Will Blacktide

[Will Blacktide]

WILL BLACKTIDE ”Will you think that you’re all alone when there’s no-one there to hold your hand?." Basic Information Race: Human (Svefra) Birthdate: Summer 45, 491 A.V. Gender: male Physical Description Will is fit, lean, and has a swimmer’s physique – broad shoulders and slender waist, powerful arms and muscular thighs. He stands about 6’1”, not exceptionally tall for a Svefra male. He has short, dark brown hair and, of course, blue eyes, with a deeply tanned complexion. On the top of his left foot is a tattoo of his grandmother’s Paradisa – a hammer head shark – exactly the same as appears on all the adults in the Blacktide pod. Above the point of his right hip bone, on his lower abs, appears a tattoo of Will’s tavan, a sea turtle, about the size of his palm. Like most Svefra, Will sports a fairly colorful wardrobe of clothing from all over Mizihar. Favoring a simple pair of loose cotton trousers and leather belt in the warmer months and climes, he will tie a colorful bandana or light scarf around his hair if it’s getting long and is hanging in his face. When they sail north, he will throw on first a shirt, then a coat, and more layers if needed – scarves, knit hats, and leather boots, until he reaches a comfortable state. He does fancy a bit of jewelry and often wears a chain necklace, or perhaps one of braided hemp, with shells, or carved stones, or what not for added interest. The occasional bracelet or wristband can appear, as well, as can anklets of cord, leather or fine chain. Character Concept Will is very typically a sea faring Svefra – freedom loving and with a fairly casual attitude towards life. A bit of a clown, he never likes to take life too seriously. Shipboard life and roaming about the waters of Mizahar suit him just fine. He’s very friendly, personable and loves to laugh and have a good time. He also enjoys making others laugh, mainly because he enjoys being the center of attention. Typically, this takes the form of just good fun, but sometimes he can go a bit too far and be hurtful with his teasing and jokes. He is smart enough, but lazy with his intellect, and as he is a very physical type of person – athletic and agile – he prefers to be active more than to be a deep thinker. He is carefree, for the most part, and doesn’t like to face problems when they do arise, so he generally goes into avoidance mode when trouble strikes, and just hopes that if he ignores a bad situation it will go away. In that regard he is still a bit immature/irresponsible. But he is a hard worker, when it’s something he likes to do, which is pretty much everything aboard a ship. He doesn’t fancy the land much, and is a typical child of Laviku. Not being overly religious or spiritual, he still feels a deep connection with the sea on a more elemental, simplistic level. Though this may make it sound like Will is a somewhat shallow person, that isn’t really the case. He prefers to skate through life easily, but he does come equipped with a fairly solid core of resilience and intuitive adaptability – perhaps because he is not so inflexible in his outlook on life. When forced to it, he can actually do some pretty amazing creative problem solving. Like many Svefra, he excels under pressure and when the stakes are high. He can still be a bit naïve, though, and perhaps too trusting in life itself, and this often winds up getting him into jams. Nothing horrendously serious has happened to him yet, though, thank goodness. One thing Will definitely has going for him is the support of his family and his friends, of whom he has many. And in return, Will is as loyal a guy as you could ever hope to have your back, in any situation. This is particularly true of his cousin, Nate. The two are thick as thieves, rarely apart and have grown up in each other’s pockets – truly best friends. Will is, of course, a skillful swimmer, and fisherman, but what he loves most is the fun and satisfaction of mastering a sailing vessel. An avid student of navigating the sometimes treacherous shoals and reefs of the Suvan sea, or long journeys far out on the southern sea’s swells, far, far from land – both are equally challenging and enjoyable to Will. He knows every inch of the crafts he sails, and can run a tight ship like no-one’s business, either on his own with a smaller vessel or easily leading a crew on a larger one. The fishing, the hunting, the weaponry for defense or attack – these he is happy to leave in the hands of others more skilled in them than himself. For Will, it’s the running of the vessel itself - setting the sails for maximum efficiency, plotting and steering the truest course, making sure every spar, every hawser, every knot is perfect and as it should be – that gives him the greatest joy. And because of his generally sunny temperament, anyone who crews with him is usually quite happy to do so. Character History Will’s life has been uneventful to date. He was born on the shoulders of the open ocean, during a summer squall that challenged the newborn’s cries with some heavy duty thunder and wind of its own – and almost lost. Will was what the women in his pod called a “lusty baby” – who approached life with great zeal – from his loud wailing to his vigorous nursing at his mother’s breast. He walked early. He talked early. And he swam before he did either of those. A curious, active child, he was always into mischief, mostly of the benign variety, and was a bit of a challenge to keep track of. But he was also a very loving child, without a shy bone in his body – quick to climb into any available lap, with hugs and kisses for everyone. As he grew, Will stayed his friendly, outgoing, curious self. He could be a bit bossy, sometimes he teased the other children a bit too much, but for the most part he was friend to all, enemy of none. He was special mates with his cousin Nate, who was only one month his junior. Everything they learned, they learned together. Everything they did, they did together. Where one got in trouble, you could be sure the other one was bound to be right there by his side. They fought, occasionally. A few times there were some rather serious rifts in their friendship. But always, Will found that life just was not as much fun without Nate to share it with. So one, or the other, or both would approach and apologize, in the ways boys do – offhand and nonchalantly. And once again the dynamic duo would be back on the prowl, looking for excitement and adventure. Life on the sea was easy and intriguing for Will. Though he could master what he needed to know in terms of fishing, hunting with the harpoons, helping with the never ending repairs a ship requires, and all the various other tasks that shipboard life entailed, what he most enjoyed was the actual sailing itself. By the time he was a teen, he threw himself into learning all he could about navigation, charts, courses, and all the techniques useful to getting the most out of a ship, in any weather, in any sea. For most other jobs and duties required of him, Will put forth a rather lackadaisical effort. But for sailing, he showed great passion and enthusiasm. A few years ago, in large part due to Will’s superior sailing skills, his pod was able to “assist” a small merchant vessel that was floundering in heavy seas off the coast of Falyndar. They assisted the ship’s crew and master right out of their vessel, “acquiring” it by right, as far as how Lia Selena saw things, possession being nine-tenths of the law, or something like that. As a result, Will’s grandmother rewarded Will with the use of one of the pod’s Casinor’s, and older but fit little craft named the “Marlin.” Will promptly moved aboard the little craft, as did Nate, and the two made it a bit of a little home for themselves. In the Marlin, they sail about, generally keeping with the rest of the Blacktide pod, but often enough going off on little ventures of their own. The two seem to have developed a penchant for smuggling lately. Not sure how that is going to go for them . . . “Forgive my broken promise that you’ll never see me cry.” ”And everything it will surely change, even if I tell you I won’t go away today.”, Training: Navigation at sea – 30 [starting package (30)] – competent Sailing – 30 [starting package (20), racial bonus (10)] – competent Arcana None Gnosis Oceanus Lore Ocean currents Celestial bodies Languages Fluent: Fratava Basic: Common Poor: Kontinese Equipment and possessions: One small casinor and equipment 1 Set of Clothing [cloak/coat & footwear included] 1 Waterskin 1 Backpack which contains: 1 Set of Toiletries, Food for a week, 1 eating knife, Flint & Steel Family Heirloom: None Ledger +100 gold [Starting Package] Thread list Fall, 511 A.V. : A Bottle Of Rum (incomplete) ”Permanent” by David Cook