Sorin Shirega

[Sorin Shirega]

Name:Sorin Shirega
Age:21

Nationality: Tai'Seanchan
Place of Birth: Tanchico
Place of Residence: Black Tower
Affiliation: Black Tower
Rank/Title: Soldier

One Power Strength: 1 (5)
Air: 2 (7) | Earth: 1 (4) Fire: 1 (7) Spirit: 1 (4) Water: 0 (3)
Date they were raised to Novice/Soldier:112 FA
Date they were raised to Accepted/Dedicated:
Date they were raised to Aes Sedai/Asha'man:
Date they were raised to any other rank:

Talents:None
Weave Affinities: Somatic Weaves (eventually)

Sorin currently has a block which requires him to be in pain in order to channel. He accomplishes this by pinching his arms or digging his nails into his skin, and tries to hide what he's doing from others.

Weapon Skills:
Martial: (0) 4 | Hand-Held: (0) 5 | Stave: 0 | Thrown: 0 | Ranged: 0 | Mounted: (0) 4

APPEARANCE

Height: 5'4
Weight: 120
Build/Complexion: Thin/light
Eye/Hair Color: Medium brown/green

Distinguishing Features:

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Small and skinny, Sorin has the look of a frightened animal. He keeps his hair short and doesn't wear a beard. His eyes are a striking shade of green, but few people have the opportunity to notice that, since he is almost always looking at the ground. Sorin doesn't give much thought to his appearance. His clothing consists of whatever he has that's clean. Most often, whatever he's wearing will not stay clean for the entire day, but Sorin rarely notices and cares even less.

PERSONALITY

Discovering he could channel has damaged Sorin's self-confidence. He firmly believes this makes him little more than a dangerous animal. He holds the same view of the others at the Black Tower, and has trouble interacting with them more than is strictly necessary. Quiet and shy, he has become even more so, to the point of being withdrawn. His fear has made him skittish and isolated, and though he wishes he could make friends, Sorin isn't quite sure he deserves them.

It might appear that learning to channel is the last thing Sorin would want, but this is only partly true. His first experience of using the One Power was terrifying for him, and he never wants to use it to hurt someone again. Sorin longs to be able to control his ability himself. He pushes himself hard to try to achieve it, but worries that it isn't possible.

If someone could get past Sorin's fear to earn his trust, that person would find a kind, compassionate man who feels a great deal of empathy for others and has more of a liking for people than one might think. Due to his fear of the men of the Black Tower, Sorin tends to express this only around the animals he loves. His favorites are horses, and he can often be found around the stables if no grooms are nearby. He also has a fondness for birds, and likes to listen to them singing in the early morning.

HISTORY

Sorin was born the first child of a solidly middle-class Seanchan couple. They had eagerly anticipated his birth, and the baby became the center of a loving family. Two years later, his parents welcomed another child, a boy they named Stelan. The children grew up helping their father, a carpenter, in his workshop, and doing chores around the house for their mother. They became close friends as well as siblings, and one child was rarely seen without the other.

Sorin enjoyed spending time playing in the narrow creek that ran over rocks behind their house. It was just large enough to contain fish, insects, and frogs. He could have sat there and watched them for hours, and he dragged Stelan there as often as he could, though the younger boy complained that it was boring. He caught a frog once, carrying it proudly back into the house, and was promptly chased back outside to the sound of his mother's shrieks.

If they weren't out at the creek, both Sorin and Stelan could be found roaming the streets near their house. Sometimes with other children, and sometimes just the two of them, they could always find something to do. Not as outgoing as Stelan, Sorin would have been just as happy back at their house, but he tolerated Stelan's wandering because he could see how much his brother enjoyed it.

The only activity Sorin remembers doing without Stelan is riding. Their parents kept a small brown mare for their infrequent travels across Tanchico, and Sorin had wanted to learn how to ride her practically as soon as he could walk. Once he was tall enough to learn, their father taught Sorin to ride, but Stelan refused to go anywhere near the horse, claiming that she made him sneeze. Sorin, however, grew to love riding, enjoying the peace and solitude of it. Once he could handle the mare without help, he rode every chance he got.

None of his family were surprised when, as a young man, Sorin took on an apprenticeship under a horse breeder living on the outskirts of the city. It was a trade that suited him well, and Sorin dreamed of the day he'd be able to breed and trade horses of his own. He worked hard, saving most of the wages he earned, and with the passing of time, purchased a horse for himself, one of rather better quality than the family's old brown mare. He named the stallion Midnight, and was in the saddle almost every morning.

Life had become busy for Sorin, and he wasn't able to see Stelan nearly as much as he had when they were children, but the brothers still made time for each other. They developed a habit of sharing dinner and a drink at an inn together at least once each week, and it was on one of these evenings that Sorin's life would change forever.

They had left the inn to walk home together, and as usual, Stelan was walking much faster than Sorin. Sorin didn't mind, knowing from experience that eventually, Stelan would stop and allow him to catch up. The street was wide and well-lit, and close enough to home that they were both very familiar with the area. As a result, Sorin wasn't paying much attention to his surroundings, and didn't think twice about turning and cutting through a narrow alley off the side of the road.

It was much darker than the street, but short, and Sorin could see through it to the next road, where he guessed Stelan would be. He had no reason to worry until he felt something brush against his belt, where he carried his purse. Turning his head, Sorin looked up to see a man much taller and larger than himself, reaching for him. He hardly had time to shout before the cutpurse grabbed him by the neck, shoving him up against the wall of one of the buildings bordering the alley.

The thief had a tight grip on his neck, and Sorin wheezed as the other man yanked his purse free from his belt. His neck throbbed, the pressure on it increasing to pain, and little black specks danced before his eyes as Sorin struggled to breathe. Panic rose within him, followed by a sense of....power? It was the last thing Sorin would have expected to feel, and yet, he felt suddenly powerful. The hand on his neck fell away, the spots in his vision faded, and Sorin slid to the ground. He looked on in absolute shock as the cutpurse flew through the air and struck the opposing wall, held above the ground although there was nothing to keep him there.

Sorin blinked and shook his head, but when he looked back at the wall the thief was still stuck there. He rubbed his sore neck and wondered if he was losing his mind. A voice from the other end of the alley cried out, "Sorin!" and Sorin turned his head to see Stelan running towards him. He heard a thump from the wall where the thief was trapped, and both men watched in surprise as the other man hit the ground, dropped Sorin's purse, and ran.

Since he hadn't managed to actually steal anything, neither brother bothered to chase the would be thief. Sorin coughed, retrieved the purse, and said, "Just a cutpurse. I'm fine," trying to reassure his younger brother, but Stelan seemed troubled and wouldn't look at him.

"Stelan?" Sorin said, pushing himself off the ground and walking towards his brother. The look in Stelan's brown eyes was one Sorin knew well from their childhood. It was the look of a small boy who knew he was about to be in very big trouble. Stelan bit his lip.

"Sorin....I think you channeled the One Power," he whispered. "You never touched him, he had you pinned so tight I don't think you could have if you wanted to...but I've never seen anyone fly through the air that way."

Sorin suddenly felt cold. It made a terrible kind of sense. Carefully, he tried not to think of the power he'd felt, coiled within himself. He shook his head, trying to deny it. "No," he mumbled. "I can't....men don't...I'm not..." But what if he had? He'd heard stories as a child of what happened to male channelers, stories they told to scare each other. Men weren't collared; none of the stories ever agreed on exactly what the fate of such a man was, except that it was something even worse. Sorin had no desire to find out how much truth those children's tales held.

He looked at Stelan, green eyes growing wide, and backed away from his brother. He could tell by the look in Stelan's eyes that he, too, was thinking of those childhood stories. If that was me.....if I did that.... The last thing he wanted was to hurt Stelan, but he hadn't meant to do anything to the cutpurse, either. He'd just wanted the pain to stop. He moved as far from Stelan as he could get and still be heard.

"I don't know what to do," Sorin whispered. A woman who could channel was made damane, he knew, her power controlled by a sul'dam, but how could he, a man, control his? "I didn't know I was doing anything.....what if I do it again?" The thought of it made him feel sick.

Stelan stepped towards him. "I don't know. But I think....Sorin, I don't think you can stay here. There are other countries under the Dragon's Peace where women aren't made damane, where men who can channel are free....if you leave, maybe you can learn to use it?" Stelan winced as he spoke words that few Seanchan would dare speak.

Sorin knew Stelan was right the moment he heard his suggestion, yet the thought of leaving behind everything he knew for something he did not want was almost impossible for him to bear. He swallowed hard, and then he nodded. "You're right. The One Power....it's dangerous. I don't want to hurt anyone."

Stelan walked over, startling Sorin by pulling him into a hug. "Stelan..." he said, surprised. "You're not...afraid, of what I am?" Stelan looked down at him and smiled. "You're my brother," he replied. "You don't scare me." Blinking back tears, Sorin clung to his brother, realizing that this was almost certainly the last time they'd see each other. When they let go, Sorin made himself turn and walk out of the alleyway.

Timeline:
92 FA- Sorin is born.
94 FA- Stelan is born.
112 FA- Sorin develops the spark and is forced to leave Tai'Seanchan to become a Soldier at the Black Tower.

Books read: All