in the presence of great knowledge. She was the same age as him! And she knew so much! Zincell spoke of amazing things, religions other than that of the Lord Ruler, the capital Luthadel and something called Allomancy. She taught them all about the outside world, a place Faust had never known. Zincell had so many stories to tell, and she told plenty of them during her stay with Faust. She had planned to stay for only a few days, but when Faust’s mother fell ill Zincell decided to stay to help nurse her back to health.

Zincell said that for Faustinus’ mother to survive she would need more water than she was being rationed, so Faust gave up his for her. During this time he was subject to another impromptu beating from the slave masters, forcing the dehydrated boy to Snap. He passed out and was left in the sun, when he came around he could hear running water, the sun was so bright he couldn’t see, he could feel were bruises all over his body and his throat burning, all of it stronger thanks to his newly enhanced senses. He stumbled blindly towards the sound of water, plunging his face into the fountain he had found. Then a quick kick to the ribs sent him flying to floor and he was out cold again.

When he woke up he was in his hovel. He told Zincell of his experience, and she explained to him that he had Snapped and could now use allomancy. He was a Tineye and could use tin to enhance his senses. Faust’s mother was overjoyed for him, knowing that now he could escape, now he could have a real chance in life.

Seeing his mother's overjoyed at the idea of Faust leaving the area, Zincell offered to let Faust travel with her when she left that night. Before they left Faust broke into the manor of the plantation and stole some supplies for his mother. Zincell and Faust fled later that night. They traveled for a short time, and Zincell bought him small vials of tin to help him hone his skill at the metal. Faust, after hearing the stories of Luthadel, asked Zincell the quickest way there. She explained it to him, but also said that she couldn’t go to Luthadel just yet, so Faust sneaked aboard a supply carriage headed for Luthadel and was there within days. He is now entering Luthadel for the first time, completely alone and with nowhere to go.




Roleplay Sample

The sun weighed down upon Faustinus’ back heavier than the hand of a slave master. Despite the sun glaring down over the plantation, the world seemed to have fallen into a dark shade of grey. The ash falling from the sky, grey. The ground he was toiling, grey. His stained skin, grey. Everything was becoming faint and distant. He had been fasting for days now. Faust’s mother had fallen ill and she need all the sustenance she could get, so Faust had given up his food for her willingly. He didn’t regret it; he was starving, but he felt empowered by his sacrifice. Thinking about his mother kept him going. As long as she survived this would all be worth it. She would be better soon, then he would eat.

He tried to focused on the task at hand - tilling the soil - but his mind wandered to the slave masters. He imagined them circling like vultures over dying prey. They’d been paying more and more attention to him as he got older, beating him more frequently. This was surely to keep him in line and destroy any thoughts of escape which may come to him while he discovered his growing body’s new strength. He didn’t know why they bothered; even after eating a whole day’s ration all at once Faust was still left wanting more. No-one would ever have enough strength or energy to overpower the brutes. But still they beat him. His body was covered in scars and bruises. He’d learnt to ignore the pain; if he hadn’t, he would have undoubtedly gone mad by now.

He kept working in delirium all through the day, looking busy enough not to be bothered by the slave masters, who had come to be known as ‘whips’ by the workers after the long leather straps they used to beat any skaa who stepped out of line. Faust hadn’t actually seen any Whips at all today, which was odd. There was always at least a presence of tyranny out in the fields, but looking around, Faust couldn’t even make out a watchman. He turned to a tall man by his side and asked, “Whips?” The man looked at him with dead eyes, and pointed a shaking finger towards the skaa hovels.

Faust jumped at what he saw; a gang of Whips were stalking through the rows of skaa huts. He saw one of them dive into one of the shacks, grab a skaa hiding within and throw them to the ground before administering a particularly sadistic beating. The screams of the victim rattled through Faust’s body and set his teeth on edge. Then, once the thrashing was over, the Whips just moved onto the next hovel. They’re searching for work-dodgers Faust realised. His mother was hiding in their tent, being nursed back to health by Zincell, a travelling terrisgirl.

Two of the biggest Whips were getting closer to their hiding place.

Faust had to do something. He was so tired he wasn’t sure what kind of attack he could launch on the ogres, but he grasped his hoe and moved quickly and quietly through the crowds of working skaa on the field. Instinct told him to kept his head down as he sneaked up onto the rise that the hovels were built upon. Tool in hand, he stood up right and screamed as loud as he could, running towards the Whips who were getting dangerously close to his house. The two huge men rounded on him and naturally reached for their weapons. They began to advance at a frightening pace. Faust turned and ran back downhill, managing to draw them away from the hovels. He was drawing the attention of a few of the working skaa, a crowd was forming at the edge of the field. This gave Faust an idea.

He changed his course to take him directly into the field. The Whips were gaining on him and would soon catch him if he didn’t do something. The growing crowd of skaa parted as he leapt though them, the Whips barging their way through closely behind. By now every skaa nearby was watching, and the skaa ahead of Faust were clearing a path for him. He could hear the Whips panting, his body was screaming for him to stop, heart pounding, mouth dryer than sand. He stopped running and swung his hoe around, the metal tip swinging in an arc to come crashing into the first Whip’s head. The monster stood over him, stunned. Faust took the opportunity to plunge his tool into his pursuer’s belly and up into his chin. The giant man let out a guttural yell as he fell back, narrowly missing his partner.

The larger Whip was slower, but much bigger, towering well over Faust. He held tight to his weapon to stop his hands from shaking. The world became greyer as the man blocked out the sun. Faust grasped the tool even tighter, closed his eyes and made a swing for the man head. The sound of wood snapping over bone made Faust look up, the hoe had broken into splinters and still the beast stood over him, staring with a smile.

The man took one step forward and drew his whip. Faust couldn’t move, he was frozen stiff. The slave master drew back his whip and caught Faust’s legs, ripping them from under him. Faust went crashing to the floor, heaving a lung full of dust. Everything was getting darker, he felt the familiar pain of leather tearing his skin. Would he die this time? Would this be the last time he was beaten? What about my mother? What would she do if he died? Again and again he was whipped, he could just make out the slave master shouting something triumphant at the crowd of skaa around him. Faust was wet with blood. I can survive this…

Out of nowhere, the sun swelled up in the sky, shining so brightly that Faust couldn’t see a thing. Though he could smell the sweat of the men around him, feel his throat closing up, taste the blood in his mouth. The worst thing of all was the pain. His body was a mess of blood and welts, and he could feel every bruise like a broken limb. A symphony of noises played through his head, jolting him back into consciousness. He sat bolt upright from the floor, the Whip had finished with him and was shouting at the gathered skaa, back turned victoriously to Faust. ‘This is what you get you worthless saps! We will always catch you. We will always find you.’ The man’s voice boomed through Faust.

As his eyes adjusted to the sun, he began to see the world again. So much colour! Thought Faust [/I]Where did all this come from? He looked around, seeing texture in everything. The weave in his clothing, the colour in people’s eyes, the clumps of mud. The mud he was sat on, he could feel it through his clothes, dusty and dry. He jumped up, feeling invigorated. Blood ran down his chest, he wasn’t going to last long. The Whip had stopped mid-sentence and was now walking over to him, throwing down his whip and raising a fist. Everything was slowing back down again in Faust’s head. Colour was fading, smells disappearing. He stumbled to his knees and dropped back down to the floor. Everything went black.



He woke up with two pairs of eyes glaring down at him from above. He sat up and realised he was in his hovel, and the eyes belonged to his mother and Zincell. The hut was dark and it was hard to see.

‘They carried you here, said the Whips managed to land a few good ones on you, son’ He mother said, trying her best to smile.

‘They said you managed to knock one of them unconscious!’ One of the other residents of the hovel exclaimed.

As Faust focused on the room he noticed that every resident was present, seven in total, and they were all staring at him. ‘I…I don’t know what happened’ He looked around at the expectant faces. ‘They were going to search this place, and find you two. I had to do something.’ He remembered the sun filling the sky until he couldn’t see anything. ‘The sun was so bright, I could smell things I’ve never smelt before. The world was so colourful.’

Faust’s mother and the residents shared confused looks, but Zincell was smiling and rummaging in a bag. ‘Faust, I want you to drink something’

Faust sat up, taking a tiny bottle Zincell was handing to him. He downed it in one and tried in vain to get comfortable.

‘I want you to think about what happened when you were fighting the slave master. Imagine you’re back in the field.’ She said, as he felt the liquid hit his stomach. He began to re-live the fight, explaining it in detail. He talked quickly until he came to the climax, the thought about him dying and leaving his mother behind.

All of a sudden, the dark shack was awash with light and colour. He could hear everyone in the room breathing and smell the damp wood that the hut was constructed with. He was panting with excitement ‘I can see it, I can see it all.’ He got out of bed and walked around, touching the walls. The grain of the wood that comprised his home were something that had never really interested him until now. Zincell moved to the door and threw it open. Faust yelped and shielded his eyes from the sun bursting through the doorway. Stop! He pleaded at his body. And then it was gone, all the light, the smells, everything. He looked around and back to Zincell who, oddly enough, was still letting the sunlight in. He didn’t understand what was happening. Then he remembered the stories Zincell had told the hovel a few nights ago. She’d talked about people with special powers, who could burn metals to enhance their abilities…

‘Am I… an Allomancer?’ Faust asked. He felt giddy, and a little bit sick.

‘A Tineye, it appears, Faust.’ Zincell replied with a smile. ‘And when you stood up to the slave masters you Snapped. That’s why the sun seemed to shine so brightly in the field. You can now enhance all of your senses, so long as you have a vial handy.’

Faust’s mother clasped her hands onto his cheeks and laughed ‘Ha ha! You beautiful boy!’ She chirped in her sprightly voice, ‘You’re an Allomancer! Like a noble! Now you can get out of here! You can escape!’

Faust stepped back ‘What? Mother, you can’t be serious… I mean, you’re ill and I…’

‘Don’t be silly!’ She was beaming, smiling brighter than Faust had ever seen her, ‘Beside, Zincell has got me feeling right as rain, you need to get out of here, son. Such a gift should not be wasted.’

‘Mother, I could barely take down a Whip, how am I supposed to get out of here?’

‘The same way I got in’ Said Zincell, stepping forward, ‘[i]And if you left with me in the morning you could travel with me for a while and get some free training in using tin’ He added, smiling.

‘Well there you are Faustinus! You can do it! You can escape!’ His mother clapped her hands together eagerly. She really wanted the best for him, she really wanted him to go.

‘Mother…’ Faust turned to Zincell, straightening up, ‘Alright, it’s settled’ he said, finally. He was actually smiling himself, ‘We leave at dusk.’