Editing Alexander Young

==Alexander Young==

'''Keywords:'''
*English (culture) 13
*French (culture) 13
*Medieval Historian (profession) 17 +4 (1W)
**Latin
**Old English
**Norman French
**Archaeology
**Trawling through old records
*Kung Fu 13 +8 (1W)
*Can't Forget Rebecca 13 +5 (18)
*Vivid Dreams 13
*Rugged Constitution 13 +3 (16)
*St Christopher's Amulet 13
*Good with Animals 13
*Trekking 13
'''Flaws:'''
*Intimidated by attractive people 1W
*Reserved 18

'''Background'''

Alexander grew up in a small town in the south of England as the only child of his French mother Marie and father John. Both his father's parents died while Alex was very young, and he has few memories of them. He knows they were farmers and has vague recollections of petting a lamb which tried to lick his fingers. They also had several dogs and countless cats.

His mother's family lives in south central France where they have a small vineyard that borders on a protected mountainous forest preserve. His mother would take Alex there every summer, with his father joining them a few weeks later. The young boy fit in well, he spoke French fluently and loved the whole area. His grandfather would take him, and a local boy Luc, on long walks in the wilder areas. When the boys grew older they'd sometimes camp overnight, fishing in the mountain streams and explore.

One time when he was about seven he took ill and had a very vivid dream. He was standing on top of a stone tower looking out over a vast rolling landscape. There were hills and valleys, untamed forest and tall mountains and the glint of a lake in the distance. It was wild and beautiful country and he felt as if he belonged, even if he had never been there before. Then dark clouds rolled in and there was something threatening, something dangerous behind him but every time he turned it was still behind him. Just as he woke in terror, he heard a woman's voice, but never made out what she said, or to whom.

Many years later he tried to recapture some of the impressions of that landscape in a fantasy novel, leaving out the horror, but he left the book unfinished with a sense of failure, returning now and then to poke at it.

When he went to university he first took archaeology and then Medieval History as his subjects, as well as Latin. He didn't have time now to go to France as much as he liked, but kept in semi-regular contact with Luc who was now working with the agency responsible for the forest preserve they both loved.

While an undergraduate he met Rebecca Wilson, a couple years younger than him. He had been wrapped up in working on his thesis and met her when he needed help with translating latin. They went out a couple of times and slowly but steadily became a couple. She was much more outgoing than him while he was steadier and calmer than her. Everyone said they fit well together, complemented each other. He knew she had some sort of history, there were things she didn't like to talk about but he figured she'd tell him when she felt ready. They were together for about two years, then one day she simply said she had to leave for a while. Something had come up at home, and she'd get in touch with him as soon as she could. That was almost ten years ago and she hasn't returned yet.

At first he moped for a while, then he worried, then he got angry and hurt and packed away the few things she'd left. He did make some efforts to track her down, even went to the Police but could not find any traces of her. He kept the St. Christopher amulet she'd given him though. Eventually he went back to work and finished his thesis, taught a little but took every opportunity to get out of town. 

His social life was put on hold for a year or so after she'd left, and he absorbed himself in his work which mostly involved teaching at this point. Eventually though, he started to crawl out of his shell, and while he wasn't ready to date, he started to socialize a bit. Things returned to normal.

It was during this period that he took up Kung Fu. On one of his treks, this time in the Scottish highlands, he was assaulted by two rough looking men. He was beaten and about to be robbed when something scared them away. His memories of the incident are hazy and unreliable, partly from a concussion and partly from chock. He does recall a woman and a man running towards him and a flash of some kind, but after that it's all fuzzy. He woke up in a hospital where he was told he had wandered in to a nearby village on his own accord, but bloody from a head injury.
The experience puzzled and frightened him, and once he was back home and well enough he investigated the local dojos. A Kung Fu instructor had a good reputation, and also taught meditation techniques, staves and other assorted weapons. Alex quickly found he enjoyed the exercise and the meditation relaxing.

The university had an exchange deal with a counterpart in the US and he was asked if he'd like to spend a year there as a guest lecturer. He thought it sounded interesting, and a change of scene and new areas to explore would be welcome. He accepted and six months ago he took a flight across the Atlantic.

It has been a mixed experience so far. Socially he's had difficulty fitting in, and hasn't really tried perhaps, but he has enjoyed the few week-ends he has managed to go trekking. Recently he found an English Pub, a place which actually serves decent beer and has gone there a couple of times with colleagues.

He's reserved but polite and a little uncomfortable in large social gatherings. He can be a little close mouthed among people who are very attractive or forceful, a trait he resents in himself. It's gotten better with age and experience, but won't go away completely. He has accepted that he is at heart, a shy person.
He is fairly stubborn and resilient, tends to go his own way but rarely makes a big deal about it, he's definitely not confrontational.

He has a good hand with animals, he had dogs and cats as a child but doesn't want one while he lives in a city. In his opinion, dogs and cats should have large rural areas to thrive and people who keep large dogs cooped up in small flats don't rate high with him.

His favourite pastime is trekking. He simply enjoys the slow steady act of walking in rural or wild areas as one of the best forms of both relaxation and exercise. 

But he is fundamentally unhappy with his situation. He's not in a relationship, and even ten years later his old one still hurts. Academia doesn't really suit him either, the fight for meager grants and political infighting is tiresome, as well as the petty rivalries he has trouble handling graciously. Not that he doesn't enjoy what he does, but it often feels a bit pointless.