Dylan Brushnie

With scarf.

So handsome. Much tragic. Wow.

Physical Characteristics

Dylan is a spare, lanky Asanii, more humanoid in face and body than felid, and with sharp cheekbones, short dark hair, and hazel eyes often considered striking. His fur is brindled, similar to that of his sisters who showed the brindling pattern in black and silver over gray; his eyelids are dark and his eyelashes black, and his hands are a warm gray with square-tipped fingers and close-cut nails, and calluses indicative of work and swordplay.

Dylan habitually wore a long black woolen coat and a red scarf, and smelled "like pine and musk and a faint warmth," per Svetlana Karishenikov.

Dylan is known for being "young and good-looking and a fantastic speaker." His voice is a baritone.

History

Family

Dylan grew up in a family with both parents and two older sisters. As a youth, he studied swordplay under a mentor, and won the colony championship three years running; he kept the sword that he used for the championship (a gift from his mentor) locked under his bed.

A pirate raid approximately 20 years before Sword of the Alliance killed his parents immedately via direct hit, and resulted in the kidnapping of his sisters, then sixteen (Tati) and 18 (Rhonwyn), while he was pinned down by rubble; he personally witnessed their rape and capture. This experience (and especially that he had no bodies of his sisters to mourn, and no closure) permanently changed his opinion of the Alliance and Fleet, and led to his support of the Secessionists. His practice sword did survive the attack, but his gift sword did, though somewhat discolored.

Recent History

Dylan is the public face--and ostensible head, though some of his subordinates, particularly Langorn, go behind his back--of the Secessionist faction on Gledig. Ostensibly, and unlike the Secessionists of several decades prior, Dylan's Secessionists are a peaceful political group. In truth there is a "radical faction" that exists within the Secessionists that Dylan can't control.

Dylan met Svetlana Karishenikov at the graveyard in Daleth, where the two had a heart-to-heart about the planet and its issues, neither knowing who the other was. They "met" shortly later when infiltrating the Governor's Mansion for the formal welcome of the UAV Stardancer senior staff. Makeup had 'transformed' Dylan into a Harat-Shar pardine, complete with rosettes, dark green eye templifilms, and a black wig, though he recognized [[Svetlana Karishenikov in a similar disguise. However, one of his compatriots, Gavin Medearin (possibly/probably with the aid of Langorn, bombed the meeting; in the aftermath Langorn was seriously injured and he, Dylan, and Perisse were forced to flee--and to lose track of Svetlana.

In the aftermath, Dylan sought to find out where Kerenkev was--for political reasons--and where Svetlana was--for more personal ones (and to the dismay of Perisse and Langorn). He visited Svetlana's mother, but failed to locate her there either; however, he did discover that Svetlana had been Fleet. Still rattled by this discovery, he addressed the leaders of all the Secessionist cells, at which he discovered that the terrorist branch had taken an injured, and unconscious, Kerenkev captive. He managed to talk down the crowd and to seemingly cow the human in charge of the explosion, Gavin Medearin.

Trivia

• Kept the sword his mentor gave him to encourage him to excel; his practice sword burned with the house. He practiced with the surviving sword, alone. The sword has a five-foot blade and is a hand-and-a-half sword; originally its hilt was wrapped with silk cords, and Dylan never replaced them. The metal is discolored where he scraped the fire scale off it after rescuing the sword from the ruin.
• Won Gledig Colony Championship three years running.

Body Language

Clean, economical, and very deliberate movement; no motion accidental or wasted. Svetlana interpreted this as 'courtly graces.' "[T]here was no mistaking the way he walked, carried himself, came to a halt with an assurance so fundamental it needed no bluster."

Quotes

"When life is the stake, there's only one try at the game. One. No more."

Quotes and Observations by Others

• "Hi back."

--Other character

• "I like you too."

--Third character

Story Appearances

Sword of the Alliance (Fiction)