#oc: corduff

[houndsofcorduff]

40. Your OC is watching someone attempt to do something at which they are extremely capable. However the person they are watching really isn't... [For Corduff 👀]

Thank you for the ask! I decided to go with a scene from before book 1, when Corduff and Boru are just getting to know each other. It was fun to think about little Bo and Corduff not being used to his particular brand of...training...yet. Also, I'm physically incapable of writing short scenes, so I hope you don't mind it's a good chunk of reading:

Training Grounds. Elsava. Rosen. 42nd Day of Spring, 938.

Somehow, this scrawny blond boy was going to bring peace to the entire world. And it was Corduff's job to train him. Training Hayes and Siobhan had been easy, they were so skilled and precise in their spore manipulation and they caught on quickly, very much like Corduff had been at their age. This kid, Boru, though, was very different from his other two apprentices.

"When do we get to eat?" the thirteen-year-old complained.

"I think we should do some training first, work up your appetite," Corduff answered. "We'll start with -."

"I've already worked up an appetite, it's my first day as your apprentice, you could at least get to know me before working me out," the boy huffed.

"I'll get to know you just fine, but if you're going to fulfill the prophecy of peace, you'll need to know how to windcast," Corduff countered quickly. "Now, don't worry, we'll start simple. Take an open stance. There's already a breeze, feel it on your skin, try to pull on it with your SporeSense, draw it closer to you. Close your eyes if that helps."

Although he did grumble, Boru spread his feet shoulder-length apart. He also shut his eyes. He hesitated a moment, then raised both arms to shoulder height. That hadn't been part of his instruction, but Corduff was willing to let him see it through. He had seen the skill the boy had with lightcasting, it was insane, so maybe this was just part of his process. Then, for reasons beyond Destiny herself, he inhaled deeply, held it in his chest like he was about to dive underwater, then thrust his hands forward.

Nothing happened. Not a rustle. If anything the breeze faded, like the wind was rejecting him.

"Did you just…punch the air?" Corduff couldn't even believe he had to ask that question.

"I was drawing it in like you said!" Boru opened his eyes. "I was just following your instructions!"

Destiny's stars, this kid was going to be a lot of work. "Try it again," he said, trying not to lose his patience. "This time, no punch, don't even move, just feel the spores. Relax your arms and don't hold your breath. Feel the weight of the air. It feels like the moment just before you fall. You know that feeling? When you're running and you know you're going as fast as you can?"

"Oh yeah," Boru grinned from ear to ear. "You want me to run? I can run really fast."

"I'm sure you can," Corduff said quickly before the kid could take off at full speed, "but for now, stay still, completely still, but picture yourself running in your mind. You need the feeling of running without actually doing it, got it?"

"Right!" Boru closed his eyes again and breathed in and out. That was an improvement, at least.

After a few moments, the grass at Boru's feet quivered. He didn't see it, but Corduff did. It was a starting point if nothing else.

"Better," Corduff said. "Still terrible, but better."

Bo opened his eyes in triumph and turned to his new master. "Alright! Does that mean we get to eat now?"

Yep, a lot of work.

____

Put my characters in more situations!

[houndsofcorduff]

Corduff Backstory Part Two

Part One

Part Two: Marching On

Song: Soldier by Tommee Profitt, Fleurie

Moodboard:

CW: Death, violence, grief, trauma, abandonment, emotional breakdowns, and references to mass casualty events.

On the 20th day of Winter in the year 926, soon after Queen Oriana took her throne, she placed a young boy named Tomas in Drumcondra’s care. He had a special ability, he could woodcast, something that, to the world’s knowledge, hadn’t been possible for decades. He was only 10 years old. Corduff and Tomas became extremely close as mhics (apprentices under the same master at the same time) and Corduff learned of Tomas’s own unfortunate childhood. They sparred together and learned together, and Corduff was glad to have finally found someone around his age who seemed to be as skilled as he was. Tomas tried to teach him how to use woodcasting, but it was impossible. Drumcondra was able to learn, even though it was difficult. 

On the 37th day of Summer in the year 927, there was an official declaration of war between Rosen and Chipas. The war had been going on for a few years already between Chipas and Grosev, who were almost always at war, but Grosev had reached out to Rosen for support. Rosen had formally accepted by way of their declaration. 

As Corduff and Tomas both grew more skilled, they began to be sent out with Drumcondra on missions to the border. It was there that he first killed a human being and far too late in his training, he realized he did not want to be a Cruth. He did not want to fight. But he knew what happened to people who left the service of the military, for any reason, and he resigned himself to a life of violence. He was 15 years old. 

Drumcondra could see the way that Corduff was affected by violence and sought to protect him. He recommended the boy be assigned to a different Master, under the guise of him needing more one-on-one time with Tomas to learn woodcasting. He then came under the wing of Darragh “Dark Lightning” known best of course for their special type of blended spore casting, dark lightning. He gained a new mhic, Finleigh, who was learning darkcasting. Corduff began learning what would become his favorite and main sporecasting, lightningcasting. 

Things were actually slow for once in Corduff’s life over the next two years. He would come to describe these years as some of the happiest of his life. He enjoyed playing older brother to Siobhan and Sibeal.  The sisters were already showing skill with sporecasting as well, Fiona asked him to help start training the girls so they would be ready to enter the Cruth Academy when they got older. He became close friends with Finleigh, the first friend he had who was a girl. Others would often joke about them getting married one day and they would each roll their eyes and share an exasperated look. But as his friendship with Finleigh waxed, his friendship with Tomas waned. Tomas had not escaped the missions with Drumcondra as he had and was often not around. When he was around, he was too tired or emotional from his mission to hang out with Corduff. Corduff felt incredibly guilty that he was able to avoid the violence, while Tomas was continually crushed deeper and deeper into it.  

He would not be able to avoid the violence himself for long. Queen Orianna was informed of a possible attack on a Seer called Eilwen, who was quickly moved into the protection of the city of Elsava. Darragh, Finleigh, and Corduff were assigned as her bodyguards in the city. Unfortunately, the threat to her life had been part of a larger plot by Grosev to eliminate as many of Rosen’s most powerful citizens in a series of strategically placed explosives around their capital city.

Darragh was killed by falling rocks in the initial explosion. Finleigh, Eilwen, and Corduff were trapped underground by one of the blasts. Corduff used earthcasting to dig them to a larger cavern underground where the three survivors could at least breathe. He then managed to dig a path to the surface, but in doing so accidentally caused another rockslide, which crushed and killed Finleigh and worsened Eilwen’s injuries to a point where they could not be healed. 

In his grief, he demanded answers from the dying Seer. Why had he been cursed this way? Why did he always make the wrong choice? Why did people always leave him? What was wrong with him? But the Seer assured him that he was not cursed. He was Destined. Destined for great things. When Corduff inquired further the Seer told him that one day he would take in a stray hound, and the hound would help him discover his true Destiny. And that was Eilwen’s last prophecy. 

Corduff picked himself out of the dirt. He picked up his leaden feet and went looking for trouble. He picked up his grief, frustration, and hatred. And he used it as a catalyst. He ignored people in need of help. Ignored the calls of those trapped within their burning homes. He sought out only his enemies. None of them lasted very long. In a flurry of wind, water, and lightning, the 17-year-old boy cleared a path of pain through the city. Until Tomas found him. Tomas, who knew how much Corduff hated violence and death, was able to rouse him from his warpath, and then held him, crying and screaming, until the battle for the city was over. 

A third of Elsava's population had died that day, including many of their more powerful soldiers. Everything was in chaos. Drumcondra had left. The Queen had lost her husband. Parents had lost children. Children were left orphaned and without homes. Corduff took in a stray he found wandering in the rubble and named him Packer. Packer helped him grieve, and he wondered if this was what the Seer had meant, for although he felt consoled, he did not feel as if he had discovered his Destiny. 

[houndsofcorduff]

Hello! Thanks for checking in!

Im doing well! My alarm didn’t go off this morning so I had to rush to work and have felt behind all day. But overall I’m 100 percent!

I’m working on Hounds of Corduff, mostly just worldbuilding but also character development

I’ve made a lot of friends here in the past few days! So far I’ve been having a lot of fun with @aohendo discussing her magic system! And would definitely recommend she get some appreciation for her hard work. But also @graciecreates, @space-cadead, @midnights-melodiverse, @bodoramzap, @on-noon and @writingpotato07 are all very friendly and great to interact with as well! (Sorry if I missed anyone)

My favorite oc is a hard one, but I think it would be Corduff. He’s a pretty central part of the story, considering the series is partly named after him, but he’s such a golden person with relatable issues and I love him

My favorite overall fictional character is Daniel Jackson from the Stargate franchise! He’s a 10/10 fantastic character with both talents and flaws and he’s inspired a lot of my writing!

My favorite author is Brandon Sanderson, I know he’s a very popular answer and maybe I should branch out but reading his stuff and listening to Writing Excuses has really helped me with my worldbuilding and magic systems!

Everyone is always welcome in my inbox and asks! Though I am usually pretty busy (this post for example took me 12 hours editing on and off in drafts) and it might take me a while to respond. If you see me reblogging or responding to others I promise I’m not ignoring you!

Its been a while!

So I have some questiona

How are you

What wip are you working on?

Do you recommend any writeblrs?

Who is your favourite oc

Who is your favourite fictional character from any franchise

Who is your favourite author

Can I come into your inbox and ask questions

[houndsofcorduff]

well met, fellow writer. what say you of question 12 (what kind of health repercussions has your oc experienced through intense stress? How do they manage them?) from the torturing ocs ask game?

Well met, Azzy! Thanks so much for the ask!

For The Old Gods this is actually a pretty big part of the magic system. When you use too much magic and drain yourself to the point of empty it makes you sick. Em'het experiences this to an extent at the end of the first book for some spoiler reasons but even more so in book 2 because he is overusing his magic A LOT. He has learned to tie his self worth to his magic - which continues to be a huge issue for him through the series - and pushes himself way past the limits of what he's supposed to do all the time. Either because of situations of high emotional stress which happen at least once if not two or three times in each book or because he feels his magic is the ONLY way to solve a problem. He usually doesn't manage this actually - he just keeps pushing and making himself worse because he'd rather feel like shit physically than feel like he let someone he cares about down.

For Hounds of Corduff this theme is a big part of Corduff's story as well. In his case his emotional stress is a result of his bottling up his emotions and pushing them down and down and down and assuming if he just keeps pushing they'll go away (they don't). He has a lot of trouble sleeping because of this, partly insomnia and partly night terrors. This causes him to be exhausted physically which is really detrimental considering he's an important member of the military and often expected to do a lot of physical tasks. He also deals with this in a way of not dealing with it.

[houndsofcorduff]

11. Who is afraid the most? How does this effect them?

Hi!! Thank you for the ask!

From Hounds of Corduff the answer is Corduff, the other characters are pretty fearless. They have their fears and the closest is Awen but I’m drawing a distinction here between paranoia and fear. Awen sees danger everywhere, but Corduff knows that there’s a lot of stuff worse than just “dangerous”. He struggles with night terrors and traumatic stress. He is basically terrified 24/7 but he never shows it. That’s also what makes him the bravest character. Boru will jump into dangerous situations but he’s not actually scared so it’s not bravery for him. Corduff’s heart is pounding a mile a minute and he feels like he’s gonna throw up the whole time but he still does the scary thing because he knows it’s the right thing to do or because it’s his duty. He won’t ever let the fear stop him from doing what needs to be done because he’d rather he take on the terrible scary thing instead of someone he cares about.

From The Old Gods it’s Em’het, partly because he starts the series as a 10 year old who thinks he is going to die if someone finds out about his magic. But he’s not afraid of the magic, he’s instinctively drawn to it, he tries to ignore it but that never lasts very long. But it makes him jumpy, especially in the first and second books. As he gets older he comes to terms with it more and can accept himself but then other things scare him. In the first book especially this fear is a big mover of the plot. All his decisions are based on this fear of being found out.

[houndsofcorduff]

Happy STS! What is your OCs worst experience? How has it shaped them?

Happy STS! Thank you for the ask!

For all my main cast in Hounds of Corduff, it was 10 years previous to the start of book 1 when their allied nation Grosev betrayed Rosen and set off explosives in their major cities. This even orphaned both Awen and Boru. Hayes thought it had orphaned him, but it turns out his mom and one of his sisters did survive. Still, he spent 10 years believing it had taken his family away from them. Corduff lost his teacher and one of his closest friends.

If this event had never happened, then Corduff would never have started taking in stray dogs. He was finally at a place where he felt like maybe he wasn't cursed and maybe everything would be okay - and then this happened, and it further drove him into the belief that he'll never be able to protect those he loves. If this event had never happened, then Hayes wouldn't have become obsessed with revenge. Even when he finds out his family is mostly still alive, his thirst for vengeance is just cast onto another target rather than abandoned. If this event had never happened, then Boru would never have been named the Bringer of Peace because one of the "signs" of the prophecy is that the Bringer of Peace will have suffered a terrible loss in their childhood; this was the terrible loss. If this event had never happened then Drumcondra wouldn't have left Rosen or taken Awen with him in his grief over the loss of his daughter (Awen's mother) and she never would have travelled the world - she would have grown up "normal" in Rosen with her brother and parents and probably wouldn't be as paranoid as she is now after 10 years on the run with her grandfather.

[houndsofcorduff]

Corduff Backstory Part One

Part One: You Were Never Supposed to Leave

Song: Welcome Home, Son by Radical Face

Moodboard:

CW: Parental neglect, adultery, emotional abuse, depression, community harassment, child abandonment, suicide, grief, loss of a parent, familial separation, night terrors and mild references to war and violence.

Corduff was born on the second day of summer in the year 913 to parents Eithne and Brian in Elsava, the capital city of Rosen. He was named after a fish caught by his great-grandfather on his mother’s side. It’s not something he likes other people to know. His childhood was picturesque for a Rosen family, his father was a top-ranking Cruth in the military and was well honored for his continued service. His mother was a preliminary teacher at the school in Elsava and was well-liked in the community, her students and parents loved her and recommended her to all their friends. At least on the outside things were perfect.

In winter of the year 920, Eithne’s secret was revealed, she had been having an affair for the past ten years with one of her coworkers. In the span of only a few weeks, everything in Corduff’s life changed. His parent's marriage fell apart immediately. Eithne moved to another part of the country and soon after married her new wife to start over in a new life. Brian felt he had failed in everything he had worked for in his life. He felt that he had done nothing wrong, except love a woman who could never love him back. He fell into a depression. While Brian was at home, he isolated himself, and Corduff hardly saw him. While he was deployed, he was no longer the commander or soldier he had once been. 

Nearly two years later, just after Corduff had turned 9 and graduated from Rosen Academy a year early, Brian had a revelation. He wanted to turn things around and reconnect with his son. He left the military to try to recover his mental health, but this was seen as a betrayal in Rosen's society. His community viewed this as Brian abandoning his country, and they turned on him. He was harassed and insulted, and the word “traitor” was burned into the grass on his front lawn, permanently scarring it. And Corduff endured the abuse as well, as the boy was seen as an extension of the betrayal. 

Finally, on the second anniversary of Eithne’s leaving, it became too much for Brian to bear. He took his own life. Corduff spent the next few days with Drumcondra - who had taken him on as an apprentice as soon as he had graduated - while officials reached out to his family. Eithne returned to take custody of her son, but Corduff vehemently refused, blaming her for all the horrible things that had happened the last two years. Eithne left broken-hearted. Corduff was then placed with a second cousin, Bran, his wife, Fiona, and their infant daughter, Siobhan. Life continued. 

Although he was happy to be with his new adoptive family he still suffered from the weight of everything that had happened to him. He started having night terrors, slowly at first and then as he got older they became more and more frequent. He would wake up drenched in sweat and his heart racing. Sometimes he would wake up gasping for air. Sometimes he would be screaming at the top of his lungs. Sometimes his screams would get trapped in his throat and he wouldn’t be able to move for several minutes. In the beginning, he could remember every nightmare in painful detail. As the years passed, his mind grew skilled at burying them and locking the fear away before he could even process it.

On the 32nd day of Harvest in the year 925, Bran and Fiona had a second daughter, whom they named Sibeal. Having another family member, as Corduff truly thought of Siobhan and Sibeal as his sisters, was supposed to be a joyous occasion. And it was, except that having so many children in one house was beginning to become too much for Bran. Six months later he left without any warning, no goodbye, and no sense of where he might have gone. Corduff wondered if he was cursed, not for the first time. 

He waited for Fiona to kick him out, he wondered if he might live with Drumcondra now. Yet the woman, in her grief, did not. Her sister, Nessa, moved in with them to help the family. Corduff, wanting to make himself useful and not be abandoned by a family yet again, took on greater responsibility, taking care of Siobhan and Sibeal after training so that Fiona could rest. Fiona never kicked him out, he believed because he had made himself useful, but of course, the truth was that Fiona would have never abandoned the boy, as she had come to think of him as her own son. 

Throughout all of this, Corduff studied well under Drumcondra and was incredibly skilled with SporeSense and manipulation, learning faster and more effectively than anyone else his age. He had a high mastery of wind and water and a low mastery of earth by age 13. He was the youngest to win Division Three of the Summer Tournament in 30 years. His skill helped people forget who his father was, yet they expected him to surpass his father’s rank by the time he was 20 years old. 

[houndsofcorduff]

Corduff Backstory Part Four

Part One

Part Two

Part Three

Song: Ship in a Bottle by fin

Moodboard:

CW: Breakups, grief, depression, medical trauma (coma), and terrorism

He worked closely with a woman just a few years older than him called Elena, and their attraction to one another was quickly apparent. Corduff had never felt a romantic pull so strong, he very easily found himself in love. He never thought it would be so easy, that he could get along with someone so well in this capacity. It was only a few months before she moved in with him and his dogs, and only a year after first meeting did they start talking of marriage. But as things began to get more serious, so did Elena’s questions about his past. As much as he loved her, Corduff could not open up about his secrets and his pain. He kept them hidden from her, believing it was for the best, that she should not have to deal with his baggage. But Elena did not see it this way, her logic was that if they were going to be married then they would both need to carry one another's baggage equally, as partners. They could not come to an agreement, harsh words were exchanged, and Elena left. 

Not far into his newfound grief, the loss of love was a new one for him, Corduff was informed that Hayes had finally, by some miracle, roused from his coma. It had been two years since their encounter with the Demon of the Snowcaps. Corduff rushed home immediately to see it for himself. And it was true. His resignation as ambassador was quickly accepted and he returned to training Hayes, although slowly at first so that he could recover. It took about a year for Hayes to become like his old self, but Corduff was happy to have him back in whatever capacity he could. It felt like a second chance. 

In the early spring of the year 928, the most unexpected thing happened. A boy called Bo, only 13 years old, fulfilled the signs of a very old prophecy. Supposedly this stubborn, thick-headed, impetuous, teenager was supposed to bring peace to the world. And they wanted Corduff to train him. More accurately, they wanted Drumcondra to train Bo, but Corduff wouldn’t contact him. He lied and said that he wanted to train Bo himself, but really he just didn’t want to drag the poor man back into Rosen. Drumcondra had once arranged it so that he might avoid violence, so he would do his best to keep Drumcondra out of this mess as well. 

He began training Bo in windcasting while he trained Hayes in spacecasting. Corduff was amazed at how much determination and perseverance Bo had. Everyone had told him that Bo was a goofy kid, that he was angry and lazy, but that wasn’t true at all. Bo was certainly passionate and stubborn, thickheaded too, but he wasn’t angry. He certainly wasn’t lazy. All Corduff had to do was show a little patience and belief in Bo’s abilities, and Bo was ready to throw everything he had into his training. He also did well by having a rival in Hayes to try and catch up too. The boys bickered and bothered each other like they had been brothers their entire lives. Corduff began to settle back into his routine as a mentor. 

Then, on Corduff’s 27th birthday at the beginning of the summer in 940, there was an attack on one of the smaller towns near Elsava’s walls. It was Cumhacht, a terrorist group that had been trying to get at Bo since his announcement as the child of prophecy two years before. For Bo’s safety, Corduff and Hayes took him to a safe house outside of the city. Unfortunately, this was apparently Cumhacht’s plan all along, and the three were attacked. Although Bo was spared, they lost Hayes, not to death, but to some unknown fate at the hands of Cumhacht.

[houndsofcorduff]

I have some questions about Corduff's backstory, part 2. (Thanks in advance. I'm sure you're busy writing more WIP!) Do you think Corduff believes in destiny now or is he still skeptical of the Seer's final words? What ultimately motivates Corduff at this point? Revenge, redemption, duty, or something else? What are the consequences for Cruth's who try to leave military service?

Hey again, Cyberpurr! Thanks for the questions!

Corduff still believes in Destiny, it's just something ingrained in him. Although he doubts Destiny's intentions sometimes, especially when things are falling apart around him, he still believes Destiny is real and is a force for good. Just maybe not his good. He is motivated sort of by a sense of duty, he's definitely loyal to his country of course but he's mostly drawn to a duty to protect those he cares about. If he's going to be burdened by this glorious purpose and talent then he's going to use it to protect people. A huge portion of Book 1 is dedicated to him wrestling between his loyalty to his country and to Hayes, who is like a brother or son to him. It's literally ripping him apart on the inside.

As for Cruth who leave the military service it varies from place to place. Obviously no government is going to like it if someone deserts the military but Rosen takes any kind of leaving way more seriously than the other countries. Let's take what happened to Corduff's father as an example. Brian wanted to spend more time with his son, it was a decision made for the benefit of his mental health and by all accounts was the right decision to make. But no one saw it that way. Everyone in their community saw it as one of the worst things a person could do. They called him a coward, they burned the word "traitor" into his lawn, they mocked him, they excluded him, they tore him down to the point of breaking. So the answer is, you can leave the military service voluntarily, no problem and no official consequences, but the unofficial consequences are brutal.

[houndsofcorduff]

For the torturing your ocs game (ha, quite befitting considering what you said in your reblog of Claudia!):

7. Who do you put most into stressful situations or other drama?

15. To cap off what kind of hurt/comfort scenarios do you put your oc in?

Ooh! Two questions! Thanks for the ask!

For stressful situations from Hounds of Corduff, it's probably Corduff. He's stressed out 24/7. I would say it's Drumcondra, except that sometimes he thrives on stress and loves the drama. Corduff hates it so it seems more torturing to talk about him here. The man can't spend 5 minutes without someone coming to him with a problem because they'll know he will help even if it exhausts him. His aunt will want him to deliver something first thing in the morning. Then while he's picking up something there Siobhan will probably have a message from the Queen Mother for him. Sibeal will want to ask about Boru (they've just started dating, it's very weird for him). Like she'll ask him if he's said anything about her or something like that and he never knows how to respond. He may or may not make it out of the house before his aunts start asking him when he's going to go on a date. Then Boru will find him and demand to know when his next training session and will wear him down with questions until Corduff agrees to drop everything and train him right then. Hayes will barge in to make fun of Bo and then Corduff will have to break it up. One of the other Master Cruth will probably see him and want to do small talk and that might be the worst part of his day. Then he'll have to go see the Queen Mother and respond to whatever it is she wants. Then while he's there he'll probably see Peader and have to exchange pleasantries with that moron. And it's not even lunch yet. You see what I mean? That's just a normal day, not to mention all the big plot stuff that happens throughout the series. There's a reason it's named after him, you know.

But on the other hand, one Book 1 gets started as much as he wants to be somewhere else and as much as training Awen at first is a huge chore, they get really close. There's a big subplot in Book 1 where she helps him through his night terrors and he's never had anyone do that before. And then towards the end of Book 1 he gets injured (won't go into too much detail because spoilers) and Awen is the one who takes care of him when he's weak. So he gets some hurt/comfort in there too don't worry.

[houndsofcorduff]

I believe you've met - I loved reading this! I had three questions if that's okay. If Awen and Arlyn had grown up together in this world, what would their relationship had been like? Could Drumcondra have taken care of them both? If Corduff had to plan a surprise outing for Awen and Arlyn to bond, where would he take them and why?

Hey! Thanks so much for the ask!

First off, things would be so different, but not as different as Awen probably thinks. Awen still would have been raised by probably Drumcondra since Arlyn was only 15. It would have more shifted Arlyn's relationship with Boru since he probably wouldn't have taken in Boru under those circumstances. But anyway, back to your question, so Awen would still be really talented she just wouldn't have been able to learn casting as early as she did. They would have been really lose, but Awen probably wouldn't idolize him so much - like the only reason she holds him up as a hero is because of her grandfather's stories. If she actually knew him in real life for those 10 years she would respect him but probably not put him on the pedestal that she does. And the same for Arlyn, he spent so much time wondering what she would be like he has this different idea of her. If she hadn't left he'd probably get more annoyed with her like a more realistic brother/sister relationship.

The reason Drumcondra didn't take Arlyn with him was because Arlyn was already 15 and starting his apprenticeship to be a teacher. He didn't want to take Arlyn from that because he knew it was Arlyn's dream. Also, Arlyn was seriously injured in the attack and his leg never recovered fully, leaving him with pain and a limp still to this day. It would have been much harder for Drumcondra to bring him along on some of their more physical escapades, especially early on when he was still learning to handle it. But if Drumcondra had stayed in Eslava he definitely could have taken care of both of them, he just would have been super depressed staying in the city.

Corduff would probably send them on a tour of the city, he knows Awen is new to the city and likes to know everything that's around her and also Arlyn is a bit of a history buff so he would enjoy telling her about all the different places. Plus he could explain their personal history with them to help Awen feel more connected to her past, like "Here's the daycare you went to" or "Here's where we had your first birthday party" or "Here's where Mom and Dad first met" stuff like that.

Again, thanks for the chance to ramble on about my OCs it is one of my favorite things!

[houndsofcorduff]

Corduff of the Demon Lightning

Everyone thank @aalinaaaaaa for this sneak peak at Corduff before I start posting his backstory tomorrow!

Name: Corduff

Nickname: Corduff of the Demon Lightning (in Rosen), Warden of Ash (in Morrowen), Stormbreaker (in Chipas/Grosev), many more names depending on what country or region you're in

Type of Being: Human - sporecaster

Age: 28

Gender: Male

Appearance:

Corduff has a quiet, striking presence. He's the kind of person people notice not because he demands attention, but because he moves like someone who knows exactly where he is and what’s around him. He’s tall and lean, with a wiry build. His white-blond hair is thick and unevenly cut. It always seems windblown, like the first thing he does when he wakes up is take a shower and then immediately stand in a wind tunnel.

His eyes are a stormy mix of dark blue and green, they are sharp, steady, and hard to read, like they’re always watching for something just out of sight. There’s a faint crease between his brows, a sign of constant thinking, or maybe constant tension. He wears his Cruth military uniform with little flair or creativity: a black tunic with red embroidery along the hem, close-fitting trousers for ease of movement, and sturdy boots, well kept but worn at the seams. His posture is loose but ready; he's used to staying alert without looking like it. There’s a tiredness to his face that doesn’t make him look old, exactly—just like someone who’s been carrying too much for too long.

Occupation: Soldier in the Rosen military - a Master to younger students training to become soldiers

Family Members:

Eithne - Corduff and his mother are estranged since she left to be with her affair partner when he was 7 years old. She has tried to reach out in the past to reconnect but he refuses. He hasn't heard from her in about 10 years.

Brian - Corduff's father has passed on and that's all I will say about that for now, I'll be posting his full backstory soon. Brian was his hero, his strong and steady companion, the kind of man he wants to be

Fiona - Technically she is Corduff's second cousin's wife but that's a mouthful so he usually just calls her "Fiona". He went to live with her when he was 9 and she's been like a mother to him ever since

Siobhan - She's Fiona's eldest daughter and was only an infant with Corduff moved in with her family so they grew up basically as brother and sister, when she was old enough to be trained he was her teacher

Sibeal - She's Fiona's younger daughter and was born when Corduff was 12 and they have a similar relationship, but he's not as close with her. She didn't want to be trained by him because she didn't want to do exactly what her sister did. He's never been bothered by it.

Pets: Corduff has eight dogs - all strays that he's taken in. Packer is the oldest and has been with Corduff for 10 years, he was Corduff's first stray. Gauntlet is the next oldest, he's been with Corduff about 8 years, and is the most independent of the pack. Butcher is the biggest, meanest looking dog in the pac,k but also the quickest to give in for belly rubs. Then there's Shadow with her long black hair, how could she have any other name, she's the first to prompt Corduff to go to bed at night. Ruby was named by Siobhan after she found her about four years ago when her elderly owner passed away. She's very cautious around new people. Kia is the absolute attention hog; she's always got her head in some crook of Corduff's somewhere, whether that be his lap, his armpit, his neck, etc. Finally, Cracker and Crisp are brothers that he's only had for about a year; they're the least trained of the bunch.

Best Friend:

Tomas - Corduff and Tomas both trained under Drumcondra when they were young and even though they're three years apart in age, he always felt like Tomas was the only person close to him in age that could keep up with his skills. Tomas is a reserved, strict young man who always things by the book. He has a rare ability to use woodcasting, which is a skill though to have been lost hundreds of years before. He never knew his family, he's been manipulated and used for most of his life, so Drumcondra and Corduff are like his family, he'll always trust them and vice versa. Corduff always felt bad for Tomas because while he managed to escape a lot of the horrors of war by switching teachers, Tomas never stood a chance. His ability meant he was always top of the list to handle the most dangerous and complicated of missions or jobs. When Corduff is at his lowest, angriest, most lost state, it's always Tomas who brings him back.

Describe their room:

Corduff's room is very well ordered. It's minimalistic and there really isn't much to see. His bed is made meticulously every morning. If he ever removes something, it gets put back exactly where it goes when he's finished. The most "unorganized" of his things is his floor-to-ceiling bookshelf, which is not arranged in any manner understood by others. Corduff regularly reorganizes it (as a form of procrastination - usually to avoid going to sleep) based on vibes. This is during the day. At night, that same room becomes a madhouse as Corduff and all eight of his dogs try to cram into one bed. He cleans it every morning despite knowing it will return to ruin by nightfall.

Way of Speaking:

Corduff's tone is very calm and measured; he talks slowly even though his mind is usually several steps ahead in the conversation. His voice is quiet, he rarely raises his voice, and he makes you pay attention to him. If you're paying attention, there's usually a thread of subtle sarcasm - but only if you're paying close attention, and even the,n you might be unsure you heard it correctly. There's a casual edge to his voice, like he's lazy, but he's actually constantly alert and aware - he's specifically trying to sound more nonchalant.

Physical Characteristics (posture, gestures, attitude):

Corduff's posture isn't exactly rigid, but it's certainly controlled; he's trying to seem relaxed but not careless. He's extremely aware of everything he's doing all the time so he rarely uses gestures, and certainly never big ones. He keeps his arms close to him, often crossed against his chest, like he wants to take up as little space as possible. He's very still, he never wastes an ounce of energy. His attitude is reserved, observant, and steady, although he does attempt to throw it off with some more laid back attitude but that's just him controlling his environment or trying to help others relax when he himself is certainly not.

Items in their back pocket pouch:

Four vials of a painkiller medicine for migraines, a pocket-sized book he's read a dozen times, a field journal, worn at the edges, mostly filled with maps, an assortment of paper money/coins (the economics girl hasn't figured out the monetary system yet? Yikes), one of those stones that you rub when you're stressed - it's very worn in the middle.

Hobbies:

Reading, cloud gazing, cartography, taking his dogs on a walk (usually one or two at a time, usually long and aimless), cleaning, spending time with friends and family, overthinking while staring at his ceiling when he was supposed to be asleep hours ago...is that a hobby?

Abilities/talents/powers:

An incredibly talented sporecaster, he has mastery over several types of casting, including wind, water, earth, fire, lightning, space, and acid. But ASIDE from fighting, he's actually a really good writer! And map drawer! And he's a great mentor, despite what he thinks, he's very helpful and gives great advice. He also likes doing calligraphy sometimes but he's just getting into it so he's not that great but I just wanted to mention it.

Relationships (how they interact with other people):

Corduff is interacts with others in a very quiet but steady way. He's not what you would think of as warm in a traditional sense, he doesn't coddle, he doesn't praise a lot, etc. But he does pay attention. He remembers the way you like your tea, he notices when your hands shake, he's a great listener even though he doesn't always do a lot of talking. As a mentor, he leads by example, he doesn't always take the direct approach to instruction, he makes his students figure it out for themselves with a little guidance. He doesn't sugarcoat, if you're doing it wrong or you aren't working as hard as he thinks you could be, he'll tell you, but he's never cruel. He's softer with others than he is himself, quick to forgive mistakes other people make when he would never tolerate them for himself.

Fears:

Failure, losing control, becoming like the people who have hurt him, and this last one I cannot emphasize enough: surviving longer than everyone he loves.

Faults:

I won't gloss over it, he's emotionally repressed. He's stubborn. He's extremely over-critical of himself for no reason. He's self-sacrificing to a fault, always taking on more than he can handle. And he's completely unwilling to let go.

Good Points:

You can always depend on him, he's the guy you want in a crisis, calm, level-headed, and unwaveringly loyal. He's gentle and compassionate, he knows so much pain but he doesn't let it turn him into an angry or vengeful person, instead it makes him want to treat others with more care than he got. He gives people space to grow, heal, and make mistakes. He's incredibly observant, loves learning, and is very protective.

What they want more than anything else:

To sleep. Just kidding - sort of. He wants peace. Not just as in the end of the war, but also peace of mind. He wants to stop worrying. He wants to stop having nightmares. He wants all the people he loves to just be happy, and then if that happens, he'll be happy too.

[houndsofcorduff]

Here to repay your wacky asking service with an ask for you!

Take all of your OCs and stack them into a tower. Who's on top, who's on the bottom, and who's the one who causes the entire thing to topple over?

Bonus: give us the entire stack :)

Thanks for the wacky ask! I've enjoyed sending them and I'm happy to get one in return!

I'm going to put them in like a cheerleader pyramid, starting with Drumcondra, Boru, and Hayes on the bottom. Then Corduff and Tomas in the second row. With Awen on top because she's the lightest. But she will absolutely fight this decision and demand to be on the lowest level with Drumcondra until they remind her it isn't about strength but just physical weight and she's - well she's a 13 year old girl so obviously she's the lightest. As for toppling over, it'll definitely be either Hayes or Boru's fault depending on your perspective. Hayes will challenge Boru to some stupid competition, like "hey I bet I can do this with just one hand for longer than you" and Boru will agree to the competition and then unsteady the tower and send it toppling.

I can imagine that while Tomas is trying to talk sense into Hayes and Boru, Corduff is busy arguing with Awen who keeps wanting to climb down and be on the bottom level. Meanwhile, Siobhan is trying to take a picture because that was the whole reason they got into a pyramid in the first place. Arlyn would have been on the pyramid too but his leg is acting up and he didn't want to risk it, plus watching all this unfold is too funny. Until he realizes Bo is starting to struggle and then he'll start yelling at Bo to put both hands on the ground.

Then when Siobhan finally gets the picture taken it's in mid pyramid collapse for maximum shenanigans pay off.

[houndsofcorduff]

Character Backstories

Hello! I’m going to be positing backstories for the Hounds of Corduff cast soon. They’ll each come in multiple parts because the backstories are LONG. I think the last time I checked Corduff’s backstory was over 3k to give perspective.

I’ll also be including stuff like mood boards and playlists and things like that for each post.

My question to anyone interested though is who should be first? Let me know which character backstory sounds the most interesting!

[houndsofcorduff]

Corduff Backstory Part Three

Part One

Part Two

Song: Safe and Sound by Electric President

Moodboard:

CW: Death, violence, grief, trauma, abandonment, coma, life-altering injury, child soldiers, minors in a military conflict

Corduff spent the next year helping the city to rebuild. He was proclaimed a full-fledged Cruth, partly because of his skill and partly because of Rosen’s desperation for more military strength. Before they could send him on the truly dangerous missions, however, he took his exams to become a Master, passed with flying colors, and took on his first apprentices. Siobhan, his adopted sister, as well as Hayes, who had lost all of his family in the Betrayal. Since Rosen’s military strength had been so weakened by the Betrayal, the Queen Mother had started assigning more dangerous missions to even the recently graduated Cruth. The three of them went on missions together in order to secure Rosen’s borders. He enjoyed his time as their mentor, and he grew closer with Hayes, even inviting the boy to stay in his home with him. Corduff knew what it was like to have nowhere to go.  The three of them became like a family. And Corduff took in more stray dogs from his travels and from around Elsava as well. 

The next four years were hard on everyone, as the country adjusted to this new normal, but comparatively, Corduff was actually enjoying this time. He and Hayes clicked so well almost immediately, and the boy was quick to pick up any skill he taught him. Both Hayes and Siobhan had a natural talent for precision in SporeSense and were able to learn much more difficult types of casting very early on in their training. He taught them both windcasting at first, but after they had mastered that so quickly, he began teaching them his favorite type of casting, lightningcasting. Each year they competed in the Summer Tournament and blew everyone away with their skills. Other Masters tried to persuade them to switch over and become their apprentices, but they always turned them down in favor of Corduff. 

Everything went smoothly, until Harvest of the year 935. At that time, both Siobhan and Hayes already had high mastery over two skills, and were beginning to work on spacecasting. While Corduff was immensely proud of their progress, he regretted that it also drew the attention of the Queen Mother, who began sending himself and his apprentices on more dangerous missions. During one of their missions, they were attacked by Mihnoir, a soldier for Chipas who was so strong that he was nicknamed the Demon of the Snowcaps, as he was from the mountainous snow-capped region of Chipas and also psychotic. Coruff didn’t know why he was there - if it was simply a coincidence or design, but they had no choice. They had to fight him. 

Corduff eventually defeated Mihnoir, something which would gain him a great reputation in Rosen, earning him a new nickname: Corduff of the Demon Lightning. But the victory came at a great cost. Siobhan barely survived, and Hayes was in a coma which he wouldn’t rouse from. Siobhan came out of the experience a very changed young woman and decided she wanted to pursue bloodcasting. With one apprentice in a coma and the other pursuing a skill that he could not teach her, Corduff decided it was time for a change in his path as well. As he did not have the heart to take on new apprentices at that time. 

Of course, he also didn’t want to be forced into more violence, so he convinced the Queen Mother to appoint him as an ambassador. He left most of his things in his home, which would remain empty while he was gone, but he did take his dogs. He traveled to Morrowen and was Rosen’s ambassador there. Morrowen was not involved in the war but was helping Rosen quietly with weapon shipments and money.  

[houndsofcorduff]

Happy STS!

Who is your favorite character to write and why?

Also, which two characters do you enjoy writing together (for their dynamics, dialogue, or some other reason) and why?

Happy STS! Thank you for the ask!

My favorite character to write from Hounds of Corduff is Corduff. I mean the series is named for him - kind of. It actually refers to his three apprentices but his name is actually in the title. I love to write him because he's so easy to relate to. All he wants to do is protect people and he can't ever seem to get it right. He's a giant ball of repressed emotions and hidden anxiety wrapped in the mask of the perfect patriotic soldier. His character arc is about dropping the mask and allowing himself to be himself - that the harder you try to hold onto something the faster it will slip through your fingers. And he loves dogs.

My favorite dynamic from Hounds of Corduff is Drumcondra and Boru because they aren't related but they are copy and pasted from each other. Awen is Drumcondra's grandaughter but they couldn't be more different. If you saw Drumcondra, Awen, and Boru side by side you would assume Boru was his grandson but not Awen. They are a TRIP and a half. Always trying to outdo the other, never acknowledging that they are EXACTLY the same person, and jumping headfirst into danger ON PURPOSE and then getting mad at the other one that they would be so reckless.