"If I told you that I was an honest man, I'd be lying."

Name:
Fletcher Gulliver Payne

Alias(s):
Fletch, Cloudstrider, Shardseeker, The King of Storms

Age:
28

Height:
5’11”

Weight:
177lbs (80.3kgs)

Hair Color:
Dark Brown

Eye Color:
Grey

Crew Position:
Captain

Physical Appearance:

Fletch's most notable feature is his boyish looks. Despite being twenty-eight, he still manages to retain his youth rather well, though this usually leads others to think that he's younger than he actually is and has garnered more than a few insults about his experience as a captain. He does, however, prefer himself this way and accentuates these looks by keeping himself prim and proper. He likes being clean and maintains his appearance thoroughly.

His physique is well maintained, also. Having fought and many various boarding raids, Fletcher has to keep himself in good physical condition so that he can fight off his enemies effectively. His training in swordsmanship helps greatly with his stamina and endurance. He possesses a large scar that runs from the upper left rib cage, down to his lower right hip. This was received during a personal fight against Commander Lox of the World Navy.

Attire:

His cleanliness trait also manifests itself in his clothing choices. He is often seen wearing a slim-fitted shozoku. It is made up of split-toe tabi boots and socks; special trousers with double-ties which fasten at the ankles, knees and waist; a jacket with overlapping lapels which is tucked into the trousers and protective arm-and-hand gauntlets.

He also sports a long, trailing sash of purple colour and embroidered with a white unknown symbol. He received the sash as a gift from the Immortal Archivist Cagen as a good luck charm.

Personality:

Self-Assured: Fletcher tends to face most problems with a confident outlook. Nothing is too difficult or challenging for him in his eyes and he readily believes that he can overcome most obstacles one way or another.

Distant: Somewhat ignorant to most situations, though not through choice. He doesn’t register danger as most others do and generally doesn't listen when it comes to what he should and shouldn't do.

Brash: If there’s a quick way of doing something, a shortcut to follow or generally just an obscene way of doing things, Fletcher will undoubtedly do it. He dislikes acting responsibly, even despite his position as Captain, and will do his utmost to make his life more exciting, usually through more adventurous means.

Promiscuous: Fletcher has spent many a night in the comfort of someone else’s bed. He doesn’t discriminate when it comes to race and generally tends to use his charms for personal gain rather than monetary or any other reason. Though he is widely known only to sleep with females, there are rumours that he has strayed into a few beds owned by members of the same sex, though these have neither been confirmed or denied.

Weapons & Equipment:

Fujin: This katana is a weapon that has been in Fletcher's possession for as long as he can remember. He doesn't go anywhere without it and you'll never see it leave his person. He trains exclusively with this sword but he refuses to unsheathe it when fighting. He keeps his reasons for this untold and asking him about it will only make him end a conversation or change the topic. He has, however, fought with it unsheathed but only twice before. The first time remains a secret much-like his reasons from keeping it in its' sheathe. The second time he was forced to fight with it unsheathed during his battle against Commander Lox, where his opponent pulled the blade from its sheath after knocking Fujin from his grasp and then discarding it.

He utilizes a mixture of styles when fighting with this sword. Typically though, he will fight very defensively, forcing others to expend most of their energy before making a decisive strike once they leave an opening. The sheath has been reinforced with Black Steel whereas the actual blade is made of White Iron.

The blade also has two extended sageo attached near the koiguchi (scabbard mouth) that Fletch uses for a ranged style of combat where he launched the sword towards his opponents, using the sageo to direct his attacks. He doesn't often use this style but he has proves himself more than efficient when using it.

Shardstone Medallion: Fletcher's famed medallion, given to him by none other than the Immortal Archivist. Whenever Fletcher approaches someone new who possesses a Shardstone, the medallion will ring out to Fletcher alone, notifying him of their ability, whether the person themselves knows about it or not.

Shard Ability:

Aeromancy: Fletcher's nickname King of Storms comes from his ability to partially control the air around him. Much-like other Shard Users, his abilities are very close range and not entirely all that powerful. He utilizes his limited control mainly for speed boosts when moving or attacking but he has, on occasion, summoned raging winds that directly affect some enemies who have gotten too close.

When attacking, he will boost the effects of his punches by forcing his opponent back much further then they would normally travel. This adds an extra level of power to his strikes that gives him a higher advantage at close range. When using his sword, he will create miniature air currents that boost the speed of his swings to deliver crushing blows against his enemies.

He is known to possess a special move of sorts that extends his range of command beyond that of his normal range. However, rather than directly creating air gusts or currents, he completely stills the air of the area around him. This, combined with pinpointed bursts behind his movements, allows him to move and attack at incredible speeds and deliver strikes that any normal opponent would not likely see. This part of his ability is not widely used, however, due to Fletcher's inability to proficiently control it and still move/attack at the same time.

Brief History:

Fletcher was born as the son and heir of the notorious sky pirate: Wallace the Rampager, head of The Reapers, who reigned supreme during his time as a Pirate Lord for nearly one-hundred & twenty years. Captain Wallace - whose real name, Wallace G. Payne, remained a secret to the rest of the world - was notably one of the first majorly successful pirates to soar above the Eternal Ocean, having accomplished many incredible feats during his pirating career such as; Being one of the first pirates to claim Lordship over more than one Pirate Faction resulting in him being the first Pirate Lord; Being one of the first few Pirate Captains to claim a seat during Spire Moots held at the Western Towers; Successfully assaulting and ransacking three levels of the Pyramid of Horus before being forced to retreat; and waging the largest war against the World Navy to date and captaining the only Pirate Ship to come within 5 miles of the City of Ra.

His mother's identity remains largely unknown but it is assumed that she was merely a dock wench (Prostitute) who resided in Shoel. After his birth, Fletcher was left in the care of the Immortal Archivist Cagen; A close friend to his father who ended up raising Fletcher until he was thirteen years old. During that time, Cagen would teach and guide Fletcher about the workings of the world and would also inform him about who his father was. From the very first tale, Fletcher was mystified. He began learning how to pilot Sky Ships at a young age, test flying most of the new ships off the line in one of Cagen's many factories in Shoel. He wanted to grow up to be a pirate just like his father and surpass him in every way. But Cagen had other plans for the son of the world's most famous Pirate Lord.

However, he allowed Fletcher to go out on his own, to take with him his teachings and truly discover the world of the Eternal Ocean. With the money Cagen had provided him with, Fletcher bought passage straight to Jarrah; The trade-capital of the Wandering Isles. Life was tough amongst traders and merchants, he soon found, and it wasn't long before he had resorted to stealing to survive. Despite the Wandering Isle being heavily defended against pirate raids, theft was still rife on the streets. In the five years he spent stealing and selling upon Jarrah, Fletcher had begun to make a name for himself. In his naivety, he'd been touting himself as Wallace the Rampager's successor. But within Jarrah the mere mention of the notorious Pirate Lord struck at a deep nerve. His father's attack against Horus still stung, especially to those who had lost family during the raid, and it wasn't long before the cocky, little street-thief found himself a very wanted man.

Having to escape from Jarrah had shown Fletch just what Cagen had meant by 'truly discovering the world'. His father had made many enemies and suddenly the world wasn't such a safe place anymore. At the age of eighteen, Fletcher found himself at the Archivist's doorstep with nothing to show for his adventures and no idea where to head next. Cagen, however, had anticipated this and welcomed his foster-son home with open arms. It was during the next two years that Cagen would impart unto Fletcher all knowledge of the Shardstones, including the fact that he possess one himself. It was the reason why Wallace had left him in Cagen's care.

Amongst his many adventures, Wallace's most important haul to date was that of a rough, emerald Shardstone, roughly the size of a baseball. It had been discovered within the remains of a large Sea Serpent. Wallace claimed it for himself but as soon as he touched it with his bare hands, the Shard seemed to come alive, cutting into his palm until it disappeared within him completely. That night, Wallace was overcome with a terrible fever, many of the crew thought he was going to die for sure. But by morning the fever had lifted and Wallace carried on as if nothing had happened. However, he did set an immediate course for Shoel and demanded an audience with the Immortal Archivist.

Cagen revealed that these Shardstones were in fact pieces of Atlaias that bestowed Divine Abilities upon those who found one. What Wallace didn't know, however, was that the Shardstone along with the abilities it granted were passed on through seed and into the egg that had become fertilized. Cagen didn't warn Wallace of this, who upon learning of these newfound abilities, began planning to wage war against the World Navy. Before his plan could be fully realized, however, Fletcher had already been born and the Shardstone passed on. Cagen remained quiet about it and Wallace began the war, believing that he still held his abilities.

Cagen didn't impart the full truth to Fletcher about why Wallace started the war, but he did confess his reasons for not telling Wallace that he no longer had his powers. Wallace was the first Shard User he'd met for over three-hundred years, before him all the others had gone missing or had died with no heirs. Cagen needed a new Shard User, someone he could teach about the importance of the Shards and someone who could do what he no longer could, collect all of the remaining Shardstones. Fletcher didn't ask for a reason why but suddenly he knew that this mission would be the single greatest achievement of his life, greater than any of his father's accomplishments. So he agreed to help Cagen and upon doing so, became the very first Shardseeker.

At the age of twenty, Cagen believed that Fletcher was ready to start his mission and gifted him with an extremely special ship, the Ocean Horizon. Fletcher had read the myths about this ship and upon receiving it from Cagen, only then did he realize how old the man was. For the past eight years, Fletcher has been scouring the Eternal Ocean, determined to find all of the Shardstones. He has met more than a few Shard Users along the way and taken them in to protect them, not only from others but from themselves also. He hasn't fully divulged the full details of his mission to his crew, only that Piracy is the only way he can achieve it.

Relationships:

Name:
Petros Avakian

Alias(s):
Nimbus (an insult he's grown up with)

Age:
22

Height:
6'1''

Weight:
187lbs

Hair Color:
Dark Brown

Eye Color:
Chestnut Brown

Crew Position:
Steward

Physical Appearance:

Petros is a fairly tall and toned young man. He has dark olive skin and deep brown hair that reaches to slightly below his ears (typically tied in a man-bun or small ponytail). By most accounts Petros would be considered quite handsome, but most people would notice that he has an air of sadness about him that constantly stains his face. His body has a few various scars and scratches from a childhood spent in Neberziel.

Petros tends to keep himself well groomed as well, especially serving as a steward. He is typically expected to serve other crew members (as a housekeeper or as an assistant cook) and is also expected to tend to guests on the ship. Thus, he feels the need to keep himself tidy.

Attire:

Petros wears a short-sleeved funnel collar jacket which is fortified by a few leather straps that wrap around and form a belt at his waist. Petros wears long arm bracers that are fortified by their own armor. The left arm bracer extends all the way to his hand-serving as a glove.

Petros wears a slim-fit pair of breeches that are reinforced with armor at the knees, shins, and feet (giving his lower legs a robotic appearance). His belt also contains various pouches.

Personality:

Petros would like to think that he can always rely on his intelligence before brute force, but unfortunately for him- this simply isn't the case in the world he lives in. Petros is the kind of intelligent that comes with a strong sense of self-preservation, as well as someone who has pondered and studied the ways of the world. A philosopher and skeptic at heart, Petros "practices" misotheism. He can see that Gods exist, but he encourages others to cease worshiping and/or fearing them. Petros sees their influence as a corrupting one that has brought only suffering to the world. Petros seeks to have matters resolved peacefully, but isn't completely against defending himself. In all honesty, Petros may be served best as an activist or a teacher, but he has found himself on this ship running away from who he is and where he came from.

Petros isn't yet aware of the abilities he has inherited, but is himself incredibly skeptical of Captain Fletcher's mission. He has experienced what these powers can do to people, and how harmful they can be. He is ignorant to the shards capabilities and thus fears what may happen should Fletcher succeed (a thought he keeps to himself).

Aside from this, Petros is a relatively calm and sometimes reserved character. He is jovial enough to keep up appearances, but perceptive characters may note that their is a distinct air of sadness and doubt looming within. Others still, might notice that he is keeping something locked within himself- that he has come onto this ship to get away from something.

Finally, in combat Petros is frighteningly calm. He is a steady and rather skilled bowman- who also uses shards in specific situations to amplify an arrow's power. Petros is a rather skilled tactician (much better than his cooking skills) and is rather quick on his feet. There is a sort of genius about him in this regard. Granted it isn't the same kind of obvious genius that comes with an engineer, scientist, or great thinker- but he possesses obvious potential masked by his lack of experience.

Weapons & Equipment:
Petros uses a hunting bow that is fairly impressive in its technological relevancy. Quick and quiet, Petros is able to pick off enemies from a distance with skill. The arrows are standard, but in some scenarios- where stealth is not the objective- Petros will switch to arrows infused with shards. The arrows possess explosive capabilities.

Petros as carried two daggers with him made of white iron. These are simply there for close-quarter combat- which Petros is relatively skilled at. The daggers aren't anything special, and Petros certainly prefers to stay out of close-ranger combat as it isn't his specialty.

Petros will pick up a pistol if he has to, but he is far less skilled/accurate with this kind of weapon and easily prefers his bow.

Shard Ability:

Blink- Unbeknownst to him, Petros is capable of singular temporal distortion. In other words, he is capable of an ability called blink. Essentially, it is a teleportation ability that allows the user to move swiftly forward, backwards, and side to side. This ability is believed to function as a sort of miniature time travel ability that pushes Petros through time. He can't use blink repeatedly, as he isn't capable of pushing himself beyond about 2 or 3 every few minutes. He can use these teleportation abilities to clear large gaps, or to escape an enemy. As well, any location he is blinking to must be in clear sight of him. Blink is not necessarily teleportation, but rather willing yourself to a certain (view-able) location via time distortion.

Brief History:

Petros was born in Neberziel to Mira Okrel and Hayk Avakian. Petros was never destined for a normal life. While his father was a civilian that was rather afraid of danger, his mother was the "Red Stratus" of sky pirate legend. Mira, or Stratus, as she preferred- had served as a faithful tactician for Captain Wallace as a member of the Reapers. She received her name for her ability to move incredibly quickly threw enemy lines and devastate their defenses. She kept her "blink abilities" a secret from everyone; this included her Captain. She felt that explaining her abilities would make her that much more susceptible in battles, and she herself hardly understood them. She didn't have the same foresight or desire to seek out Cagen, the Immortal Archivist, as did Wallace.

Wallace would come into possession of a shardstone, and would inherit abilities from it. After having returned from council in Shoel, the Captain quickly put two-and-two together regarding Stratus' abilities. This led to a confrontation where Wallace exiled Stratus from his ship and from the Reapers. The Red Stratus was Mira Okrel once again.

Mira sought solace in the drink, and in the comfort of bedfellows for a time. She spent the next few years living in Neberziel. It would be here that she would meet Hayk Avakian. The two quickly hit it off, and within a year they were in love. They would have young Petros, and life for Mira was seemingly going quite well.

Unfortunately for Mira, she was left unaware when her abilities suddenly began to fade. She found herself no longer able to blink. She was no longer a pirate, but her ability was always apart of her identity. Mira began to spiral into a depression and self-loathing. She felt her youth slip away as she was faced with her own mortality in an unexpected way. She began drinking again, and found herself freelancing to feel alive again.

Without her powers, and years away from the life of a sky pirate- Mira had few connections, weakened capabilities, and a lack of understanding regarding the climate of the contemporary pirate world. She found herself making foolish mistakes in an attempt to restore some semblance of her youth and identity. She kept in contact with both Petros and Hayk, and still cared for them deeply. A part of Mira felt that Petros had taken who she was from her, albeit in a metaphorical way rather than the literal truth. She felt incredibly guilty for this. Mira would end up dying in combat during a rather sloppy mission.

Hayk would continue to raise Petros who was by this time a teenager. He was already quite skilled with a bow from being taught by his mother. As well, he and his father would spend hours "bird-hunting" for food whenever birds would get too close to the docks. Having lived on Neberziel, Petros often encountered pirates that were temporarily docked. There was an allure there for Petros, but with it he also began to foster a resentment for the character his mother was. He had grown up with stories from pirates about the Red Stratus and just how violent and powerful a pirate she was.

Petros found himself horrified by these stories, and developed a dislike for Stratus. He was unable to separate Mira and her pirate legacy. He questioned the ethics of a sky-pirate lifestyle, but this only caused him scorn in Neberziel. While some pirates expected him to join the Reapers others heckled him for living in the shadow of one of the "greatest pirates to ever live".

In 21 years, Petros had already seen enough of this tower and was ready to leave. When he learned that Captain Fletcher- a pirate that actually sought to do some good- was recruiting he decided that this was his one viable option off of Neberziel. Finally he'd have a chance to escape his mother's legacy and do some good. Petros is relatively new to the ship, but has been around for about 5 or 6 months.

Name
Aloysius Poole

Alias(s)
Poole


Age
Not counting his years in a cryogenic stasis, Poole is 36.

Height
7'0

Weight
650 lbs (Most of this is metal)

Hair Color
Poole does not have hair.

Eye Color
Poole does not have eyes.

Crew Position
Bosun

---

Physical Appearance

Sky pirates seldom blend into a crowd, and Poole is no exception. It is a rarity to meet a man he does not tower over, though this is a result of his extended, robotic legs rather than god-given height. His skin, which has been frozen for two thousand years and dead for three days, is permanently dark grey, interspersed with patches of dark red exposed muscle. As a result, he tends to wrap his arms, down to his fingers, in bandages. He lacks any facial extremities such as a nose, ears, or eyes, which is concealed by the "mask" that has since replaced his face.

Most of his body -- particularly his arms, legs, spine, and some of his brain, have long-since been replaced with machinery, to which he owes his unnatural height, strength, intelligence, reflexes and life itself. The cameras in his mask see as well as he did before his death, if not better, due to the HUD and artificial intelligence he has been imbued with.

It is important to note that the only thing "living" about Poole is his brain -- he feels no pain, and while his arms, legs, and spine are purely robotic, his torso is still fleshy and grey.

Attire

Poole typically wears a dusty brown trenchcoat that embellishes his unnaturally tall, skinny silhouette. Within his coat are dozens of pockets where he typically keeps maps, ammunition, spare light crystals, and money. The mask that has replaced his face is made of a smooth dark grey metal, with a patch over where his left eye should be and a camera where the right should be, disguised as a plain black eye.

In the thin space between his mask and his eye, exposed muscle can be seen clearly. The one article of clothing he has kept with him throughout the cycle of life and death is his hat, a black wide-brimmed hat with a green ribbon he uses to hold spare ammunition. Unlike his hands, which he covers to hide his metallic physiology, he allows his feet to go bare as they simply resemble metal greaves, while he covers his legs, torso, arms, and hands in thick bandages.

Those that see him without his trenchcoat see his spidery, elongated frame, with a normal human torso and robotic, hyperextended limbs doubly as long as they should be. Underneath his limbs, he has several mechanical tools such as a laser cutter, drill, and flashlight, though Poole considers these "Battery wasters" and rarely uses them.

Personality

Alarmingly Quiet
Poole was always stone-faced and quiet, but being made a cyborg, frozen for two thousand years, killed, and brought back have left him more machine than man, and more dead than alive. He speaks only when spoken to or given a command, and even then, he has the robotic lack of timing or emotion you'd expect from a parrot repeating phrases. He has lost a great deal of what makes him human, from an appreciation for beauty to an appreciation for comfort, and there is a distinct alien tone to his words.

Artificially Intelligent
There's a lot of stuff Poole doesn't know, like why he knows so much. Due to the cybernetic implants in his brain, Poole has an additional three gigabytes of information stored in his brain, giving him enough memorized scientific information to receive every doctorate. The drawback is that all of this memory has pushed out a few other memories, like the ones he made.

Copilot Angst
Two thousand years ago, Poole agreed to be turned into a half-machine abomination for the sole purpose of serving a captain whose great grandfather hadn't even been born, but he can't remember why. Naturally, he occasionally chafes under Fletcher's commands. The fact that Poole is a walking computer and technological marvel who follows the whims of a mercurial young captain doesn't help, but for what it's worth, Fletcher saving (Or giving back) Poole's life and the gratitude Poole has for this has kept Poole comfortably where he is.

Pinocchio Syndrome
Poole's last remaining bit of humanity is his desire to reconnect with his human side. He doesn't know why, but he sometimes finds himself drawn to things like cats and instruments for their human-ness. Equally, Poole has a desire to learn more about his past, and who he was before he was Poole the Unkillable.

Weapons & Equipment



Poole's Rifle
A rifle so big it can only be wielded by a man who lacks lactic acid. Poole's gun weighs a whopping sixty pounds, and fires crystals the size of his fist with a distinctive SHUNK noise. If he hits you -- which, barring an act of god, his speed calculating HUD will assure -- you're gonna have a bad time. It is designed to be fired at aircrafts, though Poole manages with humans just fine. It takes about five seconds to load a single shot, so when dealing with close-quarters combat, Poole typically fights with his bare, albeit metal fists.

Shard Ability

Poole is not a shard user, though his cybernetic implants run on light crystals. As such, he needs to "recharge" once a month.

Brief History
Poole was born two thousand years ago, on a forgotten continent now covered in coral and sand. He remembers virtually none of his past life, save for a connection with Cagen and The Ocean Horizon. Eight years ago, he woke up on Ocean Horizon with a body he somehow did not recognize, knowing only that he was the ship's bosun, sworn to serve the boy he was being introduced to as he woke up.

The two were never friends, but associates and business partners who completely trusted one another in a field that very few could. Poole's tall, imposing cyborg body has served as a useful asset from the beginning, keeping the two out of fights they would likely lose out of sheet intimidation when the need arised. Aside from this, their relationship was originally rocky, as Poole recognized that his ability surpassed his captain's, though he has grown more comfortable with his role after being revived by Fletcher.

Four years ago, Poole was killed by Green Goran, the captain of Vivian's Mercy, a crew of notably ruthless pirates. Fletcher revived his friend days later after gathering an exceedingly large amount of light crystals to deliver a charge of energy, effectively rebooting the computer-half of Poole, which in turn revived the organic half at a great price. After his resurrection, their first actions were to set out and find Vivian's Mercy. Poole later shot Goran through the face, cementing himself in the minds of the horrified crew as "Poole the Unkillable", a nickname that has spread throughout the skies.

Relationships

Fletcher
Though the bosun and quartermaster serve equal roles, it is undeniable that Poole, who came with the ship like an accessory, is Fletcher's right hand. Though Poole would hesitate to call Fletcher a friend, their trust is extremely strong, which is quite an achievement considering Poole is half zombie and half robot.

Fergus
Being a cyborg, Poole appreciates efficiency and precision -- For all of his theatrics and boisterousness, Fergus' efficiency and precision are why Poole respects him more than other deckhands and will frequently trust him to relay orders to the others. Due to Fergus and Poole being the crew's physically largest members, Fergus has frequently offered Poole a friendly bout of arm-wrestling, which he declines.

Gitanjani
If Poole had the emotional capacity for nerves, Ocean Horizon's quartermaster would be on them. Though Poole appreciates her meticulousness, he dislikes her talkative, inquisitive nature, and usually tries to keep their interactions brief. The fact that he's a zombie made out of ancient technology doesn't help deter the questions.

Name: Carlos Cunningham
Alias(s): 'Crack Shot'
Age: 27
Height: 5'10
Weight: 170
Hair Color: Dark Brown
Eye Color: Reddish Brown

Crew Position:
MASTER AT ARMS

Physical Appearance:
Carlos has an average build for a man his age that is regularly involved in exercise, most of his body is toned and somewhat muscled. He also has a few scars around his shoulder and arm area. His face is handsome yet brooding and even terrifying at times, when he goes into focus his eyes have been said to 'be that of the devil' which he will always laugh off.


Attire:

Carlos wears a longcoat usually with large ruffles which he hides his arms underneath (this also make for an effective quickdraw). He usually wears black or grey with an assortment of silver chains and fine jewelry decorating his clothes. He will usually wear a shirt and waistcoat combo underneath and smart matching trousers and gold toe capped shoes. He is not fixed to one outfit though, he can also be seen in baggy pirate slacks and a tank top but he is never seen without his trademark tophat, which holds his goggles which he straps on during combat.

Personality:
There is nothing particularly complex about Carlos' personality, he is a fierce fighter, a logic thinker and in his downtime he is generally very calm and light hearted. During combat though, his competitive spirit gets awakened, especially during cannon warfare with other ships. He feels a direct challenge to his skills from the enemy to prove himself the best Master At Arms in the sky. He is also very loyal to established crew members, but distrusting of newer ones.

Weapons & Equipment:








Shard Ability:

Unknown.
Carlos has no Idea if he has any shard ability or not. He's always felt his marksmanship and general spatial awareness is aided by some sort of otherworldly force. But he is logical enough to know this may just be what it is to have an innate talent. He has lived his life knowing he may very well not be special and has put a LOT of time into simply being the best gunner he possibly can. Training at every spare moment he can get.

Brief History:

Born on the Southern City Tower of Shoel to rocket scientists Jack Cunningham and Maria Morales, Carlos was expected from birth to follow the family business of engineering and propulsion. He was enrolled into the some of the best schools and engineering academies as a child and he did well to pick up a good understanding of mechanics. But this was not his passion, he was never excited by engines like his family was and he longed for something more. It was only when his class had a field trip to the Shoel shooting range to study ballistics he found his true calling: Guns.

Everything about the firing of a weapon, to the damage it could do to the science of aiming and physics fascinated Carlos, and from that age (15) became rebellious, he would buy guns illegally, he would shoot can targets outside the city, and regularly attend rifle tournaments. His rebellious streak spilled over into his education as he spent more time, designing weapons than doing schoolwork and eventually dropped out of the academy altogether. He now wanted a career where he would be able to shoot. So at age 18 he became a firing instructor at the Shoel shooting range, which was fun, but too restricted. His rebellion in school made him want to seek adventure, but he didn't want to be held back by the regulations of a police force or a city militia, he wanted freedom.

A few years later, one of the ammunition shipments which was being delivered to the shooting range was hijacked by a pirate ship. Carlos did his own investigation into the crime, and found out the attack was carried out by The Reapers faction. Carlos was fascinated by the very concept of a pirate faction, which instantly sparked his desire for adventure and freedom. But also his sense of right and wrong told him, that hijacking shipments to his very own city was not honorable, and he would never be involved with a group like that.

But through that indecent, Carlos studied more and more about pirates and got to learn much about rouge ships and legendary figures. Through some highly informed but secret contacts that Carlos knew from his shooting community, he was able to discover that one such pirate, Captain Fletcher Payne was visiting his town of Shoel. Carlos who was nearly the same age as the young captain at age 22, immediately tracked him down and made him an offer.

I'll never ask for coin, or favor. Keep me alive and keep me from being bored and you'll have my guns at your side, for the rest of your life.

6 years later and the rest is history, Carlos Cunningham is the Master At Arms aboard the Ocean Horizon.

Relationships:

Fletcher G Payne:
After reading about Fletcher, Carlos already had immense respect for him, to accomplish so much at his age. After meet and knowing the young captain for a long time has only served to cement his admiration for him. Carlos serves at Fletcher's side with quiet respect. Because the Captain held up his end of the bargain for the last 5 years; Carlos has never been bored and he has been kept alive. And for making Carlos' dreams of adventure come through, he is fiercely loyal to the Captain and to the ideals of the Shardseekers.

Petros Avakian:
Simply put, Carlos doesn't trust this handsome stranger. A fairly new recruit who seems very mysterious has Carlos on edge about his true motivations. He remains professional, but acts coldly towards Petros and becomes more fiercely protective of the captain and of the crew in general. He also is mildly jealous of the young man's skill with the bow and fears that his marksmanship will one day overtake his own.

Aloysius Poole
Carlos joined the shardseekers while Poole was still alive, and during this time Carlos was fairly indifferent to the man, not really feeling strongly any way about him, Just acknowledging his position as a veteran pirate. But after Poole was killed and subsequently revived, Carlos started to respect the man a whole lot more, to come back from death and still be as loyal to the shardseekers as he was before was a show of honor that Carlos didn't even consider possible before. Carlos looks up to Poole and the two share an interest in rifles which leads to them training together occasionally on aim and angles with firearms.

Yara Catalina Loras
Almost at first sight, Carlos has always been attracted to Yara, but for the sake of the ship and his professionalism for the 3 years he's known her, he's never let his feelings be known. Instead he treats her with the utmost respect, being able to to emphasize with her distrust of strangers and cautious attitude which makes her a very skilled medic. Apart from the captain and Poole, she is the only other crew member he actually trusts.

Alcides Demophon
This relationship is interesting, as Carlos very much likes The Black Baron, and is a fan of the whole mythos around this legendary navigator he has the pleasure of serving with. They also joined the crew around the same time, so he feels a kinship with the stylish man. But funnily enough, he doesn't trust him. Al is too similar to Carlos himself, he sees the drive and the ambition in his heart and it makes him weary of this could-be rival and his strong standing aboard the ship. Nonetheless, the two enjoy a good friendship and genuinely get on very well.

Silver Kingsly
Carlos went to school with this very smart engineer and when he wound up on the same pirate ship as him, he felt a strong sense of familiarity. However, due to Carlos abandoning ship mechanics for artillery, he somewhat resents Kingsly's talents for what he might have been if he didn't become a gun enthusiast. The two enjoy a friendly exchange but they aren't close friends.

Name: Maria Siddiqui
Alias(s): Marie, Sid
Age: 26
Height: 5'7"
Weight: 135
Hair Color: Dark Mahogany
Eye Color: Greyish Hazel

Crew Position: Medical Officer - Apothecary

Physical Appearance:

She's often seen with her messy and tangled hair let down and rested on her shoulders, a generally blank facial expression, and a slouch.

Attire:

She usually sports a simple, full-sleeved blouse with a buttoned down vest, knee-length breeches with opaque tights underneath, and leather ankle boots. She occasionally wears gloves, a worn-out white coat, and mask while working; and sometimes ties a red ribbon around the collar to add some color.

Personality:

Passive: She is lethargic in her mannerisms and is always reluctant to partake in physical activities. Her sluggish behavior is her most visible attribute as it's easily noticeable in her voice and posture. However, it does not interfere with her work ethic. At most, it messes up her physical health and sleep schedule, but nothing important.

Oblivious: When she appears too calm in a threatening situation, it's most likely due to her inattentiveness. She has no sense of danger whatsoever and will probably get herself into trouble more than she realizes. Her naivete might end her up at the bottom of the ocean someday.

Capable: Despite being close to an absolutely useless person, she is able to prove her worth every once in a while. She's diligent and resourceful when it comes to her specialty in medicine. In rare occasions, she'll show hints of maturity and responsibility.

Honest: One of her not-so-many good traits is her truthfulness. She is a straightforward and genuine person. There's rarely ever beating around the bush. Maria will bluntly state what's on her mind and dislikes keeping secrets. Unfortunately, she's also too trusting. If there's anything she hates, though, it's sunlight and liars.

Weapons & Equipment:

A black steel katar with a wing engravement and a pig iron scimitar sheathed away in storage somewhere.

Shard Ability:

Avimancy: At the most basic level, she's able to beckon a couple of small birds for her command. It's not very impressive, but they're useful for pigeon post. Sometimes they can be used for combat with their terrorizing pecks, but usually they end up just making a mess on the ship's deck--which of course she takes no responsibility for. Her summoned familiar usually hangs around her for the most part.

Brief History:

Maria was born as the daughter of two well-behaved Horus residents who never expected to conceive such a troublesome young girl. Her father was a respected apothecary who'd resided in the Eastern Tip for all of his life; her mother was an expert in the arts of horticulture. They made a swell pair and were well-known in their community. Once Maria was birthed, their days became tiresome. It was almost as if she was a magnet for trouble.

She'd get lost on the streets, trust and follow strangers way too often, and find herself in situations where a ransom was necessary for her release. As years passed by, it was as if every runaway thief in Horus wanted to hand whatever they stole to her and proceed to make their escape. Her pitiful parents had to explain dozens of misunderstandings to multiple different vendors and merchants. Their rep in the community and wealth began to decline. Eventually, they kept her under a strict house arrest. Of course, it's not like they wanted to suppress their only daughter from the outside world. They just wanted to make sure she stayed safe.

During those golden years, Maria learned medicine from both her mother and father. On the down side, her only friends were birds. As she entered her adult years, she began her own practice to help the sick and poor. Her parents started to regret keeping her locked up and decided she was finally old enough to care for herself. That was a big mistake on their part because an adult with no experience in the outside world most likely wouldn't have much wisdom. As expected, the idiot got herself into trouble once again--this time, with a group of pirates.

It was just a normal and strangely quiet day delivering medicine. Maria eventually bumped into a group of burly, scary-faced macho men. They began demanding for her to hand over the contents of her bag. She figured they were in urgent need of medicine and handed over some extras which were not delivery orders. The pirates were a little dumbfounded at her compliance but decided to snatch the whole bag anyways, and her as well.

To sum it up, she ended up being held (unknowingly) hostage for several months on a lesser-known ship where she provided basic medical care. Surprisingly, they treated her pretty nicely there despite the lies of eventually allowing her to return to Horus. Maria wasn't too concerned since she believed it was better being away from constantly causing problems for her parents.

Sooner or later, the amateur group of burly-men pirates decided to go against the Ocean Horizon. As expected, the burly-men pirates faced an embarrassing defeat. The captain of the Ocean Horizon allowed Maria to join his crew. After saying her heartfelt goodbyes to the others, she became an apothecary on the new ship.



Yaaarrgh! (kept it :P)

Alias: The Black Baron or simply, "Al" as a nickname.
Age: 28
Height: 70" (177.8cm)
Weight: 176 Lbs (80 Kg)
Hair Color: dark brown
Eye Color: blue

Crew Position: Navigator

Physical Appearance: Alcides Demophon, is 5' 10" tall weighing 176 Lbs on his lean slender frame. His brown hair shapes his oval shaped face with his baby blue eyes being his best feature; drawing attention to him where he goes. His occasional smile is his best feature, but this bit is saved for the ladies, because that is his primary goal in life.

Attire: "The Black Baron" prefers to dress in black which lends itself to his sobriquet. His knee-high patent leather riding boots and heavy leather drover's coat with black fur lined wide collar are signature articles for the Black Baron. He may wear either a buttoned shirt with a high, straight collar or a heavy black turtleneck sweater under the leather drover's coat. Occasionally, he wears a black leather aviator's cap with vintage goggles, sun, wind and dust propped up on top of his head.


Personality: Alcides, The Black Baron is confident, to the point of being cocky (cheeky). He also holds himself in high esteem, acting in somewhat of an aristocratic or entitled manner. The Baron may occasionally drift into sarcasm, if the situation suits him. He enjoys producing a gentle facade that makes him appear an aristocrat, but alas, he is more scum than you can imagine. His roots lie in the gutter. Wealth acquired aboard the Ocean Horizon has afforded him the ability to maintain an appearance. Alcides is driven by lust for women and greed. Conquering as many lasses as possible is one of this man's priorities. He is not prone to over drinking, but will imbibe on occasion. Alcides is a risk taker, enjoying the thrill of a game of chance. Gambling and women are his primary vices. Making money is his primary desire and motivation. Spinning a finely crafted confidence game is one of his favorite pastimes.

Weapons & Equipment:

- As a gentleman, Alcides prefers and carries a swept hilt rapier constructed of fine quality white steel. He has trained in its use, naturally priding himself in this ability.

- The Baron carries a pair of ivory handled cryslock pistols designed for close-range accuracy in holsters at his hips. These weapons utilize specially refined Light Crystals as ammo. The mechanisms within the guns are designed to release the light energy stored within the crystals in such a way that the hardened crystal shells are propelled out of the barrel like musket shots.

Shard Ability:
Carnomancy - Part of the Baron's persona is his embodiment of complete awareness and control over his body and its functions. As a result, Alcides feels a heightened sense of energy, which translates into increased speed, an abundance of strength and an increased constitution allowing him to withstand a great battery of punishment.

Brief History:

Alcides originated in the Broken Spires to the west. Home was a tiny flat on the 197th level. Themicles, his father spent most of his life on the docks; a longshoreman of sorts; loading and unloading ships for merchants. He was paid well, but spent most of his money in the local drinking establishment. The money was spent on alcohol, women and gambling. When not working, Themicles was sleeping. As a result, Alcides came and went as he pleased. He was educated on the spire as most of the children were. They had a formal educational institution they attended, but it was more for socializing than learning anything useful. He did pay attention on occasion, but it was not his priority. Alcides earned a reputation for slick talking or what others call "Spire Speech".

Following in his father's footsteps, Alcides worked the docks and signed onto a C-Class merchant ship as a deck hand when he was 15. He quickly learned how the engine worked and was assigned as a mechanic in the engine room. The one aspect of this experience he hated was always being filthy. He bathed as often as he could finding it difficult to get the grease off his fingers. He vowed to get out of the engine room as soon as he could.

At age 18, he found employment on a Victory class freighter. Instead of working in the engine room, he befriended the navigator and found himself as the man's apprentice. The ship's navigator taught him his profession and Alcides learned quickly knowing his alternative was the dark, filthy, hot, sweaty cave known as the engine room. It did not take Alcides long to understand the art of navigation, even learning how to navigate by the stars. His Navigator, who he referred to as Duke Grandy or just Grandy took him under his wing and taught him all he knew about the job.

Alcides enjoyed his time as apprentice Navigator, but knew he wanted something bigger. Ole Grandy wasn't going anywhere, so he knew he would have to look for employment elsewhere some day. For now, he enjoyed his time aboard the "Vengeful Maiden". He got into fighting, boxing and other antiquated forms of unarmed combat. He boxed in his free time, he sparred with ship mates. Ole Grandy taught him how to fence as a gentleman and the young man became adept at its use. His insistence on dressing in black enabled him the sobriquet of "The Black Baron" mixed with his self-entitled aristocratic behavior.

Within four years, Alcides fell in with an old chum, he'd met sometime in his past, Fletch Payne. They may have crewed together either on the C-Class or the Maiden. Fletch assisted Alcides on a few of his cons, taking cash, jewelry and whatever other valuables they could take from a mark. It was fun, terrifying, exciting and risky. These qualities of life Alcides enjoyed the most. Alcides was always feeding the beast, as he occasionally put it. Feeding the beast was his expression for doing whatever it was he (or anyone) enjoyed doing; something that was an exciting thrill, an adrenaline pumping adventure.

When Fletch Payne took command of the Ocean Horizon, Alcides quickly took advantage of the situation and made his way aboard, first as helmsman, and later as Ship's Navigator replacing Herod Elmo, an elderly gentleman with a bad heart. Alcides learned the workings of this ship. Life had gotten so much better for the former dock rat, proficient in Spire Speach*.


Relationships:
Will fill in as characters are posted.

Captain Fletcher Payne - Alcides views Fletch as one of his oldest friends. They both see eye to eye on their desires towards women sharing bedroom tales from time to time. Both men are of equal size and martial skill, giving chance to spar or duel with one another as a means of training in the finer ways of the sword an in hand to hand combat. The Black Baron has the highest respect for the King of Storms, impressed at his ability to control the weather.

Steward Petros Avakian - Al views the Steward Avakian as a quiet insular young man who prefers to be left alone. Al gives the young man a wide birth, offering him a polite, cordial greeting when he sees him. He has not had a lot of intercourse with the man and can't state an opinion of him one way or another, just that he does a fine job as ship's steward.

Bosun Aloysius Poole - Bosun Poole is a curiosity to Al to be respected. He has an appreciation for the creature's strength and his capacity to know just about anything. His neutral behavior has taken Al quite some time to get his head around. Al is a very flamboyant personality, living life to its fullest. With this machine serving as Bosun aboard the Ocean Horizon Al struggles to determine the beast or machine's place in this community he calls a crew.

Master-at-Arms Carlos Cunningham - Al considers Carlos Cunningham a close friend. They have served aboard the Ocean Horizon for several years now and have created a bond as friendship. He also appreciates the clothing Carlos dresses in. They dress in similar manner; he feels a kinship with his younger brother from another mother. The pair share a common knowledge in engines, although both prefer not to talk about such drivel. All believes it is beneath him.

Crewman FERGUS GALLAGHER - Al views Mr. Gallagher as a father figure. He respects the much larger man's experience and wisdom, calling on the weathered deckhand for advice or counsel on various issues. Mr. Gallagher is usually to wise to fall for Alcides' parlor tricks or to sit at his card table. He enjoys listening to the manner of his speech. It reminds him of Spire Speech.

Squadron Leader Silver Kingsly - Al is unsure about Mr. Kingsly. He is a new member of the crew, but knows how to fly the Sylph. This is a quality Alcides admires about Mr. Kingsly, secretly possessing a slight amount of envy. Mr. Kinglsy is someone Alcides wishes to get into one of his games of chance.

Medical Officer Maria Siddiqui - Due to her position as Ship's Medical Officer, Al insulates himself from Maria. The analogy of a Predator and Prey is best in describing their personalities. Al knows all too well that the Naive doctor would be easy prey to his charms and deceit. But because there could possibly be a time one day that he needs to trust her knowledge of healthcare, he maintains a sense of discipline around her, refusing to allow his lustful airs to get the better of him. It is often best that he stay away from the attractive young woman.

Medical Officer Yara Catalina Loras - When Yara first came aboard the Ocean Horizno roughly three years ago, Alcides was unaware of the connection between her and Fletcher. It did make for some very tense times when Al played out his normal behavior attempting to hit on the young girl. She parried each of his moves and Al became frustrated. Eventually, Carlos explained the situation to him that Yara had a very close connection to the Captain, they were bonded siblings. Consider her the Captain's Sister, if you may, was what he heard and from that day on, Al has left her alone. He does not try to play her or get her to do anything some might call immoral. Instead, he protects the young medical officer, another person who could possibly save his life some day. He treats her with respect because she is both a medical officer and the Captain's sister. Today, Al views Yara as a friend.

Chief Engineer Grant Meagan -

Name: Yara Catalina Loras
Alias(s):
Age: 23
Height: 5'4"
Weight: 120 lbs
Hair Color: Silky Black
Eye Color: Olive Green

Crew Position: Medic - Surgeon

Physical Appearance:
Yara has straight raven black hair that reaches just past her mid back. Her skin is an copper color, with warm olive undertones. She has dark green eyes with golden flecks, and is considered average high for a woman. Though she does has a small frame, she is fit and as tough as any other pirate. She has tattoo on her upper left arm (as pictured).

Attire:
Yara's wardrobe consists of quite a bit of lace, ruffles, corset belts, and black fabrics. Needless to say she dresses like a typical pirate, though on the more modest side of the the spectrum. Showing off massive amounts of cleavage, and wearing tiny short skirts is not her cup of tea. She hates wearing stocking and shoes, so most of the time she goes barefoot. When she is not wearing pants, her go to dresses and skirts are usually knee length.

Personality:
Most of the time Yara can come off as dispassionate. Do to her history she has learned to put up a wall between people, and her true self. She puts on a confident, and uncaring attitude as a way of making sure no one can hurt her. She has also become a tad more cynical then your average girl, do to the many betrayals, and hardships in her past. Her wall comes down when inebriated, but otherwise she tries to remain as stoical, and relaxed as possible. She is capable of being utterly ruthless against those who mess with her or her loved ones. She is truthfully the most loyal person you'll ever meet...as long as she considers you a friend. Yara is someone who is suspicious of others, and unforgiving towards those who wrong her. By unforgiving I also mean vengeful, so basically you don't want to mess with her...then again it's actually kind of hard to get on her bad side. She takes peoples bullshit in stride, and basically ignores idiots. Count yourself lucky if Yara chooses to be her genuine self around you.

Weapons & Equipment:
Daggers - A pair made of white iron

Medical Kit
-- Surgical Tools
-- Bone Saw
-- Tourniquet
-- Bandage Rolls
-- Hydrogen Peroxide
-- Tweezers
-- Scissors
-- Sutures/Needle
-- Gauze

Shard Ability:
Electrokinesis- She can generate raw electric energy, which she can with proper training, control at will for various purposes. At the moment she is basically a human taser.

Brief History:
Her mother, Olinda, was the pretty young lady from Verdante, who worked as a silk weaver. Yara's father, Jiminy, was a pirate for the lesser known captain Rockwell of the ship 'Drakon'. Yara was born in the middle of the Kiryan, only six months after the young couple married. She was a sweet little baby, with her mothers green eyes, and her fathers black hair.

The first few years of her life were spent in Rexa, a small Wandering Island. Her father became a dock worker for a short time after she was born, trying to be a family man and good husband. But once a pirate always a pirate, so when Yara was two years old her father went back to his swashbuckling ways. Every few months he would come home with stories about his adventures, and he would bring home presents for her.

Unfortunately when Yara was five years old, her mother died giving birth to a stillborn, and Yara was left in the care of the local midwife, until her father sailed home. A month later he arrived, distraught about his wife's death, and having no idea what to do with little Yara. No one was willing to take her in, and Jiminy refused to sell her off or place her into an orphanage. Thankfully with a little negotiating and a few bribes his captain agreed that Yara could come aboard and stay on the ship.

It quickly became apparent that a pirate ship was no place to raise a little girl. Though the crew had grown fond of her, it was extremely unsafe for a child. To many close calls with bullets buzzing by and steel swords hacking away. Four months later Jiminy left Yara in the care of an old friend, none other then Immortal Archivist Cagen.

Cagen was already raising a young boy named Fletcher, so one more child couldn't hurt. Yara excelled under his guidance, and Fletcher became like an older brother to her. Anytime she was scared during a thunder storm she would sneak into Fletcher's room, and he would let her crawl into his bed. Two years past and sadly when she was eight years old Fletcher left to see the world, and shortly after news of her fathers death came.

Five months later her aunt Zendra showed up looking to claim Yara, and take her home with her. Cagen had tried to reason with the woman, but in the end the stubborn witch would not take no as and answer. Yara left with Zendra, and cried herself to sleep every night the whole journey to her aunts place in The Broken Spires.

Life was very different for the eight year old Yara. Her aunt was the madam of a brothel, and Yara spent most of her day cleaning, and cooking, for the prostitutes that lived there. Nights where spent handing out drinks to clients, and keeping the illegitimate toddlers occupied in the basement. She was ten years old when her aunt sold her virginity off to the highest bidder. Yara had hit, kick, and scratched hard enough to draw blood, but the real kicker was she had bitten the bastards ear off. Afterwards Zendra had her flogged for injuring the customer who purchased her for the night. Then she told Yara that she was old enough to earn her keep, and expected her to smile from now on.

Yara ran away two weeks later, and at the age of 10 she was on her own. She stowed away on a ship that was heading to New Haven. Three days into the voyage she was caught. Half the crew wanted to though her off the ship into the ocean, and the other half had no opinion on the matter. Benji, the ships medic came to Yara's defense, saying he needed an assistant anyway, and that tossing her overboard would be a waist of free labor. The captain reluctantly agreed, and Yara spent the rest of the voyage swabbing the deck, doing laundry, and peeling potatoes. By the end of the three month trip across the sea, she had become the little mascot of the ship.

After docking in New Haven, Yara didn't really know what to do with herself. Benji took her under his wing as a assistant, and she joined him on board a sky ship he had contracted with. She learned how to fight with daggers, and how to handle a gun. Benji taught her how to get bullets out of people, amputate limbs, and sew up wounds. She was thirteen when Benji's drinking got out of hand, and she spent more nights cleaning up his vomit then anything else. He got fired multiple times, and no one would higher him since he became a drunken liability...nobody but pirates anyway.

Yara was able to find Benji a position on a rickety old ship. Little did she know the crew was not made up of the most loyal and friendly people. Two weeks into the journey, there was a mutiny and the captain was killed. Dwaine the cook took over as acting captain, and anyone who went against him ended up dead or locked in the brig. Benji unfortunately couldn't keep his drunk mouth shut, and Dwaine shot him in the head. Thus Yara ended up in the brig, and was told she that she was to be sold off somewhere. Weeks later, they finally docked, and Dwaine sent his goons to sell Yara on the black market in the city. It was at this point in time that she started building walls between people, and not giving her trust out willy-nilly.

As she was being dragged to the market in the middle of the night, by some miracle she was able to slid the mans gun out of his holster as shoot him in the arm. She shot a bullet at the other goon, and missed the first shot, but the second got him in the knee. She ran, as fast and far as she could. A few days later she sold the gun, and used the money to by passage to the City of Shoel. The voyage was safe and uneventful.

She was able to obtain a job working as a courier for a small pharmacy. Most of her meager pay was spent on renting a room, and keeping herself fed. Life seemed to move at a slow pace for awhile, she was alone more often then not. She slowly made friends with an old retire navy surgeon named Boris, and his wife Cleo. She brought them their medications every Pashiphsday, and would end up playing chess for hours, and staying for dinner. Two years later Cleo passed away, and Boris was left on his own, in a big old house. He had explained that Yara was like a daughter to him and Cleo, and that is how she came to stay with him.

He taught her everything she knows about surgery, and medicine over the next three years, until he passed away at the age of 89. He left everything he had to her. She sold the house, and most of the furniture. Other thing were donated to the local orphanage. She would never forget Boris and Cleo who had been some of the most genuine caring people she'd ever met. During her short time with them she had almost forgotten about her list of people she wanted to off.

She wanted to live a simple life, just as Boris had wished for her. So now that she was eighteen, and she had enough money, she decided to enroll in the medical university to become a surgeon in honor of Boris. It only lasted a year, as one night walking home she witnessed a woman being beaten in an alley. In a surge of something unnatural within her, she electrocuted the assailant to death, and unfortunately the girl too. She never thought she would be a murderer, and she was rather freaked out by what she did.

Shortly after Fletcher, the big brother figure from before her life went to shit appeared. Telling her about his ship, the shards, and his crew. It has been three years since she joined him as a medic on his ship.

Relationships:

Fletcher Gulliver Payne - Friend. Closest thing she has to family.
Petros Avakian -
Aloysius Poole -
Carlos Cunningham - Friend
Fergus Gallagher -
Maria Siddiqui - Friend
Silver Kingsly -
Gitanjani Mariposa -
Alcides Demophon - Amiable

Name: Grant Meagan
Alias(s): Guru, Wiz, Oracle, Obsessed
Age: 34
Height: 5' 9"
Weight: 150 lbs
Hair Color: Dark Brown
Eye Color: Dark Brown

Crew Position:
Chief Engineer

Physical Appearance:
Grant has been cursed to a life of average build and height. He is fit, in a workman's sense: he can lift, run, hammer, torque, throw, pull, and swing with the best of them. That being said, he's not bulky and never will be, nor do his muscles pop from under his skin. He is built to build, not for combat or athletics.

Grant's fingers twitch almost constantly, as if they are all brushes and the air a canvas, or an orchestra waits to be conducted before him. On rare occasions, he will tense his arms and twist them around, to try and "get all the energy out".

Attire:
While Grant has an appreciation for the fancier clothes of his fellow pirates, after his expensive cape got caught in the gears of one of the loading ramps, he decided to forgo bells and whistles, so that he wouldn't ever nearly get crushed again.

Grant wears light colors to help fend off the deathly sun, at the cost of the clothes being invariably dirty by the time he finishes working on the ship. It's almost a personal challenge to see how clean he can keep himself each day.

Personality:
Agreeability
Grant is not an argumentative man, in most cases. He enjoys what he does, how he does it, and although he'd never admit it to anyone, he likes knowing more about the Ocean Horizon than anyone else on the ship. He doesn't like being on bad terms with anyone, and he's always willing to give people the benefit of the doubt, provided they don't waste his time. Grant likes almost everyone he meets, and he likes to think that almost everyone likes him in return.

Excessive Focus
The real problem with Grant comes when he actually begins working. Once he zones in, Grant cannot pull himself away from whatever he is doing until he is finished, or interrupted to the point where his focus collapses. He knows he should take breaks, and he knows he should pay attention to others, but he is mentally incapable of severing himself from his work.

This trouble occurs with anything that Grant does: exercise, building, reading, eating...anything that requires focus, Grant will focus on it to the exclusion of all else. He can be pulled away by an outside party, but oftentimes this will result in Grant becoming irritable or short tempered.

Eccentricity
Grant's been working with the Ocean Horizon for about a decade, tinkering with everything he could take a tool to, has resulted in Grant being at the center of many...strange events. For example, it's not uncommon to see Grant sprinting from one end of the ship to the other to tweak a valve or replace a burst pressure transducer. On occasion he will be on fire, or scorched, or screaming. While working, he has a tendency to mutter to himself, and sometimes reply to his own mutterings.

He is very particular about how "his" ship is handled, and for good reason: more than once an unforseen error in the ship's protocols has led to an emergency of the "everything is on fire" variety. In an effort to prevent such emergencies, Grant tries to keep a tight rein on his engineers and workers.

Collected - Sort Of
To an outside observer, it would appear that Grant totally lacks organizational skills, but really he just lacks the ability to convey them. Every Atlasday, he cleans his desk. Every Edranday, he cleans his personal tool set, and has two of his workers clean the workshop. Never mind the fact that his desk is cluttered the next day, or that the tools never seem to stay clean past three hours.

Despite those issues, Grant's mind and memory are ridiculously powerful, and very organized. He remembers anything related to the ship with unconscious ease, displaying a practically eidetic memory where patterns, machinery, or aeronautics is involved. He has no need for notes, and he unintentionally keeps the current time, date, and direction in his mind without even meaning to. Interestingly, however, when tasked with remembering literature, art, images, biology, or any other non-mechanical/mathematical piece of information, Grant is as normal as anyone else.

Still...all that mental processing power, and yet somehow his desk just refuses to stay clean.

Weapons & Equipment:
Grant is no fighter. His only constant weapon is an expensive Damascus Steel utility knife that he picked up on a Wandering Island in a card game, after memorizing the entire deck order. Grant uses the knife with reckless abandon, plunging it into searing hot crevicies and using it to chisel metals off of the walls in an attempt to increase weight efficiency.

Under his bunk, he keeps a Cryslock pistol for emergencies only. He's only had to use it twice, and he'd prefer to never have to increase that number.

Much of what Grant carries around are tools. Hanging from a loop at his belt is a comprehensive set of keys to the ship, stuffed into a pocket to silence them as he runs around. In his satchel are a set of wrenches, a screw driver, a mallet, a set of calipers, a pair of pliers...enough tools to outfit a small army of work monkeys, if he'd ever gotten around to inventing them.

His most important piece of gear is his coat: fireproof and heat-resistant, the white material has protected Grant from more than one early grave.

Shard Ability:
If Grant has seen, touched, or heard something within the past few days, he is able to list the exact location of that something, as well as its current visual form, audible form, or physical construction, respectively. This applies to machinery, people, conversations, etc. He uses this ability to great effect, testing the interaction of parts on opposite sides of the ship, or tracking his lazy workers.

Of course, Grant does not know the surroundings of that "something" he is tracking, limiting his ability's use for finding enemies or spying on others.

Part of Grant's knowledge of the ship comes from his unique abilities, while the rest comes from his incessant tinkering and experimentation.

Brief History:
Grant's life began as any common tragdy might: his mother gave birth in a small inn within Horus, and his father left them to avoid the responsibility. Unlike most common tragedies, however, Grant's mother Alena had two older brothers who swept her and her child up without any hesitation. The eldest, Randall the merchant, and his life partner Remaro, gave them a place to stay and all the food they could eat, and the middle child, Callum, provided the growing Grant with work in his carpentry shop. From age 5 to age 10, the boy worked with his uncle to repair the shambles of Horus, one two-by-four at a time.

It quickly became apparent, however, that Callum was rapidly running out of things to teach the young Grant, who soon had a better knowledge of the workshop than Callum himself. The three siblings were thrilled with the child's brilliance, and Remaro, being a scholar of Cagen's archives, was happy to take the boy under his wing for a time, until the day that Grant learned of the Immortal Archivist and his legendary libraries.

From then on, it was "Cagen this" and "Cagen that", and "please mother, please" day in and day out, until one day, on the boy's thirteenth birthday, he was sent to the Southern Tower. Remaro accompanied him for a time, to ensure the young boy's safety. The boy and his uncle's husband arrived in the city just in time for one of the biggest festivals of the year: the changing from the Summer to the Storms. Grant was captivated.

Unfortunately, Grant did not immediately get to learn from the Archivist himself. He was accepted into Cagen's library, but under the tutelage of one "Pollock", an Archivist who quickly proved himself to be wise and shrap as any man Grant had ever met. It was Pollock who Grant worked with for the next few years, and it was Pollock who encouraged Grant's interest in the physical side of learning: engineering, mechanics, mathematics, chemistry. Pollock proved to be the biggest enabler of Grant's technical know-how, and it was Pollock who first learned of the boy's interesting ability at age sixteen and a half.

Once his ability was known to the Archivists, it was then that he was finally introduced to Cagen himself. Grant nearly fainted on meeting the man, but the immortal was nothing but kind and smiling. He offered Grant the chance of his dreams: Sky Ship engineering. It would be tough learning, he was told, but in the end he would be designing beautiful ships which soared through the sky. Grant didn't even blink before he said yes.

What followed in the next four years was the most grueling, extensive, and painful learning of Grant's life. From age sixteen to age twenty, he was put through the wringer, studying astronomoy, meteorology, material sciences, aerodynamics, propulsion, and more. His head was fit to burst by the end of it all, and when he finally was given the piece of paper which showed his expertise, Grant sat down on the side of the awards stage and had a quiet cry.

It was only then, in a meeting with Cagen after the ceremony, that Grant learned he had accomplished in under four years what took most shipbuilder-hopefuls eight years minimum. Grant felt much better after that.

Even more exciting still was Grant's first assignment. He was to look at the ancient stabilizer fin designs still being used by some small skycraft, and attempt to optimize their fuel effciency. It was then that Grant learned his biggest limitation to progress was not his own calculations, it was material availability and scheduling conflicts. Only so many test cells were available at any given time, and he was often stuck for weeks waiting for one to open up for his testing.

Eventually, after a year of snail-like progress, Grant hunted down Cagen with fury in his eyes and asked, rather ferverently, if he might be allowed to build his own test cell where he might finally get his shit done, if it wasn't too much to ask. Cagen blinked in confusion, asking what had taken Grant so long to ask?

For the next two years after, Grant multitasked heavily, working on his optomizing and his own personal test facility. It turned out to be a hell of a lot more complicated than he'd imagined it would be. But when it was done...ah, it was his dream come true. Within a four months, Grant and his small team had finished the assignment, and another two more besides. From then until his twenty-fourth birthday, Grant was a battering ram of pure, unadulterated science, giving unto the skycraft world paper after paper of improvements to the tried and true designs.

But the most interesting part of his life had yet to come. Cagen again came to his door, offering Grant a very hush-hush job: the maintenance and repair of an ancient ship, predating the flooding of the world. Grant had never even imagined that the world had ever been unflooded, so, of course, he agreed.

And from then until now, Grant has been with the Ocean Horizon, tinkering, experimenting, and improving the ship, while trying to figure out the mechanics of the ship which Cagen never told him. Where did the light crystals turn to energy? At what point did the energy combine with the shells to be launched out of the ship? How did such a large ship contend with the wind blowing i around? How did such a ship fly? Moreover, how did any of the ships fly?

Grant had always told himself he would decipher that particular riddle "one day", but here was a magical old ship that he was tasked with working on. Grant decided it was a beautiful coincidence. So many things had simply been accepted by the skycraft design world, secrets of flight locked away in Cagen's brain. If he could unlock those secrets, what more wondrous things could be done with their resources?

Two years after he began his work, the ship was gifted to a young captain Fletcher, and in that sense Grant was gifted along with it. Grant had heard about the man, but had never really put too much thought into it.

Eight years out, and Grant is still doing what he loves, where he loves to do it. Except now things break a lot more, and there's more fire, and he still hasn't figured out what purpose the etchings on the lower deck could possibly be used for.

Good thing he has the rest of his life to figure it out.

Relationships:
****Here I'll put down what I'd imagine the relationships to be, and everyone can confirm them if they like it?****

Fletcher Payne
A good man. Grant's been with Fletcher since the Ocean Horizon launched, and good thing too: Fletcher can be over-zealous, and the keeping the ship afloat is no easy task. The two are close friends, after all their time together, although Fletcher's excitement and confidence can sometimes rub Grant the wrong way.

Grant trusts Fletcher with his life, and he knows that Fletcher trusts him the same. He has to, after all: Grant's the one who can make the flying ship fly, or a falling ship fall.

Petros Avakin
Good kid. Does his work, doesn't touch what he shouldn't, and hasn't yet been responsible for anything catching fire. He also doesn't talk much, but Grant doesn't need talkers, he needs competence, which Petros brings in spades.

Alcides Demophon
Interesting guy. Grant likes his fanciful air, but he refuses to let Al anywhere near the inner workings of his ship while he's dressed like a pirate caricature. Too many chances for fire and death. The two instead bond over the card table, where Grant's memory and Al's guile consistently struggle for dominance.

Poole
To Grant, Poole is like a miracle. The man--more of a thing than a man, really--is almost entirely a machine, yet he works with the most precise accuracy, and needs no external lubrication, and rarely requires maintenance. That being said, Grant understands the man's need for privacy about his past: it's like Grant's desire for other people to not screw with his ship on a whim. Grant likes to think they're friends.

Carlos Cunningham
Grant, being absolutely not a fighter, doesn't spend too much time with Carlos. The trust is there, of course, because they live and die together on the ship, but he just can't identify with the younger man all that much.

Fergus Gallagher
Grant likes the big man, but avoids working with him if he can help it. Though no fault of Gallagher's, the man simply lacks the dexterity required to work with parts of the ship that regularly try to eat people. Grant happily talks with the man, telling stories and discussing manliness, in all its possible forms and formats, but he really does not ever, ever want to see Gallagher's pants burn away again.

Silver Kingsly
Although a newcomer to the Ocean's Horizon, Grant likes Silver already. A mechanical genius? Yes, please. More than once the younger man proved to be a sponge for information, able to help Grant with many of the more menial tasks of ship maintenance, and sometimes with the more exciting ship experiments as well.

Maria Siddiqui
Apothecary is of great interest to Grant. Anything involving systems and patterns is, although he is not good at remembering the biological side of science, as much as he wants to. Grant is usually busy, and so he doesn't get many chances to see Maria, but he finds her work essential, and interesting to boot.

Yara Loras
Grant thinks Yara's electrogeneration is the coolest thing. When she came on board some time back, he was in awe of her abilities, even more so than the young Fletcher's wind-whoosy-flooshy thing. He asks her for help with his tinkerings and experiments when she is free, and likes talking with her.