FREY, MERCER

[mercerfrey]

mercer frey .

FULL NAME . Mercer Frey NICK NAMES . None. AGE & BIRTHDAY . 41 on the 15th of Sun's Dawn SPECIES . Breton OCCUPATION . Guildmaster of the Thieves Guild STORMCLOAK, IMPERIAL OR NEUTRAL? Neutral GUILDS . Thieves Guild WITCH, VAMPIRE OR WEREWOLF? N/A SEXUAL ORIENTATION . Heterosexual CANON . Yes

[atrb=border,0,true] APPEARANCE Despite his age, Mercer Frey has maintained a better physique than most younger men, though he isn't necessarily muscular. In fact, he's far more fit and lean than big and muscular due to the countless years spent climbing through windows and, on more than one occasion, running from the guards. Framed by graying hair that falls just above his shoulders and covered with an equally graying beard, Mercer's face isn't exactly that of a young boy anymore, and his facial features have grown somewhat rough and rugged. Even so, he's far from unattractive; sporting his own, unique kind of charm. As far as apparel is concerned, Frey is almost always sporting his specially-made Guildmaster Armor. While mostly similar in appearance to the traditional Thieves Guild armor, the leather is black as opposed to the typical brown. PERSONALITY Like any good thief, Mercer Frey is both charming and persuasive. In fact, with the charisma to make a suicide mission seem like the easiest heist ever and the charm to weasel his way out of any trouble he might land up in, he's one of the best. Something he's well aware of, and has been ever since joining the Guild. Of course, there's more to it than simple charm and charisma. While he can charm his way into countless women's beds and out of countless jail sentences with flattery and facts, his best work comes in the form of dishonesty. Naturally deceptive, Frey has told more lies in his life than he can count, and he's become good at it. So good, in fact, that he's spun an entire web of lies and tricked his closest allies and "friends" within the Thieves Guild for the past two decades without raising more than an eyebrow. Even so, not everyone can be charmed with sweet words or conned into behaving the way he'd like. Some require a little extra "push", and while he tries to avoid doing so whenever possible, he is perfectly capable of getting violent, or even killing, to get what he wants. Once going as far as to betray and kill his closest friend and mentor, Mercer Frey refuses to let anything or anyone get between him and what he wants. Which, coupled with his emotional detachment and secret opinion that friends are simply enemies waiting for the chance to stab him in the back, make him a rather lethal threat for both his allies and enemies alike. SKILLS + Dual-weapon fighting: Some people prefer a single blade, a sword and a shield, or in some cases large, two-handed weapons that swing slow, but hit hard. Mercer, however, has adopted a somewhat trickier style of fighting; giving up the protection offered by a blade and shield combination, and even the limited amount of protection the long staff of a two-handed weapon, instead opting to wield one blade in each hand. More often than not, the high risk is balanced out by the high reward, as Frey always tries to strike first, eliminating his target(s) quickly - and eliminating the need to block or parry. + Light Armor: As a thief, mobility and quietness are both key. Many of times, this means dressing and traveling light, which doesn't necessarily sound like it requires a lot of skill - but nothing could be farther from the truth. It takes experience to make the most out of light armor, and to survive while wearing it - experience that Mercer Frey most definitely has. + Lockpicking: While this is not necessarily his specialty skill, Frey is just as capable as any other thief in the art of lockpicking. + Pickpocketing/Stealing: Even before joining the Guild, Mercer Frey was picking pockets and stealing valuables on a frequent basis, which is one of the entire reasons he made it into the Guild to begin with. Since joining, he's only become better in both of these areas, and is easily capable of relieving someone of their coin purse and keys, or even leaving something else behind. Whether it's in a hidden safe or tucked into someone's pocket, Frey can steal virtually anything. + Sneaking: There are people out there who would take one look at Mercer Frey and immediately rule out the possibility of him being able to move any better than a cripple, let alone anything like a thief. These are also the people who will never see him to make that assumption, because despite his climbing age, Frey is just as spry and quick as ever. And whether he's sneaking and clinging to the shadows or climbing through a window, he does so stealthily, quickly, and quietly. WEAKNESSES + Archery: There are many in Skyrim who are proficient, or better, with a bow and arrow. There are some who can take down a target from across a field. There are even fewer who can land a kill shot across the length of several fields. Unfortunately, Mercer Frey doesn't land in any of those categories. Not necessarily because he's incapable with a bow, but instead due majorly to the fact that he doesn't have the patience required to spend excessive amounts of time lining up shots. Especially when he feels confident he could cross a distance and have his target down in half the time. As such, he doesn't invest much time practicing or training in archery, and is arguably less effective when a situation arises where he does have to use one. + Alchemy, Enchanting, Smithing: As another example of his impatience, Mercer is almost completely in the dark when it comes to things like alchemy, enchanting, and blacksmithing. As a thief, and not, say, an assassin, he doesn't deal much in poisons except when necessary, and is perfectly capable of stealing any potions he might need. His equipment and weapons, while enchanted, weren't made so by his hands, and he doesn't even bother knowing the difference half the time. As far as smithing armor and weapons go, Frey has no need for either; already in possession of both, which he's rather fond of at that. In short, he doesn't bother much with any of it. + Blocking: As previously mentioned, Mercer Frey prefers to wield two weapons over a single blade, a sword and a shield, or a two handed weapon. As such, it's rather difficult for him to effectively block any attacks, making blocking a major weakness. + Heavy Armor: While not necessarily a weakness, Mercer Frey absolutely refuses to wear any sort of heavy armor. As a thief, mobility and quietness are key, and it's hard to maintain either of those when you have heavy metal weighing you down or clinking every step. Of course, this means he sacrifices protection - but as far as he's concerned, it's a price well paid. ARMOR, WEAPONS, & EQUIPMENT + Guild Master's Armor: Created specially for Mercer Frey following his promotion to Guild Master, this variation of the typical thieves armor is different in several aspects. Most obviously, it's composed of mostly black leather as opposed to the usual brown. Less evident, it's both slightly reinforced to offer more protection without sacrificing much mobility/stealthiness, and has been enchanted to enhance Frey's efficiency in lockpicking, pickpocketing, and sneaking. + Chillrend: While he doesn't use this weapon in combat, Mercer is in possession of a rather unique Glass Sword called "Chillrend". In contrast to the usual green, the blade of this sword is blue, and appears almost as if it's covered in frost. Furthermore, it emanates a vapor similar to that experienced during sublimation. As should be expected with such a name and unique qualities, the blade has been enchanted to chill with every strike. + Dwarven Sword of Devouring: Mercer's signature weapon, this Dwarven sword has been enchanted to weaken an opponent with every strike, almost as if sapping the life right out of them. + Traditional Dagger: Unlike his Dwarven blade, Frey's secondary weapon is nothing more than a simple dagger, though it's no less dangerous - especially in Mercer's hands. + Skeleton Key: The Skeleton Key is a Daedric artifact; an unbreakable lockpick, making it rather useful to enterprising thieves. The Skeleton Key also has a secondary, less known function as being used to keep Ebonmere, a well from which luck flows into the world, open. When Frey took the Key from the Twilight Sepulcher, the Ebonmere subsequently closed; casting the Thieves Guild into what's been described as a "drought". With the Key in his possession, Mercer has used it to steal from and commit crimes against the Guild, unbeknownst to it's members. STORY Since youth, Mercer Frey has always had a knack for trouble. Born to a single mother, he's been involved in stealing and thieving from an early age. Starting with picking pockets, it wasn't long before he found himself looting safes and robbing houses. Sticking to the rich and the wealthy, Frey had amassed something of a small fortune by his mid teens, and had no intentions of stopping there. As any experienced thief could tell you, however, when you steal from rich people you tend to make powerful enemies. Unfortunately, it was a lesson Mercer didn't learn until his late teens, and by then it was too little too late. After walking into an ambush at his own home and seeing his house burned to the ground with his mother presumably inside, Mercer had to make a decision. While revenge was the most appealing option he had, it came with it's own set of issues. With no idea who was responsible and no means to fight back, Frey had little choice but to cut his losses and move on. Packing whatever belongings and coin he had left, he disappeared from High Rock, and later resurfaced in the province of Skyrim. Even with his successful escape from High Rock and, hopefully, whoever had come after him, Mercer Frey was in dire straits when he finally reached Skyrim. Having spent half his money to get there and the other half replacing lost clothes, equipment and the like, he had nothing left to his name by the time all was said and done. So he resorted to the one and only thing he knew; the very thing that had gotten him in this situation in the first place. Stealing. In an ironic twist, it's after he has nothing left to lose that he becomes more careful and calculated; pulling off jobs with better delicacy and precision than ever before. And while he was far from being the perfect thief, his actions and work certainly turned a couple of heads within certain circles. It was as a young adult that Mercer Frey had his first run-in with Gallus Desidenius. Wandering the streets of Riften, Frey lifts a hefty coin purse from a mysterious man; completely unaware of just who he was stealing from. Thinking he had just made off with a good amount of money, Frey took to the Ratways to hide, only to find the pouch full of pebbles and his own coin purse missing. Confused, it was then that the man revealed himself, Mercer's coin purse in hand. Introducing himself, the man - now revealed to be Gallus Desidenius, the Guildmaster of the Thieves Guild - seems impressed with Frey, and offers him a spot in the Guild. An offer he eagerly accepts. Over the next few years, a lot happens and even more changes in the life of Mercer Frey, and for all those he's associated with. Taken in by Gallus and the Thieves Guild, Frey learns to be a better thief and how to defend himself in combat, instructed mainly by Gallus himself. He quickly rises through the ranks, and is soon a single spot away from being second in command; a spot he knows he'll never have, because it's filled by Gallus' lover; a Dunmer thief named Karliah. Some small part of him is envious, jealous at first as he feels that she's sitting in a position that he more than deserves. But when Gallus and Karliah induct Frey into the Nightingale Trinity, almost all of that goes away. The envy, the jealousy, replaced instead by one thing. Greed. Not long after becoming a Nightingale, Frey breaks his oath to Nocturnal, desecrates the Twilight Sepulcher and proceeds to steal the Skeleton Key. As a result, the Ebonmere portal closes, cutting off the flow of luck into the world and putting a heavy damper on the Thieves Guild. Jobs start going bad, whether due to a jammed lock or the moon rising at an inopportune moment and casting light on thieves in the middle of the night. Most think little of it, and shrug it off as a spot of bad luck. Meanwhile, Gallus has other suspicions, and becomes slowly convinced that Frey is to blame both for desecrating the Twilight Sepulcher, and for stealing from the Guild. With the threat of being outed looming, Mercer arranges a meeting with his mentor inside of Snow Veil Sanctum, where he betrays and murders Gallus before framing Karliah. With Gallus dead and Karliah thought to be the one behind his murder, Frey is free to both continue his crimes and to take over the Thieves Guild. In their eyes, he's a hero; having outed Karliah as a murderer and exiled her from the Guild. None of them have a single clue what really happened that day or the events leading up to it, even 25 years after the fact. And as long as Mercer has any say, none of them ever will.

ALIAS .
Desire

AGE .
Seventeen

YEARS ROLEPLAYING .
Seven

HOW YOU FOUND US .
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