The crew of the Borealis:

Berlin:
The epitome of a gentle giant. He's a big man with an intimidating form, though he's not a forceful type. Smooth blonde hair in a ponytail, grey eyes as deep and complex as the sea, and suntanned skin. He is the captain of the Borealis and has been for many years. The sea is his mistress and his one love. He's got a calming, easygoing presence but also naturally commands authority when the need arises.

Magical ability: Control via physical contact. He rarely uses it, as he feels it's wrong to control a free man in a way that would be against his will. The most common way he uses his ability is to mollify a bristling, hostile person by laying a casual hand on their shoulder and sending forth a kind of calm energy so the other person cools down. His ability also grants him a kind of magnetic personality that puts people at ease and makes him generally likable upon first encounter.

Rheoaan Rohaan Rio Ja'aisen:
The youngest member of the crew at ten years of age, he's been with Berlin for about two years. Born on a remote island on the southwestern coast, he lived with other shape shifters like himself--outcasts of society--until his home was raided by fanatics that believed the only good shifter was a dead one. Taken on a ship to the mainland to be sold into slavery, he escaped and began living on the streets of the port city he landed in. A wily, determined child, he pickpocketed to keep himself alive...until he pickpocketed a member of the Borealis and was caught. Berlin saw the state he was in, knew he was a shifter and would have little to no future on his own, and saw the potential in him as a future thief. Berlin took him in, tamed his wild nature (mostly), taught him the common speech of Avarian (and in turn, learned a bit of Rohaan's language, Vokurian, and trained him up to be a capable thief.

Berlin is the only authority whom Rohaan respects. He revels in causing trouble, sometimes has a bit of a feral nature, and has no problem taking risks--often to his detriment. While the roles of crew members are often fluid since they are small in number, Rohaan is often found in the crows nest, or occasionally in the galley.

Magical ability: Shape shifting. He has the ability to change any of his features except the color of his eyes (which are a telltale cobalt blue shade that is more vibrant and brighter than human eyes) and the color of his blood, which is red with a silvery sheen to it. Can become human or animal, and can mimic other people's appearances. It takes a great deal of effort and some forms leave him exhausted. Specially enchanted steel can inhibit his shifting abilities with close proximity or physical contact.

Uban Harriah:
Lived a quiet country life until his magical abilities manifested and he accidentally killed someone. He was hauled off to prison for his crime, though after about a year he managed a close-call escape that left him missing a finger on his left hand. He fled far from his home to the northwestern coast where he was not a wanted man, though he had nothing to his name and lived in poverty until, as he made his rounds looking for work on the docks, he found Berlin, who saw the prison-brand on his wrist and took him in.

He's an energetic sort, a real joker, loves horses, and has absolutely no fear of heights, which is why he's generally a topman, working the ropes and sails aloft. Can't cook to save his life. Late twenties. Been with Berlin for about 5 years.

Magical ability: can create and manipulate arcs of electricity. He cannot summon or control lighting, but is merely able to send pulses through physical contact, or to create a small arc between his fingers or hands.

Hanabaptiste Seuville:

A tall, dark skinned young woman with questioning eyes and a nervous gait. Like all hedge mages, she is bald and must never go more than two weeks without shaving her head. Since leaving the Schools, Hanabaptiste has been confined to wearing an olive green gown and walking shoes. A massive straw hat shades her face, bobbing as she walks. She carries an oak staff with the ends clad in bronze in her hand.

Magic:

Hanabaptiste completed four of the seven years needed to become a Weather Scholarmage. Despite never finishing the education at the Schools, Hanabaptiste is a competent weathermage, possessing the technical knowledge of the trade that so many other hedgemages lack. Like all weathermages, Hanabaptiste can summon wind gales, disperse fogs, and settle storms. Like all students at the Schools, Hanabaptiste was taught the basics of battle magic, and can hold her own in a fight against nonmagical opponents. Additionally, the common requests of all hedgemages- curing livestock, dispelling flees, five different love potions and an a la cart for various minor curses to put on the neighbors you don't like.

Pieter Yuithun

A short, wiry man with greying hair and a scarred face. Pieter looks like what he is, an old sea dog with nothing waiting for him on land. Tattoos dedicating himself as a priest to the sea wrap around his body. His long, patrician nose has been broken and reset so many times it's curved inward. A jagged scar runs down his calf and his arms are covered with burns and scars. His callused hands have been through a lifetime of hard, painful labor. Pieter wears homespun breeches and shirts, only wearing shoes on land. A brace of pistols are slung through a sash across his chest and a dagger swings at his hips.

Skills:

Although Pieter lacks magical potential, he's an excellent shot and a dirty fighter. Since he's been sailing over half of his life the work in keeping a ship afloat is familiar to him.

Wheel

At 24, Wheel is pushing old for a Berserker, but still in the prime of his life. Although his stature his hardly intimidating (5'8) his muscular frame honed from a lifetime in the fighting cages and at sea. Wheel keeps his hair cropped close to his head, keeping anything from being a hold during a fight. Aboard ship, Wheel wears a pair of trousers and a belt to hold his hatchets and pistols. A hand rolled cigarette hangs on his lip.

Skills:
Wheel has been a pirate for four years, and a cage fighter six years before that. Violence is the only thing worthwhile in Wheel's life. The only thing he's devoted himself to. Not women, (though he has them) not booze (but he drinks it) not gambling (he already risks it all.) The act of taking another mans life is the greatest source of joy in his life. And with a Berserker curse hanging over his head, he's been transformed into a warrior worthy of legends. The Berserk curse is old magic from when the world was young and the people full of magic. The curse speeds up reflex speed, bolsters strength, and fortifies the body. But in order to function, the curse siphons magic from the Berserker, and eventually, their very lifesource. At some point he's going to go into the bloodlust and never come out, he'll go mad with violence and strike any who come near him.