Oliver Mendel

He's only the hottest guy in all of Albrind. Oliver is played by WanderingMercenary.

Background
Oliver was born in the town of Windnesse, to Jacob and Lilliana Mendel. Jacob Mendel was a farmer, specializing in crops, but supplemented his farm with different types of poultry, depending upon the year. Lilliana Mendel worked as a tailor for the area, fixing and making tunics, leggings, the occasional sail, and anything else that could be made with needle and thread. Their income was moderate, enough to live off of, but not enough to enjoy the finer things in life.

He was not the first born in his family, nor was he the first son. Both of those honors are bestowed upon Oliver's older brother, Gavin. Gavin was then followed by Thalia two years later, and then Oliver by five years, and lastly, Maryanna, by only a year. The boys worked with their fathers in the field and poultry pens, while the girls worked with their mothers. Oliver, being the youngest boy of the family, was assigned the poultry pens.

During his schooling, it was found that Oliver was very good with numbers. He could do most problems in his head while others took a little longer. This lead to his father placing him in charge of the accounting side of the farm business. There were a few occasions where Olivers gift with numbers saved the family from being scammed. These scams mainly dealt with purchasing of product based by weight. These scams were also perpetrated by wandering merchants who would come into town every month or so. As Oliver protected the family from scams, he decided what he wanted to do with his life. Become a wandering merchant of high standard, free from having to rely on scams in order to turn a profit.

When Oliver turned fourteen, he told his father of his plans. At first, his father was hesitant, but realized it would be the best fit for his son. And the best thing for himself, if his son decided to send some money back every once in a while. jacob then arranged an apprenticeship with a local merchant to teach Oliver the ways of the trade. The merchant, Hazim El'Hota, was impressed with the boys ability in mathematics. What he needed to teach the boy was the speechcraft behind making a sale. At first, things were difficult. Oliver would refuse to give out any false information, a point he believed Hazim was making frequently. A year into his apprenticeship, Oliver realized that the point was not to spread false information, but to merely make the product seem so desirable that the customer must have it.

Three years passed, and Oliver learned much during his apprenticeship. When he turned eighteen, Hazim declared Oliver's apprenticeship over. He gave Oliver the choice of either staying with him and work in the shop, or set out on his on as a peddler. Oliver decided to become a peddler, with dreams of opening his own shop. Hazim provided him with a small cart, a mule, and some supplies that were profitable at the time, all on credit, of course.

It was tough work, at first. The established merchants and peddlers often presented Oliver with bad deals that only fools would accept. On a particularly bad stretch of deals in the province of Onea, did Oliver realize that he would have to leave Westerwood in order to finally turn a profit. He decided to head east, into the mountains. There, he had more success than he did in his home territory. It was here that he learned how to trade in the fur and spice markets, and it became his specialty for a time. He also gained a reputation as being a trustworthy merchant, dealing fairly when he was treated fairly. It was during his time here that he sold his old wagon and mule, and bought his current set-up: a fine horse and a larger cart.

After three years of trading in the Racleur Mountains, Oliver, at the age of twenty-one, decided to go further east, to the city of Belorner. He had heard that the fur trade was going to start picking up, with prices to the point where Oliver could open up his own shop from the profits. But life had a different plan for Oliver once he arrived.

A couple days after his arrival in Belorner, he met a shepard by the name of Kjersten. She was employed by the Children of Light to take care of a herd of sheep that provided wool to the church, with the purpose of being used in aid efforts for the poor in the area. They met in the tavern of the inn that Oliver was staying at. They fell in love, and Oliver conviced Kjersten to travel with him through the Racluer mountains, bringing some of her sheep along to help make some money. She agreeded wholeheartedly, but the Church thought otherwise. It took some debating on Oliver's part (as well as some considerable donations), but he convinced the Church that this was a wise move, and would turn profit for them in the long run.

They traveled for a year through the mountains, traveling the roads and visiting the merchants he had grown to know, the towns that almost felt like home. For Oliver, things were going well, better than he had expected. In the spring of his twenty-fourth year, while taking the rare visit to Calibri, he did something that he would always regret.

He had gotten a little bit too drunk while visiting with some old trading partners. They decided it would be a good idea to go visit some of the dancers, watch the show, and have a "rendevous," as they put it. Oliver went along. They went to a show, and Oliver was captivated by one of the younger and prettier dancers. He met up with her after the show, and, despite his drunkeness, convinced her to come with him back to his room. Kjersten discovered Oliver with the other woman, and ended the relationship right then and there. Oliver pleaded with her to stay, that he had made a mistake, but Kjersten argued that no true follower of the Children of Light would do such a thing.

Oliver packed his things and headed north, heart heavy with regret. He still traded in furs, salts and spices. A year passed, and he found himself in the town of Lenti once more. Except this time, the Blue Caravan was there, and Oliver would find his life changed once more.

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