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> Personality

Lamorak is very blunt and forward about his thoughts. While he's perfectly capable of softening his blows and talking in circles if he absolutely must, he loathes it, and refuses to employ it unless absolutely necessary. This makes him come off as rather harsh at times, but at the same time, it also means that he is one of the most honest knights; what he says, he means, and the majority of what he says can be taken straight at face value.
He can be brash and a little reckless at times as well. However, he isn't a fool; he has all the training any other knight does, and can very easily curb himself or give up if it's a case where to do otherwise would be foolhardy. He loathes surrendering, and loathes even more being forced to obey someone not Arthur, but he believes to act on that loathing instead of swallowing it is the path of a fool.
He's much sharper than people give him credit for, and much more intelligent, too. However, he sees no need to actually correct misconceptions on his intelligence -- or indeed, any rumors in general about him. This is in part because he feels it's their fault if they buy into something and he can exploit it during a fight with them... and in part because he feels fighting such things are futile, as he learned when he was a child. If it's something that prevents him from helping others, however, he will challenge it, and rudely so too.
He's completely gay, and in love with Percival (who is not his sibling in this canon, nor related to him in any way). Knowing the way the Church works, he keeps it quiet, but he himself is not very devout. He attends services and donates as needed, gives respect to the priests and clergy, but he simply feels no connection to God after what he's gone through.
Despite his famous temper, Lamorak is very calm and gentle with innocent people and tends to be very good when it comes to calming or relaxing children. Combined with the fact he's capable, trustworthy, and often assists with no thought for self-gain, he is one of Arthur's most popular knights of the Table, and one most of England adores. Though Lamorak receives the adoration with good humor, in private, it unnerves him deeply after such hatred in his past, and he cannot fully accept it or that it's true. Not that he believes the people who adore him are liars -- far from it! -- but he simply struggles to accept it all the same.
He has a good sense of humor, and a good sense of people -- he can tell when someone's genuinely mocking and when someone's just trying to joke around, and treats them accordingly. He laughs easily, and often loudly, and is more than happy to simply sit and be cheerful with people at times.
He can be just as serious as cheerful when the time calls for it, though, and there are many who both fear him for it and relish it; he is often called in to mediate disputes because of his fair nature and firmness, taking all things seriously no matter how "mild" or "silly" they might be to other nobles.
He prides himself in the things he's managed to do himself, but are not simply part of him. This means that while he thinks little of his strength -- it's just something he was born with -- he is very proud of his swordwork, as that actually took effort to cultivate. The same goes for the handful of crafts he has, such as whittling, though his true pride is somewhat secret: Lamorak adores making jewelry and adornments, and often works with Percival to make him secret -- shining -- outfits.

> Abilities

Like all knights, Lamorak is incredibly skilled with a sword, horse-riding, single combat, and many other things. His abilities best shine when he's working with a two-handed broadsword and in leather-and-plate armor, allowing him to smash through enemy lines without much movement issue.
He is frighteningly capable for one man; many reports of him single-handedly bringing down small units or scouting parties abound, and one rumor claims he destroyed an entire army by himself. That rumor is one Lamorak smilingly refuses to speak on, making enemies even more nervous. It's most likely not true, but the fact Lamorak delights in something that makes his enemies unsettled is clear.
His half-fae nature also grants him a few skills no ordinary man would have. The most important one -- at least to him -- is the ability to see through illusions without fail, meaning that no manner of spellwork can fool him. Even Merlin has failed to properly mislead him, and he has worked with the magician on that extensively to make sure of it.
His mixed blood also allows him to "speak" with birds -- essentially, just imprinting his state as a safe person on them and managing to imprint any tasks he wants on them, as well as read their own needs. Though it isn't true speech in any form, it gets the same result, and as such he tends to keep it quiet and simply let others thing he's a natural with birds. Most birds will be non-hostile to him at the start, though still wary like any beast, however; he has to put in effort to reach out to them. The exception to this rule are swans, which adore and dote upon him; much to his chagrin at times, considering they can chase others away.
He can breathe underwater as well, and swims so well one might think he was born into the water. While the swimming could be waved away as simply being something natural -- similar to his talent with birds -- the breathing cannot, and so Lamorak tends towards refusing to swim out of fear of being discovered. This sometimes puts him in a bad mood, because the water seems to call to him at times and he doesn't know why.
He has no idea what he is, or what sired him, only that he's an unnatural creature.

> History

Lamorak appears to some people as otherworldy, thanks to his crimson red eyes. While most accept the excuse that "it's just a very rare color", the truth is, he isn't fully human. He was a bastard sired by King Pellinore and a fairy woman (one of the Sidhe Midir's daughters) that charmed (and was charmed by) him. However, though the fae lady attempted to lure him away, Pellinore refused and returned to his kingdom and human wife. The fae woman felt insulted by being scorned, and when news came of Pellinore's wife bearing him a child, she swapped the human child for the half-fae one he sired as revenge.
While no one ever knew of the deception (but for Pellinore himself, who dare not speak of it), everyone knew that there was something wrong with Lamorak. When information got out that Pellinore had once crossed a forest known for being connected to the fairies, the whispers of Lamorak being a changeling child spread like wildfire. As most still wished to believe good of their king, the story warped into a tale of Pellinore being punished for refusing a fairy woman by having his child replaced with a fake one.
Though Pellinore did try to squash some of this, or at least keep it from affecting thing's publicly, it simply didn't work. The story stuck, especially with Lamorak's strange and unnatural eyes and vibrant hair, until he found himself at odds with most everyone. Because of this, what was once a cheerful child became reserved and depressed, rarely leaving the castle and without friends to play with. This lead to him becoming a burden on those inside the castle instead, with his mother especially constantly begged for attention.
Eventually, however, the lack of resemblance and the stories got to her. As Lamorak begged her once again, refusing to let her be, she snapped, taking a pair of scissors to the boy's face. While the servants were able to separate them and rush Lamorak into care, it was not in time to avoid everything. The cuts would not scar, but his eye was completely destroyed, and he would forever suffer half-vision. Once he recovered from this incident, his sullenness turned into a searing temper and a violent temperament overall, with Lamorak responding to any acts to harm him again with force to stop it. He also shut out those in the castle, refusing to confide in or rely on any of them any longer.
King Pellinore endured this until he simply got sick of it, then sent Lamorak off to be trained as a squire. While he was initially impossible to deal with, certain teachers and knights -- both kind and firm -- finally managed to snap him into line. Finally finding something that he could do to be needed and wanted, Lamorak threw his all into training, and eventually came out a fine and rather sought after knight.
While searching for someone to serve, Lamorak eventually had his first sexual encounter, a young man from a noble family. This ended immensely poorly -- Lamorak's fae blood had been repressed over all of his life after puberty hit him, and as such, all of that sexual desire came out at once. He nearly killed the boy, and came very close to crippling him, leaving bruises and injuries along his body from the frantic coupling. Lamorak, feeling deep guilt, swore himself to the young noble's family for three years, both as a knight and as a servant, in order to make reparations for what he did. After the three years, the noble boy and his family agreed that the crime was paid for, and all of them also agree to keep it silent: they would not speak of Lamorak's dalliance, and he would keep their son's desires a secret.

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