Bartolo suits his name. His hair is black, his skin olive toned, his eyes a dark brown. He stands a nicely even six feet tall, with somewhat broad shoulder and a good build. His physical appearance could be considered tall, dark, and handsome....until you get a good look at his face. The poor man is incredibly crosseyed. If he wears his spectacles, the lazy eyes correct themselves somewhat, but his vanity refuses to let him wear the spectacles in public. He will only wear them while working over his endless hours of hidework.
An outgoing man, Bartolo has learned to overcome his physical handicap by having a good sense of humor and a personable manner with the public in general. His weakness is his vanity. Always bullied as a young child, Bartolo started doing hard physical labor with his farmcrafter father to become stronger so he could beat up the others who bullied him. As he grew, he matured into a very nice looking young man, except for those badly crossed eyes. As his looks blossomed, the women at the hold could usuallly look past the eye issue, thus Bartolo's ego grew along with his looks. He is sensitive about mention of his eyes or his spectacles and depending on the person commenting on either, Bartolo will try to use his personality first to bypass the issue before resorting to his fists. But if push comes to shove, Bartolo will shove back harder than he was pushed.
Brief History of Persona:
The son of a Farmcrafter family, Bartolo had a normal childhood aside from the fact he was born severly crosseyed. While growing up, the boy found that the stronger you were, the easier it was to stop the bullying. Sadly though, the bullying didn't stop until he was well into his teens and apprenticed at the Harper Hall at Sandstone River Hold. He wasn't allowed to join the farmcraft as the Hallmaster had seen the issues the boy had with trying to plow a straight line, sow a straight line, cut a straight swath. There weren't many crafts that would allow a crosseyed boy into the Hall. Harper Hall accepted Bartolo as a scrivner as hopefully he could be taught to write with rulers and other equipment.
While at Harper Hall, Bartolo acquired his first pair of spectacles. This helped his eyes somewhat, allowing him to slowly work his way through his knots. The thing that still astounds his Masters at this stage in life is that Bartolo still turns in work with certain words printed somewhat backwards. He never complains about having to redo his work as his work ethic is good. Sadly, his ego won't let him tell people that when he looks at many words, even when wearing his spectacles, they appear to be all jumbled up.
Always declining a placement at another hold or cothold, Bartolo prefers to stay at Sandstone River Hold with his family. He teaches some classes and does all the note taking for the Masters. He's good at grading tests and such. Lately, however, the Hallmaster has been discussing sending Bartolo up to the main Hold to help Lady Prandra.
E-mail Jensun if you'd like, I'm sure she'd love to hear from you!
