Information

Rom Baro
Legacy Name: Rom Baro

The Spectrum Kumos
Owner: PookaWitch

Age: 14 years, 2 months, 1 day

Born: February 17th, 2010

Adopted: 14 years, 2 months, 1 day ago

Adopted: February 17th, 2010

Pet Spotlight Winner
January 6th, 2011

Statistics

• Level: 33
   
• Strength: 81
   
• Defense: 48
   
• Speed: 49
   
• Health: 55
   
• HP: 55/55
   
• Intelligence: 67
   
• Books Read: 65
• Food Eaten: 0
• Job: Head of Competitions

.: History :.



Sign of the Gypsy Queen
Pack your things and leave
Word of a woman that knows
Take all your gold and you go
~ Sign Of The Gypsy Queen (April Wine)

Rom (not his real name) was born in a traveling kumpania, the son to the Rom Baro (gypsy king). His life has always been on the road, traveling from one land to another, often his kumpania would set up outside the walls of a large city to start peddling their wares or entertaining with song and dance for coin. Whether forced or by choice, they would eventually pack up the vardos and leave for the next stop along their route.

Incredibly talented Rom picked up all of the tricks early on. He would get the most take for the Kumpania, even surpassing what the Rom Baro, his father, could obtain. Whispers already spread that Rom would become the next Gypsy King when his father passed. Normally it is a parent's dream to have their child succeed, but something dark had been happening with the King. The once stern but caring leader of the kumpania started to have fears of loosing his position, jealousy and bitterness had begun to taint his words and actions. Some wondered if he was cursed, if a rival family had brought down the evil eye upon their Baro, but the Phuri Dae (Rom's mother, the Gypsy Queen and wisest of the Kumpania) couldn't find a means to stop the darkness that clouded her husband's personality.
It all came down upon Rom's head one night while the kumpania were congratulating him on his large take from the nearby town, his father snapped and yelled that it was a challenge. The jealousy, or the dark thing that swam in the Baro's mind finally took him over and in a fury he challenged his own son to a knife fight. Rom attempted to talk his father down from this brash behaviour but it was unavoidable. The battle was short, along with Rom's other talents was that of the knife dance. His father would not relent in the battle and with one fatal blow Rom took the King's life. His distaste for fighting surfaced on that horrid night.

The rebuttal from the deed was harsh, even though Rom was in the right the words of the Baro had poisoned the minds of many of the older members of the kumpania, while Rom had the support of the youth. But a death amongst the camp was a terrible deed - it was feared that the mulo, the ghost of his father would return for vengeance against his killer. The older members wanted vengeance and the Phuri Dae, the Gypsy Queen and Rom's mother, begged him to leave, to run. She already lost her husband, the thought of loosing her eldest son was too much to bear. She had visions, dreams that he should run far to the south, to a land of deserts and to remain there until he knew that the time was right to return... and that he would know when the time was right.

Obeying his mother Rom left for a foreign land, becoming an outcast amongst his people.



.: Khemet :.

This desert road draws every step I roam on endless sands
Fables of treasures told have kept me In foreign lands
~Gypsy Heart (Michelle Tumes)


Following his mother's words he traveled south, far into the land of vast deserts and a large, light sustaining river that flowed through the middle of it. He attempted to follow the river south, but at once point when needing to skirt a town he wound up farther out into the desert then is healthy. After a charmed life this kumos found himself nearly in the afterlife from something as foolish as a misjudgment of direction. Like a sun kissed mirage he saw the blurred form of wings and the gentle eyes of another kumos before falling into unconscious.

He awoke on the cool, muddy banks of the river once again, a beauty of tan and black fur dribbling water from her mouth into his to re-hydrate him. (Which normally would have disgusted him, but he was relieved to still be alive, and already too enamoured with his rescuer to care much for mahrime (uncleanliness) at that point.) When his rescuer asked who he was it was misunderstood and he simply replied Rom (gypsy) for that was who he was, one of the Romany. She took it to be his name, and he was pleased to be called Rom since he would only have given a gaje a false name anyhow.

For days the desert beauty nursed Rom back to health, he learned her name was Satheru and he was truly smitten with her. She spoke of how she was a holy warrior for her falcon god, and he listened intently to anything that she spoke of, grinning like a young pup with a crush. When the offer was given for him to join her pack he agreed happily, ready to follow Satheru wherever she went and relished the opportunity to stay near her. Satheru seemed to return his affections and all seemed good, it was to be short lived though.





.: Heartbreak :.

Tell me what it takes to let you go
Tell me how the pain's supposed to go
Tell me how it is that you can sleep in the night,
Without thinkin' you lost
Everything that was good in your life
To the toss of the dice
Tell me what it takes to let you go
~What it Takes (Aerosmith)


It was bound to happen at some point, a paladin of justice would eventually notice that Rom had 'sticky fingers'. At first it was met with shock and stern words, but he explained that it was just a misunderstanding, he found that he couldn't truly lie to Satheru, no matter how much he wished to at that point, and told her that it was part of his culture. Dissapointed she told him that he would need to stop his theft. Rom tried for a time, his adoration for the paladin even driving him to attempt to follow the gaje laws, but he couldn't keep living in such a way.
Satheru loved him enough that she started to turn a blind eye to his thievery, pretending that it didn't exist so she wouldn't need to deal with his actions. But eventually Rom noticed that something dire and harsh had started to come over the woman he loved. He worried that it was something similar to what occured with his father, but it was honestly something truly different. Satheru, being a holy warrior of the god of justice and retribution, had taken vows to uphold the law and justice, to right the wrongs of the land. Her ignoring Rom's actions caused her divine abilities to vanish, leaving her afraid, shocked and remorseful. It was that very dawn that she broke off any relationship with Rom, telling him that she could no longer tolerate his behaviour and that it was time to part ways, for good. With a simple, and curt, speech she left him alone in the current town they resided in.

At first Rom was angered and tried to ignore her, stubbornly fighting against the urge to follow after her. After but a few short days though he took up travel to find where Satheru had left to. Eventually the trail led him to a temple of the hawk god she worshiped, and knowing what his portfolio towards theives was, Rom stayed away from the temple's lands and waited to catch a glimpse of his love once again.

A week later Satheru emerged from the temple, and in kinder words she explained to Rom about how her ignoring his behaviour caused her to loose her blessing from her god, which she needed to return to the temple to pray and atone for until Horus forgave her and blessed her once again. She told him that it was impossible for her to be with him unless he changed, and she knew that was an impossible request. With that she left him behind, this time stating that she could never see him again.

Rom was heartbroken, in depression he went on a binge in the local towns, drinking, dancing and loving in attempts to forget the woman he loved. It was all in vain though, nothing could fill the hole that had been left. Anger over being left soon faded as Rom fell into heart sickness, realising that she had left him due to means beyound her control. Sometimes he would hear word that she was near where he was currently travelling and Rom couldn't resist watching Satheru from a distance while she padded through the town to whatever destination she was headed for. It was a long time before Rom had the chance to speak with her again.



.: True Love :.

Cause we belong together now
Forever united here somehow
You got a piece of me
And honestly
My life would suck without you
~ My Life Would Suck Without You
(Kelly Clarkson)



It was like the clouds parting and the sunshine coming through the day that Satheru returned. Apparently she had spent a few weeks tracking where Rom was currently staying. He already had gathered a kumpania of Khemet traveling gypsies and a few desert natives who wished to join him. Rom stood there solid, his teeth grit and coldness in his eyes, he didn't want to have his heart ripped out by this woman once again. But then Satheru did something that he never expected....

she cried.

Pouring her heart out to him Satheru explained how the High Priest of her temple had told her to keep away from him, to avoid breaking her vows yet again. How she tried so very hard to obey, even though it made her feel dead inside. Her life during the time without him had her like a shadow, the walking dead. She barely noticed what would happen around her, she felt dead inside, and that feeling never went away. Out of desperation she had visited a temple of Hathor, the goddess of love, and asked the High Priestess there for guidance. She had given her a pearl of wisdom that she hoped would work.
For you see, Satheru's vows to Horus were to obey the laws herself, and to uphold justice and bring retribution when she encountered breaches of the law. But her vows did 'not' say that she couldn't love the one who she needed to punish. Being a holy warrior of Horus she had the right to dispense punishment for witnessed crimes, and although she could not ignore Rom's actions, she could still be the one to punish him if she ever caught him breaking the laws again.

The noble demeanor of Satheru washed away then when she begged him, literally begged for him to take her back. She wished that he could change his ways, but learned from her time with him that it was never long before he would revert back to his old habits. But if he could agree to let her still be a force of retribution towards him, that if he would pay for his crimes each time, she could truly be with him.
Rom thought this all sounded strange, he didn't view any of his actions as needing 'punishment' and thought of all of this as a strange, cultural difference. His desire for Satheru outweighed such things to him, and the two of them became official mates, a pair once more. (He didn't plan on ever getting caught in a bujo again, he would just need to be as careful around his mate as he is with the gaje... not so difficult a prospect.)

The two left their packs to become a pair, and have been inseparable ever since.




Incredibly cute picture by Lai

Nick Names: Rom
Name Meaning: Gypsy King
Species: Spectrum Kumos
Race: Romany (gypsy)
Class: Rogue
Alignment: Chaotic Good

Age: Adult
Fur: ghost white (#F8F8FF)
with dark slate grey markings (#2F4F4F)
Eyes: black
Forms: Quad, Anthro, Human (shape shifter)

Love: Satheru
Offspring: He may have some around.




.: Personality :.

'Gypsies tramps and thieves
W'd hear it from the people of the town
They'd call us
Gypsies tramps and thieves
But every night all the men would come around
And lay their money down'
~Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves (Cher)

Rom is a grifter and con man with a quick wit and a silver tongue. He's good person at heart, but his perspective of 'ownership' and 'possesion' differs from many... differs enough to get him into trouble more often then not.

A very playful person he's always quick with a smile, a wink, a grin or words laced with flattering comments. Mind you this is often to gain your confidence for a scam, and the moment it's over he's usually long gone. For those he considers friends his personality tends towards the same, but with more sincerity.

Family is very important to Rom, whether it's the kumpania that he grew up with, an adopted pack, a mate or children, he would do whatever it takes to keep them as healthy, safe and comfortable as possible. He adores children and hopes to sire many of them.

Rom is madly in love with Satheru, yet his 'habits' rile against her paladin vows of honor which often leads to her spurning his affections. It's easy enough to see her returned love in her eyes, which drives Rom to act even harder in his attempts to win her heart.




Powers: None other then his own skills.
He has led some to believe that he has 'the sight' or 'the evil eye'
Skills: Silver tongue, skilled pick-pocket, great con man and grifter. Graceful dancer, skilled with a few romany favoured instruments.


Likes: Satheru, Dancing, Music, Bilking Gaje, Violins, Children, Traveling, A Good Bujo (con)

Dislikes: Violence/Bloodshed, Getting Caught, Bigots (towards romany), Getting dirty, Settling in one spot for too long



.: Art of Rom :.

Wajas Version
Waja w/ Satheru
Rom & Satheru by Lai
Rom's Overlay
Rom's Headshot
Rom's Violin


.: Romany Culture :.

It's always a risky thing to make a character based after a culture that still exists today, especially one that has so much rumour, speculation and persecution thrust upon it in the past. The Roma culture is very rich, with a very strong emphasis on cleanliness and avoiding uncleanliness (both physical and spiritual). I hope that my fantasy Roma themed character is not found with offense by any of that culture for I have a deep respect for the Roma people, their history and struggles.

And I do realise that dogs are considered marhime (unclean), but I'm not so sure about wolves. Either way my wolf/jackal character is from a line of intelligent animals - one enriched with the Roma practices and knew his whole life to avoid things that less intelligent animals do to make themselves impure. ;)

.: Credits :.

Art/Overlay by me
Amazing profile (background and coding) by Lai
Cards banner by Lai

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