henry gordon
"I'm in too deep, and I'm tryin' to keep, up above in my head, instead of goin' under,"
Raise Them Bones, Henry:
Pronouns: He/Him
B-Day: 11/21
Age: 26 by end of SHB
Gender: Cis Male
Orientation: Straight
Primary Classes: SMN/SCH, RDM, DRK, BTN/MIN, GSM/ALC
Ethnicity: Hyur Midlander (He has a hard time remembering this)
Nationality: State of Suffering (United States)
Likes: Music, alcohol, beaches, dry humor, people who know what they want
Dislikes: Work, fighting, primals, people who put him on a pedestalAU information: non!WoL assumes that Henry is a Scion with the Echo that is in -way- over his head, and works alongside the Warrior of Light by a (somewhat) undeserved heroic reputation earned by association with the Warrior of Light.
Heroes get remembered!
The reluctant hero saddled with more titles than he ever dreamed of wanting, Henry struggles daily against being touted as more than he sees himself as: a punk-ass kid from Trenton, New Jersey.
Legends Never Die!
As a man once described as "a ball of traumas" surprisingly has a lot to process. His emotional state is a mess, but his personality doesn't need to be.
Bada Bing! Wit' A Pipe!
What exactly has he done since coming to Eorzea? What are the pieces he has to the puzzle he's been working on? (Spoilers ahead!)
Smooth seas don't make good sailors
The Warrior of Light's relationships are their own mess of cobwebs, poison, and a bit of rope. Ships, those sailing or sunk, go here!
Backstory of the Hero of Eorzea
Let nothing fool you here, Henry Gordon thinks he is a hero so seldomly that admitting he is even remotely heroic often requires several drinks, or a pretty face telling him it's gonna be okay.In Trenton, New Jersey, the boy who would become the Warrior of Light, Savior of Eorzea, was a simple accountant. He had sisters, a family that he'd lost contact with, and had just quit his job when a thrown boot launched him from his roof to the ground. Before he would land, however, Hydaelyn would intervene.There, Henry Gordon would be blessed with the Echo and sent forth on Eorzea. He would land on a ship headed into Limsa Lominsa, fumble his way into the Scions of the Seventh Dawn, and find himself struggling to make peace with his lot in life.Fires of Fate make anyone a hero, despite their kicking and screaming. Even with his many, many flaws, Henry Gordon quickly found himself a Scion of no minor repute. Though his "heroic demeanor" is rarely seen, the moments in which it shines through have been penned into the annals of history. And, much to his own chagrin, often overinflated. He did not "rip the Ultima Weapon in half with the summoned, tamed hands of Ifrit himself," nor did he "sword-dance a nation to freedom," but by his hand has many a heroic deed been done.
Who IS Henry Gordon?
- "As I pen these memoirs, I realize I spent most of my time running from Destiny. The few times I stopped, and embraced it? Those were the times I had already been swallowed whole by it. The bards often play up my exploits, and I wish they'd just say 'and Henry saved the day,' rather than embellish it. My life was more often than not made significantly more perilous by the fact that most folk thought I could, at-will, conjure Ifrit's claws to rip men in half, or dance with swords to kill gods."
Memoirs of Henry GordonThe Defender of Eorzea, the Outlander, Khagan of the Steppe, all of these titles have a layer of obfuscation to them. Henry Gordon - regardless of whether or not he is the Warrior of Light, has a knack for having titles and heroic acts attributed to him. This has earned him the title of First Lieutenant in the Immortal Flames, a seat in the Scions, and heapings of titles that he will be the first to tell you are all bullshit.Despite hating every second of being considered the Hero of Eorzea, Henry Gordon has adopted a whole persona around the concept of him as a hero. In a misguided notion that he can abuse it to get out of hard work, he will employ it when interacting with the Alliance as a whole and whenever he thinks the persona can improve morale of subordinates or allies. Ironically, it often causes him to get pulled further and further into danger, or propel his reputation to more dizzying heights.Henry Gordon is, and to a lesser extent always sees himself as, a punk-kid from Jersey who worked a dead-end office job before Hydaelyn decided he would become an Eorzean hero. He struggles with Impostor Syndrome, and often acts out in foolish ways to try and convince others around him that he isn't the hero the world thinks he is.Despite his self-deprecating sense of humor and refusal to believe anything positive about himself, Henry has a surprising amount of self-awareness. He is painfully aware of the problems he has taken under and their effects on him, despite ironically being blind to his own positive features. Masking traumas with humor and booze, the New Jersey Native will often intentionally make an ass of himself to defuse tense situations or in the vague notion that it will help him get female attention.Speaking of female attention, he seeks all of it he can get his hands on. From casual flings to short-lived romances, any relationships he enters he tries to keep on a fairly basic, short-term level due to an understanding that he isn't quite the healthiest person to be around for extended periods of time. He'll flirt with any woman after coming to know them, his pursuit mostly being to make them smile. While he may wish for more, he takes things as they come.
The deeds of the hero of eorzea (HERE BE SPOILERS!)
Please be warned! Spoilers are ahead!A Realm Reborn
Henry Gordon awakes in a boat headed into Limsa Lominsa, and after misadventures galore finds himself in the Arcanist's Guild. After several drunken misadventures, he finds himself a reluctant hero for the Scions of the Seventh Dawn. Upon discovering his immunity to Tempering, Henry Gordon would be filled with Survivor's Guilt and extremely undiagnosed (and poorly handled) PTSD. For a majority of the events of ARR, Henry would often be horribly drunk in hopes that they would find a replacement. This led to the Scions as a whole coming to view him with severe disdain, most notably Y'Shtola Rhul; Y'Shtola and Henry's disdain for one another grew in private, however. Henry blamed her for his lot in being a Hero of Eorzea, while Y'Shtola continued to be verbally critical of the New Jersey Native's lifestyle. His exploits earned him praise, awards, and promotions within the Immortal Flames, which caused him to develop a persona built on the rumors and expectations people had of him. Other things of note: he told Gaius Van Baelsar "you could win me over with a hooker and an eight-ball," he saw and attempted to warn Alphinaud of the dangers at play when he found falsified spending records of the Crystal Braves (and was ignored, which caused further drinking), and his frequent alcohol abuse prevented him from ever understanding how the Echo actually works. The Scions stopped attempting to explain it after he bemoaned his "LSD Rock" for the fifth time in a day.The Coils of Bahamut
Joining Alisaie Leveilleur, Henry Gordon pursued the remnants of Bahamut with the sole intention of doing one good thing before the dragon killed him. It was when Bahamut Prime manifested itself before him that Henry truly came into his own as a Summoner: as a last-ditch effort, Henry stole aether from the Primal and created an Egi of the beast solely acting on instinct. In an uncharacteristic display of will, the Bahamut-Egi was tamed, and Henry was able to disperse the Primal with ease. When Alisaie approached him later, she found the stalwart Hero of Eorzea sobbing in his apartment, bemoaning the fact that he should have been dead. The facade was broken, briefly, as the twin discovered how Henry truly felt while performing his heroic deeds. The finer details of that interaction were not recorded, and Alisaie has never admitted to a soul that it happened, nor has she ever spoken to Henry of that moment. It stands to reason that she will take that secret to her grave.Heavensward
The Defender of Eorzea, now disgraced, came to Ishgard a depressed lout. He was elevated to a curiosity to 'potential public nuisance' after choke-slamming Alphinaud Leveilleur through a table in the Forgotten Knight, and Tataru attempted to cut him off from the alcohol. This painful sobriety helped little, and eventually he recovered his coping mechanism. Finding unexpected friends in Ishgard's people, Henry slowly came to terms with the fact that he was not nearly as terrible as he was led to believe. After the Dragonsong War, he discovered a friend in Fray Myste, but ultimately stopped pursuing the art of a Dark Knight when Alphinaud showed maturity and growth in a way that did not get Henry genuinely violent. Y'Shtola Rhul rebuked Henry's advances, but the two came to a sort of understanding, and somewhat reconciled their differences. This would be short-lived, however, as Henry asked her about her eyes. He had an idea she was blind, and when she openly denied him the honesty of admitting there was a problem, he began to resent her almost entirely over again. They had nearly died together at least twice, and he mistook her insecurity over being blind as a complete lack of trust in Henry Gordon. The arrival of the Warriors of Darkness did very little to calm Henry's frustrations, as Urianger's treachery revealed itself and Minfilia Warde sacrificed herself to become the Voice of the Mother. His liver became utterly immune to the effects of alcohol as he lamented the fact that she got the easy out of being Hydaelyn's Voice while he had to suffer further.Stormblood
After the events of Baelsar's Wall, Henry Gordon found himself something of a propaganda figure for the Eorzean Alliance. He saw his face on posters, children lauded him as a hero, and his pursuit of the Ala Mhigan liberation only cemented this fact. When Zenos yae Galvus attacked Rhalgr's Reach, Henry was grievously wounded but ultimately spared. Bleeding out, he found the other Scions had instead rushed to the aid of the unconscious-but-stabilized Y'Shtola Rhul. While he understood she was also grievously injured, he had to employ his own Scholar magic to heal himself before he was fit to move to the aid of the Doman people. Bitter and upset, he found new reasons to detest Alphinaud Leveilleur's tactical and strategic acumen, openly cursed out the East Aldernard Trading Company representative, and was nearly blacklisted from Kugane's ports after getting into a bar brawl with Garlean soldiers. However, he found a surprising companion in Yugiri Mistwalker, who understood his frustrations. When she earnestly asked for his help, she asked Henry Gordon, and not the Warrior of Light. On a sunrise, after discussing her past, Henry confessed to her: "Yugiri, you are the only woman with sensible, genuine goals, and you have not asked me to fight gods in the entire time I've known you. I think I love you."Despite the joking proposal he made to her, they became fairly close. The Scions found themselves in the Azim Steppe, where Henry Gordon found himself born again as a Warrior of the Steppe, and found victory in the Nadaam. His earning the title of Khagan, as well as the Steppe's general acceptance of who he was despite his odd habits, were the catalysts that helped him to grow into the role people had forced upon him. He led the liberation of Doma with haste, and finally faced Destiny. After Zenos yae Galvus faced Henry Gordon in the Royal Menagerie, it was one of the few battles Henry allowed to be embellished. He showed Zenos yae Galvus no fear, and, while Henry admits it is embellishment, he quite enjoys hearing the tale of how he "summoned the Claws of Bahamut" to tear the Garlean Heir apart.Shadowbringers
At a meeting of the Alliance, a strange phenomenon had been taking the Scions from their bodies, leaving them vegetative. Unable to help, he fell into a deep depression that was only remedied by pursuing the mantle of a Dark Knight. Manifesting his frustrations, embracing the bitterness that engulfed him and finding the Flame of the Abyss, he faced a reborn Zenos yae Galvus on the field of battle. However, the Calling nearly saw him ended. When approached by the hooded figure, Henry shouted with full rage: "Have you ever thought of leaving a fucking voicemail?!" Waking up in an Ishgardian Infirmary, Henry was sent to the entrance of the Crystal Tower, a place he had left sealed years ago. Landing on the First in what he insists is "the worst Hangover-Acid-Trip of his life," he found a world suffused in Light. Under the guidance of the Crystal Exarch, he was sicced upon the Lightwardens. His comrades, expecting the Henry Gordon who had mastered the art of Summoning, were appalled at the violence with which he employed. A being of total, toxic emotion, Henry Gordon ripped, and tore, until it was done. As the Lightwarden known as Philia struggled to draw its last, Henry tore its aether from it with his hands and consumed it.As Henry continued his violent cleansing of the First, he very quickly made it known that while he was concerned for their well-being they had only just now decided to show any for his. As well, he vehemently expressed how little he appreciated being a puppet of the Crystal Exarch (whose poor disguise aggravated him further), and how this was the adventure he hoped killed him. The Crystal Exarch called the Scions to order while Henry was forced to rest in the Pendants, and gave them a dressing down over their blatant disregard for a man who had helped them time, time, and time again. This time, risking his very existence by consuming Lightwarden aether. He did this to save a Star that had used him more as a machine that killed primals than a real person.Henry would never know that the Crystal Exarch was the one whose "Come to Jesus" speech finally got through to the organization as a whole.The arrival of Emet-Selch was met with a surprising grace from Henry Gordon, who actively spoke of his distrust, but welcomed the input of the Ascian whenever it was offered. Henry was never asked to explain himself, and so he was never forced to grapple the uneasy trust he felt in his heart-of-hearts for Emet-Selch.In Amaurot, Henry revealed himself as Azem and met Emet-Selch in a final debate. The Warrior of Light bore his old, unkillable name, and struck down a long-lost friend. Words of death, once spoken, can never be unspoken. Afterward, the Scions came to individually apologize for how they had treated him. While damage could not be so easily repaired, Henry was willing to let bygones be bygones and try to move forward.When Elidibus confronted Henry, the mantle of Azem was worn once again in a paracausal discourse that shook the Star to its core. However, now the Mantle of Azem, the Fourteenth Seat of the Convocation, was a part of Henry Gordon, rather than a sleeping titan. A sword of ruin hefted, Henry Gordon was able to free another old friend of an eternal torment. The threats of the Unsundered permanently defeated, the Scions were finally able to come home.
At a table for two, and i just wanna be served (SPOILERS)
Henry Gordon's ships are often short-term, and some may only have lasted for a set duration in canon. This stems from a deep-seated belief he holds that he is not "right" for anyone, or that being with him in that manner is a net loss for whoever decides to settle with him.Lyse Hext
A Realm Reborn
Henry Gordon briefly entertained a fling with the Scion then-known as Yda Hext, finding her cheery demeanor endearing. Despite a very brief (and passionate) fling. She grounded him where others wouldn't. Upon her disappearance following the Bloody Banquet, the two mutually broke it off via covert correspondence.Stormblood
Upon Baelsar's Wall, Henry was the only one who got through to Lyse, by expressing a pride in her finally owning her own name. As she grew into a capable leader of the Resistance, they briefly tried a relationship once more. Their duties kept them apart, and ultimately it proved too much for the couple to stay together. They broke up shortly before the Royal Menagerie on amicable terms, though they do enjoy the company of one another whenever the opportunity arises. They have remained in a state of 'friends with benefits' since, though Henry has never initiated an encounter out of fear of complicating things.Y'Shtola Rhul
A Realm Reborn
Early on in their friendship, Y'Shtola jokingly called him the Warrior of Light. Henry internalized this to mean 'a cool dude who fights monsters,' because of course he would. When Admiral Merlwyb explained what such a thing actually meant, it began a long and torturous ordeal that Henry would hold against Y'Shtola. Convinced she has the intelligence to recognize it, her lack of explaining or apologizing to Henry about being the one person the world relies upon is the pebble in Henry's shoe that stops otherwise intimate moments from having meaning. When the Banquet goes foul, her disappearance ruins him in a way he can't fully explain.Heavensward
Henry is at the forefront of people to bring Y'Shtola back from the grave, clutching his shirt at the idea that she did not actually die, but simply shrugged her corporeal form. When she returns, he quickly recognizes her disability but expects her to admit it to him. When she inevitably doesn't, he begins to hold that against her.Stormblood
Y'Shtola does nothing inherently wrong, beyond continue to act as if she is not blind to the chagrin of Henry, who regularly tries to catch her slipping up on the concealment. When she is knocked unconscious by Zenos' attack on Rhalgr's Reach, the Scions focus on her being injured at a seeming ignorance of his wounds and mental state cause him to resent her (and the Scions as a whole) further and further.Shadowbringers
When Henry finally meets "Master Matoya," he explodes. He finds that she has subverted a dying civilization's culture in order to get access to ruins, placing herself in a position of extreme need, borderline control of people otherwise struggling to survive. He bares his fangs, and his disdain for her becomes explicit where it was previously hidden under jest and banter. When the Scions return to the Source, Henry declares her "the devil I know, Hell sometimes even trust," and insists that her "pretending to give a shit" is the last thing he needs from her.Sadu Dotharl
Stormblood
A flash in the pan, Sadu "Heavensflame" Dotharl felt a fire in her heart for the "sleeping dragon" of a warrior that rose after Henry Gordon's conquering of Bardam's Mettle. She saw in him something that she could explicitly point to, and after a fiery affair, they split. Nearly a year later, Henry would learn this affair led to the birth of his first daughter, Maralla "Voidscale" Gordon, who would later prove a successor to his many titles.Yugiri Mistalker
Stormblood
Henry would occasionally throw flirts to her, casual flattery and little more. However, after time on the Ruby Sea, Yugiri would ask Henry for help in retaking Doma. Stunned by the simplicity of the request, and the honesty in it, Henry called her "the only woman in my life with clear, sensible goals," before declaring he loved her and getting on one knee. He presented this as a half-joke, but the candid nature of his statement caught her off-guard. The two shared tender moments afterward, but rarely followed through. They are caught in a state of guessing the other's motives, both equally fearful that being outright with their emotions would sully the tenderness they have.Y'Mhitra Rhul
Shadowbringers
Henry Gordon's relationship with Y'Mhitra was strictly professional, though not without some level of cheek. At one point, Henry was approached by her and he had a breakdown, shouting loudly "I don't normally tell incredibly hot women this, but just leave me alone," when she approaches the Outlander with more information about the Allagan art of Summoning. Risking life and limb for her strained his relationship with her, until a moment of weakness led to a torrid affair between them. A night of passion changed their relationship to one of close understanding.