Past
It's unclear where exactly Jagal came from—since it can be difficult to establish a trail in the Ironlands, there's not much to rely on besides his own word, which changes frequently. One of his favorite claims seems to be that he just showed up in the woods one day and is probably some kind of changeling, not that he knows or cares about the details—but that one's a little ludicrous.
More recently, he's suffered the loss of his hawk Enthr to some thief he's been unable to track down. Jagal is getting that bird back—though he seems perfectly fine getting sidetracked along the way. It must not be that big of a deal...
Present
Jagal's most basic drive is greed, followed by personal amusement. He's managed to garner a decent reputation in some circles as "The Jackal" hunting down lost items and such for the right price. He's best at hunting down things that he stole in the first place, though he tries to keep that under wraps. He's not completely inept at actually finding things or people, either, mostly due to his experience with scrying. He'll alternate between playing the hero and the villain of robberies depending on what seems more fun in the circumstances. He's not exactly highly spiritual, but he'll occasionally honor the gods of wealth and seafaring, silence and vengeance, or deceit and fire.
He takes his vows of iron oddly casually, both because he feels success is mostly a matter of luck and because his word without a vow is worth absolutely nothing. That being said, he doesn't usually go out of his way to backstab, and he does dedicate himself to his vows with some degree of seriousness, represented by his practice of shedding a little of his own blood when swearing. ...Though that can also be used as a bit of an out should a vow be forsaken—get rid of whatever iron he swore on? Well, that wouldn't be his precious black iron daggers! Just the iron in his blood, which he's long since gotten rid of already. Technically.
Between his bloodletting and the damage from his general escapades, a concerning number of scars are scattered about his person. The most notable ones are the face scar and a jagged crater on his left chest, but there are also scars of high density on his shins and the inside of his right forearm. The insides of his hands, while somewhat healed and remaining flexible with practice, are so thick with scar tissue they can't easily be cut. He has plenty of stories to offer for every scar, most of which seem halfway credible until you hear him spouting something completely different the next time.
Likes
Soup, black iron, cider, drinking contests, cheating at drinking contests, climbing/navigating trees, apples, grinding herbs, staying occupied, whittling, bird calls, clearly-expensive goods, pigeons (literal or figurative), jump-scaring, ego boosts, constellation myths, bitter snacks
Dislikes
Bird meat, ghost stories, repeated jabs about his height, bungling a scam, being scammed, bad hair days, personal investment, high winds, being startled awake, pity, backpacks, sweets, moralizing, archery, nightmares, people who don't know when to quit
Stat Breakdown
Edge [2]
Pretty speedy fella despite the significant baggage he stubbornly keeps on his person at all times. Has surprisingly good aim but refuses ranged combat if at all possible. Excellent reflexes and dodging ability (a bit too excellent, if you're an ally catching him off-guard).
Heart [1]
Shows little emotion beyond near-constant sardonic amusement and very occasional bouts of panic. Tends towards cowardly and selfish actions and is rather superstitious. Not terribly thoughtful and often intentionally abrasive. Rarely feels much compassion for others, but might have a little condescending pity towards anyone clearly too naive to survive in the Ironlands. Does make some effort to play nice if he thinks he'll be repaid for it.
Iron [2]
Fairly strong, but mostly just really, really hard to kill. Good at climbing and carrying regardless of distance, but dead lifts and brute force attacks aren't really his specialty. May be lacking in the heart department but has the physical fortitude to keep dragging himself along anyway. Can subsist on very little supplies and sleep but really shouldn't.
Shadow [3]
Sick at sleight of hand and hiding generally. Quiet by default and utterly silent when necessary, even if he's in pain. A very good liar unless he simply has no idea what he's talking about (but he still sounds convincing if you're also clueless). His social engineering could use some work, but he has no qualms about manipulating whoever he can.
Wits [1]
Not as clever as he thinks he is. Poor memory and usually a little slow to pick up on things if they don't have to do with trickery. Prioritizes material gains over logical options that may be better for self-preservation. Can recognize some common words but is otherwise illiterate. Fairly un-knowledgeable in most subjects that haven't been relevant to him personally, but has decent medical, pharmaceutical, and general survival experience.
